Latest news
7th week 02-06 June : latest news
• Left bank / Graves / Médoc: Madame de Beaucaillou
• Margaux: Pavillon Rouge, Château Margaux
• Saint-Julien: La Croix Ducru-Beaucaillou, Ducru-Beaucaillou
• Pauillac: Lacoste-Borie, Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Réserve Pichon-Comtesse, Pichon-Comtesse de Lalande
• Saint-Estèphe: ---
• Right bank / Libournais: Peyrou
• Pomerol: Feytit-Clinet, Clinet, La Conseillante, Vieux Château Certan, La Violette, L'Église-Clinet, Le Pin
• Saint-Émilion: Petit Gravet Aîné, Clos Saint-Julien, L'If, Canon
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6th week 26-30 May: BORDEAUX AND OUTSIDE BORDEAUX
A few Bordeaux wines livened up the short Ascension week, accompanied by wines from two producers outside Bordeaux:
• Bordeaux dry white: Latour-Martillac
• Pessac-Léognan red: Latour-Martillac
• Margaux: Baron de Brane, Brane-Cantenac
• Right bank / Libournais: La Dauphine, Domaine de l'A
• Saint-Émilion: Rocheyron
• Tardieu-Laurent (northern Rhône): 5 white wines and 5 red wines
• Tardieu-Laurent (southern Rhône+Bandol): 1 white wine and 5 red wines
• Dominio de Pingus (Ribera del Duero): PSI, Flor de Pingus, Pingus
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2024 in the Rhône Valley
From April to September 2024, the growing season in the Rhône Valley was characterised by fairly standard weather conditions (data from the Météo France station in Orange):
- within the norm for temperatures, with cumulative Tmax. +0.8°C above the thirty-year average),
- drier than the norm, with cumulative rainfall 18% below the norm (281mm vs 344mm).
In terms of temperature, July (+1.6°C) and August (+3.5°C) were the hottest months. The good news is that these were the two crucial months for ripening the grapes.
In terms of rainfall, May (+13%) and September (+18%) were the wettest months. The bad news is that a wet May led to widespread and virulent mildew, while a wet September complicated - and in some cases hastened - the harvest.
Rhône white wines. When they were not eliminated by mildew, the white grapes (viognier, marsanne, roussanne...) took full advantage of the regular and not excessive summer conditions. The 2024s are reminiscent of the 2021s in their frank acidity and aromatic intensity without exuberance.
Northern Rhône reds. When they were not eliminated by mildew (this year's mantra), the northern Syrahs were undoubtedly favoured in 2024, producing wines combining the elegance of the 2016s with the power of the 2020s, most often at 13°. In our opinion, the 2024s are a cut above the 2021s, 2022s and 2023s. Hermitage and Cornas are particularly successful.
Southern Rhône reds : When they have not been eliminated by mildew (all grape varieties) or coulure (Grenache), and when they have not been harvested too early for fear of rot, the wines have a greedy, fresh fruitiness that is charming in the short to medium term. A special success in Gigondas.
Tardieu-Laurent : In a complicated year like 2024, the advantage of a quality négociant-breeder like Tardieu-Laurent is twofold:
- it is not dependent on a single vineyard, but selects from its best sources of supply. In 2024, it was clearly the old vines and hillside vineyards that were favoured,
- he downgraded to a second brand (called Les Grandes Bastides) the lots he considered inferior, keeping only the best in his ‘Vieilles Vignes’ range.
By dint of his selections, Bastien Tardieu decided in 2024 not to include any mourvèdre in the blends (except in Bandol, of course), to limit the red Crozes-Hermitage to the Chassis sector only, and not to produce any red Châteauneuf du Pape, either Vieilles Vignes or cuvée Spéciale.
The prices. Although Tardieu-Laurent will only produce half a year's volume in 2024, prices remain unchanged for both colours and all appellations combined. The consistency of prices in the Rhône Valley (2022=2023=2024), whatever the circumstances and the vintage, is remarkable year after year.
