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Bordeaux 2006: White Graves, April 2008
Bordeaux 2006
En primeur
At One Year
White Graves, April 2008
At Two Years
In April 2007 I travelled to London for my first taste of the 2006 Bordeaux vintage, not knowing quite what to expect. What I found in the reds were some decent wines, although they were hardly breathtaking. But in the dry white wines I found something to be truly excited about. They were vibrant, packed with flavour, bright and lively. They were all you could wish for - or at least all I could wish for - from a bottle of dry white Bordeaux.
Fast-forward one year, and I am in Bordeaux for the primeurs. It is late one evening, and it has been a long day of tasting, with visits to Cheval-Blanc, Ausone and Le Pin, as well as appointments to taste the Jean-Pierre Moueix portfolio including Petrus and Trotanoy, the UGC St Emilion tasting including good wines from Angélus and Troplong-Mondot among others, as well as a biodynamic tasting at Fonroque and a Stéphane Derenoncourt event, both of which looked at wines from far beyond Bordeaux. Yes, it had been a long day. And so when, over canapés at about 8pm in the evening, I spotted yet another line up of wines waiting, like lambs to the slaughter, to be slurped and scored, I was perhaps not at my most eager. But then I noticed the theme - Graves from the 2006 vintage, with the majority of properties proffering their white as well as their red wines. My palate perked up a little. These were potentially wines to be savoured and enjoyed. The vintage in question was marked by cool weather during August, providing the perfect environment for gradual ripening of the white grapes whilst maintaining aroma, freshness and appeal. These were likely to be the perfect wines to liven up a jaded palate.
As the hour was late I decided to keep some focus, and selected just a dozen white wines, which were duly tasted and I report on them here. Acutely aware of the capability of my palate at this point I called a halt to my examination of the wines. And so ended perhaps one of the most intense and lengthy days of tasting I have ever experienced. At least, that was what I thought - then the proprietor of the chateau where we were dining brought out a series of bottles for us to taste blind, including 2005 Goulée, 2003 Cuvée Jean Gautreau (a special cuvée produced at Sociando-Mallet for friends and family) and 1988 Pichon-Baron, among others. These were savoured, but not analysed for writing up. And so here I present just my notes on the dozen whites that I tasted. (27/5/08)
White Graves, April 2008 - Tasting Notes
The following wines were tasted in April 2008. Click
to locate stockists.
Chateau Bouscaut Blanc 2006: Super bright fruit on the nose here, a delicious
and exuberant style, certainly ripe although with a herby character. Fleshy and
flavoursome on the palate, full of structure and punch, with plenty of
freshening acidity. Full of impact, this is impressive stuff which should age
well. 17-17.5+/20
Chateau Brown Blanc 2006: This is fresh, with a lot of fruit presented in a
vibrant and yet creamy fashion, with a slight note of lemon curd richness.
Lively, direct, fresh, with substance. This has a good acid backbone and plenty
of fleshy style. This is really nice. 16-16.5+/20
Domaine de Chevalier Blanc 2006: A brilliant nose here, vibrant and fresh,
with a lifted and elegant style with perhaps a little grassiness at the side.
Showing good finesse, integrated yet flashy and almost seductive. A lovely acid
structure, stylish and impressive. This will do just fine in the cellar.
18.5-19+/20
Chateau Couhins Blanc 2006: A rather grassy nose here, mineral and slightly
earthy, this certainly has some depth and character. The palate has a full
style, and is in fact rather fat; underneath there is gentle acidity but an
evident structure. A nice, flattering style, although not the finesse or punch
of some other wines. 15.5-16+/20
Chateau Couhins-Lurton Blanc 2006: Bottled under screwcap. This has plenty of
bright, green, grassy fruit on the nose. It is a touch creamy, with a little
lemon curd richness and an associated substance on the palate. Broad and
grippy, with fine acids; this has depth and character. Fine potential.
17-17.5+/20
Chateau de Fieuzal Blanc 2006: Bright and vibrant character, grassy fruit,
very straight and well defined. Fresh, with good substance, but perhaps not the
grip underneath I anticipated from the vigorously aromatic nose, although it
shows more firmly through the midpalate. Lots of flavour though, and a gentle
acidity. This is good. 16.5-17+/20
Chateau Haut-Lagrange Blanc 2006: This has a nose of soft, rounded,
mineral-tinged fruit. This sort of character continues on the palate, and the
wine seems a little top-heavy here. There is a lot of texture, but not the
concentration of flavour I would look for. But it has potential. 16-16.5+?/20
Chateau La Louvière Blanc 2006: Very green, minerally, grassy and certainly
interesting. Lots of flesh on the palate, a soft character, firm acids and lots
of texture. This doesn't have the concentration of flavour I hoped for, perhaps
this will open out more in time. Needs to integrate too. 15.5-16+/20
Chateau Latour-Martillac Blanc 2006: A bright and aromatic wine, quite
vibrant in its presence. Fresh, with good flavour, a good and firm seam of
acidity. Nice weight and grip, with a moderate concentration. Not demonstrating
a lot of precision or vigour tonight. 15.5-16+/20
Chateau Malartic-Lagravière Blanc 2006: A very fresh and appealing style
here, clean and bright. The palate is lively, fleshy, with grip and substance
and a good acid backbone. There is plenty of punch and verve here. This is firm,
with delicious character, and an impressive, upright, taut style which would do
well in the cellar. 17-17.5+/20
Chateau Smith-Haut-Lafitte Blanc 2006: Tasted only two days ago at
Smith-Haut-Lafitte. A exuberant and characterful nose
here, this is plainly a flashy and stylish wine. Soft and seductive and
fleshy on the palate, showing plenty of mettle, flavour and vigour. This is very
forceful but rather supple too, and overall is really very attractive.
Consistently very good
indeed. 17-17.5+/20
