Working with fruit from the Swartland, Piekenierskloof, Darling and Stellenbosch, Donovan Rall is one of South Africa’s top winemaking talents. He created his own label in 2008, while working alongside Eben Sadie, and now consults on various projects as well as making his exception Rall wines. 

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Explore the new-wave wines of Donovan Rall: Rall Wines, from the Swartland in South Africa

Discover Rall Wines from the Swartland, South Africa

Rall Wines

Inspired by a Russian, first made by a Hungarian, who was succeeded by a Frenchman and then a German, the winemaking lineage at Masseto has been decidedly international – until now, that is. Since January 2024, the leading Super Tuscan and Ornellaia’s sibling estate has had its first native at the helm: Marco Balsimelli – born in Arezzo, not far from Siena, took the reins from longtime Production Director Axel Heinz.  Balsimelli comes with his own illustrious pedigree, having long been based in Bordeaux, working at Gruaud Larose and, since 2010, alongside the famous Eric Boissenot as a consultant winemaker to many of the region’s leading estates, but the chance to work at Ornellaia and Masseto – iconic names from his Tuscan homeland – was an opportunity he couldn’t turn down.  It was André Tchelistcheff (the Russian-born Napa winemaker) who first suggested to Lodovico Antinori that a particular hill on the Ornellaia estate would be perfect for Merlot. Tchelistcheff was consulting for Antinori, and recognised the potential of the parcel of blue clay – the same soil that is synonymous with Pétrus. Back then, in the 1980s, Merlot was barely planted in Tuscany and remained an unknown quantity in the region, with only Castello di Ama – based further inland in Chianti Classico – having some vines (today used for its flagship L’Apparita). Nevertheless, the Ornellaia team took a chance and planted most of the seven-hectare swathe of clay in 1984 (additional planting took place in 1995).  The first vintage of Merlot from the site was made in 1987: Masseto was born. The name comes from “masso”, Italian for rock, after the large boulder-like clumps of clay that dot the vineyard’s surface. It didn’t take long for the wine to earn international acclaim, with Wine Spectator giving the 2001 vintage 100 points, and its place was cemented in vinous history.  Although Tchelistcheff consulted until 1989, replaced by Michel Rolland from 1991, Hungarian Tibor Gál was the property’s first winemaker. Gál was succeeded by Thomas Duroux (now of Ch. Palmer), who in 2005 passed the baton to Axel Heinz, the German-born winemaker who preceded Balsimelli. The property has changed hands over the years too, with the Mondavi family taking a share in 1999 before buying it outright from Lodovico Antinori, and selling it onto the Frescobaldi family, who took full ownership of Ornellaia and Masseto from 2005.  Much might have changed, but the terroir hasn’t. “It’s a very special site,” Balsimelli tells me. The all-important clay dominates the topsoil, which is only about a metre deep. When it rains, the clay swells, making it near impossible for the vines’ roots to develop. High sodium levels in the soils only accentuate the problem. “For the roots, it’s a battle every day,” he says. It’s that struggle, he feels, that you can taste in the concentrated, high-acid fruit from the site.  The climate is key too, lying just 10 kilometres from the Tyrrhenian Sea. Fresh marine breezes mean the temperature is around 5°C lower than that in central Tuscany, with a drop of circa 15°C from day to night. Combine this with the light reflected off the sea, and you get a long growing season, preserving aromatics and acidity, yet encouraging phenolic ripeness – wines that combine perfume and power. Surrounded by forest, there is a reason that Lodovico Antinori was determined for Masseto to be an entirely separate project to Ornellaia, with its own unique identity – even if it has always shared a winemaker (and, until 2019, a winery) with its sibling estate.  For Balsimelli, the project has provided a fresh challenge. The shift away from a consultant role – no longer offering advice before moving on to the next project, but sitting with each and every decision – adds a new weight of responsibility. “I spend a lot of time thinking about the technical questions and the consequences,” he tells me. Since most of his work with Boissenot had been based on Bordeaux’s Left Bank, focused on Cabernet-driven blends from larger estates, working with a small property, focused on just one variety and various sub-plots is a different sort of jigsaw puzzle. The approach, for him, is much more Burgundian – all about expressing the purity of the site and its blue clay. “You have to be perfect with only one type of soil and one grape variety,” he explains.  The quest for perfection was started long ago at Masseto and today the vines average between 20 and 30 years in age. They’ve also been moving from cordon-trained to bush vines – first trialled in 2008 and something which they have found helps temper the effects of global warming (coping better in dry conditions and shading the fruit from the heat of the sun). Farmed organically since 2012, there has also been a significant focus on encouraging biodiversity across the site, including using cover crops to reduce soil compaction, increase organic matter and retain humidity in the soils.  Balsimelli’s first vintage was 2024, which won’t be released until 2027. But he’s clearly excited by the site, as well as how he can tweak and improve a wine that is already lauded by critics and consumers. “When you taste old vintages of Masseto, you can feel the legacy, taste the terroir,” he says – and that’s exactly what he wants to do moving forward, channelling the Boissenot philosophy: understanding a piece of land and finding the best solution to express it in the glass. For him, that solution will be all about accentuating the wine’s elegance.  He notes how there was – across the world of wine – a trend towards low yield and high levels of maturity in the early 2000s, but his preferred vintages are those that saw more balance. The 2006, for example, is his favourite at the moment – a year with more rainfall, more vigour, and – he feels – more energy as a result. It’s a vintage that he believes is “the key for the future”.  The site is one that can ripen quickly, and he plans to focus on freshness, maybe picking a little earlier, reducing extraction and lowering temperatures for maceration. The 2022 is the vintage set to be released this September – a wine that Balsimelli notes shows just how good the site is – performing even in tricky conditions such as 2022’s hot growing season. It is, he says, “the magic of Massseto”. Magic it may be, but Balsimelli is set on elevating this special estate even further.   Explore all current listings of Masseto or read more Editorial 

Often considered the Pétrus of Italy, Masseto is a wine like no other. Ahead of the new release, we sat down with Marco Balsimelli – the man at the helm today – to talk about the special site and what lies ahead for the Super Tuscan 

