Every now and then, the word ‘singularity’ is used to describe a particular wine that stands apart, for whatever reason, from other wines of its type. But just what is singularity, and how can wine express it? Wine writer Tamlyn Currin investigates.

What makes a wine truly singular? Tamlyn Currin explores the rare bottles that defy convention and challenge the rules of the wine world.

Searching for Singularity in wine

Searching for Singularity

From a backwater in southern Catalonia, Priorat took its rightful place on the world wine map in the early 1990s. Its meteoric rise to fame was propelled by low-yielding, old Cariñena and Garnacha vines clinging to precipitous and ancient slate slopes. The best producers including Mas Doix, Alvaro Palacios and René Barbier were making wines that were turbo-charged: rich, ripe and powerful yet zinging with vibrant acidity.  But its rapid ascent to fame created growing pains: the region has struggled to define what makes Priorat Priorat, while overzealous winemaking and the inclusion of international
varieties has led to a regional identity crisis. Fortunately, Priorat has nature on its side: its distinctive llicorella slate soil limits yields and provides these Mediterranean-climate wines with a distinct mineral freshness. Combine this with the extreme fluctuations in temperature between day and night and, an extremely dry, sunny climate, and you have the potential to produce rich yet vibrant reds.  Priorat: troubled times The timing of Priorat's emergence as a fine wine producer could be the source of some of its nascent troubles. Its renaissance coincided with the heyday of Robert Parker and a global demand for reds with masses of new oak, super-ripe grapes and intense extraction to
maximise colour and tannin. It wasn't just the winemaking trends of the '90s that saw Priorat become the most intense, powerful and overbearing wine in Spain. Valentí Llagostera, founder of Mas Doix, explains that it had long been a supplier of bulk wine and a blending partner to bolster weaker wines from cooler climates – adding concentration, power and alcohol.  Lacking a tradition of fine winemaking, the idea of what a Priorat wine should be was fluid. Consequently, it became a region producing many different styles, leaving the wine drinker confused. Llagostera adds that the region had a real inferiority complex, with many growers
believing if the wine wasn’t big, powerful and as intense as possible, it wasn’t Priorat. This mentality also led to the incursion of international varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah were planted, in a bid to emulate the success of Bordeaux and the Rhône.  From the industrial to artisan Industrial-like estates, predominantly based in Rioja, have not been interested in reflecting a specific place but rather more focused on producing a homogenised house style with grapes sourced from as far as 300km away going into the same wine. This approach is therefore completely at odds with the concept of terroir. It is common for older vines to be uprooted to maintain high production levels and wines to undergo lengthy ageing in oak barrels to create greater homogeneity. "Spanish wines made in this way are more about a process than a place," according to Luis Gutiérrez, The Wine Advocate's critic for Spain.  Of course this homogenised style proves incredibly popular: Rioja remains one of the most
successful wine exporters thanks to its reliability and high volumes, offering value for money. However, wine lovers have become increasingly discerning; there is more demand for wines with a sense of place, whether they hail from a plot of old vines or from an indigenous variety. Priorat’s move towards a fresher, more elegant style is part of a wider movement in Spain. There's a revolution underway, with a younger generation of vignerons who have actively rejected the larger estates' approach, instead they're focusing on crafting unique wines with a strong sense of place, whether it be the saline-rich, volcanic soils of Tenerife to the high-altitude mountain-vine Garnacha from the Gredos Mountains, or the incredibly vibrant, taut perfumed wines of Ribeira Sacra.   The intensely concentrated yet mineral wines of Priorat should fit into this more terroir-driven movement. The unique slate soil, Priorat's mountainous landscape and old vines meant that it
was not possible for the region to become a Rioja lookalike. The trend toward fresher, more mineral wines aligned with a rediscovery of the region's indigenous varietals (Cariñena and Garnacha) has allowed Priorat to experience a second coming. Could Priorat be on the verge of discovering its true self? Will the real Priorat please stand up? Llagostera feels there is plenty of room for experimentation in search of Priorat's true identity. The team at Mas Doix is carrying out many trials, including ageing wines in amphora, maturing Garnacha in larger barrels to avoid oxidation, and fermenting in wooden vats to
achieve greater textural sophistication. There are also more radical approaches: German native Dominik Huber of Terroir-Al-Limit doesn't destem his reds, instead practising whole-bunch fermentation, leading to an intensely fresh style. Huber believes it required a generational change before Priorat could find its new identity. Despite the varied stylistic interpretations, the goal is to better understand Priorat's voice not disguise its raw beauty. Explore all Mas Doix listings or read more Editorial 

We talk to Mais Doix’s founder Valentí Llagostera about Priorat’s identity crisis and how a new generation of Spanish winemakers is putting the focus firmly on terroir

Mais Doix’s founder Valentí Llagostera on Priorat’s identity crisis and how a new generation of Spanish winemakers is putting the focus firmly on terroir

