Hello everyone. I have almost completed my tastings of the 2021 in bottles. There will be no more big surprises (Petrus not tasted). Basically, even if this vintage is not at the level of 2016, 18, 19, 20 and 22. To my taste it is very often superior to 2014 and 2017 in any case. It is very particular with enormous finesse and above all a precision in defining each terroir that is rarely achieved. A school model if you want to introduce your future alcoholic children. And for old people like me :O), the advantage is that it will be drinkable much faster than its elders. Since I'm swamped with work these days, I only put my best notes. For a rating of a particular wine, do not hesitate to write to me;
With a spicy, savory edge to the red fruits in the nose, you also find a plethora of singed herbs, cigar wrapper, flowers, and cedar in the perfume. The red fruits on the palate are fresh, vibrant, elegant, refined, and salty, almost as if the berries were brined. The long finish has a hint of cocoa, chalk, oyster shells, and savory-tinted red fruits, with olives that come in on the up-beat, backend. The wine was made using 45% whole bunch clusters during fermentation. From a blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot, 13.5% ABV, pH 3.6. The wine is aging in a combination of 70% new, French oak, 20% foudres, and 10% amphora. Drink from 2025-2050.
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UGCB tasting-Amsterdam 2021 Bordeaux 03-04-2024: Tasted twice, spicy nose, some vanilla and wood, juicy, good bitters and tannins; the wine is a bit more concentrated than most others.
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UGCB SF Tasting Event (Metreon, San Francisco): Very pure berry fruit (almost crunchy), with a lovely texture and silkiness but no overt oak notes (amphora? or the power of suggestion). Lilacs, tobacco and a whisper of green. Pessac gravel and petrichor. 93+
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UGC 2021 Bordeaux (Vibiana, Los Angeles, CA): The nose is perfumed and refined with lovely tones of red cherries, raspberries, incense, violets, crushed flowers, crushed rocks, licorice, and some spice notes. The tones all work really well together at this young stage while showing off a good bit of depth. The Medium bodied feel is polished and deft with crisp, medium acidity and silky, medium tannins. The structure has some youth to it with the tones playing together beautifully already across the nose and palate. This is a real winner in the vintage and one of the few on the day that made me take notice. I would love to see where this develops over the next decade+.
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First, a few words about the vintage as it was revealed to me this evening. I was always taught, of course, that if you don’t have anything nice to say that you shouldn’t say anything at all, and in the words of twentieth-century British poet Philip Larkin, I’m struggling to “find words at once true and kind, or not untrue and not unkind.” I’m afraid, however, there are no two ways about it—this is not a good vintage, and it can be summed up as thin, tart, sour, cranberry, acidic, and oaky. Critics have said this is a heterogenous vintage, but I don’t think that’s true based on tonight. I felt like I was tasting slightly better and slightly worse versions of the same mediocre, tart, oaky, cranberry-filled wines all night.
Critics are also spinning 2021 as a vintage for lovers of classical, low alcohol Bordeaux. I quite like a stoic, low alcohol wine myself, but this is just…. Well, let’s just say that for me this vintage will probably not even serve as an early drinker while waiting for better vintages to come around. The quality is just too low and the prices too high for that. In virtually all cases here tonight, the quality seems to be magnitudes lower than it is in the 2014 through 2020 vintages, and in most cases, the wines are only marginally less expensive than the 2020s were. In some instances they’re even higher (Prieure Lichine, for example). I can’t see buying any of these wines over virtually any of the same wines from the 2014 through 2020 vintages, many of which can still be had for nearly the same price or just a bit more than what is being asked for the 2021s.
In finality, there’s just no value proposition here. I’m going to forget about this vintage and load up on the 2014 through 2020 vintages.
Tasting Note:
I can see how this might end up being the wine of the vintage, as some have suggested. That being said, it wasn’t all that convincing, especially at $115 per bottle. It was, of course, full of tart, crunchy cranberries, and it was rather clunky, too. It had, perhaps, the best concentration of any wine I tasted, so it had that going for it. In the end, it was second only to Lynch Bages and tied with Brane Cantenac, Giscours, Canon la Gaffiere, and surprisingly D’Angludet as the best of the rest. Unknown ABV **(*)
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Quite a bit more immediately luxurious than everything else on the table (though I'm a Cab Franc fan and biased). Cassis, chocolate, tobacco, all very dark and lush, the tannins fine and creamy. There's a savory element underneath it all, and a real vein of acidity woven into the whole.