Talking to the Super Tuscan’s new Production Director Marco Balsimelli

The magic of Masseto

For Marelise Niemann, the lure of wine is the very thing that might frustrate less intuitive winegrowers. “You’re never in control: you’re always humbled,” she says – by the weather, by the baboons that eat your grapes, by nature. Humbling though it may be, Niemann has made Grenache her mission – crafting South Africa’s finest, most elegant expressions of this grape under her Momento label.  It's perhaps not surprising, given the style of her wines, that it was a vintage in Burgundy that provided her lightbulb moment. At the time, in the late noughties, South Africa was still focused on producing big wines: bold reds, extracted and heavily oaked, were seen as the best. Parker’s influence was lingering, and South Africa was still bouncing back from apartheid and the stifling monopoly of the KWV. But a stint working with Pinot Noir made Niemann realise the surprising and sometimes incongruous power of delicacy – in short, that bigger wasn’t always better.  And she was one of many on a similar journey. South Africa’s New Wave movement was gathering pace. Led by the likes of Eben Sadie, Adi Badenhorst, and Chris and Andrea Mullineux, these producers were crafting fresh and fine wines, reinventing South Africa’s vinous identity. What started in the Swartland soon swept across the nation, and Niemann was part of this groundswell.  It was farming that first drew her to wine, having spent time as a child on her grandparents’ farm in Stanford, a small village in the Overberg, getting up at the crack of dawn to help milk the cows or do whatever else needed doing. Although her parents both left agriculture behind, she wanted to work the land. Growing up in Elgin, dominated by apples but with a nascent grape industry, she decided to try viticulture. Late nights with many bottles at university in Stellenbosch convinced her that growing grapes wasn’t enough, and soon her degree had broadened to include winemaking.  After travelling the world and doing vintages in the Rhône and California, she got a job working alongside Sebastian Beaumont – who had just taken over his family’s estate, Beaumont Family Wines. It was here, she explains, that she could unlearn everything in the books. While there, she continued to travel and do vintages in the Northern Hemisphere – including the aforementioned stint in Burgundy.   Although Pinot Noir was her inspiration, it was the freshness and vibrancy that she was chasing, rather than Pinot itself – well aware that much of South Africa is simply too hot and dry for the variety. A trip to Terroir al Limit (the Priorat project created by Dominik Huber and Eben Sadie in 2001) in 2010 was pivotal. She fell instantly for the region’s beautiful old Garnacha vines, and the lighter styles that Huber and Sadie were producing.   She immediately returned and sought out a parcel of Grenache in the Western Cape. She bought two tonnes from a 50-year-old vineyard in the Swartland with Donovan Rall (of Rall Wines); he picked the fruit and trucked it down to Stellenbosch, where they stashed it illicitly in a university cold room overnight courtesy of a friend, and she then drove it down to Beaumont. The winemaking was minimal, in part because she was busy making the Beaumont wines, and she didn’t have any equipment – but also because it was what the vineyard gave her, leaning towards a lighter, more fragrant style. The first vintage of Momento Grenache was born. That was 2011, and before she’d even decided on a name or considered designing a label for the bottled product, it was chosen for the famous Young Guns tasting. (Her husband – an artist – sketched the vine you’ll see on the label today, with faces in the trunk, because for Niemann wine isn’t just the geeky stuff, but the people – both those who make it and those who enjoy it.)  Fast forward a decade, and Momento has earned quite the reputation. Niemann was named Tim Atkin MW’s Young Winemaker of the Year in his 2023 South Africa Report, and critics gush over the wines from this “Grenache-whisperer” (as dubbed by Malu Lambert, Decanter).  Although Niemann makes a Chenin Blanc/Verdelho blend and Tinta Barocca, Grenache is very much the core of the Momento range – with Grenache Gris and Blanc, as well as several different bottlings of Grenache Noir. It’s unsurprising given the beautifully fragrant, fine and fresh style of her wines that those she looks to for inspiration are Rayas (of course), but also those of Sierra de Gredos (such as Comando G), and finer, new-wave examples from Australia too – like Yangarra or S.C. Pannell. With the 2022 vintage, she introduced three additional single-site expressions of Grenache Noir, adding a bottling from Botrivier shale, Piekenierskloof sandstone and Riebeekberg schist, alongside her Paardeberg wine (previously labelled as Swartland, or Western Cape, all on granite). The idea is to show what Grenache can do in South Africa, speaking of their different soils, yet all retaining her trademark vibrancy and delicacy.  For Niemann, Grenache and the other varieties she works with aren’t an arbitrary choice, but those that are sustainable in the South African climate. Almost all the vineyards she works with are dry-farmed (with one that she’s weaning off its water-dependency). She points to the drought of 2015-2018 with its threat of Day Zero, when no one could irrigate their vines: she recalls how the Cabernet and Merlot in a neighbouring vineyard gave up, offering little to no crop, but it wasn’t the case with her Grenache, which “just carried on with life”. As she says, “There will be another day zero in South Africa. It will become hotter and drier. We need to farm varietals that don’t need to be irrigated.” Grapes like Grenache, Chenin and Verdelho, alongside Cinsault and Carignan are – for her – the answer. “It’s what our climate wants us to plant,” she says.  One thing’s for sure: if this is the future for South African wine, it’s incredibly exciting. Forget high-alcohol, soupy sweet Grenache; Niemann’s wines are fine-boned, fresh, textured, perfumed and pure – wines that speak of place. Allocations of her single-site bottlings vanished almost instantly on release – and I’m in no doubt that her star will only continue to rise. Snap these wines up while you can.  Explore the Momento range or read more about South Africa 

Named Tim Atkin MW’s Young Winemaker of the Year in 2023, Marelise Niemann is crafting some of South Africa’s most exciting wines. We sat down with the Momento winemaker to talk about her journey into wine, falling head-over-heels for Burgundy and why Grenache is the future for the Western Cape

Sitting down with Marlise Niemann, the winemaker behind Momento wines in Bot River, South Africa – Tim Atkin’s Young Winemaker of the Year 2023