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2024 at Dominio de Pingus
Two meteorological events marked the 2024 vintage in Ribera del Duero:
- the spring frost in the early hours of 23 and 24 April, which mainly affected the lower terroirs (valley bottoms). The bad news was that the late regrowth from the frozen vines was unable to reach sufficient maturity in the autumn and had to be eliminated.
- the continuing dryness of the summer, with less than a third (32.6mm) of the usual rainfall (110.5mm) between July and September, following an exceptionally wet June, which was three times (78.8mm) the thirty-year average (26.2mm). The good news is that, unlike Rioja (and Bordeaux), the Ribera del Duero remained untouched by the ravages of mildew this year.
As always, Peter Sisseck's philosophy has been successful, perhaps even more so in 2024:
- normal yields (1.5 kg of grapes per vine, as in the Médoc grands crus), to avoid over-concentrated juice,
- early harvests (10-17 September for Pingus and Flor, 14-27 September for PSI), to prevent over-ripening and keep alcoholic levels down,
- vinification at very low temperatures (21-23°C), to preserve fresh, uncooked fruit aromas,
- Extractions as gentle as possible (30% fewer pump-overs by 2024), to avoid hard, rustic tannic structures,
-meticulous hygiene, both in the vat room and in the cellar, to ensure impeccable aromatic purity and precision.
The wines. The secret of Pingus (and to a lesser extent Flor) is an intense aromatic palette of fresh fruit, black cherry, blackberry and blackcurrant, with a creamy, unctuous texture unrivalled anywhere in Spain, in contrast to the powerful, woody, ‘old-fashioned’ style of its close neighbour Vega Sicilia.
PSI, with 10% Grenache, offers the same range of aromas, good length and freshness (with acid support). And above all, the quality/price ratio is as exemplary as ever.
The prices. Like Tardieu-Laurent, Peter Sisseck has not changed its prices for its three wines and for the third consecutive vintage (2022=2023=2024).
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The pace of Bordeaux 2024 did not falter during this second week of 5 working days, covering the entire range, from Potensac to Haut-Brion, from La Chenade to Ausone:
• Bordeaux dry white: Virginie de Valandraud (new), Valandraud, Pape Clément
• Bordeaux sweet white: ---
• Left bank / Graves / Médoc: Potensac
• Pessac-Léognan red: Haut-Bergey, La Chapelle de Mission Haut-Brion, Pape Clément, Le Clarence de Haut-Brion, La Mission Haut-Brion, Haut-Brion
• Margaux: Cantenac-Brown, Giscours, Rauzan-Ségla, Palmer
• Saint-Julien: Saint-Pierre, Clos du Marquis, Léoville-Poyferré, Léoville Las-Cases
• Pauillac: ---
• Saint-Estèphe: Capbern, Le Marquis de Calon Ségur, Meyney, Phélan Ségur, Calon Ségur
• Right bank / Libournais: La Chenade, Montlandrie, La Vieille Cure, Haut-Carles, Les Cruzelles
• Pomerol: La Petite Église, Nénin
• Saint-Émilion: Fombrauge, Dragon de Quintus, Moulin Saint-Georges, Virginie de Valandraud, La Dominique, Beau-Séjour Bécot (new), La Clotte, Quintus, Troplong-Mondot, Valandraud, Figeac, La Chapelle d'Ausone, Ausone
Mixed vintage ---> mixed reviews. The Revue du Vin de France, Bettane+Desseauve and Jean-Marc Quarin have just delivered their verdict on the 2024 Bordeaux vintage, and we find the same heterogeneity as among foreign critics, as mentioned last week. There is no consensus on any one wine or appellation, because 2024 is a vintage that owes its quality essentially to the people who made it, even before the terroir or the grape variety. Here are the podiums (for the reds) of the three French critics:
• La Revue du Vin de France (larvf.com)
- best score 97-98/100: Palmer, Ducru-Beaucaillou, Léoville Las Cases, Lafite-Rothschild
one Margaux, two Saint-Julien and one Pauillac,
• Bettane+Desseauve (mybettanedesseauve.fr)
- best score 98/100: Ducru-Beaucaillou, Montrose
one Saint-Julien and one Saint-Estèphe,
• Jean-Marc Quarin (quarin.com)
- best score 96/100: Margaux, Latour, L'Église-Clinet, Ausone
one Margaux, one Pauillac, one Pomerol and one Saint-Émilion.
