2024 – back to the essentials.

This year again the “en primeur week” started with an excellent report of Prof. Axel Marchal, University Professor at the Oenological Research Unit of the Institute of Vine and Wine. The report was not only high lightening the challenges of the vintages but also the positive aspects.

The year started with an exceptionally rainy winter with mild temperatures and little sunshine, which delayed bud break and limited the access to vine plots. Then a rapid early phenological development was significantly slowed down to cool and again wet weather from mid-April onwards. May was rainy and rather cool, lacking sunshine and resulting in a slow and irregular vine growth. Rain continued in June and caused a difficult flowering in the context of a high mildew threat. A fairly dry summer turned to a more positive side, but important water reserves in the soil led to a late and spaced-out version. The ripening period was from August onwards, before the sudden arrival of autumn in September. A spell of rain from September 20 disrupted the harvest schedule. However, in Sauternes, alternating dry and wet weather conditions were propitious to the onset of Botrytis cinerea and the concentration of the grapes.

Vintners had to react and so it is rather a vintner’s vintage than a terroir vintage, although a great terroir was very helpful to get excellence. In some moments of the tasting there was a reminder of the vintages in the 1980s and 1990s, which were lighter in alcohol as during the decades of the 2000s. But there is one big difference: the last three decades have seen a lot of positive changes in viticulture and vinification. Attention to the environment, harvest by smaller plots, extensive selection processes, a different approach on fermentation and maceration have led to upgraded precision, impressing elegance and in a lot of cases a very convincing persistence. This work has to be recompensated and therefore the ratings are not at the very top but on a quite upper level. It was a wise decision of a lot of Châteaux to put an accent on the purity of fruit rather than on massive extraction. Since a long time, alcohol levels have not been that low, although chaptalization has been used to be more precise in the fermentation process and get balanced wines. This « lighter style » has not to be a disadvantage. 2024 is not a great vintage but a vintage offering some great opportunities in a style of refinement and elegance. One could say we are back to the classic vintages with wines guaranteeing an excellent drinking pleasure. Interesting to observe, that the number of attributes used for the flavour profiles is lower than in previous years and is more focussed on fruit, floral components and aromatic herbs, complex spiciness and toasting components are less prominent. This might be caused by the lower extraction levels and the vintners focus on fruit promoting the varietal character. Some wonderful wines with stunning purity can be found in Sauternes and Barsac. Also, the dry white wines have generally performed better than the reds, although the aromatic profile of the different wines is much closer and uniform this year with an accent on citrus fruits and aromatic herbs.

How does Axel Marchal conclude his presentation: “It is clear that 2024 will not be remembered as an exceptional vintage for Bordeaux wines. Nevertheless, thanks to the considerable efforts undertaken in the vineyards and the technical progress that winegrowers now benefit from, the quality of the wines produced this year bears no comparison to the rainy vintages of the past. While it was obviously easier to make very good dry and sweet white wines, it would be a mistake to systematically overlook the red wines.”

Axel Marchal is right, a good number of high-quality wines can be found in 2024, one only has to look out for them.

Tim Smith Barossa Mataro 2023 / For all the hype, Mataro/Mourvedre from the Barossa is still a grumpy thing. It’s the dark, moody, reductive, fortified grape that helps fill out blends and only enjoyed a solo career in recent years. But Tim Smith has Barossan Mataro sorted. Old vines, old oak, and Tim’s knack for nailing texture means these wines just work. Same again with the Tim Smith Wines Mataro 2023. Sourced from two vineyards, 70 and 140 years old, on the Barossa Valley ‘floor’, and this has that old vine complexity on full show. Cola, ‘Provençal herbs’ as Tim says on the label, and this licoricey black fruit endless depth without a sense of heaviness. Instead, here’s a real medium feel to it – this isn’t an unapproachable dark and heavy thing at all. The palate just sings on through in that cola, dark chocolate and savoury grainy vibe. It’s a hit.

Some of the Best Australian New Releases: Cullens – Dancing in the Sun 2024  – As with all Cullens, we see the use of biodynamics in action, although we are told this is the ‘fun and joyful’ side. Who knew biodynamics had a fun and joyful style? This wine is part of quite an extensive array of Sauvignon Blanc Semillon blends offered by Cullens, this one with a dribble of Chenin Blanc and friends as well – 53% Sauvignon Blanc, 28% Semillon, 14% Chenin, 4% Chardonnay and 1% Verdelho. It hails from a trio of their vineyards. 

A pale lemon hue, this has quite an intense nose with herbals to the fore, along with florals, soursop, citrus and touches of lemon curd. Pleasingly powerful aromas. This is balanced and seamless, with the palate beautifully constructed, and a lingering, clean finish. This will excite even more in a year or two and then drink well for the following four years. These Savvy Sem wines from Cullens are anything but your simple, slurpable Savvys blends, and all the better for that. 92.