Redefining Grenache: Marelise Niemann’s Momento wines

Redefining Grenache: Momento 

At Lafite Rothschild, Antoine Granger said that while vintages like 1986 (“rich but good”), 1990 and 1996 are drinking well, the 2000 is “beautiful” and the 2005 “brilliant”.  It might be young, but – if you can decant it 12 hours in advance – the more modest 2022 Duhart-Milon is also showing well, he noted. Joséphine Duffau-Lagarrosse also pointed to 2000 (a “fabulous” vintage) at Beauséjour, while she finds that some 2004s are superb. She also recently had tasted 2005 Latour and said it was “magnifique”.   For Pierre-Olivier Clouet at Cheval Blanc, 2004 is a vintage he loves. The 1998 is drinking very well, he noted, but the 2009 and 2012 are brilliant – having never shut down, something echoed elsewhere. He’s just starting to broach the 2007, a wine which he says was “a teenager” for a long time but is now starting to reveal its potential. The 2012 is also, for him, a new sort of 2011.  Palmer’s Sébastien Menut was another to point to 2007 – saying how well it was drinking, and a recent bottle of 2014 Trotanoy was a real standout bottle for him.   For Juliette Couderc, the 2009 and 2012 Evangile are still winners – although there isn’t that much left around, sadly; she likes the 2008 too, but feels the 2004 and 2005 aren’t yet ready, while vintages like 2016, 2018, 2019 need more time before broaching. Indeed, at Vieux Château Certan, Alexandre Thienpont pointed to 2009 (a vintage he feels is just starting to open up – reenforced by a bottle our team enjoyed in Bordeaux during primeurs) and the 2012 is drinking well.  David Suire at Ch. Laroque is happy to uncork almost any vintage between 1995 and 2020, he told us (anything older requires a special occasion, he joked), but highlighted the 2014 as a wine that is starting to open up, and – although still young – the 2019 is a very fine wine that is brilliant, it just needs decanting. And he’s not the only one to be enjoying the 2019s: Troplong Mondot’s Ferréol du Fou has been drinking the 2019 a lot, decanting it for an hour or two, while he was also particularly enthusiastic about the 2017s – wines which he feels are drinking well from across Bordeaux.  At La Conseillante, Marielle Cazaux echoed this – the 2019 is pure pleasure, for her, a “silky, delicious fruit bomb” at this youthful stage, and the 2017 is similarly rewarding. Looking back a bit further, she’s still waiting for the 2015 to emerge, but loves the 2012 – which combines tertiary complexity with power.   Explore all Bordeaux listings or read more about the region 

All eyes may currently be on the nascent 2024s, but in amongst primeurs, we took a moment to talk to Bordeaux’s top producers about the vintages to drink now. Here’s what those in the know are pulling the cork on

As the 2024 vintage is released en primeur, we asked Bordeaux’s top produces which vintages are best to drink now: here’s what they said 

