En Primeur
Its back to normal after the last couple of years of covid disrupted campaigns. The press, critics and merchants were back in force the last week of April to taste the 2021 Bordeaux out of barrel. And the first offers are starting to trickle through.
Global warming means we’ve expectations of a great vintage every year now but the weather threw a spanner in the works in 2021, despite a warm winter, the summer ended up cooler and wetter than in recent years which created all sorts of problems for the vignerons.
Ultimately two factors saved this vintage:
Three weeks of gloriously hot weather prior to vintage, and the unusually high number of sunshine hours over summer despite the rain. The result:
- Potentially great white wines, with great acidity.
- A return to more classic Bordeaux with lower alcohols, a good thing
- Very pure, precise fruit backed by very good acidity and deceptively solid tannins.
What to buy – we’ll be far more selective this year, relying on information from our partners in Bordeaux to give us the inside oil. The marks show that there are some outstanding wines, not as many as last year but still enough, and our job will be to sort out and recommend the value.
READ FULL VINTAGE REPORT HERE
