Gavin Quinney's annual Bordeaux report

Two years ago, my review of the 2022 vintage in Bordeaux was entitled ‘Some Like it Hot’ after a very good year for the top growers who handled the heat and the drought well. So when I saw the brochure at Château Haut-Bailly for its 2024 called ‘Singing in the Rain’, I was tempted to pinch that as a header for this report. The dancing with the elements theme was repeated at all the châteaux that had to deal with ‘rain, rain and more rain’ in 2024, as hosts explained to the wine professionals who came to taste the new vintage this April. Any observer might well have assumed that 2024 was a washout.