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Today we head over the bridge to the right bank to taste some of the top wines of Pomerol and Saint Emilion. Our first stop of the morning is at Chateau Clinet in Pomerol. In fact, this is my second time visiting Roman. The wines are evolving by the day. Today the wine was even richer than and showing more dimension. Tasting this for the second time really makes you realize that these wines are changing and improving by the moment at this early stage. While everyone likes to think that a critic’s barrel tasting score is the be all and end all of wine, the truth is that if the same critic could taste the wine a few days later and get a completely different profile depending on whether the wine was recently racked, sulphured, difference in air pressure, etc... We’re really only looking for elements at this stage. Does it have structure? Does it have fruit? Does it have good texture? Is the wine in balance? How it will eventually come together is a matter of pure serendipity. Tasting these wines at this stage is like watching Michael Jordan at North Carolina.
We get back in the car and drive about 200 feet to Chateau L’Eglise Clinet. It’s so close to Clinet that we really could have walked! Like nearby Le Pin, L’Eglise Clinet is a small, modest operation that just happens to make miniscule quantities of one of the most highly rated and sought after wines in all of Bordeaux. The 2010 L’Eglise Clinet is a searing style of Pomerol. Intense, powerful , and rich. This wine is going to go down as one of their great ones.
Since we are in the neighborhood today, we’ve been invited back to Vieux Chateau Certan to taste the 2010 again, this time from barrel. It was just racked a few days ago so it’s a treat to see another dimension of a wine that I think may be the wine of the vintage. Tasting it from barrel it’s so pure and even more rich and velvety than the sample from last week. With a bit of oxygen in the wine it’s easy to see how, given some time, this will flesh out into one of the most massive, voluminous VCC’s of all time. I’ll say it again, this is a modern day 1950. Do not miss the chance to put some of this wine in your cellar. This may be the wine of the vintage.
La Conseillante is a property that seemed to be getting more modern over the past few vintages. While pushing the envelope of ripeness has served many chateaux well, La Conseillante has always been a terroir that best lends itself to balanced, understated wines that emphasize the delicate perfumed violet essence that has historically made this property so distinctive. The 2010 is a return to form. Make no mistake though. This is not a light wine, in the style of the vintage, it is very well structured and will be one of their all time longest lived wines. Truly a spectacular wine.
Next up is a lunch appointment at Troplong Mondot with our dear friends Xavier and Christine Valette. We start by tasting the 2010 which is a monumental wine, I can’t remember a better Troplong from barrel, this wine has layers upon layers of densely packed dark rich flavors. Lunch is a fantastic home cooked meal of rouget and veal paired with 2007 and 2001 Troplong Mondot. The 2007 is still young but drinking great, everything in proportion, versatile enough to work well with the fish course. I’m pleased to find so many 2007s blossoming into excellent wines. Tasting them en primeur three years ago, it remained to be seen whether they would put on sufficient weight but it’s clear that this 2007 overachieved. The 2001 is an excellent vintage for Troplong with savory notes of black truffles and spicy black pepper wafting from a beautifully balanced medium bodied wine just entering its window of maturity. Over lunch we discuss the future of the chateau. The family has put a tremendous amount of work into Troplong over past ten years and planted a large parcel of young vines that will soon be ready to go into the grand vin vastly improving the quality and output of the estate. Their daughter Margaux has also taken to the family business and is constantly travelling to promote the wine around the world. After many years of hard work, I believe they are producing their best wines ever and the future looks bright at Troplong.
After lunch we head to Chateau Angelus which has had a string of impressively scaled wines over the past decade. To be honest, I was prepared for this to be a tannic beast given the style of the house and the vintage, but I was surprised and pleased to find the 2010 a very well balanced rich example of Angelus.
Now we’re on to Chateau Canon La Gaffeliere to taste with Comtes Stephan Von Niepperg, Stephan is always great to visit with. He always has fun and entertaining insights. His roster of wines seems to grow every year, a testament to his passion and enthusiasm for expressing the many terriors of Bordeaux. D’Aiguilhe, Clos Marsalette, Clos de l’Oratoire, Canon La Gaffeliere, and last but not least La Mondotte. The wines are always rich with a flamboyant array of varietal fruit. The highlights were Canon La Gaffeliere and La Mondotte.
