Bordeaux 2019 In Bottle
There has long been talk of a brilliant trilogy of vintages in Bordeaux, from 2018-2020. Let’s take a look at 2019, the bridge between the hedonism of 2018 and finer tuned classicism of 2020. In a nutshell, it is a very good year, if not another hot one. The brakes of control, though, have been applied with greater precision in 2019 according to Neil Martin. He rates the vintage above 2018. 2019 was ushered loftier on the totem by less hydric stress than 2018, a mild September and the attenuated phenological ripening that this facilitated. All said, there are exceptional wines on both sides of the water, albeit, post-bottling, the Left Bank shines over the Right.‘...In a nutshell, it is a very good year...’
According to Galloni, Saint-Estèphe is unequivocally the star appellation, presumably because of the water-retaining capacity of its heavier clay soils, a weapon to achieve an uncanny freshness and savoury poise in warmer years. Pauillac, particularly the northern extremities that abut Saint-Estèphe, is next in the hierarchy, while Margaux and Saint Julien boast many brilliant expressions amidst a slightly less consistent performance overall.
The Right Bank and its proclivity for the earlier ripening and altogether softer Merlot, produced many good wines to be sure. Yet the heat and ill-timed late summer rains served up some challenges, while Merlot’s plusher mouthfeel and softer tannic latticework does not quite mitigate the sense of fruit sweetness and alcohol for the drinker like Cabernet’s stiff upper lip of tannic bristle. Many wines are powerful and seductive, if not quite as refined as those on the other side of the water.
Whites, too, are strong in 2019. Most were picked before the September rains and deliver palate-staining extract with an uncanny quotient of freshness.
2019 is setting the stage for wines of power, pedigree, remarkable freshness and longevity.
Galloni cites Montrose as ‘epic’ which, together with Lynch-Bages, serve as his wines of the vintage. At least for now. Time has a tendency of scuttling preconceptions and precocious ratings in these parts. Calon-Ségur and Phélan-Ségur, too, outperform many higher ranked wines, while the usual suspects are in the mix, awaiting the complexities imbued by time to rise, perhaps, to the position predicated by their illustrious birthrights. The very top.
Shop Bordeaux 2019 Now.
Shop Bordeaux 2019 Now.
Further Reading
Bordeaux 2019 Buying Guide
Langton’s buying guide for The long-awaited 2019 Bordeaux Vintage.
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1985: A Burgundy Vintage to Swoon Over
Ned Goodwin MW dives into Henri Jayer’s rare and prodigious 1985 Cros Parantoux.
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The Miracle of Mouton
A tale of insidious local rivalries, lathered in headline-grabbing scandal and stained with brilliant wine.
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