A new Priorat dawn

Priorat: a new dawn

Non è mancato l’hype attorno alla vendemmia 2021 – un anno che produttori e critici hanno lodato come uno dei migliori della storia recente, spesso paragonandolo al 2016 o al 2019. Ma soddisfa davvero queste altissime aspettative? L’inverno precedente è stato fondamentale – mite e piovoso, ha ricaricato le riserve idriche nei suoli, una risorsa essenziale di cui le viti avrebbero potuto disporre più avanti nella stagione. La stagione vegetativa non è iniziata troppo presto e, sebbene ci sia stato un calo di temperature a inizio aprile (un rischio per i Nebbiolo a germogliamento precoce), i danni da gelo sono stati limitati. I rapporti indicano che le zone a bassa quota sono state le più colpite, ma le perdite si sono aggirate solo intorno al 10% – e alcuni produttori le hanno considerate una forma naturale di diradamento verde. Dopo questa minaccia iniziale per la raccolta, la fine di aprile e maggio sono stati mesi freschi e piovosi, ma poi il clima è stato in gran parte caldo e secco fino alla vendemmia. Le temperature non sono state eccessive, fatta eccezione per una breve ondata di calore all’inizio di agosto, ma le riserve idriche sono state fondamentali per permettere alle viti di sopravvivere nelle condizioni di siccità. Il winemaker di Vietti, Eugenio Palumbo, ha spiegato che hanno ricevuto circa 400 mm di pioggia durante la stagione, rispetto ai 600-700 mm di un anno normale. All’inizio di luglio la regione è stata colpita da temporali con un po’ di grandine – sebbene localizzata, ha interessato Roero, Monferrato e alcune zone di Barolo. Le condizioni secche hanno mantenuto bassa la pressione delle malattie. A settembre è caduta qualche pioggia, aiutando le viti a completare il ciclo, mentre le temperature notturne sono scese – fornendo un ampio escursione termica che ha contribuito a preservare aromi e freschezza durante lo sviluppo della maturità fenolica dei frutti. La vendemmia è iniziata alla fine di settembre (Philine Isabelle Dienger è stata tra le prime il 29), proseguendo fino a metà ottobre, con tutto il Nebbiolo raccolto entro la terza settimana del mese. Aldo Vacca dei Produttori del Barbaresco e il team Gaja hanno entrambi paragonato la vendemmia al 2016 – sottolineandone lo stile classico. La lunga stagione vegetativa ha permesso vini strutturati con tannini maturi, mentre le notti fresche prima della vendemmia hanno preservato tensione e aromi. Non tutti sono d’accordo sul suo classicismo; per Dave Fletcher (Fletcher Wines) è una vendemmia con struttura, profondità e densità straordinarie, ma lontana dall’essere tipica. Valentina Grasso di Ca’ del Baio ha spiegato quanto i vini siano chiusi e fruttati scuri rispetto al 2016, necessitando tempo per rivelare la loro complessità. Allo stesso modo, Nicola Oberto di Trediberri ha sottolineato come – sebbene molti produttori di Monforte d’Alba pensassero fosse una vendemmia perfetta per il comune – lo stile potente dell’anno non si adattasse necessariamente a loro, preferendo la purezza di un anno come il 2022. Philine Isabelle Dienger ha osservato come le condizioni calde e secche siano state uno shock per le viti dopo il 2018, 2019 e 2020, e come le fermentazioni siano state difficili da gestire, lente. Alcuni hanno notato che è stato un anno difficile per usare lieviti indigeni, e molti hanno optato per lieviti selezionati per garantire fermentazioni pulite. I vini di Philine Isabelle erano tipicamente a bassa gradazione alcolica, intorno al 13,5% con la filosofia di raccolta precoce, mentre la maggior parte dei vini del 2021 si attestava intorno o sopra il 14,5%. Per Fabio Alessandria di Burlotto, le condizioni calde e secche hanno fornito lo stress giusto alle piante, ed è molto soddisfatto della qualità dei vini 2021 – strutturati, con buona densità e concentrazione, pur mantenendo equilibrio, forse simili al Borgogna 2019. I vini avranno sicuramente bisogno di tempo, dice, ma la vendemmia premierà chi saprà aspettare. La maggior parte dei critici non ha ancora espresso un giudizio completo sulla vendemmia, sebbene Kerin O’Keefe abbia scritto in un primo sguardo all’anno che, sebbene sia stata “una vendemmia difficile”, i migliori vini sono “stupefacenti, capaci di invecchiare”, combinando “l’austerità del 2019 con l’eleganza del 2016”. Riprendendo Alessandria, ritiene che i vini avranno bisogno di un decennio per esprimersi al meglio. Per jancisrobinson.com, Walter Speller era inizialmente cauto sull’anno “enigmatico”, chiedendosi se fosse davvero così buono come si diceva, ma ora lo considera “un’eccellente vendemmia”, offrendo “più corpo e profondità del 2019, assolutamente affascinante e facilmente accessibile”. Antonio Galloni (Vinous) ha pubblicato il suo report e – sebbene non presenti “picchi stratosferici come gli anni più eccezionali”, ci sono “numerosi vini straordinari”. I 2021 sono “vini eleganti e raffinati che delizieranno gli appassionati del Piemonte”, con “aromi aperti, frutto flessibile e tannini maturi e raffinati” – e i migliori, dice, sono “profondamente espressivi”. Tenete d’occhio ulteriori report sulla vendemmia; aggiorneremo questa panoramica man mano che avremo nuove informazioni. Nel frattempo, leggete di più sull’Italia Sfogliate tutte le attuali liste di Barolo 2021.

Da quando l'uva è arrivata in cantina, i produttori piemontesi hanno parlato dell'annata 2021 in termini sacri. Con l'uscita dei primi Barolo dell'anno, ci immergiamo in questa venerata annata, esaminando cosa ne pensano produttori e critici.

Diving into the 2021 vintage in Piedmont – the growing season and wines from Barolo and Barbaresco according to producers and critics 

