Bordeaux’s 2021 vintage in barrel was the clear highlight of our May tastings, with James and Associate Editor Claire Nesbitt tapping into more than 800 wines during the month from France’s most popular wine region, but we also went deep into Chile, kicked off our tastings of Spain’s latest offerings and lingered in the northeastern Italian regions of Trentino and Alto Adige over some stunning late-release 2019s. In all, we rated 1,962 wines in during the month, and we remain well on pace to reach our goal of tasting 30,000 wines by the end of this year.
For Bordeaux, 2021 was calamitous on several fronts, as James pointed out in his annual report, with producers tested by spring frosts, mildew, botrytis, gushers of rain, shortages of sunlight and mild temperatures during key months in the summer. But some amazing wines were still made, from a phenomenal pure merlot (Le Pin Pomerol) with all the class and depth of a great year from the 1980s, to Sauternes sweet wines that resemble legendary years like 2001, 1990, 1959 and 1921. And it was such unicorns that made all the difference for the vintage, which was characterized more by its heterogeneity than anything else.
Producers took to the many challenges in different ways, with Lafleur winemaker Omri Ram saying, “You had to be reactive and be in the vineyard all the time. You needed to make the right decisions. Everyone lived the vintage in a totally different way and the ending points are very different.”
That made coming up with a vintage comparison difficult. For James, all the wines were different, although the reds had some commonalities: the same character of lower alcohol, medium body and fresher acidities.
“For the Left Bank, I am thinking that the vintage might compare to something like 1996 because of the rain and lack of sunshine for both vintages,” James said. “The Right Bank could be more like 1994, which made fresh and bright reds in Pomerol and St. Emilion. But it’s not all that accurate a likeness.”
But it was a dry white wine from Chateau Margaux that was one of our favorites of the vintage: the Pavilion Blanc du Château Margaux. “The wine is sensational, with an electric acidity and tension. It has a pH of about 3.1 and extremely intense acidity with ripeness of fruit in the center palate,” James said.
There were also stellar examples of Sauternes wines, like the Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey Sauternes 2021 and Château Sigalas Rabaud Sauternes 2021, which have adjacent parcels of clay soils, as well as the Château Suduiraut Sauternes 2021.
They all displayed a “distinct spicy, almost savory character of a great Sauternes, where the concentration and balance make you almost forget about the sweetness,” James said.
In the end, though, 2021 fell short of 2020, which is the last of a trilogy of top years, although drinkability and freshness were abundant in wines such as the Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux Bordeaux Blanc, Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte Pessac-Léognan Blanc, Château Le Pin Pomerol, Château Lafleur Pomerol and Château Pétrus Pomerol, which all proved that the best winemakers can produce good to outstanding wines in just about any year.
CHILEAN REFINEMENT
These clean and balanced offerings from Bordeaux contrasted with the elegant and mineral deliveries of Mediterranean-style reds from Chile we tasted. Especially on point in this regard were the wines of Koyle, a biodynamic project run by Cristobal Undurraga in the Colchagua Valley.
The three top wines from Koyle’s Cerro Basalto range – a carmenere, a varietal garnacha and a Mediterranean blend – accentuated the sort of texture, transparency and purity that Chile is becoming more well known for. Senior Editor Zekun Shuai loved the fine austere verve of these wines, especially the Viña Koyle Valle de Colchagua Los Lingues Auma 2018 – the carmenere/cabernet-based red that embraces Vina Koyle’s “zero-gravity” style of wine to show how natural concentration, volume and intensity don’t only come from more earth-bound wines.
For ethereal concentration, the Lapostolle Carignan Valle de Maule Vigno Empedrado Old Vines Dry-Farmed 2020 was a wine that that showcased the country’s Mediterranean freshness from dry-farmed, old bush carignan vines. Its wild blue and red berry expressions with hints of dried flower and white pepper spices keep it irresistibly crisp, juicy and drinkable despite coming from an arid and warm year.
