2+2=5: Bordeaux 2021 In Bottle&nbsp;

BY NEAL MARTIN |&nbsp;FEBRUARY 22, 2024Left Bank: <a target="_blank" href="https://v1.vinous.com/wines?utf8=%E2%9C%93&amp;search-filter=reviews&amp;query=SaintEstepheFeb222024">Saint-Estèphe</a> | <a target="_blank" href="https://v1.vinous.com/wines?utf8=%E2%9C%93&amp;search-filter=reviews&amp;query=PauillacFeb222024">Pauillac</a> | <a target="_blank" href="https://v1.vinous.com/wines?utf8=%E2%9C%93&amp;search-filter=reviews&amp;query=SaintJulienFeb222024">Saint-Julien</a> | <a target="_blank" href="https://v1.vinous.com/wines?utf8=%E2%9C%93&amp;search-filter=reviews&amp;query=MargauxFeb222024">Margaux</a> | <a target="_blank" href="https://v1.vinous.com/wines?utf8=%E2%9C%93&amp;search-filter=reviews&amp;query=MoulisListracFeb222024">Moulis and Listrac</a> | <a target="_blank" href="https://v1.vinous.com/wines?utf8=%E2%9C%93&amp;search-filter=reviews&amp;query=PessacLeognanGravesFeb222024">Pessac-Léognan and Graves</a> | <a target="_blank" href="https://v1.vinous.com/wines?utf8=%E2%9C%93&amp;search-filter=reviews&amp;query=LeftBankSatellitesFeb222024">Left Bank Satellites</a> | <a target="_blank" href="https://v1.vinous.com/wines?utf8=%E2%9C%93&amp;search-filter=reviews&amp;query=SauternesFeb222024">Sauternes</a> Right Bank: <a target="_blank" href="https://v1.vinous.com/wines?utf8=%E2%9C%93&amp;search-filter=reviews&amp;query=PomerolFeb222024">Pomerol</a> | <a target="_blank" href="https://v1.vinous.com/wines?utf8=%E2%9C%93&amp;search-filter=reviews&amp;query=SaintEmilionFeb222024">Saint-Émilion</a> | <a target="_blank" href="https://v1.vinous.com/wines?utf8=%E2%9C%93&amp;search-filter=reviews&amp;query=RightBankSatellitesFeb222024">Right Bank Satellites</a> Question:
2+2=?

Vinous
readers’ hands shoot up in the air…

“Four!”

But
what if the answer was five? Demonstrate all you want that this is
mathematically impossible. Playing devil’s advocate, I reply in my best
Orwellian voice: “Too bad. We have entered the realm of irrational mathematics.
The rules and logic drummed into your malleable cerebral membranes at school no
longer apply!” I don’t give any reasoning. To prove my case, you watch me place
two eggs in an empty eggbox, then another two. When you glance inside the box, just
like that, you count five eggs.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1708612921833-IMG_2518.jpg">I stopped to snap this photo looking towards Le Pin on June 17, 2021 as dark skies gathered overhead, the settled spell breaking down. The clouds sum up the mood of some winemakers at the time. 

You
see, as time goes by—and it goes by at a rapid pace as you get older—I am
coming to the conclusion that wine flirts with a similar kind of irrationality.
In a rational world, we would examine the growing season and then add the
caliber of winemaking to arrive at a number that denotes the quality of the wine.
Simple. In reality, it doesn’t work that way. You know that already. Firstly,
wine is a fickle and mutable beverage whose intrinsic qualities are perceived
differently from person to person. Then, there are extraneous forces
undermining objectivity, the stature of the critic dependent on their ability
to hermetically seal off their judgment from influences. Likewise, it would be
so much easier if warm and clement vintages with rain at optimal moments manifested
superior wines vis-à-vis cold and wet seasons without exception. That serves as
a convenient rule of thumb, but alas, it is not a given. Off-vintages can
bestow wines that give immense pleasure and can sometimes seem…irrational. Like
2+2=5.

