The 2018 EP so far has been a pretty strange one. The items that normally did not do well during the EP campaigns have been sold briskly. Chateau Palmer and and Angelus, for example, were sold out within half an hour in UK after merchants complaining their prices being too high. The little known chateau Laroque is also sold out within a couple of days, let alone the more popular names such as Calon Segur and Beychevelle. Three of the reasons I think are helping moving these items are very limited quantities due to extremely low yields, unusually good and unconventionally ready to drink quality, and UK´s vast purchase to avoid import duties after Brexit. Ch. Palmer, for instance, produced no Alter Ego and the yield was dismal 11 litre/ht. For the fast few days, we saw a number of big and popular names released; namely, Calon Segur, Clerc Milon, d’Armailhac, Duhart Milon, Beychevelle, Palmer, Larcis Ducasse, Pape Clement Rouge and Blanc, etc. These are all great wines. Some are priced more reasonably than others. I will list a few below that I think would be of your interest. Please keep one thing in mind, the allocation quantities will be very small.

2018 Ch. Pape Clement Rouge    RP96-98                    €75/bt.

A solid performer, but unfortunately gets a bit of lost among the historical pedigrees and nouveau stardoms.  

The 2018 Calon-Ségur is blended of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot (14.9% alcohol). It is anticipated to age for 20 months in barriques, 100% new. Deep garnet-purple colored, it needs just a little coaxing before it reveals seductive notes of baked cherries, warm cassis, licorice and smoked meats with nuances of hoisin, camphor, Chinese five spice and dried roses with a waft of cardamom. Full-bodied and completely packed with concentrated black fruit and spice layers, it has a firm frame of grainy tannins and a wicked backbone of freshness giving an energetic lift to the very long finish. There´s lots of brightness coming from the Cabernet Franc component in here, but it is nonetheless a decadent expression.

“2018 was complicated to vinify because of the potentially high alcohols,” Laurent Dufau, Managing Director of Calon-Ségur and Capbern informed me. “Also, you had to be very gentle with extraction. You had to be soft, so as not to extract too much. The alcohol percentage of the Merlot was concerning—some came in at 16% potential alcohol! And the Cabernet Franc this year was amazing on this terroir.” Merlot was picked from September 19 to 25. The Cabernets came in September 26 to October 5. Petit Verdot came in on October 8th. Yields were pretty good here on average in 2018: 41 hectoliters per hectare. This year marks the final stages/completion of years of vineyard restructuring, new aging cellars and a gravity-fed vat room at Château Calon-Ségur. Most notably, they have been increasing vine density and slowly working on bringing more Cabernet Sauvignon rather than Merlot on line, as was the blend traditionally. No doubt about it, quality at Calon-Ségur has been on an upward trajectory in recent years! — Lisa Perrotti-Brown, the Wine Advocate

2018 Ch. Duhart Milon RP 93-95 €63/bt.

Duhart from the Lafite staples has lost a bit of its shine recently. However, according to Mr. Prat, the CEO of Lafite, this is the best Duhart Milon ever.

The 2018 Duhart-Milon is composed of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 35% Merlot, with the Cabernet Sauvignon harvested September 25 to October 4 and the Merlot harvested September 17-25, and it has 14% alcohol. Deep garnet-purple colored, it leaps from the glass with exuberant notes of Black Forest cake, plum preserves and crème de cassis with hints of spice cake, woodsmoke, potpourri and eucalyptus. Full-bodied, rich and laden with layers of black fruit preserves and spices, it has a velvety texture and just enough freshness, finishing long. Very impressive—the densest, most opulent Duhart I have tasted!

“2018 was like a difficult child to begin that turned out to be a genius,” Lafite’s Technical Director Eric Kohler informed me, hardly able to contain his excitement about this vintage. “The finish to this vintage was so perfect in terms of maturation!” “It started out really wet—more wet than rainy,” Kohler continued. “On the Right Bank and Sauternes, they got more rain. Same with Margaux. There was a lot of mildew pressure. Here at Lafite, the pressure from the mildew was lower than the Right Bank or Sauternes. We lost less than 5% here. We are close to organic with our farming, but not entirely. We were able to control the situation. And then from mid-July it became very dry and very hot. This was the hottest summer since 2003. Of course, it was not as extreme as 2003. This is why the potential of the terroir was very important. What is a great terroir? It is a terroir that can compensate for the excesses of the vintage. The terroir must have the capacity to behave like a sponge—to retain or give water. The sponge of clay that we have at Lafite regulated the excess of the vintage. This year, instead of the humid wind from the west, we got a dry wind from the northeast. So, there was no risk of botrytis as harvest approached. 2016 and 2018 are like two brothers, the former easier to manage, the latter more trouble and potential excess, but very great in the end." Kohler also commented, "Duhart-Milon does not have the clay/water holding capacity of Lafite, but a little rain at the end of August/beginning of September got the vineyard through. The Merlot performed very well—Duhart-Milon might just have better terroir for Merlot than Lafite. Duhart-Milon is very opulent this year. For the dry whites, it was a very hot summer and so maybe the dry whites will not be so aromatic.” — Lisa Perrotti-Brown, the Wine Advocate

Our second day of 2018 En Primeur tasting was focused on the Right Bank. We started off at Chateau Ausone and finished at Valandraud. Ausone as usual is a perfectly balanced wine. The 2018 has a muted touch of crushed stone nose, beautiful and elegant texture, well integrated silky tannin. Medium to full body, mouth coating. Simply glorious. After Ausone, we moved on to Chateau Pavie. The Espirit de Pavie was delicious with fruity nose, rich texture, perfectly balanced with generous tannin. Bravo. The second wine of Pavie, Armoes de Pavie is equally impressive, mouth coating flavour of strawberry and red fruits. Pavie, on the other hand, felt a bit of lacklustre, muted, flat and soft. Not sure if this is the 2018 style of Pavie or simply the variation of the bottle.

