Bordeaux 2021 in de pers

Ook dit jaar besteden wijnrecensenten weer uitgebreide aandacht aan het nieuwste oogstjaar 2021 in Bordeaux. Op deze pagina verzamelen we de meest treffende quotes van de wijnrecensenten om een goed beeld te schetsen van het oogstjaar.

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (William Kelley)

"What is clear, however, is that while 2021 isn’t a great vintage, it has produced several genuinely great wines, as well as many good to excellent wines that will deliver immense pleasure."

"Certainly, some terroirs were favored more than others—and it was the earliest-ripening sites that tended to benefit."

"In short, 2021 is not a “Cabernet vintage” or a “Right Bank vintage” or any of the other generalizations one hears when Bordeaux vintages are stereotyped: it is a farmers’ vintage."

"And if the 2021s’ balance is reminiscent of a vintage from yesteryear, the best wines benefit from all the precision of modern winemaking, displaying beautifully refined, polished tannins."

"The less successful 2021s exhibit a variety of inadequacies. At the worst, the presence of mildew can impart bloody, ferric, metallic aromas and flavors to young wines. Dilution can be an issue. And sometimes marginal levels of ripeness translate into a gamut of outcomes ranging from ephemeral and simple to lean and angular. The vintage’s most common deficiency is a somewhat hollow mid-palate. Yet even readers who are looking for these flaws will not find them in the best 2021s."

"But it is true that, thanks to rather cool conditions in 2021, Bordeaux’s white grapes preserved acidity and vibrant aromatics, delivering the finest set of dry whites since 2017. Chiseled and intense, they exhibit considerable potential."

James Suckling

"What strikes us is the bright and fresh acidity and relatively low alcohol of the wines. There is an almost crunchy sensibility to so many of the wines with an immediate drinkability to them."

"Everyone who makes wine that we’ve spoken to has said the vintage is extremely heterogenous and that lesser-known wineries made weak wines. We have only found this in lesser appellations so far."

"The fact that the wines show so well and are so clean and balanced highlights the viticultural and winemaking prowess of Bordeaux."

"They will be very attractive when they are released in bottle on the market in 18 months to two years. But I think they will also age nicely."

"The one big story that we are pursuing at the moment is Sauternes. The sweet wines of Bordeaux may be the miracle of the harvest."

"The region’s newest year in barrel was one of the most difficult in two decades because of hellish grape-growing conditions, yet at the same time some of Bordeaux’s best winemakers made excellent wines. We even found a few unicorn whites and reds."

"…a number of Sauternes producers made sweet wines that resemble some of the legendary years, such as 2001, 1990, 1959, and 1921."

Jancis Robinson

"No one should mistake these 2021s for the scrawny, dull, pale red wines made in 2013, the last tryingly miserable Bordeaux vintage. It is clear that Bordeaux’s winemakers bust a gut to make the best of a less-than-satisfactory growing season in 2021."

"It’s a varied vintage, though, and one to stay with châteaux that have a proven track record. Even then, the grand vin is a much safer bet generally in 2021 than the second wine."

"As to the similarity with previous vintages, it’s easier at this stage to say what 2021 Médoc isn’t than what it actually is. It is not in the exceptional, long-ageing mould of 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019 or 2020 nor is it as weak as 2013. It is not as soft as 2012 nor initially as severe as 2011 but then nor is it as comfortable as 2017, although I do think it has better structure. Being fresher and more ‘classic’ it veers closer to 2014 or 2008 with 2001 also being mentioned. The jury is still out but my hunch is the better wines will improve with élevage and in bottle and with their low pH could age longer than expected."

"St-Estèphe seemed to be an extremely successful appellation, perhaps partly because of its reliance on Cabernet Sauvignon."

"But the real takeaway from what I tasted is that 2021 is an absolutely brilliant vintage for white bordeaux, whether dry or sweet..."

"The dry whites, all picked before late September’s heavy rain, were delightfully aromatic and full of fruit and zest – with great mastery of oak, and none of the flab seen in some riper vintages."

"And the sweet wines are truly superb, even if made in even smaller quantities than the reds."

"Alas the en primeur campaign tends to concentrate on red wines, but with the 2021s I would suggest you look very seriously at the whites, which are already delicious but should have quite a future too."

Vinous (Neal Martin)

"The headline is that 2021 marks a welcome return to a classic style of Bordeaux in terms of lower ripeness levels and less alcohol."

"You had to treat each château as a separate entity because the result could be vastly different from its peers. It’s neither a Right nor Left Bank vintage as even some winemakers insisted, nor is it possible to single out an appellation as above any other."

"In Pessac-Léognan/Graves, when an estate produced both, I often favoured their white over their red counterpart. It is a category often overlooked by consumers, but in 2021, I would look at them carefully and not just at the top of the hierarchy, but at more modest addresses, which should offer great value-for-money."

