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Bordeaux 2010: Margaux

Tasting samples deserve your complete, unbroken and unfettered attention; after all, there is an immense amount of work behind the precious consumable coating your tongue, stoically enduring your attempts at assessment. And so it was on day four of my tastings in Bordeaux that I found myself deep in thought, entering a state of near-meditative trance, as I focused every olfactory receptor, every taste bud, every neuron of my cranial nerves and every synapse and cell of my brain on the sample that I was rolling around my mouth.

I was at the UGC Margaux tasting, hosted this year by Château Lascombes. The estate is rumoured to be for sale, although as one of my tasting colleagues put it, properties owned by real estate investment firms such as Colony Capital, which acquired a majority stake in Lascombes in 2001, are always for sale. Provided the agreed price gives a good return, of course. But could this uncertainty about ownership at Lascombes influence the quality of what I was tasting? It would not be the first time this has happened, and the sample currently caressing my palate was certainly a step down in terms of quality. If I recall correctly, I much preferred the 2009, which had a much creamier, velvety texture.

Yes. The quality of foie gras at this year's Lascombes lunch was definitely down a little.

Not by a great deal, I hasten to add, only by a smidgen. But a smidgen can make all the difference. And a trained palate must be able to spot these variations, year on year. I hear that Anserini Gander, the lead reviewer of the Foie Gras Advocate, will be giving the 2010 Lascombes foie gras an impressive 96-101 point range, a sorry over-estimation of this sample's textural and sensorial qualities in my opinion. And his assistant, Geiss Husa, has already proclaimed it to be a "rock-star foie gras" on his personal forum. Well Geiss, that's only true if rock stars are served in overly-thin slivers, on very crunchy croutons.

No, for me, the most outstanding foie gras of the primeurs week was undoubtedly that served at Troplong-Mondot, although I wonder if the accompanying 1997 Sigalas-Rabaud, poured by the ever-charming Laure de Lambert Compeyrot, who was visiting the château, may have influenced my assessment. No, having given it due consideration, I am certain of my conclusion; Troplong-Mondot has without doubt produced the foie gras of the vintage.

But I am getting ahead of myself - we should leave the details of this superb Troplong foie gras for my St Emilion update. Right now, let's stick to Margaux. And having dealt with my assessment of this food of the gods, let's now move on to the wines. And we must go to Château Margaux itself first. No other starting point would be appropriate.

Château Margaux

I try to avoid hyperbole in my reports, and as a general rule I have always eschewed scores that suggest perfection (i.e. 20, or a range up to 20), but sometimes you have to nail your colours to the mast. When the interaction between the palate and a wine seems to slow down the passage of time, as the 2009 Latour did, it seems a little churlish to not to acknowledge that fact with an appropriate note and score. At Margaux this year, there were I confess no such preternatural events, but that is not to deny that Paul Pontallier (pictured below, in full flow in the tasting room at Margaux) and his team have turned what is, in my limited experience I admit, one of the greatest examples of Château Margaux I have ever tasted.

Like all truly great left bank cuvées in this vintage the wine itself is strong on Cabernet Sauvignon, which accounts for 90% of the blend, with a very gentle 7% Merlot, and then two soupçons of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, each contributing 1.5%. It was not a wine that made itself by any means; there has been strict selection here, Pontallier admitting that some of the Margaux Merlots were harvested with over 16% potential alcohol. But the final assemblage, with such a tiny contribution from this variety (and it won't be the most alcoholic and tannic Merlots that were included), claims just 13.5% alcohol. It is elegance personified, showing a great purity along the same lines as that shown by Ausone, or indeed - further north on the Médoc - that seen in Grand-Puy-Lacoste. They are all stunning wines, but for me Margaux tops the lot; that is why it sits at the head of my 2010 Bordeaux top ten.

The second wine of Margaux, Pavillon Rouge, showed as well as ever, one of the more reliable second wines I feel. And this should perhaps not be a surprise to us. As Pontallier explained, the Margaux grand vin once accounted for over 70% of production, whereas today the figure is typically more like 38% or thereabouts, the second wine taking the next 38%. Thus, what was once Margaux, today is Pavillon Rouge. It's a convincing argument, but the cynic in me wonders whether such talk might precede an upwards repositioning of Pavillon Rouge, at a higher price than we are used to. The introduction of a third wine to the range (beginning with the 2009 vintage) akin to Latour's Pauillac, as recently announced by Pontallier, would also facilitate this development. Time will tell; I will watch the release prices with interest. (22/4/11)