Astonishing wines. Each taster's ranking reveals a number of crus that stand out by obtaining the same score as others that are much more prestigious and therefore much more expensive. Here's a short list of the astonishing wines which, according to the tasters, offer the best value for money of the vintage (in anticipation of future prices for wines not yet on offer):
• La Revue du Vin de France
94-95/100 : Cantenac-Brown (Margaux), same rating as Beychevelle, Lynch-Bages...
93-94/100 : Clos Louie et Clos Puy Arnaud (Côtes de Castillon), same rating as Nénin, Clos Fourtet...
92-94/100 : Latour-Martillac (Pessac-Léognan rouge), same rating as La Mission Haut-Brion, Haut-Bailly...
• Bettane+Desseauve
97-98/100 : Léoville-Poyferré (Saint-Julien), same rating as Léoville-Las Cases, Lafite-Rothschild, Haut-Brion...
96/100 : La Gaffelière (Saint-Émilion), same rating as Valandraud, Canon, Troplong-Mondot...
95-96/100 : Domaine de Chevalier (Pessac-Léognan rouge), same rating as Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Smith Haut-Lafitte...
95/100 : Giscours (Margaux), same rating as Palmer, Lynch-Bages, Pape-Clément...
• Jean-Marc Quarin
95/100 : Brane-Cantenac (Margaux), same rating as Palmer, Léoville-Las Cases, Lafite-Rothschild...
93/100 : Branaire-Ducru (Saint-Julien), same rating as Beychevelle, Léoville-Barton, Pape-Clément...
92/100 : Pibran (Pauillac), same rating as Duhart-Milon, Clerc-Milon...
91/100 : Côte de Baleau (Saint-Émilion), better rated than Canon-La Gaffelière, Feytit-Clinet...
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Mixed vintage ---> reds with varying characteristics. The essential condition for producing fine 2024 reds was to have been able to count on an abundance of labour at all times, from March to September in the vineyard, then from September to November in the vat room and the cellar. The second condition was meticulous sorting of the harvest, followed by the systematic elimination of inferior batches during blending before barrelling. Unfortunately, these necessarily costly conditions were reserved for the elite of châteaux, with substantial financial resources and able to accept a year with a deficit, a deficit accentuated by the small volumes produced.
When they are successful, the 2024s are aromatic on the nose and on the palate, with fresh (red fruit) and expressive fruit, elegant, pleasant and charming. They don't have the power of recent great vintages, but thanks to their moderate alcohol content (usually between 12.5° and 13°) and the barrel ageing that fleshes them out, they are quickly approachable and easy to drink. This combination of freshness and character is unprecedented in Bordeaux, but it's right up there with current consumer demand (more freshness, less extraction). By 2024, red Bordeaux wines will have more of a Burgundian profile than a Bordeaux one.
There are two main reasons why 2024 red Bordeaux wines are so successful:
• there is no preference for a particularly favoured appellation or region, as the quality of 2024 reds depends directly and exclusively on the will and hard work of the people who make them. This is even before terroir, exposure or grape variety.
• there will be no hierarchical upheaval in 2024, with the greatest growths at the head of the best terroirs and with the best teams having produced the best wines. On the other hand, in the less prestigious appellations, the only success stories are those of enthusiasts who run their vineyards like vegetable gardens (the list is long, from Clos Manou to Domaine de l'A or Clos Louie), and ‘bourgeois’ or ‘artisan’ crus that are backed up by outstanding grands crus classés (such as Ormes de Pez and Lynch-Bages, Pibran and Pichon-Baron, Potensac and Léoville-Las Cases, G d'Estournel and Cos d'Estournel, Montlandrie and L'Église-Clinet, Moulin Saint-Georges and Ausone, and so on. ).
