Bordeaux 2009 Primeurs: St Estèphe, Pauillac & St Julien
In all appellations there are naturally some wines that appeal less than others, in this particular vintage mainly because they display the characteristics of a warm season wine – sweetness and alcohol – or of over-enthusiastic winemaking – as indicated by the raisined flavours of a long hang-time or simple over-extraction. But a few wines go beyond this, seemingly degenerating into a dishevelled shambles, and it was in St Estèphe that this particular aspect of the vintage was most apparent on the left bank. There are some successes, but as I have found with previous vintages in this commune it is the ‘lowly’ cru bourgeois estates that often turn out the better wines.
It was also in this appellation that perhaps the vintage’s most controversial wine was to be found. In terms of dividing opinion, it looks as though Cos d’Estournel may be about to give Pavie’s crown a knock. The venue certainly impresses; last year I tasted in a small tasting room off to one side, but this year I met the latest vintage in a spacious but dimly-lit tasting room affording a view of the laser-welded Cos fermentation vats which would be just as home in a dairy as in a winery (they are in fact sourced from a manufacturer more concerned with supplying dairy farmers than winemakers). Sadly I found the wine less impressive, although it was apparent from the outset that this was not a universally-held opinion. Some loved its style, others admired it for its substance and power, but bemoaned the absence of any signature from the terroir. Me, I just found it overly hard and structured, and marked by overt alcohol. Its release price is likely to set a new record for the estate though; for me, it will be an easy pass.
