Well, it is official, 2010 Chateau Pontet Canet will be the first certified organic and biodynamic wine the estate has produced, indeed probably the first that any Médoc grand cru has ever produced I should imagine. Over twenty four hectares are now worked here with horses. One was just outside by the vineyards on the afternoon I visited [see photo below].  If you think horses and biodynamics all sounds like piffle, then taste the wine. It is wonderfully pure and harmonious.

Cheval Blanc’s managing director Pierre Lurton describes the 2010 vintage as one of ‘cool maturity’, a vintage that allowed for the steady build up and accumulation of flavour and alcohol without plunging acids. Nights in late August at Cheval Blanc were distinctly cool, down to 5C on occasion. ‘It was like keeping the grapes in the fridge overnight’ said technical director Pierre Olivier Clouet. Certainly the vintage conditions have enabled Cheval Blanc to make impressive wines. Grand Cru Classe Chateau La Tour du Pin has been managed by the team here since 2006 and was also shown. The vineyards of this eight hectare estate are planted on a mix of gravel and sandy soil overlying clay and lie close to Cheval Blanc.

Jean-Guillaume Prats got into a lot of trouble last year with his 2009 Cos d’Estournel. Some critics thought it was over-the-top, too alcoholic and far too much of a good thing. Others, Robert Parker included, thought it close to perfection. For me the wine tasted last November looked brilliant. The 2010 is, in fact, identical in alcoholic content to 2009, but it does manage a little more freshness and grip – though that is relative.

Palmer under Thomas Duroux and his team have made a wonderful 2010. For me it is a whisker behind the brilliant wine that they made in 2009 but that’s not a criticism. There’s more grip this year, but the wine is still wonderfully lush and perfumed, but the tannin is more noticeable and the wine will need more time to settle.