Bordeaux 2009 at Two Years
It was the day of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux 2009 tasting in London, and my senses were on full alert. You might expect this, of course, if you are already aware of the fine reputation worn by the 2009 vintage in Bordeaux, or indeed if you have already tasted the wines yourself (provided you agree with the prevailing opinion). My reactions on the morning of the tasting were physical as well as emotional, and were very tangible. I could feel that my heart rate was slightly elevated, and that my heart was pumping harder, strange sensations which might be described as palpitations, but that word – with all its fragile, swooning connotations – feels rather inadequate. It was more that I felt tense, aware, and ready for action. Indeed, it was a classic fight or flight response. My hands suddenly had a very slightly clammy feel to them, and my hearing seemed more acute. Perhaps my blood pressure was up too? Were my pupils dilated? It certainly felt like it.
What, you might ask, had set this acute reaction in motion? Unfortunately for me this very visceral event was not being made in response to the washing of 2009 Léoville-Poyferré, one of my favourite wines on the day, over the tastebuds. It was only just 8:45am, and the tasting had in fact yet to kick off. I was en route by train, supposedly heading south into London, having landed at Stansted airport only a short while before. Note I say supposedly. The problem was, with little more than an hour and a half to go before the beginning of what you could argue is the most important tasting of the year for Winedoctor – the latest Bordeaux vintage, fresh in the bottle, and in this instance 2009, a great year – I had just realised I was on the wrong train, heading north, towards Stratford-upon-Avon.
