There is always value to be had amongst the Haut-Médoc Crus Classés. While these are usually in the £30-35 [$39-$45] bracket now, in top vintages like 2019 they are still good buys. Four were shown by the MW Institute in late last year. Château Cantemerle was looking full of joy with wonderfully perfumed aromatics and lots of finesse on the palate. This is lovely now but will develop well over the next decade I’m sure. Château de Camensac is a property that I’m increasingly interested in. The approach to detail here is impressive and there has been steady improvement here over the last couple of decades since it was bought by the Merlaut family [owners of Château Gruaud Larose amongst others]. This is savoury, thoughtful Bordeaux which has a beautiful seam of blackcurrant fruit coherently running through it. It is already drinking well but has the balance to age. Château Belgrave looks to be chunky currently in a rather tannic style. If you have bought any of this it certainly needs a few more years in bottle, but it usually develops well. The 2010 tasted recently was in good shape. Last on show was Château La Lagune. I’ve had great bottles of this in 2005 and 2009. This was also a little backward on the day, with subdued aromatics but the palate was very textured and satisfying with plenty of mid-palate concentration and some length. It should certainly be very good with a couple more years in bottle, or a few hours in a decanter if broached now.

There’s no doubt that many of the Haut-Médoc 2016s are now hitting their stride. There are a great many wonderful wines to be had at good prices in this appellation which deliver a lot of satisfaction. Amongst the small range shown at the MW Institute’s 2016 tasting at the end of 2021, Château La Lagune, Château La Tour Carnet and Château Cantemerle showed really well. Château Belgrave had a lot of depth and structure but felt like it needed a year or two more at the time of tasting. Separately I’ve since had Château Sénéjac and Château Citran 2016s recently and they have impressed too. The following notes were taken at the MW Institute tasting in December 2021. I hope you find them useful. The wines should have continued to open up and develop nicely since then.

Apologies for the nine month delay in getting these detailed notes up on wines from the Haut-Médoc in 2019. I blame pressure of the day job. Overall 2019 was a very impressive vintage for the wines of this district, and they showed particularly well at the UGCB tasting the November before last. The picks? Château La Lagune was very impressive, certainly one of the best wines here in over a decade and almost up there with the beautiful 2005 in my book. Close by Château Cantemerle has also made a very good wine in 2019. Château Belgrave and near neighbour Château de Camensac in St Laurent [close to the St Julien appellation] were also excellent. The former structured and sturdy, the latter fresh and pure. Château La Tour Carnet is typically lush and flamboyant too. I’m a great fan of Château Beaumont and Château Citran and both deliver fresh and positive wines in 2019. Overall, this appellation is a provider of very good value reds and these Haut-Médoc’s will provide a lot of pleasure for the Bordeaux lover over the coming years at a decent price.

A tasting of wines from 2019 put on by the UGCB last November reinforced my impression of the fine quality of this vintage. I majored on the left bank, having covered the right bank more comprehensively during primeurs tastings back in 2020. Looking over my notes, the wines have certainly retreated into their shells since bottling. Many were quite backward and reticent, especially in Pauillac and St Julien. During primeurs, I felt like 2019 was a mythical blend of 2010 and 2009. They had the intensity of the former with the fruit and texture of the latter, with overall finer tannin and less extraction than back then. Right now I’m wondering if 2019 isn’t closer to a modern 2005, that is to say pretty serious, structured and long-term but with sweeter tannin texture than ‘05. Still, this is a generalisation and that comparison is not true in all cases by any means. Not all Pauillacs and St Juliens were backward for example and there were some especially lush wines in Margaux and the Haut-Médoc for instance. So it’s a complex picture. If you’ve tucked into 2019 [like me] there is certainly nothing to worry about, except that you might have to wait a little longer for the wines to open up than we first imagined. I’ll obviously follow up with more detailed posts by appellation, but in the meantime what were the overall highlights?