If you’ve read our insights into the 2024 Bordeaux En Primeur releases, you’ve got the picture: winemakers didn’t hold back this year! Despite a rollercoaster of weather challenges, they stayed the course with determination, and it shows in the wines. The result? In Sauternes and Barsac, the whites are expressive, packed with freshness, and beautifully balanced. As for the red wines, strict grape selection combined with modern winemaking techniques led to lower yields but to excellent wines! These choices gave rise to wines that are fruit-driven, vibrant, with bright acidity and a moderate alcohol level (around 13%), a style that speaks to today’s palates. As for pricing, significant drops (25% on average) make the 2024 vintage the prime opportunity to stock up on future gems without breaking the bank.
Reminder: What makes a wine age-worthy?
Before diving into the ageing potential of the 2024 vintage, let’s take a quick refresher on what defines a fine vin de garde in Bordeaux. To really stand the test of time, a wine typically needs a few key traits: a solid tannic structure, high concentration (think low yields and ripe grapes), pronounced intensity, overall balance, and fresh acidity to carry it through the years.
So does 2024 tick all the right boxes?
In 2024, yields were low, sometimes reduced by half at many estates and in some cases, grapes struggled to reach full maturity. Several winegrowers had no choice but to harvest earlier than expected, due to outbreaks of grey rot and mildew, made worse by rain around 25 September. Other estates made the bold choice to harvest later, aiming for full ripeness even if it meant sacrificing part of the crop. After a difficult year marked by heavy rains and lower concentration, alcohol levels hover around 13%, with relatively low pH levels (i.e. high acidity).
So, the best wines for cellaring from the 2024 vintage come from châteaux able to harvest later (picking grapes at full maturity with the right acidity) and sort the grapes using modern techniques like a densimetric sorting bath and optical sorting.
All the 2024 vintage wines for ageing on En Primeurs
It’s what you might call a moine-soldat (monk-soldier) vintage, to quote Pierre-Olivier Clouet, Managing Director of Château Cheval Blanc, where meticulous preparation proved key to mastering the challenges of 2024! At Cheval Blanc, bold technical decisions made it possible to push back the harvest date, though it came at a cost: yields dropped significantly, down to just 28 hl/ha. But the outcome matches the sheer effort poured into this demanding vintage. The team succeeded in crafting a superb wine capturing what they poetically describe as “putting the spirit of the place in the bottle”. The wine opens with an intense hue, a nose of black fruits lifted by hints of cedar wood and cigar box. It offers beautiful chewiness and volume, perfect balanced, and carries through to a long, elegant finish.
Press scores: James Suckling 96-97, Vinous Galloni 92-94, Revue du Vin de France 94-96
“Des Lieux et des Hommes” (Places and People) is the title of the documentary series shown during the 2024 En Primeur tastings. It captures what the château’s teams experienced first-hand. This wine stems from 11 hectares of walled vineyards, predominantly planted with Cabernet Franc. The short ageing period, unusual in Bordeaux, is worth highlighting: 70% new barrels, 19% large barrels (18 hl), and 11% amphorae. The highly expressive nose bursts with floral notes, leading into a generous palate of red fruit with smoky aromas and hints of resin on the finish. The texture is superb, the finish is long, the whole is beautifully balanced and refined.
Press scores: James Suckling 97-98, Vinous Galloni 95-97, Revue du Vin de France 96-98
The 2024 vintage may be small in volume at Château Figeac, but it promises to be big on quality. Indeed, only half a normal harvest made it to the winery this year. This vintage was shaped by dedicated, passionate teams who handpicked only the finest bunches with precision and care. The wine opens on ripe black fruit, followed by a generous palate with lots of structure. Ageing entirely in new oak barrels, Figeac’s hallmark, will lend the wine additional tannic backbone, setting it up beautifully for long ageing.
Press scores: James Suckling 94-95, Figaro 95-97 , Vinous Galloni 93-96
This Saint-Julien second grand cru classé listed in the 1855 classification offers remarkable depth. The tenth generation of the Barton Sartorius family has crafted a structured wine from 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, rounded out with 6% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc. On the nose, notes of plum, violet, and black cherry set the tone, followed by a generous fullness and delicious depth.
Press scores: James Suckling 95-96, Vinous Galloni 93-95, Revue du Vin de France 95-96
The 2024 vintage is dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, which accounts for 96% of the blend, a higher proportion than usual, completed by 3% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot. At Château Lafite Rothschild, 100 hectares of vines were harvested swiftly thanks nearly 300 pickers. Loses due to coulure (no flower fertilisation) led to a 20% drop in yield. The wine opens with dark fruit aromas bursting with freshness, and notes of blackcurrant. On the palate, this premier grand cru classé classified in 1855 already shows remarkable suppleness, finesse and elegance, offering promising ageing potential.
Press scores: James Suckling 96-97, Vinous Galloni 94-96, Revue du Vin de France 97-98
The fifth generation, led by Bertrand and Jean-Valmy Nicolas, alongside Marielle Cazaux, managing director of Château La Conseillante, offers a wine that fully expresses itself with aromas of blackberry and plum, complemented by subtle floral notes. This 2024 vintage shows a silky texture on the palate, freshness and impressive depth.
Press scores: James Suckling 95-96, Vinous Galloni 95-98
“Atlantic sea spray” best describes this second grand cru classé Saint-Estèphe unmistakably shaped by ocean influence. On tasting the wine, it opens with floral aromas and roasted notes. Cabernet Sauvignon drives the clean and precise palate.
Press scores: James Suckling 96-97, Vinous Galloni 94-96, Revue du Vin de France 96-97
All our 2024 En Primeur articles on the iDealwine blog:
But why bother buying Bordeaux En Primeur wine?
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2024 En Primeur | Vintage analysis and top picks from Sauternes and Barsac
