Bordeaux 2011 - Day 4

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Our final day in Bordeaux and a chance to fill in one or two gaps and re-taste and re-affirm. First stop Calon Segur. This is the first vintage we have tasted without the formidable gaze of Madame Gasqueton, but the new regime seems to have found their feet. Despite the well publicised hails that affected St Estephe, Capbern Gasqueton and Calon Segur have produced very handsome, classical, delicately perfumed wines, which charmed us all.
 
Crossing the Pauillac quayside for the umpteenth and last time, we headed for the Pichons. Baron displayed even more depth and sweet fruit than the sample at the UGC tasting. This is a very attractive, seductive Pauillac with just a hint of Pomerol exuberance. It's also worth mentioning Suduiraut, another AXA property, which has excelled in 2011. Pichon Lalande is the polar opposite to Baron - this is pure classicism, fine Pauillac fruit and handsome structure - we left impressed!
 
Our upbeat mood was short lived as we headed to the Margaux UGC. A delightful Rauzan Segla towered above the others; I'm not sure it's proper wine terminology, but there were many ‘dogs’ from this commune. What a shame, they should have consulted Luc Thienpont and Jacques Boissenot... Back up the D2 to Latour - and what a Latour. Deep and elemental, brooding, complex, intense, magical and vivid - an extraordinary wine. Sadly yields are similar to 2010, so there will be around 9000 cases produced, and only a fraction of those will be released.
 
Next, a visit to our charming friends at Ulysse Cazabonne. This was a great opportunity to re-taste many samples and enjoy a glass or two of Rauzan Segla and Montrose with luncheon. Petit Chateau that stood out included: Haut Marbuzet - charming and seductive, La Chenade - impressive Lalande de Pomerol and our old friend Chateau Teyssier. Re-sampling the cru classes re-confirmed our positive notes on Rauzan Segla, Leoville Barton, Canon, Domaine de Chevalier and Haut Bailly, whilst we were wowed by a much more impressive sample of Figeac.
 
The rest of the afternoon was spent tasting at the Haut Medoc, Moulis and Listrac and the Sauternes and Barsac UGCs. Already being billed as a vintage to rival 2001 and 2007, the sweet wines are impressive, but on this evidence not all successes. Rieussec is massive and will reward lengthy cellaring, Nairac was the surprise package and Doisy Vedrines stole the show - bravo Olivier Castéja, the 2011 is spellbindingly vivid and is a must buy come the campaign. To say that Haut Medoc was patchy is something of an understatement. One or two wines like Chasse Spleen, Cantemerle and La Lagune shone, whilst many were failures. Careful consideration will be required when buying from the less fashionable appellations.
 
So, in summary, the wines exceeded our expectations. Given the unusual growing season, 2011 will go down as a triumph of modern viticultural techniques and a challenge to winemakers. It was also a vintage for the optical sorting tables. Those with the means and technology had a better chance of success, but gentle extractions were also key. This is no 2009 or 2010, but the best wines are really interesting and if, and it is a big IF, they are priced correctly, these will prove worthwhile additions to collectors’ cellars. We keep our fingers crossed for a quick campaign and leadership and prudence from the First Growths.

Bordeaux 2011 - Day 3

Day three and our focus turns to the Medoc. Pauillac cuts rather a drab presence next to a brown Gironde and under threatening skies - not ideal tasting conditions, but we have a job to do, so we head to Montrose for our first appointment. 2011 was something of a challenge for Chateaux in St Estephe; aside from summer and spring swapping seasons, Montrose had to contend with snow, drought, heat waves and hail. On the evidence of the Grand Vin, they have coped manfully. This has wonderful extract and lots of substance - if it fleshes out it will be a great Montrose.

Next the Justerini cavalcade headed to neighbour and second growth rival, Cos d'Estournel. In truth, this wine proved controversial, splitting the group in two. Some felt that during vinification, Cos had pushed too hard, creating a monster lacking freshness and boasting OTT tannins, whilst others thought there was sufficient sweet cabernet fruit for this to work - time will tell.

Bruno Borie and his charming entourage greeted us at Ducru Beaucaillou. Following a 100 points in 2009 and an even better wine in 2010 was always going to be tough, but Ducru 2011 is one of the undeniable stars of the vintage. He described it as 'Nicole Kidman' - we thought it was sensational, deep, concentrated, exotic, aristocratic, yet with a sweetness and decadence and sumptuous texture - bravo.

Highlights of the afternoon included a stunning range at Mouton - as sumptuous, pretty and accessible as we have seen there for some time. Herve Beland's farewell vintage is a great success.

Pontet Canet impressed us all for its purity, clarity and vibrancy - it is a truly beautiful wine and Alfred, Melanie and the team have every reason to be proud.

