Bordeaux 2013 at Four Years: Sauternes & Barsac
We have seen, in my latest left bank and right bank reports for this vintage, that the red wines of 2013 are almost universally disappointing, yet in contrast the wines of Sauternes and Barsac are the polar opposite. This is where you should come if you are determined to buy or drink something from this vintage. These wines are far more successful than their red counterparts, and if you are looking for a bottle to lay down they will certainly go the distance in the cellar.
The 2013 vintage was a late one, here and elsewhere in Bordeaux. Things first kicked off here on September 14th, the beginning of four days of rain, after which there came warm and dry weather, the former encouraging the development of noble rot, the latter dehydrating the grapes as they hung on the vine. The first picking began during the last week of September, and after further light rain and relatively warm weather later in the month a second round of picking began again at the very start of October. After more rain there was a third tri in the second week of November, and a fourth later in the month.
On the whole this was a generous vintage for these appellations, with yields in excess of 16 hl/ha on a number of vineyards. The four tries gave the blenders a number of different options to work with, although most successful wines were based on the first two, rather than the shower-dogged fruit of the third and fourth (and fifth, for those estates that undertook it) tries. These early tries were rich but also bright in terms of structure, and the wines have always shown a pure, acid-framed style. These are wines cast from the same mould as 2011 or more pointedly 2007, wines where botrytis and texture hide behind a frame of acidity, at least in their youth. It is only with a little bottle age that we see the rich botrytised character emerge, and happily four years is enough for the first hints of complexity and evolution to shine through.
