Bordeaux 2011 Primeurs: Yquem & Doisy-Daëne
Looking at some of the specific wines now, most of these were encountered at the Vintex Vignoble Gregoire tasting at the very start of the primeurs week; this négociant has, of course, long been the dominion of Bill Blatch, who has in his time forgotten more about Sauternes than most people can ever hope to know. This year, however, marks his retirement from his role at Vintex (which, by virtue of new owners, has become Vintex Vignoble Grégoire) and many of the samples presented here had been delivered for a rip-roaring retirement party the evening before. It was a great opportunity for me to take a look at the wines very early during my week of tasting. Just about every wine from every château was present, except Yquem of course, which I tasted during a visit to Cheval Blanc.
What I will do now is look at two estates, one each from Sauternes and Barsac, as exemplars of the vintage. And the aforementioned Yquem seems a good a place to start than any.
In Sauternes: Yquem
Here at Yquem it was the late August rains, as described in my introduction, that really kick-started the activity in the vineyard. Between August 24th and 26th there was 29mm of rain, resulting in a large sweep of botrytis appearing across the vines. The onset was rapid and once out among the vines the pickers raced to keep up. Picking began on September 5th, which isn’t quite the earliest-ever harvest here, as it is trumped by 1893 (there’s that vintage again – already reported at Cos d’Estournel and Margaux as the most recent harvest which was earlier than 2011), 1960 and 1997.