One of the highlights of the Right Bank is Chateau Figeac. It is the one the best if not the best Figeac that I have ever tasted in the past 10 EP tastings. It is simply a masterpiece, a candidate for perfection? It boasts deep purplish red and ultra clean nose with a sense of creme brûlée. It possesses rich texture with silky smooth tannin. Perfectly balanced, medium to full bodied. Mouth coating flavour of creme brulee. 100% new oak. 

Santem from the property of l´Eglise Clinet was surpassingly good. L´Eglise Clinet was as excellent as usual with fruity nose, silky texture, and well-integrated tannin. Medium bodied with lingering finish. After lunch, we moved on the Chateau Angelus. La Fleur de Bouard was rich, delicious and ready to drink. What a great wine. The second wine of Angelus, Carillon de Angelus, was also outstanding. Chateau Cheval Blanc is as excellent as usual.

Vieux Chateau Certan has always been my favourite wine. This yeas, it is no exception. In my opinion, the 2018 VCC is destined to perfection and a "so-far" candidate for the Wine of the Vintage. It is simply a glorious wine firing in all cylinders…delicious texture, perfect balance, gentle and yet powerful and mouth-coating. You just want to more and more. At the tasting, not a single person spit it out. It will surpass the great 1945 and 1947. Chateau Canon is another great highlight of the day. We tasted from two separate barrels, one from 100% new oak and another from two-year old barrel. Then we tasted the “final” blend. It is absolutely gorgeous. A must buy. Towards the end of the day, we stopped by at Chateau Valandraud. The 2018 Valandraud was excellent. To some, it is near perfection. But for me, it has bit of high acidity and less rich texture that I prefer on some of the other wines.

The weather forecast predicted rain for the entire day. Luckily, we had sunshine with cold breeze for the most of the time. Perfect condition for tasting. Tomorrow we will taste the first growths from the Left Bank. Stay tuned…

Bordeaux 2018 is my tenth consequent En Primeur tasting since the 2009 vintage. In the past ten years, every vintage tasted different, and I would not expect anything otherwise this year.

April 2, 2019 was marked by over-cast. However, it did not affect our tastings at all. We focused mainly on the super seconds on the Left Bank including, Ducru Beaucaillou, Picho Baron, Pichon Lalande, Lynch Bages, Cos d’Estournel, Montrose and all JP Moueix wines. In general, 2018 wines on the Left Bank are rich in texture with smooth tannin, freshness, roundness and medium-to-full body, tongue-coating and pleasing. The attack lasts long. Even at 14.6% alcohol level, you don’t taste the heat and jamminess due to plenty of water deposited under the ground caused by heavy rains during the early growing season even under the extreme summer heat. The vine was not extremely stressed as it was in 2003. Therefore, you taste the richness and freshness in the same time even at 14.6% alc. level.

Ducru Beaucaillou is outstanding... Rich and fresh with perfect balance, silky tannin and gentle attack on all your tasting buds. D’Armailhac is also outstanding, perhaps slightly better than Clerc Milon. Almost all JP Moueix wines are extraordinary, particularly La Fleur Peteus, Trotanoy, Bel Air Monage, Hosanna. One of my favourite ones is little-known Puy-Blanquet from St. Emilion. Pichon Baron is also very good. 

Today, we will focus on the Right Bank, stay tuned...

En Primeur of 2017 Lynch Bages was released yesterday.

Even 2017 was a problematic vintage for Bordeaux, Lynch Bages still stands out from those of them. Most of the major critics gave out very high ratings for it.  Antonio Gallino awarded the wine potentially 95 points,James Suckling awared the wine even more impressively with potential 96 points.Their fellow American critic Jeff Leve gave it another potential 96 points. Lynch Bages has always been a very popular wine in this part of the world, and 2017 Lynch Bages will be a serious wine for expectating!

Limited quantities are available for ordering.

Today, we saw the release of 2017 Chateau Beychevelle. Antonio Galloni thinks it is "absolutley gorgeous". At €745 per case with potential 95 points from Galloni, it is a must buy.

Bordeaux 2016
The estate manager paces the parquet floor of his re-re-refurbished office, stares blankly out of the window to survey a sky so grey, so leaden, that it either augurs 2013 (Part II) or the end of the world... same thing, basically. He checks the date on his Demeter-approved, hemp-lined biodynamic calendar. 17 June 2016. His heart sinks as the rain pitter-patters on the windowpane presaging another downpour. 17 June 2016. At least in six days time, the E.U. vote will be out of the way. Markets have been stymied by uncertainty. He needs a stable currency, calm waters. Once the Remain vote romps to victory, he can at least cross one thing off his worry list. 

That morning he had to escort another deluded N.R.P. (New Robert Parker) to look at their vines. His 4x4 had almost been swept away by the flood. All it needed was a plague of rats and a crappy Wine Advocate review for the devastation to be complete. He sat silently in a trance; rain pounding the roof, the frantic window wipers doing their metronomic best. The N.R.P. whipped out his smartphone and started tweeting live to his six followers (including three bots and himself). As soon as the rain petered out, he returned him to his grimy two-man tent pitched next to a flooded ditch in Fronsac and then hurried back to the château. 

He sits down at his computer, whose screensaver depicts frost-devastated vineyards in Chablis. The image of desolation makes him feel better each morning. Schadenfreude never hurt anyone. His telephone rings. It’s his boss, currently front-page news for axing half his workforce, teetotal in real life but a connoisseur/dipsomaniac according to his PR department. That morning a market report landed on his desk detailing a stomach-churning decrease in current value. No surprise. Against his advice, marketing had added an extra zero to his recommended price last year, which funnily enough equates precisely to the number of cases sold. 