This
brings me to the 2021 Bordeaux vintage because, on paper, a cursory glance at
the troubled growing season would make any rational person dismiss its wines. “What
a load of rubbish,” someone opined to me in Bordeaux. “It was impossible to
make a good wine in 2021.” He assumed that the litany of woes that beset
winemakers could lead to only one result in the glass, that any bon mots
ascribed to the vintage was puffery, which admittedly the Bordelais are prone
toward.

My
advice to the skeptic?

Don’t
write the headline before tasting the wines.

I put
the growing season to one side during the assessment so that I could ascertain
the quality of the wine. In vino veritas. The truth lies in the wine
(unless Rudy is in the same room). This was of paramount importance in revisiting
the maligned 2021 vintage in bottle. For sure, I am duty-bound to mete
criticism and dish out dismal scores where merited. I forewarn that there’s
barely anything over 95 points. On the other hand, don’t fool yourself into
thinking that the 2021 vintage is incapable of giving sensory and intellectual
pleasure because, in coming years, expecting bottles to be served blind makes
you regret pouring scorn.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1708612942131-lynch+bages+reception_copy.jpg">Fruit being rigorously sorted at the reception of Lynch-Bages. The Growing Season For a
very detailed account of the 2021 growing season, I advise you to read my <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/enticingly-fallible-bordeaux-2021-en-primeur-may-2022">en
primeur report</a>. As usual, I will summarize the vintage’s salient points so
that there is some context when describing the wines. After a warm and wet
winter, budding was actually a week later than the previous year. Temperatures
fell in March before shooting up to 25°C on April 1 and 2, only to plummet down
to -5°C on April 7 and 8. Nowhere and nobody escaped this dreaded black frost,
where cold air descended en masse, rendering wax burners or wind fans futile.
There was another frost episode on May 2 and 3, followed by persistent showers
that allowed rot to run riot amongst the now-weakened vines.

When I
visited in June, a brief window during the pandemic, I witnessed the one period
of clement conditions that allowed flowering to pass successfully, albeit a
fortnight later than average. Some coulure affected the Merlot. June
witnessed violent storms that caused sporadic localized flooding, though the
amount depends on location: 200mm in Saint-Estèphe and 150mm in Saint-Julien.
The resulting humidity led to the rapid spread of mildew that was difficult to
treat since tractors could not be driven in the muddy vineyards. Bunch
development was uneven, and a cooler July meant that underripe bunches could
not catch up; ergo, veraison was the latest in 20 years, with grapes
containing high levels of malic acid. There was also 10% to 15% less sunshine
than usual—some 250 hours less luminosity than average at Petrus, for example.
Finally, temperatures began rising from August 10, offering some respite, and
as harvest approached, another problem had to be confronted: a lack of
manpower. I saw for myself a number of posters around the Médoc beseeching
pickers to contact even famous estates, some people understandably reluctant to
congregate as COVID-19 prevailed.

Picking
was around two weeks later than usual. September saw anticyclones traverse the
region, and when I stayed in Bordeaux that month, I distinctly remember the
overcast skies. Though temperatures were quite warm, that meant châteaux could
at least pick later without worrying too much about rain in October, with dire
predictions for storms on October 2 and 3 proving to be a false alarm. Early
October was quite sunny, giving later-ripening varieties such as Cabernet
Sauvignon a nudge toward phenolic ripeness.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1708612963550-bordeaux+2021+les+carmes_copy.jpg">The Wines To
reiterate my comment after reviewing the 2021 Bordeaux from barrel, your
appreciation of the vintage will depend upon where you drink on the Bordeaux hierarchy.
The apex of that pyramid accommodates delicious, charming, characterful,
terroir-expressive wines; the kind presumed extinct as global warming takes
effect. These are made by producers with the financial means to persevere in
the vineyard throughout the demanding growing season, applying draconian
selection at winery reception via large teams of sorters and optical or densiometric
machines.