For more details, here's a link to our qualitative information page on the 2024 vintage in Bordeaux.
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4th week 12-16 May: FULL SCHEME
A number of crus took advantage of the full 5-day week to offer their 2024s, like a flock following in the footsteps of a Mouton (=sheep):
• Bordeaux dry white: Les Arums de Lagrange, Couhins, Carbonnieux, Malartic-Lagravière, Domaine de Chevalier, Cos d'Estournel, Aile d'Argent
• Bordeaux sweet white: Haut-Bergeron, Coutet
• Left bank / Graves / Médoc: "G" d'Estournel, Poujeaux
• Pessac-Léognan red: Carbonnieux, Malartic-Lagravière, Domaine de Chevalier, Les Carmes Haut-Brion
• Margaux: La Tour de Mons, Labégorce (new), Siran, Marquis d'Alesme, Malescot Saint-Exupéry, d'Issan
• Saint-Julien: Les Fiefs de Lagrange, Gloria, Langoa Barton, Lagrange, Léoville Barton, Beychevelle
• Pauillac: Pibran, d'Armailhac, Clerc Milon, Pichon Baron, Petit Mouton, Mouton Rothschild
• Saint-Estèphe: Cos Labory, Haut-Marbuzet, Les Pagodes de Cos, Cos d'Estournel
• Right bank / Libournais: d'Aiguilhe, La Mauriane
• Pomerol: ---
• Saint-Émilion: Côte de Baleau, Clos de l'Oratoire, Pavie-Macquin, Canon-La Gaffelière, Clos Fourtet, La Mondotte
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America first. This year, it was the American tasters who were the first to give their opinion on the 2024 vintage. Here are the scores of the two protagonists of Vinous (Antonio Galloni and Neal Martin), together with those of the Wine Advocate (William Kelley). In a forthcoming newsletter, we will give you the opinions of French critics (Revue du Vin de France, En Magnum with Michel Bettane, Jean-Marc Quarin, Le Point with Jacques Dupont, Les Echos with Bernard Burtschy, etc.).
Mixed vintage ---> mixed reviews. The quality of the wines of the 2024 vintage depends to a large extent on the people involved, even before the terroir. There is no single style that is characteristic of the vintage, but a wide variety of interpretations depending on the style and the desire for quality (often linked to financial capacity) of the vintages. The 2024s we tasted varied from the most acidic to the most velvety, from the most slender to the most massive. Hence the extreme diversity in the critics' rankings, where no single wine, grape variety or appellation seems to be unanimous. As proof, here is the podium of the 3 American critics:
• Antonio Galloni (Vinous)
- best score 95-98/100: Rauzan-Ségla, Cos d'Estournel, La Conseillante
one Margaux, one Saint-Estèphe and one Pomerol,
• Neal Martin (Vinous)
- best score 95-97/100: Lafite-Rothschild, Vieux Château Certan, Trotanoy, Lafleur
one Pauillac and three Pomerol,
• William Kelley (The Wine Advocate)
- best score 94-96/100: Pontet-Canet, La Conseillante, Cheval Blanc
one Pauillac, one Pomerol and one Saint-Émilion.
Compilation. By statistically reprocessing and compiling the scores of 14 tasters from around the world, Bordeaux-based data processing company Wine Services has just published the Bordeaux 2024 ranking. For your information, here are the top wines by colour:
• Dry white wines
La Mission Haut-Brion (96,15/100), Haut-Brion (96,04), Smith Haut-Lafitte (95,86), Pavillon Blanc (95,31), Domaine de Chevalier (94,98), Valandraud (94,64), Les Champs Libres (94,59), Cos d'Estournel (94,54)...
