Bordeaux 2023 at Two Years: St Julien
I don’t mind a little tradition in wine. Sniff the cork. White before red. White with fish. Red with meat. Pass the Port to the left. And so on.
All these traditions exist for a reason (although I am not sure about the ridiculous pseudo-ecclesiastical rules and customs that have grown up around the consumption of Port – Bishop of Norwich, anyone?) but I would argue they are also there to be broken.
Which is why, during this most recent visit to Bordeaux to retaste the wines of the 2023 vintage, I decided to break my well-established tradition of wandering around the Gruaud-Larose estate like a lost soul for half an hour before somebody spots me from an upstairs window and, taking pity on me, comes out to guide me to the tasting room.
“This year,” I told myself, in my biggest, bravest voice, “I will go straight to the estate’s shop, which is always manned, and demand my tasting. No more wasting time wandering around!”
So, turning up at 9am, I went straight to the shop.
It was closed.
Half an hour of wandering later, checking out the château (the lights were on, but there was nobody home – some have also said this of my intellect) and the technical director’s office (just vacated – they had all gone out to prune) I eventually bumped into manager Nicolas Sinoquet, at the estate’s main office. Where, admittedly, it probably would have been a good idea to start my hunt.
Following Nicolas, I headed back to the château to taste, safe in the knowledge that another arcane wine tradition lives on.
