With my last KFWE post, I have now caught up to my trip to Paris in November, which I think is awesome, because I was really behind! This was a multi-day tasting trip with Avi Davidowitz, from the Kosher Wine Unfiltered blog. It started with a massive tasting of Royal Wine’s latest releases, followed by two more organized tastings, and many tastings we did in our hotel room, as usual.

The first organized wine tasting that Avi Davidowitz, from the Kosher Wine Unfiltered blog, and I went to, during our last trip to Paris, in November 2023 was with with Menahem Israelievitch in his lovely home.

In May I made my way to Paris and I posted the Royal wines I tasted, they were mostly white, rose, and a fair number of red wines as well. For the past many years, I have been tasting the new releases from Royal wines with Menahem Israelievitch. Two years ago, because of COVID-19, I tasted the 2018 vintage in my house. Thankfully, those days are over and things have mostly returned to normal.

The 2021 Vintage in Bordeaux

Vintage-wise, I think 2021 is a mess. I say that because that is the overall feeling I get from tasting the wines from Royal and countless other producers. The 2021 wines, on average, the poor wines, show in one of these three styles:

1. Thin-tasting wine that is overly green and has notes of Jalapeno and bell pepper
2. Medium-bodied wines that are horribly hollow and overpowering with their Jalapeno or sometimes cooked/candied Jalapeno notes
3. Over-ripe and candied cherry wine with green notes

Looking through this list of wine notes below, for the 2021 vintage, and the ones coming for the other wines we tasted from this vintage, you will see a pattern, low scores, and very few QPR WINNERS. Mr. Israelievitch and the team did a wonderful job with these wines given the product (aka the grapes) they had to work with. There are 6 QPR WINNERS here and some good wines.

In comparison, the 2020 vintage was OK, there were some clear WINNER wines, with the 2020 Pavillon de Leoville Poyferre and the 2020 Chateau Montviel. Though 2020 had 11 QPR WINNER wines. The truly great vintage was the 2019 vintage as I stated many times already, but even there the 2019 vintage only had 13 QPR WINNER. It was the most balanced vintage so far, outside of 2014, and some of 2015. Of course, PLEASE be clear, I speak of kosher wines. I am sure many think 2020 was the perfect vintage in Bordeaux. However, IMHO, and I think I have tasted every kosher wine made from Bordeaux, over the past 8 years, 2019, 2014, and some of 2015 were the winners.

The 2014 vintage to me, was crazy fun because it is less ripe than the 2015 or 2016 vintages. They were also FAR cheaper. Then you had the 2015 wines which were more expensive and far riper than the 2014 vintage. This 2016 vintage is the best of both worlds, but it comes at a crazy high price. I warned you at that time, during the epic post of my visit to Bordeaux with Mr. Israelievitch, that you better start saving your money, sadly nothing has changed about that. The REAL shocker price-wise of the 2016 vintage was Chateau Malartic, which rose to almost 150 or more a bottle! That was close to double the 2014 vintage.

In a previous post about the most recent French wines (at that time in 2017) that were arriving on the market – I already spoke about pricing and supply, so there is no need to talk that over again in this post.

NOTE: Mr. Israelievitch only had the Mevushal 2021 Chateau Gazin Rocquencourt Grand Vin, Blanc. I will have to wait until I return to Paris to taste the non-Mevushal as the USA imports only the Mevushal version.

Mevushal Wine Push

The Mevushal push, from Royal wines, is continuing for the USA labels. More wines are being made in a Mevushal manner and while I wonder if this is good overall for myself, it makes sense for Royal wines, which in the end, I guess is what matters to them. Will this be an issue? In the past, I have found that the mevushal work of Mr. Israelievitch is top-notch, and just ages the wine rather than ruining it. Sadly, that trend has been failing in recent years, especially when it involves white and rose wines. More and more the mevushal white and rose wines have shown a difference between the two variations, mostly in regards to acidity. I have no idea why the flash affects the acidity but it has been clear to me and the best example was the 2019 Gazin Rocquencourt, Blanc. The non-mevushal version is solid while the mevushal version was not.

So, once again, as I have been doing for YEARS, I will again ask Royal to treat their own, personally made French wines, with the same courtesy that they show Binyamina, Psagot, Capcanes, Shiloh, and others. Why are you OK with importing BOTH the mevushal and non-mevushal versions of wines that are not worthy of the glass they are in but are more than happy to throw a blind eye to wines you personally produce? The French wines deserve better and again, I AM ASKING for you to import BOTH the mevushal and non-mevushal versions as you do for so many other brands.