Jean-Charles Cazes at Lynch admitted it was "a more challenging year", the threat of sunburn loomed large at the end of June and weather conditions at the end of August and beginning of September were highly conducive to the onset of grey rot, which was checked by thinning and de-leafing carried out earlier in the summer. The hard work paid off, with a number of our team putting it amongst the very finest wines of the vintage.

The Pauillac, St Estephe, St Julien UGC was inconsistent with too many Chateau over extracting and over working their wines. Those that were good though, were very good indeed. Highlights included, Leoville Poyferre, Grand Puy Lacoste, both Pichons, Gruaud Larose, Gloria, Leoville Barton and Ormes de Pez.
Lafite next, and what a range. Tasting Carruades free from preconceptions surrounding its market value can be tough. Be that as it may, the wine is superb. Sweet pure fruit and fine stony tannins - chapeau. Duhart too has its emotional baggage but it was also a great success. A more brooding wine, deliciously classical, mid weight but very intense all the way through, it ably carried the flame lit by Carruades to deliver us to the grand vin. Stylistically this is all Lafite. While closed and initially reticent the team fell in love with its precision, were wowed by its sheer length and seduced by the vivid, floral finish. This is certainly one of the left bank wines of the vintage.

We popped in on Leoville Poyferre to see if it was as good as at the UGC tasting, if anything it proved even better. Next door neighbour Leoville Las Cases have produced a fine range, the best Nenin they have made, whilst Petit Lion, Clos du Marquis and Las Cases itself were an impressive and surprisingly open trio.

Day 4 Medoc follows tomorrow.

Bordeaux 2011 - Day 2

Our day started with what is always a challenging early morning tasting Chez Monsieur Perse at Chateau Pavie. There is a continued insistence in aggressive extraction here that sadly seems to scrub out any semblance of place and whilst the wines are decently made, in their style, we left hoping the 10 minute drive to Cheval Blanc would be enough for our palates to recover from the tannic sucker punch they had just received.

And recover they did. Helped by one of the most elegant, refined and downright delicious Cheval Blancs we've tried in recent years. What it lacked in 10 intenssity and concentration it made up for in straight up class. Tour de Pin also impressed and will offer a value alternative to Cheval.

The view from inside Cheval Blanc's new winery

UGC Pomerol was frankly something of a disappointment. The team variously liked both Gazin and Clinet, but found too many of the others over extracted, chewy and hard work.

UGC St Emilion on the other hand, often itself very hard work, had plenty to commend. Lesser known names like Balestard la Tonelle & Couspaude have produced pleasant and most importantly drinkable wines that should show nicely 6-8 years down the line. The likes of Canon La Gaffelliere, Clos Fourtet, Grande Mayne all impressed for their combination of sweet fruit, well managed tannins and freshness - while some of these are still unashamedly modern, the vintage seems to have forced a more restrained style on these wines and we think it suits them. Once again Nicholas Thienpont has produced a sumptuous range of wines, with Pavie Macquin stealing the show for us. Sweet, bright, refined and utterly seductive.

Our next stop took us across the river to the gravel suburbs of Pessac. The ever changing portfolio from Clarence Dillon now incorporates a new St Emilion. The two grand vins were undeniably smart and less gargantuan than in recent years, parading the best traits of this vintage; taut dense fruit, tannic finesse and perfumed aromatics. The whites were sensational, combining power, minerality, complex hightoned aromatics and freshness. If only there were more affordable.

Pessac UGC followed. The reds as usual were a mixed bag, the highlight for us was Domaine de Chevalier; pure, honest and beautifully balanced. The real story here is the whites. Those that shone, and shone they did, were Domaine de Chevalier Blanc, La Louviere Blanc, Malartic Blanc and Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc. Intense, vibrant, mineral, saline and fresh. Everything you could want in a white Bordeaux vintage.

Narrowly avoiding the worst of the Bordeaux rush hour we made a beeline for Chateau Margaux. Paul Pontallier was thrilled with the "greatest" Pavillon Blanc of all time and when asked for his thoughts on the red stated simply that "the only disappointment was quantity". Margaux, so we were told was the driest appellation in Bordeaux, and furthermore they had the earliest harvest since 1893. "Maturity, density and freshness" were the trois mots proffered, Paul going to describe the 2011 as "a denser 2008, and even perhaps a denser 1996". Soundbites to one side, Margaux 2011 is undeniably classy, refined, beautifully textured and floral. Classic Margaux.

Neighbours Palmer also had a tiny crop - but the results are sensational. This is a truly exceptional Palmer, sexy, vivid, pure haunting and knocking at the door of their first growth neighbour for quality. There are only 5000 cases to be had this year. Those lucky enough to get hold of one will not be disappointed.

