Bordeaux 2014 Primeurs: Pomerol
I tasted in Pomerol on the final two days of the primeurs week, with most tastings during the morning on Thursday and Friday. By early Friday morning I was already developing an idea of how Pomerol had done in 2014. This was clearly an appellation which, like St Emilion, had certainly experienced some difficulties in this vintage. As in St Emilion, this region also seems to have suffered higher rainfall during the months of June, July and August, as illustrated in the figure below which shows weather data from Château Nenin. Pomerol perhaps had, compared to St Emilion, some additional disadvantages though.
First it doesn’t have the limestone base that St Emilion enjoys, this being an appellation based purely on gravel and clay on the plateau, with finer gravel moving into sand on the flatter plain running down to the Isle. Whereas there shouldn’t be any problem with well-drained gravel, if the performance at Château Figeac in St Emilion is anything to judge by, the clay and especially the sandy terroirs seem to have been highlighted as more problematic in 2014. With clay the story can get rather complicated, because how it interacts with fresh rainfall depends on how wet it is in the first place, as rain will quickly run off dry and crusted clay but soak into clay that is already a little wet. For this reason, the pattern of rainfall, whether continuous and drizzly, as opposed to the occasional downpour, can also make a difference. Sand, though, is definitely a problem, allowing the vines to drink too freely, maintaining high humidity levels, and then when the sunshine finally arrives baking the fruit with reflected heat from underneath.
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