Wine Words & Video Tape

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Posts Tagged ‘Margaux’

Bordeaux 2017: Primeurs Overview

Written by JW. Posted in Bordeaux

Many of the red wines tasted during my visit to Bordeaux this April had freshness, engaging aromas, juicy fruit flavours, reasonable depth and generally soft tannins. On this basis 2017 is surely a good vintage? Well yes. For the best properties we’re talking of wines with elements of 2014, 2012 and 2008, possibly a combination of all three in certain places. Things are more exciting for the whites [it looks to be a brilliant year] and Sauternes too has excelled again. But these generalisations hide a somewhat heterogeneous vintage.

Bordeaux 2017: Primeurs Day 4

Written by JW. Posted in Bordeaux

Saturday morning started in the cellars of Jean-Luc Thunevin. It’s always a tasting that I look forward to. Thunevin is candid about the late April 2017 frost which hit the right bank hard. Some of his properties and those he consults for were unscathed, some were left slightly affected, and others have been decimated. In some the effect is simply on volumes, in others it has also affected quality and style. I’ll write in more detail on St Emilion in a future post but the good news is that qualitatively Château Valandraud is excellent. It has wonderful perfume and layers of fruit. For me it is up there certainly with the 2012 and the 2014. St Emilion Grand Cru Clos Badon is in good shape [but very low production]. Jean-Luc’s Pomerol Le Clos du Beau Père also looks good.

Bordeaux 2016: Margaux

Written by JW. Posted in Bordeaux

Margaux played a blinder as an appellation in 2015. While that vintage proved tricky further north on the left bank due to rain, Margaux produced some of its best ever wine. 2016 can also be considered a great success. These are two fascinating vintages to compare here. Coming to these wines earlier this year I was concerned that the 2016 summer drought may have affected some of Margaux’s drier terroirs but, with a few exceptions, this didn’t appear to be the case. At the Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux’s tasting generally there was plenty of that wonderful Margaux perfume on offer, lots of ripe fruit and the beautifully textured tannin that so defines this vintage. If there was over extraction in some, many have made wines to rival and even exceed 2015.

Bordeaux 2016: Château Margaux

Written by JW. Posted in Bordeaux

I’m running out of superlatives. Château Margaux 2016 is a wine to match the perfect 2015. It does justice to the legacy of the great Paul Pontallier. The aromatics are spectacular; the power and scale hidden behind the beauty and purity of the fruit. If only I could afford this wine. The real marvel is Pavillon Rouge. Representing only a quarter of the harvest, this looks to me to be amongst the best produced. Made from plots that formerly went into the grand vin, this is glossy, voluptuous Margaux that exhibits the most caressing and silky fruit. Great stuff.

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