As a wise and worldly negociant
reminded me the other week, ‘we [Bordeaux] don’t have bad vintages anymore;
only good ones and exceptional ones’. He was being facetious of course, but
there was much truth in what he said. Where there’s the money, and it grows on
vines in these parts... humans and technology have overcome nature and are
capable of making quality wines in even the most challenging conditions. Using
low yields and using the latest innovations such as reverse osmosis,
cryoextraction and optical sorting tables, wine-makers of today can perform
miracles in the sort of vintages where their forebears despaired. So years like
`77, `84, `87, `91 and `92 may be unavoidable, but these sorts of wines
certainly are.
2012 would certainly have
presented lots of problems to vignerons of yesteryear. Following a freezing
February, budburst was a week later than the norm and a full three weeks after
the precocious 2011s. April was exceptionally damp and mildew became an
ever-present threat. Flowering in June was protracted and there was some millerandage
and coulure, but the most striking feature
was the uneven evolution from bunch to bunch. At this point vignerons knew it
would be a late harvest and there was a very real risk that full ripeness would
not be achieved. Thankfully July marked a turning point and the sun shone long
and hot throughout the second half of July, August and September. Despairing
winemakers began to see hope for the vintage, particularly given the region’s
predisposition for Indian summers.
Whilst the early harvesting
communes such as Pomerol managed to pick their Merlots in mid September, the
Medoc required more phenolic ripeness in their Cabernets. Vignerons could be
forgiven for being a little blasé; there hadn’t been notable harvest rains
since 1999. Some much needed showers arrived on the 23rd of
September, but rather than settling back into the normal Indian summer routine,
heavy and persistent rains arrived on the 8th of October. Most meteorologists painted a bleak outlook,
so the majority of estates decided to act fast, bringing in as much fruit as
they could before any dilution or rot would take effect.
Speaking with Bruno Borie of
Ducru Beaucaillou soon after the harvest, he told of a first sorting in the
vineyards, followed by two sorting on his optical sorting tables. The resultant
crop was cleaned and de-stemmed and Bruno is delighted with the results.
Indeed, at out Ducru dinner in February he was telling us all about the
‘Glorious Twelfth’, nothing to do with that most special date in August as we
had assumed, but a rather obscure reference to a Protestant revolution in 1688.
Yes, this is one of Bruno’s more obscure metaphors, but he argues that 2012 is
a revolution in modern winemaking; the first time all the technical advances have
been fully employed with outstanding results.
We are looking forward to the
primeur tastings in April and will publish our tasting notes soon after. Please
keep an eye on our blog and follow us on Twitter @Bordeaux buyer, @GilesBG and @Justerinis
for further updates.
