BORDEAUX 2020 En-Primeur Review

Bordeaux 2020 – En-Primeur


2018 and 2019 have been huge successes. 

We have seen other great vintages come in pairs – 2009 & 2010, 2015 & 2016, 2018 & 2019. The question is: will 2020 break that trend and create a Trilogy ? the answer is overwhelmingly YES !


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Where the 2018 wines suggest that they will need a few years of cellaring before showing their full potential, we’ll be able to drink the 2019’s while we are waiting. Early indications of the 2020 vintage suggest an ample expression and lovely freshness which should make them approachable with great growing potential … I guess time will tell but the 2020 weather profile, the low production yield, all suggest 2020 will be another exceptional vintage


Gavin Quinney – whose vintage reports are often a reference said:


“2020 has ended up being a really good but variable year with wines of outstanding potential for many Bordeaux estates. The growing season follows a similar pattern to 2016, 2018 and 2019, in that we had a wet spring followed by a dry, hot summer, topped off by a warm, dry harvest. Unlike 2016 and 2019, it was an early vintage – not unlike 2018, timing wise. I’ll highlight the differences with recent years via an ever expanding series of unique tables and graphs…

We treat this imposter just the same but there’ll be some terrific wines from 2020. Yields for many estates are lower, with less juice due to heat and drought, but the quality is high … “


Early tasting feedback from Jon Reeves – Director at Borderac Cru et Vins – Bordeaux – France


"2020 has been a fascinating vintage to discover so far and it will continue to fascinate over the next few years. The following lines are simply some very first impressions.

If the chateau owners had been present at the wine tastings so far, we would possibly have heard over and over again that 2020 completes the trilogy of great vintages from 2018 to 2020 – found now between 2 vintages which have been hugely affected by frost in 2017 and 2021. Tasting the wines without the producers and hundreds of members of the trade in the same room has its advantages and drawbacks. The drawbacks are that we don’t get the stories directly from the men and women who have experienced the work in the vines first hand. Also that we can’t discuss the quality of a wine which is poured from the same bottle, on the same day, in the same room with the same climactic conditions with our friends and peers who won’t judge our lack of tasting prowess.

The advantage is that there is only one thing on which to concentrate – the wines. Perhaps it is this factor that gives one the impression that the different blends and expressions of terroir shone through this year – the high proportion Cabernet Francs in Saint Emilion are brilliant, as are the high proportion Petit Verdots on the left bank. Perhaps this is more down to the fact that the very dry period running up to harvest meant that the grapes were losing 1% of their liquid volume per day so the concentration is just phenomenal – volumes are down and if 35hl/ha were squeezed from the harvest, the winemakers counted themselves lucky."


Please feel free to contact us at care@perfectcellar.com if you need any further information on the 2020 En-Primeur campaign or En-Primeur wine in general.


Moez Seraly

Founder & CEO

Bordeaux 2020 - En-Primeur