Piedmont 2021: vintage focus 

Piemonte 2021: focus annata

“Meet my girlfriends,” calls Telmo Rodríguez down the phone, laughing as he flips his camera to show two enormous shaggy-haired mutts. The skies are crisp and blue on the other side of the screen, the sun beating down on Remelluri, his family estate in Rioja Alavesa. The camera swings across the horizon as he introduces me to one of his team before rushing indoors to sit down for our call. There’s an almost frenetic energy to Rodríguez – and that energy is what in many ways defines the maverick winemaker, who has been one of the transformational forces in Spanish wine.  His parents purchased La Granja Nuestra Señora de Remelluri – a farm that has been home to vines since at least the 14th century – in 1967. Growing up on this special property, young Rodríguez went off to study winemaking in Bordeaux, then trained at properties including Cos d’Estournel, Domaine de Trévallon, Chave and more. He returned home inspired and excited to use his new-found knowledge on the family property in the early 1990s. But his father didn’t welcome Telmo’s ambition: the market didn’t want great or even good Rioja, he told his son – the market wanted cheap Rioja. Although he wasn’t allowed to make changes to the red, Rodríguez was given free rein to create the property’s first white wine. And that wine rocketed him to fame. White Rioja has always been niche (today just 9% of the vineyard area is planted to white grapes), but in the 1990s its future was looking uncertain – with the traditional, oxidised style of wines such as López de Heredia’s Tondonia Blanco fallen from grace, and many producers had given up on making these wines (as with CVNE’s Monopole Clásico, which has since been revived). Rodríguez wanted to create a wine of place, rather than a wine of style, and used complex field blends planted at higher altitudes to do so. Fermented and aged in a combination of tank and oak, Remelluri Blanco was unlike any other wine in the region. Robert Parker wrote of the 1996 vintage that it was “the finest white wine [he had] ever tasted from Spain”. The multi-variety blend doesn’t include the region’s trademark white, Viura, and is technically illegal – a fact that perhaps has only increased its appeal.  But Rodríguez was frustrated by his father, by the limitations put on him and his wines. Restless and with a rift in the family forming, he flew the coop to focus on his own project. In Bordeaux he had become friends with a fellow Spaniard, Pablo Eguzkiza, who had been working at Pétrus, and together they had already started making wine – beginning with an old-vine Garnacha from Navarra in 1994. With that wine, Compañía de Vinos Telmo Rodríguez was born.  Their vision was to make real Spanish wine – the wines that had been made before, as they saw it, France started to sway the industry. When the deadly louse phylloxera had swept through France in the late 19th century, killing its vineyards, the nation looked south, across the Pyrenees to Spain. Producers travelled there to make wine and feed demand, and Rioja in particular saw an influx of business and money – but this uplift also came with French influence. In Rodríguez’s view, this was the ruining of the trade – Rioja, which had once been a wine of site, became a wine of oak. And soon, across Spain, the variety that once defined its many regions was being over-written with international varieties. Spain became known for cheap wine – and producers were racing to the bottom.  “The worst are the British,” says Rodríguez. “They say they know Rioja and they know Sherry, but, in a certain way, the British market killed Sherry and killed Rioja because they are very happy to have a cheap Reserva for a few pounds.” The dominance of what he describes as “industrial brands”, the larger houses that buy in fruit from across the region, aged in American oak for “traditional” styles, and French for “modern”, is abhorrent to him.  “I’m sorry, you don’t know anything about Rioja. Tell me one village. Tell me one taste. Tell me one landscape. Tell me one mountain. Nobody knew anything,” he says. He explains how Labastida – a village neighbouring Remelluri – was once the Vosne-Romanée of Rioja, home to 330 different wine producers in 1680. But over the years, that history has been blended away.  Together, Rodríguez and Eguzkiza set out to uncover and reveal the Spain of yesteryear, working with old vines, native varieties and traditional methods to champion what they saw as the true Spanish wines. From their beginnings in Navarra, they looked to Arribes del Duero, to Rueda, to Málaga, to Aragon and back to Rioja, then Ribera, Toro and Sierra de Gredos.   “Now we are showing what is real,” Rodríguez tells me, with a sense of satisfaction. In Rioja, for example, they created Bodegas Lanzaga in 1998, looking to focus on the terroir around the town of Lanziego. The Consejo (regulatory body), however, didn’t allow them to use the name of a village on the label until 2017. For almost two decades they protested this rule, featuring the name on the label, but redacted (inspired in part by the art of Jenny Holzer). Today, there is a clear, and growing, movement of producers looking to focus on single-site expressions of Rioja’s best vineyards, shifting away from cross-regional blends and the dominance of oak. This echoes what is happening elsewhere in Spain, as producers focus on indigenous grapes and identifying what makes each of its varied regions unique. It’s a revolution – one that Rodríguez has been at the forefront of. It's easy to think of this rockstar duo as flying winemakers – having so many projects scattered around the country, only touching down briefly to sign off on blends before they’re off to their next event. While inevitably their schedule is intense, their focus is firmly in the vineyard and on reflecting each individual place and site – rather than crafting a range that speaks of their influence. “It’s a very honest approach to a place,” Rodríguez says. The references throughout our conversation only emphasise this: Burgundy, the ultimate “terroir” wine, is where he finds his inspiration; while the Super Tuscans are repeatedly scorned for their internationality.  Matallana is quite possibly Telmo Rodríguez’s most ambitious project to date. He and Eguzkiza first made wine in Ribera del Duero in 1998, and have slowly built up 21.5 hectares of vines around the region.  “My dream was to do a very good Vega Sicilia. I wanted to do the Vega Sicilia that I used to drink in the past,” explains Rodríguez, talking about bottles from the 1940s, ’50s or ’60s. Back then, he says, it wasn’t an estate wine but fruit was sourced from around the region. For him, Vega Sicilia is now too “Bordeaux-style”. He argues that while in Rioja the soils are quite consistent, Ribera del Duero is incredibly varied. They have chosen to work with a range of vineyards across five villages – Sotillo de la Ribera, Roa, Fuentecén, Fuentemolinos and Pardilla – ranging from quartz-rich or pebbly soils reminiscent of Châteauneuf-du-Pape to chalky albariza and clay-heavy sites. This diversity is what helps bring complexity to the wine, with each one producing a different expression of Tinto Fino.   The work involved in each of the Compañía de Vinos Telmo Rodríguez projects is painstaking, tracking down special parcels, reviving soils and replanting or grafting where necessary, working organically and biodynamically, to achieve the quality they’re looking for. For Bodegas Lanzaga, for example, it was over a decade before they produced the first vintage of their top wine, Las Beatas, from a 1.9-hectare plot of the same name (first made in 2011).  For Matallana, they wanted to track down the region’s very best, historic vineyards in each of the five villages. But it’s not been easy. All too often they’d been abandoned, some needed re-planting entirely, or otherwise re-grafting with massal selections, and serious work to bring the soils back to life. They wanted to work with unirrigated bush-vines and field blends – vineyards farmed as they might have been in the 19th century. And then there’s the complex ownership: to buy just six of their 21.5 hectares took seven years, purchasing tiny plots from 40 different families.  Although they’ve been making wine here since the 1999 vintage, it wasn’t ready until relatively recently – and Rodríguez considers the 2014 the first “real” vintage of the project. Before that point they had made three wines, a selection of fruit from the oldest vines that went into the “Grand Vin” Matallana, a second wine M2 and the unoaked Gazur from younger plots. “They were prototypes, we were learning,” explains Rodríguez. From 2014, there is only one wine, with a change in the label to reflect the shift.  As with the older vintages from Bodegas Lanzaga, the label shows a list of redacted vineyard names – which are still not permitted to feature on the labels in Ribera del Duero. “All those vineyards are the guarantee of the purity of our wines,” says Rodríguez. In fact, the label is embossed, so beneath the censored text, you can feel the names of these terroirs. He’s moved to reduce the oak, using some foudres and tinajas (amphorae), while also acknowledging that the wine needs movement and oxygen to polymerise the tannins. The result, however, is a more delicate wine. At the end of the day, he says, “We don’t care about the winery… our wine is the landscape, is the soils.” The difference between the “new” and “old” Matallana is striking. The 2020 is pure, vibrant – a mineral wine with crystalline fruit that speaks of place.  “I don’t want to be pretentious, but we want to create another iconic wine from Ribera del Duero,” says Rodríguez. There’s no shortage of ambition here – and they’re looking to increase production to around 40,000 bottles a year (up from around 25,000 currently). “It took us 25 years… but we knew we were doing something rare, different.” The latest move has been to partner with Jean-Guillaume Prats (currently of Ch. Léoville Las Cases, previously of Ch. Lafite Rothschild and Cos d’Estournel), and start distributing the wine via La Place de Bordeaux, to bring the wine to an even bigger audience.  Rodríguez is now 61 – but there’s no sign of him slowing down. “People say that I’m too old to plant vineyards,” he says, clearly finding such a thought absurd. He’s just planting three hectares he tells me – vineyards that will be amazing, he feels, maybe in 15 years’ time. On the day we talk, he had five local youths coming to meet his team, the children of local viticulturalists in Labastida; they’d be making wines together with the best 2,000 kilos from each of their family’s plots – a project that has been going four years. There’s no looking back from this vigneron, whose eyes are firmly on the horizon, as he continues to push boundaries and forge a future for those that will follow him.  Explore all wines from Telmo Rodríguez and Matallana or read more Editorial 

Telmo Rodríguez is one of Spain’s most famous names. Since the 1990s, he has been a controversial figure, fighting for the nation’s vinous heritage. We caught up with the relentless revolutionary to talk about his journey, the real Rioja and his most challenging project to date

Telmo Rodríguez is one of Spain’s most famous winemakers. We caught up with him to talk his journey and his most challenging project to date, Matallana