• Red wines
Les Carmes Haut-Brion (95,94/100), Lafleur (95,83), L'Église-Clinet (95,55), Montrose (95,54), Lafite-Rothschild (95,33), Haut-Brion et Mouton-Rothschild (95,26), Margaux (95,23), Petrus (95,18), Léoville-Las Cases (95,09).
Score/price ratios. In each taster's ranking, there are wines that stand out from the crowd by obtaining the same score as others that are much more prestigious and therefore much more expensive. Here is a short list of these astonishing wines, the best score/price ratios of the vintage according to these tasters (in anticipation of future prices for wines not yet on offer):
• Antonio Galloni (Vinous)
- 94-96/100: Couhins blanc (Pessac-Léognan), same rating as La Mission Haut-Brion blanc, Pavillon blanc...
- 94-96/100: Clos Puy-Arnaud (Côtes de Castillon), same rating as La Gaffelière, Pavie-Macquin, Le Tertre-Rôteboeuf...
- 92-95/100: Pédesclaux (Pauillac) same rating as Les Forts de Latour...
- 92-95/100: Poesia (Saint-Émilion) same rating as Beauséjour-Duffau, Trottevieille, Valandraud...
• Neal Martin (Vinous)
- 91-93/100: Clos Floridène blanc (Graves), same rating as Pavillon blanc, Pape-Clément blanc...
- 91-93/100: Clos Manou (Médoc) same rating as Rauzan-Ségla, Gruaud-Larose, Lynch-Bages...
- 91-93/100: La Petite Église (Pomerol) same rating as La Fleur-Pétrus, La Violette, Clinet...
- 91-93/100: Poesia (Saint-Émilion) same rating as Pavie, Le Tertre-Rôteboeuf, La Mondotte...
• William Kelley (The Wine Advocate)
- 93-95/100: Giscours (Margaux) same rating as Margaux, Palmer, Léoville-Las Cases...
- 92-94/100: Langoa-Barton (Saint-Julien) same rating as Léoville-Barton, Gruaud-Larose...
3rd week 5-7 May: THE 2024 CAMPAIGN IS LAUNCHED
• Bordeaux sweet white: ---
• Left bank / Graves / Médoc: Sociando-Mallet
• Pessac-Léognan red: Haut-Bailly II, Haut-Bailly, Smith Haut-Lafitte
• Margaux: La Gurgue, Ferrière, Durfort-Vivens
• Saint-Julien: Connétable Talbot, Talbot
• Pauillac: Haut-Bages Libéral, Lynch-Bages
- 5% à -10% : Petit Manou, Clos Manou, Prieuré-Lichine, Branaire-Ducru, Pontet-Canet
- 0% à -5% : Montrose, Angélus
In response to growing consumer demand for lighter, fresher wines, the Bordeaux grands crus quickly (and opportunely) began producing their own dry white wines. As an example, here's the list of wines we've produced to date from the Médoc's Grands Crus Classés alone, and we're confident that this (non-exhaustive) list will soon be extended:
- in Haut-Médoc : La Tour Carnet Blanc
- in Margaux : Tertre Blanc, Blanc de Château d'Issan, Brane Cantenac Blanc, Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux (historic since 1920)
- in Saint-Julien : Arums de Lagrange, Caillou Blanc de Talbot
- in Pauillac : Blanc de Duhart-Milon, Blanc de Lynch-Bages, Les Griffons de Pichon-Baron Blanc, Pichon-Comtesse Blanc, Aile d'Argent de Mouton-Rothschild
- in Saint-Estèphe : Cos d'Estournel Blanc
In parallel with this acceleration, many appellations, like Pessac-Léognan, are asking for a white appellation to break away from the catch-all "Bordeaux blanc" label. The 'Médoc blanc' appellation should see the light of day from the 2026 vintage onwards.
