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The famous French wine-producing region produced sterling vintages in 2018 and 2019. Is the latest one equally as good? James Suckling takes a closer look at what the year brought and picks his top bottles.

We all know that the pandemic will make the 2020 vintage particularly memorable, but the vintage in Bordeaux will also be remembered because it produced so many outstanding wines under such challenging circumstances – from logistical shortages to severe drought conditions.

In fact, 2020 is the third outstanding vintage in a row for Bordeaux and marks perhaps the first time the region has experienced such a high-quality trilogy of superlative years.

JamesSuckling.com rated 1,302 barrel samples from the 2020 vintage and conducted almost 40 Zoom calls from Hong Kong with chateau owners and winemakers, and the story behind the 2020 vintage is a fantastic one.

It was not only our biggest en primeur tasting ever but perhaps even the biggest for any wine critic. The outstanding quality of so many of the wines highlights the genius of Bordeaux viticulture and winemaking, as well as the incredible human effort and collective energy it takes to make so many terrific-quality wines.

“You had a new challenge every day, and it could be climatic or it could be sanitary,” says Veronique Sanders, general manager of Château Haut-Bailly, who made one of the best wines of the vintage. “We had to keep our team working and that could be a challenge. Imagine what it was like when France was in lockdown in May and April!”

I think that we’re all going to be excited with what’s eventually bottled in Bordeaux from 2020. The reds show complex and intense aromas as well as bright fruit character, but also floral and earth undertones. This is something you don’t see in such young wine resting in barrels or other vessels in cellars. They also have intense yet fine tannins and relatively fresh acidity. They’re wines that can be consumed relatively young but will age very well after bottling.

Some wines are of really exceptional quality. In fact, I rated 10 wines with possible perfect scores of 99 to 100. That’s the third-highest number of top wines in the last 10 years for my en primeur tastings for Bordeaux and one of the highest in my career of tasting Bordeaux from barrel. By comparison, 2019 had eight wines with 99-to-100 ratings, and 2018 just four.

“We think that the 2020 is the best of the trilogy,” says Florence Cathiard, owner of Château Smith Haut-Lafitte, who made one of her best wines ever. “It has the structure and the typicity of the 2018 and the aromatics of the 2019. So it takes the best of both.”

The best wines of 2020 also have a ripeness but slightly less alcohol than 2019 and 2018, because many wineries picked earlier and extracted less during fermentation and macerations, using lower temperatures and fewer pump-overs.

“It was crazy, crazy,” says Saskia Rothschild, head of the famous first-growth Château Lafite-Rothschild, as well as Château Duhart-Milon and Château L’Évangile. The Lafite only has about 12.8 percent alcohol, a good degree less than most recent high-quality vintages.

“Everyone told us 2020 was hot and we measured the vats and they were like what we knew in the 1990s and 1980s. It’s very surprising. It’s about that paradox [of the vintage] that we talked about.”

The paradox is that Bordeaux experienced one of its most severe droughts ever during the summer, with almost 50 days of no rain – or only a few drops from about mid-June to mid-August. Most winemakers worried that they would have a high-alcohol harvest with shrivelled and sugar-rich grapes.

Yet the wet weather during most of the first half of the year enabled the best vineyards with great soils to maintain moisture. Large amounts of rain came in mid-August, but not enough negatively to affect the quality of the grape crop. The most important precipitation arrived in late September, but many of the top names on the Right Bank had finished their harvest or were very close to ending. This early and dry harvest delivered some impeccable merlot in many estates.

But don’t write off wines with a predominance of cabernet sauvignon in their blends. The cabernets were much smaller than normal, with thick skins, so the rains at the end of September didn’t negatively affect them in many areas or properties.

Moreover, the cabernets in Pessac-Léognan were super in 2020, which is why three out of my top 10 wines were from the appellation.

The question now is whether 2020 is better than 2019 or 2018. My impression after tasting so many barrel samples is that it’s certainly better than 2018 and at least at the same level as 2019 in quality. I’ll have to wait and see the wines in bottle to finally decide how they compare with 2019.

Tasting Notes: Top 10 Bordeaux 2020 Wines

These 10 Bordeaux 2020 wines were rated 99-100 by James Suckling and his tasting team.

CHÂTEAU HAUT-BRION PESSAC-LÉOGNAN 2020

This is a superb Haut-Brion with incredible tannins that are wonderfully fine-grained. It’s really powerful. This is very primary, with so much grape-generated tannin structure.

CHÂTEAU MARGAUX MARGAUX 2020

So floral and perfumed with blackcurrants, blackberries and some asphalt. Full-bodied with super, fine tannins.