     “I want you to find every hard copy of that report and burn it,” his boss bellows down the line.
     “Yes Sir. But...”
     “And I want 100 points. I don’t care how many optical sorting machines it takes. In any case, I thought you could pre-program these things with intended score? Punch it in. One-zero-zero. Easy.”
     “We are making extra efforts with our biodynamic program. We are due certification next year and...”
     “Screw that hippy drivel. Biodynamics is yesterday. Less pray, more spray.”
     “But we have just bought the horses, Rudolf and Steiner...”
     “They’re dog food.”

There follows a rant about shareholders’ expectations and sullied brand image; whether the UGC holding the journalist tasting at the roller-disco affected scores; the higher score for “Château Nemesis” despite last year´s specially commissioned vintage poem, the latest N.R.P to request a vertical back to 1945, plus poached eggs in the morning during primeur and their latest recruitment—a hot-shot consultant whose existence is only verified by his monthly invoice. He begins to daydream as rain lashes the window. What did his manically depressed vineyard manager say? Almost 700 millimeters since January. That’s when Noah started building his ark. He fantasizes about a huge golden tap beyond the clouds. God is beckoning him to float up. Angels pluck their harps. All he needs to do is turn the tap. The rain will stop and not a droplet will fall until the final berry is tucked up in bed with a goodnight story called “Fermentation.” What are the odds of that happening? 

The Growing Season
2016... It was wet. Then it was dry. Then they picked. This is the growing season in a nutshell. Skip the next part if you want the minutiae. The remarkable feature about 2016 was the almost meteorological volte-face—the manner in which incessant rain abruptly stopped and clement conditions prevailed. That golden tap in the sky... it does exist! Discussing the 2016 growing season with winemakers several months afterwards, I found many still scratching their heads and asking whether that really happened, before breaking into a Cheshire cat grin.

Part 1: Le Splish-Splosh! – Let´s rewind to the previous year. As Baptiste Guinaudeau at Lafleur pertinently reminded me, the last six months of 2015 had been particularly dry, December unseasonably dry and warm. So when the heavens opened and almost drowned Bordeaux with around 233 millimeters of rainfall in January 2016, a figure not seen since 1920, the Bordelais were wet but not particularly concerned, even if it did delay pruning. However, nobody realized that this sodden January presaged six months of constant rain or to use the French vernacular… le splish splosh. From March there was a conveyor belt of low depression systems. Some feared a premature bud-burst, ergo a risk of frost damage, however the cooling effects of the sodden ground retarded bud-burst so that most buds appeared after the warm weekend of 26/27 March, and high nitrogen levels in the soil—also due to the rain—ensured that bud-burst was incredibly regular. April and May was inclement with fluctuating temperatures and continuing wet conditions, the opposite of 2015, prompting fears of a sequel to 2013 as wanted as a sequel to Titanic.

Whilst Burgundy and Chablis in particular were being annihilated by frost and hail, Bordeaux was spared save for some isolated problems in mid-April. May continued to pile on the pressure, Mother Nature at its capricious best with wild temperature swings and random hailstorms. Edouard Moueix showed me an astonishing photo that he took from Château Belair-Monange as an ominous sheet of hail approached from Entre-Deux-Mers. This aside, other French wine regions must look upon Bordeaux with envy. Livelihoods were not destroyed. Winemakers did not face annihilation of their vineyard. The first major test for a vintage is flowering and at first glance, these wildly fluctuating temperatures and unrelenting showers did not bode well. 

This is where the Bordelais enjoyed their first stroke of luck, thanks to a break in the rainfall between 3 and 11 June (eight days later than average), whereby the weather remained fine and daytime temperatures hovered between 21 and 28 degrees Celsius. It was here that approximately 80% of the flowering took place. Anything after that suffered coulure and millerandage, but that was minor compared to other French wine regions. Somebody was obviously smiling upon Bordeaux. Whatever happened next there was at least the possibility of a large crop, but what they did not know was the eventual quality. 

When I visited Bordeaux in the second week of June, I found winemakers in a pessimistic mood. Between January and June, over 700 millimeters of rain had fallen and the weather had not improved sufficiently to allay fears of another 2013. Some vineyards were clearly soaked to the bone, tractors finding it difficult to maneuver through the vines. One or two winemakers discretely trialing biodynamics discretely abandoned their project and sprayed their vines against rot. The handful remaining faithful to Steiner with small vineyards sprayed by hand. Many had taken preemptive measures and sprayed their vineyards in advance, although they had another challenge in the form of grape worm, so virulent that some of the sexual confusion tags were unable to control it. In May, many in Bordeaux seemed to be resigned to their fate, as if 2016 came to redress the balance of fortune after 2015. As Philippe Blanc, estate manager at Château Beychevelle so eloquently put it: “We were in the shit.” 

I posted on social media my perilous drive through Pomerol on 17 June, a month that witnessed over 100 millimeters of rain in some areas. It felt like those 100 millimeters fell on me that day. Driving up from the village of Catusseau towards Clinet, the drainage system could not contain the deluge, and swathes of lower-lying vineyards were under inches of turbid water. One winemaker, marooned in his home, waved for me to go back because it was too dangerous. Would my car be swept away by rising waters? Should I phone and say my final farewell to my kids? Do I have life insurance? What I did not know, nor any winemakers, was that this represented the final throw of the dice in terms of Mother Nature banjaxing the growing season. She had thrown all the obstacles in the way of winemakers in the first half of the season. She was out of weapons. 