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My colleagues and I hosted a Carmes H-B mini vertical last night to redefine the odds against the fabulous 2022 vintage. We can't put 100 points everywhere.
Re-tasted a few days ago, this wine is incredible as it exceeds the limits of this vintage! I think he might be the only one of all Bordeaux to end up being better than 2020-2019 and maybe even 2016, too early to tell.
At a tasting. Fabulous nose. Highish acidity seemed to hide some of the fruit leaving it a touch thin. Very long finish. I have some of this wine so am trusting it will flesh out in time and the score will improve. Was great value but has nearly doubled in price in a short time.
(96-98 vvPunkte) Rubinrot. Anfangs verhaltene Nase, dezente Reduktion, braucht etwas Zeit, öffnet sich dann und offenbart ein Puzzle aus Aromen, Veilchen, reife Beeren, Pfefferwürze, Kräuter, Himbeeren, das ist ein Gedicht, eine perfekt gemaltes Duftbild. Im Gaumen frisch, sehr lebendig, die Frucht ist knackig, die Tannine wie immer von ausgezeichneter Qualität, das ist grossartige Präzision, Finesse, Eleganz, der Wein hat Struktur, eine sehr gute Balance, die Säure vibriert, ist nicht aufdringlich, sondern stützt die knackige Frucht, ausgezeichnete Länge im Abgang. Ein magischer Carmes der wie immer stilistisch aus der Reihe tanzt und gerade darum so faszinierend ist. 2027-2048+ (Verkostet "En Primeur" im April 2022. Syndicat Viticole de Pessac-Léognan/Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion/Daniel Vins) vvWine.ch
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For me, the best wine of the left bank for 2021, better this year than Haut-Brion and La Mission. Some Anglo-Saxon (and Chinese) critics are finally beginning with difficulty to glimpse the real class of this Chateau while it has been working wonders at least since 2014!!! When will they understand that finesse and originality of taste is worth more than the quantity of new oak dear to the great Bobby? And despite the enormous speculation on this wine, it remains, in my opinion and by far, the best value for money of all Bordeaux. 97-98
Garnet in color, the wine opens with tobacco leaf, cigar box, thyme, herbs, flowers, espresso and red berries. Medium/full-bodied, vibrant, fresh and focused on its purity of fruit as well as its elegance. This sublime wine is silky, and sensuous. This finish is long and refined, with sweet, ripe cherries, dark cocoa, spice, herbs, a drop of citrus and cigar wrapper with a cool touch of salt and crushed rock that come out in the endnotes. The wine was made using 45% whole bunch clusters during fermentation. From a blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot, 13.5% ABV, pH 3.6. The wine is aging in a combination of 70% new, French oak, 20% foudres and 10% amphora. Drink from 2025-2050. 94-96
En-Primeur campaign for the 2021 vintage; 4/25/2022-4/29/2022 (Bordeaux): Aromas of violet, slightly meaty, black fruits which grow with time, cream, a little controlled oak. Despite the medium plus intensity acidity this has the sensation of softness on the palate, black fruits, integrated tannins are talc textured, finely tooled, there is a slightly unripe quality here as well at the end of the finish – a little green hardness, otherwise this is rather nice.
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3/11/2024 - watcheslover Likes this wine: 98 Points
Hello everyone. I have almost completed my tastings of the 2021 in bottles. There will be no more big surprises (Petrus not tasted). Basically, even if this vintage is not at the level of 2016, 18, 19, 20 and 22. To my taste it is very often superior to 2014 and 2017 in any case. It is very particular with enormous finesse and above all a precision in defining each terroir that is rarely achieved. A school model if you want to introduce your future alcoholic children. And for old people like me :O), the advantage is that it will be drinkable much faster than its elders. Since I'm swamped with work these days, I only put my best notes. For a rating of a particular wine, do not hesitate to write to me;
1 Lafleur 98-99
2 Carmes H-B 98
3 Haut-Brion, Cheval Blanc, Vieux Certan, Margaux, Lafite 97
4 Montrose, Las Cases, Le Pin 96-97
And finally the Oscar for best value for money
Laroque 94-95
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3/9/2024 - Jeff Leve wrote: 96 Points
With a spicy, savory edge to the red fruits in the nose, you also find a plethora of singed herbs, cigar wrapper, flowers, and cedar in the perfume. The red fruits on the palate are fresh, vibrant, elegant, refined, and salty, almost as if the berries were brined. The long finish has a hint of cocoa, chalk, oyster shells, and savory-tinted red fruits, with olives that come in on the up-beat, backend. The wine was made using 45% whole bunch clusters during fermentation. From a blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot, 13.5% ABV, pH 3.6. The wine is aging in a combination of 70% new, French oak, 20% foudres, and 10% amphora. Drink from 2025-2050.