The Mevushal wines from France for the 2019/2020/2021 vintages will be the

• 2022 Les Marrionniers Chablis, Petit Chablis
• 2022 Les Marrionniers Chablis, Chablis
• 2022 Domaine J. de Villebois Pouilly-Fume
• 2022 Domaine de Panquelaine
• 2022 Domaine J. de Villebois Sancerre
• 2022 Chateau Les Riganes, Bordeaux
• 2022 Chateau Genlaire, Bordeaux Superieur
• 2021 Des Barons Edmond & Benjamin de Rothschild Les Lauriers, Montagne Saint-Emilion
• 2020/2021 Barons Edmond & Benjamin de Rothschild, Haut-Medoc
• 2019 Chateau Greysac, Medoc
• 2021 Chateau Le Crock, Saint-Estephe, Bordeaux
• 2020/2021 Chateau de Parsac
• 2021/2022 Chateau Les Riganes, Blanc
• 2019/2020 Chateau Mayne Guyon
• 2021 Chateau Tour Seran
• 2021 Pavillon de Leoville Poyferre
• 2021 Chateau Gazin Rocquencourt (Blanc and Red)
• 2021 Chevalier de Lascombes, Pessac-Leognan
• 2022 Clos Triguedina Malbec du Clos
• 2021 Chateau Lamothe-Bergeron
• 2021 Chateau Roubine Lion & Dragon, Red

Now does mevushal impede the long-term viability of aging in regards to the wine? Well, that too is not something that we have scientific proof of. I have tasted a mevushal 1999 Herzog Special Edition and it was aging beautifully! Same with the Chateau Le Crock, over the past few years. So, would I buy the mevushal versions of the wines I tasted below? The answer is yes! Would I age them? Yes, I would hold them for slightly fewer years. To me personally, it is very clear, that if Royal had their way they would make the Pontet Canet Mevushal! Nothing to Royal is sacred and this will not stop with the list above, it will grow, proof is Chevalier and Gazin were made mevushal in 2019. Now Pavillon and others in 2021. I personally guess the next wines to be Mevushal will be Chateau Moulin Riche and Chateau Tertre, IMHO.

Other than the mevushal aspect, there are no differences between the European version of the wines and the USA version of the wines. While that sounds obvious, I am just stating it here. The wines will be shipped now and the temperature issues that affected Israel’s wines of old, have not been a factor here.

The 2021 Pricing and access

The 2020 Chateau Pontet Canet and the 2020 Chateau Leoville Poyferre will be higher than they have ever been, though probably not as high as the 2020 Château Angelus Carillon de l’Angélus. Chateau Giscour is also going up in price as is the Chateau Malartic Blanc, so yeah, higher! The crazy thing is that the 2021 vintage was nowhere as good as the 2020 and the Chateau stuck to their guns and pricing so the poor-showing 2021 vintage stays even with the 2020 Vintage on pricing. That is what I call Chutzpah! Then throw in the crazy price increases we will see in 2022 and GOOD NIGHT!!!

In terms of access – sure enough, last year, all the Pontet Canet sold out in one day from Royal and each store is being given tiny allocations. This leaves us begging for wine and paying 300+ a bottle at the door! Classic madness and FOMO. Such is life! The 2021 vintage will not sell out as quickly, IMO, but when it is released it will move.

Tasting in Paris

Mevushal Tastings

With all my complaints about Mevushal, see above, Menahem Israelievitch prepared for us 4 separate wine tastings with Mevushal and Non-Mevushal wines – blind, side-by-side. They were all red wines.

There were four tastings – these were the four tastings:

• Chateau Riganes
• Les Lauriers des Rothschild
• Chavalier de Lascombes
• Chateau Gazin Rocquencourt

I got one correct, I got one with a mixed order and missed the other two. In the end, if you read the notes below, the wines did not show horribly different, IMO. The Riganes was the one that stuck out the most but the other three were comparable.

As stated many times, the issues I have are less with the need to make Mevushal wines as much as it is the fact that they refuse to bring in both to the USA! The USA brings in both Mevushal and non-Mevushal wines from Capcanes and many other producers but Royal REFUSES to do the same for its own wines!