Bordeaux: the best vintages and wines to drink now 

Bordeaux vintages to drink now 

Overall, the 2024 crop was Bordeaux’s smallest since 1991 – with the region producing 332 million litres of wine. This is in part due to declining vineyard area, with the yield averaging 35hl/ha – slightly higher than that of the 2021, 2017 or 2013 vintages. Diving further into this, however, reveals a significant difference between the Left and Right Banks – with 34.4hl/ha in Saint-Emilion, Pomerol and Fronsac, versus 30.8hl/ha on average in the Médoc and Graves. It's a year where it is hard to generalise, even within each commune, for neighbouring estates produced drastically different results in the vintage. As David Suire of Ch. Laroque explained, there were such varying approaches to the year’s challenges, something that is echoed in the wines produced. RIGHT BANK This year, once again, the Right Bank offered more consistency than the Left. Although it was still heterogenous, the smaller size of estates lent itself to success – making it easier to treat and harvest in the narrow windows of dry weather. Wherever you were, however, it was a challenging year: as Christian Moueix said, “You cannot replace the sun.” Beyond the more overcast weather, hail hit Fronsac, Canon-Fronsac and Lalande-de-Pomerol in June, with some estates losing their entire crop, although Pomerol and Saint-Emilion largely escaped.  Pomerol For Noëmie Durantou (Ch. l’Eglise-Clinet), 2024 was a tough opponent – but one she knew they could win against, and looking back at it, what a game it was: as her wines certainly indicate. For her, there were several key elements to the growing season: the cloud cover that reduced diurnal variation (she recalls warm, sleepless nights), the late véraison, foggy mornings that increased botrytis pressure in the run-up to harvest, and the year’s humidity level – 80% in Pomerol, versus a more normal 50-60%. The hail that struck Lalande-de-Pomerol in June strayed a little into Pomerol, but most estates escaped any serious impact – with just a touch felt at Lafleur at Feytit-Clinet, for example. Treating the vines posed an additional challenge for the team at Clinet, who have to take into account the timetable of the neighbouring school, working around the presence of children and/or parents, on top of inclement conditions. Harvest began in Pomerol slightly earlier than in neighbouring Saint-Emilion, kicking off from as early as 16th September, but most starting to bring their Merlot in from 20th of the month, and the Cabernet finished by 4th October (although some producers had everything in the winery by the end of September). Yields varied significantly – from the second-smallest harvest since 1991 at Belle-Brise to the second-largest crop in the last 25 years at Lafleur.  Jeremy Chasseuil (Feytit-Clinet) emphasised how, for him, leaving the wine on lees for two months was key – helping to build texture, releasing polysaccharides that lend weight to the wine’s mid-palate. While 2024 did not produce the most opulent styles of Pomerol, the best retain a plush texture and exoticism to the aromatics that complements the naturally high acidity of the year. Although quality isn’t entirely consistent here, there are many highlights. Our favourites in Pomerol: Belle-Brise, Eglise-Clinet, Guillot Clauzel, La Conseillante, Lafleur, Le Pin, Vieux Château Certan Saint-Emilion There was a notable difference between Pomerol and Saint-Emilion – with Saint-Emilion seeing significantly more rain in April to June, with 278mm versus 199mm in Pomerol. Despite that, the region’s limestone plateau came into its own – allowing the water to drain away from the vines, despite hitting record levels (at Ausone, the level in their well was the highest-ever). August, however, was significantly drier on the Right Bank – with around half the normal rainfall.  Harvest started a little later here. Although some started as early as 17th September (Cheval Blanc, Canon, for example), most waited until 27th, and with several estates holding off until early October. Despite the year’s challenges (“It was a war,” said Cheval Blanc’s Pierre-Olivier Clouet), the yield across the appellation worked out as fairly average – although varied between estates. At Angélus, it was Hubert de Boüard de Laforest’s 40th vintage, and the bottle bears a cut-through of a tree-trunk with 40 rings as a tribute. At Ch. Beauséjour, it was the first vintage to be made in Joséphine Duffau-Lagarrosse’s new winery, something for which she was particularly appreciative, allowing her to divide the vineyard into smaller parcels and work with greater precision. Saint-Emilion is so large that there is inevitably a broad range of wines this year. Although there are some that can be overly tart, austere or astringent, there are some very impressive, textured, layered wines that retain tension yet also offer plentiful fruit and weight. Cheval Blanc, for example, is a very serious wine that will need time – a real contrast to many of the 2024s that are set to be approachable early. It’s worth highlighting Ch. Laroque, an estate that we have been watching for a while, and where David Suire continues to make wines that offer extraordinary value. Our favourites in Saint-Emilion: Ausone, Cheval Blanc, Clos de Sarpe, Figeac, L’If, Laroque, Tertre Roteboeuf LEFT BANK Yields on the Left Bank were – other than for the whites – generally lower than on the Right. It varies significantly between estates, however, with yields varying from the smallest-ever to normal. While there are years when lesser sites in the Médoc and Haut-Médoc excel, 2024 largely wasn’t – this was a vintage where the quality of terroir, as well as the means to make stringent selection were key. We found quality here was even more heterogenous than across the Gironde, however there are still some brilliant wines to be found.  Saint-Estèphe Quality in Saint-Estèphe is mixed in 2024. The commune’s cooler, northern position was not necessarily an advantage this year, nor were the more clay-rich soils – which have been such an advantage in recent warm and dry vintages. Estates with vines on free-draining gravels fared best, however there are many variables to the quality equation this year. While not every estate thrived, there are some serious highs here, with Montrose vying for wine of the vintage – offering a level of density and complexity that really stood out in our tastings. It’s the second rendition of their Grand Vin to come exclusively from Terrace Four (T4), a decision that is clearly being rewarded, and we also got our first taste of the not-yet-released wine made from T3, called “Terrasse 3” – a wine that will be worth looking out for. The team at Montrose emphasised how the appellation saw less rain between 1st August and 8th September compared to those further south, receiving just 50mm in this critical period (versus 80mm for Margaux and 120mm for Pessac-Léognan), something they felt was key to their success. Calon-Ségur was one of several estates that chose to abandon organics this year, using conventional sprays between budburst and flowering, before reverting to their normal regimen, allowing them to achieve the same yield as 2023 at 45hl/ha (versus 29hl/ha at Cos d’Estournel, who continued on their path to organic certification). Technical Director Vincent Millet – who is at the helm of Calon’s entire portfolio of estates, including Ch. le Prieuré in Saint-Emilion and Vray Croix de Gay in Pomerol – noted how the later-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon was particularly tricky this year, making the Left Bank more challenging than the Right in the vintage. Our favourites in Saint-Estèphe: Montrose Pauillac Pauillac had the lowest yield of any of the Left Bank communes this year, with the average across the appellation 29.5hl/ha (versus a 20-year average of 45.7hl/ha). Between estates, figures varied wildly – from the miniscule 11hl/ha made at Ch. Latour (a level more typical in Sauternes) to 33hl/ha at Ch. Lafite Rothschild, for example, looking at two estates working organically. June was drier here than elsewhere, meaning the vines started to suffer from hydric stress earlier – with some properties even saying they saw the vines’ development stall in August, with the first rains at the end of the month a welcome reprieve. Harvest here stretched through the first 10 days of October, with botrytis significantly impacting yields. Pichon Baron estimated they lost around 10hl/ha to rot – just one of the sacrifices that made 2024 such a costly vintage to produce. The resulting wines tend to have higher portions of Cabernet Sauvignon, and vary in both style and quality. Generally, these are lighter-styled Pauillacs, not having the firmness or power that this appellation can often offer. Although some don’t have sufficient concentration or structure, the