Bordeaux 2021 at Two Years: Appellation Bordeaux
Bordeaux means different things to different people. From some it is all about chasing the famous labels, Petrus and Le Pin, Latour and Lafleur, while instead others enjoy uncovering Bordeaux bargains, top cru bourgeois wines which outclass their classed growth peers.
When it comes to vintages, some drinkers enjoy richer vintages infused with tannin such as 2018, or more voluptuous offerings like 2009, while others prefer the cooler years, like 2014, or the future classics, like 2016 and 2019.
And for a great number of people I suspect Bordeaux is a purely red wine region, while some among us also seek out the white wines, especially the chronically under-appreciated dry whites.
Those on the hunt for dry white wines naturally gravitate to Pessac-Léognan, understandable given it is home to the whites of Château Haut-Brion, Domaine de Chevalier and Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte, among others. If whites are your thing, however, it would be wrong to limit yourself to this one appellation, as today there are exciting white wines made all over the region.
For the moment almost all these other whites reside within the basic Bordeaux appellation (the only exceptions being one or two other lonely outposts, such as Francs Côtes de Bordeaux). This is surely set to change though; the Médoc Blanc appellation is in the pipeline (expected in the 2025 vintage) and there is still a hunger south of Bordeaux for a dry appellation in Sauternes. It would be great to see both emerge from the melee.
In this report I look at many of these Bordeaux appellation whites, as well as any reds also made under this appellation, among which there are a few significant wines. There is even a rosé or two in here, not to mention wines made outside the appellation system altogether, the winemakers opting for Vin de Pays or Vin de France designations instead.
