Bordeaux 2020 – The Southwold Tasting

BY NEAL MARTIN | November 12, 2024

January 2020. A New Year message pops into my mailbox noting the significance.

“Vingt-vingt.”

“Vin Vin!” Surely, an omen that it would be a great year?

Two months later, the entire world was pulling down its shutters as the pandemic commenced its world tour. A virus completely dismantled normal life. All we could do was go jogging on empty roads and buy en primeur. The 2020 growing season rests in a surreal haze of upturned history, so I was naturally intrigued to see how the wines would show when it was 2020’s turn for the annual Southwold tasting in January, having already tasted them just after bottling. As usual, we convened in London for three days, with sessions devoted to the dry whites, reds and Sauternes. We tasted the wines single-blind in peer groups, mostly within appellations, with all bottles coming from châteaux except for one.

The Growing Season

The world might have been upturned, but the weather will always continue.

The 2020 growing season began with an unseasonably warm winter that saw the highest temperatures in a century and one-third of the average frost. After the previous dry summer, vineyard managers welcomed the high rainfall—twice the average during November, December and March—with some châteaux reporting a year’s precipitation in six months. Between these events, a series of storm-laden low-pressure systems swept across the region during January and February. Most of a somewhat uneven bud break took place in the middle of March, and the end of that month saw a dive in temperatures down to -12°C in some locales, with snow on March 30. Thankfully, frost damage was limited to prone spots. April was warm and rainy, conditions that encouraged rapid shoot growth. May was the fourth hottest in 75 years. It was like summer in terms of temperature due to hot spells at the beginning and the end of the month, with 16 days above 25°C. Humidity and warmth provided perfect conditions for mildew, necessitating that vineyard managers be vigilant and seize every dry window to spray and protect their vines. Below-average temperatures from May 10 to May 15 coincided with another rainy spell. Flowering came early in mid-to-late May with little coulure. By that point, winemakers knew they were heading toward an early harvest.

June began cool and overcast, delaying vine growth, while persistent rain increased mildew pressure. Some estates suffered considerable losses with some millerandage. In the final week of June, the weather changed again, beginning nearly two months of warm and extremely dry conditions. Several estates reported not a single drop of rain during the 54-day dry period. Hydric stress was initially stymied by the preceding months of rain, with only minor stress noticed on young vines on free-draining gravel and sandy soils. Clayey soils in Saint-Estèphe and the Right Bank advantaged those châteaux in their superior moisture-retaining capacity. Uneven véraison slowed down maturity in the most stressed plots. By the second week of August, winemakers grew concerned as vines began to suffer during a heat wave. Nighttime temperatures during that period remained above 20°C, giving the vines no time to rest. This heat triggered convectional storms between August 9 and 14, alleviating the hydric stress. However, rainfall varied, highest in the northern Médoc and lowest on the Right Bank, exaggerating unevenness between appellations and terroirs depending on grape variety and vine age.

Storm clouds dispersed, and clement, warm and dry conditions prevailed through to harvest, concentrating the berries and sugar levels. Temperatures were slightly cooler than average, and the chilly nights between 12-14°C  enabled berries to retain acidity that ultimately imparted freshness to the wines. The first two weeks in September were warm and sunny, accelerating sugar accumulation.

Picking of the dry whites began on August 14 with the earliest-ripening Sauvignon Blanc, although the heart of the vendange was over the final ten days in August, seemingly now the norm. The Merlot came in starting around September 10 under warm and dry conditions, predicating a propitious vintage in Merlot-dominated blends, especially on the Right Bank. Some estates harvested in the mornings because of the heat, keeping both fruit and workers fresh, with some châteaux investing in increasingly useful cool rooms. Often, there is a pause between the Merlot harvest and the later-ripening Cabernets, but several estates continued straight on as the Cabernets were phenolically ripe. This proved crucial. The weather turned inclement around mid-September, with sporadic light rain showers. This is where the true quality of the 2020 growing season becomes a little opaque—many winemakers euphemistically brushed off the effect of this rainfall as inconsequential. Too light to dilute the grapes, if anything, it merely warded off shriveling and nudged them toward full ripeness. But conditions worsened—collateral damage courtesy of Storm Alex—which prompted some winemakers to panic, with the more risk-averse expediting the picking of Cabernet Sauvignon. Most harvests were done and dusted either by the end of September or early October.