Starting in Saint Estèphe on day one and finishing in the Graves four days later, we tasted over two hundred samples of what turns out to have been a pleasing array of very drinkable and fairly diverse wines. Explore Bordeaux 2024 with Sales Director Robert Boutflower.
On the Sunday evening at the Pessac presentation in the middle of Bordeaux, Olivier Bernard from Domaine de Chevalier set the tone by telling us it was without doubt, a five star white wine vintage. While he has produced some very decent red wines, this is a much more difficult vintage for reds than whites and, if growers made one, their white was pushed in front of the red line-up, which sums up the feeling across the whole of Bordeaux this year very nicely!
There are some lovely, well-crafted clarets for you, but they are light weight in general and for drinking early. Many fall into the simply “Ok” box. However, if prices come down, and it appears nailed on that they will, then you could pick up a bottle of really well made red from a top château at a fraction of the price of the recent star vintages over the last decade.
The findings
Importantly, 2024 isn’t 2013, 2007 or 2002 because techniques, understanding and skills across the piece have got so much better. There was a truckload of mildew everywhere from March to July, more than 2017, but while the yields were cut, sometimes by 35%, the 2024s have much more charm and character as the fruit was handled faster in the vineyard and sorted ruthlessly and more efficiently in the winery. The top châteaux could, and did, field 300-450 pickers at harvest; by comparison with the eight days harvest of 2021 at Clerc Milon it was completed in 2.5 days flat as the weather closed in.
The main problem was the sun failed to get much of the fruit quite ripe enough, so the tone is light, and wines are filled with fresh feeling, high acidity, red plum flavours. Great terroirs did get blacker damson, cherry and blackberry flavours in, and occasionally, because this is very much a Cabernet Sauvignon year, there is some blackcurrant lurking in the background. Red fruit is, however, the order of the day. Every winemaker told us that they had to work very hard, reacting fast to get the best out of what they found in the fields, with sorting being the key component. Alongside the optical sorter checking ripeness, grapes were dumped in a water bath with the density equivalent of 13% alcohol: if they floated, they were too light in potential sugar, were skimmed off and rejected. Chaptalisation (adding sugar) to get alcohol levels up to balance the wines was widespread.
So the outcome of the wide-ranging visits we made was a mixture of very successful, quite successful, and rather ordinary wines being shown for tasting in pretty much every region.
The standouts
Starting at the ‘top’ of the Médoc, we were delighted by Tour de By for starters. Lovely aromatics and shape, a short-term easy drinker, not chaptalized and with a very natural feel. Montrose stood out as the best St-Estèphe that we tried (sadly they won’t release Tronquoy). For similar money in Saint-Estèphe have a go at Meyney which is generous, almost ‘plum crumble’ in the glass! I wonder what is happening at Cos D’Estournel, a second growth struggling for form in general, while Ormes de Pez was unbalanced this year. We haven’t yet tasted Lilian Ladouys (or any from the Pédesclaux stable). Beaumont was good, more dark fruit and decent balance, but Potensac hasn’t worked this year, lacking charm and ripeness.
There is generally more mouthfeel and power in Pauillac, although Lafite is on the svelte side and overshadowed by a brilliant Mouton. Clerc Milon was my surprise pick and d’Armailhac out of the same stable was good too, with more black fruit, while Batailley (another commemorative label by the way) is worthy and well made, as is Grand-Puy-Lacoste. At the lower end Grand-Puy Ducasse continues to impress and now has the most fabulous new cellars, well worth a visit in the town itself. The jury was initially a bit ‘out’ on Pontet-Canet but I liked it; there’s richness but it’s quite solid, the acidity feels high – it could mature early. Lynch-Bages is similar, but with more structure, while Chasse-Spleen from Moulis seemed to wear that intense style better and of course will be much cheaper – it gets my vote.
Often the best regional tasting for us, this year Saint-Julien overall was a tad disappointing. Léoville Barton, Langoa and Talbot are the pick of them, by some way, and I must say all three are worth buying – stylish and genuinely stand-outs in this difficult year. Beychevelle, Gruaud Larose and Branaire are fine if some way below previous vintages. Both the ‘top’ wines of Ducru and Las Cases left me wanting a fair bit more. Happily, little Poujeaux, a nearby Moulis, has got good character and Sénéjac, from the Talbot stable, was another lesser name showing the winemaking team had really got things right across the board. Connetable de Talbot is one of the best second wines, many of the others were way off the mark, to the extent that négociants in Bordeaux have suggested that they are not offered in the campaign. Rather a telling point we felt.
The Margaux regional range made for a better tasting. Château Margaux itself is beautiful and Palmer, in a slightly more solid way, is very good too. Angludet drove Ben Sichel to despair, he told us, but the wine is charming, balanced and very drinkable. Rauzan-Ségla was among the winners, but many have attractive, light, plummy characters which seem better balanced than higher up the Left Bank. It seems a Margaux year and I’ll add in Cantemerle which is just outside and definitely back on form having missed out slightly last year with impressive but distracting building works rather taking over.
The Right Bank
Given the weather and the late harvest, most people agree that it is a Cabernet year, both Sauvignon and Franc. That said, of course the best properties have made great wine. In Pomerol, Alexandre Thienpont at Vieux Château Certan can’t understand what all the fuss is about. “We made wine like we used to,” he said, “and it is back to classic claret as we made pretty successfully in the past.” For me the most successful Pomerols were Rouget, Bon Pasteur and Clinet, but we didn’t get to taste some others including L’Eglise-Clinet (or any in that stable), Feytit-Clinet, Clos du Clocher or Domaine de L’Eglise. I suspect the wines of Saint-Emilion might have worked better due to the higher proportion of Cabernet Franc. Certainly Cheval Blanc was impressive, Figeac good with lashings of red fruit, Pavie-Macquin a fuller, firmer style impressed too. At the more affordable end Fonbel, out of the Ausone stable, was lovely and the ‘budget pick’ for me as it showed class beyond its classification. Slightly higher up the scale you should consider Berliquet with the power of Chanel behind the winemaking, and higher still they have made a wonderful Canon. All are as impressive as 2021or 2023.
Below Bordeaux
Day Four saw us tasting in Pessac where without doubt the whites eclipsed the reds. Once again, the reds are worthy, sometimes excellent, with red fruit and fresh acidity, a light feel and that savoury, rather old-fashioned character where secondary, mature characteristics are going to be more interesting than where they are now. They won’t, however, take long to get there, most are for short to mid-term drinking. Stars for me included Haut-Bailly (exceptional, as was Haut-Bailly II), Carmes Haut-Brion and Haut-Brion itself. Otherwise it was difficult to praise the reds when you saw the whites were so good, and they are very good across Bordeaux.
Sublime Sauternes
A final word on the neglected sweet wines which we continue to champion and must be the best buy in half bottles you can make. 2024 appears as good as 2017, 2011 and even 2001. The character is much more seamless with the high acidity balancing the lush feel that the wines have taken on this year, wonderful Sémillon putting depth and power into the blends. Suduiraut is fabulous, Lafaurie-Peyraguey close behind, Doisy-Daëne has real intensity while Coutet is long and sensual. Our mixed case selections, 2 half bottles of six wines, must surely be a winner for you this vintage.
In summary then, a red vintage which has been made so much more successfully than would have been to case 15 years ago. It’s light in shape, lower in alcohol, often struggling with stuffing and is weaker than recent 20s. It may, however, be cheaper … and that may be its saving. The wine-making resources are so good that if you want this vintage for early drinking then read the notes carefully and tuck in.
France
