Bordeaux 2020 is the third in a trilogy of outstanding vintages for the region – but, talking to producers, one thing is abundantly clear: the year was not easy. Covid-19 aside, the year’s unusual conditions demanded attention in the vineyard. “It was a marathon,” Noëmie Durantou Reilhac of Ch. l’Eglise Clinet told me. Nicolas Audebert of Chx Canon and Rauzan-Ségla was more frank: “It was a f***ing tough year.” “Extreme” is the word that comes up time and again. It was both wet and dry, mild and hot – a contradiction in terms throughout, demanding producers’ attention. As Jean-Sébastien Philippe at Lafite described it, 2020 was “un millésime de vigneron" (a winemaker’s vintage). The winter and spring were mild and wet, replenishing water reserves and kicking off the growing season early. It was so mild – with temperatures on average around 2˚C warmer than usual – that there were already signs of budbreak at L’Eglise Clinet on 4th February. Flowering was early and homogenous; at Ch. Margaux it was a full 15 days ahead of normal, Managing Director Philippe Bascaules noted, bringing the entire season forward. This early start led to fears of possible frosts, but (unlike in 2021) the temperature barely dropped and the threat to crops was minimal. Overall, 2020 saw more rain than any other year in the last decade – however it fell almost entirely over the winter and spring, with subsequent concentrated bursts in May and August. This relative downpour was essential for what was to come, for the summer was parchingly dry. As Pierre-Olivier Clouet of Cheval Blanc explained, the spring provided the vines with enough reserves to survive the long, dry summer.  But the damp also brought mildew pressure – a particular challenge for those working organically or biodynamically. “On 12th May we had to spray copper by hand over 25 hectares of vineyards, as it was too wet to put tractors in the vineyards,” said Thomas Duroux at Ch. Palmer. Justine Tesseron at Ch. Pontet-Canet explained how dry breaks in the weather helped them avoid the damage seen in 2018, allowing them to get into the vines and spray. The mildew seemed to impact the Right Bank less, although work was still essential to avoid losses. Then in mid-June, a switch flicked and the weather shifted dramatically, becoming warm and dry. “It’s like only having two seasons instead of four,” Nicolas Glumineau of Ch. Pichon Comtesse explained, something he fears is becoming the new normal with climate change. The warm dry conditions concentrated the berries and then, as the vines gradually started to
become more stressed in August, slowed the vines’ growth. This was, Noëmie Durantou Reilhac of Ch. l’Eglise Clinet noted, important – helping to slow the sugar accumulation, and allow the phenolics to catch up. But the vines were stressed. “Vines are living beings and we ask them to go through a lot. If you were drinking a gallon of water every hour for a month and then had no water for two months…” Noëmie Durantou Reilhac said. The team at Pichon Comtesse was starting to worry as the leaves started to turn yellow and the vines were visibly struggling. But relief arrived in mid-August, with rain on
the Left Bank (with the least falling on Saint-Julien) and Saint-Emilion, although Pomerol had to wait until 1st and 2nd September for the weather to break briefly and provide the water the vines sorely needed. “This really refreshed the grapes, diluting the sugar content, but early enough to allow for concentration to build up in the berries,” Bascaules at Margaux explained.  From the end of August to late September, the mercury rose even higher. At Pichon Comtesse, with temperatures reaching 40˚C, Glumineau started to become nervous about the wine they’d be able to make, visibly seeing the berries reduce in size each day during the last two weeks of September. Cool nights were key at this time, preserving acidity and aromatics, despite the heat of the day. The harvest itself was fast and furious. Thanks to the homogenous flowering, everything ripened at once – and quickly. The whole season remained 10 to 15 days earlier than normal, and picking of the whites kicked off in mid-August, while the Merlot started coming in from early September, then the Cabernet from the middle of the month. Everything was in before the close of the month. Timing were similar to 2003, 2015 or 2019. Nicolas Glumineau noted that rainfall at the very end of September – falling on 25th and 26th – was of particular importance, helping “polish the tannins” on the last few plots of Pichon Comtesse’s Cabernet Sauvignon.

“It was a textbook perfect vintage,” Damien Barton Sartorius, Director of Léoville and Langoa Barton said – the only thing that upsets him is the volume of wine produced. The dry conditions broadly led to smaller berries with thick skins, and therefore less juice. In general, yields are a little down on 2019 and 2018, around 10 to 25% in most places, with the smallest crops in Saint-Julien (down 20% at Léoville and Langoa Barton, 25% at Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou), and Sauternes and Barsac.  “It was a crazy, crazy vintage,” said Omri Ram of Lafleur. Rushing through the growing season like this, it’s clear it was, but producers aren’t shy about the results, nor should they be. The wines are superb – more classical than those of 2018 or ’19, with some comparing them to the wines of 2016, ’15 or ’09. Read more about the vintage in our overview or commune-by-commune breakdown

The 2018 and 2019 vintages might be tough acts to follow, but Bordeaux 2020 seems to be more than up to the job. We spoke to producers about the year’s extreme conditions – and the stunning results it produced

