Bordeaux 2011 Primeurs: Pessac-Léognan, White Wines
And now onto the white wines of Pessac-Léognan which are hugely successful in comparison to the reds. In fact, these wines are streets ahead. Alright, so they’re not so much fun to drink with a lightly seared onglet, but in terms of absolute quality the white wines of Pessac-Léognan in the 2011 vintage leave the reds standing at the starting line. Having said that, although some of these wines are delicious, I not going to follow the already well-developed and prevailing view (referring once again to the world of blogs and Twitter, where everyone seems to agree that these wines are worth selling an organ for) and go completely ga-ga over the 2011 dry whites, for several reasons.
First, although these wines are undeniably delicious, I am not really convinced that they are streets ahead of other recent vintages. I am thinking in particular not of 2009 and 2010, which were great for red wines (although I liked some of the whites as well), but of vintages which really brought out the structure of these wines, in particular 2006. No dry white Bordeaux tasted at this stage has yet touched my soul in the way that 2006 Domaine de Chevalier did (although a few other vintages from this estate come close), and I have tasted more than a handful of white wines from Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion, including one or two vintages of the latter when it was better known as Laville Haut-Brion. And I don’t find any wines that come close in 2011. Yes there are lots of wines with vibrant fruit, and wonderful concentration, giving remarkably long finishes, but they impress with accessible impact and fresh acidity rather than the deep character and grip of a more savoury, structured vintage.
