Pessac-Léognan & Graves
An attractive vintage in both Pessac and Graves, but with a little less consistency than in some vintages (as with Margaux for me: two appellations that outperformed their Left Bank siblings in, for example, 2015). There were many impressive performances in 2019, with a few instances of potential water stress or low acidities, a reflection of Pessac-Léognan’s location in one of the warmest spots of Bordeaux. No 100pt potentials here, but a good crop of 97s in Haut-Brion white and red, Haut-Bailly and Smith Haut Lafitte. It’s ridiculous that I feel I have to underline that 97 is an exceptionally good score that points to wines that are at the very top of the achievement of the vintage – but such is the impact of score inflation generally. In total, 12 wines scored 95pts or more , with more reds than whites achieving the highest numbers, including the brilliant Mission Haut-Brion, Malartic-Lagravière, Pape Clément and Domaine de Chevalier, plus an impressive white to note in Couhins-Lurton. At the ‘buy signal’ of 94pts I can point to Château Olivier white, Pape
