Bordeaux 2013 Primeurs: Primeur Picks
The purpose of Primeur Picks is pretty straightforward; after a six-page vintage summary and a dozen regional reports incorporating over 300 tasting notes, I thought it would make sense, as a conclusion to my report, to home in on the wines that really grabbed my attention during the primeur tastings. Forget the detailed analysis and winemaker interviews, forget the visit reports, forget the lengthy, fact-rich context. When it comes down to it, what you want to know – indeed, what we all want to know – is which wines are actually worth buying?
I began homing in on some favourite wines in this manner with my report on Bordeaux 2010, continuing in the 2011 and 2012 vintages. In the first of these three vintages it was easy to find plenty of very good wines to recommend, and indeed in 2011 and 2012 it wasn’t too difficult either; even though both of these vintages were challenging, there were still many châteaux that won through, turning out very good wines. In each case I looked not only at the very best – Bordeaux Dreams, in other words the crème de la crème of Bordeaux – and but also Bordeaux Reality, a good-value selection of more affordable wines. Judging by received feedback this latter section was a welcome addition to my primeurs reports, because few people need a wine critic to tell them whether they prefer Latour to Lafite-Rothschild this year, or whether Le Pin is just a smidgen more seductive than Petrus, or vice versa. These wines are the subjects of dreams for the vast majority of drinkers, me included, whereas some wines such as Château Bonalgue, Clos du Clocher, Clos Puy Arnaud, Château d’Aiguilhe (all recommended in the 2012 vintage) and others can offer great pleasure for a fair price. Guiding drinkers towards wines such as these, in a sea of primeurs offers, is probably the most important role a Bordeaux critic can fill.
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