James Suckling was one of the first critics to publish scores and notes on the 2019 vintage, doing so on May 13th, well before the flurry of En Primeur releases. In the month since then, Suckling and the team have added an additional 500 wines to their journals, all which have been published on his website.
Many wines have scored well in this vintage but it is a white wine that sits on top of the pack. James Suckling awarded Chateau Haut Brion Blanc 2019 a straight 100, a feat not often seen in En Primeur tastings. Suckling described the wine as “crazy quality”, adding its “like a great Montrachet from a great vintage, but so Haut Brion. Speechless. Perfect wine”.
Suckling found seven more instances of potential perfection, this time all reds, and all highlighted in the table below.
All four of the Firsts Growths releasing En Primeur have been awarded scores of 99-100 by Suckling. Mouton Rothschild and Haut Brion are the cheapest of the bunch to release so far, at €282 per bottle ex-négociant – Margaux is yet to be seen.
Suckling adds that “the futures market for 2019 will offer some superlative deals”. Just how well the 2019 vintage is stacking up against the physical market can be found using our Bordeaux Analysis tool.
James Suckling’s full tasting notes can be found on his website.
Looking for more?
Our Bordeaux 2019 pages contain everything you need to know about this year’s En Primeur campaign; analysis tools, critics scores, reports and more.
