En Primeur 2021 Announcement

Our Managing Director, Eric Desgouttes, has been in Bordeaux for the annual En Primeur tastings. The rest of the Fine Wine Team will be tasting plenty of the 2021 samples in HK over the next few weeks and discussing the wines with various Châteaux (via zoom), to get a better understanding of the vintage.

There is no doubt that 2021 is a challenging year due to unfavourable climatic conditions. However, despite the challenges, 2021 is regarded as a real “winemakers” vintage, where complicated choices had to be made to achieve great results.

“Exhibiting the balance and style of a vintage of the 1990s, but benefiting from all the agronomic progress and technical savoir faire of the present, the best 2021 reds are better than anyone could have dared to hope.” – Wine Advocate 

“The whites are excellent and maybe more consistent across the board with ample freshness, drive and clarity on the palate as well as an astounding aromatic complexity thanks also to the cool summer and long ripening period.” – Decanter

We have summarised a few key highlights of the vintage.

-      A mild and rainy winter followed by a warm early April precipitated early budbreak

-      Frost in April and May caused low yield

-      Quite a lot of mildew due to rainy weather in June and July

-      Dry and sunny weather in August and early September, and warm days but cool nights later in the month

-      Some estates harvested early in September due to fear of the rot (botrytis)

-      Estates who harvested in October were rewarded with a beautiful maturity of their grapes

-      Lower quantities compared to 2020

2021 has even smaller yields (approx. 35% less) compared to the 2020 vintage, due to the spring frost and mildew in the summer.

The wines are described as having intense aromatic complexity and mature tannins. 2021 is an exceptional vintage for the dry white and sweet wines. Stay tuned! We will update you further, after the sample tastings in the coming weeks.