Having just returned from a break-neck few days in Bordeaux with our buyer, Max Lalondrelle, our early thoughts on the vintage are… .that we really can’t say for sure! Dull, I know, but we only tried a handful of finished wines and only twice that amount in barrel samples – and that’s just not broad enough to hang a “Greatest ” tag on…just yet!

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I was invited to the brilliant gastro-pub, The Wellington Arms,  in deepest darkest Basingstoke a couple of nights ago by a bon viveur of a client. Sadly, as I’m not the most well organised person, I’d left it too late in the day to plunder my own cellar (housed here rather than home, as the temptation is too great!) so I had to make a hasty stop in the shop to pick out a bottle of something modest and appropriate.

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Berrys’ Bordeaux Buyer Max Lalondrelle reports on the vintage.

Just back from Bordeaux where I spent a few days assessing the nearly harvested 2009 vintage. I also took this opportunity to look at newcomers that might be included into the Berrys’ portfolio.

Over the three days there were no clouds to be seen the temperature was a steady 28 degrees. It has to be pointed out that the weather in Bordeaux (and the rest of France) has been text book, with the fruits being the healthiest I have ever seen. When tasted, the berries are extra ripe and even the pips are mature. All the ingredients of a good vintage look to be in place.
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We visited Haut-Bailly yesterday where Veronique Sanders echoed the optimism that we’ve seen at every property up until now – she said that so far it has been the most perfect growing season she has seen in her tenure at Haut-Bailly.  Last year the estate began to pick their young Merlot vines on 25th September, this year it was a full 10 days earlier.

Apparently the defining characteristic of this year’s growing season has been one of warm days but cool nights, which is normally a sign that the resulting wines will be well balanced.  July, August and September have been the driest for 10 years, but they’ve had just enough rain at just the right moment to prevent any hydric stress.

Clearly everyone is keeping their fingers crossed for the next two or three weeks, but so far everything seems to augur well.

At Domaine de Chevalier yesterday we watched the white juice going into barrel for alcoholic fermentation and witnessed the backbreaking work of moving all the barrels into position in the cellar.  There was a man – or rather a small mountain in human form – shifting these full barrels around, this bloke was colossal!

There was a huge treat too – tasting some Sauvignon juice that was crushed the day before – it was Dom de Chevalier blanc ‘09 in it’s purest form – fermentation won’t begin for another three days. Fantastic – superbly ripe but also fresh and with great acidity….it’s already so long on the palate – they are very excited about it.  Conditions have been fantastic this year and he (Remy) is so far comparing conditions to ‘ 05 and ‘89…..that’s not a guarantee of what will happen but “we imagine it will not be bad!”

A mixed bag of Berry Brothers (and sisters) are here in Bordeaux, ranging from Hayato, the General Manager of BB&R Japan, to Billy Wong, the Lynch-Bages-pin of Berrys’  Hong Kong.  We had a great opportunity to re-visit some 2008’s yesterday, which are coming on tremendously.  We honestly did not taste a bad wine yesterday – in fact quite the reverse – everything has been excellent, with a few stand outs.  A quick show of hands in the bus brought ‘08 Margaux out with a landslide win – stunning poise and complexity, and the most tremendous finish.  From a personal standpoint I loved all of the wines from  the Lynch Bages stable – Ormes de Pez ‘08 was singing and Lynch itself was genuinely fantastic – showing real Pauillac power and class; a true thoroughbred of a wine.

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Simon Staples asks Alexander Van Beek, President of Giscours and du Tertre for his early impressions of the 2009 vintage in Bordeaux:

Just back from a glorious two weeks away and I thought I’d share a true find.

We drove, taking the great overnight Brittany Ferry crossing from Portsmouth to St Malo (a marvelous meal, a movie in one of four cinemas and a great and spacious Commadore Cabin), five hours to Bordeaux and then a very gentle three hour drive to San Sebastian for a bite of lunch then 10 days reading and relaxing by a pool in Spain and back the same way. Marvellous!!

As much as Bordeaux City as been reinvigorated over the last decade, and it’s really beautiful again now, driving in and out is a nightmare and really should never be attempted during rush hour (a bit of an unquantifiable time frame anywhere in France, let alone this cosmopolitan metropolis….but let’s just say 07.30 to 10.00 and 15.30 to 18.30).

