Our final day of Bordeaux En Primeur tasting took us to the Pessac-Léognan region, just a few kilometres South West of the city centre of Bordeaux. The first thing that really strikes you is just how urbanised some of the vineyards are here compared to those in St-Emilion or the Médoc, especially those situated in Pessac itself.

Our first stop was at La Mission Haut-Brion to taste both the wines of this Château and its sister Château, Haut-Brion. With our appointment set for 8am, this was one visit really worth the early morning wake up call.

Early discussion in the car en route led to the general consensus that the style of the 2021 vintage would definitely suit the wines of this much under appreciated appellation. They tend to lend themselves to elegance and balance so, if anything, those that worked with the vintage would arguably see additional benefits compared to the rest of the Bordeaux region.

Needless to say, our first appointment was an extremely enjoyable experience. The estate was not affected by frost or mildew, due to completely different climatic conditions thanks to the proximity to Bordeaux. The result was virtually normal yields, which is great news for lovers of these wines – however there would be the usual difficulties to secure the whites due to their miniscule production year after year.

No wine merchant ever leaves this tasting without the usual debate about which red they preferred between La Mission Haut-Brion and Haut-Brion. Usually, a trivial debate as both wines seem to be nothing short of excellent each vintage of the last decade, however, I think on this occasion Haut-Brion secured the bragging rights. One thing was clear – that owners of both wines will have an interesting time comparing them over the coming decades.

After a quick stop at Carmes Haut-Brion and an informative tasting in tasting room of the upside down ship, we headed off to Château Pape Clément to complete our tastings in the northern part of the appellation.

Heading south to the village of Cadujac to taste at Smith Haut Lafitte you really get a sense of the complexities of this reasonably large appellation. There is a complete juxtaposition between the environment and vineyards of those in the North (situated on the outskirts of the city) vs those in the Southern part of the appellation (much more in the open spaces and countryside).

We had heard great things about Smith Haut Lafitte, so we were excited taste through the range of reds and whites, including their great value second wines. The results were sublime and come as no surprise as this much under appreciate estate has long been on the rise since their 2009 was awarded a perfect 100 Points by The Wine Advocate. The red showed a complete masterclass in balance and how power and elegance can cohabit side by side in wine and the white showed its class from the first sip. The results were seriously impressive and this is one estate that is worth actively seeking out at all levels and for all colours.

We headed west to Léognan to taste at Haut-Bailly and visit their brand new Chai which wouldn’t look out of place in The Shire in Lord of the Rings. Once again, the results were no surprise. At the entry level, this for me is arguably the greatest Haut-Bailly II to date, which no doubt would stand shoulder to shoulder with many other Grand Vin’s from the appellation, but it was the Grand Vin, Haut-Bailly that silenced the room. This was a wine of great detail and precision that was silken like liquid cashmere. All that tasted agreed this had positioned itself with the very best wines we had tasted across the week and was no doubt situated toward the pinnacle of great Haut-Bailly vintages.

Our final stop was at Domaine de Chevalier, and while there was much talk of the fabulous lunch provided, there was work to be done beforehand. We started with an extremely informative introduction from Adrien Bernard, son of proprietor Olivier Bernard, who seemed confident in the hard work the team had put in here to mitigate frost and mildew. Yields were more or less consistent with the average here which is remarkable when you consider their Organic and Biodynamic farming practices. Adrien finished the introduction by exclaiming that the Domaine de Chevalier Blanc was “the finest we have made in Domaine de Chevalier in the last 20 years.” Naturally we couldn’t wait to find out for ourselves. Both white and red showed why this great estate continues to produce some of the best quality and value for money wines in Bordeaux today.

After a delightful lunch and a few glasses of wine, we headed back to Merignac airport for the journey home. The appellation clearly highlighted for us the dangers of judging the region as a whole and showed that like the rest of Bordeaux, this is a vintage of Vigneron and terroir. Those with the best land and most talented winemaking teams made wines that deserve the full attention of the Bordeaux loving public. On the whole, the reds that we tasted here were excellent and remain wildly under-appreciated, which is good for consumers as prices remain sensible in the context of quality. It was also clear to see that this is emerging as a very smart vintage for white wines, that clients should make a special effort to find room in their cellars for a case or two.