Telmo Rodriguez – the eternal battle

Telmo Rodríguez: the eternal battle

Vega Sicilia is undoubtedly Spain’s most famous winery; a true icon in fine wine with a history dating back to 1864. Its success in retaining such a reputation, and in almost complete isolation in the Ribera del Duero region of Spain, is testament to the quality and consistency of its production, although its history has not been without its challenges. Vega Sicilia claims to be one of the longest-aged and longest-lived red wines in the world, with its flagship Unico capable of maturing in bottle for well over sixty years under the right cellar conditions. Developing its style in such solitary conditions has created a wine distinct from any other and whilst the Ribera region has flourished with the establishment of wineries such as La Pesquera in the 1970s and more recently the cult wine of Pingus, Vega Sicilia today remains at the apex of the appellation.  We explore the history of Vega Sicilia, the secrets behind its success and the changes afoot as it attempts to retain the traditional methods it has become famous for whilst modernising the winery and updating its processes. We also explore the contrasting range of wines it produces from the Valbuena to the Unico Reserva Especial: Vega Sicilia’s nod to the traditional Spanish practice of producing multi-vintage premium blends. The history of the estate The estate that would become known as Vega Sicilia was founded in 1864 by Don Eloy Lecanda Y Chaves, a Spanish vigneron who inherited the property in 1859. After visiting Bordeaux he brought cuttings of the Bordeaux varietals of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Carmenere, as well as Pinot Noir, and planted 18,000 vines at the estate in Ribera del Duero alongside the native varietal of Tinto Fino (Tempranillo). By 1882 he had planted 500,000 vines on the estate, at the time known as Bodegas Lecanda.  The introduction of Bordeaux varieties was perhaps not that unusual at the time, since the Bordelais were becoming more and more influential in Spain (most notably in Rioja) having disbanded their operations in Bordeaux following the phylloxera outbreak and were actively looking for alternative regions to grow their grapes.  However, in Rioja, the Bordeaux varieties were soon replaced by the native Tempranillo which proved a much more reliable and profitable choice. Whilst Don Eloy Lecanda Y Chaves initiated a winery that was to change the history of fine wine, he was initially using the grapes to make brandy rather than still wine. Although the brandy was well received amongst the aristocratic families (no doubt piquing the interest of the Herrero brothers), the estate struggled financially to make ends meet and he died in 1894 never to witness the success of his venture.  The property was bought by the Herrero brothers in the early 1900s who renamed it Vega Sicilia. As phylloxera eventually reached Rioja, the négociant Cosme Palacio was looking further afield to maintain supply for his customers. On discovering Vega Sicilia, he immediately rented the property from the Herrero brothers.  He brought with him winemaker Domingo Garramiola Txomin who introduced the Bordeaux techniques of ageing wine in barrique as well as extending the élevage. He also initiated bottling the wine on the estate (Cosme Palacio was previously shipping the wines in bulk to Rioja).  The Herrero Brothers were a well-connected upper-class family who were galvanised to produce a wine of exceptional quality no matter the cost, to sell to their aristocratic friends. This quest for quality combined with the skills of Domingo Garramiola Txomin, as well as the unique combination of Bordeaux varieties and Tinto Fino (thanks to Don Eloy Lacanda Y Chaves), was the perfect recipe for producing Spain’s first iconic wine – Vega Sicilia Unico. The first vintage of Unico was produced in 1915.  Thanks to the connections of the Herrero brothers, within two decades Vega Sicilia had become the most revered winery in Spain. Even at this time the wine had built up a reputation for its extraordinary ageing capacity. At Vega Sicilia the Bordeaux varieties became a key component to their flagship wine of Unico and have remained in the blend right through to the present day. Throughout this time, the property became almost a self-contained village, with a school and chapel on site and many of the families working at the winery and living on the estate. Despite the winery changing hands a number of times over the last century, Garramiola’s legacy has lived on through the winemakers that followed in his footsteps; figures like Martiniano Renedo, who was initially Garramiolo’s assistant, and especially Jesús Anadón, who was instrumental in maintaining the quality and reputation of the wine through the middle of the 20th century.  Amazingly there are workers on the estate today whose families have worked at the winery for generations. Today the master cooper at Vega Sicilia, along with his brother Jesus Yanez, is the fourth generation of his family to work at the property. The winemaker between 1968 and 1998, Mariano Garcia, was the son of one of the farm workers on the property.  Despite its global reputation, its exclusive allocation list and long history, the winery and vineyards went through bouts of dilapidation during the 1950s, through to the late '70s, whilst at the same time producing some of the most legendary vintages. On purchasing the property in 1982 the Álvarez family began to make huge investments into the estate, renovating the winery and carrying out an extensive replanting program in the vineyards. 1982 was also the year Ribera del Duero was awarded its DO appellation status and no doubt helped further promote Vega Sicilia as the historical icon of the region. The winery and the appellation has never looked back since.  In the vineyard Vega Sicilia is situated on what is known as the “golden mile”, a stretch of road between Pañafiel and Tudela de Duero, where the prestigious wineries of Vega Sicilia, Pingus and Pesquera are all situated. Driving through, it is a somewhat underwhelming sight as far as vineyard vistas go, so much so you could almost pass through it without noticing.  Being an altiplano there are no sweeping mountainous views, you only feel the altitude from the freshness of the air. In the higher vineyards of Soria at the edge of the Ribera appellation you are rewarded with more vistas, as well as a sense of history with evidence of prehistoric cave-like dwellings where farmers sheltered from the extreme climatic conditions of this largely desolate region.
 Whilst there are pre-phylloxera ungrafted vines dating back over 100 years dotted around the region, the vines at Vega Sicilia - with vineyards at 700 meters - average around 35 years of age. Vega Sicilia have an extensive replanting scheme in their vineyards preferring the quality of their fruit in their mid-life as opposed to old age, with typical vine age in Unico around 60-65 years old, with the younger vines going into the Valbuena cuvée. The high altitude and continental climate mean extreme conditions are at work in the vineyards. Winters can be very cold whereas the summers can be fierce. Most notably in regards to grape growing, due to the altitude, there is a huge diurnal shift in temperatures from day to night helping to retain the acidity and freshness in the grapes whilst reaching high levels of ripeness. The main grape in all Vega Sicila wines remains the Tinto Fino (the particular clone of Tempranillo) distinct to the region. The Tinto Fino is said to produce smaller berries with higher concentration of tannins compared with the Tempranillo grown in Rioja. The Unico also has a proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend (anything from 6-20% in more recent releases) with a higher proportion in older vintages. In the Valbuena, the majority of the blend is Tinta Fino with a small amount of Merlot (typically 5%) . The property is huge in scale with 200 hectares of estate-owned vines producing anything from 40,000 to 100,000 bottles of Unico each year depending on the vintage.  
In the winery
 Unico  The style of the flagship cuvée of the winery has remained virtually unchanged since its inception in terms of production, although assemblage has modernised. Élevage times have reduced and the influence and proportion of Bordeaux varieties has become less in more recent releases.  In the past, Unico was only made using huge 40,000-litre fermentation tanks (this was all that was available at the winery) therefore in a difficult vintage, if this sort of volume was not possible at the quality level they expected, then no Unico would be released that year. Since 2010 the winery has introduced smaller 8,000-litre tanks, enabling smaller micro-vinification of their wines and suggesting a release of Unico every year (in varying quantities) is more likely. The winery today operates at a spec similar to the top estates in Bordeaux. They have introduced 81 separate fermentation tanks allowing them to carry out intra-plot fermentation. They have introduced highly sophisticated sorting tables, there is more temperature control of the wine and the winery is now completely gravity fed enabling greater precision when it comes to winemaking.   Following fermentation, the wines destined for Unico are blended in small oak barriques (50% French oak / 50% American oak) for 12-24 months depending on the vintage. The French oak is 100% new whilst the American oak, coopered on site, tends to be one to four years old. Following barrique ageing, the wine is then transferred to large old oak casks where it typically matures for five years before being bottled and aged further prior to release. Unico is typically released at 10 years old. Valbuena 5° The Valbuena typically comes from the younger vines of the estate and is aged in oak in barriques for 12-18 months before being transferred to larger old oak casks for a further 18 months prior to bottling. It is then aged for two years in bottle. Valbuena is typically released at five years old. Unico “Reserva Especial” The Reserva Especial is the mythical bottling that initiated the Vega Sicilia legend. It is made up of choice parcels from a blend of vintages (in recent releases it tends to be select parcels from three vintages). Prior to the 2001 release, details of the blends of older bottlings are not very easy to come by. With only 15,000 bottles produced this is the rarest cuvée from Vega
Sicilia and a nod to the traditional multi-blend wines that were typical prior to vintage specific bottlings becoming more popular in the mid to late 1800s. Explore more Editorial

We explore the history of Vega Sicilia, the secrets behind its success and the changes afoot as it attempts to retain the traditional methods it has become famous for whilst modernising the winery and updating its processes. 