best have trademark Pauillac graphite, complemented by more delicate florals, crunchy fruit, a saline quality and fine tannins. The vintage also marks 100 years of Batailley under the Borie-Castéja family, earning a commemorative label for this benchmark Claret, as well as a special Marie-Jeanne format. Our favourites in Pauillac: Batailley, Lafite Rothschild, Pichon Comtesse, Pontet-Canet Saint-Julien At Chx Léoville and Langoa Barton, Damien Barton Sartorius compared 2024 to running a marathon – tiring, but satisfying, and leaving you ready to sign up for another. The average yield for the appellation was a little bit higher than that of Pauillac, with 32.5hl/ha – still almost 25% down on the 30-year average. As with further north, however, the average is only an average: Beychevelle cropped at 43hl/ha, while selection took the yield down to 23.6hl/ha at Ducru-Beaucaillou (with the team throwing away almost 10hl/ha), and figures varied significantly between estates. At Beychevelle, Philippe Blanc explained how after just 4mm rain between 1st and 28th August, the rain recommenced and never stopped. Their Merlot was more impacted by mildew and therefore the blend is higher in Cabernet Sauvignon (55%) – something echoed elsewhere. The poor flowering and resulting coulure meant looser bunches, explained Barton Sartorius, something which he felt really helped them avoid significant botrytis pressure at the end of the season.  The smaller size of Saint-Julien means it is a little more consistent than Pauillac, however, it’s not entirely uniform. The fruit tends to be a little sweeter, while still on the red rather than black spectrum, the wines offering bright acidity and the best fine tannins and good balance, with the oak seamlessly integrated.  Our favourites in Saint-Julien: Ducru-Beaucaillou, Léoville Barton Margaux Although no appellation is consistent in 2024, Margaux produced some particularly impressive wines. Rainfall may have been higher here than further north, but the slightly warmer microclimate and shallow soils perhaps allowed the grapes to ripen earlier and more fully. There are still some light and tart wines, however the likes of Palmer, Margaux and Rauzan-Ségla produced wines that are among the best of the vintage. Ch. Margaux pointed to their early flowering as a significant advantage in the vintage – “a blessing”, in Aurélien Valance’s words. The 2024 vintage was meant to be the final year of organic conversion at Ch. Rauzan-Ségla, and as the mildew pressure hit, the team had a serious conversation about whether or not to persevere. With the owners’ endorsement, they decided that long-term it was the right decision to continue – knowing it would mean a sacrifice in yield (with a final crop of 30hl/ha), but it would also be their first organically certified wine. The Palmer team – long biodynamic – had to spray as many as 10 times by hand, unable to get their tractors into the vines. However you explain it, the results here speak for themselves – with wines that combine pretty, heady florals with sweet and supple fruit, as well as fine but persistent, powdered tannins: some serious wines that would deserve consideration in any vintage. This was also the one appellation where second wines – such as Alter Ego de Palmer and Pavillon Rouge – showed real quality. Our favourites in Margaux: Brane-Cantenac, Giscours, Palmer, Margaux, Rauzan-Ségla Graves + Pessac-Léognan Yields for the reds in Pessac-Léognan were – unusually for the year – average. The whites are discussed separately below, but the reds from Graves and Pessac-Léognan were as varied as elsewhere. There are, however, some charming wines, and some very impressive wines that defy the year’s reputation. This southerly region saw more rain in August, not benefitting perhaps from the hydric stress that was so key elsewhere – but the rain that month wasn’t excessive, just in line with the norm. At Smith Haut Lafitte, September saw more than three times the average rainfall (164mm versus 48mm), making the harvest far from easy. Although Carmes Haut-Brion picked 40hl/ha, they only vinified 24hl/ha – another example of the extreme selection that quality-focused estates put in place this year. Guillaume Pouthier – who always offers a unique perspective on a vintage – is doing something different with his ageing this year, reducing the temperature of the cellar from 16°C to 12°C over the two-year élevage, to preserve the fruit profile in the wine and encourage tartaric precipitation, thereby reducing the acidity level. Time will tell how this works, so it will be fascinating to retaste the wine in bottle. Domaine de Chevalier produced some particularly impressive wines this year, and although they have long worked organically and biodynamically, this year they made the difficult decision to use conventional treatments – something that has been rewarded, with both generous yields (48hl/ha) and very high quality. Our favourites in Graves + Pessac-Léognan: Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Domaine de Chevalier, La Mission Haut-Brion Dry whites Some people are raving about the dry whites in 2024 – and, while there are absolutely some brilliant whites, quality is far from uniform. The first Sauvignon Blanc grapes were harvested in Sauternes on 20th August, although most producers we spoke to picked from the very end of August/early September, with the last Semillon brought in on 23rd September. Yields were average to generous, with mildew much less of a problem – 30 hl/ha at Margaux, 32hl/ha at Smith Haut Lafitte, 38hl/ha for Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion, 48hl/ha at Domaine de Chevalier, for example, while on the Right Bank the Lafleur stable brought in around 40hl/ha and the Nicolas Thienpont team cropped 43hl/ha and 47hl/ha respectively at Alcée and Charmes-Godard. The cooler conditions preserved a backbone of acidity in the wines, with accordingly low pHs – analytically speaking, the wines have the highest acidity since 2014. The aromatics are precise, dominated by green rather than stone-fruit, and certainly not at the more tropical end of the spectrum. If anything, some of the wines can feel a little green or lean. As Smith Haut Lafitte’s Technical Director Fabien Teitgen explained, the challenge was to get ripeness that would cloak the acid of the vintage, the flesh to complement its skeleton. Owner Florence Cathiard feels the result is “one of [their] best whites”. Similarly at Ch. Margaux, they did a little more bâtonnage to give weight to Pavillon Blanc – and it’s one of the stars of the year. In some, you can feel the growing season’s excess of water – the generous yields resulting in wines that don’t have sufficient concentration. Sauvignon Blanc seemed to fare better than Semillon, which was more susceptible to rot and was more challenging to get phenolically ripe – and many of our favourites were pure Sauvignon, or heavily driven by the variety. Comparisons were varied – although 2021 was common for its acid backbone and cooler conditions. At Lafleur, Omri Ram is convinced that 2024 Les Champs Libres is one of their best, sitting comfortably alongside the 2023 and 2021. At Ch. Margaux, Aurélien Valance looked to a surprising vintage – the warm 2018 season, but in which the wine has a similar saline imprint to that found in 2024. Our favourites: Charmes-Godard, De Fieuzal Blanc, Domaine de Chevalier Blanc, Haut-Brion Blanc, Les Champs Libres and Grand Village Blanc, Pavillon Blanc du Ch. Margaux Sauternes + Barsac It’s easy to assume that because rain and rot threatened the crop in 2024, it was perfect for the sweet wines of Sauternes and Barsac: but very specific conditions are required for noble rot to set in, and if they aren’t met, you get grey rot – with both caused by the same fungus, botrytis cinerea. The first pass in Sauternes tended to take place at the end of September, with alternating wet and dry conditions encouraging the development of noble rot from the start of October. But teams had to battle grey and sour rot too – and a high degree of selection was key. At La Tour Blanche, they made just 3hl/ha for their Grand Vin, a tiny yield that matches that of 2021. The grapes that made it into the tank offered high acidity levels, precise aromatics, but not the luscious concentration of the very best vintages. Based on our tastings, the resulting wines are good to very good, if not quite exceptional, but may have particular appeal to consumers who prefer a lighter style of sweet wine – with brighter acidity and slightly lower residual sugar levels. They are vibrant and pure, with plenty of concentration, if not as hedonistic as more lauded years – and will be approachable at an earlier stage in life. Our favourites: Doisy Védrines, Guiraud, La Tour Blanche, Suduiraut Explore Bordeaux 2024 – including our full vintage overview