Part 2: Il Fait du Soleil – On 20 June, the rain stopped and the sun returned. Now this is where my account of the growing season might deviate from those that simply copy and paste vintage summary reports. I have read that the mercury shot up from 19 to 33 degrees Celsius virtually overnight and suddenly everyone was bronzing themselves in Arcachon and donning Prada flip-flops. However, it was not like that. It seems more likely that the rain stopped and the sun came out, but summer and its attendant high temperatures did not arrive until mid-July. (The saint of Sauternes, Bill Blatch, cites this change in condition to the contemporaneous transition from El Nino to La Nina). The question was how long would these benevolent climes last? The answer to that was just as surprising as the change in weather itself, insofar that it lasted until the harvest had been completed. In terms of viticulture, that means forever.

There was nary a drop of rain from 20 June. I remember two or three al fresco dinners at the end of that month under balmy conditions, memories of flooded Pomerol now attributed to a different growing season. Of course, now the Bordelais understood why God had deluged them with so much rain for the first six months of the year: to ensure that vines’ throats did not go dry. If it had not been for that torrential rain, then you would have witnessed widespread hydric stress, browning or dropped leaves by the end of the season. However, inspecting vineyards myself just prior to picking, vineyards were very different to those of say 2003 when I remember driving through Pomerol and seeing so many vines dropping their entire canopy due to stress.

Not knowing how long these clement conditions would last, vineyard managers had to make an important decision, whether to strip back some of the foliage to enhance ventilation and avert risk of disease, or maintain cover crops between rows to absorb moisture. It is like a game of poker. Was the weather bluffing? As it turned out, those that did practice effeuillage or leaf plucking ended up regretting that decision, since they were unknowingly exposing bunches to the sun without protection. Naturally, not a single winemaker admitted that. It was always “somebody else!” Fortunately, the staggered arrival of perfect weather conditions gave many vineyard managers a chance to be prudent, wait and see, pluck the leaves on one side to leave some protective cover. In any case, sunburn is easy to remedy without affecting quality.

This shot was taken at Canon just before picking. You can see some shriveled berries on the sun-exposed side. These were snipped off or the bunch discarded at the sorting table.

The statistics with respect to the dry conditions in the latter part of 2016 are remarkable. From 20 June to 13 September, 85 days, there was just 25 millimeters of rainfall (80% of the average). In Saint Estèphe there was just 5.5 millimeters of rain. Generally, there was an accretion of dryness and most crucially, every fortnight or so, there would be a brief nighttime shower that prevented vines from tipping over into stress or shutting down. Coupled with the plentiful water reserves, it kept the vines stressed but ticking over. Whilst July was close to average in terms of temperature, the pivotal month was August, not so much in terms of temperature, but in sunlight hours. Only four days saw the thermometer exceed 30 degrees Celsius and there was just 11.3 millimeters of rain. And put those sunglasses on, because there was 26% more sunlight hours than normal with two heatwaves between 12-16 and 22-27 August. These began to affect younger vines with shallower roots, but it was negligible compared to 2003 and in case, that is what Deuxième Vins are for, no?

This “bespoke” growing season ensured that véraison was more uniform than expected, thanks to two small showers on 30 July and 4 August recharging vines’ batteries to makes sure that the berries changed color. That said, Bill Blatch estimates that around one-fifth of the crop endured a prolonged véraison and as a consequence, this fruit did not achieve the same level of quality. Diurnal temperature variations that at their greatest could be between 17-19 degrees Celsius at night to 33-36 degrees Celsius during day, together preserved acidity levels and freshness, building anthocyanin levels that ended up higher than 2009 or 2015. The whites began to be picked on 1 September at Haut-Brion where its urban locale creates a slightly warmer microclimate, swiftly followed by other Pessac-Léognan estates. 

There had been one abrupt change of season in 2016. The second occurred on 13 September, when summer declared that it had enough and passed the baton to autumn. It could not have been timed more perfectly. Nearly every winemaker admitted that they were suffering sleepless nights, worried by the lack of water at the end of August. Some leaves were curling upwards to protect themselves, turning brown or dropping off altogether. Vines were on the cusp of getting into real difficulties and there is no question that in some properties, they shut down and stymied ripeness levels that were sometimes never recovered.

This was taken at Petrus as harvest commenced. As you can see, hardly any brown leaves and plenty of green foliage.

However, this Godsend of rainfall that shimmied up from the Basque region changed the fortunes of the vintage, because up until that point it could have still been disastrous. Cue plummeting temperatures. Overnight they fell by around 10-15 degrees Celsius. Say hello to the freshness and tension that suffuses many 2016s. But it was the rainfall that was most important because the 20-50 millimeters (the figure actually differs between adjacent properties!) immediately revivified the vines. The rain was not a deluge, but prolonged and constant, allowing it to penetrate the soils rather than run off, thereby expediting ripening particularly with respect to Cabernet on gravelly soils. Although doubtless you will read that winemakers look back on this as a Godsend, I can tell you that at the time, some were concerned that it could spoil the harvest, especially with respect to the earlier-picked Merlot. At its most beneficial, the rain eradicated pyrazines that could have afflicted vines, though in one or two cases it caused winemakers to blink when they had been anticipating a leisurely picking and went out with the pickers too early. One benefit of the hot July and August was that skins were thicker and therefore, there were few instances of split berries, which can particular afflict Merlot. 

On 30 September, there was another 10-20 millimeters of rain. It’s not the date here that is important, but the day. It was a Friday. Now, who is going to give up their weekend, get out there and spray the vines to protect them from rot? If you had the kind of sponge-like soil that soaks up the water, then you had an advantage. If not, then the water just stayed in the vineyard and potentially created humid conditions that were perfect for rot. “I sprayed three times that weekend,” one Saint Emilion vigneron told me. “It saved us. I was amazed that there were not more people in the vineyard over the weekend.” At least the nights following this rain were cool. Most of the Merlot was picked between 3 and 7 October, the latest plucked on 15 October. The harvest for the Cabernet Sauvignon commenced on 15 to 16 October, as the wind veered to the south before petering out and rendering Bordeaux quite humid. This caused a few harvest managers to expedite the picking.