The history of Spain's Vega Sicilia iconic wine estate, the secrets behind its success, the contrasting styles from the Valbuena to the Unico Reserva Especial

Vega Sicilia, a Spanish wine icon

Vega Sicilia: a Spanish wine icon

The red wines in 2019  Whether you’re in Pauillac or Pomerol, Saint-Estèphe or Saint-Emilion, 2019 is a vintage big in colour, concentration and tannins.The wines are packed with fragrance and flavour, with a welcome level of freshness that producers had not anticipated in the weeks leading up to harvest.   Left Bank   “I would say that 2019 is great for all varieties,” says Philippe Bascaules, Managing Director of First Growth Ch. Margaux. “Merlot is in the style of 2018 – concentrated and very ripe; Cabernet Sauvignon is in the style of…2019! Fresh, elegant, and very well-balanced between opulence and vivacity.” But if he had to make comparisons, he sees a combination of characteristics of the lauded 2009 and 2010 vintages: “2009 for the texture, concentration and silkiness; 2010 for the freshness.”   It’s a similar story a little further up the Médoc in the appellation of Saint-Julien. “Tasting the wine at this stage reminds us of the 2009 vintage with its sunny characteristics and that creamy unctuosity but the drop in temperatures from the beginning of harvest time gives this vintage a freshness in the expression of these aromas,” says Sara Lecompte-Cuvelier of Ch. Léoville Poyferré.   The blending components of a Bordeaux wine go beyond the grape varieties and picking dates. It’s also important to take into account the soils. On the Left Bank, the cooler, clay-rich soils provided grapes with greater freshness while the gravel-dominant sites provided richer, riper fruit. In Saint-Estèphe, the teams at Chx Montrose, Calon Ségur and Phélan Ségur, credit the appellation’s higher proportions of clay for negotiating the prolonged dry spells and bringing balance to these ripe wines.   Right Bank   On the Merlot-dominant Right Bank, you can expect plenty of colour, abundant tannins and generous fruit. However, the good pH levels have maintained a greater sense of freshness than the sumptuous 2018s, providing balance.  In Saint-Emilion, producers on the limestone plateau and clay-limestone hillsides, home to its most revered vineyards, fared better than those on the free-draining sandy plain during the long dry periods. Expect a little more freshness than in 2018 – site and picking date dependent – but with plenty of dense, rich fruit.    Maylis Marcenat, whose family estate Clos de Sarpe sits on clay-limestone, says: “2019 is going to be a very good vintage for us, a classic Bordeaux vintage but with greater smoothness,” she says. “It has slightly less alcohol than 2018 and greater balance. The tannin texture reminds me of 2016 but it has a freshness of its own. It’s a vintage that reminds me of 2001 and I am sure of its aging capacity.”   In neighbouring Pomerol, the appellation delivers on its classic rich, dark fruit and trademark chocolatey tannins. Omri Ram, Ch. Lafleur’s winemaker, believes that 2019 however is fresher than 2015 and not as massive. While the two vintages have similar concentration of tannins and a high level of solids, 2019 is much more communicative than the 2015 was at this early stage. “2015 is a difficult vintage to taste young but the 2019, although sharing similar characteristics, is more open but has the same seriousness, the same depth, creaminess and balance,” he says.  The dry white wines  in 2019  ”It is great in white and red. This is the strength of this vintage. The white wines show a great richness: [they are] fresh, balanced and suave,” says Olivier Bernard, the head of Domaine de Chevalier, a Graves estate renowned for both its whites and reds.   In the University of Bordeaux’s annual vintage report, Professor Laurence Gény-Denis and his team said: “Despite an exceptionally hot summer that was sometimes incompatible with the greatest dry white vintages, the absence of early and excessive water stress produced perfectly balanced, aromatic grapes with good acidity and not overly high sugar levels. Their composition is ideal for producing wines with outstanding ageing potential.”   It was a relatively early kick-off for the dry white harvest to avoid stressing the vines, which means a very small reduction in average alcohols versus 2018 at around 13.7%.The team at Ch. Smith Haut Lafitte explained that the Sauvignon Blanc, which makes up 90% of its lauded white blend, has an element of fatness – but not at the expense of freshness. While the average pH of Bordeaux white in 2019 is marginally higher than in recent vintages, it remains low at a pretty zesty 3.2.  The sweet white wines in 2019  For sweet wines, things were a little more challenging. Dry, warm weather delayed the onset of noble rot but rainfall in late September allowed perfectly ripe grapes to develop botrytis cinerea and berry concentration rapidly increased. The majority of the grapes were harvested in several days, just before heavy rains in mid-October.   Eric Kohler of Domaines Barons de Rothschild, which owns Ch. Rieussec in Sauternes, adds: “September’s rains were very beneficial – as they were in 2017 and a first window opened on 8th October to pick perfect botrytised grapes for the Grand Vin – with a special mention to some lovely Muscadelle. It then became more challenging due to development of sour rot/acid. The team worked like gold diggers to really sort the best possible grapes until 21st October.”  Comparing 2019 to other vintages  Comparing vintages is like comparing children. Every vintage, like every child, has its own DNA but that doesn’t stop us looking for similarities and differences, providing an anchor in a sea of claret.   The scientists at Bordeaux University do the hard graft, compiling data from around the region to give us in-depth analysis of the region and its vital statistics. Put your lab jacket on, here comes the science.   The data shows that Cabernet Sauvignon berries were the smallest since 2010. Packed with tannin and colour, these small berries have created wines that are deeply coloured and rich in tannin. The tannins are also ripe and the fruit is rich with high sugar levels at harvest equating to some fairly weighty alcohol levels on a par with 2018 and 2010. Acidity is critical to maintain balance and compares with 2016 while pH in the Cabernet Sauvignon – critical to stability and another indicator of freshness – is lower than 2018 and sits in the ballpark of 2015 and 2016.   Based on the wines coming out of their stable from Pomerol to Pauillac, Eric Kohler, technical director of Domaines Barons de Rothschild’s Bordeaux estates, which includes Lafite-Rothschild, Duhart-Milon and Nénin, says: “Our gutfeel is that just as there will always be a discussion between 2009 and 2010, that we will have the same between 2018 and 2019; 2018 being closer to 2009, and 2019 being closer to 2010.”   When it comes to Merlot, once again the dry, sunny weather has led to small berry sizes; tannin levels are sandwiched between the impressive 2018 and 2015/2010s. The ripeness levels are comparable to 2010 and 2016, but the total acidity is a touch lower than these two vintages.   Jean-Baptiste Bourotte of Pomerol’s Clos du Clocher, whose 2019 is comprised of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc, says, “The question is if the alcohol is fairly high – for Bordeaux, because other regions have long been used to these levels – can we still find the balance and elegance that makes classic Bordeaux? On the earlier plots, the liveliness has been maintained with a pH of 3.6 and the tannins are ripe and abundant, which means there’s no perception of high alcohol in the mouth and you’ll find that the 2019s are balanced in a true-to-type Pomerol way.”  

