Château Phélan-Ségur Retrospective, 2011: Vintages 2000 – 2011
Having had a look around, including a tour of this year’s must-have piece of winemaking equipment, the Delta Vistalys optical sorting machine, de rigueur for any classed growth or indeed any estate with classed growth aspirations, we returned into the front room of the château for the tasting. Kicking off with the 2000, this like one or two other wines of the vintage I have tasted in the past couple of months is showing a rather solid and reticent character right now; these wines need more time, it seems. The 2001 showed very well, testament to the quality of this vintage which was inevitably overshadowed by the millennial vintage. Moving on, the 2002 did display a leaner texture and slightly less ripe fruit, aspects which are not so obvious when these wines are tasted or drank in isolation, but line them up in a vertical such as this and it is much easier to spot. Especially if the next wine is the 2003, with its meaty texture, solid substance and lower acidity.
Both the 2004 and 2006 vintages showed well, although clearly they were eclipsed by that which sat between them, which is clearly panning out to be a great vintage for future drinking across much of Bordeaux, and I’m glad that I have more than a few bottles from the 2005 vintage tucked away. The 2007 displayed the weaknesses of the year, and I urge readers not to be swayed by the softened opinions of this vintage that might be appearing now that the wines are settling down in bottle. I have never understood why some sections of the wine community revel in talking up mediocre vintages such as 2007, usually while knocking vintages such as 2009 with the next breath, but they do seem to enjoy doing it!
