The vines of Pessac-Léognan were some of the most badly affected by the spring frosts of 2008, and so yields here in this vintage were in some cases very low (at least for Bordeaux) with figures of 30 and 40 hl/ha for whites and reds respectively not unusual. As was the case elsewhere in Bordeaux the red vines benefitted from the Indian summer, but this was not the case for the earlier-picked white varieties which as always were tucked away in the chai weeks before the Cabernets and Merlots were harvested, thus missing out on much of the good weather from which the reds benefitted so much. At the primeur tastings I found the style of the whites to largely be quite solid and substantial, whereas there was a broader range of styles in the reds, starting with fresh and lively, moving to a more structured character, with a handful seeming more lush and heavily worked in the cellar.

Dealing with the white wines first, these are good although I feel they are not up to the same standard as the delicious wines I discovered in the 2006 vintage. The wines have substance, in a similar fashion to 2006, with moderate acidity in most cases, making for competent wines which although enjoyable in the right setting are unlikely to offer the punchy thrill that can be found with the 2006s. They do seem superior, across the board, to the wines of 2007. And so, in light of the difficulties of the vintage, these wines are good efforts. Two wines that particularly deserve some mention are those from Pape-Clément and Domaine de Chevalier, both very worthy, but there are others which have also held onto the promise at which they hinted during the primeurs. One or two wines, however, such as La Louvière and de Fieuzal, did not seem to come through, on this assessment at least.

But what of the reds? When I tasted these wines at the primeurs I described the wines as having more variation than the whites, and that was also my impression from this tasting. Some reliable names turned out very good wines, and although I missed tasting Haut-Bailly back in 2009 I did manage to taste a barrel sample when I visited the estate in early 2010, and happily I can report that the recent consistency demonstrated by Véronique Sanders and Gabriel Vialard at Haut-Bailly had been maintained; the 2008 Haut-Bailly is another in a string of admirable wines from this estate. On revisiting the rest of the wines on this tasting, in mid-October 2010, it was not only Haut Bailly that impressed; there were also some very good wines from the likes of Domaine de Chevalier and Smith-Haut-Lafitte. Nevertheless the tasting also demonstrated all too well the intra-communal variation of the vintage, with a broad array of quality and style found in the other wines. In some cases they are lushly ripe, modern in style, in others moving towards over-extracted. Some had promise despite not being top tier in what they offered, and as always whether or not to buy will be a difficult decision based on the perceived association between quality and price. (3/11/10)

Pessac-Léognan 2008: Tasting Notes

Tasted at the UGC de Bordeaux tasting in October 2010. Click to locate stockists.

White Wines

Domaine de Chevalier Blanc 2008: Pure fruit, lifted, high-toned even and lightly volatile. Green fruit character, hints of passion fruit but overall more greengagey in all honesty. Rather bold and broad rather than elegant on the palate, big and well-styled but in possession of more texture and substance than delicacy or finesse. There is some nice acidity coming through in the midpalate though. A touch of fruit pastille-sweetness at the end. I suspect this will develop more interest with time although it isn't a wine of the very high level of quality that this domaine has attained in other recent vintages. 17+/20

Château de Fieuzal Blanc 2008: A rather inexpressive nose here. It is nicely textured on the palate though, with a little suggestion of honeycomb flesh building into a real sense of honeyed fatness in the middle. Some nicely textured pithiness in the middle, giving a nice sense of grip to it, but it lacks the acidity and vigour of a really appealing wine. As such the finish seems rather more flat than I would really like. A shame as I really liked this en primeur. 15+/20

Château Larrivet Haut-Brion Blanc 2008: Yellow plum skins here, with a little minerally honeycomb too, and a very slightly fat quality to the fruit. It has some aromatic appeal but it doesn't come across as appealingly bright or lifted. Starting off fresh on the palate, it soon develops a fatter sense through the middle, with attractive weight but with very subtle, low-level acidity. In terms of grip and structure it has appeal, as there is substance here, just not the lift or zip I really look for. 14.5/20

Château La Louvière Blanc 2008: An interesting nose here, expressive and a little minerally, but ultimately showing a lot of lightly rubbery, matchsticky reduction on the nose. A freshly styled palate though, with plenty of good vigour on entry, the flesh of the wine dominating over the thin seam of acidity in the middle though. Like some other wines a rather sweet, confected, pastilley element to the fruit which doesn't really appeal. Difficult to judge with that rubbery element to it. 14.5/20

Château Latour-Martillac Blanc 2008: This has a nicely polished, white stone-fruit nose, with a touch of banana (thankfully subtle) and white pepper too. An interesting palate, showing lively fruit, with some structural elements behind it that I rather like; this is a wine with a bit of substance and grip too. The acids exist in a rather light backbone but they are certainly there at the tip of the tongue. An appealing wine with freshness conveyed to some extent by a herby-grassy edge to the citrusy stone fruit. This has some promise. 15.5+/20

