Wine Words & Video Tape

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Posts Tagged ‘Enclos de Viaud’

Bordeaux 2020: Lalande de Pomerol

Written by JW. Posted in Bordeaux

There’s lots to like in Lalande de Pomerol in 2020. Many of the wines have healthy colours, plenty of attractive black fruits and genuine freshness. There are a few that feel the need for a bit more flesh, but many may full out further during élevage. Excellent wines have been made by Château de Chambrun, Château La Fleur de Boüard, Château Grand Ormeau, Château Tournefeuille, La Surgue and Enclos de Viaud. The super cuvée Le Plus from Château La Fleur de Boüard continues to impress. The 2020 Le Plus is concentrated, fancy stuff. The following blog post contains notes on a dozen wines. I hope you find them useful!

Bordeaux 2020: Château Bellefont-Belcier et al

Written by JW. Posted in Bordeaux

There are a number of properties in the Vignobles K portfolio, the group established by businessman Peter Kwok. Amongst the châteaux in St Emilion are Château Bellefont-Belcier, which occupies a super position just down the road from Château Pavie and Château Larcis-Ducasse, along with Château Tour St Christophe and Château Haut-Brisson. In Pomerol there are two properties, the tiny one hectare Enclos Tourmaline and the three hectare La Patache, and in neighbouring Lalande de Pomerol, there is Enclos de Viaud. In Castillon, the impressive Château Le Rey produces two styles from different parcels of vines, the unoaked Les Argileuses from the vines on clay and Les Rocheuses from the limestone soils. This is the first time I have tasted this Castillon and I was knocked out by the quality. In fact, across the board, this line up is impressive in 2020. It is undoubtedly led by Château Bellefont-Belcier which is the jewel in the crown, but all the wines displayed plenty of purity and fresh fruit qualities. There is an evident gentleness to the winemaking, and a plushness to the wines in the stable, notwithstanding differences in terroir and approach.

Bordeaux 2020: First Thoughts

Written by JW. Posted in Bordeaux

 

For a second year running trips to Bordeaux have been complex. Once again, the châteaux have been sending barrel samples. Of course, there are concerns about the air freighted wines being in top notch condition when they arrive. It’s a compromise. For me, better to taste and exercise your judgement, than not taste anything at all. So there are caveats to reviewing Bordeaux these days, but given this, what does 2020 look like? The heat and drought of the summer, combined with varying quantities of rain at the end of the growing season, have resulted in a generally impressive vintage. Overall it is a good partner to 2018 and 2019, and marks a trio of fine vintages. On the basis of the few hundred wines I’ve tasted it’s the least consistent of the three. In general, it doesn’t have the coquettishness of 2018, nor the excitement and magnificent texture of the 2019s. It does have plenty of substance, the fruit is generally supple, the tannins creamy, and alcohols that are a tad lower than the last couple of years. But 2020 seems a more heterogenous vintage than the two before it, so it is not as straightforward to understand as those seemed. There is a hollowness to some and a lack of aromatics in others. Prices are slowly being released. You’d certainly not want to be paying more than you did for your 2019s. Ideally, given the economic uncertainty, and the volume of fine Bordeaux available in bottle, savvy châteaux should be selling this at a decent discount to make sense of an en primeur purchase.

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