Bordeaux 2010 Cru Bourgeois: The Communes
It is perhaps natural to expect the best performances from the Médoc communes of Pauillac, St Estèphe, Margaux and so on. After all, these appellations have the best terroirs, do they not? Nevertheless, this certainly wasn’t the case on the day. Although there were one or two high points in St Estèphe, where very few estates are ranked at the cru classé level and thus the cru bourgeois category is more significant, largely these were the less impressive wines of the tasting for me.
It is difficult to know for sure why this should be. Is it that in the lesser Médoc and Haut-Médoc appellations the proprietors feel more as though they have something to prove, that they must make a wine that sells on the quality of what is in the bottle, or their established reputation, rather than merely resting on the laurels of a grand appellation? Perhaps, although I have a slight preference for another explanation. I suspect that, over the years, many of the best plots in the more desirable communes – St Julien and Pauillac especially – have been bought up by neighbouring cru classé estates. Remember, the 1855 classification is based on the name of the château, not the boundaries of the vineyard, so cru classé vineyards may be easily expanded provided the proprietor’s cheque book is open. That would leave only a handful of vineyards outside the cru classé system, perhaps those with less favourable terroir, and thus making less desirable wines. Well, it’s a theory!