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I was brought up on Rioja, holidaying on the Costa Blanca every year.  My father would spend hours in the local bodegas truffling through their seemingly inexhaustible range of old Reservas and Gran Reservas.  Bringing back wines from the ’40s to ’60s for what seemed only a few hundred pesetas and trying to educate me on their merits and nuances.  Oh and not forgetting how well they went with fresh crunchy bread, manchego cheese, roasted red peppers and garlic and wafer thin slices of Serrano ham. Now, don’t get me wrong, he was right and I really enjoyed that style of Rioja; light, elegant, creamy, oaky but it did (and still does in many Bodegas) lack fruit and I have tended to shy away from them for many years. UNTIL…

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Just back from a few days in Bordeaux where, every two years in June, it is home to the drinks industry’s Olympic equivalent, VINEXPO.  Around 50,000 visitors from around the world descend for five days to meet 2,500 exhibitors. Products range from spirits to liquors and alcohopops but the main emphasis is on wines from around the world. The mood this year was very good despite visitor number being down by around 25% and most exhibitors managed to do some good business, as visitors who made the effort to come had “purchasing” in mind.  A few of the top Bordeaux estates take this opportunity to throw big dinners and parties for their best customers and friends. Ch. Haut Brion and Ch. La Mission were the first to kick start the show with (I have been told, as I arrived on Tuesday) a great party for 300 guests.  After a warm-up dinner on Tuesday night with a good negotiant friend (1966 Ch. Palmer- 1954 Ch. Haut Brion- imperial of 1995 Ch. Latour, amongst others) and a day full of meetings at VINEXPO, I attended what was hailed as the dinner of the year at Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou (see above). (more…)

And so the En Primeur Season draws to a close and what a strange and bizarre campaign it all was. Who would have thought Latour would open proceedings?
 
Who’d have thought we’d sell the luckiest number in China’s worth of Ch. d’Angludet….888 cases! Still a damned fine case at £150 if you haven’t bought yours yet!
 
Who’d have thought the Chateaux would keep a lid on prices (well, until that lid was whipped off and the rabid badgers were unleashed onto the World with the release of Mr Parker’s scores that is).
 
Even I got swept up in it and ended up buying 21 cases when I promised myself, and far more importantly, Mrs Staples, that I was only going to buy seven! Uh oh.
 
So I’m delighted it’s nearing its end and encouraged with what I’m hearing from our chums down there that, at the moment, things are shaping up rather nicely for 2009. I’m driving down through Bordeaux, en route to Spain, on Friday and will report back with any findings.

Hope you’re having a lovely Summer!

I was utterly bewildered when I sat down to see Robert Parker’s scores the other night!  If you’ve been following our progress in Bordeaux then you will know that we were genuinely surprised by the ’08s – some of the wines we tasted were excellent and many surpassed our expectations.  But the blunt fact of the matter is that, on the whole, this vintage was not legendary, exceptional or outstanding – it is simply surprising.  Yes, there were some gems, but it was patchy; the now infamous weather during the vintage has still left its mark, and only those with nerves of steel, who risked everything on cutting back their crops and waiting for those last days of Autumn sunshine were rewarded with remarkable wines, and few would deny that.  The success of the campaign relied on the chateaux getting the prices right and it’s been encouraging to see that those who have released their prices, for the most part, have been sensible.

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Bordeaux 2008 is, quite frankly, a vintage that has taken most of us by surprise.  Who would have thought that after months of continuous bad weather and set-backs in the vineyards, and weeks of speculation about the quality of the wines, that we would actually come away with anything better than mediocre praise for these specimens?  But there’s no denying that many of the wines surpassed our expectations (though it must be said that many didn’t).  Either way, it is certainly a unique vintage, and I caught up with Jancis Robinson MW for our annual En Primeur review (this time on video!) to discuss the highs and the lows.  Jancis tells me that she was surprised and delighted from the outset and talks about how many of these refreshing wines will be ‘an agreeable shock’ to those who had doubted the vintage.

Watch the video here to see our views on what Jancis describes as ‘a vintage like no other’.