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3/4/2024 - FransS wrote: 92 Points
UGCB tasting-Amsterdam 2021 Bordeaux 03-04-2024: Tasted twice, spicy nose, some vanilla and wood, juicy, good bitters and tannins; the wine is a bit more concentrated than most others.
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1/25/2024 - ohne_musik wrote:
UGCB SF Tasting Event (Metreon, San Francisco): Very pure berry fruit (almost crunchy), with a lovely texture and silkiness but no overt oak notes (amphora? or the power of suggestion). Lilacs, tobacco and a whisper of green. Pessac gravel and petrichor. 93+
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1/24/2024 - KeithAkers wrote: 93 Points
UGC 2021 Bordeaux (Vibiana, Los Angeles, CA): The nose is perfumed and refined with lovely tones of red cherries, raspberries, incense, violets, crushed flowers, crushed rocks, licorice, and some spice notes. The tones all work really well together at this young stage while showing off a good bit of depth. The Medium bodied feel is polished and deft with crisp, medium acidity and silky, medium tannins. The structure has some youth to it with the tones playing together beautifully already across the nose and palate. This is a real winner in the vintage and one of the few on the day that made me take notice. I would love to see where this develops over the next decade+.
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1/23/2024 - Jake Barnes wrote:
Tasted at the UGC at the Drake Hotel in Chicago.
First, a few words about the vintage as it was revealed to me this evening. I was always taught, of course, that if you don’t have anything nice to say that you shouldn’t say anything at all, and in the words of twentieth-century British poet Philip Larkin, I’m struggling to “find words at once true and kind, or not untrue and not unkind.” I’m afraid, however, there are no two ways about it—this is not a good vintage, and it can be summed up as thin, tart, sour, cranberry, acidic, and oaky. Critics have said this is a heterogenous vintage, but I don’t think that’s true based on tonight. I felt like I was tasting slightly better and slightly worse versions of the same mediocre, tart, oaky, cranberry-filled wines all night.
Critics are also spinning 2021 as a vintage for lovers of classical, low alcohol Bordeaux. I quite like a stoic, low alcohol wine myself, but this is just…. Well, let’s just say that for me this vintage will probably not even serve as an early drinker while waiting for better vintages to come around. The quality is just too low and the prices too high for that. In virtually all cases here tonight, the quality seems to be magnitudes lower than it is in the 2014 through 2020 vintages, and in most cases, the wines are only marginally less expensive than the 2020s were. In some instances they’re even higher (Prieure Lichine, for example). I can’t see buying any of these wines over virtually any of the same wines from the 2014 through 2020 vintages, many of which can still be had for nearly the same price or just a bit more than what is being asked for the 2021s.
In finality, there’s just no value proposition here. I’m going to forget about this vintage and load up on the 2014 through 2020 vintages.
Tasting Note:
I can see how this might end up being the wine of the vintage, as some have suggested. That being said, it wasn’t all that convincing, especially at $115 per bottle. It was, of course, full of tart, crunchy cranberries, and it was rather clunky, too. It had, perhaps, the best concentration of any wine I tasted, so it had that going for it. In the end, it was second only to Lynch Bages and tied with Brane Cantenac, Giscours, Canon la Gaffiere, and surprisingly D’Angludet as the best of the rest. Unknown ABV **(*)
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1/23/2024 - yofog wrote:
Quite a bit more immediately luxurious than everything else on the table (though I'm a Cab Franc fan and biased). Cassis, chocolate, tobacco, all very dark and lush, the tannins fine and creamy. There's a savory element underneath it all, and a real vein of acidity woven into the whole.
