Tasting 2019 clarets is a pleasure. It is a vintage that makes you smile. Those of us lucky enough to have tasted 1982s in their youth draw the comparison with that vintage; those of us a little younger think of a purer, slightly more lifted version of 2009. The wines are already delicious, and they are wines that speak of their terroir. It is a special vintage, with outstanding wines in each appellation and at every level. With such a gluttony of choice, we have put together some mixed sampler cases. These cases offer a great opportunity to taste the wines for yourself.
The first three are based on Neal Martin’s in bottle reviews and scores (February 2022). We have also put together a "Stars of the Southwold Tasting" case, which contains a bottle each of the 2019 Southwold Tasting's most notable performers. Availability is limited and each case is packed to order so please allow a week for delivery.
2019 Haut Batailley – “a wonderful Pauillac that will give 30 or 40 years of drinking pleasure”
2019 Langoa Barton – “A delicious, classically-styled Langoa-Barton. Very fine.”
2019 Gloria – “The 2019 Gloria personifies classic Saint-Julien”
2019 Lafon Rochet – “disarming, fragrant, beautifully defined blackberry and crushed violet scents”
2019 Siran – “One of the best Siran releases in recent years”
2019 Montlandrie – “Make sure you have some of this excellent Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux”
2019 Batailley – “One of the best Batailleys, maybe the best, in recent years”
2019 Lagrange – “great depth, perfectly judged acidity and a brilliantly focused finish”
2019 Brane Cantenac – “The palate is beautifully balanced”…”excellent”"
2019 Malartic Lagravière – “wonderfully balanced, with great length and nobility”
2019 Gazin – “a superb Gazin and a great Pomerol”
2019 Tour St Christophe – “a Saint-Émilion that is in for the long haul. Great potential.”
2019 Lynch Bages – “an extremely persistent, almost Lafite-like finish”
2019 Grand Puy Lacoste – “A glorious Grand Puy Lacoste”
2019 Léoville Poyferré – “a fabulous Saint-Julien with huge potential”
2019 Smith Haut Lafitte - "A gorgeous, seductive Smith Haut Lafitte"
2019 Pape Clément – “One of the finest releases from Pape-Clément in recent years”
2019 Troplong Mondot - "a classically styled, minerally finish. Superb"
At the annual "Southwold Tasting" in 2023, 300 wines from the 2019 Bordeaux vintage were tasted by a panel of 20 wine experts including 10 Masters of Wine. The verdict was that 2019 is a great vintage for the red wines of Bordeaux and this tasting case contains 1 bottle each of 6 of the most successful wines of the vintage. Excluding the "First Growths" Troplong Mondot, Domaine de Chevalier, Leoville Barton and Lynch Bages were the top-scoring wines of their respective communes. Gloria was judged to be the "best value" wine of the entire tasting with Haut Batailley "best value" in Pauillac.
