Bordeaux 2024 En Primeur – Day 1

No one tasting in Bordeaux this week can be unaware of the jungle drums’ beat on this vintage. Everyone knows it was a tough year in the vines. Everyone knows the wine trade continues to face significant challenges and head winds. No one with a serious head on their shoulders can doubt the impact of the depth charges being flung from the Oval Office into the waters of international trade.

In the face of all this it would be easy, even understandable, to write off Bordeaux 2024 without tasting a single glass. And I’m sure many will do just this.

This was my train of thought this morning, having arrived in Bordeaux last night and getting myself ready for a day at the wine tasting coal face. Then, what hit me, was the simple realisation that all of us at Vinum are wine lovers and finding ourselves with five days to discover a new vintage from the world’s biggest fine wine region is far from the worst thing in the world.

Sure, 2024 probably isn’t going to be the vintage of the century, but that is quite liberating. There is no expectation of finding great wines raining from the skies or welling up from the ground. Truffling out the successes is going to be fun, challenging and exciting. Shifting the attitude to ‘bring it on’ was energising and set us up for an exciting day.

If you think you’re getting the measure of a vintage after a single day and a few visits, you’re kidding yourself. I won’t have an intimate appreciation of 2024 by the time I fly home, 200+ samples under my belt, on Friday afternoon. What I have started to find, though, is that the wines can be broken down into those who achieved ripeness and those whose wines have a herbaceous, even brittle, edge. In this era of solar vintages, it’s easy to forget that Bordeaux has a maritime climate and the very reason that grape varieties are blended in most of these wines is that consistent ripeness is a struggle. 2024 is one of those years when green flavours and textures crop up again and again in the less successful wines. These are light, under-powered and angular wines.

Of those who found ripeness in their fruit, it feels that some made wines that defy the vintage’s lighter profile and others embraced that delicacy and elegance.

It’s too early to say, but perhaps this is a year to approach producer-by-producer and chateau-by-chateau – almost as you would in Burgundy. There are no simple left bank / right bank distinctions and it would probably be an error to say Merlot was favoured over the Cabernets or vice-versa.

We spent most of today on the right bank. For me, the undisputed star of our tastings was Chateau Cheval Blanc. This was a 2024 that is expressive and floral, seamless and elegant. It has that enigmatic Cheval Blanc texture and whilst I doubt I’ll find (m)any profound wines in 2024, this comes pretty close. Chateau Canon was another resounding success, absolutely surfeit in effortless poise and understatement.

Our tastings were far from plain sailing, and there were some dogs even from famous chateaux, but there were also absolutely wines worthy of close attention. Certain properties have made 2024s that are going to be delicious to have in the cellar and rewarding to share with friends in the years to come.

2024 is not a vintage to inspire breathless enthusiasm, it is not a year to buy across the board and is not a year for speculation. This feels like a vintage in which to follow your favourite chateaux and buy from people whose recommendations you trust, when the prices make sense. Bordeaux does not have a 1961, 1982 or 2016 on its hands but I’m quietly confident that carefully chosen 2024s are going to surprise and thrill those who choose to put them in their cellars.