Bordeaux 2009 – The final furlong

Okay, so we’ve tasted both banks and we are impressed. Day four was an opportunity to re-taste some of our favourite wines and also venture into Pessac and Sauternes. Before we left St Emilion we decided to pop into Chateau Pavie for an impromptu tasting. Hew charmed his way in and we washed away the taste of Sensodyne with some seriously tannic St Emilion. The Perse style is big, extracted, impressive and won’t be for everyone (including us...)

Then we headed to Fargue Saint Hilaire for a tasting with one of our key negociants. Here we had the opportunity to re-taste a huge selection of 2009s comparatively. This was fascinating. The super stars were Leoville Las Cases, Pontet Canet, Pichon Lalande, Forts de Latour, Grand Puy Lacoste, Leoville Barton, Calon Segur, Montrose and Conseillante. Best values included Chateau Reynon, Chasse Spleen, Durfort Vivens and Cantemerle. Again, we were impressed by the overall quality of St Estephe, Pauillac and St Julien; the wines from the Medoc, Listrac and Moulis were big over achievers, but again, we found many of the Margaux were un-typique.

UGC Pessac Leognan presented some lovely wines. Domaine de Chevalier was exceptional, Haut Bailly - silky smooth, Smith Haut Lafitte - powerful and refined, Pape Clement - enormous and massively impressive, and Malartic Lagraviere continues its recent run of success. The whites were striking too. Domaine de Chevalier has wonderful purity and intensity. We liked Malartic Lagraviere and we thought Picque Caillou was delicious and could be great value.

A quick foray into the misty depths of Barsac and Sauternes. Yquem was magnificent, our buying director and Chairman believes this to be the best young Yquem he has ever tasted, superior to the extraordinary 2001. As well as wonderful quality, Yquem has recorded its biggest ever harvest at 22hl/ha. We tasted ten barrels at Climens. Bérénice Lurton is clearly delighted with what turned out to be a harvest of quality and quantity; a splendid wine.

Our final appointment was at Haut Brion; a glorious selection of wines here. Clarence is fine textured and is undoubtedly the best Clarence ever; La Mission was so seductive, a splendid wine of purity and power; Haut Brion was enormously endowed, a vast wine built for the long haul. The whites are marvellous too; concentrated, mineral, energetic and wonderfully fresh - a great way to finish our week.

When we get back to the UK we will be posting more `Hew’s views`, video interviews and our top wines of the vintage.

Bordeaux 2009 – The right bank (St Emilion)

Our first taste of St Emilion was Cheval Blanc – what better place to begin. Tour du Pin was pretty, well made and could be one of the best values from the commune. Petit Cheval is outstanding, complex, impressive and down right delicious. The Grand vin then goes and wipes the floor... A tour de force and clearly one of the greatest wines from this illustrious estate.

All good things must come to an end and they certainly did at the UGC St Emilion. Another heavy shower, a pathetic fallacy if we ever saw one, soaked us and our spirits. Let’s start with highs (in no particular order): Larcis Ducasse, Troplong Mondot, Clos Fourtet, Canon, Pavie Macquin and Figeac. There were all too many wines that were unbalanced, outrageously tannic and generally unappealing.

Still under heavy skies, we travelled to Angelus where we were met by pretty girls and delicious wines. What a great stable of beautiful right banks from Hubert de Bouard. First off Fleur de Bouard proved an enormously attractive Lalande de Pomerol, the Grand Cru St Emilion Bellevue was staggeringly good, all velvet and undergrowth, whilst Angelus was seriously slick. From the crowded Angelus to the tight squeeze of Ausone, another of the vintage’s greats, how they achieve a wine of such concentration and focus year in year out is quite puzzling.

As usual we left Tertre Roteboeuf until last, the heady cherry on our flavoursome cake. Tertre was rich but vivid and vital, whilst Roc de Combe was glorious, pushing its sibling as close as ever for sheer intense quality. We had an insightful and thoroughly interesting interview with Francois Mitjavile, this will follow soon.

Bordeaux 2009 – The right bank (Pomerol)

Our first appointment was with the delightful Denis Durantou of Chateau L’Eglise Clinet. A magnificent range of wines picked before the rains in mid September. Crisp, vivid flavours combined with power and intensity. L’Evangile and Blason de L’Evangile were magnificent; silky smooth with power to boot. Then to Le Pin; it’s a hard life... Jacques Thienpont welcomed us to his temporary new cellar with his usual good cheer; the wine was at its ethereal best. From the Richebourg of Pomerol we travelled (some of us in a rather roundabout way) to the La Tache of Pomerol; Chateau Lafleur. The Cabernet Franc here is exceptional; the Grand vin is exquisitely fine, a wine of great class.