Our final stop of the day was at Clos de Quatre Vents with Maxime Thienpont. From little Z, up to CD4V the 2011s on show here are utterly seductive with tannins as fine and silky as we've encountered on this trip. This must surely be one of Bordeaux's finest little known wines, and year after year we wonder just what an upset would be caused were a bottle to be shown blind at the Margaux UGC. We finished with another look at the exceptional 2010s. Darker in profile and bigger in stature than the 2011s they retain the silkiness of structures and aromatic complexity fans of this estate are used to. As a value buy they are unlikely to be bettered.

Bordeaux 2011 - Day 1

With the wine trade’s equivalent to the Ashes safely secured by the Poms, we started the real work on the Right Bank. First appointment - the all new Le Pin. Jacques Thienpont gave us the full guided tour of his new winery; and very impressive it is too. We were marched up the tower to the extraordinary foot press come infinity pool on the top, which also enjoys the most wonderful panoramic views over Pomerol. This traditional Douro technique avoids splitting pips and extracting harsh tannins, not something that Le Pin ever suffered from! The 2011 is the first vintage to be produced at the new facility, and superb it is too. Fragrant, intense, with oodles of perfumed fruit – as profound and as seductive as ever.

Next stop, Jacques’ cousin Alexandre’s Chateau, VCC. Vieux Chateau Certan is always a joy to taste and 2011 does not disappoint. At about a tenth of the price of Le Pin, one might expect it to be overwhelmed, but VCC is a true heavyweight in 2011. Alexandre explained that `11 was a ‘return to classic VCC’ after two vintages dominated by Merlot. 29% of the blend is from Alexandre’s old vine Cabernet Franc plots. If anything, this has more concentration than Le Pin. We loved the noble, regal flavours – a very sophisticated, grown up VCC.

You’d think that things might start to head down hill after such a strong start, but quick stops at Lafleur and Petrus kept the bar high. Lafleur as one would expect is brooding and masculine, but has a sweet, playful, fun-side too in ‘11. Criss-crossing the plateau, we met with the dynamic Denis Durantou at Eglise Clinet. Denis’ range is spectacular. I personally think that the 2011 is the best cuvee of La Chenade is the best I have tasted. Petite Eglise and Eglise Clinet are nothing short of spectacular.

After a brief battle through the streets of Libourne, we were greeted by Christian and Edouard Moueix at their quayside offices. To be honest, the whole range was a highlight, but Providence, Belair Monange, La Fleur Petrus, Hosanna and Trotanoy stood out. All possess ample concentration, plenty of structure and are built for the long haul – a really impressive range of wines.

After lunch, we ventured deep in to Lalande de Pomerol to Hubert de Bouard’s Fleur de Bouard. Angelus is massive and impressive, but didn’t necessarily charm us. Bellevue on the other hand was rather seductive, packed with sweet, decadent Merlot fruit and wrapped in a sumptuous structure.

To complete the Pomerols we just had Evangile and Conseillante to go. The former was utterly regal and as grand as ever, but will require patience. Initially rather demure, with aeration this opened up into a spectacular Evangile – think the structure and precision of the 2008, but with a little more puppy fat. Charles Chevalier, a devotee of statistics is delighted with an IPT reading of 76 and a pH of 4 – a really impressive wine. Jean-Michel Laporte has crafted another smart wine at La Conseillante, but sadly nothing close to the epic 2009 and 2010. Pretty, precise and bright, this is lacking a bit of oomph at the time of tasting. If it puts on a little mid palate weight it could be up amongst the best wines in the commune.

Just three appointments to go, so we bid farewell to Pomerol and we say ‘hello’ St Emilion. Ausone, Chapelle d’Ausone, Moulin St Georges and Fonbel are hit the mark: intense, perfumed, enticing, and with the Ausone - profound. The fruit is quite exotic and wild, with lots of crème de mûre, but there is also that seductive Ausone minerality. Along the Cote to Francois Mitjavile’s Tertre Roteboeuf for our penultimate tasting. Domaine de Cambes is spectacular and could be one of the ‘best value’ buys from 2011. Tertre Roteboeuf is extraordinary; super-ripe fruit content, silky texture, complex, thrilling – one quite easily gets carried away when tasting in this cellar. Roc de Cambes was tasted after Tertre Roteboeuf and certainly didn’t disappoint. At about a third of the price, this is a match for its grander stable mate.

And so to the last degustation of day one. Paul and Cedric Valade greeted us to their Castillon estate, Grande Maye. This father and son team are creating great wines from Castillon and St Emilion. We firmly believe that the eponymous Chateau Valade would make a mockery of many of the grand names in the region. Delightful, charming, intense, enjoyable and well priced wines.