Many Thanks

It is always a joy and honor to do our yearly tasting with Menahem Israelievitch. His care, love, and true joy in sharing the wines he creates for Royal Wines, even with folks like us, is a true testament to his professionalism. Mr. Israelievitch gathered 37 wines for us to taste, many of these did not even have labels yet and many were also not yet released from the wineries. Mr. Israelievitch had to get one-off pickups and shipments of these wines. For the wines that were actually labeled and sealed, you could ask the winery to do a one-off shipment, though even that is a major pain for a winery and not something they like to do. However, if the wines were not yet labeled or sealed then they are not allowed to send them or have access to them yet. That means a Mashgiach needs to go and get the wines and send them or bring them back. Said another way, these tastings are a MAJOR pain and MAJOR work and coordination for Mr. Israelievitch to do for us each year. Thanks so much!!

My many thanks to Menahem Israelievitch for going out of his way to help me taste all the current French wines from Royal Wines before some were publicly released. It was truly an inopportune time for Mr. Israelievitch and his family to have the tasting and I truly thank him and his family and wish them only happiness and success in the coming years.

The wine notes follow below – the explanation of my “scores” can be found here and the explanation for QPR scores can be found here:

2022 Domaine du Chateau Philippe le Hardi Bourgogne Cote-D’Or– Score: 90 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is nice, not an oak bomb, showing clean lines, nice peach, apricot, yellow apple, salinity, and straw. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is nice enough, the acidity is there, I would like more, with nice yellow apple, nice saline, mineral, slate, and flint, with peach and some tension. The finish is long, but overall a bit simple, still a fun wine. Drink by 2025. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13.5%)

2021 Chateau Gazin Rocquencourt Grand Vin, Blanc, Pessac-Leognan, Bordeaux (M) – Score: 88 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is ripe, yet green, with gooseberry, grapefruit, waxy notes, paraffine, peach, and nice floral notes/yellow flowers. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine has nice acidity, refreshing, with good peach, gooseberry, smoke, and flint, a bit hollow, and very uni-dimensional. The finish is short, with more flint, acidity, and waxy notes. Drink by 2024. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 12.5%)

2022 Chateau Les Riganes Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux (M) – Score: 90 (QPR: GREAT)
This wine, unlike the Merlot and Malbec, is nice, balanced, and on point, but again, unidimensional. The nose is ripe, and fruity, and has notes of fermented juice, ripe red and green fruit, and not tart. This is more vegetal than the Malbec but still uninteresting. The mouth follows the nose, with nice acidity, anise, green notes, dark plum, cassis, herbs, and fermented juice notes. The finish is longer and brighter and lingers, with smoke, roasted herbs, black and red fruit, and a nice tannin structure. Drink by 2025. (tasted August 2023) (in San Jose, CA & Paris France) (ABV = 14%)

2022 Chateau Les Riganes Merlot, Bordeaux (M) – Score: 88 (QPR: GOOD)
Overall, I found this, like the other Riganes, to be too unidimensional, too fruity, less complex, and less varietally true. The nose is ripe, and fruity, and has notes of fermented juice, ripe red and green fruit, and not tart. This is more vegetal than the Malbec but still uninteresting. The mouth follows the nose, with a bit more acidity than the Malbec, but still feels short, with red plum, loam, vegetal notes, nice enough tannin, and herbs. Drink now. (tasted August 2023) (in San Jose, CA & Paris France) (ABV = 13.5%)

2022 Chateau Les Riganes Malbec, Bordeaux (M) – Score: 87 (QPR: EVEN)
Overall, I found this, like the other Riganes, to be too unidimensional, too fruity, less complex, and less varietally true. The nose is ripe, and fruity, and has notes of fermented juice, with some acidity, green/ripe notes, ripe red and black fruit, though not tart. The mouth follows the nose, with not enough acidity, or balance, showing black plum, anise, red cherry, and loam. The tannin is nice enough, drink now. (tasted August 2023) (in San Jose, CA & Paris France) (ABV = 12.5%)

2022 Chateau Riganes, Bordeaux – Score: 86 (QPR: EVEN)
This wine, unlike the components, shows less acidity and is even riper than the parts we tasted. The nose is ripe, and fruity, and has notes of fermented juice, ripe red and green fruit, and not tart. This is more vegetal than the Cabernet and less interesting, but still too ripe. The mouth follows the nose, with not enough acidity, green notes, dark plum, cassis, herbs, and fermented juice notes. The finish is short with roasted herbs, ripe black and red fruit, and some tannin structure. Drink now. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13.5%)

