Bordeaux 2011 at Four Years: St Julien
While the 2011 vintage in St Estèphe seems broadly successful (admittedly, looking at less than a handful of crus classé châteaux, not the three million cru bourgeois properties also found in this appellation), and Pauillac seems to have its ups and downs, here in St Julien the performance seems to have a more gentle consistency, any peaks or performance smoothed out. There are no truly profound wines; neither, though, are there any great disappointments.
At the primeurs, the wines sought to impress with rich, velvety textures. I can still remember their plush, warm, fruit-rich facades now. By two years of age, after bottling, they had all calmed down, showing a much more low-key character. The fruit was taking a back seat, allowing the oak to dominate in some. Now, at four years of age, this rather restrained presence persists. The oak is fading too of course, leaving – on the whole – elegantly poised wines of moderate substance, with a dark fruit ripeness reflecting that warm autumn weather, sometimes spiced with a peppery, more spicy-savoury edge.
