Throughout the 2020 vintage, France’s most prominent wine region dealt with the types of extreme weather conditions that have become commonplace in recent years. After a very wet spring that showed touches of frost and hail along the way, a warm and excessively dry summer led to one of the earliest harvests of the past 20 years. Heavy rains in August broke the drought, but the downpours were of varying intensity around the region, resulting in heterogenous veraison and ripening depending on the location and terroir.
The spring was perhaps the most difficult time, with the heavy rains leading to extra work in the vineyards (particularly early on and even more so for producers who work organically) and the onset of the pandemic causing logistical issues. But despite the range of challenges, Bordeaux produced another outstanding, albeit inconsistent, vintage. Though the 2020s are more variable than the flamboyant 2018s and well-defined 2019s, the vintage delivers a number of compelling wines, earning a rating of 93 points on the Left Bank and 92 points on the Right Bank.
This story is from the March 31, 2023 edition of Wine Spectator.
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This story is from the March 31, 2023 edition of Wine Spectator.
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