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Bordeaux 2002

The world was a different place back when all the Bordeaux-chat concerned the 2002 vintage. Some nations were adjusting to a new era of terrorism, and as if that wasn't enough to be getting on with then there was always severe acute respiratory syndrome - perhaps better remembered as SARS - to worry about as well. These might seem unusual events to reference in a Bordeaux vintage review, but the truth is anything that impacts on consumer confidence - be it terrorism, pandemic viral illnesses or otherwise - will undoubtedly influence the international appetite for wine. And naturally it is vital for Bordeaux proprietors to take this into consideration when setting the prix de sortie, the price at which the wine - or at least the first, miniscule tranche of this year's wine - is released at.

So how was it looking for the Bordelais? As might be expected, several foreign markets were not looking too promising, their enthusiasm for wine dampened not only by concerns with 'homeland security' but also war; March 20th 2003 marked the combined aerial and ground invasion of Iraq, just a few days before the 2002 primeur tastings opened in Bordeaux. As if that wasn't enough, the prices in such foreign markets were negatively impacted by unfavourable exchange rates. All of a sudden, to many consumers who would normally hoover up the newly-released bottles of Bordeaux, wine suddenly seemed unimportant, irrelevant maybe, and possibly - depending on those release prices of course - rather expensive as well. Things certainly weren't looking rosy in the Bordeaux garden.

This was all in stark contrast to the jubilant celebrations two years earlier associated with the tasting and release of the 2000 vintage, when the Bordelais seemed to be on a high. Now their mood had descended into a deep depression, because not only were the markets not very interested in their efforts this year, it didn't look as though the wines were up to much either. To compound the effects of disinterested and distracted foreign markets the 2002 growing season had hindered them with a less ripe, perhaps less appealing style of wine; there was certainly nothing like the sweet successes of 2000 here, and the wines were not even close to the rather attractive but overshadowed efforts that came out of 2001. They were always going to be a hard sell, but nothing hammered the nails in the coffin of the 2002 vintage more firmly than Robert Parker, the world's pre-eminent wine critic, particularly when it comes to Bordeaux. Parker, the man who makes and breaks reputations and whose scores shape the market, didn't turn up to taste the newest vintage. And the sad truth is, at that time (as is still the case, nearly a decade on) many Bordeaux proprietors defined themselves by Parker's score. It was these magic numbers that, in some cases at least, were supposed to sell the wine.

I seem to recall at the time Parker's absence from the annual en primeur jamboree (actually he tastes alone, so to suggest he partakes in any jamboree-like celebrations or tastings would be inaccurate) was explained as respect for the wishes of his wife, who was fearful for him travelling to Europe by air. But many people interpreted his action differently (even though it was made without him having tasted the wines); don't bother with the 2002 vintage, it seemed to say. It was a huge blow to the hopes of the Bordelais. Indeed, no doubt influenced by Parker's actions, some major North American merchants didn't even bother to take up their usual allocations.

Eventually the wines were released and as you might expect the prices reflected all of the above concerns. Operating in an uncertain environment marked by war and terrorism, and without the bolstering effect of Parker's scores, the prix des sorties were the cheapest that I have ever experienced. As for the wines themselves, the only true way to assess that is to taste of course, and over the years that have passed since they were released it has become clear that the style of wine that came out of the 2002 vintage has a tendency to polarise. Some, those who miss the days when Bordeaux was rather less fleshy, less darkly-coloured and less sweet than it is today can find much that appeals to them in these wines. Whereas those who abhor anything less textured than motor oil will find no pleasure in this vintage at all. For those of us with more balanced tastes, however, this has always been a vintage worth exploring. And thanks to those low prix des sorties I do at least have a few examples in the cellar which should facilitate such investigations.

First though, as this was a vintage marked more clearly by the season's weather than many others I have tasted in recent years, I feel that a brief examination of how the year progressed is worthwhile.

The 2002 Growing Season

The year began with a very dry and cold winter, with snow pushing much of the pruning work back into January and February. And these low temperatures persisted into spring, slowly down and lengthening the process of budbreak. But at least it was dry and free of any really damaging frost, and as April drew to a close the vines were in leaf and, even if the yields were likely to be reduced by the effects of 2000 and 2001 on the vines, at least everything else was on target. The problems came as the cool and now increasingly damp weather continued through May, interspersed with the occasional burst of heat, just as the flowers were developing. These conditions slowed the production of flowers - which took a remarkable four weeks to complete - and encouraged rot, and it targeted the right bank Merlots more than anywhere else, although nowhere really escaped the attack. The result would be uneven ripening and a greater need for fruit selection at harvest time - although only from those flowers that survived of course.

