The middle day of our trip and a few Château visits before the onslaught of the UGC tastings tomorrow.
We kicked off with an early morning visit to Latour. A terrific range of wines here as you would expect, from the generic Pauillac to the big chap himself. The “Forts” was particularly impressive packed with beautiful fruit and impeccably balanced. The Grand Vin was a little more difficult to assess at this early stage but was typically powerful. If it comes off it will be an amazing bottle off wine but it will be for my children to discover as it will almost certainly take 30 plus years to come round.
Onwards then to First Growth number 2 – Mouton. Here the bun fight really got going with hordes of UK and Far East visitors milling around. Mouton is definitely geared up for the US market this year with little golf buggies ferrying you the fifty yards from reception to tasting room. It would never have happened in the UK as there were no seat belts so the “elf n safety” collective would have shut it down. Anyway it was quite fun. The wines themselves were impressive although we all felt that probably the best in terms of price:quality were d’Armailhac and Clerc-Milon. Mouton was good but, at this stage a notch behind Latour.
Next stop Margaux (photo above). Always a beautiful visit and it did not disappoint this year. Paul Pontallier was on hand to guide us through an exceptional flight of wines. Both Pavillon Rouge and Ch Margaux were awesome. M. Pontallier said that it is the finest Pavillon Rouge that has ever been made. “He would say that” I hear you say, but on the strength of this tasting it would be hard to argue.
A blast north next to Leoville-Poyferre. They own a total of three properties here, Le Crock in St-Estephe (unfortunate name I know), Moulin-Riche and Poyferre itself both in St.Julien. Again this was a really impressive flight. Poyferre continues its exceptional run of form and for me has eclipsed Barton in 2009. The Moulin-Riche and Le Crock should be terrific buys too though, particularly if the bottle of 2002 Le Crock enjoyed later at dinner is anything to go by.
A working lunch in Le Savoie in Margaux, where we tried Les Ricards, or “Keith” as it has become known to us (I will leave you to work it out!), and Bel Air La Royere. Both were really terrific and will offer great value when offered. Bel Air is a modern, toasted sweetly fruited number but very well put together whilst Keith is a little more traditional and fruity with a beautiful balance and concentration. At sub £100 a case it should be a cracking buy.
Straight after our working lunch, we had an appointment at Palmer. A charming welcome and again a terrific pair of wines. A little more muscular than Chateau Margaux itself but certainly the finest offering en-primeur that I can remember. The only question remaining is one of price. Hmmm!!!
A blast up the Medoc then took us to Cos d’Estournel (below). An impressive visit in all senses. After the unfortunately named Le Crock, we were presented with another unfortunate piece of nomenclature in Cos’ Haut-Medoc property “Goulee”. Good wine bad name! Les Pagodes de Cos, the second wine, was very impressive indeed with sweet fruit, concentration and lovely St-Estephe power. Cos is a little more contentious. Unquestionably awesome but so utterly impenetrable that one has to ask whether it will ever come round. It is likely to score a big number from Mr Parker which brings us on to price. Jean-Guillaume would not be drawn on price or date of release other than to say that he thought 3 of the first growths would be 1000 euros a bottle by the end of the summer.
Next up, two quick visits to a pair of really brilliant properties. St Pierre was terrific and again one that is under the radar of many Bordeaux buyers, making it very affordable for a classed growth St-Julien (2006 tasted recently would back this up). Branaire-Ducru is another property whose star is rising. From their winery that looks like the lair of a James Bond villain they are turning out some sensational wines – 2009 arguably being the best yet.
Finally Ducru-Beaucaillou. Always entertaining to visit at UGC. 2009 did not disappoint with some extraordinary modern art on the walls and hordes of incredibly beautiful girls to escort you to the tasting rooms. Pretty would not be a word I would use to describe the wines themselves and certainly not for the label of their latest acquisition in Listrac. Ducru itself was a superb effort with incredible tannic structure but the fruit and depth to support it. Unlike Cos it gave you a tiny glimpse of what was locked up inside and it looked impressive.
Onwards and upwards.