Bordeaux 2011 Primeurs: St Julien
Following on from my review of Pauillac 2011, we come to the other great commune of the left bank, St Julien. And there is no doubt in my mind that it is here, in St Julien, closely matched by Pauillac, that the true left-bank successes of this vintage are to be found.
Gloria & Saint Pierre
St Julien is not, of course, blessed with any first growths such as Lafite, Mouton or Latour, although I know a few who would talk of Léoville-Las-Cases in the same breath as this premier cru triumvirate. Nevertheless we do in my opinion have some estates that are emulating – to some extent at least – the accomplishments of certain Pauillac fifth growths- namely Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Lynch-Bages and Pontet-Canet of course – in turning the 1855 classification on its head. Although the name of Jean-Louis Triaud might not be immediately familiar, the work Triaud has undertaken at Saint-Pierre and Gloria, especially the latter, has resulted in some exemplary wines in recent years. The 2010 Gloria was remarkable, as I described in my 2010 St Julien report posted once I returned from the 2010 primeurs, the wine showing a great purity and precision of fruit definition which suggested it was very appropriate for it to be playing in the grand cru classé league, and not some half-collapsed cru bourgeois system.
