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Bordeaux 2010: Médoc & Haut-Médoc
Vintage Review
En primeur
Médoc & Haut-Médoc
The primeurs week is, for me, something short of a week. I take the first flight out to Bordeaux on Monday morning, having slept over at an airport hotel the night before, an early start that affords me a full programme of tasting on that first day. I return on the Thursday of the same week, usually late afternoon, although this year I stayed on a little longer, taking an evening flight back to the UK instead. This meant another sleepover at Gatwick before taking a morning flight back to Edinburgh, but the extra few hours this delayed return gave me in Bordeaux was probably worth it. Even so, the schedule for the four days remained nothing less than hectic; and every year there are casualties, prominent châteaux that fall off my list of appointments. This is a sad but inevitable complication of working within a time-limited environment. I would like to spend longer in Bordeaux, but other features of modern life - in particular the need to subsidise Winedoctor, which generates very little income, with a 'proper' job - prevents me from spending more time tasting.
Having acknowledged these deficits in my reporting, some of which sit at the very upper end of the Bordeaux hierarchy (there was no time for Le Pin this year, sadly - I'm expecting Jacques Thienpont's letter of complaint to arrive any day now), it should perhaps come as no surprise that at the lower end there are also some deficiencies in my report. And the exiguity of my tasting is laid most bare today, in my Médoc and Haut-Médoc instalment, which features a measly eight wines, when ten times that number would have been more appropriate! This is, I accept, a great shame, as in a vintage such as 2010 it is in appellations such as Moulis, Listrac and similar that the bargains are to be found. Here there are petit-châteaux which should, with the ripeness of fruit and freshness of acidity coming out of this vintage, raise their game and make something delicious to drink. And they might even offer a promise of development into something quite special in the cellar. The 'sleepers' of the vintage, if you will?
Of the handful of wines I tasted, one of the most memorable was undoubtedly Poujeaux, tasted with other Derenoncourt wines at his La Grappe tasting, one of my first tastes of the vintage after stepping off that Monday-morning flight. The style is polished, firm and rather modern, but nevertheless clearly of very high quality. And this is despite having 40% Merlot in the blend. Jean Gautreau's Sociando-Mallet managed the same feat, showing both elegance and substance, despite boasting 45% Merlot. Is this more elegant showing from high concentrations of Merlot a benefit of having a 'lesser' terroir, as I suggested might be the case for some of the white wines in my Pessac-Léognan report, or is it simply less extraction, a more sensitive handling of the fruit in the cellar? Or is it just that my expectations are different? With such a small sample size, unfortunately no solid conclusions are possible.
Further north than these Haut-Médoc properties is Jean-Guillaume Prats' Goulée; it is a stunning effort for this little property, and may well represent the best wine from this estate that I have ever tasted. Part of this may be the high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon, which accounts for 80% of the blend, giving the wine a refreshing 13.7% alcohol. Whatever the reason I certainly found appeal here; and unlike its peers, Cos d'Estournel and Les Pagodes, at least I can see where this wine is going in the future. The other principal Médoc representative tasted here is Potensac, which put in a good effort and, with 21% Cabernet Franc in the blend, certainly has no shortage of perfumed interest in this vintage. And, its character no doubt bolstered by the favourable vintage, even the little-known Chapelle de Potensac - Potensac's second wine - has something to offer. And that's not something you can say very often! (27/4/11)
Médoc & Haut-Médoc 2010: Tasting Notes
The following notes were made at a number of tastings in Bordeaux in April 2011.
These included visits to Sociando-Mallet, Cos d'Estournel, Léoville-Las-Cases
and
the La Grappe tasting featuring the wines of Stephane Derenoncourt at La
Gaffelière. Click
to locate stockists.
Château Poujeaux 2010: The
blend here is 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. A really dark wine here at the
core, with a fresh crimson rim. Very creamy and buttery black fruits on the nose here, a sort of
melange of black cherry and blackcurrant baked in a rich, crumbly pie. A
little confit style to the fruit. And yet it seems fresh and lifted. The
fruit character is vibrant and well formed despite this richer style, rather
polished but firmly composed start on the palate, a real shell on the outside,
slowly revealing polished fruit in the middle. There is some appealing if rather
vibrant acidity here, the fruit style very direct for the vintage, and the
tannin extraction has obviously been gentle and well managed - important with
40% Merlot in the blend, perhaps? Good wine, and possibly good value too.