2022 Chateau Riganes, Bordeaux (M) – Score: 87 (QPR: GOOD)
This wine, unlike the components, shows less acidity but the Mevushal helps calm the ripeness. The nose is ripe, and fruity, and has notes of fermented juice, ripe red and green fruit, and shows tarter. This is more vegetal than the Mevushal version as the ripeness is calmed by the Mevushal process. The mouth follows the nose, with not enough acidity, green notes, dark plum, cassis, herbs, and less fermented juice notes. The finish is still short with roasted herbs, ripe black and red fruit, and some tannin structure. Drink now. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13.5%)

2022 Clos Triguedina Malbec du Clos, Cahors (M) – Score: 91 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is fun, though starts closed, with funk, dirt, loam, blue and black fruit, deep tar, loam, smoke, and rich salinity. After some time, the wine shows more floral notes, violet, rose, and roasted animal. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is nice, with great acidity, smoke, earth, loam, blackberry, dark plum, dark cherry, tar, clay, and rich loam, all wrapped in nice tannin. A simple wine but with enough complexity to keep you interested. The finish is long, dirty, smoky, and earthy, with rich loam, tar, clay, black fruit, parrafine, and wax. Nice! Drink from 2024 until 2026. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

2021 Les Lauriers des Rothschild, Montagne Saint-Emilion – Score: 85 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine tasted blind, showing stunted and ripe, with ripe black and red fruit, smoke, roasted herb, dense green notes, floral notes, and rich smoke. The mouth of the non-Mevushal wine shows less acidity than the Mevushal, with ripeness, blackberry, smoke, earth, raspberry, and a less interesting density. The finish is long, and ripe, with nice tannin, but the clear lack of acidity makes the wine uni-dimensional and boring. Drink by 2025. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 12.5%)

2021 Les Lauriers des Rothschild, Montagne Saint-Emilion (M) – Score: 89 (QPR: GOOD)
The nose of this wine tasted blind and shows far better than the non-Mevushal wine, ripe, with ripe black and red fruit, smoke, roasted herb, dense green notes, floral notes, and rich smoke. The mouth of the Mevushal wine shows much more acidity, with ripeness, blackberry, smoke, earth, raspberry, and a nice mouth-coating tannin. The Mevushal Pricess here really helped, very interesting. The finish is long, and ripe, with nice tannin, still not enough acidity but better, and less uni-dimensional. Drink by 2025. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 12.5%)

2021 Chateau de Parsac, Montagne Saint-Emilion (M) – Score: 88 (QPR: GREAT)
This wine is a blend of 90% Merlot & 10% Cabernet Franc. The nose is shocking, for a 2021 wine, there is not a whiff of green, still, this wine is no Grand Vin, a solid enough wine with notes of roasted herb, raspberry, cherry, plum, and loam. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is nice, with great acidity, good weight, nice tannin structure, with cherry, raspberry, plum, and green notes, but no finish. Drink by 2025. (tasted September 2023) (in San Jose, CA & Paris, France) (ABV = 12.5%)

2021 Chateau des Laurets Baron Edmond de Rothschild, Puisseguin Saint-Emilion – Score: 91.5 (QPR: WINNER)
This wine is a blend of 80% Merlot & 20% Cabernet Franc. The nose of this wine is nice, and balanced, with floral notes, nice sweet oak, black and red fruit, proper fresh garden herbs, smoke, and minerality. A shocking wine for the 2021 vintage, solid, clean, and professional. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is well balanced, with great acidity, clean, and less plush than the 2020 vintage with a nice mouthfeel, nice draping tannin, good fruit structure, blackberry, tart plum, nice tart raspberry, dark cherry, with more fresh herbs, nice sweet oak, and nice minerality. The finish is lovely, and herbal, with lovely black and red fruit, nice graphite, mineral, leather, and nice smoke. Bravo! Drink until 2027. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13.5%)

2021 Chateau Royaumont, Lalande de Pomerol – Score: 92.5 (QPR: WINNER)
This wine is a blend of 70% Merlot & 30% Cabernet Franc and this is the non-mevushal wine. The nose of this wine is closed, to start, with floral notes, mint, oregano, sweet spices, crushed roasted herb, black and red fruit, saline, and rich mineral. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is lovely, with screaming acidity, lovely minerality, saline, sweet oak, spice, roasted herb, roasted oregano, plush and elegant, with black plum, raspberry, mouth-draping tannin, dark cherry, sweet herbs, cinnamon, and sweet spices. A lovely wine and a serious step up from its Mevushal brother. The finish is long, and plush, with roasted herbs, sweet oak, scraping minerality, sweet tannin, and lovely loam. Drink from 2026 until 2030. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13.5%)

