Bordeaux 2011 at Two Years: Sauternes & Barsac
The story of Sauternes in the 2011 vintage is a happy one; my initial impression formed during the primeur tastings that this was the third excellent vintage in a row for the region seems to have been confirmed by this most recent encounter with the vintage. It is certainly a distinct style when compared to 2010 and 2009 though, and there are perhaps parallels to be drawn with other vintages instead. Before I come to that, though, a quick recap of the vintage is warranted, not least because what Sauternes and Barsac requires in a growing season is not usually what the red wine communes need.
The 2011 Vintage
The over-arching tale here is as it was for the other regions of Bordeaux, in other words this region also saw an unusually warm spring, a regrettably cool summer, followed by unusually warm weather leading up to harvest. The major nuance – or perhaps nuisance would be more appropriate – was some hail on April 25th. This hit Château Lamothe and Château Lamothe-Guignard hardest, stripping leaves and the embryonic flower stems. I suppose ‘nuisance’ doesn’t really cover it; for these proprietors it was a disaster.
