Bordeaux 2014 Primeurs: Jonathan Maltus
“Would you like some cheese?” hollered Jonathan Maltus from the front step of Château Teyssier, alerting me to his presence. I had just begun my hunt for him, having found a “Come to the house” notice on the door to the tasting room. Having just eaten, I declined, although I don’t mind admitting my mouth was watering at the prospect. I suppose I could have partaken, but my timetable was tight; it was already early afternoon, and this was my final right-bank appointment of the day. And once finished here I was scheduled to drive over to the left bank for a Sauternes tasting that I didn’t want to miss. Oh, well. No cheese for me, then.
Although Château Teyssier is located in Vignonet, on the sandy plain that runs down to the Dordogne, proprietor Jonathan Maltus has a broad portfolio of wines, the majority of which originate from vines planted up on the more desirable limestone and clay soils of the plateau. Many of these wines are micro-cuvées, from tiny parcels of vines often in key locations (next to Angélus…., next to Clos Fourtet…., and so on). As a result Jonathan has some very interesting wines here; some are very limited-production releases, and the range as a whole reflects a wide variety of terroirs. It is useful, when trying to grasp an understanding of a vintage, to compare wines all of which are made by the same hand which feature not only both the major right-bank varieties but which also feature a variety of terroirs here including sand, clay and limestone, or indeed in one cuvée a combination of all three. It’s also always refreshing to hear about the vintage first-hand from Jonathan, as he has always been very open about his winemaking. If he used reverse osmosis, he would say so (he hasn’t). If he used micro-bullage, he would say so (he hasn’t). The same for chaptalisation (he hasn’t).
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