Bordeaux 2020: Vintage Profile
2020 is a vintage that, rather inconveniently, shares its name with a year we would all prefer to forget. Fortunately, the wines are far more agreeable than the daily news was. In the glass, Bordeaux 2020 feels reassuringly classical for such a warm, dry season: ripe fruit, certainly, but also proper freshness and a firm, tidy frame. In many ways it reminds me of the vintage ten years prior, 2010. Both are rather more structured than the preceding years (2009 and 2019), and 2020 will likely demand a little more patience than 2019.
Stylistically, it sits a touch more upright than 2019, with firmer tannins and more modest alcohol levels than, say, 2018, thanks in part to cooler nights, despite summer heat spikes ensuring there is no shortage of vibrant fruit. If you want the pleasures of the vintage sooner, the smart money is often in the second wines and the better petits châteaux, which can be wonderfully drinkable without being remotely simple. The top châteaux will last for decades, though, and generally should not be approached yet.
For the vignerons, it was another year of extremes, requiring quick decisions. A wet spring brought disease pressure, then the tap was turned off through summer, with heat spikes later on. Those with clay-rich soils, helping to retain moisture, benefitted, notably in St-Estèphe. Cooler nights later in the season and timely rain helped preserve balance, and the bulk of the red harvest was wrapped up early, largely before the unsettled weather of October had a chance to cause mischief.
Appellation by appellation, there is plenty to like. The Left Bank Cabernets can be superb in St-Estèphe, Pauillac and St-Julien, with Pessac-Léognan a fraction patchier than usual. On the Right Bank, clay and limestone sites were particularly well placed, and there are some excellent St-Émilion and Pomerol to be found for those willing to hunt, though it can be a little less uniform than the reassuring safety of the Médoc.
2020 is a vintage of high-energy wines which will suit those enjoying the 2005s or 2010s. Despite the heat, it is not a vintage of jammy fruit and low acidity. Given time, I suspect it will be talked about as one of the finest of the last couple of decades.
Affordable highlights: Château Marsau (though buy 2019 if you want to drink it now), Château Tronquoy, Château Meyney, Château Labégorce, Haut-Médoc de Branaire-Ducru
Money no object favourites: Château Montrose, Château Figeac, Château Lafite-Rothschild, Château Canon, Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