The 2019 vintage in Bordeaux is special. Although, with the Covid-19 outbreak, we were unable to make it out to the region, we interviewed producers and tasted wine samples in the UK. Here’s everything you need to know about the year 

Everything you need to know about the 2019 vintage in Bordeaux – a year that produced exceptional wines

Full report on the 2019 vintage in Bordeaux

Bordeaux 2019 vintage report

Claude Giraud (owner of Champagne Henri Giraud) – 1999 La Romanée-Conti, Grand Cru, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti “We always spend Christmas with the family and everyone brings a bottle they want to share. This bottle is first and foremost a Grand Cru of Pinot Noir, and we love the Grands Crus of Pinot Noir in both Champagne and Burgundy. Following a bottle of our own Grand Cru – Hommage au Pinot Noir and an MV10 Champagne, of which both would have benefited from a few years of aging, I will serve the Romanée-Conti. I like to drink these wines quite early in the meal, their fragrance, their voluptuousness, and their precision make me happy to continue the meal. This bottle is also a memory of the person who gave it to me on one of my trips to Japan. I will call my friend on this occasion. Because wine is that – beyond a taste, it's a story, a bond of friendship, a touch of humanity that we so badly need for these end of year celebrations.” Sébastien le Golvet (winemaker at Champagne Henri Giraud) – 2011 Único, Vega Sicilia, Ribera del Duero “Christmas with the family at the Girauds is a string of bottles, each more extraordinary than the last. Thanks to my wife Anne (one of Claude Giraud's daughters) I had the chance to discover some great wines. These wines inspire me every day when I am in the vineyards or in the cellar. They make me want to surpass myself and always go further in precision and excellence. Vega Sicilia is one of those first great Spanish wines which made a deep impression on me. I like them old, after 20 years, 30 or more because this is really where Vega Sicilia fully expresses itself. And then I recently drank in Mexico a bottle of 2011 Vega Sicilia and I was amazed. It is so young and already so beautiful! I told myself that I couldn't keep this secret to myself, I wanted to share it with my family. So, coming back from this trip, I immediately put some in my cellar. And the first bottle will be for Christmas.” Tod Mostero (Dominus) – 2005 Riesling Auslese, Graacher Himmelreich, Joh. Jos. Prüm, Mosel “It is finally feeling cold enough here for the subtle fruit and mineral shades of a Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Auslese 2005, which may pair well with a grape and quail dish I love at Christmas time. I like to travel in my mind and tell stories with my family at the holidays. This bottle was offered to me by Michael Grimm (our distributor in Germany) and his family shortly after I returned to California in 2007. He and his family have become close over the years. I will also remember Bordeaux, my spiritual family in Libourne, and the gravelly earth and creamy tones of Pomerol soils with a 1982 La Fleur-Pétrus or the pillar of beauty, 2009 Trotanoy – bottles offered to me by Christian Moueix to celebrate the end of year. It is fun to pour a wine and talk to loved ones of the people and places in the bottle.” Gaia Gaja (Gaja) – 1961 Barbaresco, Gaja “This Christmas more than ever the family will gather in full, at my parents' house to celebrate Christmas together. I can’t wait. It will be a long day of celebration, cooking and enjoying each other’s company. Several wines will accompany us throughout the day and surely will be inspiring to the memories. In particular, I am excited to share a magnum of Barbaresco 1961 because this year we are celebrating the 60th anniversary of my father’s great career and this wine was his first step – the first vintage made by him when he was just 21!” Thomas Duroux (Ch. Palmer) – 2009 Malvasia delle Lipari Passito, Caravaglio, Sicily “In July 2011, I went for the first time to Salina, one of the seven Aeolian Islands. I had a little knowledge of the wines produced there but I did not know Antonino Caravaglio. We spent a lot of time together and I had a chance to taste several Malvasia from his estate. I took the hydro-foil ferry back to Sicily along with six bottles of his 2009 Malvasia delle Lipari. This sweet wine, made with dried berries from Malvasia grape variety develop extraordinary aromas with age, such as rosemary bush and dried apricot. This is really something that does not exist anywhere else. I plan to open the first bottle this Christmas and this wine will be my second daughter Gabrielle’s, born in 2009, first sip of wine!” Chris Riesbeck (Westland Distillery) – Garryana Edition 6 “For the holidays, I love to go with big Sherried malts during the colder months – our latest Garryana Edition 6 is just absolutely wonderful. It combines what I love in Sherry (dried fruits) with classic Garry Oak notes of ginger, clove, barbecue smoke. We used quite a bit of ex-Calvados and fruit brandy casks as well, so it’s this fantastic bouquet of candied fruit and smoke (not peat). Aside from that, I have a running obsession with large format (three-litre for the win!) during the holidays. It’s such a fun treat to share those sorts of things with loved ones. This year I’ve pulled a three-litre bottle of Marcel Lapierre Raisins Gaulois 2017 out of the cellar to celebrate.” Francesco Ripaccioli (Canalicchio di Sopra) – 2013 Chianti Classico Riserva, Vigna del Sorbo, Fontodi “One of the bottles that I will definitely open this Christmas will be Fontodi’s Chianti Classico Riserva Vigna del Sorbo 2013 in magnum. This bottle is so special for me for many reasons, for sure it is one of the greatest wines I ever tried, but behind this, there is a family (the Manetti family) and a man, Giovanni Manetti, who at the beginning of my journey in the world of wine was a great sponsor for me, granting me his friendship and his continuous support. Fontodi has been, and still is today the greatest example of how a family-run estate can stay local, while thinking global. I love the 2013 vintage in all of Tuscany and also Piedmont. The wines mature very slow and this is the sign for me of a great vintage. But we can now already start to enjoy something from it for sure.” Frédéric Weber (Bouchard Père & Fils) – 1999 Beaune-Grèves, Premier Cru, Le Vigne de l’Enfant Jésus, Bouchard Père & Fils “Christmas day is the perfect day to celebrate this wine, so it is an easy choice for me. This is a great wine, from an appellation that today is still too underrated. Historically the top wines from Beaune were the most expensive in Burgundy and can compete with some of the finest. I have chosen 1999 because this was in fact the first bottle I bought from the domaine when I joined Bouchard in 2002. It is a fantastic vintage for Burgundy and is drinking beautifully now. I am looking forward to sharing it with my family this Christmas.” Rebecca Jago (The Last Drop) – The Last Drop Très Vieux Pineau des Charentes “This Christmas, we’ll be opening a magnum of Pol Roger I was kindly given last year but further lockdown meant we just didn’t have the company to drink it all! We have a mix of family and friends for Christmas Day and we’ll open a bottle of Newton’s unfiltered Chardonnay (my husband’s favourite), and some Ch. Talbot 2000. And, with the Christmas pudding, I’ll be opening my bottle of our incredible 100-year-old Pineau des Charentes: I can’t wait to share it with our loved ones. As evening falls, a small glass of Tom’s Blend No 1 for a moment of quiet reflection and memories of my much-missed parents.” Martin Donatsch (Donatsch) – 2016 Grüner Veltliner Smaragd, Honivogl, Franz Hirtzberger, Wachau “My motto: It's better to drink a few great wines than to unwrap a lot of presents. Unfortunately, it will be a sad Christmas for us, as it will be the first without my mum. She sadly passed away in the summer after a hard fight with cancer. So, we will be drinking one of her favourite wines in her memory. She loved Grüner Veltliner from Austria, so there will certainly be a Honivogl from our friends Hirtzbergers in the Wachau, which my mother loved so much. For red wine we will have some of our favourites, a 2011 Romanée-Saint-Vivant from Romanée-Conti and a 1989 Haut-Brion. Noblet and Delmas were for us the best cellarmasters ever on this planet. They both inspire me again and again when I drink their wines. For the sweet end, it will be Yquem again... I drink Yquem maybe three or four times a year. But at Christmas, this world-class sweet wine is always a must! Which vintages we open, I decide spontaneously shortly before Christmas but I’m thinking it will most likely be 1999.” David Stewart MBE (The Balvenie) – Balvenie PortWood 21 Year Old "I would probably have a couple of glasses of white wine, generally a Chenin Blanc from South Africa. We've visited a number of vineyards near Cape Town in Stellenbosch. In the evening I would pour myself a couple of drams of Balvenie PortWood 21YO, my favourite, whilst watching Call the Midwife." Read more Editorial

