Now the dust has settled on primeurs week my verdict would be that 2014 Bordeaux is a good to very good vintage for red wines, a vintage which favours the Left Bank especially, but there are also many successes on the Right Bank too. Without doubt it is the best and most consistent vintage since 2010, though it is not up to the quality of that vintage nor its predecessor 2009, with a couple of possible exceptions. 2014 is another excellent vintage for the dry white wines of Bordeaux and there are a number of stylish sweet wines from Sauternes and Barsac. Given the overall quality of the reds, 2014 is definitely a vintage worthy of purchasing en primeur, assuming the price is right. Early indications are that prices will remain stable or increase a little from 2013 for the top estates [an altogether inferior vintage for the reds]. Still given exchange rates, this will still be a reduction of between 10-20% if you are a GBP or USD customer – so if that’s your currency 2014 is potentially interesting. The litmus test usually is that chateaux must release cheaper than any physically available vintage otherwise an en primeur purchase makes no financial sense. So, even if by default, 2014 may be the first vintage since 2008 to offer decent prospects for the consumer. Fingers crossed!

Tuesday’s 2014 primeurs tastings started at Château Palmer [pictured – but not in that weather – grey and drizzly] and continued with the UGC Margaux event at Château Dauzac. The wines generally showed a lot of very vivacious and attractive fruit with vibrant acidity and there was more homogeneity than usual. Palmer and Alter Ego looked good with plenty of texture and fruit. Château Margaux tasted later felt classical and proportional. Pavillon Blanc looks excellent [many of the 2014 whites are very good indeed]. Overall in Margaux there is much to compare with 2008 in terms of freshness and 2012 in terms of fruit, though more so, and at the top level 2014 appears to be better than both vintages. Tastings at the UGC event at Château Lamarque – where a large St Bernard was woofing at visitors from the ramparts of the château – were rewarding. There is a lot of fresh, juicy fruit and ripe tannin on display amongst the Haut-Médocs, and these should [hopefully] offer good value.

Château Margaux has succeeded in producing an elegant and perfumed wine in 2013. It is particularly interesting that this has been achieved without any Merlot at all. The final blend, 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot isn’t particularly ‘strict’, such would appear to be the genuine quality of the estate’s Cabernet [despite being picked nearly a week early]. The real casualty here is Pavillon Rouge. Only a small quantity has been produced in 2013 and much declassified into the third and fourth wines. Pavillon Blanc, the estate’s 100% Sauvignon Blanc, is zesty and attractive and underscores once again just how well the whites have done in this otherwise very tricky vintage.

Paul Pontallier is rightly pleased with their efforts at Château Margaux in 2012. The claim that the vintage was ‘almost’ a great one for them is not wide of the mark. The Grand Vin here is seriously good and a real step up from the somewhat disappointing 2011. It’s great to see this estate back on top form in a vintage that was pretty tricky. There isn’t the slightest hint of trouble in the pure, sleek Cabernet Sauvignon that constitutes 87% of the blend. It’s a terrific effort. What’s more along with Mouton and Haut-Brion, Château Margaux released at a considerable discount on recent vintages making it at least a potentially attractive en primeur purchase if you’ve the inclination and the cash.