A tasting analysis of the 2021 vintage Grand Cru Medoc

WHEN VinExpo Asia returned to Hong Kong after a six-year hiatus — the last time it was held was pre-pandemic, in 2018 — the excitement was not exactly like before. The reason was that just the previous year, in 2023, VinExpo Asia was held in Singapore, so instead of a bi-annual event, it had become an annual event, so the excitement, in a sense, had been halved — at least for us in Asia that do not want to travel to VinExpo Bordeaux or VinExpo Paris.

But I must hand it to the Union des Grand Crus in Bordeaux (UGCB), which boasts of 132 members, most of which are Grand Cru Classe chateaux from Medoc, Pessac-Leognan, St.-Emilion, and Pomerol, for adding glitter to the event with their vintage tasting program that is now integral to every VinExpo.

For this year, the UGCB featured the relatively mysterious 2021 vintage. If I remember correctly, there were around 75 chateaux that participated in the 2021 vintage tasting program in this year’s VinExpo. Too many for any wine afficionado to taste in a single day, so I decided to focus on Medoc, and those participating Grand Cru chateaux from this main Bordeaux sub-region.

As expected, no first growths (Latour, Lafite, Haut-Brion, Margaux, and Mouton-Rothschild) were present, but a good number of second growths were present, with many of the 61 classified Grand Cru wines from the historic 1855 Medoc Classification represented.

THE 2021 VINTAGE
Without getting too technical (like how an oenologist and vigneron would explain it), I will keep this simple.

Most of the chateau representatives at VinExpo agreed that 2021 was a colder than usual year, even given the situation of global warming. That said, the weather favored the early ripening grape varietals like merlot and cabernet franc, over the other two Medoc staples, cabernet sauvignon and petit verdot. The 2021 vintage therefore offers wines that are lower in alcohol content, have friendlier tannins, and are higher in acidity. This was good in fact for white Bordeaux.

On the red Bordeaux side, I felt this was more like Bordeaux from the 1990s and earlier, with less alcohol and more drinkable at a younger age, though they have proven to be age-worthy.

From personal experience, my tastings of at least 30 Medoc wines, while still uneven in quality, texture, and even acidity level — obviously from the difference in individual “terroirs,” the wines in general were all approachable and noticeably lower in alcohol, averaging 13-13.5%. While 13% and 13.5% seem like a miniscule difference from previous vintages’ 14% and 14.5%, the actual tasting manifested the perceivably lighter alcohol.

Below are my eight favorite Grand Cru Medoc wines, in alphabetical order, together with my customary tasting notes:

1. Chateau Brane-Cantenac 2021, 2nd growth, Margaux

• Made with 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, and little Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and a rare sighting of Carmenere

• Tasting Notes: “lovely aromatics, ripe berry flavors, some earthy notes, vanilla, medium-bodied, with delicious plummy aftertaste; a relatively soft Cabernet-based wine that is straight forward and easy to appreciate.”

2. Chateau Cantenac Brown 2021, 3rd growth, Margaux

• Made with 73% Cabernet Sauvignon and 27% Merlot

• Tasting Notes: “fragrant, sultry, herbaceous, medium-bodied, toasted oak, and a nice finish; this one is sexy and drinkable now but should age gracefully as well.”

3. Chateau Croizet-Bages 2021, 5th growth, Pauillac

• Made with 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot

• Tasting Notes: “Black cherry, violets, satiny, very friendly tannins, and with complex roasted almond finish; this is my first encounter with this Chateau and I am super satisfied with what I tasted.”

4. Chateau La Lagune 2021, 3rd growth, Haut Medoc

• Made with 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, and 10% Petit Verdot

• Tasting Notes: “more complex nose, herbaceous notes, star anise, plums, sweet oak, peppercorn, and a long flavorful berry finish; one of the Grand Cru wines under the radar, and still with excellent prices.”

5. Chateau Lagrange 2021, 3rd growth, St.-Julien

• Made with 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, and 2% Petit Verdot

• Tasting Notes: “eucalyptus, black currant, licorice, medium bodied with racy acids, nicely structured but already drinkable, spicy with cinnamon at the end; this has a very high Cabernet Sauvignon percentage, even higher than the 80% Lagrange had for their amazing 2019 vintage, so this one will age well while still be appreciated in its youth.”

6. Chateau Lynch-Bages 2021, 5th growth, Pauillac

• Made with 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, and 3% Cabernet Franc

• Tasting Notes: “opulent, surreal nose with licorice, ripe blackberry, silky tannins, viscous and fuller bodied compared to fellow 2021 wines, with long bold fruits in delectable finish; this was easily one of my favorites at the VinExpo tastings.”

7. Chateau Pichon Comtesse de Lalande 2021, 2nd growth, Pauillac

• Made with 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Merlot

• Tasting Notes: “sultry, floral notes, plummy, eucalyptus, medium-bodied, long, lingering raisin-like finish; to be honest, I am more a fan of the other Pichon, the Pichon Baron than the Pichon Comtesse, but for this vintage I have to admit the Comtesse de Lalande was better, at least from my tasting point of view.”

8. Chateau Rauzan-Gassies 2021, 2nd growth, Margaux

• Made with 78% Cabernet Sauvignon and 22% Merlot

• Tasting Notes: “sophisticated nose with lavender and petals, silky, grainy tannins, plummy, with mocha flavors and jam-like lingering finish; another rare time where I prefer this over the more popular Rauzan-Segla.”

The good thing about the 2021 vintage is the chateaux owners know that this vintage cannot command the exorbitant prices that the more recent top vintages commanded, like those of 2015, 2016, and 2018. So, I think these wines will be better value-for-money Grand Cru wines that should hit our country’s shelves soon.

The colder vintage made for softer Cabernet Sauvignons that to me are super underrated because I love the Cabs not for the strong tannins but for their inherent flavors. There are a lot of great finds from this vintage, and if you get hold of any of the eight wines I recommended, please do buy them. You can enjoy them now and they will still keep for another 10 years — but it is not a vintage to save for your granddaughter’s wedding.

For those who have written to me and inquired about my wine seminars, I am happy to announce that come Sept. 27, Friday, post-dinner at 8 p.m., I will be holding a wine tasting seminar at the Kyodo Lounge in Robinsons Magnolia, QC. For those interested, please visit this link to register: https://thewinetrainingcamp.wordpress.com/workshop09272024

Sherwin A. Lao is the first Filipino wine writer member of both the Bordeaux based Federation Internationale des Journalists et Ecrivains du Vin et des Spiritueux (FIJEV) and the UK-based Circle of Wine Writers (CWW). For comments, inquiries, wine event coverage, wine consultancy, and other wine related concerns, e-mail the author at wineprotege@gmail.com, or check his wine training website https://thewinetrainingcamp.wordpress.com/services/.