The question on everyone's lips this year is, can 2010 be better than 2009? Whilst it is almost certainly too early to say with any real conviction (though many seem convinced otherwise), our first day here on the right bank has thrown up some very interesting comparisons. At La Conseillante we were treated to a wonderful vertical that began with the 2010 and 2009 side by side. If the 2009, having taken on plenty of weight over the past 12 months, is gorgeous in its exuberance, the 2010 is a model of muscled, polished intensity.
At Tertre Roteboeuf we were again allowed to taste these two twin vintages side by side and the comparison split the group over its preference. Both were magnificent, opulent and hedonistic. Could one be called better than the other? Very hard to say...
At Eglise Clinet we tasted a 2010 that might well have had the edge over 2009, at Ausone we almost certainly did, and at Clos l'Eglise I think we were almost unanimous. But at our other appointments it was perhaps just too close to call.
2010 is undoubtedly a firmer more powerful vintage than 2009. The wines we have tasted do not have the opulence, voluptuousness or succulence of their 2009 siblings but they do have increased acidity and with it freshness, more prominent tannic spines, and in some cases increased aromatics. These huge raw materials have created in the right hands, wines of real significance and importance.
Some of yesterdays most exciting wines:
Lafleur
Eglise Clinet
Providence
VCC
Conseillante
Clos l'Eglise
Angelus
Le Pin
Ausone
Tertre Rotebeuf
And for value:
Ch la Grande Maye
Ch Valade, St Emilion
Ch La Chenade
Ch Fonbel