Next we tasted at the offices of J P Moueix. The charming Edouard Moueix kindly gave us an enlightening video blog, which will be posted later. Belair Monange is exceptional, Fleur Petrus, Hosanna and Trotannoy are all lovely, but it was La Providence that impressed most from the selection of Pomerol – a massively dense, complex wine with outstanding ageing potential.

You might be thinking that Pomerol is consistently brilliant, well it is at the top level, however the Pomerol UGC was a bit of a mixed bag. Conseillante was spectacular, Gazin was big and impressive, Clinet was even bigger and more impressive, but won’t be for everyone... La Cabanne and La Pointe demonstrated that there are some tough, rustic offerings from the commune, so it hasn’t been completely plain sailing.

We finished Pomerol with a trip to Alexandre Thienpont’s Vieux Chateau Certan. This is always a highlight of any Bordeaux trip. A stunning wine with an unusually high percentage of Merlot (84%); Alexandre believes that 2009 is a reference year for this varietal.

Bordeaux 2009: Super-Size Sauternes

Hot on the heels of the Haut Medoc tasting, brilliantly hosted by the delightful Chateau Cantemerle was our next appointment at Dauzac to taste the 2009 sweeties. It appears this Sauternes vintage is one of quality and quantity. Foggy mornings, cool nights and plenty of sunshine meant lots of noble rot, great ripeness and concentration and importantly, fresh acidities. De Fargues reported yields of 17hl/ha against an average 11 hl/ha and the quality is golden.

There will always be hot, sugary and rather clumsy Sauternes but I am happy to report there were a large number of highlights during this tasting, wines that lifted, enthused and refreshed a thoroughly red wine-stained J&B team. For the best this is not a heavy honeyed monolith of a vintage, rather one of concentration and brightness. The room's stand out wine was Rieussec, a powerful but balanced wine that will reward decades of cellaring no doubt. Doisy Verdines danced on the palate, all fruit finesse and freshness. Similarly well balanced were De Fargues, De Malle, Doisy Daene and Suduiraut all showing the right mix of concentration, vitality and well defined fruit. Sweet relief ahead of a big day on the right bank tomorrow.

Bordeaux 2009 – Margaux’s big boys...

The inclement weather has certainly made tasting more of a challenge today. Fortunately by the time we arrived for our appointment at Chateaux Margaux, the clouds had cleared and there was bright sunshine – now that’s what we call a micro-climate...

Corinne Mentzelopoulos and Paul Pontalier are clearly delighted with their 2009s. Paul said that the Pavillon Rouge is `clearly the greatest Pavillon ever`; quite a statement, but the evidence was in the glass. In fact, there was no sales pitch at all, such is the confidence at Margaux, `the wines speak for themselves` . Pavillon Rouge was exceptional. Margaux itself is quite simply ethereal. A magnificent wine which exudes grace, possesses extraordinary finesse yet is quite simply one of the most powerful, concentrated Margauxs ever. It would be remiss not to mention the Pavillon Blanc. This 100% Sauvignon Blanc cuvee was a remarkable feat in 2009. Potential alcohols were off the charts, however with great skill, Margaux have produced a vivid, refreshing, utterly moreish Pavillon Blanc with near normal alcohols.

Palmer is another of those red hot estates at the moment. Sadly their vineyards were hit by hail in May 2009, so yields are a meagre 34hl/ha. However, the crop that they harvested between the 23rd of September to the 14th of October was of exceptional quality. The Alter Ego is velvety smooth; a wine of great polish, whilst the Grand vin is opulence personified, a truly great Palmer!

Do watch out for more interviews and news in the coming hours and days. Tomorrow we will be on the right bank tasting St Emilion and Pomerol.

Bordeaux 2009 – Day 2

A wet and windy start to day two. Our first appointment was Grand Puy Lacoste. Xavier’s wines are thrilling, a great Lacoste Borie (2nd wine of GPL), a magnificent Haut Batailley; fragrant, seductive and very serious. Grand Puy Lacoste itself is beautiful; classic, true to its terroir and very classy. Then to Lafite Rothschild (tasted at Duhart Milon this year). Duhart is splendid; a heady mix of damson fruit and liquid minerals. Lafite itself is enormous; a monumental wine built for the very long-term, bravo!

UGC St Estephe, Pauillac and St Julien was held at Batailley. Howling winds, horizontal rain and poor car parking facilities couldn’t dampen our spirits. This was an interesting tasting; at was a first glimpse at some less prestigious estates. Highlights included both Pichons, Leoville Barton, Leoville Poyferre, Langoa Barton, Beychevelle and Lynch Bages. There were several over-achievers: Phelan Ségur, Ormes de Pez, Lafon Rochet, St Pierre and Lagrange all stood out. Alas, although the overall quality was excellent, Croizet Bages, Lynch Moussas and Grand Puy Ducasse were poor.