—————————- Posted here for comparison – tasted in San Jose —————————

2021 Chateau Royaumont, Lalande de Pomerol (M) – Score: 91.5 (QPR: WINNER)
This wine is a blend of 70% Merlot & 30% Cabernet Franc and it is the first time it is Mevushal! The nose of this wine does show ripe and green at the same time, at 13.5% which is expected, a throwback to the older Bordeaux. Still, this is green, there has been no Royaumont that smells like this, at the opening, outside of maybe 2013. The nose is green and ripe, with bell pepper, mint, oregano, sweet spices, crushed roasted herb, black and red fruit, saline, and rich mineral. The mouth of this medium-plus wine worries me, at the start, the acidity and pop are slow to appear, but that comes with time. After an hour, the mouth pops, with nice acidity, nice minerality, saline, sweet oak, spice, roasted herb, milk chocolate, roasted oregano, red Jalapenos, black plum, green notes, raspberry, mouth-draping tannin, dark cherry, sweet herbs, cinnamon, and sweet spices. Overall, the green notes bother me and the wine feels a bit disjointed and hot. The finish is long, and green, with roasted herbs, sweet milk chocolate, almond paste, sweet oak, green notes, and sweet tannin. Drink from 2025 until 2032. (tasted August 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13.5%)

———————————– End of comparison ———————————————————-

2021 Etoiles de Mondorion, Saint-Emilion – Score: 85 (QPR: POOR)
This wine is a blend of 90% Merlot & 10% Cabernet Franc. The nose of this wine is Jalepeno to start, with red fruit, and black plum, in the background, smoke, loam, green notes galore, and sweet tobacco. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is balanced and nice enough, but it lacks in body, it feels hollow, with good acidity, but too many green notes, too much jalapeno, raspberry, plum, nice enough tannin, and sweet spices. The finish is long, showing too much oak, sweet spices, green notes, and jalapeno linger too long. Sad. Drink until 2027. (tasted September 2023) (in San Jose, CA & Paris France) (ABV = 12.5%)

2021 Chateau Montviel, Pomerol – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
This wine blends 80% Merlot & 20% Cabernet Franc. Again, like the 2021 Chateau Royaumont, this wine starts green, there is nowhere to hide from that bell pepper, intense herbal notes, and slight tinny notes, still, the wine is elegant, robust, and balanced. Thankfully, unlike the 21 Mevushal Royaumont, the green notes fade away within a few hours. The nose of this wine is herbal, green, and fruity, with clear tinny notes, along with the red/black fruit, nice minerality, and sweet spices work. Thankfully, with time, the nose evolves to show lovely red and black fruit, menthol, roasted Oregano, anise, mint, and sweet spices. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is green, and herbal, with searing acidity, nice black plum, raspberry, black currants, dark cherry, sweet spices, nice tannin, and minerality. Thankfully, the green notes do fall off eventually, what is left is not overly complex, and nice, but not what I expect from Montviel. The finish is long, green, herbal, almost a bit too green, with black and red fruit, more tinny notes, some ripe notes hiding back there, and some marzipan, mineral, and smoke. With time, the finish is less interesting, and more balanced, with nice acidity, minerality, tannin, and a green note backbone. Drink from 2026 until 2030. (tasted August 2023) (in San Jose, CA & Paris France) (ABV = 13.5%)

2021 Barons Edmond & Benjamin de Rothschild, Haut-Medoc (M) – Score: 83 (QPR: POOR)
The nose of this wine is strange, yes it is green, but it is also metallic, with notes of iron/metal, green, herbal, and smoky, but overall, uninteresting. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is missing, lacking, with green notes, roasted herbs, metallic notes, blackberry, raspberry, smoke, tannin, and herb. The finish is short, to nowhere, metallic, and green. Drink now. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