CHILE’S 2020 VINTAGE: Marcelo Papa of Concha y Toro talks with Senior Editor Zekun Shuai about Chile’s burgeoning wine scene.
Another Colchagua Valley winery, Clos Apalta, produced one of our top picks from the country in the Valle de Apalta 2019, a blend of 70 percent carmenere, 18 percent merlot, 8 percent cabernet sauvignon and 4 percent petit verdot. It delivered all the class, depth and refined richness you would expect from its talented and intuitive chief winemaker, Andrea Leon, who praised the diversity of carmenere.
“I think carmenere is now an established grape variety for Chile,” Leon told Senior Editor Zekun Shuai. “It is a very important blending varietal across the board because it brings color and spices. It always has some interesting texture. And it also makes a good statement for going solo.”
Our other top picks from Chile included the Lapostolle Apalta La Parcelle 8 Vieilles Vignes 2018, which is 100 percent cabernet sauvignon from ancient, 100-year-old vines, the Clos du Lican Apalta 2019, a varietal syrah from a new, single vineyard that shows a spicy verve and high-pitched complexity, and the Viña Morandé Grenache Syrah Marsanne Carignan Roussanne Valle de Maule Mediterráneo 2019, which is a unique co-fermentation of red and white varieties that showcases Chile’s Mediterranean freshness with its racy and incredibly succulent berry fruit.
READ MORE: TOP 100 WINES OF CHINA 2021
From Spain, the 2019 vintage from Rioja might be the best since 2001, with seductive, fresh and complex wines like the CUNE Rioja Real de Asúa 2019, Muga Rioja Torre 2019 and Contino Rioja Vina del Olivo 2019 demonstrating the huge potential the year holds.
But some Rioja producers also made some exceptional wines from older vintages. One of these was La Rioja Alta Rioja Viña Ardanza Reserva 2016, which is all about length and aged, savory complexity. Another 2016 Rioja we rated highly during the month was the CUNE Rioja Imperial Gran Reserva 2016, a blend of 85 percent tempranillo, 10 percent graciano and 5 percent mazuelo. James described it as one of the greatest modern gran reservas today, with refined and bountiful tannins backed by intense and layered flavors.
And a couple of old-vine beauties we came across from Spain were the Torres Priorat Mas de la Rosa Vinyes Velles 2019 and 2018 – both layered, fresh and delicate offerings that have underlying intensity and come with blue fruit, slate, black earth and blue flowers. Their taut, transparent texture on the palate with silky, polished tannins really set them apart. These are true Burgundian expressions from Priorat, a rugged landscape that used to be known for making dense, black, jammy and alcoholic wines.
And finally, from Italy, the northeastern regions of Trentino and Alto Adige gave us some star reds, including the Foradori Teroldego Vignetti delle Dolomiti Granato 2019, which Senior Editor Stuart Pigott said was “as stunningly vibrant as it is concentrated,” and the “remarkable” Girlan Pinot Noir Alto Adige Mazon Vigna Ganger Riserva 2018, which Stuart called a “highly structured wine for the grape variety with a sophistication comparable with Grand Cru wines from Pinot Noir’s Burgundian homeland.”
Some dry whites from the region were also on form, with Stuart calling the Castel Juval Riesling Südtirol Vinschgau Windbichel 2019 “a mind-blowingly vibrant dry white and an Italian riesling revelation.”
Cantina Terlan also produced some stunning 2019 releases, but its Cantina Terlan Lagrein Alto Adige Porphyry Riserva was especially notable for its remarkable plushness. Cantina Terlan also pulled off one of the top wines we’ve rated from the region’s 2021 vintage, the Cantina Terlan Alto Adige Cuvée Terlaner 2021, a dry white that Stuart said is “already delicious, with an excellent balance of substance and freshness.”
There was also plenty more during May from Argentina, Australia, Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Portugal, South Africa, Switzerland, the United States, Uruguay – and even Peru and Lebanon! You can sort all the notes below by country, vintage, score and name, so it should be a breeze to find your favorite bottles…
– Vince Morkri, Managing Editor