After many of us were not able to see extended family and friends last year, this festive break will seem that much more special. We caught up with some of our favourite winemakers and distillers and asked them what top bottles they will be opening to celebrate this Christmas – and why

We find out the special bottles some of our favourite winemakers and distillers are uncorking this Christmas

What producers are drinking this Christmas

BURGUNDY 2021: THE GROWING SEASON After three warm years, 2021 marked a return to the sort of weather traditionally associated with Burgundy – and all its challenges.  The winter was warm and wet – “too warm”, Frédéric Weber at Bouchard told us. He remembers finishing pruning in just a t-shirt in March. The vines started growing enthusiastically, with early budbreak, only to be struck by a cold spell at the beginning of April – as frost struck the whole of France. The nights of 6th, 7th and 8th April were devastating, especially 7th. Temperatures dropped to -8˚C in places – temperatures at which candles, helicopters and wine machines could offer little help.  
Images of the Côte de Beaune littered with a milky way of candles filled social media, and vignerons could do little but pray. For the early-budding Chardonnay, 80% losses were normal, with some producers in Chablis losing everything. The humid conditions, with snow falling, made matters worse – unusually this combination means that lower-lying village sites were less impacted than the Grands Crus (higher up-slope, where more snow fell). Indeed, if producers had lit candles (or “bougies”), the warmth melted the snow, which then froze and the buds were burnt by the morning sun – cruel retribution for trying to protect their livelihood. This severe, black frost (“le gel advectif”, as Florence Heresztyn explained) was savage – caused by a mass of cold air from Siberia. Chardonnay (and therefore especially the Côte de Beaune) was impacted more, as were any earlier-ripening Pinot Noir sites, such as Cazetiers or Combe au Moine. Candles can normally only increase the temperature by 2˚C, however some producers noted how a collective effort could make a difference – with a high-density of candles concentrated on an area. Erwan Faiveley had installed electric wires in their Bâtard-Montrachet and Bienvenue-Bâtard-Montrachet, as used previously in Chablis, which saved their crop in these plots, but other parcels were devastated. As Thibault Gagey of Louis Jadot noted, late pruning could help; one of their long-term growers in Bâtard-Montrachet pruned late and got a better crop, but the damage was still significant. David Duband reported how he also had issues in April with caterpillars which munched on the nascent buds. He had to hire five additional workers for a week to battle their hungry attack. The cold weather continued, with May cold and cloudy. Flowering at Bouchard began on 16th June, in wet and mild conditions that were perfect for oidium (powdery mildew) and downy mildew. Because the weather was so wet, mud prevented tractor access and at Bouchard they hired more people to spray by hand – a luxury not everyone could afford. Producers across the region spent their weekends during the summer spraying their vines when they could, with the disease pressure a particular challenge to anyone working organically or biodynamically. Edouard Confuron estimated he had sprayed four or five times more than in a normal year. There was some localised hail, with a storm in June causing damage in the north of Gevrey-Chambertin, especially in Les Champeaux, said Pierre Duroché and Olivier Bernstein.  
With the wet and cooler conditions, deleafing was important to open up the canopy, reducing disease pressure and exposing the fruit to much-needed sunshine. At Olivier Bernstein, Richard Séguin explained how they deleafed the fruiting zone and kept just one or two bunches per vine, removing any green bunches that remained at mid-véraison.  September saved the vintage, with warm, sunny and mostly dry conditions. With the tiny volumes, this was enough to ripen the fruit – Jacques Devauges at Domaine des Lambrays described it as Mother Nature evening the score, making up for what she’d taken in April.  Harvest dates varied quite significantly – starting from 10th September through to early October. Rain fell on 19th and 20th September, and producers were often divided between picking before and after this date. Generally producers started with Pinot Noir, then moved onto the Chardonnay, and dates were around a month later than in 2020. Jean-Marie Fourrier felt it was important to wait for phenolic maturity – which only arrived after the rain, and Erwan Faiveley argued that it was essential to wait for the dilution from the rain to pass before picking. Given the low yields, the harvest was often shorter – simply because there wasn’t much fruit.  Selection was essential – making a small crop even smaller – but there was some beautiful fruit of both colours. Yields varied, with losses between 50 and 80% – and some parcels (especially of Chardonnay) were blended together due to the tiny volumes at play. BURGUNDY 2021: THE WHITE WINES 
There’s no doubt amongst producers – or tasters – that this is an excellent vintage for Chardonnay. Production levels are laughable – with often the lowest yields they’ve ever seen, at a mere 20% of their normal crop – but the quality goes some small way to making up for the loss. The small crop (reduced by the harsh April frost) had a long season to slowly ripen, developing intense levels of concentration, yet – with cooler conditions than 2018, 2019 or 2020 – retaining amazing freshness and acidity. With the wet summer, disease was an issue: Erwan Faiveley described oidium as “exploding” on the Chardonnay (with levels not seen since 2004). Extensive sorting was essential. He also felt it was necessary to fine with bentonite after pressing to ensure the must was clean; similarly at Bouchard, Frédéric Weber didn’t use the very first free-run and inoculated fermentations this year to ensure they ran smoothly. Others, such as Philippe Abadie at Alvina Pernot and Paul Pernot, emphasised how important it was not to over-press. Most wines were chaptalised this year, often just to bring up 0.5%, with the final alcohol levels sitting between 12.5 and 13.5%.  Guillaume Boillot at Henri Boillot – who has produced a stunning range of wines – describes the whites as “salin”, having “belle matière”. Vibrant and pure, these are tightly wound with cool, white-fleshed fruit character, sometimes with tropical richness, often a mineral, saline thread and piercing acidity.  Due to the tiny volumes produced, oak usage varies this year. Boillot used none, but others have slightly more in the blend – feeling it didn’t need the freshness added by components aged in stainless steel. For Jadot, it was the first year that they used exclusively foudres, the larger barrels reducing the flavour impact of oak on the wine. Erwan Faiveley believes that tasting the whites, you can feel “the struggle in them”, that the vines suffered. Tasting through the exceptional Grands Crus he’s produced, however, it’s hard to see this – and perhaps he’s biased by the challenges of working the vines and crafting the wines in 2021. Comparisons are hard for such a unique year, but 2014 and 2017 were common themes, largely due to the high acidity, quality and ageing potential. Philippe Abadie and Alvina Pernot described it as “classic bourguignon”, while Thibault Gagey at Louis Jadot compared the year to 2011 or 2013, although feels the wines are better than those of the latter vintage. Faiveley points to 2007 – a vintage that has never shut down or, for him, disappointed; for Boillot they’re closest to 2016, but more precise. At Bouchard, Weber is so excited by their potential that he plans to keep them in barrel longer – possibly bottling in July 2023. These are really exciting wines – with a vibrancy and energy that is compelling. The cool and mineral classicism here, with great fruit concentration and balance, should age beautifully. 
Read our full report on Chablis 2021