Following on from our full vintage overview, and as the Bordeaux 2024 en primeur releases continue, we explore how each subregion performed in the year, as well as identifying our favourite wines in each

Bordeaux 2024: a breakdown of the vintage by region, with top picks from Saint-Estephe, Pauillac, Margaux, Saint-Julien, Saint-Emilion and Pomerol

Bordeaux 2024 – breaking the year down by commune

Bordeaux 2024: the vintage by commune

As our team arrived in Saint-Emilion under sunny skies to start our annual en primeur pilgrimage, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the mood in the camp was somewhat apprehensive. Ever since the end of the Burgundy campaign, like every spring, the spotlight turns to Bordeaux and the press surrounding the 2024 vintage has been somewhat pessimistic – with a backdrop marked by talk of tariffs in the US, falling prices and the eternal question of en primeur as a viable mechanism for distribution today.  I find so often that – at primeurs – vintages are reduced to generalisations that never do justice to the region’s diverse terroir. This being my eighth campaign, I remind myself every year that this week is so much more than just an opportunity to taste the latest vintage. It’s a chance to spend time with those behind the barrels and to hear their story, for producers to share their insight on the vintage first hand. With over 50 visits booked, there was plenty for us to get our teeth into before we could draw any meaningful conclusions. Our first visit of the week was at Cheval Blanc – and it provided an excellent first litmus test in determining the quality of the vintage. Technical Director Pierre-Olivier Clouet highlighted the challenges brought by the sheer quantity of rainfall in what was one of the wettest winters for the region since records began. And the widespread rainfall – from the autumn of 2023 onwards – was the start of a series of challenges that would test even the most experienced of winemakers. After just our first morning of tasting, we could see that the 2024 vintage was throwing up a level of heterogeneity and diversity not seen in more recent, solar vintages such as 2022 and 2023. Challenges including mildew, uneven flowering, poor fruit-set and botrytis could be treated any number of ways with varying levels of success – the results of which were fascinating. Our full vintage report, due next week, will look more closely at the conditions of the year, producers’ reactions and the style of the wines. But, from our tastings across the Right Bank, we were pleasantly surprised by the quality on show in amongst the variety. The best wines of Saint-Emilion and Pomerol seem to have favoured a later harvest, risking losing fruit as they waited for phenolic ripeness. Many of our favourites have wonderfully lifted aromatics that are both expressive and concentrated – balancing the Merlot’s juicy fruit against the Cabernet’s texture and structure. This year, we spent just under two weeks in Bordeaux – our longest en primeur tasting trip to date. This allowed us to fit in a couple of extra visits into our tightly packed program. One of these was at Guillot Clauzel, a tiny two-hectare property nestled in Pomerol just a stone’s throw from Le Pin, and under the guidance of winemaker Guillaume Thienpont since 2018. Our visit highlighted that it was clearly possible to make excellent wines in 2024 regardless of price point or scale. The same is true on the Left Bank. In a year where the resilience of the Cabernet shone through, the best wines are quite classical. There’s impressive purity to the fruit on the mid-palate coupled with a backbone of acidity that brings length and drive. Saint-Estèphe and Pauillac seem to have been particularly challenging, with more mixed results (but some unashamed stars – just look at Montrose), while Saint-Julien, once again, offers a more consistent stable. Margaux and Pessac-Léognan’s lighter styles perhaps align best with the vintage’s natural style, and there are some particularly promising wines here. (While rarely a focus, it’s worth highlighting the quality of some of the whites this year too.) There is no year that we can remember in which it has been so important to get boots on the ground and taste en primeur – and taking the time to talk with producers to understand the specifics of the vintage. Producers have come to expect an unrivalled level of questioning when our team shows up. Now that the dust has settled, we can put our spittoons (and notebooks) away and take stock over the Easter weekend. We expect a steady stream of releases to start from as early as Tuesday next week with Batailley and Pontet-Canet set for 22nd and 23rd, respectively. Whatever the campaign has in store for us, we know that 2024 is a year to be selective. Consumers willing look past any pre-conceived ideas about the vintage will be rewarded. Keep an eye out for our full report, set to be published next week, as well as the very first releases

With teeth still wine-stained, our team is returning from almost two weeks tasting Bordeaux 2024 en primeur. Ahead of the very first releases and our full report on the vintage, our Bordeaux Buyer Hector Howes offers some early thoughts on the year – and why it deserved our longest trip to date

After almost two weeks in the region, Bordeaux Buyer Hector Howes offers his initial thoughts on the Bordeaux 2024 vintage and the wines it produced

Bordeaux 2024 en primeur – first thoughts on the vintage

Bordeaux 2024: first thoughts

Bordeaux is incredibly varied – with hugely different styles of wine produced across its appellations. Here, we run through everything you really need to know about each of the main subregions – and the best estates in each  

Explore Bordeaux, subregions, their wines and top estates – in Saint-Estephe, Pauillac, Saint-Julien, Margaux, Graves, Pessac-Leognan, Pomerol, Saint-Emilion 

