RICHARD ON BORDEAUX 2020

05/05/2021
Normally at this time of the year I’m travelling quite a bit. I visit producers all over Europe to catch-up with old friends and taste their new vintages. There’s always some ‘friendly’ discussions about pricing with any hard-feelings quickly resolved over a good lunch.

I love this time of year: vineyards are waking up, resplendent in a youthful coat of vivid green. The land is breathing once again and the spring sun has a lovely warmth to it, so welcome after the long winter. One of my favourite regions to visit after Easter is Bordeaux for primeurs tastings. It’s a job I’ve been doing on and off since my stay in Bordeaux when I was 18 and about to my A Levels. I stayed for 4 weeks with a wonderful family in a suburb outside Bordeaux who owned a bottling facility. I was made to feel so welcome and I loved the vineyard visits, wine tastings and serious induction into the French love of food. It has also left me with a passion for Bordeaux wines, which is as strong today as it was back in 1987. So, 34 years later I am sitting at my kitchen table tasting my way through 40 or so wine samples that I have been sent. Covid of course has meant that for the second year running I can’t get to Bordeaux in person. So, here we go … my views on the 2020 vintage:

En Primeur

For those not familiar with the process, 'En Primeur' is the well-established method for Bordeaux (and other regions) to sell a portion of their wines early in order to raise money for the running costs of a wine estate. The idea is that you get a discounted price for some lovely wines that you may choose to drink or sell for a profit at a later date. In Bordeaux we taste these young wines in the Spring following harvest – hence tasting 2020 wines now. They are very young and not remotely ready! Most will spend another year at least in barrel to finish off their maturation and will then be bottled and shipped. Later this month the Châteaux will release their prices through the Place de Bordeaux their chosen 'negociants'. These negociants then offer the wines to their chosen importers such as Brompton Wine – that would be me!

The prices I quote are In Bond Delivered (IBD) – that means it includes the price of the wine, shipping and receiving into my bonded warehouse. You should be aware that if you take the wine out of bond you will be charged duty (£2.23 per bottle at the moment) as well as VAT. There will also be an annual charge for storing the wine in the warehouse. I charge £11.50 per 9 litre case inc. VAT. It is a wonderful way to build a cellar for you to enjoy or as part of an investment plan. If you have any questions about the process please email me or call me.

Bordeaux 2020

2020 represents the third vintage in a row making up a triumvirate of very good years. 2018, 2019 and now 2020 are all excellent but have clear differences. As well as tasting a broad range I have spoken to winemakers directly (such as Ben Sichel at Château Angludet) and read other reports from people I trust (such as Jancis Robinson on her website - which is well worth subscribing to if you don’t already - as well as Gavin Quinney at Château Bauduc.)

In summary there are some truly wonderful wines but it is not a uniform vintage. The Right Bank (Saint-Emilion and Pomerol) has performed better in general than the Left Bank in 2020. The best wines have benefitted from a delicate touch. There are wines that are over-extracted with alcohol levels that are too high. In the right hands, however, there are plenty of wines with structure, depth, freshness, charm and elegance; a combination that I love in Bordeaux. There is a move away from using too much new oak and many wines are benefitting from this desire to express quality fruit from individual terroirs, all held in place with the structure that oak (and, in more and more cases amphorae) gives to these wines.

2020 had its challenges. The winter was relatively mild with only 45mm of rain in January and February. This resulted in an early bud-break. April and May were unusually cool and there was heavy rain on and off until the end of June. This affected flowering and fruit set and explains the lower yields in 2020. The heavy rain (and risks that come with that) gave way to very hot weather in July and August. There was some welcome rain towards the end of August (a bit too much in parts of the Medoc). It seems to me that some variation in wines is due to picking dates. Some growers started to pick Merlot from 9th September, which is early. Those that picked earlier for some of the Merlot benefitted from the extra acidity in the grapes. This was especially the case in the Medoc.

Vines did also suffer from some heat stress in July and August. Yes, that will lead to lower yields, but with good canopy management and a lot of work it doesn’t mean the grapes were over ripe. It did mean, however, that some Grand Cru Classé were harvested very early on the Right Bank, especially those with less limestone or not on the slopes or on the Saint-Emilion plateau. Château de Ferrand, for example, picked later from 14th- 22nd September for Merlot and 28-29th for Cabernet Franc.

So some challenging conditions that required vineyard owners to work hard. If they did this work then they have been rewarded with great wines. This goes some way to explain some the variation in the wines that I tasted and read about. As always, the wines themselves will differ on the oak regime used. As mentioned, I am very happy that there is less new oak being used and less extraction. Bordeaux wines have changed in recent years to show a little more restraint – wines with tannins yes, but also freshness, precision, purity of fruit and lovely use of oak.

2020 is a vintage with concentration (many Châteaux have half the crop of 2019). It is a charming vintage with elegance, power and poise. Those Châteaux that picked Merlot a bit earlier and then waited for Cabernet Sauvignon to ripen fully (on the Left Bank) have been well-rewarded.

Right … now to get on with tasting more! If you would like to be added to email list to receive info as the prices are released please let me know (richard@bromptonwine.co.uk). Watch out for Château Angludet release which will be next week – wonderful wine and always worth snapping up.

Cheers,
Richard