Indeed,
I remember standing on the gantry above Lynch-Bages’s capacious, aircraft-hangar-like
reception with Jean-Charles Cazes and his late father, Jean-Michel, surveying
machines and workers sorting the fruit in tandem. The top châteaux are at
liberty to deselect as many barrels as deemed necessary into second or third
wines or sell fruit off for bulk in order to elevate and safeguard the quality
of their Grand Vin. Few did that to the same extent, even 20 years ago, and it
makes a fundamental difference. Thus, you cannot compare 2021 with off-vintages
like 1977, 1992 or arguably even 2013.&nbsp;

Moving
away from the famous names, the shortcomings of 2021 become unavoidable. I
found a number of underripe, rot-afflicted, sometimes dilute wines that often
prompted the question: Who’s going to like drinking these? What’s their raison
d’être? I don’t want to dwell on these ‘casualties of war’, though I
maintain that a critic’s role is to highlight what to avoid as well as what to pursue,
lest you present a filtered, rose-tinted-spectacle portrait of a vintage.At
primeur I wrote: There are no thrilling wines that set the pulse racing or
have “future legend” written over them. Not a single sample entertained the
possibility of an in-bottle score within sight of perfection. It’s not that
kind of vintage. That certainly played out in bottle. There’s no bona fide superstar,
although if I had to pick one over-achiever, it would probably be Les Carmes
Haut-Brion. It’s just a brilliant 2021 that halts you in your tracks. Furthermore,
as I said before, the absence of what I term “snow-capped peaks of quality”
doesn’t preclude wines that I would happily drink, notwithstanding that they contain
virtues that are denied by warmer growing seasons. In particular, I would point
to lower alcohol levels in contrast to 2019 and 2020 and higher acidity levels that
render fresh, perhaps easier-to-drink wines that I suspect may have longer staying power than some assume. Whether the 2021s will
evolve into profound wines with complex secondary aromas and flavors is another
question, but personally, I am intrigued to see how they will develop in
bottle.&nbsp;&nbsp;<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1708612985289-bordeaux+2021+margaux_copy.jpg">There
is a cluster of very strong-performing wines on the Left Bank that merit
attention and possess the substance to repay cellaring. They are not blessed
with the unerring complexity or structure of great vintages, yet perhaps their
lighter chassis allows terroir to show through, particularly those estates that
relish the classicism that the stürm und drang of the 2021 season gifted as
some kind of minor recompense. The Right Bank matches the Left Bank, particularly
the usual names on the Pomerol plateau (especially those with Cabernet Franc
that benefitted from the agreeable late-season weather), and likewise those in
Saint-Émilion on free-draining limestone soils. Do not underestimate the likes
of l’Eglise-Clinet or Cheval Blanc. Further afield, take a look at some of the
wines from Fronsac that I think performed well. 

Also, I
recommend taking a close look at the dry whites that were less impacted by the
troublesome season than the reds. In Pessac-Léognan and the Graves, the whites
have more to offer than their red counterparts— the best full of freshness and
vitality. The Sauternes snatched victory from the hands of defeat. For sure,
quantities are pathetically low, which means an awful lot of effort was
invested into an awfully diminished quantity. Yet what survived the obstacle
course is worth investigating, and at best, as I suggested out of barrel, they
could well be the longest-lived wines of the vintage.

I will
let the tasting notes do the talking. In the meantime, I wanted to single out a
dozen less well-known properties that, against the odds, produced 2021s worth
seeking out. The region is struggling as uneconomical vineyards are pulled up
and turned over to more profitable agricultural products, yet Bordeaux can
still deliver quality and affordable prices better than almost any other region.
This should be highlighted:

<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines/badette-badette/2021">2021
Badette (Saint-Émilion)</a>

<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines/barreyres-barreyres/2021">2021
Barreyres (Haut-Médoc)</a><a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines/barreyres-barreyres/2021">

</a><a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines/beauvillage-beauvillage/2021">2021
Beauvillage (Médoc)</a><a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines/beauvillage-beauvillage/2021">

</a><a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines/clos-manou-clos-manou/2021">2021
Clos Manou (Médoc)</a><a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines/clos-manou-clos-manou/2021">

</a><a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines/dalem-dalem/2021">2021
Dalem (Fronsac)</a><a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines/dalem-dalem/2021">

