Bordeaux 2011 at Two Years: St Julien
After some clear success in St Estèphe, and some less impressive but undeniable high points in Pauillac, you might expect to find some moments of delight in St Julien. After all, it is all very well chasing Pauillac first growths and St Estèphe super-seconds, but for real Bordeaux drinkers some of the wines made in this commune, St Julien, have come to define the word ‘claret’. And, in some cases at least, we can still afford them.
Reflecting on my experiences during the primeurs, it would be easy to expect great things from these wines. Writing purely from memory, I recall that the primeurs trade tasting was held at Château Lagrange; if you are wondering why I attend the trade tastings, and not the sit-down tastings for journalists, it is because I prefer to distance myself from the press circus, which seems to involve being bussed around from one generic tasting to the next during the day, and then being fêted at grand dinners in the evening. That’s all great fun of course, and I don’t begrudge the many journalists and bloggers who attend their time at the ‘party’, but after a long day of tasting I barely have the energy to write a blog post, grab a bite to eat and then crawl into bed, especially bearing in mind that I may well have an 8am tasting appointment the next day, and possibly a 90-minute drive to get there. I can’t help imagine that spending my evening at a grand soirée, being plied with multiple older vintages from the most famous left bank châteaux would be a ‘distraction’, shall we say, that might impair inhibit my tasting ability (what little I have!) the next day, and perhaps unduly influence my view of the vintage.
