The Wines of Jonathan Maltus: Tasting & Drinking
My encounters with the wines of Jonathan Maltus have – apart from the widely distributed and good value Château Teyssier of course – were in the early days not that frequent. So it is always a delight to encounter them, and that was my feeling when I spotted a line up of wines from the 2011 vintage at a négociant tasting during the primeurs in early 2012. The wines were – especially taking into account the vintage, and what rather questionable efforts some other châteaux had managed – an extraordinary success story.
I told Jonathan as much when I saw him later in the year, and he attributed his success in the vintage to the deleafing decisions taken through the growing season. Unlike many of his peers, they didn’t deleaf on the first opportunity, so when the heatwave came later in the summer the fruit was still protected by the canopy, and so they avoided sun-burning to the grapes. Later they deleafed both sides at the same time, thereby avoiding the rot. The wines were concentrated, polished, fresh and characterful. They are one of the few addresses where 2011s can be bought with absolute confidence. It’s yet another feather in the cap of Le Businessman, something else for his peers to look at and, for those perhaps more open-minded, to learn from. These are successes he has built upon in more recent vintages, including difficult years such as 2012 and 2013.
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