Bordeaux 2021

Tasted April 2022. Montaiguillon’s 2021 is another example of what incredible value this property represents. Situated in an elevated spot right on the border of St Emilion, the terroir is exceptional. This year the wine has concentrated blackberry, cassis and spiced plum fruit, but a distinct fresh red fruit character as well, giving amazing freshness. There are developing savoury, graphite, earthy notes beneath which will develop and integrate with age. This is a fantastic, balanced, classic Bordeaux for every occasion.

Tasted April 2022. Very intense black fruits, with a slight aromatic lift and savoury spice. The acidity is fantastically fresh, but balances so well with the pure, ripe fruit. There's complexity of crushed rock, mint and clove. This has density and concentration, but is perfectly poised. The tannins are ripe and there is a lovely saline, appetising quality to the finish, thanks to a higher than usual proportion of Cabernet Franc.

Precise core of ripe fruit with a plush, velvety texture. There's crisp, bright acidity and that, along with some fine, bold tannins, shows this has a long life ahead of it. A perennial bargain.

Tasted April 2022. Seriously impressive in 2021, La Garde has good concentration and a velvet, almost creamy texture. The flavours are full of bramble, blackcurrant, red plum and violets, and there's a developing silkiness to the tannins.

Tasted April 2022. Chateau de Ferrand used more Cabernet Franc than ever before in 2021, and the result is a lively aromatic wine with black and blueberry fruit along with leafy complexity and a limestone-y, mineral finish. The wine is fresh and balanced and there is already a silkiness to the texture of the tannins. This is a property on the rise.

Tasted April 2022. Branaire-Ducru remains a Lay & Wheeler favourite in 2021. Delicate savoury spice notes frame a core of dark berry fruit, and moderate acidity creates a beautiful fresh finish. Tannins are fine and ripe and add to the moreish, savoury style.

Tasted April 2022. Full of fresh, crunchy blackberry, cranberry and blueberry fruit with medium body and fresh raspberry acidity. This vintage from Château Robin is balanced and approachable, with savoury tannins and a lovely salinity on the finish making it even more appetising.

Tasted April 2022. Intense, brooding black fruit aromas, with graphite and earthy aromas, minty and spicy. A slightly saline finish, medium bodied and fine tannins. This feels very complete and classic, with elegance and concentration well balanced.

G de Guiraud from Château Guiraud is one of our favourite dry whites from Bordeaux and it is made exclusively from organically farmed vineyards. Fresh and fine on the nose with delicate wild flowers and citrus. Zesty on the palate with fresh lemon, a lovely richness and a long finish.

Made entirely from Cabernets Sauvignon and Franc this vintage, the 2021 Larrivet Haut-Brion is an absolute joy. Plums and blackberries mingle on the palate with delicate spicy notes and a distinct mineral finish. Cabernet Franc delivers its characteristic salinity here with an aromatic lift. Definitely a property to watch.

Tasted April 2022. Linear and precise with restrained blackberry, black cherry and graphite aromas. Medium bodied with a long, saline finish, this has a really mouth-watering, sapid quality. Crushed rock, petals and mint aromas create plenty of complexity but this is approachable and elegant first and foremost.

Tasted 2022. Yields reduced by 60% this year. Savoury, full of tension and a minerally lip-smacking quality. Fleshy red fruit and black berry fruit dominate the palate, with abundant fine tannins. Classic and elegant, with a lovely fresh finish.

Tasted April 2022. Rich, ripe, heady and mouth-coating, with pure cassis fruit and black plum. The tannins are incredibly fine and silky, but dense now, and the spicy, complex flavours are broad across the palate. Hints of hazlenut and vanilla in the background but overwhelmingly driven by ripe fruit and the silky texture of the wine.

Rich and opulent with concentrated flavours of marmalade and candied peel. This is really unctuous but remains fresh thanks to very bright acidity cutting through the richness of the palate.

Tasted April 2022. This is an excellent vintage for white wines, and La Garde Blanc is full to the brim with ripe, pure, bright pineapple, grapefruit, and juicy lemon. There's a broadness and lip-smacking quality on the palate from the time on lees. The acidity is incredibly fine, persistent and electric. Ripe and juicy but with great tension and freshness.

Tasted April 2022. Full of perfume, energy and juicy black fruits. Velvety texture and plenty of ethereal, cooling, savoury Cabernet Franc character sending you back for another sip. The acidity is fresh and clean and the finish is seriously long. 13.1%.

Tasted April 2022. Absolutely electric this year, one of our favourite wine this vintage. Intense and concentrated, and incredibly pure citrus and stone fruit flavours. Juicy and full in in texture, but with incredible zingy freshness cutting through like a knife. Taut and delicious, this will age beautifully.

Brilliant from Alexandre and Guillaume Thienpont this year. This wine is full of tension and freshness but has seriously persistent aromatics as well. There's fragrant black fruits, some floral notes and a slightly crunchy black fruit element on the palate. There are very fine tannins and dense savoury flavours, with just a hint of truffle developing. The acidity is fresh and clean but in no way obtrusive. Generous, refined and delicious.

Tasted April 2022. Another great performance from this St Estephe property on the rise. Full of precise, concentrated red berries on the nose, there’s some floral lift too. Baking spice, cedar, mint and saline notes build complexity and make for a lovely, long, fresh finish sending you back for another sip.

Tasted April 2022. This seriously impressed with its pure Cabernet fruit, perfectly ripe blackcurrants, delicate spice and cedar. There's a herbal crunchy finish and wonderful elegance and finesse. Very pure and appetising, this is a fantastic buy in 2021. 13.1%.

Tasted April 2022. Incredibly concentrated and tightly coiled, with pure fruit character and classic Bordeaux structure. Tannins are very fine, no doubt down to the careful use of large oak foudres to soften and integrate, and there's plenty of crisp refreshing acidity. The fruit flavours are bright and fresh with red berries, some deeper, dark berry fruit, and some herbal notes. There are already beautiful cedar, graphite, smoky flavours developing. 13%.

A real Lay & Wheeler favourite, the 2021 from Caronne Ste Gemme is everything we want from everyday claret, and in this cooler vintage it's especially refreshing and appetising. Just down the road from St-Julien, it's full of fresh blackcurrant, bramble, gentle spice, and refined tannins.

Tasted April 2022. An incredible shift has taken place at Troplong-Mondot in the past few years, with the new management seeking fresher, elegant, more appetising wines. The 2021 is a triumph, with dense black fruit and crunchier red fruit flavours, and a savoury, herbal lift from Cabernet Franc. For the first time since 1999 it comes in under 14% alcohol. This balance and elegance carries the wine through to a long, savoury finish. 13.5%.