The Harvest
Usually I avoid visiting a wine region amidst harvest. I feel like a spare part. My presence is not needed in this crucial time, an unnecessary distraction. However, in 2016 I did visit Bordeaux at the behest of some properties to witness the commencement of the harvest and for a change, spectate vineyards that were hives of activity and wineries in action. The general atmosphere was relaxed and positive. The spirit of a vineyard is an intangible that affects the quality of the wine. When positive, it directly enhances efficiency, improves working practices and just infuses “je ne sais quoi” into the picked fruit. Vineyard managers want pickers with smiles on faces and (metaphorical) smiles on berries. Visiting Château Mouton-Rothschild on 27 September, the team had just broached the young Merlot under the watchful eye of Philippe Dhalluin, whilst at Montrose, they had opted to just delay a couple of days and the winery was eerily deserted. Chipping over to the Right Bank, Nicolas Audebert was overseeing the incoming Merlot at Canon, though he had time to show me some of the bunches that had suffered sunburn (grillure) on one side. He demonstrated its simple remedy, snipping off the side with shriveled berries to leave a perfectly healthy bunch. Of course, whether you do that or not is up to the estate. Certainly grillure was sufficiently widespread that any quality-driven estate ought to have done the same.

I took this at Mouton-Rothschild as the teams went out to pick the first Merlot vines on 28 September.

The general sentiment was for a relaxed picking. Often the weather forecast wedges harvest into an optimal picking window and any lots outside this period are deemed detrimental. Frankly, I do not think 2016 was quite the “unfold the deckchair and watch the perfect grapes come in” utopia that some winemakers depict. However, it was certainly less frenetic than other years and properties had time to go in and out of the vineyard to pick in piecemeal fashion, not only plot by plot, but specific sections of individual parcels. At Le Pin, Jacques Thienpont actually indicated which vines to pick by painting individual wooden stakes to direct pickers hither and thither, what you might call “sniper picking,” aiming the secateurs at specific vines. For exact picking dates, readers can refer to the tasting notes where this information is embedded. Generally, the Merlot began to be picked from around 22 September until the first days of October, about one week later than average. The Cabernet Sauvignon began to be picked from 5-6 October until around 20 October. Lynch-Bages and Lafite-Rothschild had finished on 12 October. As Lafite winemaker Eric Kohler explained, there was simply no benefit in waiting, since the fruit was not going to improve. So why take the risk? Some Right Bank properties dogmatic about picking late finished 24-25 October, but they did not necessarily make better wines and sometimes displayed over-ripeness.

Whilst much of the country suffered depleted yields, Burgundy for one enduring the embarrassing sight of rows of vine with everything apart from grapes, in Bordeaux not only were they not down on average but they increased by 7%, many estates producing between 45 hectoliters per hectare and 55 hectoliters per hectare. One or two winemakers suggested that higher yields improved quality by naturally regulating concentration and alcohol levels; essentially dispersing all that photosynthetic power across a greater number of bunches. Gone is the dogma of lowest yields equaling superior wine, something that I welcome. It is also important to examine the sugar content of acidity of the berries to understand the vintage. According to the report issued by Dr. Marchal, Lavigne and Prof. Gény (who have taken over from the late Denis Dubourdieu and continuing his good work), the sugar content in 2016 was around 223 grams per liter for the Cabernet compared to 247 grams per liter in 2015 and 225 grams per liter in 2010. 

Nowadays, most top estates are equipped with optical sorting machines, sometimes a battery of them working in sync, parsing out berries that fail to meet regulations. Not all winemakers are fans of optical sorting and prefer the use of human eyes, one or two winemakers dissatisfied with what the machines were discarding and even throwing the bucket of rejected fruit into the vat. They are certainly more prevalent than a couple of years ago, and even those initially opposed to their use such as Lafite-Rothschild, now employ them, and I saw several in action during my harvest tour.

This was the Merlot juice as it was entering the vat at Mouton-Rothschild. I have not adjusted the color in any way.

One aspect that I immediately noticed was the refulgent color of the juice and as I reported at the time (see Wine Journal article). Many winemakers were ecstatic when they saw the deep lucid purple hue of the foaming grape juice, predicating a gentle and possibly shorter period of skin maceration. Basically, you just had to let the fermentation do its own thing, intervene as little as possible, take the foot off the accelerator because the juice already felt plush, velvety and sumptuous when I sampled it myself. As I eventually discovered during my tastings, this was something that tripped up some over-zealous growers who pushed the extraction too hard. One fundamental facet of the 2016 reds is that the alcohol levels tend to be lower than the 2010s by about one degree, thanks to the lack of heat spikes and even more importantly, cooler nights. Much of the Merlot came in at around 13-14% potential alcohol instead of 15%, the Cabernets hovering between 13-14%, which makes a huge difference to the overall feel of the wine. If 2010 was a powerful sports car, then 2016 is the same model refitted with a lighter chassis.

Hereon, the alcoholic fermentation was pretty normal, though I have noticed more properties such as La Cabanne in Pomerol fermenting without any SO2 addition until after malolactic fermentation, whilst others such as Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Clerc-Milon and Rouget have begun trialing stem addition, the latter no surprise since proprietor Edouard Labruyère is from Burgundy. Investments in wineries means that more and more accommodate smaller vats of variegated sizes, tailored to specific vineyard plots. The proliferation of brand new, no expense spared, easy-on-the-eye wineries is a crucial factor in the 2016 vintage. Vat-rooms and barrel cellars are meticulously clean, spacious and easy to work in. Concrete vats are popular since they are now much easier to clean than the antiquated vessels (for example at Cheval Blanc, Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Pontet-Canet and Beauregard to name four that have had a head-to-toe refit in recent years). Pressed wine has improved dramatically in recent years and my feeling is that the contribution of the vin de presse is slightly higher than normal in 2016. As I have already mentioned, extraction times were a little shorter than average and gentler, sometimes at lower temperatures and using pigeage instead of remontage, or in the case of Les Carmes Haut-Brion, a giant rubber ring that pushes down the cap. Malolactic fermentation was generally quicker than normal, which advantaged the condition of samples during en primeur, giving them more time to settle. Of course, the barrel maturation will be crucial in 2016 in order to maintain that structure and freshness. Levels of new oak continue to decrease to more modest levels, including high-profile names such as Pavie and Ausone, whilst there is a subtle move to larger 300 and 500-liter barrels.