Château Malartic-Lagravière Blanc 2008: Crunchy yellow plum and greengage on the nose here. On the palate it shows a rather lean and papery quality to the fruit rather reminiscent of young Chenin Blanc which is surprising (to say the least), overlaid with more appealing elements of apple and pear. More importantly it has acidity which certainly does it some favours. This certainly has the freshness and appeal of a good Pessac, it would be all the better for a deeper and more typical layer of fruit. But on the whole I like it. 16+/20

Château Pape-Clément Blanc 2008: As expected there is a big role here for oak, a warm and honeyed element set against the yellow plum crunchiness of the fruit. It is much better put-together than the red wine in terms of how comfortably the winemaking sits with the fruit, aromatically at least. There follows some exuberant fruit on the palate, certainly expressive and appealing, with lots of good substance. It has a grippy, oak-derived structure to it as well, but more importantly there is acidity. As with all Pape-Clément you will have to wait for the oak to integrate before you can enjoy it, but it does at least hold that promise. 16.5+/20

Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte Blanc 2008: A rather restrained nose here, elements of crunchy yellow fruits suggesting a well-judged ripeness but it otherwise seems a bit closed down right now. The palate has an attractive weight, with a creamy and lightly peppery fruit-quality to it, and with some gentle prickling acidity at its very core. In this respect it is superior to many other wines in the appellation this year. There is a pithy length to it as well. A good effort. 16+/20

Red Wines

Domaine de Chevalier 2008: A really appealing almost creamy layer of fruit here, very dark in character, smoky and plummy, with just a hint of welcome sweetness. Grippy, complex, concentrated and interesting, with a lovely quality of fruit on the palate, broad and very well-formed, overall a very convincing style. This is really attractive, grippy and slightly sooty, with a well-composed finish. An excellent effort which wipes the floor with many of the offerings from the Médoc. 17.5+/20

Château de Fieuzal 2008: A less expressive nose with this wine (rather like the white also tasted here), showing just a little well-reined-in fruit with a touch of warmth at the edge. The palate has a rather bold substance but the fruit tries its best to keep up. It is very structured, very spicy, tannic and grippy, with some rather hot and alcohol-steeped black fruits alongside. Very upright and structured but a little on the warm side for my palate. 15.5+/20

Château Haut-Bailly 2008: Rather a vibrant scarlet-blue rim here. This wine has a rather soft character of appealingly perfumed red and black fruit on the nose, with quite an open and evocative style. There is freshness on the palate, which is quite grippy and well-judged, composed, impressive and fresh. Along with it all there is a stack of violet and gravel-tinged fruit and certainly a wealth of substance. Underneath it all it has a dry structure, a restrained style, well composed and with an appealing grip to it. This is very good indeed. 17.5+/20

Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion 2008: This has a rather hot, smoky and meaty style aromatically. On the palate it has a rather stylish and interesting dark fruit character, bright but deep and smoky, laid over a lot of substance and structure. In fact there are absolutely piles of tannin here, giving the wine a big, grippy, heavily extracted feel. Surprisingly it is nevertheless well-defined and lifted, and is rounded off by a clean finish. Overall an extracted style, with some length, which will require plenty of cellaring. 15.5+/20

Château Latour-Martillac 2008: Good primary fruit on the nose here, soft and ripe, with a well-composed, lifted, aromatic quality. Good structure on entry, becoming rather more diffuse and soft in the middle, although it does maintain that lifted fruit quality. And towards the end, more grip and piles of attractive and lifted fresh acidity. An appealing perfume in the finish. Just a little loose-knit in the middle but this wine has promise; as it comes together with time it should make good drinking. 16.5+/20

Château Malartic-Lagravière 2008: A very dark wine in terms of appearance and also a dark character to the nose, which is full of rich, soft, spicy fruit with a roasted, meaty, gamey lift to it. An interesting palate, with plenty of substance, and a layer of plush, deep-pile fruit, rich and creamy, a big, dark style with elements of toffee and caramel laid over the top. Clearly still showing a lot of winemaking elements here. Big, soft, supple, mouth-coating tannins, with lower acidity to match. 15/20

Château Pape-Clément 2008: A pile of raw oak here; it's not unusual for wines this young to show oak of course but this is particularly noticeable, perhaps because there is little else to the aromatic profile. The same character comes across on the palate. There is rather bare fruit here in the front and midpalate although there is more in evidence together with a more flattering texture towards the finish. Nevertheless this comes across as a pile of grip and a mouthful of splinters at the moment. Lots of extract giving firm tannins and a dark colour so there is a lot of wine underneath it all but it makes the wine very difficult to judge. 16-16.5+?/20

Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte 2008: Rather concentrated fruit here, a touch high-toned, crunchy and perfumed, showing the crystalline and crisp quality of the vintage although with richness too. A solid style on the palate, highly polished, with a little silkiness hinted at from time to time but always with a strong layer of almost gamey fruit. Good pervasive fruit substance. Soft and ripe tannins, very well put together with a pile of structure that will demand cellar time. A wine of big structure and big fruit too. 17+/20