</a><a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines/deyrem-valentin-deyrem-valentin/2021">2021
Deyrem Valentin (Margaux)</a><a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines/deyrem-valentin-deyrem-valentin/2021">

</a><a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines/haut-maurac-haut-maurac-b9cd0cc1-7d1e-4547-add7-a52d11cd564d/2021">2021 Haut Maurac (Médoc)</a><a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines/haut-maurac-haut-maurac-b9cd0cc1-7d1e-4547-add7-a52d11cd564d/2021">

</a><a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines/la-garde-la-garde/2021">2021 La Garde (Pessac-Léognan)</a><a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines/la-garde-la-garde/2021">

</a><a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines/les-cruzelles-les-cruzelles-4ea35ae8-9c3a-4743-9e68-5fe086c69c53/2021">2021 Les Cruzelles (Lalande-de-Pomerol)</a><a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines/les-cruzelles-les-cruzelles-4ea35ae8-9c3a-4743-9e68-5fe086c69c53/2021">

</a><a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines/petit-gravet-aine-petit-gravet-aine-b49680ee-f136-4e9a-9f40-aa37b0c2349d/2021">2021
Petit Gravet Ainé (Saint-Émilion)</a><a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines/petit-gravet-aine-petit-gravet-aine-b49680ee-f136-4e9a-9f40-aa37b0c2349d/2021">

</a><a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines/rahoul-blanc/2022">2022 Rahoul Blanc (Pessac-Léognan) </a><a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines/rahoul-blanc/2022">

</a><a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines/ripeau-ripeau/2021">2021
Ripeau (Saint-Émilion)</a><img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1708613005795-bordeaux+2021+eglise+clinet_copy.JPG">Constance and Noëmie Durantou at l’Eglise-Clinet. Final Thoughts The one
takeaway from the countless hours I spent researching my Bordeaux Vintage Guide
book is that there is not a perfect relationship between growing season and the
resulting quality of wine. For certain, it underlines quality. However, writing
this conclusion less than 24 hours after a blind-poured 1973 La Fleur-Pétrus
convinced a table of experienced palates that it came from a great vintage, the
truth is that wine is “reassuringly unpredictable.”

But we
ought not to be surprised.

Wine is
a living entity. It doesn’t obey rules. Coupled with the more exacting tactics,
particularly amongst its quality-driven producers irrespective of level on the
hierarchy, the 2021 vintage is one to approach with caution but also to
approach with an open-minded attitude—Enticingly Fallible, to quote the
title of my own en primeur report.

Two
thousand twenty-one was not the catastrophe some predicted. Sure, there are
many potholes to avoid, and I am sure some châteaux will blanch at some of my
less-than-glowing reviews. But much of the time, that is unavoidable since all
winemakers lie at the mercy of the weather, and in 2021, it made conditions as
difficult as possible—but not completely insurmountable. Moreover, the 2021
vintage adds another color to the frequent warm hues of recent vintages, an
alternative that will please those seeking less alcoholic, perhaps
earlier-drinking wines.

2+2=5

With
reference to George Orwell’s dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, I am
not asserting that the 2021 vintage is worth looking at because I am a supposed
voice of authority, and you must take my word for it.

Go
taste for yourselves.

Just
keep an open mind.

Irrationality
can taste good. © 2024, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or re-distributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright, but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.<hr> You Might Also Enjoy<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/thrice-is-nice-bordeaux-2020-in-bottle-feb-2023">Thrice Is Nice: Bordeaux 2020 in Bottle</a>, Neal Martin, February 2023 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/enticingly-fallible-bordeaux-2021-en-primeur-may-2022">Enticingly Fallible: Bordeaux 2021 En Primeur</a>, Neal Martin, May 2022 <div></div><a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/omne-trium-perfectum-bordeaux-2019s-in-bottle-feb-2022">Omne Trium Perfectum: Bordeaux 2019s in Bottle</a>, Neal Martin, February 2022<div><div></div></div><div><div><div><a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/vingt-vingt-vins-bordeaux-2020-may-2021">Vingt-Vingt Vins: Bordeaux 2020</a>, Neal Martin, May 2021 </div></div></div>

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