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1/20/2024 - Dr.Cork Likes this wine: 96 Points
UGCB Millésime 2021 (Montréal, QC, Canada): Du sérieux. Superbe nez plein de fruit, cuir et épices. Beaucoup de texture avec beaucoup de finesse.
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9/18/2023 - watcheslover Likes this wine: 98 Points
Sorry, I was wrong, it's not the note of the 2005 below but of the 2015
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6/10/2023 - watcheslover Likes this wine: 98 Points
My colleagues and I hosted a Carmes H-B mini vertical last night to redefine the odds against the fabulous 2022 vintage. We can't put 100 points everywhere.
1) 2022 100/100
2) 2016 99/100
3) 2020-2021 98-99/100
4) 2018 98/100
5) 2014-2017-2019 97/100
6) 2005 96/100
7) 2012 94/100
8) 2013 91/100
(2021 and 2022 tasted on samples)
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12/25/2022 - watcheslover Likes this wine: 99 Points
Re-tasted a few days ago, this wine is incredible as it exceeds the limits of this vintage!
I think he might be the only one of all Bordeaux to end up being better than 2020-2019 and maybe even 2016, too early to tell.
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11/10/2022 - wineforth Likes this wine: 92 Points
At a tasting. Fabulous nose. Highish acidity seemed to hide some of the fruit leaving it a touch thin. Very long finish. I have some of this wine so am trusting it will flesh out in time and the score will improve. Was great value but has nearly doubled in price in a short time.
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6/22/2022 - vvWine.ch wrote: 97 Points
(96-98 vvPunkte) Rubinrot. Anfangs verhaltene Nase, dezente Reduktion, braucht etwas Zeit, öffnet sich dann und offenbart ein Puzzle aus Aromen, Veilchen, reife Beeren, Pfefferwürze, Kräuter, Himbeeren, das ist ein Gedicht, eine perfekt gemaltes Duftbild. Im Gaumen frisch, sehr lebendig, die Frucht ist knackig, die Tannine wie immer von ausgezeichneter Qualität, das ist grossartige Präzision, Finesse, Eleganz, der Wein hat Struktur, eine sehr gute Balance, die Säure vibriert, ist nicht aufdringlich, sondern stützt die knackige Frucht, ausgezeichnete Länge im Abgang. Ein magischer Carmes der wie immer stilistisch aus der Reihe tanzt und gerade darum so faszinierend ist. 2027-2048+ (Verkostet "En Primeur" im April 2022. Syndicat Viticole de Pessac-Léognan/Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion/Daniel Vins) vvWine.ch
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6/15/2022 - Ramonee Confit Likes this wine: 98 Points
Le meilleur vin du millésime, juste derrière Lafleur
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6/11/2022 - watcheslover Likes this wine: 97 Points
For me, the best wine of the left bank for 2021, better this year than Haut-Brion and La Mission.
Some Anglo-Saxon (and Chinese) critics are finally beginning with difficulty to glimpse the real class of this Chateau while it has been working wonders at least since 2014!!! When will they understand that finesse and originality of taste is worth more than the quantity of new oak dear to the great Bobby? And despite the enormous speculation on this wine, it remains, in my opinion and by far, the best value for money of all Bordeaux.
97-98
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5/20/2022 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
Garnet in color, the wine opens with tobacco leaf, cigar box, thyme, herbs, flowers, espresso and red berries. Medium/full-bodied, vibrant, fresh and focused on its purity of fruit as well as its elegance. This sublime wine is silky, and sensuous. This finish is long and refined, with sweet, ripe cherries, dark cocoa, spice, herbs, a drop of citrus and cigar wrapper with a cool touch of salt and crushed rock that come out in the endnotes. The wine was made using 45% whole bunch clusters during fermentation. From a blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot, 13.5% ABV, pH 3.6. The wine is aging in a combination of 70% new, French oak, 20% foudres and 10% amphora. Drink from 2025-2050. 94-96
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4/29/2022 - chatters wrote:
En-Primeur campaign for the 2021 vintage; 4/25/2022-4/29/2022 (Bordeaux): Aromas of violet, slightly meaty, black fruits which grow with time, cream, a little controlled oak. Despite the medium plus intensity acidity this has the sensation of softness on the palate, black fruits, integrated tannins are talc textured, finely tooled, there is a slightly unripe quality here as well at the end of the finish – a little green hardness, otherwise this is rather nice.
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