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A week on from tasting almost 400 wines and having many heated discussions with négociants and châteaux owners I feel fairly upbeat about Bordeaux 2008 as the prices start to come out.

From a qualitative level 2008 is a mixed bag. It’s not a Right Bank or a Left Bank year, nor a Cabernet or Merlot vintage. It all has come down to which châteaux had the nerve and skill to let their grapes sit on the vine longer and absorb all that wonderful Indian summer sun. This, combined with huge attention to detail and their rigorous selection at all stages.

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Always variable in years like these, Margaux is probably the most difficult of the left bank appellations to taste.  Margaux itself delicate and fresh, Palmer all correct and easier to gauge at this stage than in most years.  Brane-Cantenac soft and supple.  Giscours both structured and supple and du Tertre, our base for the past few days, is soft, textured, fruit-driven and quite delicious.  Indeed we have enjoyed 2002, 2001 and 1982 du Tertre over the past 24 hours.  Excellent wines from a most generous and amiable host, Alexander van Beek.  Thank you. (JF)

The chateaux are beginning to release their prices, be the first to know what’s available and at what price by following BigSithewineguy on .

A busy day.  Not quite the consistency of St Julien, though pleasing all in all.  First mention must go to Cos for both a brilliantly made 2008 and the astonishing cuverie (see the picture, left).  Jean-Guillaume Prats is a man with vision and this is the future.  Simply astonishing, and it clearly works.  In Pauillac, Latour and Mouton were the wines of the day for me: Mouton seduces with its flashy fruit whilst Latour inspires with its class.  Lafite is frequently subdued at this stage but has its inimitable Lafite character shining through.  Lynch-Bages as excellent as one would expect and Grand-Puy-Lacoste likewise.  And, of course, Batailley: exactly as it should be.  (JF)

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Another interesting and variable day.  The late sunshine of 2008 clearly did much good for the Cabernet of the Medoc, but what about the Merlot of the Right Bank and Graves?  There is more variation here but still some lovely wines.  In Graves the sheer class and breeding of Haut-Brion pips La Mission for me (see the picture of us tasting at Haut-Brion), and the brilliantly pure Haut-Bailly a nap for all the team.  I always find the Right Bank harder to call but Larcis Ducasse and Pavie Macquin are impeccably made wines and the quality at the Ausone stable as breathtakingly good as expected.  The vintage on this side of the Gironde is to me a little like a more powerful version of 2004.  Pauillac tomorrow: bring it on. (JF)

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After checking in at the beautiful Ch. du Tertre and a quick lunch in Margaux we headed north to taste in St Julien, invariably the most consistent appellation of Bordeaux.  Not knowing quite what to expect, I think it fair to say that we have been pleasantly surprised by the quality of the ’08s so far.  We all know that these wines have to be released at pre-2005 prices but, prices and politics to one side, Beychevelle are clearly following their upward trajectory in terms of quality, Branaire cool and pure, the two Bartons impeccably made as ever, Ducru highly impressive and Poyferre as stylish as ever.  I haven’t quite pinned the vintage down yet (’01? ‘02 with more flesh?) but hope that tomorrow’s tastings in Graves and St Emilion will be as pleasing as today’s.  A few wines released in our absence look to be pricey, though we have heard some sensible words today, notably at Leoville-Barton.  We shall see…

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So the week is over, and what a week it has been. Sitting now at Merignac airport, all the talk is of the 2008 wines and how they have completely astonished us.

We came to Bordeaux with open minds but, nonetheless, couldn’t help but expect to be faced with dilute, green, tannic wines. This has not been the case. There has been no sense of green, unripe fruit in anything we have tasted all week and, on the contrary, it must be said that in many instances we have been seriously impressed with the quality we have found in the wines.

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We started in the fog yesterday morning. It’s amazing how one’s spirits are dampened by the lack of sun. After a couple of false starts we hit Ch. d’Angludet at 9.30am. We’ve not always got on with this wine but it was fabulous today. As with all the proprietors of chateaux that have succeeded this year, Benjamin Sichel of d’Angludet spent some time explaining to us about the various selections in the vineyard which had resulted in low yields of very concentrated grapes. His pride in his work was obvious – and well deserved, given the wine’s ripe fruit and elegant tannins.

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