2021 Chateau Malmaison, Moulis-En-Medoc – Score: 90 (QPR: EVEN)
The wine is a blend of 90% Merlot & 10% Cabernet Franc. The nose of this wine is ripe, a 2021 vintage that is ripe, with notes of candied plum, raspberry, loads of oak, and what feels almost manufactured with milk chocolate-covered oak, just not what I was expecting. It does calm down eventually but the heat is still there. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is ripe, with good acidity, loads of oak, milk chocolate, sweet vanilla, sweet and candied plum, cherry, and raspberry, with green notes in the background, almost like the plum covers up the jalapeno, with sweet tannin, and smoke. Again, much of this calms but what is left is a bit watery and not all there, still better than at opening. The finish is long, and ripe, with too much oak right now, sweet spices, ripe fruit, and roasted herbs lingering long. Drink until 2029. (tasted September 2023) (in San Jose, CA & Paris, France) (ABV = 13.5%)

2021 Chateau Clarke Baron Edound de Rothschild, Listrac-Medoc – Score: 86 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is ripe but balanced with intense fruit, boysenberry, blackberry, candied cherry, raspberry, smoke, and intense fruit. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is ripe, it lacks the acidity I need, with blackberry, boysenberry, loads of sweet oak, candied sweet dill, sweet milk chocolate, and nice tannin, but overall a boring wine. The finish of this wine is empty and void, with more milk chocolate and smoke. Drink now. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

2021 Chateau Lamothe-Bergeron, Haut-Medoc (M) – Score: 82 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is ripe and candied green notes, showing candied cucumber, candied raspberry, candied cherry lifesaver, and smoke. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is nice enough, with good enough acidity, but that is where it ends, with green notes, candied fruit, smoke, and nice enough tannin, but the candied fruit is out of whack with the wine. The finish is non-existent and pulls down the wine in many ways. Drink by 2025. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

2021 Chateau Fourcas Dupre, Listrac – Medoc – Score: 83 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is very much like others, with a nose of candied cucumber, ripe raspberry, cherry, tar, and loam. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is metallic, with candied bell pepper, some acidity, green notes, cherry, smoke, tar, and raspberry, but it lacks complexity, a finish, or anything to keep me. Drink by 2025. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

2021 Chateau Tour Seran, Medoc, Bordeaux – Score: 90 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is yet another candied cucumber wine, with nice raspberry, candied cherry lifesaver, menthol, smoke, loam, scraping graphite, and tar. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is nice, there is a bit too much of the candied cucumber, but I can get past it because of the nice body, tannin structure, great acidity, complexity, smoke, earth, dense minerality, and scraping graphite. The finish is long, mineral-drive, smoky, earthy, with lovely menthol, and graphite, with great fruit focus, and elather. Nice! Drink by 2027. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13.5%)

2021 Chateau Rollan de By, Medoc – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is nice, there is no candied cucumber or bell pepper, this is ripe but balanced with good tart fruit, tar, red and black fruit, and nice smoke. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is nice, it has great acidity, and enough complexity, with good fruit, refreshing, showing blackberry, raspberry, dark cherry, tar, loam, scraping minerality, dirt, earth, mouth-draping tannin, and intense mineral that makes this shine. The finish is long, dark, tannic, and mineral-driven with great acidity that makes this all work. Nice! Drink until 2027. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 14%)

2021 Chateau Dauzac Aurore de Dauzac, Margaux (M) – Score: 90 (QPR: EVEN)
This wine is a blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon & 37 Merlot. The nose of this wine is ripe, and round, with milk chocolate, black fruit, green notes, nice minerality, dense smoke, sweet oak, and sweet spices. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe, and round, with candied green notes, sweet oak, sweet dill, great acidity, rich saline, ripe blackberry, ripe plum, and raspberry, but overall the wine is ripe, dense, layered, and fruity, too ripe for me, with sweet oak, milk chocolate, a nice Mevushal ripe wine for many folks. The finish is long, ripe, smoky, and oaky. Drink until 2027. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

2021 Chevalier de Lascombes, Margaux (M) – Score: 87 (QPR: EVEN)
I tasted the Mevushal and Non-Mevushal wines side-by-side and I found both of them to be uninteresting, I miss the days of the 2015 Chevalier. The wines are too ripe and fruity for me, but they are well made, still, the Mevushal has less acidity and is less interesting for me.
The nose on this wine is too ripe for me this ripeness is not a Mevushal issue, as I tasted both the Mevushal and non-Mevushal side by side and blind first. The wine scares me and is not a wine I would like. The nose of this wine is ripe, too ripe for me, with brooding black and blue fruit, blackberry, plum liqueur, milk chocolate, ripe cassis, and hints of candied fruit. The mouth on this full-bodied wine is too ripe, and the Mevushal version shows less acidity, but overall, the wine is unbalanced for me, with layers of concentration, dense fruit, sweet tannin, heat, blackberry, ripe plum, and ripe cassis. The finish is a bit short, tannic, ripe, and sweet, with intense milk chocolate, leather, and sweet spices that give way to cinnamon, cloves, and tarragon. Drink until 2028. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

