Bordeaux 2014 At Two Years: Tasting the Wines
Before considering how the wines taste now, it is worth reflecting on how the wines looked during the primeurs. Not because I enjoy wistful or sentimental reflections, but because it is vital to examine how in-bottle impressions, tasting notes and scores relate to those generated from tasting barrel samples.
In terms of varieties, at the primeurs the Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc seemed to have had an advantage over Merlot, logical when we consider that the later-ripening Cabernets could take full advantage of that Indian summer, when the Merlots will have required picking (before the potential alcohol levels went too high) several weeks beforehand. This means from a phenolic (tannic) point of view, the Cabernets tended to show better balance and ripeness than the Merlots. On the whole the fruit flavours were ripe, again more in the Cabernets (which impressed with darker fruit characteristics) than the Merlots (there were redder fruits here, even cranberry and rhubarb in some), again because the Cabernets had more time in the autumn sunshine to ripen.
The two most striking features of the wines at the primeurs, however, were the acidities and the textures that the wines displayed. The acidities tended to be quite prominent, while correspondingly the textures tended to be quite lean. Tasting from barrel, even with those ripe fruit flavours, it was clear that these were not the wines of a truly ‘great’ vintage. At best it seemed like a good vintage. Indeed, a ‘saved’ vintage. Even if many of those pouring the wines were willing it to be something more.
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