2019 revisited Bordeaux in bottle
Decanter|April 2022
After tasting more than 800 newly bottled 2019 wines, Decanter’s Bordeaux correspondent is full of praise for the vintage’s consistent and expressive wines, with successes on both Left and Right Bank
GEORGINA HINDLE
2019 revisited Bordeaux in bottle

Despite Covid-19 severely reducing en primeur tasting opportunities for the 2019 wines, the vintage at the time was rightly hailed as a success. Even now, ongoing restrictions have limited much of the exposure a vintage of this quality might have seen in ordinary circumstances. Fortunately, having been able to taste in situ now that the wines have been bottled, it’s certain this is an excellent and very consistent vintage with some fantastic wines, across both the Left and Right Banks, in all styles.

It comes in the middle of a trilogy, quality-wise, that most winemakers would dream of. Largely defined by their climatic conditions, 2018, 2019 and 2020 forced winemakers to navigate varying degrees of difficult or unwelcome weather episodes: mildew and rot in 2018; uneven rainfall and drought in 2019; and impactful microclimatic patterns (hail, rain and heat) in 2020. Yet each has produced a raft of top-class wines, if you know where to look.

Generally speaking, the 2019 reds seem to sit somewhere in the middle of the exuberant and plush 2018s and the structured and concentrated 2020s. In the best cases they manage the feat of providing power and density alongside elegance and class. You get acidity and juiciness balanced by precision and tension, with many displaying exceptional freshness.

They combine the understated power of 2018 and even 2016 with the attractiveness of 2015, alongside the brightness and classicism of 2017. Distinctive and impressive, 2019 joins 2010, ’15, ’16 and ’18 as one of the best vintages of the decade.

CHANGING FACE

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM DECANTERView all
A Resource for the World? - Argentina is unique in the genetic diversity preserved in much of its vine material. With climate change and disease posing increasing threats worldwide, Catena Zapata winery is asking what lessons can be learned to protect vineyards within and beyond the nation's borders
Decanter

A Resource for the World? - Argentina is unique in the genetic diversity preserved in much of its vine material. With climate change and disease posing increasing threats worldwide, Catena Zapata winery is asking what lessons can be learned to protect vineyards within and beyond the nation's borders

Argentina is unique in the genetic diversity preserved in much of its vine material. With climate change and disease posing increasing threats worldwide, Catena Zapata winery is asking what lessons can be learned to protect vineyards within and beyond the nation’s borders

time-read
8 mins  |
September 2024
Great Cabernets of South America
Decanter

Great Cabernets of South America

Other varieties may hog the limelight across South America, but the world’s most popular grape for red wines has played a critical role in the continent's wine heritage. We trace Cabernet Sauvignon’s story here, and recommend 16 benchmark wines to try

time-read
7 mins  |
September 2024
PROVENCE by train and bike
Decanter

PROVENCE by train and bike

With rail links to Paris, Nice, Marseilles and beyond, a vast network of cycle paths and quiet roads, and a plethora of historic wine estates, Provence is an ideal destination for an eco-friendly, car-free and carefree) holiday

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2024
IN THE MIX
Decanter

IN THE MIX

These days most of the world’s vineyards are planted to just a single variety, but what happens when multiple varieties are planted, harvested and blended together?

time-read
3 mins  |
September 2024
Malvasia A BUYER'S GUIDE
Decanter

Malvasia A BUYER'S GUIDE

If ever a grape was hard to pin down, it'd be Malvasia. Indeed it’s not even a single grape variety. In all of its many varied, and often completely unrelated guises, it has been the mainstay of popular wine styles across the centuries. Our expert takes a closer look...

time-read
9 mins  |
September 2024
RIBERA ADOPTS THE NEW OLD WAYS
Decanter

RIBERA ADOPTS THE NEW OLD WAYS

It’s not so much a new direction for winemakers in Ribera del Duero, but a growing recognition that traditional methods and wine styles set aside by the previous generation can now provide a way ahead to revitalise the region

time-read
8 mins  |
September 2024
Roussanne around the world
Decanter

Roussanne around the world

Up for a challenge? For winemakers as much as wine drinkers, getting a handle on a mercurial grape such as Roussanne isn't easy. But wherever it's grown, when the balance is right, it truly repays the effort

time-read
10+ mins  |
September 2024
Napa Cabernet 2021
Decanter

Napa Cabernet 2021

There's a lot of excitement about this vintage, in which conditions were relatively calm and temperatures stable through summer. Ongoing drought reduced yields but intensified flavours, but it means quantities are down and you may need to act fast to secure top wines. Our Napa correspondent selects 60 great wines from more than 500 that he tasted, with many very high scores

time-read
4 mins  |
September 2024
10 reason to discover Uruguay
Decanter

10 reason to discover Uruguay

Squeezed between Brazil and Argentina on the Atlantic coast, Uruguay has mostly flown under the tourist radar - until now. Once dubbed 'the Switzerland of the Americas', it's a welcoming country that has much to offer the travelling wine lover

time-read
5 mins  |
September 2024
Leo Erazo
Decanter

Leo Erazo

The old vines and special terroir of Itata, southern Chile, have beena source of inspiration for this intrepid winemaker. The 2023 fires were a setback, but his commitment to this ancient wine land is undiminished

time-read
8 mins  |
September 2024