Bordeaux 2010 Primeurs: Margaux
Tasting samples deserve your complete, unbroken and unfettered attention; after all, there is an immense amount of work behind the precious consumable coating your tongue, stoically enduring your attempts at assessment. And so it was on day four of my tastings in Bordeaux that I found myself deep in thought, entering a state of near-meditative trance, as I focused every olfactory receptor, every taste bud, every neuron of my cranial nerves and every synapse and cell of my brain on the sample that I was rolling around my mouth.
I was at the UGC Margaux tasting, hosted this year by Château Lascombes. The estate is rumoured to be for sale, although as one of my tasting colleagues put it, properties owned by real estate investment firms such as Colony Capital, which acquired a majority stake in Lascombes in 2001, are always for sale. Provided the agreed price gives a good return, of course. But could this uncertainty about ownership at Lascombes influence the quality of what I was tasting? It would not be the first time this has happened, and the sample currently caressing my palate was certainly a step down in terms of quality. If I recall correctly, I much preferred the 2009, which had a much creamier, velvety texture.
