After tasting more than 450 Bordeaux 2021 wines in bottle, Georgie Hindle has given her verdict on how the wines are tasting now.
Here we present a quick and easy way to see tasting notes and scores for the top 35 dry white and sweet Bordeaux wines.
Producer
Appellation
Vintage
Score
Notes
Château Margaux, Pavillon Blanc
Bordeaux Blanc
2021
96
Pale lemon in the glass. Aromatic green/herbal edged nose, elderflower but not sweet, toasted pear and apple tatin, bitter lemon and peel. Tangy, sharp, bright and focussed, lovely hit of citric acid, gorgeous pineapple, tangy and so seductive before the honeyed, toast, caramelised lemons and quite bitter green fruit come in towards the sides and ends. A combination of richness and liveliness - the texture remains sleek and in one line, just the flavours change and evolve. The two are fighting a little now - one then the other. Feels serious and structured but with the most enticing bright, shiny juiciness, that makes your mouth water and want to take another sip straight away. Fun, fruity, sweet, salty, bitter, I love this, will be intriguing as to how it ages. Different style here, elegant but plucky, confident and totally drinkable.
Les Champs Libres, Blanc
Bordeaux Blanc
2021
96
Creamy herbs, green and red apples, oranges and truffles. Very hard to tell the grape variety from the nose. Filling and fleshy, bright and smooth, mouthwatering and fresh, succulent and just so enjoyable. Gorgeous density yet lightness, you get a ton of lemon and lime, green apple and soft bitter orange elements with saline undertones and a sense of energy and direction. It's a mouthful but leaves no trace of heaviness. Again, where the reds truly shine is the nuance at the end, and this has that. A few minutes later you're still tasting all the nuances and makes you think this is an excellent white Bordeaux. Refreshing, tangy, moreish and clean. Fabulous.
Château Smith Haut Lafitte, Blanc
Pessac-Léognan
2021
96
Lemon and lime, such purity and scintillating freshness, bright and sharp, so well positioned and poised with licks of mineral salinity on the finish. Great texture, weight and sense of life. I love this wine! The juiciness is moreish and this makes you want another sip straight away.
Château Grand Village, Blanc
Bordeaux Blanc
2021
95
Matcha, white chocolate and gooseberries - clean fresh and expressive on the nose. Crisp and tense, this has an immediate burst of energy and flavour on the palate, mouthwatering, pineapple, grapefruit, green apple and grapes, but so juicy, nothing bitter here at all. Fun and fresh, clean all the way through, and so uplifting. Feels perfectly manicured and there’s power, this is not light, it’s filling but at the same time elegant. Hard to explain just how good this is. Pure enjoyment with a sharp, almost sour edge that is very enjoyable.
Château Haut-Brion, Blanc
Pessac-Léognan
2021
95
Quite herbal and green on the nose, aromatic but intensely. Full and intense also on the palate, bright lemon and grapefruit, some bitter and spied touches too. Again like the red wine, Haut-Brion steps it up a notch in 2021 giving more body and richness than La Mission. Tangy, lively, upfront, tense but also direct, this has character and a flavour that lingers long after its left the mouth. A memorable wine in 2021. Structured and compact.
Domaine de Chevalier, Blanc
Pessac-Léognan (Cru Classé de Graves)
2021
95
Clean and clear, a nice weight to the palate here, slightly oily and full with honeyed lemon tones, some bitter grapefruit and crisp green apple. Lots of complexity and nuance, well built, a serious wine with an acidic backbone, long length and lifted finish accented by a stone, flinty minerality. Lovely potential and great drinkability on offer.
Château Cos d'Estournel, Blanc
Bordeaux Blanc
2021
94
Green apple skin, gooseberry and soft floral nuances. Lovely juicy core, high but balanced acidity gives the life while the toasted, quite bitter (grapefruit, orange, wood) elements come in towards the mid palate giving extra layers of nuance and depth and interest. It's not complete yet but good potential. Feels clean and precise and well worked. Maybe loses a touch of push and persistence on the finish, but there's nice purity and vibrancy from start to finish.
Château La Mission Haut-Brion, Blanc
Pessac-Léognan
2021
94
Floral and green fruit aromas on the nose. Juicy and upfront, lively and fun, this has zing and focus. I love the almost sherbet lemon touch to the initial expression followed by soft green fruit and some softly spiced herbal accents. It’s clear and clean, bright and focussed. Tapers a little towards the finish, just lightening, but lovely and enjoyable - very aerial in style.
Château Pape Clément, Blanc
Pessac-Léognan
2021
94
High toned, almost sherbet and wild honey, toasted fruit, a real combination of flavours on the palate with brightness but also quite serious toasty elements. I do love the flavours but this needs more time to come together, feels punchy and forward, expressive with lots of oak nuances still at play. Good acidity though, this should be good in a few years.
Château Couhins-Lurton, Blanc
Pessac-Léognan (Cru Classé de Graves)
2021
94
Clean and crystalline, pure and precise with lemon, green apple and touches of tangerine juice to the expression. The juiciness is taken over a little by the minerality, just turning the focus away from the fun freshness towards the finish, but this has a sense of precision and gentle charm.
Château Malartic-Lagravière, Blanc
Pessac-Léognan (Cru Classé de Graves)
2021
94
A fresh and fragranced nose with green fruit, apple, pear and lemon touches. Crisp and clean, lots of bitter grapefruit and orange combined with creamy lemon and apple giving a push pull of flavours. Not yet fully harmonised but there is potential. Lots of flavour nuance and good viscosity and weighty texture with a long length and good lift on the finish. Well made with promise.
Château Cheval Blanc, Le Petit Cheval Blanc
Bordeaux Blanc
2021
93
Very Sauvignon nose, green peas, straw, lemon zest and elderflower - smells very expressive with cool citrus elements. Crisp and alive, so delicious, crunchy with mouthwatering acidity but then a weight - almost oiliness / fat from the wood and lees adds to to the texture that immediately counters the acidity and gives the mouth filling expression. Bitter grapefruit and lemon zest on the finish. Great energy and complexity. A touch green in some places, you know this isn’t from a warm vintage, a touch of metallic element on the finish, but extremely enjoyable.
Château Duhart-Milon, Blanc
Bordeaux Blanc
2021
93
Grassy, lemon yellow gold in the glass. A herbal and white stone fruited nose, ginger, flowers, apricot, melon, orange, lime and some green fruits. Bright and energising, lovely fresh acidity hits straight away - a sherbet-esque flavour but with a honeyed, toasted note too from the Semillon really giving different flavours and textures right now. Feels serious in the honeyed, waxy lemon, toast, buttery caramel but the acidity underneath is so great. A lovely potential for this. Ends chalky, flinty and clean, a gorgeous mineral grip. Succulent, fun, fresh, juicy and layered. I like this a lot. Interesting to see this project progress.
Château de Chantegrive, Cuvée Caroline
Graves
2021
93
Nicely lively and well balanced, this has both texture, structure and brightness giving energy and seriousness. I love the citrus and apricot elements with some bitter orange flecks and stoniness too. Fun and so easy, a lovely succulence on the mid palate and really round frame all the way through. Complex and nuanced. Well made and a lovely white in 2021.
Château Larrivet Haut-Brion, Blanc
Pessac-Léognan
2021
93
Fresh and fragrant, white flowers, smells clean. Quite punchy on the palate, strong lemon and lime, sweet tropical and exotic fruit and juicy, a round body and nice freshness too. It has some zip and zing, really lively and captivating definitely with a ripe element, with some small hints of vanilla and white chocolate on the finish along with a kick of acidity that leaves a fresh feeling. Seems the vintage really suits the estate and this style is lovely.
Château Smith Haut Lafitte, Le Petit Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc
Pessac-Léognan
2021
93
A honeyed, slightly wild, toasty nose with apricot, pineapple orange and fragrant stone fruit on the nose. Round and calm, a lovely gentle confidence to this wine, gorgeous acidity gives the lift and sense of life, while the really fruity, juicy lemon, apple, orange and pineapple give the fruity core. Nothing too much, if anything still a bit quiet, but pure and precise. Really easy to like and enjoy, with body, freshness, complexity and nuance.
