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Bordeaux 2008: The Top Ten

There were nine of us ensconced in the tasting room at Léoville-Las-Cases, almost our last appointment before heading off for lunch at Sociando-Mallet. As is usually the case, there were several wines on show, not just the Las-Cases grand vin, and Clos du Marquis, the second wine, but wines from other Delon properties, namely the Médoc estate Potensac and the Pomerol, Nenin (each with their respective second wines). I worked my way through them in a steady fashion, finding them to be good enough, but none produced so much as a flutter of my heart rate. Good wines, yes. Exciting? No.

Nevertheless I duly slurped, tasted and spat, giving each wine due attention. Not even the arrival of Jancis Robinson and her entourage, which always seems to cause something of a stir, was enough to distract me. Heads turn when Jancis shows up, it seems. I guess that's not surprising, considering she is one of the world's leading authorities on things vinous. Her team disappeared as quickly as they had appeared, no doubt shown into a separate super-VIP tasting room, with crystal chandeliers and crystal glasses. I returned to the wine in my glass, and......wow!

What a stunning wine. Vibrant, pure, powerful yet crisp, fresh yet dense, this was an impressive grand vin. And so went my first taste of 2008 Léoville-Las-Cases, a wine which immediately rocketed into my top ten and was not displaced by any subsequent tasting. Head and shoulders above Clos du Marquis, and certainly challenging the wines of Lafite and Latour, which we had just visited in quick succession, this was a superb effort from Las-Cases this year.

I suppose the term "unfinished barrel sample of the vintage" might be more appropriate, though, it being important to remind ourselves that these are not finished wines. In many cases they are the already assembled into the final blend, but not all (most notably Le Pin, where the blend was assembled from three barrels before our very eyes). Even so, they still have barrel ageing, racking and other treatments to undergo. But that is why I will look at these wines again when they are in bottle, at two years of age.

For the moment, though, here are my top ten wines of the vintage. I have also added a second top ten, featuring more affordable wines. Having said that, a few wines in that list are very similar in price to those in my first ten! None, however, reach the stratospheric heights of Le Pin, Ausone or even the first growths, and that is the difference.

No-Holds-Barred Top Ten

Money and sense no object? Or perhaps you are living within the Eurozone, and the release prices will thus seem that much more favourable? Either way, these are the top ten wines of the vintage, in my opinion.

Lists like these tend to focus on the first growths and their peers, the super-seconds and right bank equivalents. For that reason wines that are missing from the line-up are perhaps even more interesting than those that are included. So I must make clear that I have not tasted Mouton this year, but this is the only first growth I have been forced to skip. Margaux, however, I did taste, and I felt it lagged behind its peers in this vintage, and thus I haven't placed it here. Pavie is another wine that some might be looking for; as with Mouton, I haven't tasted it this year.

Such lists also show up wines on a lower rung of the ladder who have pulled out all the stops in a particular vintage. Palmer was of excellent quality and it makes the grade here, as the success of Bernard de Laage's team this year certainly deserves appropriate recognition. It will be fascinating to taste Palmer and Margaux itself again in the future.

La Mission Haut Brion was also tasting very well, but it faded into the shadows cast by the light of Haut-Brion's majesty. Together with Latour, Haut-Brion is a contender for wine of the vintage. If forced to choose, I would say Latour just pips it. Placing the wines in some order after these two was quite difficult, but I have done what I can!

My top ten wines:

• Latour: a majestic effort, head-and-shoulders above the 2007, and many other wines tasted this year. This is one of my two candidates for wine of the vintage.
• Haut-Brion: in this vintage Haut-Brion is just monumental, and along with Latour this is top candidate for wine of the vintage.
• Le Pin: tasting at Le Pin is always an interesting experience, enhanced this year by Charles Metcalfe who brought a broad grin to Jacques Thienpont's face as his voice filled the cellar with a sweet requiem.
• Cheval-Blanc: a stunning wine, although on tasting the second wine I was wondering how its quality could be bettered. But it was; this is an amazing effort.
• Ausone: a dense and powerful wine this year from Alain Vaulthier. This is would be an amazing effort from this appellation in any vintage.
• Léoville-Las-Cases: this is a truly remarkable Las-Cases this year, challenging the first growths on quality. A brilliant vin de garde.
• Vieux Chateau Certan: a very fine effort this year, nicely showing the right bank advantage.
• Petrus: this wine from the Moueix stable trumps most Pomerols in this vintage.
• Lafite-Rothschild: a stunning, open, voluptuous wine.
• La Fleur-Pétrus: again from the Moueix portfolio, this was my favourite after Petrus in a line up of serious, structured Pomerols.
• Palmer: I left the Union des Grands Crus tasting to head for Palmer on Thursday, and every wine presented at the UGC tasting paled into significance against the Palmer grand vin, and even the second wine Alter Ego was superior to many. A grand effort.
• Angélus: a great wine, and for the first time ever Angélus leads the way in the campaign, being released within a few days of the primeur tastings at a price close to that of the 2004 when released in 2005.

The Reality Top Ten

I suspect many - like me - look at lists like the one above and wonder as to its worth. After all, who can afford most of these wines? Not me. For that reason I have also produced a top ten of more affordable wines, although having said that I realise that many are still quite pricy. But that is to some extent necessary; having tasted many wines, it has become clear to me that this isn't a vintage for picking up "value" wines from the ranks of the lesser cru classés and cru bourgeois estates unless you have tasted and are certain the wine suits your palate. This isn't 2005, or even 2000 (although I feel the quality is very close, in places).

So this isn't a list of bargain basement wines, rather a run-down of excellent wines which, although requiring some expenditure, at least they do not require a remortgage. Depending on what exchange rate you are struggling with, of course. There are varying styles here, from the bright and stony, pure and red-fruited Figeac through to the richness and extract of Canon-la-Gaffelière. I was also impressed by a number of second wines which showed far better than I had anticipated; some of these will make great buys, release prices and exchange rates permitting. As with the list above, I have led with my favourites.

The top ten buys for realists:

• Petit Cheval: oh, the aromatics! A delightful wine which will provide some stunning drinking.
• Figeac: as above, bright, fresh and stony.
• Canon-la-Gaffelière: rich, extracted, but fairly well balanced. I look forward to tasting this again.
• Troplong-Mondot: another rich but balanced style.
• Chapelle d'Ausone: ditto here, as for Petit Cheval; a great second wine.
• Alter Ego de Palmer: and again; this is superior to many of the Margaux grands vins.
• Domaine de Chevalier: at least Pessac has one representative at this level
• Pontet-Canet: dense, extracted, rich in ripe tannic structure. A real vin de garde for the cellar.
• Branaire-Ducru: there were many lovely wines in this appellation, including both of the remaining Léovilles, Langoa, St Pierre, and Talbot. This is the first of a representative duo.
• Beychevelle: see above. Only Gruaud-Larose really disappointed in this commune.
• La Conseillante: another wine from Pomerol, reflecting the right bank success in this vintage.
• Latour à Pomerol: the Moueix portfolio is very strong this year. After Petrus and Lafleur Petrus, this was one of the next in the quality line-up.

Yes, you're right. That's two dozens, not a pair of tens. I'm afraid I couldn't pare it down to just twenty. There are too many good wines! (8/4/09)