"At their best, the aromatics possess ethereal pure blackberry and blueberry fruit with floral scents, quite often violet or iris. The finest convey a sense of terroir and mineralité, perhaps more so than the super-ripe vintages of late. The best Left Bank wines capture the essence of Cabernet Sauvignon with attractive cedar, mint and tobacco aromas that complement the fruit, likewise those on the Right Bank with Cabernet Franc (and occasionally Cabernet Sauvignon) also gained a sense of dimension."

"Generally, you might argue that Merlot was weak in the Médoc."

"The 2021s are markedly different to the previous three vintages with palpably less opulent, extravagant levels of ripeness."

"Whilst there are some potentially complex 2021s in the making, they are fewer in number than previous vintages."

"...the general level is much higher than say, 2013."

Vinous (Antonio Galloni)

"Weather conditions were challenging, and yet the top properties turned out gorgeous, classically built wines that will absolutely thrill readers who appreciate freshness and energy."

"The best wines offer a striking combination of old-school classicism with modern-day precision."

"Quality is inconsistent though, so choosing carefully is essential. Even so, there is much to like in the 2021s."

"The 2021s are intensely aromatic and marked generally by red fruit character."

"There is greater consistency on the Left Bank. Yes, that’s a generalization. Like all generalizations, there are some exceptions, but if we look at the Left Bank as a whole, quality is a touch higher, especially moving into the lesser appellations. But the Right Bank has plenty to say in 2021. In fact, many of the best wines of the year are found in Pomerol and Saint-Émilion. On the Right Bank, 2021 is truly a vintage for the great terroirs."

"Two-thousand twenty-one is a brilliant vintage for the dry whites of Bordeaux. It is an unusual year in which the wines have the energy that is often associated with cooler seasons, but the textural richness that is often only achieved in warm years."

"Despite all the challenges of the growing season, the 2021s [Sauternes] offer a beguiling combination of textural richness and energy that is absolutely compelling."

"First and foremost, 2021 carries with it a negative perception because of the challenges of the year. In my opinion, that view is simply not justified by the quality of the best wines, but the reality is that perceptions are hard to change."

The Wine Independent (Lisa Perrotti-Brown)

"In summary, in 2021, quality is variable across the Bordeaux red wines."

"Lower yields don’t always play a significant role in quality, but they did in 2021 because, given the cooler, rainy conditions and overall lack of sunshine, there was only so much crop that the vines could ripen."

"The 2021 red wines are quite a stylistic departure from recent vintages and may well be just what you are seeking. Or not."

"Many 2021 reds are light to medium-bodied with lower alcohols (most chaptalized up to 13-13.5%). They are soft, uncomplicated, red fruit-dominant wines destined for earlier drinking. Most will be at their peaks in under ten years and will likely not last beyond two decades or certainly not improve with time in the bottle beyond this."

"At the pinnacles of quality, the 2021s are refreshing, elegant, savory wines with lower alcohol and light to medium-bodied. The best wines have well-sustained mid-palates and finishes."

"Generally speaking, the quality of the dry whites is better and more consistent than the vintage’s reds."

Jane Anson

"I hate to break the mood, but the reality is that this vintage was the most challenging in Bordeaux since 2013. It is a far better year overall, with some excellent wines, but in too many cases you will find more pleasure elsewhere."

"As I said in my appellation introductions, I found AOC Médoc and Haut-Médoc to be extremely mixed, proving why it is simply not true to call 2021 a Cabernet Sauvignon vintage."

"St Estèphe was a high point of the year, but it still needed careful work."

"Styles are somewhere between 2011, 2014, 2017."

"Cabernet Franc’s greater resistance to mildew has proved to be another point in its favour in 2021, besides its higher acidity levels resisting the droughts we have seen in recent vintages. Expect to see it continue to increase in popularity."

Decanter

"Reds: 3.5/5 but ‘with some exceptional wines in every leading appellation’"

"Dry white wines and Sauternes: 4 & 4.5/5"

"Challenging conditions cannot be ignored in an uneven 2021 vintage, but heroic efforts and improved winemaking facilities mean the best wines are supremely balanced and pleasurable in a year that marks a return to ‘cool classicism’ in Bordeaux."

"The overall resulting style won’t necessarily be suited to all palates. There’s a return to ‘cool classicism’ with refined, elegant and low alcohol wines more reminiscent of Bordeaux from the 1980s and 1990s, as opposed to many of the recent – and much acclaimed – vintages, including 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2020."

"The white wines are in general extremely impressive, with intense acidity, vibrancy and aromatic complexity all on show."

"I wrote in my Bordeaux en primeur first impressions piece that the Sauternes producers who were able to make any 2021 achieved a feat of pure magic and I stand by that."