Bordeaux 2010: Vintage of the Century?
So there are some very positive indicators from the wines themselves. Is it a perfect vintage though? I would suggest not. It was certainly not the perfect growing season; there were difficulties, and these difficulties can be met in the wines.
First of all, the vineyard story gives us clues; this has been a difficult vintage for the vineyard managers, who fretted as the vines ached in the drought. Paul Pontallier of Château Margaux denies that there was hydric stress during 2010, but the experience at Margaux cannot be extrapolated across all Bordeaux. Bill Blatch’s annual weather report denied any arrest of photosynthesis, thanks to the topped up water-tables, but there are tales in the Médoc of leaves yellowing and dropping in the dry, dog days of summer. Many did not feel Merlot, especially left bank Merlot, coped well in the drought. The clue is in the DNA of the wines; many of the greatest left bank cuvées are Cabernet-rich, often showing a greater dependence on Cabernet Sauvignon than is usual. Lafite-Rothschild (above left) is 87.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, a 4-5% increase on 2009 and 2008. Meanwhile Mouton-Rothschild (at which there is ongoing construction work, a common site in Bordeaux today, as recent profits are reinvested, as shown above right) is 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, a figure that outstrips any vintage of Mouton I have ever tasted, and no surprise; there has never been a Mouton-Rothschild with this percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon. At Margaux, Pontallier confessed that some Merlots came in with a potential alcohol of 16%, and were naturally excluded from the grand vin. There are of course châteaux where this change is not apparent, and indeed may be reversed; Latour, for instance, only has 90.5% Cabernet Sauvignon in the grand vin, whereas for 2009 this figure was 91.3% and in 2008 it was 94%. Nevertheless, there is no denying that on the left bank, the later-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon, which was also favoured during flowering in spring, has faired better than the earlier-ripening Merlot which has, in some plots, ended up very tannic and alcoholic. This is not a vintage where, in order to make the greatest blend possible, the winemakers have been able to pick and choose from their vats at will.
