As in previous years, iDealwine has rolled out a full-scale operation to provide you with its expert opinion on the 2024 En Primeur wines. Following a series of tastings held at different estates prior to 14th April, our team spent the entire campaign week (14th to 18th April) tasting as many Bordeaux grands crus as possible. One of the first appellations we sampled was Pessac-Léognan. The red wines offer delightful surprises, with many showcasing youthful fruitiness and approachability. Qualities, so to speak, in tune with the times and what wine enthusiasts are looking for! Yet, these wines remain structured and certainly don’t lack volume. As for the whites, they stand out for their balance between aromatic expression and acidity.
Weather conditions for the 2024 vintage in Pessac-Léognan
Just like the other Bordeaux appellations, Pessac-Léognan had to contend with particularly challenging weather conditions in 2024, requiring winemakers to remain vigilant throughout the growing season to produce quality wines. Following a mild and rainy winter, budburst occurred rather late. Early April brought balmy conditions, but temperatures plummeted abruptly, leading to severe spring frosts. It’s worth noting that Pessac-Léognan is particularly susceptible to frost compared to other areas in Bordeaux. The first signs of mildew appeared by the end of the month and continued to develop under persistently humid conditions. Summer offered a glimmer of hope, as thunderstorms gave way to drier and warmer weather during veraison. Unfortunately, September brought on rain and cool temperatures, and harvests started while the weather was still quite variable.
Pessac-Léognan’s distinctive ‘Grabas de Bourdeus,’ ‘Graves de Bordeaux’ soils – an intricate mosaic of gravel, rolled pebbles, flint, and quartzite, interspersed with clay, sand, iron-rich alios, and limestone – facilitates excellent water drainage. This prevented the vines from becoming waterlogged during this excessively wet year. In addition, Pessac-Léognan terroirs tend to ripen earlier than others (such as in the Graves), so phenological development proved to be less of a constraint for the teams.
2024 Pessac Léognan wines: Quality and characteristics
So, what’s the outcome?
On the white wine front, the grapes definitely delivered quality and quantity, with the Sauvignon Blanc offering expressive aromatics with zesty citrus and exotic fruit notes, not forgetting the beautiful sense of fullness and a pleasing, unctuousness. During our En Primeur tastings, these whites already showed great approachability, with their lively acidity ensuring strong ageing potential. The overall quality across the appellation is impressively consistent. A vintage not to be missed when it comes to dry whites, which definitely benefited from the cool spring.
The red wines, on the other hand, are slightly more varied in style and quality. That said, we were pleasantly surprised! This is particularly the case for estates that had the resources to meet the weather challenges head-on. The bright fruity character and fresh acidity make these readily approachable wines. Not to mention their admirable depth and structure. Many Pessac-Léognan estates have access to state-of-the-art winery equipment and extensive teams, thanks to their investors. This allowed them not only to act in a timely manner and increase the number of passes through the vines, but also to sort the grapes with the greatest precision (densimetric sorting bath, optical sorting, etc.) and retain only the highest quality grapes, guaranteeing the best quality wine. These wines perfectly reflect the latest trend of modern, generous Bordeaux styles that today’s enthusiasts are actively seeking out. Naturally, this isn’t a vintage you’ll tuck away in your cellar for decades like 2022 or 2023, but that’s precisely its charm. A chance for you to (re)discover approachable Bordeaux wines, enjoying them in their vibrant youth.
Our favourites from the 2024 Pessac-Léognan vintage
The whites
- Domaine de Chevalier Blanc: An elegant wine with a gentle nose of lychee and apricot. On the palate, a saline and vibrant structure leads to a satisfying salinity on the finish. An iDealwine favourite.
- Château Olivier Blanc: 80% Sauvignon Blanc, 20% Sémillon. A wine that is as expressive on the nose, beautiful fruit and expressive aromatics, as it is on the palate. From the first sip, it bursts with energy and volume, leading to a delightful length and a mouth-watering finish. This wine can easily be cellared for 10 years on account of its vibrant acidity. An iDealwine favourite.
- Château Pape Clément Blanc: The elegant and floral nose leads to a perfect balance of clean minerality and slightly more pronounced salinity on the mid-palate. The finish lingers and tastes delicious. A favourite of the whole team.
- Château Bouscaut Blanc: 80% Sauvignon Blanc, 20% Sémillon. The very lively nose offers a delightful balance of white fruits and floral notes. The powerful palate is full-bodied and textured, culminating in a long finish. This wine was notably matured in amphorae. An iDealwine favourite.
- Château Larrivet Haut-Brion Blanc: 84% Sauvignon Blanc, 16% Sémillon. A splendid wine for a blind tasting to throw your guests off the scent! They might well wander off to the Loire, lured by its smoky, flinty, and mineral nose. Its aromatic expression is much less exuberant than some Sauvignons, offering notes of reduction and a sense of tautness. An iDealwine team collective favourite.
The reds
- Château les Carmes Haut-Brion: 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot. As always, this wine gives the impression of biting into a whole fruit with its unique texture and structure, rounded off by a subtly saline finish. A distinctive profile that owes much to the inclusion of whole bunches in the blend (29%). Glass in hand, it’s easy to appreciate the precision behind the winemaking: careful ripeness monitoring, meticulous bunch selection, use of a densimetric sorting bath to ensure only the best berries made it through… An absolute favourite.
- Domaine de Chevalier: 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot. After stepping away from organic practices in 2024, the château is preparing to return to that path in 2025. The comforting and evocative nose offers notes of violet and hints of leather. This wine offers real structure and power on the palate, which nevertheless refines on the finish, with a sprinkling of spiced notes from the Petit Verdot grape variety. A smooth wine with a vibrant hue. An iDealwine favourite.
- Château Haut-Bergey: 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot. It is worth remembering that this is the only biodynamic wine in Pessac-Léognan, meaning that the grapes ripen earlier than at other Châteaux. Overall, yields (30 hectolitres per hectare) were not as catastrophic as the teams might have expected. Very pure fruit, harvested at the right time, a balanced, floral, delicate and elegant nose. On the palate, a very easy-drinking wine even at our En Primeur tastings, with a purity of fruit characteristic of the Haut-Bergey style, delicacy and bitterness on the finish. This wine was matured in foudres, amphorae and concrete eggs.
- Château Olivier: 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot. A nose characterised by violet, fairly floral, along with hints of leather, coffee and sanguine notes. Lots of finesse on the mid-palate. A wine that can be left to mature for a few years to develop further complexity.
- Château Bouscaut: 58% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Malbec. The deep hue reveals a floral, luscious nose of black fruit such as blackcurrant. This charming nose gives way to a more structured palate that seems to hold a few secrets in store for us… The estate started harvests during the second week of September and is delighted with the result, which is both interesting and unique. This was also their first year under organic certification, in a challenging context. An iDealwine favourite.
- Château Larrivet Haut-Brion: 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc. A bouquet of floral and black fruits, ranging from violet to blackcurrant notes, reveals a more serious, even masculine palate, characterised by leather and coffee, with clear cocoa tones and a silky, velvety texture. Favourite.