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2nd week 28-30 April: THE TREND IS COMING FROM THE TOP
• Bordeaux sweet white: Doisy-Daëne, Rayne-Vigneau, Guiraud
• Left bank / Graves / Médoc: Clos Floridène, Chasse-Spleen
• Pessac-Léognan red: ---
• Margaux: ---
• Saint-Julien: Sarget de Gruaud, Gruaud-Larose
• Pauillac: Duhart-Milon, Carruades de Lafite, Lafite-Rothschild
The trend is coming from the top. Following in the footsteps of Branaire-Ducru, the leading appellations continue to set an example by offering their wines at prices almost 30% lower than the previous vintage. Prices are back to where they were 10 years ago, at more or less the same level as in 2014 (without inflation):
- Gruaud-Larose 2024 at €60.47 per bottle (-28% vs 2023 ; €52.60 in 2014)
- Angélus 2024 at €252.00 € per bottle (-31% vs 2023 ; €252.00 in 2014)
- Lafite-Rothschild 2024 at €403.20 € per bottle (-29% vs 2023 ; €384.00 in 2014)
We can only hope that this trend continues over the coming weeks, and that the imminent publication of the scores of the leading tasters does not revive the price ambitions of the estates.
No extra charge. We are well aware that we have to make a collective effort to reduce prices, so this year we have decided to pay the full cost of the surcharges on cases of 3 bottles (offered for all vintages with a unit price of over €50.00 including tax). As a result, you can now mix and match your reservations between the different crus that interest you more freely and free of charge.
Because size matters. As every year, we only offer the ‘classic’ sizes on our website: bottles and magnums for all wines, and half-bottles for sweet white wines. Please do not hesitate to contact us for any special requests (half-bottles, double magnums, etc.).
No-shows. We already know that a number of crus will not be released at this year's Primeurs. These include Climens, Les Trois Croix, Mazeyres, Fonroque, Le Petit Ducru and Tronquoy. This decision follows historically low yields, particularly for organically farmed vineyards and those affected by the hail storms of June 2024, but may also reflect a desire to postpone the sale of the wines indefinitely, in the hope of a more favourable economic climate once they have been bottled.
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1st week 21-25 April: KICK-OFF
• Bordeaux sweet white: ---
• Left bank / Graves / Médoc: Petit Manou, du Retout, Clos Manou
• Pessac-Léognan red: Esprit de Chevalier
• Margaux: ---
• Saint-Julien: Branaire-Ducru
• Pauillac: Pontet-Canet
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Bordeaux 2024: prices set to fall
Even if 2024 is one of the most expensive vintages to produce, and even if yields are at their lowest for 33 years, the price of 2024 Bordeaux wines is bound to fall, for a number of reasons:
• the critics' scores and comments for the 2024s will be favourable, but they will certainly be lower than for the last great Bordeaux vintages (2022, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2016, 2015, etc.), which are filling the cellars and stocks of both French and foreign customers,
• the more or less long-term slowdown in key export markets (England, China, USA, Japan, South Korea, Russia, etc.),
• the worldwide decline in red wine consumption, particularly among the younger generation.
It remains to be seen how far prices will fall. Rumours relayed by British merchants suggest that prices will more or less return to 2014 levels (at the Futures, Château Margaux 2014 was €338.00 a bottle, Cos d'Estournel €113,00, Léoville-Barton €58,80, Giscours €37,20...).
We already have a first positive indication with the vintages on offer this week:
- Pontet-Canet 2024 at €84.00 a bottle (€90,00 in 2014),
- Branaire-Ducru 2024 at €37,20 a bottle (€40,60 in 2014),
- Clos Manou 2024 at €20,70 a bottle (€22,00 in 2014).
For your information, Pontet-Canet is, along with La Conseillante and Cheval-Blanc, one of the top 3 wines of the 2024 vintage according to The Wine Advocate (formerly Parker).
With most of the grands crus announcing their releases before the end of May (next week, for example: Lafite-Rothschild, Angélus, Gruaud-Larose...), we'll soon have a clear idea of everyone's intentions (and lucidity).
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