Bordeaux 2013 Primeurs: The Léoville Estates
After the disappointments of St Estèphe and Pauillac at the Union des Grands Crus tasting at Château Lafon-Rochet, the wines of St Julien tasted at Château Lagrange were an absolute delight. Here was a collection of châteaux that, on the whole, got it right in 2013. The colours are generally convincing, flush with the crimson-purple of youth, rather than the darker, dried-fruit appearance seen in many wines. They also smelt bright and convincing, of fruit rather than wood spice or other more advanced characteristics. And on the whole they tasted good, with some gentle fruit substance, a little texture (all you can really hope for in 2013 to be honest, but at least the wines delivered it), a gentle lick of well-judged tannins and appropriate acidity. These are wines of balance and conviction. Few in St Estèphe and Pauillac have achieved this, and only Château Montrose, Château Cos d’Estournel and Château Pichon-Baron jump immediately to mind. But in St Julien there is hope for the vintage.
Let us remember though, in regione caecorum rex est luscus; although in the context of the vintage these wines look good, and they would make delicious early drinking ideal for the restaurant trade (and a blessed relief to anybody determined on maintaining their [insert name of St Julien château here] vertical, as at least your 2013 will be drinkable) they are still lighter wines, wines which speak of the difficulties of the growing season. But they are not lean and hopeless like many: they have gentle substance, interest and will give joy. But they should still be sold at a price well below other recent vintages, because that is a reflection of their aging ability, of the need to drink these wines early, and of the lesser level of aged complexity that they will probably achieve along the way. Sadly, I have not been convinced by releases made so far that this is how the Bordelais view the situation.
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