Bordeaux 2013 Primeurs: AC Bordeaux Tasting Notes
Continuing the theme of grand whites made by famous châteaux, I also report below on the white wines of Château Margaux, Château Valandraud, Château Suduiraut and Château Guiraud. In keeping with the seemingly broad acceptance that the vintage has been more favourable towards the white wines than the reds(and indeed this is true – just because it don’t think it a truly ‘great’ vintage doesn’t mean there aren’t some really good wines out there), these wines are on the whole very good.
The white wine of Château Margaux is Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux (of course), and although the finished product certainly has appeal the story of the wine very much reflects the difficulty of the vintage. Unlike Château Haut-Brion, where the Semillons were hit by botrytis before they could be picked, here at Margaux there was no such worry, simply because the vineyard is exclusively Sauvignon Blanc (more or less, at least; there are a few Semillon vines mixed in, but these are identified, tagged, picked separately, and not included in the wine). The picking began on September 19th, and was finished by September 27th. Despite that relatively early finish, there still seems to have been a need for heavy selection; the wine Paul Pontallier has made is only 40% of what was picked. I don’t think that is particularly unusual for the wine though, as purity and elegance is always Pontallier’s principal aim, not huge volumes.
Please log in to continue reading: