Overall 2010 not as rich and sweet in feeling as 2009 but there seems more elegance here and maybe it is bit more akin to 2007 but with more strength. The best wines had great balancing acidity which makes them extremely fresh. I’d also imagine that the wines will be pretty long-lived. The wines are listed below in terms of how I’ve marked them. Chateau d’Yquem and Chateau Climens are the important exceptions here and were not tasted.
Chateau La Pointe held the UGCB tastings in Pomerol
Pomerol looks to have had a great vintage in 2010. The freshness, balance and concentration of the best wines here is quite remarkable. As usual there is plumpness and accessibility but there is grip and stuffing too. Some are a bit simple and a few rather jammy and late picked in feel, but these seem to be the exception in what are a very homogeneous set of wines. One caveat here is that my tastings were limited to those at the Unions des Grands Crus held at Chateau La Pointe and those at the Cercle Rive Droite. Amongst the picks here were Chateau Petit-Village, Chateau La Conseillante and Chateau Clinet which are at least as good if not even better than in 2009. I was also very impressed with Chateau Fayat, Chateau Feytit-Clinet, Chateau Gazin, Chateau La Croix de Gay, Chateau Le Bon Pasteur, Chateau Gazin, Chateau Nenin and Chateau Rouget. Good value can also be had with Chateau Bourgneuf, Chateau Clos du Clocher, Chateau Taillefer and Chateau Montviel. There is such a lot of joy in these wines.
This appellation has had a fantastic vintage in 2010. Yes some wines have too much alcohol but in most cases the wines have incredible balance because of the freshness of the vintage. Also over-extraction is seemingly less problematic here than usual, although again that is a relative thing. There are a host of terrific wines this year but it seems that those that have a high proportion of Cabernet Franc, and even Cabernet Sauvignon as in the case of Chateau Figeac, have made the very finest wines. Amongst these, Chateau Cheval Blanc, Chateau Angélus, Chateau Figeac and Chateau Trottevielle have made truly extraordinary wines which are approaching perfection in my book.
Out of all the Bordeaux appellations Pessac-Léognan’s wines are probably the most immediately appealing in 2010. The vintage has given richness and plushness to the reds but grip and acidity that makes the wines feel fresh, lively and complete. The whites have power and concentration as well as more acidity than in 2009. They should age well and yet provide attractive, positive drinking in their youth. Overall hardly anyone put a foot wrong here that I could see, white or red. In that sense it is probably the most complete and satisfying of all the appellations tasted in the primeurs week. Yes St Emilion and Pomerol [which I’ll post my notes on soon] have produced terrific wines in 2010, with St Emilion looking better than 2009 for me, but the consistence in Pessac-Léognan is quite amazing.