We make our way up the hill towards “centre ville” of the tiny medieval town of Saint Emilion. We have the opportunity to stop by Chateau Ausone to taste the 2010 again. Climbing the windy one car road up the hill to the chateau, it’s easy to see why this is one of the great terroirs of Bordeaux. The tiny vineyard sits atop a hill of pure limestone, much like the greatest vineyards in Burgundy, and is literally carved right into the hillside. As the vines descend through the thin layer of topsoil , they hit the bed of limestone and burrow their way through providing maximum struggle for the vines and a distinctive cool, deep mineral character. As you enter the old caves carved into the hillside, you can actually see roots hanging down from the roof of the cave. Tasting the 2010 again absolutely confirms that this is a blockbuster Ausone and substantially better than the 2009 and that’s saying something. It’s showing more intensity and range of flavors today.
Next up is a meeting with proprietor Jean Pierre Janoueix at Chateau La Confession. Janoueix is a prolific winemaker who owns chateaux Croix Mouton, Le Conseillier and La Confession among other properties. We have been really successful with this estate at Wally’s and Croix Mouton, and Le Conseillier have been perennial best buys. His 2010s exhibit exuberant fruit and are plush, pleasurable examples of their respective terroirs. This is definitely an up and coming star winemaker to watch.
It’s hard to think of a better way to end our day than tasting at Cheval Blanc, which sits atop the classification of Saint Emilion as the lone Premier Grand Cru Classe (Top Growth). There has been some tremendous investment here since it was purchased by LVMH in 1998 and the changes have shown over the past few vintages. The 2010 is no exception in my mind one of the top wines of the vintage. It’s hard to compare the ‘10 to any other of Cheval’s top vintages. The wine is so rich, so balanced with tons of powerful fruit. Totally unique and unprecedented. As usual we get to taste a sample of Chateau d’Yquem (also owned by LVMH) which is a rounder style with oodles of rich Crème Brulee, and wild flower flavors. Great acidity will carry this wine for decades.
After tasting over 500 wines in 8 days with a number of wines tasted numerous times, I really feel we have a great sense of what the vintage has to offer. The top wines are wines of monumental power, intense structure and an incredible amount of deep layered fruit flavors. We at Wally’s are real believers in the vintage and are convinced that the 2010 vintage is going to go down as one of the true greats. With smaller yields and less wine and with the almost overwhelming demand, we advise buying your favorites early before they go through the roof.
We head out to Margaux early this morning and pick up Robin (who we have taken to calling the Boy Wonder). Today we’ll get to taste a number of major properties in the Northern Medoc. First up is Chateau Mouton Rothschild. In addition to the Grand Vin we get to taste through their other properties of which the 2010 Chateau d’Armailhac is a real standout. Spicy and ripe, the nose is full of cassis and smoky turned earth. There’s great balance and poise to this wine. It’s amazing what they have done with this previously modest property over the last few years. The 2010 Mouton Rothschild sends you back to the glory days of this historic First Growth. Dense, opaque in color with a brooding, backward Euaclyptus essence, it’s a monster designed for aging. At 94% Cabernet Sauvignon it will certainly go down as one of their greatest wines ever. Speaking to my friend James Suckling recently, he commented that he thought it was a clone of their top rated 1986 but with more fruit and exuberance from the benefit of modern winemaking techniques. I think he hit it on the head.
After lunch we have a great lineup of appointments beginning with a brief return stop at Chateau Pontet Canet. This wine is more amazing every time I taste it. Searing dark raspberry and blackberry fruits coat my palate as glorious wine runs through my mouth like Adrian Peterson running through defenses. I think it may be showing even better than when I tasted it last week. Truly amazing.
We head up the road to Chateau Lafite Rothschild where we are greeted by Export Director Michel Negrier and technical director Eric Kohler. With the meteoric rise in demand for Lafite over the past five years it is always a treat to stop here and see the fine people behind the label. With the prices of these wines at stratospheric levels we were almost wanting the wines to be mediocre. From the first sip we could not help but see the sheer greatness of this property. The 2010 Carraudes is pure, balanced and dense. The flavor profile is classic Lafite. Dusty sweet dark fruits all in balance. This may be the greatest Carraudes since 1961. Duhart Milon is in more of a modern style with purple exuberant fruit. Still this rates right up there with the best they have produced. I asked Eric why and he simply said we have given a special team to each wine allowing them to focus more closely on each property during harvest and produce the best wines possible. Success! The Grand Vin of Lafite is a whopping 87% Cabernet Sauvignon…we are amongst the gods. Amazingly broad and deep with tremendous volume. Aromas of classic dusty lead pencil and dark fruit character almost filling the room. It’s so balanced and so rich with a finish you can time with a clock. At this point I don’t even know if it matters but this is a historic vintage for Lafite Rothschild!
