We woke to torrential rain that was to be with us for the entire day.
Lafite was first up. Very difficult to assess on this showing but, given the incredible demand for these wines, what they taste like seems to be almost secondary to anything else. Suffice to say that the Grand Vin will score well from the critics and seems to be in a very classical Lafite style.
As works are being done at Lafite at the moment, the tasting was at sister property Duhart-Milon (above) from where we nipped across the road to Grand Puy Ducasse. There is a new winemaker and technical director here who is undertaking major changes at all three properties that seem to have already fed through to the wines. Meyney was good so too Grand Puy Ducasse. We also had our first glimpse of the Sauternes with a taste of Rayne-Vigneau. Amazingly sweet with a hint of botrytis and fine balancing acidity. We would be tasting these later on in the afternoon so it was a good omen.
Next it was a dash back south to Pichon Lalande. We had tasted this on Sunday morning and I had not been convinced by it so was looking forward to an opportunity to re-taste. The outcome was much more positive with the wine exhibiting its classic feminine charm and seducing us all. Now owned by Roederer champagne, the stable also includes de Pez, Haut-Beausejour, Reserve de la Comtesse and Bernadotte.
Leaving Lalande, we headed south again to Kirwan, on a roll for the last few years, 2009 was no exception. They too have a comparatively new wine-maker, Philippe Delfaut, who joined from Palmer in 2007. We also had an opportunity to taste a couple of back vintages of the second wine, Les Charmes de Kirwan. Both 2006 and 2007 were delicious and would make great drinking in the near future. Watch this space….
Before lunch we dived into Chateau Desmirail for the Margaux UGC. Arguably this is the patchiest of the communes on the Left Bank. Of course there are some great wines but there were a number of wines that were simply too hard and aggressive to support the fruit.
Lunch was back at the hugely popular Lion d’Or in Arcins. We were joined by Peter Sisseck who has just purchased a small property in St-Emilion. Extremely exciting news but very early days. He had brought with him some samples of the 2009 Pingus, Flor de Pingus and Psi for us to try. It was like being back at school as Peter snuck these unlabelled half bottles out from under the table and quickly put a sample in our glasses. I don’t know if this excitement added to the perceived quality of the wines but they were really very very good and such a refreshing change from Red Bordeaux.
After lunch our party was broken up with Paul Marus heading back into Bordeaux to see négociants. He managed to beg a lift from Peter and his daughter whilst Bryce Fraser jumped into a cab for the airport. The poor man ended up having to walk 2 miles home through 2 feet of snow. Alison, Simon, Adam and I headed off to Chateau Cantemerle for the Haut-Medoc UGC. Like Margaux there were highlights and lowlights. Some good wines but a number with very aggressive, hard tannins, that did not have the fruit to support them. What was reassuring was that Lamarque was for all of us the best wine at the tasting.
Next stop was Dauzac, for the Sauternes tasting. It appears to be a fine vintage for the sweet wines of Bordeaux although some showed rather too much sugar and a bit of a lack off supporting acidity.
With our palates somewhat refreshed by the sauternes, we arrived at Lynch-Bages. The second wine here, previously known as Haut-Bages Averous has been renamed Echo de Lynch Bages. Ormes de Pez in St-Estephe is also part of the Lynch stable and both it and Echo were showing really well, the Echo particularly. Lynch itself was a real belter, displaying lovely freshness and poise backed up by power and concentration.
Time was now getting on so we had to say our goodbyes and headed down to our last appointment of the day at Las Cases. There was a recently announced second wine here. Many mistakenly believe that Clos du Marquis is the second wine but in fact it comes from vineyard plots outside of the original Leoville estate. The second wine is known as Le Petit Lion de Las Cases and was delicious. It will not be released en-primeur. Both Clos du Marquis and Las Cases itself were absolutely beautiful and the latter will surely be one of the highlights of the vintage.
That was it the end of our final full day in Bordeaux. A day on the Right Bank on Thursday and then back home to Blighty.