 BURGUNDY 2021: THE RED WINES 
While there is a clear consensus on the 2021 whites, the reds are more varied in the vintage – but much better than we initially thought. The wines have clearly benefited from additional time in barrel, and most addresses have crafted a flight of elegant, pale-coloured and light-bodied Pinot Noirs. Although there are a few, rare examples of dilute or overly lean wines, this is in the main a return to “old school” Burgundy, with wines of perfume rather than power. The volumes are more generous than for the Chardonnay, but still measly, mostly sitting between 30 and 50% of a normal year’s yield. 
Frédéric Weber at Bouchard felt there were two styles of Pinot Noir in 2021: those from plots not damaged by frost, with normal yields but grapes with thin, fragile skins, prone to grey rot. The fruit from frost-hit sites, meanwhile, came with lower yields, thicker skins and less disease – for the latter he preferred to harvest later, with their higher tannin levels.  
Jean-Marie Fourrier noted that the picking date for Pinot Noir was key, worrying that anyone harvesting before the rain on 19th/20th was playing a risky game when it came to phenolic maturity and might have unripe tannins and vegetal notes.  
In general, Florence Heresztyn of Heresztyn-Mazzini felt it was a vintage, like 2012 or 2013, where producers needed to be attentive and precise at every stage – from the vineyard to winery. Sorting was essential and almost every producer chaptalised – largely used to prolong the alcohol fermentation rather than with the sole purpose of increasing the alcohol level. 

 Beyond this, tactics in the winery were varied – with vignerons often taking opposite approaches. Some producers, such as Bouchard, opted for more whole-bunch fermentation. Winemaker Frédéric Weber explained that the stems were so beautiful that he was happy to include 30-50% on average; the potassium also helped reduce the acidity of the wines, giving – he felt – a better expression of the year. 
The opposite was true of many, including Benoît Stehly at Georges Lignier and Hugues Pavelot. At Olivier Bernstein, the team used 30-40%, much less than in a warmer vintage, as they didn’t feel additional freshness was required, nor were the stems sufficiently lignified; similarly Heresztyn-Mazzini used 30-60% rather than 50-100% to avoid any greenness. While Jean-Marie Fourrier de-stems everything, in 2019 and 2020 he added the stems back into ferments for freshness, but didn’t feel it was necessary in 2021. 
When it came to extraction, the approach was similarly broad. Some felt it was a year to be more delicate, others thought it was a year that required more work to extract the colour and tannin that was in the grapes.  
Maxime Cheurlin at Domaine Georges Noëllat used a warmer – and therefore shorter – fermentation (sustaining 33-34˚C, versus 31˚C normally) to build the mid-palate of the wines. Charles van Canneyt had to buy smaller tanks for the miniscule yields, but the tiny tanks therefore fermented more quickly and he was careful to keep maceration short to avoid risking over-extraction. Similarly, Olivier Bernstein was keen to keep the fermentation short, with a five-day cold soak to extract colour and aromatics, then just 13 additional days on skins before the must was pressed – the fermentation finishing off the skins. 
By contrast, Fourrier opted for more extraction to get everything possible from the fruit. Guillaume Boillot echoed this view, with an additional week of skin contact. He used just pumping over rather than punching down to focus on fruit and aromatics rather than tannin; but at Faiveley, Erwan used more punching down than pumping over. 
Some producers highlighted that the grapes had high levels of malic acid (which has been notably low in recent, solar vintages), meaning that malolactic fermentation had a significant impact on the wines. Both Benoît Stehly and Charles van Canneyt noted how they were verging on severe at first, but after malolactic were open and fruity – totally changing in style. On paper, the pH is quite high for some wines (up to 3.7) – yet there is plenty of freshness, the lighter body and lower alcohol (mostly 13-13.5%) perhaps balancing it out.  
For élevage, some winemakers feel the wines need longer or shorter élevage, or different types of oak, with more or less new or different toasting. Nicolas Potel at Domaine and Maison Roche de Bellene feels that the crunchy character of the Pinot Noir will only be enhanced by a longer maturation in barrel (planning for 24 months versus the normal 12). Boillot opted for no new oak (as for his whites), feeling it would mark the fruit too much; while Maxime Cheurlin used less new oak but higher toast levels to add further complexity – and plans to bottle the wines earlier.  For Domaine Joblot, they felt that more new oak helped round out the lighter wines, using 50% new. At Domaine des Lambrays, Jacques Devauges favoured a slow, gentle toast – a "chauffe blonde" that gives the scent of freshly baked bread. Indeed, Devauges feels the wines have been improving significantly in barrel, offering more concentration and aromatics with each month that passes – something that reminds him of the 2010 vintage. 




Frédéric Weber at Bouchard describes 2021 as “charming”, comparing the wines to those of 2017, with good terroir definition and balance at 13-13.5% – more in line with what used to be “normal” for the region.  Thibault Gagey at Jadot pointed to 2004, 2013 or 2017 as possible similar vintages, but finds it hard to compare – it’s old school but approachable. Marion Raphet added 2014 into the mix, and although the wines are incredibly open now, wonders if they might shut down in bottle. For her, however, it is a year where, “On retrouve la typicité” (they rediscovered Burgundy’s typicity). The team at Tortochot pointed to 2011 or 2001, while Erwan Faiveley looked to 2007 and Florence Heresztyn noted the growing season was reminiscent of 2016.  
Maxime Chuerlin looks further back, feeling it has a similar equilibrium, colour and density to the outstanding 1991 vintage – in no doubt that the balance of the wines will allow them to age. While it’s easy to assume that these paler Burgundies might not be the longest-lived, almost every producer anticipates that 2021 will surprise everyone with its ageability – especially for the top wines. 
Almost every single grower we spoke to used a different approach for the 2021 vintage – but almost all have succeeded, producing vibrant, open and pretty Pinot Noir. It is a year in which careful vignerons could craft exceptional wines that were both light-bodied, yet persistent – with a purity and intensity that is surprising, along with captivating aromatics. As Nicole Lamarche said, “You can have both lightness and concentration.” It is, overall, a year that has surpassed expectations – one that was transformed by producers’ dedication, work in the vineyard, and modern technology and know-how in the winery.
 BURGUNDY 2021 IN BRIEF An extremely challenging growing season, with April frost and high disease pressure over the summer Yields were drastically reduced by between 50 and 80%  The whites are superb – concentrated, high-acid with minerality and cooler fruit tones The reds are a little more varied, but the best are elegant, charming, pale and light-bodied – yet with impressive intensity and freshness A handful of wines are a little dilute or lean, but all the best vignerons crafted superb wines Alcohol levels are more traditional for the region, mostly between 12 and 13%, with little above 13.5% The best wines of both colours will age well, but the reds in particular will be approachable in their youth Producers used different approaches to handle the year’s challenges The most common vintage comparisons are to 2014 and 2017, but include a wide range of other years 

Over two separate trips, our team delved into the 2021 vintage – visiting, tasting with and talking to a wide range of producers up and down the Côte d’Or. The vintage was complicated – but Burgundy’s vignerons have crafted some exceptional wines. We dig into everything you need to know

Everything you need to know about Burgundy 2021: our report on the growing season, how the region’s best winemakers handled it and what the wines are like

Burgundy 2021 full vintage report

Burgundy 2021: a wine-grower’s vintage

Riberia Sacra

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