Looking up the road towards Saint Estephe, you can see the pagoda style turrets of Chateau Cos d’Estournel, our next stop. Walking into the newly completed chai and reception area at Cos, it’s clear that this is one of the most impressively modern and massive properties in Bordeaux. This chateau perfectly melds old world character with 21st century ideals. Goulee is a delicious wine, slightly simple, but it has nice richness and will be an excellent drinking wine in the next couple of years. The Pagodes des Cos is a fantastic wine everything you hope in a second wine with power and ripe fruit but something you drink while you wait for its big brother. The Cos is simply amazing, a pillar of modern winemaking. Dark purple the wine is intense with extremely concentrated blockbuster dark fruit and an off the chart tannic structure.
The next door neighbor of Cos is Chateau Montrose. Montrose is a property that really stands in stark contrast to the more modern style that Cos has adopted. Director Jean Delmas is still making uncompromising muscular long lived Vin de Garde wines. While the 2010 may not be the most open knit wine of the vintage, it is a paradigm of skyscraper-like structure and astounding power wrapped up with deep rich cassis fruit with remarkable balance. This is a wine for your children or grandchildren and when it reaches maturity it’s going to be spectacular along the same lines as their brilliant 1929, 1945 or 1961, all of which are alive and kicking today.
Next stop is at Calon Segur, always a favorite Saint Estephe terroir that, like Montrose, has kept a keen eye on its perspective in history despite the region’s march towards modernity. Calon is a welcome reminder that we’re in a region that’s been doing this for far longer than we have been a country. The 2010 Calon Segur is medium bodied, mineral driven and expertly balanced I was shocked how balanced and refined a Saint Estephe can be in this vintage. This wine is a treat.
Heading back down to Pauillac our final appointment of the day is at Chateau Pichon Lalande where we are greeted by their new Director Sylvie Cazes. Pichon is going through a facelift on all levels. New vision and direction, overhaul of the winemaking facility and a complete renovation of the actual Chateau. Sylvie has her eyes set on producing the greatest wine in Pauillac. The 2010 is a classic Pichon with notes of dried herbs and sweet red fruits. This wine reminds me of a better 1996. Delicious. Pay close attention to what is happening here at Pichon Lalande.
Wow, what a day! I think the takeaway from today’s samples is that this is an extremely good vintage for Cabernet in the Medoc with even more structure and power overall than 2009 , I think in years to come there are going to be many discussions on the which is the better vintage. 9 or 10…
After tasting at Le Pin we head to the beautiful Chateau Puygeraud in Cotes de Francs for lunch with some more members of the Thienpont family. Chateau Puygeraud has been the Thienpont family home since 1946 and we are joined there by three more Thienponts! Francois, Nicolas of Chateau Pavie Macquin/Larcis Ducasse and his son Cyrille of Chateau Berliquet. Tasting through the lineup of their wines it’s easy to see that they are truly one of the great winemaking families of Bordeaux and should be mentioned in the same breath as such illustrious names as Moueix and Rothschild. Some quick thoughts on the wines: Beausejour Duffau Lagarosse has been getting major press this year, a great Saint Emilion terroir that is going through a renaissance right now. Their 2009 was an absolute home run that recalled the remarkable depth and concentration of their celebrated 1990. Tasting the 2010 it’s clear that this is even more impressive than the 2009. Puygeraud is a really great value. I believe the 2010 is the best wine they have ever produced with loads of bright purple notes with a nice core of richness and a terrific finish. Great Value. Berliquet- Cyrils wine. Again I believe this is their best effort to date. This wine is surprisingly dark and concentrated deliciously sweet black fruit flavors. There is some extraction but not over done at all. Larcis Ducasse, Another success for the vintage, full bodied with spicy cassis and grilled meat notes, its interesting how they are able to keep the delicate character yet have the power of the structure all in one glass. Pavie Macquin, this wine is a signature of the