Another difficult vintage
When a wine region is situated in a cool, maritime (north Atlantic, let's not forget) climate, and they often need to pick around the time of the equinox, then there is bound to be trouble occasionally. 2013 began well for Bordeaux with a long, cold winter that enabled vines to hibernate well but which lasted a long time and was followed by a horrible spring that disrupted the vital flowering period, cutting yields severely. Summer picked up considerably, however, with a hot July and a warm August. All was set well for a small but high quality harvest.
Never take the weather gods for granted. In the UK we always hope for that elusive Indian summer to take us into late autumn and prolong the illusion of summer. In Bordeaux the end of September came up with... a sudden Caribbean summer of warmth and high humidity. Not a cause for celebration. The combination of this and an horrendous forecast of torrential rains hastened the need for immediate picking to avoid an explosion of ignoble rot. The weather didn't affect the region in a homogeneous way. Merlot was the biggest casualty in the Medoc, yet Pomerol has produced some excellent wines. The rain was patchy and even neighbours were affected differently. The rain behaved like hail, said Bruno Borie at Ducru-Beaucaillou, touching some properties while leaving others alone.
How shall we compare the wines? Both John Kolasa at Rauzan-Segla and Olivier Bernard at Domaine de Chevalier think they are most like 2002, while at Leoville-Poyferre Didier Cuvelier is reminded of 2008, as was Jean Triaud at Saint-Pierre. Patrick Maroteau at Branaire-Ducru proffers 2004 and 2012, as well as 2008, but it's 2004 for both Frederic Casteja at Batailley and Emeline Borie at Grand-Puy-Lacoste. A frank opinion at Mouton said 1991, while Bruno Borie at Ducru has a sense of history, calling up 1966 or a good '71 as his references. Palmer's comparisons are drawn from the sixties too, '64 and '67 in their case. For us, freshness and light tannins with delicate and often perfumed fruit bring to mind the deftness of our better Brunello producers and even Burgundy.
We have waited a long time for Bordeaux to remember the reason why consumers buy en primeur, which is to secure the best wines at the best price with the best provenance. The trade and the general market are extremely sceptical about the 2013 vintage. However, there is a great deal to like about the wines for those wanting claret to drink. We liked all of the reds in the list below. Where release prices are significantly below other available vintages then they're worth buying. Where, they're not, it's worth revisiting older vintages. 2011s are now arriving and endorsing our early enthusiasm, while the 2012s we have tasted recently are developing well.
St-Estephe: Calon-Segur, Montrose, Les Ormes de Pez, Tronquoy-Lalande
Pauillac: Batailley, Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Lacoste Borie, Lynch-Bages, Lynch-Moussas, Pichon Lalande, Pichon-Longueville, Pontet-Canet
St-Julien: Branaire-Ducru, Ducru-Beaucaillou, Langoa Barton, Leoville-Barton, Leoville-Poyferre, St-Pierre
Margaux: Alter Ego, Angludet, Brane-Cantenac, Margaux, Palmer, Rauzan-Segla
Pessac-Leognan: Domaine de Chevalier, Haut-Bailly, Haut-Brion, Smith-Haut-Lafitte
Pomerol: La Conseillante, Feytit-Clinet, Vieux Chateau Certan
St-Emilion: Ausone, Canon, Cheval Blanc, Clos Fourtet, Figeac, Pavie-Macquin
Of course, Bordeaux isn't just about red wine and both dry and sweet whites have scored notable successes, with Yquem the likely wine of the vintage. In their different ways the Sauternes we tasted approached perfection. With white Burgundies at the top end getting so expensive, some of the dry wines provide a great amount of real value. Below are our favourites.
Dry whites: Domaine de Chevalier, La Clarte de Haut-Brion, Clos des Lunes Lune Blanche, Cos d'Estournel, Haut-Brion, Lespault-Martillac, La Mission Haut-Brion, Pavillon Blanc, Smith-Haut-Lafitte
Barsac/Sauternes: Climens, Doisy-Vedrines, L'Extravagant de Doisy-Daene, Guiraud, Nairac, Rabaud-Promis, Rieussec, Suduiraut, Yquem
The premature release of the previously infallible Pontet-Canet marked the beginning of the campaign two weeks ago. Due to reduced interest, we won't send offers as frequently (nor list as many wines) as we have previously but tasting notes, scores and prices will be added to the website as they become available. We'll highlight our favourites, which today means a special mention for Angludet and Batailley. /CW
Offered subject to confirmation for shipment spring 2016
