Bordeaux 2016 Primeurs: Castillon & Co.
Seated at a table near the back of the tasting room at Château L’Église-Clinet, I worked my way through the range of wines made by proprietor Denis Durantou. I admire Denis and his approach to wine. In a world where some winemakers seem intent on exploring exotic climes he looks closer to home for a challenge, which means a tasting here provides not only a valuable data point for Pomerol, it also opens a view onto the wines of neighbouring Lalande-de-Pomerol as well as the eastern reaches of the St Emilion appellation and Castillon (or Côtes de Bordeaux Castillon, to be precise). Label drinkers will not be interested of course, but those decrying the absence of good value in Bordeaux should be flocking here. Indeed, Denis is a one of a number of right-bank winemakers who produce delicious wines with friendly prices from a number of ‘lesser’ right-bank appellations. Others that spring immediately to mind include the Guinaudeau family of Château Lafleur (although they bottle all theirs under the generic Bordeaux appellation) and Stephan von Neipperg of Château Canon-la-Gaffelière, although there are certainly others.
Denis (pictured) chuckled as he explained his view of the vintage. “All these people”, he told me, “they said with climate change we needed to think about planting different varieties. They plant more and more Cabernet Franc, or Cabernet Sauvignon, or other varieties. They forget about the Merlot. But the 2016 vintage has proved them wrong. It is clear from what we have in this vintage that you can still make a great wine with Merlot”. Tasting his wines, I was inclined to agree.
The Castillon Story
Speaking not really just of Castillon, but generalising across all these ‘lesser’ right-bank appellations, the story of the vintage remains the same. There was a deluge of rain during the first half of the year, but from late-June onwards the weather was warm and very dry, and the vineyards soon developed drought conditions. Despite this favourable weather, it was still a vintage in which the vineyards needed a lot of attention, early on treating against the threat of mildew, but later it was the decisions made regarding leaf-plucking (not a good idea with a Sahara sun overhead) and the timing of the eventual harvest that would make the difference. It is in conditions such as these that the attention to detail exhibited by a winemaker such as Denis, who can often be spotted out working in the vines, shines through.