vintage. Massive on all fronts super concentrated full tilt boogie. Black fruits and black scorched earth dominate. After lunch we head to the offices of one of our favorite negociants for a tasting of over 100 major wines from all over the region. While I try to make every effort to visit as many properties as possible each year, the sheer number of estates makes these negociant tastings necessary and it’s a very efficient way to get a deep, comprehensive look at the vintage in one sitting. And all I can say after tasting all of these 2010s is this is definitely one of the most impressive vintages I have ever tasted. It may not have the high-wire act zen balance of 2005 or the hedonistic exuberance of 2009, but I cannot remember a more impressively massive and powerful vintage in my 21 years of tasting. It’s a carbon copy of 1961. Full throttle, massive fruit, massive structure, built to age, these are wines people will be drinking and talking about 100 years from now. Here are the wines that I thought truly stood out:
Cantenac Brown Brane Cantenac Malescot St Exuprey Lagrange Branaire Ducru Leoville Barton Grand Puy Lacoste Lilian Ladouys Malartic Lagraviere Fombrauge Confession Rol Valentin La Gaffeliere Clos Fourtet Troplong Mondot Figeac Angelus Rouget Le Gay La Conseillante Fieuzal Blanc Malartic Lagraviere Blanc Domaine de Chevalier Blanc After saying our goodbyes, we hop back in the car, our toungues stained black and exhausted from a marathon tasting session. Even though we spit every sample, there is a certain amount of alcohol, acid and sugar (don’t forget Sauternes!) that permeates your palate and takes its toll on your system. A brief nap on the way to dinner is definitely in order. Dinner tonight is at Chateau Rauzan Segla in Margaux with legendary director John Kolasa and boy wonder Robin Corvez. We are also joined by a couple of friends from LA Howard and Margaret Weitzman. We dine in the Werthimer family chateau. This property is how you would expect from the owners of Chanel. Perfect. We dine on a delicious Pork Loin, and a great white bean cassoulet and Bar. To drink we had an impressive 1996 Laville Haut Brion showing all of its rich character and the highlights of the reds was the 1983 Rauzan Segla. A fantastic vintage in Margaux and in my mind even better than the 82.
Our next stop was at Chateau Clinet with Roman Loubard (Spelling?) Roman has done so much with the property. It’s a great facility with all the bells and whistles to do the job right and based on what we have seen the last few years he’s achieved his goals. This year is 85% Merlot with a large % of Cabernet Sauvignon giving the wine its firm back bone. I found the wine to be balanced, concentrated, with noticeable tannins. I really enjoyed this wine but it will definitely need some cellaring. On to Ausone, meeting with Alain Vaultier (Spelling?) is always a special treat. This man has touch a touch with his property, he really understands every vine. In tasting his second wine La Chapelle de Ausone I feel this might be the best second he’s ever produced. Its truly a mini Ausone with tons of earthy Merlot character with pure Ausone grip. The Ausone was dark but not black with mounds of exotic spicy red and black fruit notes. There was an interesting underling sandlewood quality with one of the longest finishes I can recall. I think their ’10 is noticeably better than the 2009, and the 09 brought me to tears. This wine is truly special.
That evening we walk from our hotel Le Cep over to Maison Drouhin to meet with good friend Frederic Drouhin where he leads us through the ancient underground cellars that wind all over the city. We end up at a tasting room where he shows us his classic styled 2010’s. I am surprised at how well put together these wines were. I knew they were going to be good but Wow. Then he showed us the 2009’s! boom like an expolsion of fruit these wines are like a combination of 2002 and 2005. They have both the fruit of 02 and the power of 05. I will definitely be buying these for my wine cellar. Drouhins 09’s are going to go down as some of the greats. After the tasting Frederic has a splendid dinner waqiting where he greets us with a Magnum of 2000 Marquis de Laguiche Le Montrachet. Throught the dinner he opens numerous bottles of a fantastic 1989 Musigny followed by the 1976 Bonnes Mares. He showed these wines because he wanted us to know exactly how long their wines can age. Great fun.
