I don’t mean to stick the boot in to 2021. It’s always a bit glib to cast off an entire vintage, especially given the effort the vignerons make year in, year out. The real problem for the 2021 reds is that they sit amid a sea of much better Bordeaux at comparable prices. Unless you find 2021s priced well below better recent vintages [2022, 2019 & 2018], 2021 is not a terribly appealing purchase right now for the reds. It is also a heterogeneous vintage. As I said in my earlier post, quite a few of the red wines tasted at the MW Institute’s Annual Bordeaux tasting in November 2025 finished a bit short, often showing some rusticity to the tannins. While there are many genuine successes, there are also quite a few misfires. A number also seem to have retreated in bottle too, shutting down such that the fruit has dipped and the structure remains exposed, with noticeable acidity and tannin on the palate.

These tannin profiles are mostly a result of the vintage, not the winemaking. The 2021 growing season was much cooler and fresher than the three years that preceded it. I’m thankful for the written notes supplied by the MW Institute by Charles Taylor which summarised the growing season. May was cool and wet and from the second half of June through July and August the growing season remained wet and generally lacking in sunshine. The risk of mildew and rot was ever present. From mid-August things brightened up and conditions were drier. Still the fact remains that there was no significant water stress in the summer, with the vines then prioritising leaf growth over fruit ripening. The weather shifted in September with warmer, sunny conditions. This was good for the white grapes which had generally enjoyed a cooler summer. These are amongst the successes of the vintage. There was localised rain in September which affected some properties during the Merlot harvest. Warm sunny weather returned and lasted into October. This suited the Cabernets, and some properties on the left bank were able to leave the harvest until as late as the third week of the month to maximise phenolic ripeness. So, what of the wines now at five years of age?

In the Haut-Médoc appellation Château Cantemerle, Château de Camensac and Château La Lagune were all pretty much level pegging. Generally, they are quite grippy and inky with some austerity but also with enough texture to keep the ball in the air. The Margaux appellation was more homogeneous than expected and provided some of the tastings highlights. The picks for me were Château Brane-Cantenac, Château du Tertre, Château Durfort-Vivens, Château Lascombes, Château Marquis des Termes, Château Rauzan Gassies [no Ségla on tasting], and Château d’Issan. Château Margaux at the very top end was one of the wines of the tasting.

St Julien was solid. Good if compact wines were made at Château Branaire-Ducru, Château Lagrange and Château Langoa Barton. Château Beychevelle was sappy with attractive aromatics. Château Gruaud Larose was sturdy but dipped on the finish. Château Talbot was attractive with more texture and middle. The standouts unsurprisingly were the Léovilles. Château Léoville Barton was inky and intense, very old school but had attractive purity and freshness. Château Léoville-Las-Cases had lots of blackcurrant fruit and depth, even if it remains considerably backward. Château Léoville-Poyferré was polished and lifted with real texture to the palate. They all impressed in different ways, but all had the freshness and tannic structure of the vintage on the left bank.

I struggled with Pauillac. By rights this appellation should have performed well given the later vintage weather that supposedly helped get the Cabernets to ripeness. The entire bunch felt grippy and tight. This is especially true of Château d’Armailhac, Château Clerc Milon, Château Grand Puy-Ducasse and Château Pedesclaux. These were all a bit brutal and austere on the day. Even Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste, which usually over-delivers, felt pinched. Château Duhart-Milon was fresh if rather compact. Château Batailley, solid and sappy but also a bit lacking in depth. Château Lynch-Bages was closed and the fruit was a bit hidden and the tannin marked. Château Pichon Baron was also pretty closed but showed evident depth. Château Pontet Canet was more expressive aromatically and while there was plenty of extract on the palate, the acidity and tannin felt obvious at present. There was consistency at least. It was as if all the wines of Pauillac had been woken up in the middle of the night and asked to perform. Understandably they were quite resentful. Come back in three to five years I thought.

Things were similar in St Estèphe. Château Calon Ségur was the most likeable at present, which had delicacy and balance. Château Lafon Rochet was fresh and grippy if a bit puckering on the end. Château Cos d’Estournel was savoury and structured, with inky blackcurrant fruit but some angularity to the tannins. Château Montrose was closed on the nose. It had a lot of depth but felt especially tight. Again, come back to these much later down the track.

Things were brighter and more open in Pessac-Léognan. Alongside Margaux, the wines here were amongst the best and most forthcoming of the tasting. Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion was delicious, in an attractive, modern fleshy style. Château La Mission Haut-Brion was understandably tighter but had evident depth and texture the palate. Château Smith Haut-Lafitte was plush and enticing and was drinking well already. Likewise, Domaine de Chevalier showed well. There were more cooler blackcurrant tones on display but this worked nicely. Château Haut-Bailly was classical and balanced. Château Haut-Brion itself showed exotic aromatics with plenty of depth with firm [but not dry] tannins.

Finally to St Emilion. This appellation also showed well. Yes there is an inky quality to the fruit with greater freshness. And that’s not a bad thing at all. There was a good selection of top properties on tasting. The picks here were Château Cheval Blanc, Clos Fourtet, Château Valandraud, Château Troplong Mondot and Château Pavie Macquin. Close by were Château Canon-la-Gaffelière, Château Figeac, Château Canon, Château Quintus, Château Laroze and La Mondotte.

As I mentioned there were also a dozen or more Pomerol’s to taste but as I’d arrived a bit late to the event, these had sadly been cleared away but the time I returned to go through them.

I will publish detailed tasting notes on all these wines by commune in subsequent posts. Overall, I’d place 2021 alongside 2017, 2014 and 2011 qualitatively in the last decade or so of Bordeaux vintages. It doesn’t have the quality of the enviable 2022s, nor is up to the 2018, 2019 & 2020 trio and nor does it have the balance of the 2023s that immediately followed it.