As with every Bordeaux En Primeur campaign, it can be difficult to know exactly which wines to look out for. The Jeroboams Private Sales team have each selected their top wines and their value picks, from the primeurs tastings in Bordeaux.
Château Lynch-Bages
This was our first tasting in the new winery at Lynch-Bages and the results of the new technology were more than evident in the wine. This was a classic Lynch-Bages that followers and drinkers of this Pauillac favourite will no doubt love. Dense and structured but oh so silken! A really nice wine in the context of its peers. Pomerol château we have long coveted. 100% Merlot which will be aged in 30% new oak barrels for 18 months. Edouard Moueix described this to us as his ideal “shooting claret” and you can see why – it has so much early appeal and will drink beautifully either out in the field or at the dinner table at any point during its first decade.
David Standfield, Private Account Manager
Château Figeac
The first vintage to be vinified in their new state-of-the-art winery, and what a debut! The Cabernets really shine through with typical notes of blackcurrant leaf, tobacco and pencil shaving. You can see the precision in the winemaking, this feels a lot more put together and focused than Figeac has been in the past. Tremendous wine, and a highlight of the Right Bank.
Alex Turnbull, Private Sales Manager
Château Montrose
We agree with the critics here: Montrose absolutely nailed it in 2021, clearly one of St. Estephe’s – and indeed the whole of the Médoc’s – triumphs. Lovely lifted ripe but fresh aroma. Creamy ripe tannins which are quite voluptuous, especially in a vintage generally regarded as austere. The 2021 is beautifully well-judged –the fruit harvested was of the finest quality and it was treated with perfect sensitivity in the winery, with nothing forced. It’s quite a sensational result; one of the wines of 2021 that commands being in serious collectors’ cellars.
Xavier Hornblow, Private Account Manager
Château La Conseillante
One of our first tastings in Bordeaux was with Marielle Cazaux at La Conseillante and an offhand remark that she made stuck with me, “I’m not sure you will have more pleasure with 19/20”. On the basis of La Conseillante 2021 – which manages the high wire act of being hedonistic and luxuriantly expressive, all while retaining vital freshness and precisely balanced at just 13.3% ABV – I can only agree and applaud Marielle and her team. To borrow a French word, this Pomerol is digeste luxury!
Henry Chambers, Private Account Manager
Château Canon
A charmingly elegant and weightless Canon, with stunning purity. All of the investment that has gone in to this Château over the years has paid off, this is top class. Clearly a beautiful Canon that will age magnificently.
Luke Cianfarani, Private Account Manager
Value picks from Bordeaux 2021
Domaine de Chevalier
This was the last appointment of our week in Bordeaux and boy was it worth the wait. Super refined with nice weight and tension. Perfectly framed and balanced. There is a really lovely quality to the fruit here, saline and mineral on the lingering finish. A really excellent Domaine de Chevalier that can hold its head high among the great recent vintages at this address. Excellent!
David Standfield, Private Account Manager
Château Grand Puy Lacoste
Can I get away with calling GPL a value wine? Who cares, I’m sneaking it in. There’s a lot of talk about “classical Bordeaux” this vintage – which almost sounds like something you’re supposed to like, but are too afraid to admit you really don’t – with GPL invariably held up as the poster child for classic Pauillac. Personally, I can’t see any way GPL ever tasted this good in the old days. The 2021 is a fabulously charming wine. The balance is effortless, palate seamless and it boasts a gorgeous, layered perfume.
Henry Chambers, Private Account Manager
Château Le Prieure
It’s all happening at Le Prieure. Having transferred ownership from Artemis (Ch Latour) to Suravenir (Ch Calon Segur) for the 2020 vintage, this is the second vintage under new ownership. The winemaking remains under Penelope Godefroy (formerly Ch Grillet, Domaine d’Eugenie, Ch Latour, Pape Clément, and Ch Margaux) and there has been little change to the cellars, but there is clear investment in the vineyards. Having acquired Ch. Malineau, Le Prieure are nervously waiting for the results of the 2022 St-Émilion classification, where they are hoping that their classified vineyard area will double. Meanwhile, they have made a tiny amount of 2021, just 6,000 bottles for the world, and the wine is gorgeous. This is my insider’s pick for one of the most up and coming names on the Right Bank of Bordeaux.
Alex Turnbull, Private Sales Manager
Château Laroque
This château has been a major revelation since the 2018 vintage: each subsequent vintage achieves huge acclaim from the world’s wine critics while remaining uncannily good value, and they have made it “four in a row” with the 2021! With a large preponderance of old vines, their Merlot vines coped far better than many in the challenging conditions of the growing season and they were very discerning as to what went in the bottle: only 40% of the crop was deemed good enough for the grand vin. That’s the sort of discernment one would expect in a First Growth! The 2021 is silky, concentrated and nuanced. What with wonderful terroir, historical vines and a highly gifted winemaker in David Suire, Laroque is seriously going places, and I simply can’t understand how it manages to be as good value as it is. It’s a buy!
Xavier Hornblow, Private Account Manager
La Dame de Montrose
There was audible silence as the team tasted this at Montrose, thinking we had been poured the Grand Vin. All of the DNA of the Grand Vin but without the price tag. A beauty. Moreish, juicy fruit and fine tannins. Hard to resist, and should drink almost immediately upon arrival.
Luke Cianfarani, Private Account Manager