Your guide to Bordeaux’s subregions, wines and top producers

Your guide to Bordeaux’s subregions   

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This centralized approach allows for rapid scaling while maintaining authenticity and exclusivity.  Our New Trading Platform in the United States  In April, we will complete the U.S. deployment and re-launch our back-end technology stack as well as our state-of-the-art digital front-end platform designed to enhance the fine wine buying and selling experience to our Vinfolio customers.   Key features include an intuitive Portfolio management system that offers a single-page cellar view, real-time market data integration, and wine trading capabilities, allowing clients to set their own trading prices and manage their collections with unprecedented ease.   The platform also boasts improved search and filter functionalities, enabling users to swiftly navigate a vast selection of products and access in-depth producer and region profiles. Additionally, the enhanced Editorial section provides rich content to assist clients in making informed purchasing decisions. 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Data is powering our marketplace, enhancing customer-product matching and refining real-time pricing strategies.  The Power of Global Integration  Through strategic mergers and acquisitions, including our 2022 merger with Vinfolio, we have expanded our reach into the U.S. market – the world’s largest fine wine economy. This integration has strengthened our compliance infrastructure, logistics, and direct-to-client capabilities, making the FINE+RARE Group the dominant force in fine wine trading.  Supplier Relationships: Strengthening the Global Supply Chain  At the FINE+RARE Group, our strength lies not only in our marketplace but in the deep, strategic relationships we have built with suppliers – including some of the world’s most esteemed wineries, négociants, and merchants. Through direct allocations and exclusive partnerships, we provide unparalleled access to rare and investment-grade wines, often securing highly sought-after allocations before they reach the broader market​  Our supplier relationships are carefully curated, ensuring authenticity, provenance, and trust in every bottle. Additionally, our logistics and digital integration strategies will soon allow suppliers to self-manage inventory, pricing and market demand with greater visibility and efficiency. This data-driven approach enhances liquidity, ensuring that both buyers and producers benefit from a dynamic, well-balanced marketplace​.  A Leader in Fine Wine Asset Management  With nearly $750 million in fine wine assets under management (AUM), the FINE+RARE Group is one of the foremost custodians of rare and investment-grade wines. Our digital portfolio platform empowers clients to manage, transfer, sell, and arrange deliveries with unparalleled ease. 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By curating rare allocations and exclusive offerings, we build a marketplace where scarcity enhances value, supports margin, and sets brands apart. This approach ensures our clients are not just customers, but valued members of a finely tuned community built around shared discovery and trust. Client Experience: The Art of Fine Wine Collecting  Our focus is not just on transactions – it’s on relationships. The FINE+RARE Group is built on a foundation of trust, expertise, and bespoke service, ensuring that each collector’s journey is tailored to their preferences. From legendary producers to emerging winemakers, our portfolio remains dynamic, engaging, and exclusive.  Through private tastings, curated events and elite collaborations, we offer collectors access to experiences as rare as the wines they seek. Our commitment to editorial excellence further deepens engagement, providing insights into vintages, producers and market trends.  The Future: A Marketplace Without Limits  As the FINE+RARE Group continues to scale, our ambition is clear: to be the world’s definitive fine wine platform, seamlessly blending marketplace liquidity and digital intelligence. With our unparalleled portfolio, proprietary technology and global reach, we are setting a new standard for the future of fine wine trading.  This is just the beginning of an exciting chapter, and we look forward to bringing you on this journey. It has never been a more interesting time to buy and sell wines in this ever-evolving global marketplace. 
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Since 2022, Vinfolio is part of the FINE+RARE Group, the world’s leading destination for fine wine, offering a global experience where collectors and connoisseurs can discover and acquire sought-after collectables. Here, we explain our platform strategy and the changes coming this April. 

We explain our platform strategy and what changes are coming your way this April.

