The alarm went off at 6am and after a quick shower and shave we were on the road heading for Saint-Estèphe for our first appointment of the day Château Calon Ségur. It is always best to leave ample time as in the old days you could never afford to be late for the formidable Madame Gasqueton! How much has changed in the last 10 years, as expected Calon Ségur is one of the successes of the vintage; a charming way to start the day...
Next on the schedule was a 5-minute drive to Château Montrose where we also tasted Château Tronquoy Lalande and Dame de Montrose. I have to admit it was hard to fault all three wines – if prices stay reasonable, these wines should be on your hit list.
Chateau Cos d’Estournel was next in line where they kindly let us in a little bit earlier as we’d gained a bit of time on our schedule. We sampled Goulis red and white (now renamed G d’Estournel), Pagodes de Cos red and white, as well as the Grand Vin. Cos had done well, but the unanimous decision from our International tasting team (French, Dutch, Japanese, and American) was that Montrose claims Saint-Estèphe’s top prize this year!
Next it was the battle of the cousins with Château Lafite Rothschild first, followed by Château Mouton stable wines that we tasted at Château d’Armailhac, as renovations are taking place at Mouton. It was much more difficult to choose between the First Growths; Lafite had incredible length and Mouton was true to form at this stage; it’s often unyielding but underneath its exterior cloak is sheer beauty and sophistication. Chateau Clerc Milon (Mouton stable) is also worth a mention showing really well.
From d’Armailhac we headed across to the other side of Pauillac to Château Grand Puy Lacoste (GPL). Their second wine, Lacoste-Borie, really caught Andrew and my attention as it was so well balanced you could almost have a glass now! Good news that Emeline Borie had said they are going to do their variation cases again this year (1 D. MAG, 2 Magnums and 4 Bottles).
With 45 minutes spare we decided we had time to go to the UGC Saint-Estèphe and Pauillac tasting at Château Pichon Lalande. Our standout wines were, as you would expect with Châteaux Pichon Lalande, Pichon Baron and Batailley. However, Batailley was probably the most impressive for it’s ranking.
Château Pontet-Canet was next and our initial thoughts when poured was it had an inky black hue, perhaps over-extraction? … yet wait... not at all, there was plenty of fruit concentration with equally juicy acidity, freshness and balance. Well done Alfred, as it has been extra hard in 2021 being biodynamic. Thank you also for Le Big Mac lunch and of course, the best cheeseboard in Pauillac (see our Instagram)!
Our next big Château appointment was at Léoville Las Cases, we had time to nip into the UGC Saint-Julien tasting that was held at Château Lagrange first. There were some good wines from Châteaux Léoville Poyferré and Barton as you would expect. However, we thought Château Talbot was excellent. Château Beychevelle, which we had already tasted twice and liked, sadly wasn’t showing as well as it had on Sunday and Monday.
A short ride to Château Léoville Las Cases to taste the Domaine Delon wines, including Châteaux Potensac, Clos du Marquis and Léoville Las Cases as well as their second wines, respectively. To be honest, I’ve always struggled a little bit tasting their cask samples, as I find the tannins a touch austere; however, I do enjoy them further down the road, generally they just need more time.
Château Ducru-Beaucaillou was next in line; their portfolio is now known as Madame de Borie, Le Petit Ducru (previously called Lalande Borie and was a separate estate that borders Lagrange and Talbot on the top plateau), and La Croix de Beaucaillou, that is now made from separate vineyards but we used to refer to it as their second wine (a bit like Clos du Marquis at Léoville Las Cases).
We then headed off to re-taste Château Pichon Baron at its fairy tale estate; it was showing a couple of notches above the sample we tasted at the UGC tasting across the road before lunch. We were fortunate enough to taste a thimble of Château Suduiraut; the estate’s sister property in Sauternes, who made just 0.91 hectolitres in 2021… the equivalent to 30 barrels, or 500 cases! Sauternes and Barsac properties have really struggled this year and yields are well down or simply, they haven't made it. We will expand further on our return, when we publish our Bordeaux En Primeur 2021 Review.
With an hour to spare before our final appointment, we decided to drive to Margaux and give ourselves a head start in doing the UGC Margaux tasting at Château Giscours. The standout wine was Château Malescot-St-Exupéry, though for true value Château Labégorce is doing a great job.
Arriving at Château Mauvesin Barton for our 6:30pm appointment, we sadly missed Lilian by 5 minutes as she had a dinner to attend. However, Hugo kindly talked us through the lovely trio of Mauvesin, Langoa and Léoville Barton. The Mauvesin is definitely the best I have ever tasted and up a notch; well knitted, pure and charming. Langoa and Léoville Barton were also showing much better, due to the fresher samples at the Château. It just shows it’s always worth trying to taste at the Château wherever possible.
After 11 hours, 14 Châteaux visits and 3 UGC tastings it was time to head back for a night in and a beer to cleanse and reboot the palate for tomorrow; we start in Margaux for an 8:30am appointment at Château d’Issan.
