2021 Chateau Durfort-Vivens, Margaux, France (750ml)

WINEMAKER’S NOTES:

Dominated by Cabernets this year (the blend is 97% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot), this is a lovely fleshy attracitve wine with classic aromas of blackcurrant, wildflowers, and a touch of liquorice. On the palate, the wine is round and smooth with good blackcurrant sweetness; some spice and lively, prickly tannins which are structured but well integrated. This year’s Durfort is a lovely, happy wine, very much at ease with itself and showing no trauma in spite of the difficulty climate. It is elegantly balanced with an appetizing finish which brings the wine’s different characterists together.

TASTING NOTES:

The powerfully textured wine’s richness and structure are reflected in the blackberry aromas and toast spice. It is dense, full with concentrated black fruits and rich tannins. Drink from 2028. Biodynamic.

– Wine Enthusiast, 97 pts.

The 2021 Durfort-Vivens turned out beautifullyrich, dynamic and super-expressive. More than anything, the 2021 is impeccably balanced. Dark fruit, lavender, licorice, leather and clove all scream out of the glass. Today the 2021 is an infant. It needs time to shed some of its considerable tannin and for the acids to soften, although that might not ever fully happen.

– Vinous, 95 pts.

Bright red berries on the nose – strawberry and raspberry, softly fragrant with rose petal, violets and dark chocolate scents. Succulent and really delicately juicy with the perfume surrounding the berries on the palate with a soft chalky, minerality coming through from the acidity. Lovely balance, this is fresh and so alive but also deeply flavoured, with the Cabernet (97% of the blend) mint markers in abundance. Delicious and vibrant, still with a youthful energy and a precise tannic structure giving the frame. You can tell they got maturity, but have also achieved perfect extraction giving just the right weight without bitterness or any harsh tannins – and an exceptional length giving an abundance of freshness. Total Margaux glamour on show in a vintage where it was harder to find than usual. A surefire must buy! 30th vintage by Gonzague Lurton.
Barrel Sample: 94

– Decanter, 94 pts.

A pretty and layered red with cedar, crushed stones, mushrooms and pine needles. Medium-bodied and creamy. Excellent finish. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification.

– James Suckling, 94 pts.

The 2021 Durfort Vivens has turned out well in bottle, offering up aromas of dark berries and plums mingled with notions of pencil shavings and vanilla pod. Medium to full-bodied, layered and lively, it exhibits impressive depth and sweetness of fruit, not only for the vintage but also for a blend dominated by fully 97% Cabernet Sauvignon, concluding with a long, precise finish.

– Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, 93 pts.