Redefining the Fine Wine Marketplace for the Future

Bordeaux is changing. The Left Bank, in particular, has long been a region of labels – of grandiose estates, polished winemakers and the bottles they produce – the vineyards a backdrop to their impressive châteaux and new state-of-the-art wineries. Of course, vineyards have mattered, as much as they’re the source of their grapes, but they’ve rarely been the focus for conversations with trade or consumers. But now, perhaps influenced by the meteoric rise of Burgundy – and an approach to wine echoed around the world, terroir is stepping into the spotlight. Behind the scenes, the Bordelais may always have been looking underfoot, but now they are talking about it too.  Nowhere is this more true than at Ch. Montrose – a property that announced a significant change when releasing its 2023 vintage. The property has always made some of Bordeaux’s finest wines, but over the past 15 years (under the Bouygues’ ownership) quality at this Saint-Estèphe estate has reached new heights. Long known for its austere age-worthiness, there’s now a modern polish that softens its stern style – without sacrificing its classicism and longevity. Each vintage seems to reveal a new level of precision and finesse. From 2023, Montrose announced that its Grand Vin would only come from Terrace 4 (T4). If that doesn’t mean much to you, I’m not surprised.  The Médoc and Graves’s six gravel terraces were uncovered by Pierre Becheler in a series of studies in the 1980s and ’90s. Each terrace dates from a different period and has its own distinct soils, with Terrace 1 (T1) the oldest and Terrace 6 (T6) the youngest – and argued to be a defining factor in the Left Bank’s terroir. T3 and T4 are widely regarded as the best for wine-growing, and Becheler found that, at the time of their classification in 1855, over 80% of the Classed Growths sat on these two distinct geological strata.  In the last decade, these gravel mounds have become a key part of Bordeaux’s story, explaining the estates’ terroir. Despite widespread understanding that the terraces are integral to the quality of wine, there still isn’t a comprehensive map of the Left Bank’s terroir – showing which vineyards sit on which soils (the best are those created by Jane Anson and Kees van Leeuwen for Anson’s book Inside Bordeaux). Most studies have been undertaken by individual estates, as at Montrose – who engaged Becheler himself to uncover the specifics of their site.  It's remarkable that, without knowing anything about the region’s subsoils, Montrose was so fortuitously placed – although it has of course survived thanks to its prestigious site. The property’s first vines were planted – all on the fabled T4 – in 1815, by Etienne Théodore Dumoulin, who had purchased the land from Nicolas Alexandre de Ségur (of Calon Ségur). The land had been covered in heather, its pink blossom covering the gentle slope come autumn, and sailors passing along the Gironde estuary used to call it the pink hill – or “mont rose”, giving the property its name.  It was only 40 years after the first vines went in the ground that the estate earned its place as a Second Growth in the 1855 Classification. By 1861, when Dumoulin passed away, the estate comprised 95 hectares – but its borders have shifted over the years. It was later purchased by an Alsace factory owner, Mathieu Dolfus, who invested heavily in the property. He was a visionary – offering free healthcare, profit sharing and accommodation on the estate for his workers. He even used a wind turbine to flood the vineyards, staving off the impact of phylloxera as long as he could.  Montrose was managed by the Charmolüe family between 1896 and 2006, with Jean-Louis – who ran the estate from 1960 – key in building its modern reputation. It was under him, in the 1970s, that vines were planted on lower-lying land close to the estuary, which sits on T5. These humid, sandy parcels are now used for La Dame de Montrose, the château’s second wine.  It was in 2006 that brothers Olivier and Martin Bouygues (of the eponymous telecoms company) acquired the property. In 2010 they bought an additional 22 hectares from Phélan Ségur, land which had historically been part of Montrose. These vineyards, wooded on either side, sit on the sandier T3, but importantly also brought the total vineyard area back to 95 hectares – as under Dumoulin – and all sitting in one block (something which is relatively rare in Bordeaux).  The Bouygues brothers hired Vincent Decup as the estate’s Technical Director in 2014. Decup instantly set about getting to grips with the estate and its soils. When he arrived, they had a map detailing 16 different soil types across the vineyards – but he soon commissioned further studies, uncovering an additional 10 soil types. This gave them, Decup tells me, “the possibility to explore and separate” parcels, diving into the detail of the site with a Burgundian, rather than Bordelais, vision. From 2017, the team started delineating the parcels – vinifying plots in 93 separate tanks (over twice the 40 that had been used just three years prior), adapting the winemaking to each. Looking at the Cabernet Sauvignon on T3 and T4, he explains how they gained a “new level of precision and comprehension of Cabernet on each terrace”.  “The Cabernet Sauvignon of Montrose naturally gets lots of power,” Decup tells me. “We have to be careful with the extraction.” Especially for fruit from T3, he explains, it can easily become overly austere. T4 has always represented the majority of the blend for the Grand Vin at Montrose – and in Decup’s mind it is not just the property’s historic DNA, but what gives the wine its identity. He tells me how there is something magical about the way Cabernet ripens on these parcels, developing technical (sugar), aromatic and phenolic ripeness all at once. It produces wine that is “powerful, voluminous, demonstrative – a lion in a cage”.  In 2022, the same year that Charlotte Bouygues took over as President and Pierre Graffeuille became CEO, the team started focusing more on T4, and from 2023 the Grand Vin comes exclusively from this prized terrace. Coming from the Delon estates, Graffeuille knew the potential of these soils, shared by Léoville Las Cases. The 2022 vintage was pivotal – earning four potential 100-point scores, with four firm 100-point scores in bottle – and the 2023 followed in its footsteps, with three potential perfect scores to its name.  The gravel terraces rise and fall through the region. T4 surfaces in Saint-Estèphe, running under Meyney and Montrose, disappearing until the southern edge of Pauillac, reappearing around Latour, then running through much of Saint-Julien (including the three Léovilles – Las Cases, Barton and Poyferré – and Ducru-Beaucaillou), rising again throughout Margaux and then again under Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion, with small pockets further south.  The defining factor of T4 is an iron pan beneath its sandy gravels. The sandy gravel topsoil allows young vines to develop roots easily, before they hit the compact iron layer – forcing the vines to spread horizontally rather than vertically. That compact layer is cool and retains water, feeding the vines in hot years. Decup explains how in July the topsoil might be hot, but if you dig down you can feel the chill of the iron layer – something that is perfect for Cabernet Sauvignon. At Montrose, T4 sits between 12 and 16 metres’ altitude, while elsewhere it reaches a maximum 22 metres. T4 tends to run close to the Gironde, which provides a moderating influence – especially so at Montrose, where the estuary is 4.5km wide (notably protecting the estate from frosts, such as in the brutal 1991 season – a year when Montrose produced the wine of the vintage).  As with T4, T3 runs beneath many Classed Growths – notably Cos d’Estournel, Mouton and Lafite. With sandier gravel topsoil, the key difference is that T3 doesn’t have the iron pan of T4 – the topsoil instead sitting directly on clay-limestone subsoil. Slightly higher in altitude (15-18 metres at Montrose, but generally 20-26 across the Médoc), the soils are very deep and the vines’ roots drive straight down, up to three metres or so at Montrose, Decup tells me. With less clay in the topsoil, the soils are particularly free-draining, and the vines reach down in search of water. “In terms of expression, it is not the same at all,” says Decup. He explains that while it also produces bold Cabernet Sauvignon, it’s got particular energy and length, an austerity – but “positive austerity”. Vines on T3 particularly thrive in hot, dry years, he tells me.  Montrose has an impressive 45 hectares of vines on T4, 12 on T3, a swathe on what the team describes as an “intermediate soil” – somewhere between the two terraces, and a small portion on T5. So what now of the property’s vines on T3? While the château isn’t openly confirming it, a separate bottling of T3 is set to be released – likely hitting the market in 2026, if rumours are to be believed. The rest of the fruit goes into La Dame de Montrose, and a small portion into a third wine, Tertio de Montrose (previously known as Saint-Estèphe de Montrose), which is exclusively for those working at the estate. All in all, the Grand Vin now represents circa 36% of production at Montrose – down from closer to 45%.   “T3 and T4 are, in our opinion, the terraces that produce the best viticultural results,” says Pierre Becheler, when it comes to the Médoc and Haut-Médoc. Interestingly he explains that in the Graves it’s very different, and T2, which is almost non-existent in the Médoc, produces some stunning results. He can’t fully explain why one terrace works better for wine than another, but one reason the terraces are so important is their influence on water availability. With varying proportions of clay and sizes of gravel, it’s a key element in viticulture and, eventually, wine quality. Although he has spent much of his career diving into these gravel beds, however, he’s very clear that the terraces are one very important piece of the puzzle – but will never provide the entire picture. Some terraces are the best in certain appellations, he says, “but we don’t really know why or how”.  The complexities of Bordeaux’s terroir are manifold – and some argue that the bedrock, from richer clays to hard limestones, are more influential than the gravel terraces that lie over them. On top of this, slope exposition, proximity to the Gironde, and many other elements influencing microclimate, not to mention the human influence, all contribute to the concept of “terroir”. It’s exciting to see site pushed to the fore, especially alongside an increased focus on sustainability in the vineyard. The conversation is evolving – and, if Montrose’s 2023 is anything to go by, it’s only going to push quality in the region higher than ever before.  Explore all current Montrose listing (including a special selection of ex-château stock) or read more about Bordeaux 

While long a leading estate, recent vintages of Ch. Montrose have earned sky-high scores. We sat down with the property’s Technical Director Vincent Decup to find out how the team is taking the Saint-Estèphe titan to new heights – all by looking underfoot  

Sitting down with Ch. Montrose’s Technical Director Vincent Decup to talk about its terroir, terraces and perfect-scoring vintages of the Saint-Estephe wine 

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