CHÂTEAU HOSANNA POMEROL 2020

This shows very intense, old-vine character with bark, black mushroom and dark fruit. Full-bodied and creamy with unique flavours of earth and fruit.

CHÂTEAU LA FLEUR-PÉTRUS POMEROL 2020

Purple berry and blackberry aromas with cracked black pepper, violets and lavender. It’s full-bodied and layered, and broadens in the mouth.

CHÂTEAU LAFITE ROTHSCHILD PAUILLAC 2020

Rather ethereal and so refined, with finesse, focus and brightness that provide incredible energy and pedigree.

CHÂTEAU HAUT-BAILLY PESSAC-LÉOGNAN 2020

This has incredible power and drive, with blackberry, black olive and graphite. It’s full-bodied, yet dynamic and agile, with so much polished and muscular tannin.

CHÂTEAU MOUTON ROTHSCHILD PAUILLAC 2020

This is a great and impressive Mouton with plushness and precision. A million layers of tannins. It’s full and very friendly, even seductive, in a rich and opulent way.

CHÂTEAU TROTANOY POMEROL 2020

A very concentrated Trot with density and depth, the tannins spreading across the palate.

CHÂTEAU SMITH-HAUT-LAFITTE PESSAC-LÉOGNAN 2020

So much blackcurrant, graphite and iodine character. Full-bodied. Incredible quality to the tannins. They’re polished yet powerful.

CHÂTEAU PAVIE ST-ÉMILION 2020

The aromas are already exceptional, showing crushed stone, limestone and salt character to the dark fruit and bark. Floats on the palate.

James Suckling honoured by French Government

In June, James Suckling, noted international wine critic and Prestige's wine correspondent, was honoured by the French Government for his services to the country and its wine industry with the title and rank of Chevalier de l’Ordre Nationale du Mérite. Suckling received the honour — the only time such an award has been bestowed on an Asia-based wine critic — during a ceremony held at the residence of the French consul general in Hong Kong, Alexandre Giorgini.

For more wine reports and ratings, you can visit JamesSuckling.com

The post Best of Wine: The Top 10 Bordeaux Bottles of 2020 appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

After reviewing some 18,000 wines, James Suckling and his team reveal their selection of the top 10 wines of 2020.

It’s been a tough year for all of us and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better. But a glass of terrific-quality wine can certainly help us through this crazy time. And we at JamesSuckling.com did our very best to cover the wine world this year and find some amazing bottles. We managed to rate almost 18,000 wines since our last Top 100 list was published in November 2019.

I’ve been in Hong Kong reviewing wines in my tasting room at my wife’s restaurant/wine bar James Suckling Wine Central, Nick Stock has been tasting mostly in Adelaide, Australia and Stuart Pigott is primarily in Germany; we also have some reviews from Zekun Shuai in Beijing. It certainly has been a very different way of rating and writing about wines than in the past, when we travelled the world to visit wineries and talk to vintners and winemakers.

This year, for our Top 10 wines of 2020 list we tried to focus more on relative value for fine and great wines, because we all know prices continue to increase and most of us need to watch our wallets. We also tried to include wines with a production volume of at least 500 cases or 6,000 bottles. (We didn’t include barrel samples, which is why no 2019 Bordeaux were included.) We only included wines rated 98 points or more, which total 350 names from the almost 18,000 rated. We scored 53 wines 100 points in the last 12 months.

Price is in important factor. All the Top 10 cost US$100 a bottle or less. Some were released at a lower price but have increased significantly. We also – as always – took into account what we call “wow factor”. It’s that emotional element a wine may give you when you taste it. The feeling of joy and wonder of a great wine.

Our Wine of the Year 2020 is from an extraordinary place on Planet Wine. It’s wonderful, not only because it’s a perfect, 100-point wine, but because it represents a number of points we applaud in winemaking today: amazing value, environmentally responsible and sustainable production, clear and transparent character reflecting its ecosystem, and incredible drinkability. Argentina’s Chacra Pinot Noir Patagonia Treinta y Dos 2018 covers all this and more, which is why it’s our Wine of the Year 2020.

Unfortunately, only just over 600 cases were made of this old-vine pinot noir, which comprises 3 hectares of vines that were planted in 1932. All are biodynamically farmed. The wine is produced in a simple modern winery in concrete vats and aged in used French oak. Very little sulphur is used, due to the soft winemaking techniques. The 2018 currently sells for about $90 a bottle from its release price of $40. We know it’s hard to find. However, recent vintages such as 2017 and 2016 are very close in quality, if you can’t find the 2018.

