Bordeaux 2006: Pessac-Léognan in 2008
In April 2007 I travelled to London for my first taste of the 2006 Bordeaux vintage, not knowing quite what to expect. What I found in the reds were some decent wines, although they were hardly breathtaking. But in the dry white wines I found something to be truly excited about. They were vibrant, packed with flavour, bright and lively. They were all you could wish for – or at least all I could wish for – from a bottle of dry white Bordeaux.
Fast-forward one year, and I am in Bordeaux for the primeurs. It is late one evening, and it has been a long day of tasting, with visits to Cheval Blanc, Ausone and Le Pin, as well as appointments to taste the Jean-Pierre Moueix portfolio including Petrus and Trotanoy, the UGC St Emilion tasting including good wines from Angélus and Troplong-Mondot among others, as well as a biodynamic tasting at Fonroque and a Stéphane Derenoncourt event, both of which looked at wines from far beyond Bordeaux. Yes, it had been a long day.
And so when, over canapés at about 8pm in the evening, I spotted yet another line up of wines waiting, like lambs to the slaughter, to be slurped and scored, I was perhaps not at my most eager. But then I noticed the theme – Graves from the 2006 vintage, with the majority of properties proffering their white as well as their red wines. My palate perked up a little. These were potentially wines to be savoured and enjoyed. The vintage in question was marked by cool weather during August, providing the perfect environment for gradual ripening of the white grapes whilst maintaining aroma, freshness and appeal. These were likely to be the perfect wines to liven up a jaded palate.
