We had a wonderful trip to Bordeaux (and a day in Paris) about a week ago. Just marvelous. We hired a driver named Henri Challeau, who is a former sommelier in Paris and very, very knowledgable. Great find.
From what I heard from people there, they are very high on 2005 as the great vintage of recent years. They also like 2001 a good bit. Some think 2000s are going to take a long time to come around and may be overrated (Henri compared it to 1975). They seemed higher on 2010 than on 2009, which seems to be what they consider to be a vintage for Americans who like big wines. 2014 will be the best vintage over the last several years, but I did not hear anyone describe it as great - more like excellent.
Our first stop was in Pomerol at Chateau Clinet. I was very impressed there. I don’t drink that much Pomerol and think that too many I see are too modern in style for my tastes. We had the 2005 and 2011 Clinets and I was impressed. Very well balanced wines. We also had, among other wines a 2011 Ronan (the name of the owner), which they said retails for about 8 Euros. A wine like that if it was about $10 or so in the US would be a great value. Of particular interest, at Clinet they should us various ratings by major wine critics. One that surprised me is that they quoted my friend Jeff Leve. Way to go Jeff.
The second visit was to Troplong Mondot. Very serious property doing the best to make the best wine they can from their terroir. We tasted the 2011. It just is not my style, too big, too modern. Others with different preferences will like this a lot more than I did.
Our final visit of the day was at Beausejour Becot. We got to taste a little bit of a barrel sample of 2014. Seemed very good, but hard to tell because it was still undergoing malolactic. We tasted among other wines a 2007 Beausejour Becot, which tasted a bit tired. Not sure how long the bottle had been opened.
On Tuesday, we were in the Medoc. Now we were in the land of big, big impressive Chateau. And, boy was it impressive driving through all this for the first time. First visit was at Pichon Baron. We had a wonderful visit there. One wine we tasted of note there was a 2011 Chateau Pibron, a Pauillac estate that they own. Very good for a non-classified property. We had a 2008 Pichon Baron that was excellent with beautiful balance, although a bit soft. This seemed more balanced and less big than a lot of Pauillacs.
Next stop, Lynch Bages, which has always been a wine I have enjoyed. We had two 2007s, an Ormes de Pez and Lynch Bages. Both were pretty good for 2007s, esp. the Lynch Bages, which still had a decent amount of power. Liked these better than the 2007 at Beausejour Becot.
Final stop of the day was at du Tertre. They are really putting a lot of investment in du Tertre and I think this is a property to watch. We had a 2006 that was pretty and balanced, but not particularly long. We also had a 2013 barrel sample, which is going to be better, I think, despite the fact that 2013 was a very challenging vintage in the Medoc.
Wednesday was the day dreams are made of. We started out at Chateau Haut Brion. All the estates in Bordeaux, esp. the Medoc, are impressive, but we really stepped back in time with Haut Brion. The furnishings are exquisite. The vineyard is on the highest ground in the area. I was in awe just being there. Then, to top things off, we were on a tour at Haut Brion with three other Americans. We all introduced ourselves and I found out that the live in Savannah, GA, my hometown. They came there after I left, but knew my parents, some cousins and some old friends. Being at Haut Brion, meeting people from Savannah, I felt like this was just a magical place. The wines we had were 2007 Mission Haut Brion and 2007 Haut Brion. I know 2007 is a mediocre vintage, but these wines were wonderful.
We had very excellent meals throughout our days in Bordeaux, but the best was lunch in Sauternes at Le Saprien. Just great food.
Then, it was off to d’Yquem. It was unbelievably thrilling to be at d’Yquem. The 2011 is something to beg borrow and steal for. They described it as the next 2001. For me, not as powerful as the 2001, but with such exquisite balance that it may be as good.
The final stop of the day was at Domaine de Chevalier. I am becoming a bigger and bigger fan of their wines. Beautiful balance. We had a 2005 and 2006 red - both outstanding but the 2005 is better. We also had two exquisite whites - a 2008 and a 2009. The 2008 was better for me, cleaner with better acidity.
Our final day was Thursday. We first stopped to just taste at Chateau Ferriere. The same people own both Ferriere and Haut Bages Liberal in Pauillac. They opened 2009s for us because as Americans we must like bigger wines. In any case, the wines were quite good. I esp. liked the Ferriere, which I had never had before or even heard of before. Much more elegant than the HBL. Over time during my week, I must say that I started liking wines more from Graves, Margaux and St. Julien and less from Pauillac, although based on experience I know that as the wines mature I also love Pauillac.
Then, our first real visit of the day was at Ducru Beaucaillou, where we were hosted by long-time cellar master Rene Lusseau. M. Lusseau did not speak English, so Henri translated for us, but I feel like I kind of understood 80% of what Rene Lusseau was saying because of his arm gestures, enthusiasm, etc. Just a great visit. We tasted a 2011 Lalande Borie and a 2001 Ducru, among others. The 2001 Ducru probably the best red we had on our tours in Bordeaux. Just a fabulous wine.
Then we next visited Chateau Pontet Canet. They are now biodynamic and have really bought the “religion” hook line and sinker. I understood a lot of what they were doing in the vineyard and why, but when they talked about liking to have animals (horses, cows and donkeys) around the vineyards because the grapes like the vibes from the animals, that went a bit beyond me. Clearly, they are committed in doing everything correctly as they best understand it and this is a property likely to be making better and better wines. We had an excellent 2007.
Our last visit in Bordeaux was at Mouton. Mouton is worth visiting just for the wine museum, which has originals of all the art work on the labels. But, it is also obviously a great winery. We tasted a barrel sample of the 2013, which was rich and powerful, but also balanced and complex. We also had 2013 barrel samples of the d’Armailhac and Clerc Milon, which are owned by the same owners. The d’Armailhac had some of the power of the Mouton and the Clerc Milon had some of the finesse. I horrified the tour guide when I suggested that the two properties be combined (they both are from Pauillac). Then, after drinking most of each wine, I combined what I had left, to the horror of the tour guide, and actually think it tasted better.
Thursday night we went back to Paris and spent Friday at the Musee d’Orsay. Friday night, we went to L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in Saint Germain, which was marvelous. I know we had been to Bordeaux all week and I know I should have drunk a Bordeaux that night to celebrate our trip. Our wine was a Georges Noellat Vosne Romanee Beaumont 2010. Very open for a 2010, it had beautiful balance. If I had wanted anything it would have been a touch more acidity. Very nice wine.
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