16-17/20
Château Bernadotte 2010: Shown at
Pichon-Lalande, this property
having been acquired by May-Eliane de Lencquesaing in 1997. The harvest was
October 2nd to 19th, yield 50 hl/ha, the blend 52.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and
48.5% Merlot. The pH is 3.62, the IPT 73, and this will see 33% new oak. A dark
hue, not so glossy or concentrated as many other wines. Rather a spicy nose, a
touch oaky and a little gamey too. The palate seems quite linear and it doesn't
have the flesh of some other wines. The fruit has a fresh and lighter red
character which does appeal, and with none of the gaminess that the nose
suggested. Overall, bright and rather uplifting, full of attractive red fruit
with rather chalky tones. 14.5-15.5/20
Château Sociando-Mallet 2010:
The blend here is approximate, but should be around 50% Cabernet Sauvignon,
about 45% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. Rather intense and deeply coloured, dark
with a crimson-blue rim. Really polished and expressive fruit character on the
nose, moving into cherry and plum. There is a lot of substance immediately
apparent on the palate, showing a broad flesh but with a fine-boned tannic
structure coming through the lightly juicy fruit. A good acid core, keeping it
fresh and lifting the dark fruit, is apparent here too. A slightly savoury fruit
finish, tinged with chalk, with good length, this has a polished-stone feel
rather than anything more seductive. Lots of promise, the tannins only showing a
more meaty character in the finish; otherwise it seems quite restrained. This
will do very nicely. 16.5-17.5/20
Les Demoiselles de Sociando 2010: The second wine of
Sociando-Mallet, this is a
blend of equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. A remarkable density of
colour here, with rather a blue fruit nose, stuffed with creamy forest fruits
overlaid with vanilla. Nicely composed on the palate, gently textured,
appropriate, with a lightly tannic backbone, overall quite a juicy and
approachable style. Rather a stony character behind it all, with a fresh and
light crunch from the acidity and tannins. Short in the finish, but nevertheless
attractive. 14-15/20
Goulée 2010: Shown at Cos
d'Estournel. Yield 30 hl/ha. Cabernet Sauvignon 80%, Merlot 20%, alcohol
13.7%, pH 3.52, IPT 79. An amazing vibrant crimson hue here, with almost electric
intensity. Very dark and savoury fruit character on the nose, massively concentrated, veering a little
towards meaty, but not getting there. The
palate is dense, with stacks of fruit with a blackcurrant-pastille intensity, and
yet it seems all very framed by the structure of the wine rather than anything
sweet or overly soft. It does have a rather plush feel though. Those tannins are
well integrated, and well matched by the fruit, and although they have a broad
chewy feel to them this is not over-the-top and they are not drying. A very big wine,
with a flourish of tannin on the finish. Definite promise here but will that
long, chewy tannic core spoil it? 16-17/20
Château Preuillac 2010:
The blend here is 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon.
A dark and restrained hue, with rather a matt
appearance. Really dark-fruited, with the suggestion of desiccation here. Rather a solid feel on the palate, supple
and nicely composed through the middle, the tannins showing rather well behind
the bold fruit, and the fruit has a much fresher feel here than it did on the nose.
I think that 60% Merlot shows through in the character of the wine.
Nevertheless, this is nicely shaped, with deep and dark nuances throughout, well
framed by its fresh acidity. 14.5-15.5/20
Château Potensac 2010:
Harvest was September 27th to October 9th. The blend here is 42% Merlot, 37%
Cabernet Sauvignon, a dramatic 21% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot. Alcohol
13.6%, pH 3.55, IPT 80. This sample has a bright and smoky black-cherry nose,
with a bright perfume reflecting the Cabernet Franc component quite nicely I
think. Rather sweet in character. Despite this there is a crunchy edge to the
fruit character on the palate, the lifted fruit narrowing down into a rather
solid style in the middle. A substantial structure, with not a lot of flesh
here, juicy but not living up to the rather domineering tannins that it
possesses. 14.5-15.5/20
Chapelle de Potensac 2010: Harvest as for
Potensac. The blend here is 56% Merlot, 31% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet
Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. Alcohol 13.2%, pH 3.52, IPT 66. A vibrant colour.
Attractive fruit on the nose, showing a lively well-defined and lightly crunchy,
if rather sooty character. Rather soft and straightforward in the beginning,
with a little more bright fruit in the midpalate. Quite soft and juicy in terms
of fruit structure, with not a lot of great presence. Nicely fresh acids though,
and a well-judged grip, which lingers a little on the finish. 14-15/20
