Bordeaux 2011 at Two Years: St Estèphe
One of the major problems with the wines of the 2011 Bordeaux vintage is that, in many cases, they are just a little bit mean and lean, showing a rather bright and prominent acidity. Although I think it is probably most useful to think of 2011 as a very heterogeneous vintage, where success can crop up anywhere among the lesser wines, it is fair to say that one or two communes do seem to have done a little better than others. On the left bank, acknowledging the fact you can find some appealing wines in Margaux, St Julien and Pauillac, provided you restrict your search to only the very best estates on the most favourable terroirs, you are perhaps slightly more likely to strike it lucky in St Estèphe than you are in these other more southerly communes.
I almost never go back to look at my primeurs notes before I review the same Bordeaux vintage at two or four years of age. This is primarily because I just don’t have the time rather than some strict personal ‘tasting philosophy’. Nevertheless I think it is better to come back with an open mind and to view the wines afresh, and reminding myself first what I thought of the barrel samples when I tasted them during the primeurs would taint my opinions. At the Union des Grands Crus tasting in London, where the majority of these notes were written, I thought St Estèphe stood out as providing more interest, perfume, texture and quality than those other communes to the south. Looking back at my primeurs notes now, I see I was similarly convinced when I tasted the barrel samples in April 2012.
