Bordeaux 2013 Primeurs: Castillon & Co.
The 2013 vintage has such varied quality; there are very good white wines, both dry and sweet, but also some that disappoint, with leafy under-ripeness, leanness of texture and sometimes even grey rot being the problem. So too with the red wines, which are often dilute, bare-boned and destined for early drinking in the vast majority of cases.
In a difficult vintage it is perhaps only natural to turn away from the minor regions of Bordeaux, lesser-known appellations such as the Côtes de Bordeaux (which includes Castillon, Blaye, Francs and Cadillac), the Côtes de Bourg, Fronsac and Canon-Fronsac in favour of grander appellations, grander names and quite often grander wines. There is a maxim I know some follow, and it is this; in grand vintages drink the petits châteaux, in petit vintages drink the grands châteaux. In other words, in great vintages such as 2009 you can find some superb wines from lesser-known châteaux and minor appellations, but in a more ropey vintage – think 2007 for the moment – you are perhaps better off going for the wines of the top cru classé châteaux, which in such a vintage should be more affordable.
None of this holds true in 2013 though. I have a very slight right bank leaning in this vintage, as even though the Merlots were devastated by coulure and millerandage in spring, what survived still probably had a minor advantage over the later-ripening Cabernets when picking was forced, in early October, by the advance of botrytis rot. But otherwise this is not a vintage where wine quality can be generalised. Alright, to be harsh, it is possible to say truthfully much of what I tasted in Bordeaux during the 2013 primeurs disappointed, but when I found success there was no geographic pattern to it. Some big names did well, but so did but little and less well-known châteaux.
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