Château Latour-Martillac, Blanc
Pessac-Léognan (Cru Classé de Graves)
2021
93
An oily texture but gorgeous juicy core with bright acidity and ripe green apple, creamy peach and softly bitter orange and toasted lemens son the finish. Great acidity though which really sustains the wine. Well constructed with lots of nuance and interest and ageing potential.
Château Olivier, Blanc
Pessac-Léognan (Cru Classé de Graves)
2021
93
Lemon and lime, nice freshness and sense of lift. Precision with purity to the texture and fruit with lots of salty tones on the finish and edges of the mouth. Mouthwatering acidity does well to give life and this has a nice easy balance and good drinkability. A little bitter and toasted on the finish which will settle.
Château Prieuré-Lichine, Le Blanc de Prieure Lichine
Bordeaux Blanc
2021
92
Faint lemon balm and honeysuckle on the nose. Smells nice. Juicy and plump, a hint of sweetness to this on the mid palate giving depth but with a mouthwatering aspect too and also some minerality - pineapple, orange, lemon, lime and peach. Lots going on, a good example. Upfront, forward, persistent, lively with sweetness that is moreish. Feels weightier than many.
Château Haut-Brion, Le Clarence de Haut-Brion
Pessac-Léognan
2021
92
Soft green apples and herbal touches with raspberries and wild cherries. A lovely clarity and grip to this, textured and bright, giving a touch of leanness but with a chalky, mineral grip to the cheeks and tongue. I like the character, a bit more full bodied than Chapelle. Lovely tension and hold, keeps the interest with a cool blackcurrant and blueberry undertone with freshly picked mint. Loses some oomph on the finish, but unfussy and still with lots of character.
Château La Garde, Blanc
Pessac-Léognan
2021
92
Licks of stone and minerality on the nose, smells fresh and clean. Bright and high toned, a lovely crisp lemon and green apple flavour. I love the clean precision on the palate, pure and salty, the terroir coming through with interest and such easy drinkability in that the acidity is not too high. Fun, fruity, fresh and lifted. Feels finessed and well made with push and an enjoyable wet stone, slightly bitter orange finish.
Château Smith Haut Lafitte, Les Hauts de Smith Blanc
Pessac-Léognan
2021
92
Really aromatic and fragrant on the nose, elderflower, green apple and floral touches. Alive but controlled, acidity is there supporting the wine, a tangy undercurrent with bitter orange and lemon not but searing - this is more cool and stony with a round creaminess in the mouth. Touches of salt and spice enter on the finish, this has complexity and interest and more than just green fruit and high acidity.
Château Couhins, Blanc
Pessac-Léognan (Cru Classé de Graves)
2021
92
Sharp and bright, really alive in the glass the acidity making its mark straight away, soft hints of sweetness not as much as some - cool lemon, sherbet, lime and orange and peach dot the palate giving the unctuousness but matched by high acidity that makes it tart and thrilling. I like this and fans of Bordeaux whites will too. Lots of tension, oak is very light or none at all it seems which works in its favour.
Clos des Lune, Lune d'Argent
Bordeaux Blanc
2021
91
Green peas and crisp green apples on the nose with citrus aromas. Juicy and alive, exotic pineapple, apricot and almost sweet lemon juice aspects, nothing too bitter or harsh at all, round with a gentle creaminess that comes in towards the mid palate while staying quiet lean and direct. Much less severe and acidic than I was thinking, really balanced and harmonious and so enjoyable to drink with a slate and mineral finish. A top value pick!
Château Brown, Blanc
Pessac-Léognan
2021
91
Slightly toasty nose, the waxy, honeyed and perfumed Semillon also stands out. Nice weight and texture on the palate, a little thicker and more oily than some others but with just as high, mouthwatering acidity giving weight and texture. Green apple, bitter lemon and orange, gooseberry, and pineapple. More of a serious take, this feels like it will age and will be good with richer foods.
