Bordeaux 2017 Primeurs: Moulis & Listrac
While the Médoc appellations which sit on the edge of the Gironde estuary largely escaped frost damage in the 2017 vintage, those vineyards situated a little further inland were not so fortunate. The twin appellations of Moulis and Listrac are very typical examples of this. Their yields tell a story which must by now seem very familiar; while St Estèphe, Pauillac, St Julien brought in yields ranging from 44.3 hl/ha to 49.7 hl/ha, figures very similar to the norm, the average yield in Moulis and Listrac was less than 25 hl/ha, which is half the volume most growers in these parts would look for. These appellations were, in short, badly frosted.
As a consequence I came to these wines much as I did those of the St Emilion plain, or from the lower parcels of the Pomerol vineyard, that is to say my expectations were low. Even so, despite the frost some dedicated proprietors have turned out decent and very drinkable wines. Wines such as Château Poujeaux, for example, often show well, even in more challenging vintages. Does anybody else have fond memories of the 1997, a delicious wine in a vintage that could certainly disappoint? I know I do.
As I also note in my reports on some of the other ‘lesser’ appellations on the right bank, however, success was strongest where proprietors were sufficiently wealthy to be able to ditch the second-generation fruit, and select hard, choosing to make a small-volume but top-quality wine solely from first-generation fruit. In practice this often means proprietors who own big châteaux in more famous appellations, and in Moulis and Listrac the obvious candidate who fits this bill is Bruno Borie, proprietor of Château Fourcas-Borie. I report on this wine, and indeed every other wine from these two appellations I tasted, here. After all, primeurs is not just about the more famous names from more famous appellations, it is about gaining an overall understanding of the vintage, in all corners. And it is not as if the internet enforces a restriction on word count.
