Southwold under snow

Despite the freezing conditions, many of the great and good from the wine trade made the annual pilgrimage to Suffolk to re-taste the much vaunted 2009s.

This was the vintage of the century, a vintage that boasts 17 hundred point wines, so how do they stack up three and a bit years on? Well the first observation is the tannins. From barrel, these were almost undetectable. Most of our notes referred to silky, velvety tannins, mainly masked by opulent fruit. Today, the wines are quite obviously tannic. They have lost some of that hedonistic quality and have gained in structure. This all bodes well for long term storage, but may put impatient souls off...

Another surprise was just how big a gulf there is between the top names and the low-mid-range Clarets. vignerons and negociants declared 2009 to be a 'great', 'homogenous' vintage with quality produced from top to bottom. They are right, many of the smaller estates have produced their best wines in 2009, but from the evidence of this tasting, you cannot expect to obtain First Growth quality on a cru bourgeois budget. At the affordable level the likes of Gloria, Clos des Quatre Vents, Poujeaux, Roc de Cambes, Lafon Rochet, Langoa Barton and Haut Batailley all had very strong showings and offer very good QPR (quality price ratio).

Where the vintage becomes really interesting is at the very top echelons. These flights from both banks of the Gironde were quite exceptional. Duhart Milon, Latour, Lafite, Mouton Rothschild, Montrose, Ducru Beaucaillou, Las Cases, Cheval Blanc, Canon, Ausone, Eglise Clinet, Clinet, Le Pin, Petrus and Palmer all deserve special mention. I gave two 20/20 scores to Latour and Montrose and on another day I may have awarded Lafite, Mouton and Eglise Clinet the same accolade. Other estates worthy of a special mention include Domaine de Chevalier Rouge (£540/cs) and Grand Puy Lacoste (£575/cs). Both offer outstanding quality and punch well above their weight.

The final session was devoted to the whites. I have to admit, the 2009 Sauternes and Barsacs rather passed me by when we tasted from barrel. All the hype surrounding the reds swallowed me up and I feel I rather missed a trick. 2009 produced splendid botrytis and the wines display everything needed for successful cellaring: richness, density, complexity, freshness and balance. They are delightful wines, and whilst they will always play second fiddle to the reds, they should certainly not be forgotten. My highlights included Doisy Vedrines, Lafaurie Peyraguey, Suduiraut and Rieussec.

So in conclusion, the reds are shutting down. Apart from petit chateaux, I would suggest holding the 2009s for a minimum of five years to experience them at anything like their best. If there were any concerns that 2009s were not built for long-term storage, this tasting should dispel that theory; these are massive, structured, profound wines that will cellar effortlessly and give their owners years of pleasure.

*All the views in this blog are mine and they are not necessarily shared by the rest of the tasters.

Top tens – Best values

`Best value` is probably the most interesting and most disputed category in our `top tens`. Value after all adds another level of subjectivity. 31 wines appeared in our lists and not one wine made it into all eight tasters’ selections. Haut Batailley and Clos des Quatre Vents both made the cut for 7 tasters, but failed to achieve the elusive full house.

There were strong showings from Langoa Barton, Lafon Rochet, Phelan Segur, Durfort Vivens, Lagrange, Moulin St George and the highly tipped Saint Pierre, but sadly we were not alone. Robert Parker has positively raved about Saint Pierre and our other surprise recommendation, Malartic Lagraviere. Huge scores from these two will probably push release prices to stratospheric levels...

The same rules apply; 10 points for a first place all the way down to 1 point for tenth position.

Haut Batailley - 45
Clos des Quatre Vents - 40
Langoa Barton - 37
Lafon Rochet - 34
Moulin St George - 31
Lagrange - 28
Phelan Segur - 25
Beychevelle - 15
Durfort Vivens - 14
Saint Pierre - 14
Blason de l`Evangile - 14
Petit Bocq - 12
Chasse Spleen - 12
Cantemerle - 12
Chateau Valade - 11
Grand Puy Lacoste - 10
Brane Cantenac - 10
Pagodes de Cos - 10
Calon Segur - 9
Haut Marbuzet - 7
Tour du Pin - 7
Meyney - 7
Ormes de Pez - 6
Gloria - 5
Grande Maye - 5
Malartic Lagraviere - 5
Clerc Milon - 5
Sociando Mallet - 4
Domaine de Chevalier - 3
Beaumont - 2
Les Fiefs de Lagrange - 1

Bordeaux 2009 – Ascension Day

It’s a public holiday in France, so no releases today, but the campaign must go on. This morning we offered Chateau Providence (£700), one of the most recent acquisitions in the JP Moueix portfolio. This is a spell-binding wine, which possesses enormous power and extraordinary complexity. Positioned right at the heart of the plateau in Pomerol, Providence has an exceptional terroir and is rapidly asserting its place amongst the top table of right bank Chateaux.

There were also two other exciting Pomerols released this week; Gazin (£545) and Certan de May (£700). Both are well reviewed by Robert Parker and are selling fast... Other notable releases so far have been Haut Marbuzet (£325), Clos des Quatre Vents (£285) and La Fleur de Gay (£720).

We don’t expect any releases tomorrow as the Bordelaise enjoy an extended weekend; however, next week could be busy. With just one full week before VINEXPO, surely some of the top Cru Bourgeois and lesser classified growths must make their move... we hope.

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.

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...