Château Haut-Brion, Le Clarte
Pessac-Léognan
2021
91
Strong aromatics on the nose, green peas, elderflower, vanilla and lots of green apple and bright green citrus notes. Bright and zingy, not too high acidity gives this energy without any sourness. Quite lean and a little light, just tapering towards the finish with soft peach and lemon notes. Great aromatics, really lifted, but straight towards the finish. Well worked, nothing harsh at all.
Château Carbonnieux, Blanc
Pessac-Léognan (Cru Classé de Graves)
2021
91
Bright and tangy, high acidity with a crispness to the expression - fresh green apple. Almost too tart for me, but it's lifted with lots of energy and a really sherbet-esque edge to the palate which gives character. Lots of citrus lemon and lime adding to the flavours and lingering on the finish.
Château Fourcas Hosten, Blanc
Bordeaux Blanc
2021
90
Fresh and lifted, a nice shot of lemon, pineapple, orange and green apple. Nice bright start - lifted and bright with a sustained mid palate. It's a little bit more subdued on the finish than some of the others, settling and becoming slightly more oily and a touch toasty and bitter, but it's great for easy drinking with character.
Château Ferran, Blanc
Pessac-Léognan
2021
89
Juicy and lively, a kick of citrus acidity with orange and lime flecks and green apple. Gently mouthwatering and really fresh, sustains to a long finish with an undercurrent of wet stone minerality all the way throughout giving the tongue cleaning aspect. Very typical aromas. It's easy drinking.
Château Bouscaut, Blanc
Pessac-Léognan (Cru Classé de Graves)
2021
89
Very varietal nose of Sauvignon Blanc, peas, green apple and touches of elderflower. Quite crisp tart fruit, gooseberry and green apple before the salty lemon and slightly honeyed apricots come into play giving width and depth. Relatively straight still, defined and all in one line. I like this, stylish and forward with plenty of life.
Château Cos d'Estournel, Les Pagodes de Cos Blanc
Bordeaux Blanc
2021
88
Pear, fragranced white stone fruit and apple on the nose. Clean and clear with quite high acidity but a bit diluted once the initial, bright expression has faded.
Château de Fargues,
Sauternes
2021
95
Rich golden honey colour. Smells clean and fresh, white flowers, yellow fruit - quince, pear and apricot. Supple with lots of energy in the mouth. Feels quite sugary, the sweetness really lingering on the mid palate, penetrating the tongue giving a sense of sherbet tang as well as weight. The sugar is doing most of the talking right now but there's a nice undercurrent of acidity that lifts the expression. Not so nuanced right now, but this is packing lots of flavour and texture. Definitely the 'largest' sweet wine. The bottle still says barrel sample as of 02/01/2024.
Clos Haut-Peyraguey
Sauternes (1er Cru Classé)
2021
95
Lovely purity straight away, a gorgeous texture in the mouth, clean, not overly sweet. Touches of pear, bitter orange peel, sweet peaches, honey, caramel and ever so soft floral reflections. I like this a lot, totally moreish and easy to drink with lots of flavour and plenty of nuance. Ends clean. Pretty good!
Château Doisy-Daëne
Barsac (2ème Cru Classé)
2021
94
Smells clean and fresh, pure and lively. Almost refreshing on the palate, there's sweetness of course, but there's energy too, tangy lemon and pineapple, soft touches of ripe peach and then orange and grapefruit peel. Not the sugariest, this ends on a lighter cleaner note, but there's lovely detail here.
Château Bastor-Lamontagne
Sauternes
2021
94
Clean and clear, a lovely hit of sweet lemons and pineapples with edges of tangy lime, salted honey caramel and orange peel. Lightly presented, not the most thick of rich or the leanest, this walks a lovely line of flavour and focus. Very enjoyable and easy to drink.
Château de Rayne Vigneau
Sauternes (1er Cru Classé)
2021
94
Thick and ample in the mouth, weighty and full of sweet orange peel, slightly wild honey, spiced lemon and pineapple, a real mixture of flavours and textures in the mouth. Doesn't have the sugary density of some, this is more focussed and straight with a lightness of touch come the finish, but I like it's style and character.