Sauternes
Like the rest of Bordeaux, the region of Sauternes was beset by abnormally high amount of rainfall in the first half of the year up until June. I asked Bérénice Lurton at Climens whether farming her vineyard biodynamically was difficult during this period, but she replied that natural preparations staved off any outbreak of rot. Sauternes enjoyed a long, dry and hot summer like everyone else, but of course, the vital ingredient for pourriture noble is fog or rain. The latter came on 13 September, albeit in the form of light showers, ergo small subsequent tries if fine in quality, particularly in Barsac where noble rot developed earlier than in the rest of Sauternes. The vineyards dried out and it was not until 40 millimeters of rain on 29 and 30 September that the conditions became ideal for the development of noble rot. Cold nights between 7 and 11 October slowed down transformation from the pourri plein to the rôti stage, although a shower on 10 October nudged that along. This set everything up for what Bill Blatch described as a “magic week” of picking between 17 and 25 October. The sun shone, an easterly breeze cooled the vineyard and this formed the heart of many of the 2016 Sauternes. There were further pickings, up to eight in some cases, stretching into the first few days of November, producing concentrated but lower-quality berries. 

“We had no problem with the dryness in the summer,” Xavier Planty of Château Guiraud told me. “The 2016 is the first vintage where the chaptalization is totally forbidden. You find [2016] is a different style from other vintages. The sun was marvelous during the harvest, but the nights were fresh and this meant that noble rot developed slowly. The botrytis took some time to arrive and the differences in the vineyard were expressed when it did. At Guiraud we picked two times. The noble rot developed at the beginning of October concentrated between 20-27 October when 95% of the crop was picked. Certainly the noble rot was not heterogeneous [throughout the vineyard]. Fortunately, there was no bad rot this year. It is the biggest harvest we have done at Guiraud and at 23 hectoliters per hectare, that is the largest yield in my 35 years at the château."

How The Tastings Were Done
Slowly—in a word. It is absurd that journalists speed-taste through unfinished samples, not learning about the samples from the people that made them and then publish meaningless scores with nary a word of explanation or reason. The tastings were conducted over three weeks, just as I did last year, taking up residence in the “deluxe” Hotel Ibis in Saint Emilion (clean bed, flaky croissants...what more do you need?). As is customary, several days were devoted to individual visits to the properties where I could taste in quiet and silent conditions. The length of my stay is not to increase the number of tasting notes, lest we forget that only 200 to 300 are actually sold en primeur. Rather, that time is used to taste and re-taste samples, to make further inquiries to winemakers and reschedule visits, taking two, three and sometimes four snapshots to join the dots together. As customary, I was accompanied by photographer Johan Berglund, whose images furnish this report. (You can see hi-res versions of these images plus more Bordeaux and primeur-releated photographs on his website at www.johanberglund.com).

Not a minute spared. Typing up tasting notes in the car following a visit.

Most winemakers will tell you that the samples change according to the weather. Indeed, during one week it was surprisingly cool and overcast, the rest blissfully sunny and quite warm. But to be honest, the wines during that inclement week of châteaux visits performed extremely well. Maybe the change is as much in the mind as the glass? 

One other point I should make is that I punctiliously checked the date of sample bottles, rejecting any more than three days old. I would say around 95% of the tasting notes in this report were taken from samples no more than two days old. This year I noticed more variation between samples taken at the château and at organized tastings with associations such as the UGC and Syndicates. “Precision” is a keyword for 2016, however to really experience that you had to really taste at the property. Beyond the tasting room, it was as if they lost a little sparkle, which begs the question whether their bewitching pixilation will be intact once the wines leave home permanently to reside in our cellars. I hope so. This year I tasted a few wines directly from barrel à la Burgundy and it was interesting to see how different cooperages influenced the wines. Furthermore, I inquired exactly how winemakers had assembled the samples in order to factor that into my assessment. Branaire Ducru comes from a new barrel and Palmer from a used barrel, even though both use approximately the same final proportion of new oak in the final blend. If you don’t ask, then you don’t know, and if you don’t know, then how can you comment on what the wine will become? Answers on a postcard.

Michel Rolland tasting behind me. He had to put up with my music‚ apologies for that. Helps the mind relax.

The Verdict
Let’s cut to the chase: 2016 is unequivocally a great vintage in Bordeaux. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. There are some caveats: properties with younger vines or less propitious, sandier soils whose fruit was unable to reach full phenolic ripeness levels, also the occasional hardness of tannins. That aside, we are looking at a vintage that can send tingles down the spine and back up again. Over twenty years of tasting Bordeaux from barrel at en primeur, this was my most pleasurable tasting experience alongside the 2009, albeit in a very different style. The 2005 and 2010 are both bona fide great vintages, however their girder-like tannins, the alcohol levels of the latter and obduracy rendered the exercise far more arduous. It was weeks before my tongue no longer felt furry. 