UGC Margaux was even patchier. Although the quality is definitely an improvement on 2008, most of the wines here seemed to lack Margaux style. There were a few good wines, but most were strangely atypical. They will certainly age well and are mighty impressive, but not necessarily classic. Stars included Durfort Vivens, Rauzan Segla, Lascombes and Malescot St Exupery.

After some much needed refreshments at Cantemerle, we set about the Listrac, Moulis, and Medoc UGC. In great vintages like 2000 and 2005, these wines present some of the best value from Bordeaux. The 2009s are arguably better than both of these vintages. The best wines were fragrant, concentrated, with exceptional purity and ripe rounded tannins. Stars included: Chasse Spleen, Cantemerle and Poujeaux, whilst there is incredible value to be found at estates such as Beaumont and Greysac.

Bordeaux 2009: Jean-Guillaume Prats, Cos d'Estournel

Chateau Cos d'Estournel from Justerini & Brooks on Vimeo.

Visiting Cos is quite something these days. The new tasting hall, artfully lit, emblazoned with the Cos Elephant at every opportunity, turned out to have a tailor made spot for a few words on the vintage..

Bordeaux 2009 - Part deux

Wow, Latour is jaw-droppingly good. Frederic Engerer has made astonishingly good set of 2009s; the grand vin is the best wine we have tasted yet – and it will take some beating. Both Pichons are good, but Lalande is comfortably better than Baron. After lunch we concentrated on St Julien. Leoville Poyferre is stunning; dense, complex and very stylish. The Bartons are, well, of course they’re great, they always are, but the `09s are even more concentrated, even more impressive, even better than usual. Bruno Borie is understandably delighted with his range; Croix de Beaucaillou is delicious and Ducru is very special – a wine of great intensity and class. Leoville Las Cases is regal and Clos du Marquis and Petit Lion are delightful too. Beychevelle is delicious; supple, fresh, beautifully pure. Our last appointment was with Lynch Bages; a fabulous effort; rich, with beautiful savoury notes – a real stunner.

So what have we learnt from our first day? We were expecting enormous wines, and they are big, but they have surprised us by how fresh and elegant they are. Certainly in the Medoc the 2009s are possibly more refined than the 2005s. This vintage is not all about power, there are some really silky, high-toned, complete wines that demonstrate wonderful precision and class.

Bordeaux 2009 En Primeur: Luc Thienpont, Clos des Quatre Vents

The first of our series of interviews conducted during the UGC week in Bordeaux features Luc Thienpont, whose Clos des Quatre Vents is even more delicious than usual this year.

Throughout the week we'll putting the questions to the people who make the wines you love. Was it a tough vintage to make? What were the challenges? Can they compare these wines to any other vintage (most can, as you'll see). And of course, any word on pricing......?

Stay tuned, there are many more to come.

A family affair

As a rule we don’t boast about all the fabulous dinners we enjoy at J&B, however, there’s always a first time... Last night we were entertained by the charming and extremely generous Luc Thienpont and his delightful family. We were put through our paces with multiple blind wines. We started so well; we picked Clos de Quatre Vents 2001, sadly our luck and skill ran out after that. Clos de Quatre Vents 2002 and 2004 followed, both utterly delicious; a testament to the great terroir and exceptional winemaking here. Then came a wine from Luc’s cousin, Alexandre. This was unmistakably VCC, but the year had us guessing. After a little assistance we eventually arrived at 1970; still tasting so young. Finally, we were treated to a magnificent bottle from the vineyard of Luc’s brother Jacques. We again picked the estate (Le Pin), but with limited experience with mature vintages (this is not a wine the J&B team often drink...), we struggled to pick 1989 as the vintage. It was quite simply one of the very finest bottles any of the team had ever tasted. Many thanks Luc for an exceptional, extremely generous selection of wines and a wonderful evening; the perfect start to our week.

Bordeaux 2009 - First Impressions

Following the narrowest of victories in the annual Bordeaux versus England cricket match we headed to Clos des Quatre Vents for our first taste of 2009. Luc's wines were fabulous; demonstrating true Margaux perfume and polish. The range is possibly his best yet; concentrated, deliciously fresh and true to their terroir. Monday Morning started with a trip to Montrose. A very serious, long term wine here - full of breed. Next came Haut Marbuzet, a completely different proposition - ultra fine, beautifully composed and utterly delicious; almost Burgundian. A short hop to Cos, which as Hew has previously mentioned is outstanding; an enormous wine of legendary proportions. Then to Pauillac for tastings at Mouton Rothschild and Pontet Canet. The Mouton range continue to impress; a delicious Clerc Milon and a spell binding Mouton. Ponet Canet is a must buy; a complete wine of intensity and finesse. Off to Latour...