Chx l’Eglise Clinet, Cheval Blanc, Pichon Comtesse and more on the extraordinary conditions that shaped the 2020 Bordeaux vintage

Exploring the Bordeaux 2020 growing season

Bordeaux wine vintage 2020: a tale of two halves

Cerbaiona is widely recognised as one of the top estates in Montalcino, but has been a little elusive of late. Under Diego Molinari’s stewardship, the winery achieved cult status, but the property was sold in 2015, and hasn’t released any Brunello since. The new owner Matthew Fioretti has added to the radio silence, requesting critics not to score the wines, believing “a softer and more inquisitive form of journalism and criticism might be better than the score bazooka”.  Production is so small that Fioretti doesn’t need to rely on critics to promote the wines, but Cerbaiona has been noticeably absent from recent rave reports on the 2016 vintage from the likes of the Wine Advocate and Vinous. Our woman on the ground in Italy, Annalisa Florian, is one of the few people to have tasted the about-to-be-released 2016 Brunello, the first under Fioretti. Fioretti and his team have overhauled the estate. It’s a brave decision to make such a clear break from the past with a winery of such repute, and testament to their commitment to quality. Due to massive restructuring, Fioretti decided to declassify all the wine made in 2014 and 2015 to Rosso di Montalcino. As he points out, “Several aspects of this wine had formed before taking over the business.” Despite the obvious success of the 2015 vintage, Fioretti commendably didn’t want to rest on Cerbaiona’s reputation. All the vineyards are located on the Cerbaiona hill, just northeast of the town of Montalcino, and neighbouring another Brunello icon, Salvioni. The success of Sangiovese grown on this specific site long predates the Brunello appellation, with vineyards located here for hundreds of years and the wine historically produced known simply as Cerbaiona. The soil is a distinct limestone shale infused with sand and, according to Fioretti, “Almost by doing nothing, you can make an exceptional wine at Cerbaiona. Its vineyard location is that special and unique.” Fioretti, however, wasn’t happy with doing “nothing”. While praising Molinari’s legacy, he felt the estate desperately needed modernising – with serious work to be done in the vineyard and winery. He is very much inspired by what he calls a “tectonic shift” in winemaking in Italy (and elsewhere) over the last 30 years, with a move towards precision viticulture and a more hygienic approach to winemaking. Fioretti sees this as a shift from winemaking as an “art form” to winemaking as “craftmanship”.  In his mind, it was the pioneering efforts of producers like Romano dal Forno in Valpolicella and Luciano Sandrone in Barolo who have shown what can be achieved in Italy with such an approach. Just after taking over Cerbaiona, Romano dal Forno commented to Fioretti, “I’ll tell you what I told Molinari: you can’t make great wine in a barn.” Until recently, the sacristy of the small chapel was the fermentation cellar. The chapel itself was used for wine storage, while the granary and old animal stables acted as barrel cellars. “Hardly a precision and hygienic environment for winemaking,” Fioretti quips. As for the vineyards, “The rootstocks and clones of all the plantings at Cerbaiona were not selection massale nor specially selected material.  It was simply what the nurseries were selling at the time,” says Fioretti. “By 2010, the knowledge that had been gathered around Sangiovese was incomparable to what was understood in the 1970s and '80s.” Fioretti knew they needed replanting with better clones and rootstocks.  He retained and harvested the oldest vineyards for four harvests, working with top agronomists. “We made many attempts to overcome the shortcomings of these rootstocks and clones (which tended to produce enormous bunches, especially in wet years). But we all agreed: the sooner we replanted, the better off Cerbaiona would be.” As such, they’ve embarked on a six-year replanting program, making significant changes. The original three hectares (of which one hectare was dedicated to Bordeaux varieties) have been completely replanted to Sangiovese. An additional hectare of olive groves located on the steepest slope (and Fioretti believes the finest of the estate) has also been replaced with vines. Where possible, vines have been planted at a higher density and Fioretti has also converted the property to organic viticulture. Finally, with the release of the 2016, we find ourselves on the eve of the first Brunello release from Cerbaiona since the 2013 vintage. Fioretti believes 2016 to have been the “perfect” growing season. “The Sangiovese produced is captivating and sumptuous,” he tells me – the latter something he feels isn’t common for the variety. The moderate summer temperatures, the correctly timed rain and dry harvest conditions saw the Sangiovese thrive. The result, says Fioretti, is “a wine with fragrant aromas and a strong acidic shoulder – a guarantee of ageing”. It was in fact the latest harvest in the last five years at Cerbaiona. In Fioretti’s opinion, the 2016 is “not very far from” the 2010 – a vintage he feels is definitive for Montalcino – and comparable to other top modern Brunello vintages such as 2006 and 2007. There is tremendous excitement about the 2016 vintage, as well as the long-awaited return of this much-loved Montalcino estate. The 2016 Cerbaiona will no doubt be constantly compared to the wines made under Molinari, and it will be a fascinating comparison considering the effects of vine material, age of vines, viticultural techniques and winemaking practices versus overriding terroir.  What is clear is that Fioretti has no interest in resting on the laurels of this cult estate, nor simply following the footsteps of his predecessor. From what we’ve heard, it sounds like his labour-intensive approach both in the vineyards and winery is having the desired effect, and Cerbaiona’s legacy is safe. Whatever happens, Fioretti’s clear philosophy is set to mark a new and exciting era for the estate. Browse our range from Cerbaiona or read more about the 2016 vintage in Montalcino

