Bordeaux 2015 Primeurs: Haut-Médoc
Head out into the vineyards of Bordeaux – or indeed perhaps any wine region you care to mention – on a Sunday, and it is almost certain you will find them deserted. There are perhaps two exceptions to this rule. First, during the harvest. Although in many years the pickers get to put their feet up over the weekend, in make-or-break conditions – if the fruit is rapidly turning to rot, for example – Saturday and even Sunday are no longer sacrosanct.
The second exception is primeurs week, when even on a Sunday shutters are thrown open, glasses are polished and corks are pulled in readiness for a throng of eager tasters. By throng, perhaps I mean a handful. Or even a trickle. After all, not everybody wants to spend their Sunday working their way though 120 tannic samples of embryonic Bordeaux.
Although I do, of course. Call me stupid.
This year I started my Sunday with Jonathan Maltus, tasting everything from Château Teyssier through to Le Dôme, and I followed this with a visit to Château La Dominique, tasting the Fayat family’s portfolio of properties before popping downstairs to the cellars, where Michel Rolland was showing his wines. After working my way through a few dozen of these (there was no way I had time to do them all, not with well over a hundred wines on offer) I left and headed for the Ulysse Cazabonne tasting at Château Rauzan-Ségla, where I knew I would find a barrel sample of Château Canon as well as any number of other interesting wines.
