My final day tasting primeurs 2017 took me again to the right bank. First it was to Fronsac and Château La Dauphine who held the Grand Cercle press tasting. A comprehensive look at the Côtes de Bordeaux revealed a little irregularity but many successes. Château Veyry, Château Cap de Faugères and Clos Puy Arnaud were good in Castillon, Château Réaut and Château Reynon impressed in Cadillac, with a stylish Château Haut Bertinerie in Blaye. In Fronsac and Canon-Fronsac the wines felt more homogeneous. I will write in detail later, but Château La Vieille Cure, Château Gaby, Château Dalem, Château de la Rivière, Château de la Dauphine were excellent. In Pomerol and Lalande de Pomerol some wines lacked depth, but there was also plenty of bright perfumed fruit on offer with fresh acidities. Château Taillefer, Château Feytit-Clinet, Château La Clemence and Château Bourgneuf all looked good. In Lalande de Pomerol, Château Tournefeuille and Château Jean de Gué showed well.

Next up was Château Pavie Macquin in St Emilion to taste range of wine made by Nicolas Thienpont and his team before lunch. There is wonderful purity here across the range as you’d expect. The family properties Château Puygueraud and Château la Prade in Côtes de Francs look good and in Castillon, Château Alcée has finesse. In St Emilion Premier Grand Crus Classés Château Pavie-Macquin, Château Larcis Ducasse and Château Beauséjour all had wonderful depth and purity. I’ll post more detailed notes on these soon. At Pavie Macquin a number of wines were drank at a [wonderful] lunch I was fortunate to join including 2009 Larcis Ducasse, 2004 Pavie Macquin, a beautiful 2011 Beauséjour, and a remarkable bottle of 1964 Larcis Ducasse that stole the show!

The Château Angélus press tasting was next. Angélus is a beauty in 2017, but I am also a fan of Château Bellevue and Château Daugay here [both successful]. Their Lalande de Pomerol La Fleur de Boüard is also great fun and leads the appellation. Then it was back in the car to whizz over for a final rendezvous at Château de Pressac, in another corner of St Emilion, to taste other properties that Hubert de Boüard consults at. Château de Pressac itself was impressive, as were Château Ferrand, Château Haut-Sarpe, Château Montlabert, Clos de Jacobins and Château Villemaurine in St Emilion. Château Maillet looked good in Pomerol, and on the left bank, Château Grand-Puy-Ducasse, Château Meyney and Château Siran looked very good.

I’d had a much shorter trip than usual this year and I would have liked to have tasted an even wider range of properties than I managed. I hope to fill in some of the gaps soon but in the meantime, I’ll be posting more detailed notes and scores on the leading wines in each appellation over the coming weeks. I’ll start with a 2017 overview, so watch this space!

Storm clouds, Sunday April 8th at Château Pavie-Macquin