Bordeaux 2012 Primeurs: Let’s be Certan
Continuing my disruption of the space-time continuum, I now travel further back in time to another appointment, much earlier in the day, at Vieux Château Certan. I parked up in the car park and trudged round the corner to the barrel cellar, where Alexandre Thienpont and his son were waiting for me. Tasting alongside me at this visit, as an antidote to my solitary tasting at Lafleur (a tasting which, at this point, had actually yet to happen, but please remember we are travelling backwards in time here….maybe I should forward this tasting report to the script writers of Doctor Who?) were the team from London merchant Fine & Rare, as well as one or two buyers from further afield. Alexandre is always a mine of honest and useful information about the vintage and the wine, each statement he makes imbued with useful allusions and associations. I listened in while he recounted his thoughts on the vintage.
Vieux Château Certan
As you are no doubt aware by now 2012 is a vintage where cool weather and rain have left their mark. The wet spring made growth very easy for the vines, and it was interesting to note that Alexandre identified and tagged those vines that showed excessive vigour in response to the easy supply of water at this time, and demoted them in the picking priorities come harvest time. The fruit of these vines was not of the same quality, and were picked later, he says. Equally important, in my opinion, is the mixed and potentially negative effect – depending on the soils in question – of the Autumn and September drought. These thoughts seemed to be reaffirmed yet again by Alexandre, who stated that 2012 is a vintage for focusing on the very best vines, those that are oldest, and planted on the most favourable terroirs. In the grand vin, the assemblage consists of Merlots sourced from predominantly old vines, the youngest having been planted in 1982, the oldest in 1932. As for the Cabernet Franc, the vines that saw their fruit go into the grand vin were planted in 1958. This is certainly not a jeunes vignes cuvée.
Please log in to continue reading: