Best Pauillac 2021 wines tasted en primeur
Georgie Hindle presents an overview of the 2021 vintage across the Pauillac appellation revealing her highest-scoring wines.
Pauillac 2021
Average yield:
- 35.1hl/ha. An increase of 2% from 2020.
What you find from the 2021 wines
A tale of two halves here in 2021 with some spectacular wines produced but where winemakers had a barrage of problems to contend with.
Merlot in general suffered from frost and mildew and rains in mid and late September meant some estates harvested quickly and before full phenolic ripeness.
Those who managed the stresses of the year and waited until October to harvest, subsequently produced stellar Cab-dominant blends – many above 90% – albeit with low yields, some at 15hl/ha. Some of my favourite 2021s are in Pauillac including the exceptional Château Lafite Rothschild.
Top picks:
- Château Lafite Rothschild
- Château Mouton Rothschild
- Château Latour
- Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
- Château Pichon Baron
- Château Pontet-Canet
- Château Lynch-Bages
- Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste
- Château Duhart-Milon
- Château Haut-Batailley
- Château Haut-Bages Libéral
- Château d’Armailhac
- Château Clerc Milon
See the top-scoring Pauillac 2021 en primeur wines
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Château Lafite Rothschild, Pauillac, 1er Cru Classé, Bordeaux, France, 2021
I loved this wine during en primeur and I love it still, hovering over giving it 98 points. It’s round and lively but also full...
2021
Château Lafite RothschildPauillac
Château Mouton Rothschild, Pauillac, 1er Cru Classé, Bordeaux, France, 2021
Concentrated and characterful, layered and super-finely presented. Round and full, juicy and textured, more powdery than tense and grippy with almost blackcurrant skin texture, while...
2021
Château Mouton RothschildPauillac
Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Pauillac, 2ème Cru Classé, Bordeaux, France, 2021
A gorgeous fragrance on the nose, scented and deep with green peppercorns, blackcurrant leaf, cedar, tobacco and sweet cinammon. Succulent and juicy - the high...
2021
Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de LalandePauillac
Château Latour, Pauillac, 1er Cru Classé, Bordeaux, France, 2021
Richly scented, potpourri and herbs, ripe bramble fruit, dark chocolate, aniseed, cinnamon; so much going on on the nose. Fruity and full, but sleek and...
2021
Château LatourPauillac
Château Pontet-Canet, Pauillac, 5ème Cru Classé, Bordeaux, France, 2021
Gorgeous fragrance on the nose, so perfumed and floral - really vibrant - you can smell the Cabernet and the Petit Verdot on the nose....
2021
Château Pontet-CanetPauillac
Château Lynch-Bages, Pauillac, 5ème Cru Classé, Bordeaux, France, 2021
Sweet blackcurrant fruit on the nose, softly jammy and expressive. You can really feel the ripeness here, grapes got full maturity and this is plush,...
2021
Château Lynch-BagesPauillac
Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Pauillac, 5ème Cru Classé, Bordeaux, France, 2021
A pretty and fragranced nose, then a sense of true classicism with bright, shining acidity underpinning crushed-velvet tannins and undertones of cola, liquorice and cool...
2021
Château Grand-Puy-LacostePauillac
Château Pichon Baron, Pauillac, 2ème Cru Classé, Bordeaux, France, 2021
Inviting, fragrant nose with pink flowers and red berry fruit. Pure and elegant with a crystalline aspect to the fruit, juicy and lively balance. A...
2021
Château Pichon BaronPauillac
Château Duhart-Milon, Pauillac, 4ème Cru Classé, Bordeaux, France, 2021
After a few minutes soft notes of dark chocolate, red cherry, blackcurrant, green peppercorns and strawberry leaf emerge from the glass. Full and smooth on...
2021
Château Duhart-MilonPauillac
Château d'Armailhac, Pauillac, 5ème Cru Classé, Bordeaux, France, 2021
Smells heady, black bramble fruit on the nose, fragrant black cherries, a dusting of clove and cinnamon spice, orange peel - slightly bitter but juicy...
2021
Château d'ArmailhacPauillac
Château Haut-Bages Libéral, Pauillac, 5ème Cru Classé, Bordeaux, France, 2021
Very aromatic on the nose, this has savoury, fruit and floral tones; liquorice, cola and earth with cranberries, strawberries and black cherries. Dense and quite...
2021
Château Haut-Bages LibéralPauillac
Château Haut-Batailley, Pauillac, 5ème Cru Classé, Bordeaux, France, 2021
Open and violet-scented bramble fruits, some smoked cherries and milk chocolate. Smooth and supple, this has generosity of fruit, acidity and velvety tannins. Round and...
2021
Château Haut-BatailleyPauillac
Château Clerc Milon, Pauillac, 5ème Cru Classé, Bordeaux, France, 2021
Ripe, dark and fragrant fruit on the nose - dark plums, cherries, damsons and blackberries with a dusting of black chocolate - coolness but also...
2021
Château Clerc MilonPauillac