The rhetoric from the mouths of winemakers was either “Our 2016 is the best we have ever made” or “It is the wine that I have always wanted to make.” A number downplayed the quality of the 2015 to emphasize those claims, unfairly in my opinion. The two vintages are different, but there is no gulf in general quality between them. The differences are stylistic and in terms of performances of each appellation, and here we are only talking nuances. On the Left Bank, Saint Estèphe did not quite excel in 2015, but shines in 2016. Vice versa, Margaux flourished in 2015, but lags a step or two behind the northern Médoc. Pomerol might be slightly better in 2015 than 2016, but the other way round in Saint Emilion. Pessac-Léognan? About equal. It is these comparisons that make Bordeaux so fascinating. They are just two great vintages whose evolutions will be constantly juxtaposed, whose wines are going to give great pleasure.

The traits of 2016 at its best are their fruit, freshness, precision, fineness of tannins and articulation of terroir. It is also a vintage where there are quirks in the hierarchy. Let’s tackle each in turn:

Fruit: All wines need fruit and 2016 has a surfeit thanks to those sunshine hours. Fruit profiles tended more towards the black rather than red side of the spectrum, perhaps showing more blue fruit at this stage both on the nose and palate. Aromatics were often incredibly detailed, enhanced by floral aromas that render them flattering even at this prenatal stage.

Freshness: Words that consistently appeared in my notes were energy, tension and freshness. The absence of heat spikes coupled with cool nights took a needle and thread and wove in the acidity, many châteaux recording low pH levels post-fermentation. These samples just sang and they should still be singing for many years to come.

Precision: I remarked to several winemakers that 2016 is the first vintage were Bordeaux delivered a level of precision hitherto unknown. It is the first vintage whereby investments both out in the vineyard and inside the winery have manifested wines so pixelated and so crystalline, that there seems not a stitch out of place. Even when given the chance to juxtapose them directly with the magnificent duo of 2009 and 2010, neither of those two vintages have the “HD” quality of 2016.

Tannins: Related to the above, there has never been a Bordeaux vintage, thus far, with such breathtaking fineness of tannin—this despite relatively high IPT levels (Clinet clocking in at 94). Where does that come from? Well, the fact that château no longer approach harvest as a single rudimentary sweep through the vines, but practice bespoke pickings according to weather conditions and individual vine/bunch maturity. It comes from the rigorous sorting methods. It certainly comes from the growing number of state-of-the-art wineries, spotlessly clean and equipped with vats tailored to house specific parcels in the vineyard instead of lumping them together. During my visit I had time to inspect new facilities at Beychevelle and Calon-Ségur, to name but two whose vat-rooms are barely recognizable from just a few years ago.

Terroir: One aspect of 2016 that heightened my zeal is that terroirs are clearly translated into the wines. The characteristics of each appellation are evident, to put it prosaically—the Pauillacs are very Pauillac, the Saint Estèphes are very Saint Estèphe and so forth. Part of the reason for that is that alcohol levels are lower than recent vintages. I have always found that place of origin and respective terroirs are more visible at lower levels, when alcoholic warmth does not blur the detail. That is not to say that vintages with higher alcohol levels cannot express their terroir. They can. However, it takes longer for it to come through because in the first few years, it is the growing season that influences the wines. Even at this embryonic stage, their places of origin are in most cases, very clear to see. 

Hierarchical Quirks: Some of the most arresting and beguiling samples did not necessarily come from the top of the hierarchy. Though quality of terroir corrals quality here and there, the 2016s do not conform to preconceived notions set back in 1855. Certainly, the First Growths have potentially made incredible wines. However, my most memorable visits, perhaps the most thrilling wines, were located in lower echelons from Second down to Fifth Growths. Unexpected surprises, wines that were not just the best that I have ever tasted in 20 years, but dazzling wines that forced me to reconsider the potential of a château. We are talking new benchmarks. 

I am talking about Château Beychevelle, where Philippe Blanc created a wine that promotes it alongside the likes of Léoville Las-Cases or Ducru Beaucaillou. I am talking about Brane-Cantenac, where Henri Lurton has created a 2016 imbued with astonishing finesse and intensity without compromising the essence of the château style. I am talking about Lynch-Bages, who whilst demolishing most of their old winery and purchasing Haut-Batailley, produced an audacious Pauillac that is a modern-day equivalent of the 1990. I am talking Figeac whose 2016 is a step up from the stunning 2015 (if that seemed possible), surpassing everything in the post-war period. I am thinking of Calon-Ségur, aesthetically unrecognizable from the time I would walk through a never-ending maze of ancient timeworn wooden vats to reach a tasting room. Or the newfound finesse of Grand-Mayne with the help of Louis Mitjavile, the astonishing complexity of Clinet and the reinvention of Les Carmes Haut-Brion, perchance the “Lafleur of Pessac-Léognan.” Wines like the 2016 Carbonnieux, not the trendiest or coolest château name to drop, but simply the best I have tasted from the estate.

I am not implying that they are the very best in 2016, though that might well turn out to be the case. They do not represent the peaks of the vintage. Rather, these are wines that are charting new waters in terms of quality, château that reached their own apotheosis, writing new chapters for themselves.

At this level, the role of the critic is to nitpick, to seek weaknesses and deficiencies in wine in order to parse the good from the great and the great from the exceptional. Some producers were more affected by the dry conditions than others, and whilst I found few instances of clear under-ripeness, it resulted in hardness caused by a lack of fruit. Here it is important to pause and focus on the balance, consider that during élevage they will gain roundness and possibly flesh out, notwithstanding that tannins will polymerize over time, soften and become approachable. Therefore, in allocating scores I considered the specifics of the élevage and used my own experience observing how previous vintages tend to age. Sometimes it gave cause for concern and others times I felt confident that the hardness will eventually soften. Modern-day Bordeaux wines are far more approachable than before and drinking windows have been brought forward. Yet the best wines will require five or six years in bottle, will only reach their drinking plateau with 10 to 12 years in bottle and then, for those with the wherewithal to cellar long-term, develop the kaleidoscope of secondary characteristics. To sum up, 2016 cannot be described as a “hard vintage” even if from time to time it felt that way. Most are robed in satin-like textures that made a handful of them temptingly drinkable, even at this embryonic stage. 

