Château L’Église-Clinet Retrospective, 2015: Rising Alcohol Levels
A second theme seen running through the tasting was the rising alcohol levels through the 1990s and into the 21st century. The first sign of this was seen with the 1998 L’Église-Clinet which Denis revealed was actually somewhere between 12.8% and 12.9%, although it can perhaps be viewed as a landmark vintage as this was the first year the label (through rounding up) declared 13%. It was a very good wine, superior to those vintages already tasted, and also many that followed it. The 1999 L’Église-Clinet was very fine but not at the same level as the 1998, although here the wine was notable for being the last vintage ever to have less than 13% alcohol. From the 2000 L’Église-Clinet onwards (a stunning wine by the way, and one of my two favourites of the night) every wine reported on here has at least 13% alcohol.
The obvious culprit in this development is climate change, although I think some are too quick to always point an accusing finger in this direction. I have seen this before, if I may be allowed a momentary tangential diversion, in the Loire Valley, where ever-greater success in the sweet wine appellations along the Layon during the last couple of decades has sometimes been erroneously attributed solely to climate change. The truth is that warmer weather is only part of the story, and in fact the willingness to lower yields, to take a risk in harvesting later, and to harvest in tries picking berry-by-berry, overall aiming for botrytised quality rather than weak and feeble quantity is just as if not more important.
Coming back to Bordeaux, I asked Denis why the alcohol level had climbed, and aside from climate change (which he certainly does not deny) he highlighted five developments in the Bordeaux vineyard which have also contributed. First, the quality of the vegetal material available for planting is greatly improved these days, the clones available from nurseries today much more capable of ripening their fruit. Secondly, as I have already suggested has happened in the Loire Valley, there is a willingness to wait longer and to harvest later, as a result obtaining better quality riper fruit, but which also obviously has a higher potential alcohol. Thirdly, Denis also cited the improved range of pesticides available today, allowing good control of vine diseases while using fewer more targeted treatments, rather than the old practice of scattergun spraying by rote.
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