There’s been a buzz about the cult Montalcino estate Cerbaiona since it changed hands in 2015. Ahead of the release of the 2016 Brunello – the first under Matthew Fioretti’s ownership – we caught up with the new owner to find out more about how and why he’s transforming the property

Cerbaiona is widely recognised as one of the top wine estates in Montalcino, and now Fioretti and his team have overhauled the estate. We find out more 

A new era of Cerbaiona

Cerbaiona: a new era

When a red blend from Chile became the first wine from outside Bordeaux to be offered on La Place in 1998, it no doubt ruffled a few feathers. Could the New World, let alone South America, ever rival the quality of wines being made in Bordeaux? In the late 1990s, the answer was frankly no. Today, however, the fine wine market is keeping its eye on Chile’s leading estates with good reason. Not because they can rival Bordeaux in style, but because Chile’s winemakers are defining a style all of their own and discovering the potential of their top terroirs.  Gone are the days of overripe fruit, heavy-handed oak and 15% alcohol wines which dominated the scene during the height of Robert Parker’s influence in the early 2000s. Today vintners are focusing on making chiselled and elegant reds, as a result of much earlier harvesting and more restraint in the cellar – but, most importantly, these wines are all about balancing the freshness and nuance of their mountain terrains with the vibrant fruit profile and fine tannins these sunny lands offer. In the past decade, thousands of soil pits have been dug across Chile’s wine regions as winemakers get under the skin of their Chilean DNA — an endeavour well worth the effort as recent vintages show. Here are the regions at the forefront today.  Alto Maipo  It’s no coincidence that Château Mouton Rothschild’s Chilean venture with Concha y Toro, Almaviva in Alto Maipo, was the first non-Bordeaux wine to reach La Place. Maipo had been at the heart of Chile’s great Bordeaux imitation game since the 19th century, and on paper, Alto Maipo has a lot in common with Bordeaux: the same red varieties planted on similar gravels of river terraces.    Today, however, the best wines – including Almaviva and Viñedo Chadwick – focus on what makes Alto Maipo Cabernet Sauvignon and blends distinctive. In high-altitude Puente Alto in particular, the purity of the Andean sunlight at over 700 metres’ altitude offers a flamboyance of cassis and blackcurrant aromas, while cool mountain nights revive the grapes, giving the wines tension, filigree tannins and fragrant wild herb aromas. It’s this seductive combination which marks Alto Maipo as a Grand Cru of Chile.  Aconcagua  Further north, the Chadwick family has been making bold wines from valley floor vineyards in the warm Mediterranean climate of Aconcagua for over a century. Since the 1990s, however, they have been planting on the slopes and the more interesting colluvial soils found in the Andes foothills and towards the coastal mountain range.  Their iconic Seña blend, which originated as a collaboration with Robert Mondavi in 1995, has become increasingly refined under the hand of Chilean winemaker Francisco Beattig in recent vintages. Select plots of mainly Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec are synthesised into a balanced wine of 13.5% which prioritises harmony over power and carries graphite, cedar and blackberry aromas, trademarks of contemporary Aconcagua wines.  Apalta  One of Chile’s few DOs reflecting a place rather than a political region, the hill of Apalta has become world-renowned as one of the country’s best terroirs, with some of the best-known estates in Chile. Lapostolle, the biodynamic estate of the Bournet Lapostolle family, has been instrumental in developing the reputation and character of Apalta wines.  The key to Apalta today, and their iconic Clos Apalta property is the unique microclimate and kaleidoscopic palate of profiles the winemaker can draw from on this diverse hill site in Colchagua – from rich old-vine Cabernet Sauvignon on the clay soils of the valley floor, to the linear Merlot and peppery Carménère from Apalta’s southeast-facing granite slopes. These complex blends with black cherry and black pepper aromas, a full body and silky finish have become highly sought-after trademarks of Apalta wines today.  Chile’s winemakers are increasingly site-specific in their quest to show the potential of their unique country, with new and exciting vineyards being planted from the limestone-encrusted soils on the coast of the Atacama Desert down to the volcanic slopes of Osorno in Chilean Patagonia. And while there are no doubt many more Grands Crus in the making in Chile, those that have risen to the fore in the fine wine market today show precision, focus and a far greater self-understanding and appreciation than ever before.  Explore all current Chilean wine listings or read more Editorial 

Chile’s most iconic wines have come a long way in the last decade. With producers increasingly focusing on expressing site rather than creating a particular style, a handful of areas are emerging as the country’s Grands Crus, as Amanda Barnes reveals

Chile’s most iconic wines have come a long way in the last decade. We explore the region and producers such as Clos Apalta, Almaviva, Chadwick and more

Haynes Vineyard

Please wait

Haynes Vineyard

Filter

Please wait

Related articles