After spending the night at Chateau Pontet Canet, I’m up early for our first day of appointments. Up first, Chateau Margaux, which early reports have tipped as one of the top wines of the vintage. Arriving at the stately property we are greeted by Margaux’s Director and Winemaker Paul Pontallier who walks us through the cooper’s workshop and fermentation room before we arrive at the tasting room. The 2010 Pavillon Rouge is fantastic, full of powerful Margaux fruit. Paul thinks it’s as good as some vintages of Chateau Margaux in the 1980s which is really saying something! The 2010 Grand Vin is amazing. Completely sublime. This will definitely rate with the all time greatest vintages of Margaux. The wine is just staggering, full powerful and fairly masculine for Chateau Margaux primarily caused by the 90% Cabernet Sauvignon. The best Chateau Margaux always seem to be Cabernet dominated. I think it’s even better than the excellent 2009. Wow! Up next, Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste, a personal favorite of mine. I really liked their 2009 which was an extremely pure and balanced expression of Pauillac. While many properties are pushing the envelope in technology, making their wines in a more modern, international style, this is a property that still makes wine with traditional ideals while having modern technology in the winery. We meet with Xavier Borie to taste the 2010 which is showing extremely well. It’s dense, ripe and rich with a long finish. Definitely a star of the vintage and given the price per quality quotaient this is a great buy. Now we’re on to Chateau Latour to meet with Director Frederic Engerer. Frederic compares the twin success of 2009 and 2010 to another pair of legendary vintages: 1959 and 1961. It really does feel like we’re in a magical time right now, historically these sort of back to back landmark successes only happen a few times per century. The 2010 Chateau Latour absolutely knocks my socks off. Incredibly dense and concentrated, it will clearly be an important wine in Latour’s history.
Last year I said the 2009 was the single best barrel sample I had ever tasted in my 20 years of tasting primeurs. This 2010 makes me wonder if Latour might have topped their towering achievement of 2009. I think people will debate which is better for many years. Then there is the Les Forts that doesn’t disappoint either dark dense blind you would say that this was one of the top wines of the region.
Time for lunch, we are headed to Café Lavinal in Pauillac’s town center.
This is one of the most charming restaurants in the Medoc and somewhat of a tradition for us. A bottle of 2000 Pauillac de Latour and Les Forts de Latour both in magnum pairs perfectly with Lavinal’s excellent bistro fare. Asperge Blanc with Jamon Iberico, Parmesan and butter really hits the spot. Delish. Followed by a perfectly cook roast chicken. So simple yet so perfect. After finishing lunch we hop in the car to head back to the city for a tasting with a top negociant to taste 50 inexpensive value Bordeaux, an exhausting time but you have to sift through the dawgs to find the great values.
Wow, what a day! We end up back at Chateau Pontet Canet to taste the 2010 with Alfred before heading to Steve’s birthday dinner. Pontet Canet has been on an incredible roll over the past 10 years often surpassing their neighbor, Chateau Mouton Rothschild. The 2010 is another classic achievement for them. It was funny we had a guest sommelier pouring the 2010 it was none other than Jean Guillaume Prats himself dropping by to say hi to his old pals. I found the wine almost opaque with a dark exotic cassis, mocha java nose. On the palate it is very full with black fruit character and pain de grille notes. The finish is long with good acidity and excellent structure. A wine that compares very well in quality but is a bit more powerful and long lived. Finally we are headed to Restaurant St Julien for Steve’s annual Birthday “Surf & Turf” dinner where we fly in over a hundred live Maine Lobster and a hundred giant Kansas City steaks for all of the Bordeaux winemakers and Chateau owners, its literally a who’s who of Bordeaux. It is a great night, but a late night and have to be up early to head to Burgundy for a couple of days. .
Once again I am headed back to Bordeaux to taste and report on another vintage. With the 2010 this will be my 20th vintage report. Listening to all the early reports, 2010 is another outstanding year. After tasting the spectacular 2009s last year it’s hard to believe that we have another landmark vintage so quickly. Will the 2010s reach or surpass the heights of 2009? We at Wally’s always like judging for ourselves first hand.
Landing in Bordeaux this evening, the air is warm. It almost feels like summer. No time to waste as I hop in the car to head to dinner at Chateau Pontet Canet with Steve Wallace and our dear friend Alfred Tesseron who is graciously offering us a place to stay at the Chateau. I arrive half way through dinner but Alfred had plenty of his 82, 90 and 2000 vintage remaining for me to try. It’s interesting to see the progression of the property before and after Alfred had control. I found the 82 to be flavorful and evolving, the 90 vintage correct with lots of seductive fruit. The best wine of the night was Alfreds 2000. This wine is so balanced with a classic subtle Pauillac style and an amazing sweet punch of black fruit to that’s going carry this gem for years to come.