58 wines tasted in total this year, at the Union Grands Crus Bordeaux tasting in SF.
I purposely went into the tasting with no knowledge of the 2021 season so I could taste and assess without any preconceptions or expectations.
It became pretty clear that many reds struggled to achieve ripeness this vintage, with overall, the Right Bank showing better collectively, than the Left Bank.
That said, it seemed that the areas further south got more ripe flavors with Margaux and Pessac-Leognan along with their cousins across the river in Pomerol and St. Emilion showing the best, this early in their aging. One common theme throughout my notes was purity. Many wines had outstanding purity of fruit.
My plan this year, was to hit my favorite region first, with a fresh palate. That was Margaux. Then I worked my way through St. Julien and some St. Estephe and Pauillac, which I then did the Pessac/Graves whites and Sauternes. Following that refresher and a bit of cheese, I finished the reds.
Where the 2020s showed a lot of brightness and high-toned notes dominated by red fruit flavors, the fruit on these 2021s was notably darker in profile. Much more black fruit. I "scored them" in my book only so I could list them here in order of top down by my personal preference.
MARGAUX- My top 3, all receiving about the same love, came from Brane-Cantenac, Dauzac and Prieure-Lichine.
Brane-Cantenac lead with aromas of leafy currant and sweet pipe tobacco along with forest/brush notes. It is a richly textured wine with red and black berries and plum flavors. Great acidity here and a long finish on cassis and cedar, seeming to get darker at the end.
Dauzac at 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot had a mineral nose. Loads of blue and black fruit here with great purity and depth. Really tasty wine even this young.
Prieure-Lichine had a nose of blackcurrant leaf, cassis and plum. Also a nice, rich texture here, luscious and dark in flavors. Plum, cassis and a touch of a savory edge added an interesting component. Very nice.
Cantenac Brown has a pure blackcurrant nose with hints of leaves. A touch leaner than those above, it still shows nice concentration and depth of flavor. Black fruit leaning into blue with a long finish.
Desmirail, one of my favorite finds last year, shows a nose of dried currant and plum with some dried herbs. Loads of red and black fruits here with racy acidity. A leaner, more elegant wine this vintage, it's very nice and should show nice unfurling with some age.
Giscours has a toasty, savory nose tinged with minerals and black fruits. On the palate, there is good acid to balance the darkness and weight. It's dense, with loads of black fruit. Very nice, but definitely needs some time to relax and better integrate.
The wine from Malescot Saint-Exupery has an interesting earthy nose of forest floor with dark, black-leaning fruit. The palate is very savory with flavors of cassis and plum. This wine shows great persistence and is nice from start to finish.
Another nice wine came from Marquips de Terme. Wonderfully aromatic with blueberry and plum. It's a pretty wine, with lots of freshness and purity along with a velvety texture. Rich in coacoa dust, blue and black fruits.
A nice effort as well, from Lascombes with a pure nose of black currant, and turned, damp soil. The pure cassis is also leading the flavor profile and I wrote "deep purple" though no music was playing. Rich an ripe with good balance and a nice structure.
Kirwan has a nice nose of Kirsch and cassis and is vibrant on the palate, though there is a touch of tartness in the fruit. Great acidity and in time, I think this will be lovely.
Rauzan-Segla is driven by aromas of red and black fruit over black tea. The flavors are black fruits with accents of red berried. It also has black tea and a savory note, which is nice.
du Tertre is showing its oak with a nose leading by espresso and cocoa, over black fruits. Interesting flavors suggesting tar and soil with black fruits over an earthy, savory frame. There is nice acid to balance the weighty, dark flavors. It also has a nice, long finish.
SAINT-JULIEN- Favorites here were dominated by Barton.
Langoa Barton had a nice label to commemorate their 200th anniversary. Aromas here of pipe tobacco with red and black berry and cherry fruit. This wine has great texture! Nicely balanced, darker leaning in it's fruit flavors and a savory edge. Very nice.
Leoville Barton was probably my favorite from this AOC. It has a prettier, more floral nose over all those dark fruits. I jotted down "sexy." It has a very finessed palate and is really a pretty wine with excellent complexity of dark cherry, berry and plum flavors.
Next in line of my preferences, comes Branaire-Ducru with dark aromas that are a touch resinous with lots of black plum. It is dark and earthy on the palate with a touch of roasted herbs. Loads of plum and currant fruit here and nice complexity.
Gruaud Larose has a rich, pure nose with lots of cassis and Kirsch. Focused flavors on the palate of blue and black fruits. Nicely made.
Lagrange has aromas of red and black fruit over espresso notes. Rich and savory on the palate with lusciousness. The dark fruit flavors are balanced by racy acidity.
The wine from Leoville Poyferre has a nice nose of cedar-tinged blue and black fruit. It's dark and rich but a bit closed off right now. More time is required for this to relax some.
Gloria has a mossy, underbrush lead nose. It drinks a bit light and is very closed down right now. A leaner expression that should show better with a few more years in bottle.
Another lean and lithe, though fairly closed down wine came from Talbot. It's nice, but hard to get much out of it at the present.
The wines from PAUILLAC for me were much more varied.
There were nice expressions from Duhart-Milon and d'Armailhac. Duhart-Milon had red and black fruit aromas over blackcurrant leaf. On the palate, heavy black tea flavors over black currant and plum, It's a touch stemmy.
d'Armailhac has nice balance in the earthy notes present and fruit. Black tea and wood, but less green notes than others from this region.