There are a handful of wines that may achieve perfection. Note the absence of certainty in that statement, because the real test will come in bottle. A wine is not finished en primeur. It’s not even finished when the cork goes in and the capsule goes on. There is still maturation in bottle, that long and winding road towards its plateau of maturity. However, there is a clutch of spellbinding wines that have a chance to achieve that, just a chance mind you. For me, to attribute that 98-100, I contemplate what that means, reflect upon it away from the Bordeaux circus back home. Does it belong on that peak alongside the 1989 Haut-Brion or the 1961 Latour or the 1945 Mouton-Rothschild? Certainly, 2016 has given birth to a handful of nascent wines that made an indelible impression. There are the twin titans in Pauillac: Mouton-Rothschild and Latour. There is Cos d’Estournel, in fact, the first visit over three weeks of tastings and I returned at the end of my trip just to confirm my sentiments. Léoville-Lascasesjust seemed to make it effortless and La Mission Haut-Brion oozed class and sophistication. There is Figeac, unimpressive the first visit as winemaker Frédéric Faye had forewarned and then the second, third and fourth encounters merely reaffirmed its brilliance. There is Pavie, a different Pavie from before, translating that amazing terroir with style, likewise Ausone, both possibly the best wines that I have tasted at these properties in twenty years.

Appellation Summaries

Saint Estèphe: A brilliant vintage for the most northern appélation, partly thanks to the clay soils and partly due to huge investments in wineries. In many ways, the most dynamic enclave of Bordeaux, this is a fertile hunting ground for wine-lovers.

Pauillac: The reputation of Pauillac is there for a reason. I´m playing the same record, I know, but there are unquestionably stellar wines in 2016 thanks to their peerless Cabernet Sauvignon. There are a clutch of legends in the making here.

Saint Julien: This appellation might not attract the kudos like Pauillac, but trust me, this is a very consistent, intermittently fantastic vintage. Some of the best values could come from here,since you don’t pay for the caché of Pauillac. 

Moulis/Listrac: This is home to some truly great 2016s, such as Chasse-Spleen and Branas-Grand-Poujeaux. The insiders’ choice? Do not overlook these oft-forgotten parts of the Left Bank.

Margaux: Great wines, but generally the 2016s did not shine as brilliantly as they did in 2015. There are exceptions, notably Brane-Cantenac, although you could cheekily argue that its terroir is more like Pauillac!

Pessac-Léognan/Graves (Rouge): Not quite as consistent as other appellations in 2016, but it is speckled with incredible or over-performing wines. Occasionally the Merlot felt a little heavy and over-egged that led to unbalanced wines, but there are some gorgeous, fleshier expressions of the vintage. 

Pessac-Léognan/Graves (Blanc): The one weak link in the 2016 vintage. The warm and dry weather denied wines the acidity and tension of 2014 and 2015. Most of the dry white Bordeaux will be for early-drinking and

Article link : 

http://www.decanter.com/bordeaux-2013/en-primeur-coverage/586759/bordeaux-2013-chinese-en-primeur-interest-wanes

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The 2013 en primeur week has seen 20% non-French buyers coming to Bordeaux, compared to 24% in 2012 and 30% in 2011. Overall, the number of tasting badges issued by Unions des Grands Crus (UGC) was down 10% from last year.

China-based buyers were the most active in the 2009 and 2010 campaigns, and still sent large teams over in the 2011 and 2012 campaigns. This year, however, their presence is much more low-key.

‘We are not surprised,’ Arnaud de la Forcade at Cheval Blanc told Decanter.com. ‘There have been plenty of warnings that their interest in en primeur is waning, and the nature of the Chinese market has changed for many Bordeaux estates.’

Jean-Christophe Mau, of Yvon Mau négociants, reported that, while China represented 50% of sales for the 2010 vintage, he expected it to be closer to 10% in this vintage.

John Watkins of ASC is missing the main week itself, but will be in Bordeaux from this weekend – arriving from Burgundy.

‘The latest China customs import data shows a significant year-over-year drop in imports with French wines particularly hard hit (down 31%),´ he told Decanter.com.

´The well-documented government policy factors in to this, as well as channel destocking. [My guess is that] the drop in buyers at en primeur is due to a drop in demand and the need to sell down existing inventories. But as in previous en primeur campaigns, as long as the pricing level is reasonable, ASC plans to buy both for our customers as well as our own strategic stock’.

Other Asia-based buyers are also willing to purchase at the right price.

Kenneth Ren, of Vintasia in Hong Kong, said that Bordeaux still represents 90% of sales by volume, and 80% by value. ‘I bought €2 million of wine in 2010, €400,000 2011 and €500,000 2012. This year the volumes I buy are dependent on price. I still have stock left of the last three vintages, including 2010. Of the past two years, 2012 sold better than 2011; I have only 50% of stock left of the 2012, whereas the 2011 has nearly not moved at all.´

Ren commented that this year the Hong Kong and Chinese buyers that he has seen are only here if they have a specific reason to be in Bordeaux. ‘There is none of the fun factor that there has been in recent campaigns, when buyers come for the experience’.

Three chateaux representatives in Asia – Thibault Pontallier of Chateau Margaux, Rufus Beazley of Chateau Latour and Adrien Bernard of Domaine de Chevalier – all reiterated that Chinese government curbs on officials´ entertainment budgets have had a big effect.

‘The government’s new policy has been very successful,’ said Bernard, ‘but this will be a good thing in the long run. The market is stabilising, and we are now speaking to the real drinkers’.

‘We didn’t hold tastings in China of the older vintages that we have put on the market,’ Beazley toldDecanter.com, ‘as we expected that more Chinese buyers would be coming to Latour, but numbers are certainly down.’