There was lots of extract and sweet ripe fruit on display from the nine wines from Pessac-Léognan in 2018 at the MW Institute tasting in late 2022. A few felt a little lacking acidity. This was definitely not the case for Château La Mission Haut-Brion, which even eclipsed the thrilling wine made at sibling Château Haut Brion. Both are outstanding. I was very impressed with a brilliant Domaine de Chevalier and a typically flamboyant Château Pape Clément. Château Malartic Lagravière balanced the ripeness with the freshness and felt complete. The usually knock out Château Smith Haut Lafitte seemed to lack a bit of zip on the end, though it was decadently lush and layered on the palate. Château de Fieuzal felt a somewhat stewed and lacking freshness, while Château Bouscaut was ripe and caressing. Château Oliver was sturdy with a tannic chunky finish.

There are lots of great wines in Pessac-Léognan in the 2016 vintage. You’d expect superlative efforts from the likes of Château Haut-Brion and Château La Mission Haut-Brion. But there are also magnificent wines from the appellation’s defacto first growths Château Haut-Bailly and Château Smith Haut Lafitte. Brilliant, yet contrasting red wines have been made here. Fractionally outside this club, but only fractionally, is Domaine de Chevalier. Year in, year out this is one of the highest quality, dependable but won’t [entirely] ‘break-the-bank’ reds in all of Bordeaux. Fine wines have also been made at Château Bouscaut, Château Fieuzal, Château Malartic Lagravière. Château Latour Martillac is drinking well, already offering textbook earthy Graves. That said, overall, at the top level these are still wines that need another two or three years in bottle to get really into gear. In some senses a few have crept into their shells since earlier tastings. These will improve further in complexity over the next decade and expect them to last well into the middle of the century.

This post is taken from tastings earlier in the year and compiles notes and scores on nearly thirty white wines from the 2019 Bordeaux vintage. There were considerable variations in styles, across a variety of terroirs. The hot and dry conditions were a challenge for some producers. Sometimes the structure and body that a warm vintage can bring is at the expense of aromatic complexity. Picking dates are also important. Harvest needs to be early enough to retain sufficient acidity and freshness. The danger of harvesting a little late is the wines can feel fat, low in acidity and lack focus. At the top level in 2019, I was especially impressed with Château Smith Haut Lafitte, which has produced another knockout white in Léognan. Château Pape Clément also impressed in Pessac. At the other end of the compass [geographically speaking] were impressive whites from Château Cos d’Estournel [Cos blanc and Pagodes de Cos], drawn from fruit adjacent to the Gironde in the Médoc. I also enjoyed Jean-Luc Thunevin’s rich Château Valandraud Blanc from vineyards in St Emilion. These were the absolute highlights of the whites I tasted.

Château Pape Clément has produced very impressive red and white wines in 2019. This property always packs a lot of joy and appeal into its wines. The white is seductive with plenty of depth and style while the red displays fabulous creamy black fruits and has super length. I was also impressed by both versions [white and red] of Clémentin de Pape Clément this year. I’ve written separately on Smith Haut Lafitte and the super fine quality of the wines there. Amongst other wines tasted from Pessac-Léognan, amongst the reds Clos Marsalette and Château Haut Bacalan impressed. Enjoyable wines have also been made at Château Haut-Lagrange, Château de Rouillac, Château de Rochemorin and Château de Cruzeau. Amongst the whites Clos Marsalette also stood out for its finesse. There was plenty of zap and life in the white Château de Cruzeau and Château de Rochemorin, while Château Haut-Lagrange produced a white with weight and substance.