What a depressing summer followed for the vineyard managers; with predicted yields reduced by the impaired flowering it would be only natural to preserve what was left on the vine, but as the wet and cool weather persisted what the vines really needed was a green harvest, together with a leaf-thinning to protect the fruit from rot. Those vines that received neither would be destined to produce green and possibly even rot-tainted wines, but where there was conscientious work in the vineyard this would soon be rewarded. This was because from September 10th the weather turned, and now the best-kept vines at least had a chance, and one benefit of the retarded flowering was that it permitted the still-ripening fruit to be left on the vine to take advantage of this upturn in the weather. For those poorly-tended vines now laden with rot and unthinned fruit, though, it was already too late. Even so, the style of the vintage was set; although the fruit could now ripen during one of the driest Septembers on record the acidities were still high, and low nocturnal temperatures maintained this characteristic in the wines through to harvest (as well as thankfully keeping the advance of the fungal diseases at bay).

As well as being dry the weather was breezy, and with relatively dry soils - a result of the drier winter which failed to top up the water table - there was a little dehydration of some of the grapes. All the same, this was still a miracle turn-around. Admittedly the Merlots had suffered much and this showed in the harvested fruit, but the Cabernets (both Sauvignon and Franc) were eventually harvested in good condition (during a very late October harvest), and the later-ripening Petit Verdots in particular seemed to be in exceptionally rude health. Essentially, the longer the fruit could be left out on the vines to take advantage of the warmer weather, the better it was when eventually harvested. As for Sauternes, despite a rather wet and dismal summer the dry weather through September and October did nothing to foster the prodigious levels of botrytis desired for the greatest sweet wines. As such, this is not a vintage that has developed a reputation for its Sauternes and Barsacs, especially so when we consider that it came in the shadow of the great 2001 vintage. For 2002 to have made a mark, it would have had to have been something really special. It wasn't. Some of the dry whites, though, did quite well, as not only do the white varieties ripen earlier, higher acidity in this style isn't a problem.

So summing up, 2002 was marked by:

• A cool start
  A cool spring and early summer reduced yields, retarded flowering and ripening, and encouraged rot.
• Continued inclement weather in July and August
  There was a need for a conscientious approach to work in the vineyard if the vintage was to be saved.
• An Indian summer
  Warmer weather allowed the fruit to finally ripen, although the style would be forever marked by the more inclement summer weather.

Tasting the wines

I was not fortunate enough to taste this vintage early in its life, as that privilege only really began for me with the 2003 vintage. Nevertheless it was unsurprising to read, given the growing season and the condition of the harvested fruit, that careful work in the cellar was needed to get the best out of 2002. Of course success would only come if the raw materials were adequate, ripe and free of rot, but where this was the case limited extraction was the order of the day, as the wines lacked the substance to cope with a great amount of tannin. The style of the fruit demanded a certain style of wine, one with less obvious stuffing and structure. Notably, some critics attributed this to a sea-change in the style of Bordeaux, foretelling a return to leaner, fresher, more elegant and acid-etched wines; with the benefit of hindsight I think we can safely say such predictions were well wide of the mark, the style of the vintage reflecting the growing season rather than any new Bordeaux philosophy.

Likening the vintage to some combination of 1986, 1994 and 1996 seemed to be the most common way of conveying the style of 2002, which was very much a Cabernet rather than a Merlot vintage. You take a tannin-rich vintage such as 1986 or 1996 for the structure, and 1994 to convey some sense of the knife-edge ripeness of the wines. Having acknowledged that, looking back at 2002 from the second decade of the 21st century I find some common themes between 2002 and 2008, having tasted through both vintages very recently. For those raising their eyebrows in amazement, I don't view 2008 as the great vintage that some do, on the left bank at least. The fruit character in 2002 might be somewhat less vibrant, but the leaner textures of the left bank wines, and the evident tannic and acidic backbones that are evident as a result, do bring the vintages together. Where they are complete opposites is on the right bank, which seems to have been a real hot-spot for substance and quality in 2008 but something of a dismal failure six years earlier.

It is also worth noting that some critics have been reining in their opinion of 2002, having initially praised the left bank wines in particular but now - having since revisited the wines - earmarking them for earlier drinking based on the lighter palate many possess compared to more textured, fruit-rich wines from warmer vintages. Such opinions greatly surprise me; these are structured styles that epitomise the savoury, food-friendly style of Bordeaux which so many people still crave for. A tannic wine which is lighter on substance, such as the left bank 2002s, will give pleasure no earlier than a tannic but more textured and fleshy wine. The joy of mature Bordeaux comes with the secondary flavours, which come no sooner in such wines, and approachability comes with the resolution of the tannins. The structure of Bordeaux 2002s seem to me to be likely to demand appropriate cellaring, not drinking up in their youth. The only appropriate way to judge is to taste the wines though, and that is just what the tasting notes linked at the top of this review of the vintage aim to do. (1/3/11)