Bordeaux 2017 at Two Years: Pauillac
Having finished my run-around of the top three properties in St Estèphe I turned south, pointing my hire car in the direction of Pauillac. It wasn’t exactly a long drive; leaving Château Cos d’Estournel I allowed the car to coast downhill before turning right and heading up through the vines towards Château Lafite-Rothschild. I suspect, given that the route up to this premier grand cru classé estate is mildly convoluted, that if I had headed out cross-country, on foot, I could have made the journey between the two châteaux in the same small number of minutes. Admittedly, the jump over the Jalle du Breuil, the drainage ditch that runs through the low land between the two estates might have provided some challenge, but at worst I would have turned up with wet feet. Or maybe wet legs; I confess I am not really sure how deep it is. I could end up swimming across.
Having driven, and thereby having remained quite dry-footed (and dry-legged), I sauntered up to the office to say hello. Despite it being early December the air was still and it was far from cold. Milder winters are an important feature of the changing climate in Bordeaux (and the Loire Valley, and I suppose other European wine regions) as they increase the likelihood of an earlier budbreak, thereby increasing the frost-risk, as the tender leaves are exposed to potential sub-zero nocturnal temperatures for a much longer period of time. The locals will tell you the risk persists at least until the Saints de Glace have passed, a reference to the feast days for the Ice Saints, St Mamertus, St Pancras and St Servatius, on May 11th, 12th and 13th respectively. As the buds break earlier and earlier the vines are at risk for six weeks or more, and it only takes one early-morning sub-zero dip in the mercury to wreak havoc in the vineyard.
The Wines
Indeed, the frost of April 2017 shaped the vintage in Bordeaux, and that seems just as evident here in Pauillac as it is elsewhere on the left bank. While there are a handful of very good wines made in this commune it is clear that not every vineyard was protected to the same degree by the moderating influence of the Gironde. Those estates that hug the waterline performed best, with considerable variation in quality across the rest of the appellation. This is not unique to Pauillac, I should say, but is a feature of the left bank in this vintage.
