Some of the best values in the Cabernet Sauvignon-based blends of the Left Bank are in the Haut Medoc appellation. At their best, they complete with Classified Growths, offering ripe, red fruits, bight, crisp, fresh, vibrant palate presence, and loads of cedar, tobacco, savory herbs and red currants. With 2021, they are also going to drink well on the young side!
2021 Margaux offers some very nice wines from a challenging vintage. The year is not homogenous, so you need to know where to look, but the best wines are fresh, elegant, classically styled, aromatic, and age-worthy beauties.
2021 St. Julien is a vintage of lovers of classic Bordeaux. With blends dominated by Cabernet, low alcohol, freshness, and loads of sweet, ripe, bright, crunchy red fruit, there ar e some outstanding wines that merit a serious look.
2021 Pauillac produced some very fine wines from a difficult year. The wines are fresh, bright, crisp and on the classic, red berry side with low alcohol levels, savory finishes, and the ability to age and evolve for decades.
2021 St. Estephe wines across the board are quite strong. Almost every producer was able to make some very good wine. In fact, as a generalization, Saint Estephe is perhaps the most homogenous appellation in the Left Bank in this vintage. But that is an oversimplification and as I said, it is a generalization of
2021 Bordeaux is a winemaker’s vintage. Nothing was easy. Rain, frosts, hail, more rain, not enough sun, and rot started off the year. But thanks to the Indian Summer, producers were able to make some very good wines. This article focuses on the difficult growing season.