Clerc Milon has a nice nose of red and black fruits with an earthy streak. On the palate, red and black fruits with lots of plum skin. It's a tannic wine. Once more cohesion occurs in bottle, this may flesh out nicely.
Batailley has a nose of leafy, stemmy black currant. There was an interesting flavor I could only describe as sarsparilla over leaner red berry fruit. It's got loads of acidity, but for me, lacked the body to balance it out. It would be interesting to revisit it down the line some.
Lynch Bages was a favorite in 2020. This vintage has aromas of red fruits both floral and a touch stemmy. The palate has an interesting edge of licorice over bright, higher toned, red-leaning cherry and berry fruit. It reads a touch green and underripe on the palate. Once it develops more, it'll definitely be best with food.
Following Lynch Bages, the wine from Ormes de Pez from SAINT-ESTEPHE. This wine has a stemmy nose of red fruit and licorice. On the palate, it's lean and earthy with lots of green notes showing. The fruit is red in nature and leaning a bit tart.
The wine from Phelan Segur was nice. I wrote that the nose had hints of what I could only describe as glue. Aside from that, on the palate, it has nice crunchy red fruit flavors with good balance. There is a touch of stemminess, but it's well integrated with the fruit so not a detractor.
The other region that, for me, showed the best in this vintage, was PESSAC-LEOGNAN. Here, my top wines were from Carbonnieux, de Chevalier and Smith Haut Lafitte.
Carbonnieux showed nice mineral qualities and acidity with a lovely mixture of red, blue and black fruit. It's a lively, vibrant wine.
There was great minerality on the wine from de Chevalier, balancing red and black berry fruit with a touch of blueberry and plum. Very nice wine.
Smith Haut Lafitte exhibited a pretty nose of florals and berries. It had a lovely purity to it. Great balance and structure.
Another nice wine here came from de Fieuzal which was well made. Clean, integrated and just plain tasty.
Pape Clement was also very nice with a good, clean nose and on the palate, a savory edge that balanced out the tartness coming from cherry and underripe plum notes.
The red from Chateau de France was also pleasant with nice Bing cherry flavors. Clean and pretty.
I only tried two wines from HAUT-MEDOC. The first was a nice example by La Tour Carnet with a nose of black plum and cherry. Excellent purity here, with flavors of savory plum and cherry.
The other was from La Lagune. Aromas of tomato and currant leaves with cherry and plum. It has a nice palate and medium body and I found the present "stemminess" to be under control. Nice effort.
On to the Right Bank, where there was real consistency of high quality in their wines. I'd have thought perhaps that wines driven by Merlot with much more Cabernet Franc would appear green and herbaceous, but they seemed to get ripeness that much of the Left Bank did not.
SAINT-EMILION
My highest praise goes to Clos Fourtet and Pavie Macquin.
Clos Fourtet had a gorgeous nose of black cherry and Kirsch, which were also evident on the palate with excellent purity of fruit. Flavors of spiced red and black cherry with plum and a touch of earth. Outstanding balance and layers on this wine.
There was great cherry and plum aromas on the Pavie Macquin with a wonderful texture on the palate and great depth of flavor with black cherry and plum. Very nice wine!
Just behind those two, was Larcis Ducasse with a nose of black cherry and a touch of pleasant herb. The flavors are red and black cherry with a touch of plum and a savory streak. Very nice wine that ends on toasty cocoa.
Also, La Dominique with its cherry and plum accented by notes of black tea on the nose. Flavors of blackcurrant leaf and plum along with black cherry skins. Good layers here.
Just behind those two, was Villemaurine. Floral nose with bright red cherry aromas and currant. On the palate, it's a leaner wine, but very pretty. Lovely elegance and finesse here.
Having visited in June, I was anxious to check out the new vintage from the Count, from Canon-La-Gaffeliere. Deeper nose of black currant and waves of florals. The palate reads delicate, but is balanced with a nice mix of red and black berries, cherries and plum. Finishes on a cedar note and was very nice. A pretty wine.
On to Canon, with a bright and pretty cherry aroma. This was all red to me, with a mix of cherries and currants. Pretty with nice balance.
I also enjoyed the wine from Grand Mayne with its aromas of flowers and red cherries. On the palate, the red fruit is perceived as a touch tart, but it's over all, a nice wine.
Next, on to POMEROL. Again, great consistency of quality. Top marks go to the wines from Le Bon Pasteur and Clinet followed closely by Petit-Village then Le Gay.
Le Bon Pasteur smells of savory black fruit. The palate follows with excellent depth and concentration. It's complex and very, very good.
The nose on Clinet is pure cherry and currant that's just lovely. On the palate, the wine has great elegance with pretty, floral essence under bright red cherry and red currant fruit. Very nice wine.
With the addition of 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine from Petit-Village was distinct for this reason over its neighbors. It's aromas were of brandied black cherry with a touch of licorice. It had nice flavors of plum and black cherry with some bay leaf and that same hint of licorice, all with a nice, savory edge. Nice, deep and complex.
The wine from Le Gay had a nose of black plum and Luxardo cherry. A really inviting aroma. Also possessing a nice, savory edge, this was darker with black fruits, like plum and black cherry all with accents of black tea.
Next, a nice wine from La Cabanne. Loads of black cherry and plum. The palate shows a touch of green herbs, but it's balanced out nicely with lots of plum and cherry fruit. Definitely more a food wine after some more time.
Another wine that smelled of black and Luxardo cherry, was from Beauregard. This has flavors of tea, with a touch of green, stemmy flavor, but sweetened with nice plum and black cherry fruit.
