Berliquet, La Lagune, Montlandrie, Le Prieure, Petit Smith-Haut-Lafitte
'Many have suggested that this is a potentially great vintage. I'd go further. At its best this is a truly singular and also a truly exceptional vintage.' - Professor Colin Hay, The Drinks Business
It 'is the most exciting vintage I have ever tasted en primeur', writes Professor Colin Hay, one of our favourite Bordeaux authorities, in the Drinks Business this week. At their best, the wines 'are bright, fresh, luminous, energetic, lithe and sinuous, elegant and refined and so thoroughly defined by, and expressive of, their individual terroirs'. This week, we've seen a lot of wines that capture exactly what Professor Hay is talking about.
The week began with Berliquet. Winemaker Nicolas Audebert admits that when the Chanel Group acquired Berliquet in 2017, the intention was to fold it into the surrounding Canon, which they also own. They came to realise that Berliquet had a more varied terroir than Canon, and an identity all its own; but they have brought Canon gloss and finesse to the winemaking here, at less than Canon prices. Also from St-Emilion, on prime terroir in the heart of the plateau, today sees Le Prieure. Newly welcomed into the exclusive Calon-Segur stable, this is in the words of Jane Anson, 'one to watch, without a doubt'.
We've had some overperforming 'little' wines: Le Petit Ducru and the very attractive Petit Smith-Haut-Lafitte. With the latter's big brother set to be one of the hard-to-obtain stars of the vintage, we expect a lot of attention here. We've also had the Durantou wines Montlandrie (Cotes de Castillon) and Saintayme (St-Emilion). And there have been some significant Medoc releases. Cantemerle (Haut-Medoc) and Poujeaux (Moulis) are well-performing staples; and La Lagune is the Haut-Medoc property that made it all the way up to third growth in 1855, and is flourishing again under the modern stewardship of Caroline Frey. /NT
Email us your primeurs wishlist
Offered subject to remaining unsold; for shipment Spring 2023
