Magazine

These two neighbouring cousins are no exception to the rule – inconsistency left right and centre! Probably the most challenging vintage since 2013. But 2021 was saved by its unusually long growing season. It began with budburst at the beginning of April and finished with harvesting dates that were spread out until mid-October due to an over-abundance of sunshine. This confluence of events obviously benefited the Cabernets more than Libourne’s ubiquitous Merlot. Here’s a run-down of what to expect.

These appellations to the South of Bordeaux experienced a mild winter and early budburst with the now all-too familiar consequences at the beginning of April. The end of the growing season was less eventful, allowing healthy fruit to be harvested, paving the way for a low-volume but high-quality vintage. The whites are fresh and very aromatic. There is greater inconsistency among the reds but with good fruit and lots of crunchy flavours.

IGP Pays d’Oc covers a 120,000-hectare swathe of land from the Camargue to the Côte Vermeille. This extensive area is home to 20,000 winegrowers who produce wines that wear the colours of the South with pride, both nationally and internationally.

Sparkling wines labelled as Crémant account for 25% of Alsace wine production. After an outstanding year for sales in 2019 came the global pandemic in 2020, but growth has now resumed and sales may well break new records. Encouragingly, the popularity of Crémant d’Alsace is spreading to more and more countries worldwide.

These two extensive appellations cover almost the entire peninsula. By definition, they embrace fundamentally different configurations, with very distinctive vintage variation. We have been extremely selective in our choice of wines in a bid to only present the finest examples – at this stage – of a challenging vintage.

Fenavin is one of the must-attend events of the world wine and spirits industry. It brings together in Ciudad Réal, south of Madrid, the entire Spanish wine industry for three days, this year from 10 to 13 May.