What I like about the wine is its sublime structure and dynamic sensibility with firm and fine tannins and bright acidity perfectly framing the pure fruit character of strawberries with earth and forest undertones. It’s wonderful to drink young, but shows the constitution of a great wine for ageing.

I also greatly appreciate the wine in the number two position and three others from Germany, respectively Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Rheingau Grünlack Spätlese 2019, Wittmann Riesling Rheinhessen Morstein GG 2019 (No 6) and Dönnhoff Riesling Nahe Dellchen GG 2019 (No 7). The 2019 vintage is a benchmark for modern German wines and these three are some of the best ever made. It’s significant that the No 2 wine came from Schloss Johannisberg, as many consider it the birthplace for German riesling as well as sweet wines. It’s been making them since the mid-1770s.

The 100-point medium-sweet, dense and layered Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Rheingau Grünlack Spätlese 2019 is a monument to the genre and is a reminder of the historical greatness of sweet wines of Germany. The other two wines are incredible single-vineyard bottles that point to the country’s seriousness and expertise in dry wine production and highlight some of the most exciting vineyard sites on earth. We (mostly Stuart Pigott) tasted almost 1,200 Germany wines this year and 18 received scores of 100 points, which is a testament to the greatness of the 2019 vintage. Don’t miss buying some.

We also decided to include two Brunello di Montalcinos in the Top 10 wines 0f 2020, as Italy’s famous appellation is just about to release two phenomenal vintages to the world: 2015 riserva and 2016 normale. The Livio Sassetti Brunello di Montalcino 2016 (No 3) and Tassi Brunello di Montalcino Franci Riserva 2015 (No 8) highlight the super depth and structure of these wines and of these two vintages, which made very different styled wines. The 2015 produced more flamboyant and richer Brunellos, due to the slightly warmer growing season, while the 2016 made wines more tannic and intense from a slightly longer and cooler one. Both are necessary additions to anyone’s cellar who loves great Italian reds and they’re the greatest vintages yet for Brunello di Montalcino.

Australia was also a very important wine region for JamesSuckling. com this year. Executive editor Nick Stock has been country-locked since March but has focused on his homeland and delivered an incredible guide to the best of Australia today. For us, the epitome of this greatness is, at No 4, The Standish Wine Company Shiraz Barossa Valley The Schubert Theorem 2018, a 100-point red that showcases the character of Australian wines, especially Barossa and the superb quality of the 2018 vintage.

We were less decided about the current releases from Austria this year when Stuart and I tasted 774 wines. The 2019 was also an excellent vintage for most regions of the country and 2018 was solid as well. But we found the alcohols creeping up everywhere and wonder if the benchmark grape, Gruner Veltliner, is losing some of its mojo. Nonetheless, Austria’s wine wizard Emmerich Knoll made one of his country’s few 100 pointers, the Emmerich Knoll Riesling Wachau Ried Schütt Smaragd 2019 and it’s why we place it at No 5.

Two other wines from the Andes rounded off our Top 10 of the year: Cheval des Andes Mendoza 2017 (No 9) and Clos Apalta Valle de Apalta 2017 (No 10) – both regular names in our lists of recent years. Both are terrific examples of current great wines from their respective countries and highlight the balance, beauty and intensity of wines made to precision in the hot 2017 vintage. An added virtue is that Clos Apalta Valle de Apalta 2017 is made from biodynamically farmed grapes and represents its 20th vintage in production.

There’s something to say about all of the wines in the Top 100 list this year. But it’s better to try a few of them as soon as possible to understand why they’re part of our roster. There was so much great wine released in 2020 and we at JamesSuckling.com are grateful to the winemakers around the world who made them, as well as the thousands of others who made and released outstanding-quality bottles. We know that their wines are being appreciated somewhere in the world just about every minute of the day. And somehow this reassures us and others in this moment of uncertainty and despair.

Enjoy our top 10 wines of 2020 list.

Chacra Pinot Noir Patagonia Treinta y Dos 2018
Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Rheingau Grünlack Spätlese 2019 3 Livio Sassetti Brunello di Montalcino 2016
The Standish Wine Company Barossa Valley
The Schubert Theorem 2018
Emmerich Knoll Riesling Wachau Ried Schütt Smaragd 2019 6 Wittman Riesling Rheinhessen Morstein GG 2019
Dönnhoff Riesling Nahe Dellchen GG 2019
Tassi Brunello do Montalcino Franci Riserva 2015
Cheval des Andes Mendoza 2017
Clos Apalta Valle de Apalta 2017

The post Top 10 Wines of 2020 appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.