2021 Chevalier de Lascombes, Margaux – Score: 89 (QPR: EVEN)
I tasted the Mevushal and Non-Mevushal wines side-by-side and I found both of them to be uninteresting, I miss the days of the 2015 Chevalier. The wines are too ripe and fruity for me, but they are well made, still, the Mevushal has less acidity and is less interesting for me.
The nose on this wine is too ripe for me this ripeness is not a Mevushal issue, as I tasted both the Mevushal and non-Mevushal side by side and blind first. The wine scares me and is not a wine I would like. The nose of this wine is ripe, too ripe for me, with brooding black and blue fruit, blackberry, plum liqueur, milk chocolate, ripe cassis, and hints of candied fruit. The mouth on this full-bodied wine is too ripe, but the non-Mevushal version has nice acidity, still, the wine is unbalanced for me, with layers of concentration, dense fruit, sweet tannin, blackberry, ripe plum, and ripe cassis. The finish is long, tannic, ripe, and sweet, with intense milk chocolate, leather, and sweet spices that give way to cinnamon, cloves, and tarragon. Drink until 2028. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

2021 Gazin Rocquencourt, Pessac-Leognan – Score: 89 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is ripe, too ripe for me, very floral, with heather, rosehip, smoke, red and blue fruit, earth, and candied plum. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is ripe, without enough acidity for me, with ripe fruit, smoke, candied raspberry, boysenberry, smoke, sweet spices, milk chocolate, and not enough freshness to make this balance out for me. Drink until 2028. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

2021 Gazin Rocquencourt, Pessac-Leognan (M) – Score: 88 (QPR: EVEN)
The notes of the two wines are nearly identical, the Mevushal version was less floral and had even less acidity. The nose of this wine is ripe, too ripe for me, less floral, with heather, rosehip, smoke, red and blue fruit, earth, and candied plum.
The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is ripe, without even less acidity, with riper fruit, smoke, candied raspberry, boysenberry, smoke, sweet spices, milk chocolate, and not enough freshness to make this balance out for me. Drink until 2028. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

2021 Pavillon de Leoville Poyferre, Saint-Julien – Score: 90.5 (QPR: EVEN)
This wine is a blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon & 37% Merlot. This is also the NON-Mevushal version of this wine. The nose here is nice, showing green herbal notes, not candied cucumber, nor bell pepper, just lots of roasted herbs, green notes, minerality, and nice smoke. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe, with good acidity, showing nice plum, blackberry, raspberry, astringent tannin and oak, sweet spices, mouth-coating tannin, and nice fruit. The finish is long, ripe, gripping, and all over the place, green, herbal, ripe, smoky, and dense, with milk chocolate, minerality, and dry tobacco. Drink from 2025 until 2031. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

—————————- Posted here for comparison – tasted in San Jose —————————

2021 Pavillon de Leoville Poyferre, Saint-Julien (M) – Score: 90 (QPR: EVEN)
This wine is a blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon & 37% Merlot. This is also the Mevushal version of this wine. The nose of this wine does not show its Mevushal status, overall 2021 took care of any love I have for this wine. The nose starts green, while also being overripe, it feels like a bath of green tomatoes and ripe plums, there is no joy there. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe, with good acidity, but again, it feels off-kilter, all over the place, overripe and green, with astringent tannin and oak, sweet spices that do not know where they belong, just a soup of ingredients that have no real place. The finish is long, ripe, gripping, and all over the place, green, herbal, ripe, smoky, and dense, with milk chocolate, minerality, and dry tobacco. Drink from 2025 until 2031. (tasted September 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13%)

———————————– End of comparison ———————————————————-

2021 Chateau Moulin Riche, Saint-Julien, Bordeaux – Score: 92.5 (QPR: WINNER)
This wine needs lots of time to open, but once it does it is a WINNER. This wine is a blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, & 1% Petit Verdot. The nose of this wine is ripe but well-balanced with black and blue fruit, smoke, menthol, chocolate, tar, perfumed blue fruit, nice dry flowers, and rich tar. The mouth of this full-bodied is ripe, layered, smoky, dirty, and rich, with great acidity, mouth-draping tannin, rich smoke, blackberry, dark plum, blackcurrant, and boysenberry, all wrapped in leather, scraping graphite, and loam. The finish is long, dark, brooding, smoky, and dirty, with tar, candied fruit, graphite, menthol, floral notes, and graphite/tannin lingering long. Drink from 2025 until 2032. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

