Bordeaux 2011 Primeurs: Pauillac
It is about three years since I ditched my notebook and pen in favour of a laptop when making tasting notes. I found few activities to be as tedious as typing up handwritten notes; just deciphering what I scribbled was a challenge, the process of typing up itself very time consuming, and by the time I finished I had no energy to write anything original. The effect of typing as I tasted was nothing short of miraculous.
It was at Pichon-Lalande that the inevitable happened. I drew up a seat, opened the laptop, and made a move for the first 2011 barrel sample, before returning to my seat. I placed the glass down, followed by my camera. Somehow I fumbled the camera strap, thinking back I’m not sure how or why. But the result was the camera – or was it the strap itself – made contact with the glass. Time slowed a little at this point. Sadly, so did my reactions.
The glass tipped and succumbed to gravity, continuing its perfect arc onto the keyboard. The rather generous tasting sample (if only they had been meaner with the size of the pours!) flowed gracefully out, an elegant effluence of vibrant crimson-black, immediately indistinguishable from the jet-black keys, immediately seeping down between them, creeping into hitherto unknown nooks and crannies. Tissues arrived (thanks!) to begin the mopping up. I tipped the laptop on its side and it immediately haemorrhaged crimson liquid from every vent and grill on the underside. This was serious; more aggressive therapies than mere mopping up were required.