2021 Chateau Haut Condissas Prestige, Medoc, Bordeaux – Score: 87 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is floral and smoky, with red and black fruit, rosehip, jasmine, violet, green and herbal, roasted herb, menthol, mint, tar, and ripe black/red fruit. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine lacks the acidity to make this work, with loads of floral notes, brooding blackberry, raspberry, dark plum, smoke, cherry, herbs, menthol, rose, violet, nice tannin, minerality, and more ripeness. The ripeness throws me off as it lacks the acidity and minerality to make it all work. The finish is short, brooding, ripe, smoky, dirty, and unbalanced, not-refreshing and green. Drink from 2025 until 2028. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

2021 Chateau Le Crock, Saint-Estephe – Score: 90 (QPR: EVEN)
This wine is a blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, & 6% Cabernet Franc. The nose of this wine is red, black, and herbal, with nice roasted herbs, smoke, floral notes, violet, and tart fruit. The mouth of this medium-bodied is nice enough, it lacks the acidity I want, it has nice red fruit, raspberry, plum, cherry, nice mouth-draping tannin, leather, and spice. The finish is a bit short, with leather, tart red fruit, nice tannin, and minerality, but not enough complexity to make me that interested. Drink by 2028. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 12.5%)

2021 Chateau Tertre Grand Cru Classe en 1855, Margaux, Bordeaux – Score: 87 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine starts with candied Jalapeno, floral notes, rosehip, violet, milk chocolate, and ripe red fruit. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is hilarious, it lacks the acidity I want but worse is the chocolate-covered jalapeno, with spice, black pepper, candied cherry, thin, without any complexity and the finish feels a bit short. Drink until 2027. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

2021 Chateau Dauzac Grand Cru Classe en 1855, Margaux – Score: 92.5 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is richly perfumed, sultry, and feminine, with ripe and racy red/black fruit, leather, minerality, smoke, and rich herbal notes. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe, layered, and concentrated, with layers of floral notes, violet, rosehip, dark raspberry, plum, nice boysenberry, cherry, and herbal, with roasted herb, sweet spices, lovely salinity, mouth-draping tannin, and nice complexity. The finish is long, herbal, ripe, not quite candied, and smoky, with red and blue fruit, loam, and sweet spices. Nice! Drink from 2027 until 2031. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

2021 Chateau Giscours Grand Cru Classe en 1855, Margaux – Score: 92 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is sultry, dirty, and floral, with hints of green notes, but it is well-balanced, herbal, and fun, with red, blue, & black fruit, and a nice perfume of Margaux. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is the most refreshing, balanced, and elegant wine we have tasted so far today, with lovely acidity, blackberry, boysenberry, ripe raspberry, smoke, herbal notes, roasted herbs, lovely salinity, minerality, layers and concentration with lovely fruit, elegant tannin, and a plush mouthfeel. The finish is long, bright, plush, rich, and lovely, with rich minerality, lovely chocolate, and rich tar, Solid! Drink from 2028 until 2035. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13.5%)

2021 Chateau LaGrange Grand Cru Classe En 1855, Saint-Julien – Score: 91 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is ripe, closed to start, with black and red fruit, smoke, sweet oak, tar, loads of milk chocolate, loam, and clay. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is nice, but it is hollow, with good acidity, tart, elegant, and layered, with lovely raspberry, dark plum, dark currants, hints of blue fruit, scraping mineral, dirt, loam, roasted herbs, and menthol. The finish is a bit short, with draping tannin, scraping mineral, lovely tar, loam, nice leather, and rich garrigue. Drink from 2027 until 2033. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

2021 Chateau Pontet Canet Grand Cru Classe en 1855, Pauillac – Score: 93 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is weird, it shows candied Jalapeno, ripe and tart red and black fruit, menthol, tar, roasted animal, smoke, and sweet herbs. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is layered, lean, and not quite plush, concentrated but not quite rich, with tight sweet tannin, draping mouthfeel, rich salinity, tar, animal, loam, and dense smoke. The finish is long, tart, layered, with dark chocolate, intense minerality, scraping graphite, and lovely fruit. Drink from 2032 until 2038. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 12.5%)