2011 rollercoaster harvest and ... inexpensive and tasty Bordeaux

[Panos Kakaviatos]

Just some notes from my latest visit to Bordeaux in late September. Enclosed also a video from Château Brane Cantenac, a fine 2nd growth from the Margaux appellation, which makes some of the most aromatically pleasing wines in Bordeaux. I spoke to Henri Lurton, the owner, about the challenges he faced for the 2011 harvest.



As I have reported in decanter.com, the 2011 vintage resembles a roller coaster. It started out nice and dry and very precocious. When I joined other tasters earlier this year for the 2010 barrel tastings, it was very hot and dry at the beginning of April, and vintners could not believe the advanced level of growth, by almost one month. And this culminated in a heat shock in late June, particularly on 26-27 June, that led to temperatures above boiling, about 42°C that literally grilled grapes. Even in late September, one could see bunches where one side was shriveled and the other side normal... Why de-leaf? Well, then came July, which according to Henri Lurton, was the coldest in 30 years. And wet. It gave some new life to the stunned and stunted vines, but not enough, remarked Paulin Calvet of Château Picque Caillou, who - along with many others - noted unripe berries in bunches that were too shocked from the heat strike. Merlot was particularly susceptible, it was said. Still, July proved helpful if not normal. And August was also marked by rains at the beginning and end, so that complicated matters before tropical weather came in early September that - combined with some rain - spread a bit of botrytis in some plots. As you can hear from Lurton, botrytis posed a challenge.

I remember when the special optical sorting machines were shown to the press for the 2010 harvest (or was it the 2009?). In both cases, they were hardly needed. But in 2011, those châteaux which invested in them, got their money's worth. And for the vast mass of Bordeaux, for many estates which still machine harvest, it was absolutely critical to have workers cut off botrytis affected grapes and other unsavory grapes before the machines did their picking. And preferably to have another sorting afterwards. Otherwise, one ran the risk of some nasty stuff entering the fermentation vats.

As for Sauternes, 2011 may prove to be yet another superb vintage.

My full harvest report and notes on some fine lower-cost Bordeaux: HERE

What makes Bordeaux special?

One other thing I came away with from my late September visit to Bordeaux was a reminder as to why I began going to Bordeaux in the first place. I love the charm of, say, Beaune or Dijon, or Colmar or Vienne or Orange. But Bordeaux is a big city by comparison – and loads of fun. The weather is more agreeable, as we are in the South more or less, and there is lovely architecture. Sunday evenings some shops are open, even nice wine shops open until 10 pm. This is unheard of in stricter Strasbourg – by comparison. The people are out, the evening is balmy. I met with friend and fellow blogger Alex Rychlewski, who has been living in Bordeaux since 1978. He has raised his two children here. “Every public school has bilingual classes in English and in French,” he said. For English speakers, Bordeaux has a long history of association. At least back to Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henri Plantagenêt… In is an important trade centre, still with direct flights out of Merignac. I also met with fellow Decanter writer Jane Anson and she I spoke about our frustration with recent price hikes of much cru classé and wine in that category. For sure.

But there is also lots of other wine that is good and inexpensive. Sometimes absurdly so. I repeat what Alex told me: One cannot say that Bordeaux has the classed growths … and the rest is crap. Some people still do. And they are dead wrong. Take our dinner Sunday evening 25 September at The Café Regent, for example. This is a rather legendary Bordeaux brasserie that will sadly be replaced by some chain pizza store. Alex was very upset. But at least we got a chance to have a nice meal of duck breast with a bottle of Château Chasse Spleen 2006 for just €27. An excellent restaurant price for fine Bordeaux. In fact, that is not much more than what one would pay for the bottle in retail. And in the US, it would have been more expensive. Chasse Spleen is a very well known cru bourgeois from Moulis, but not a classified growth. Much Merlot in the mix and 2006 is an above average vintage. Youngish of course, the tannins were present on the finish, but overall very smooth with the corpulence and tannin serving as a fine foil to the richness of the duck.

But my excitement over Bordeaux’s wine does not end with cru bourgeois. There are many other wines in the Graves region for example that cost less than a wine like Chasse Spleen and that merit your wine- loving attention. Thanks to a press visit in the Graves region, including both higher-end (but not always that expensive) Pessac-Léognan and the more humble wines to the south, I re-discovered my admiration for red Château Magence, for example, or white Château Magneau. I think Hugh Johnson described such red wine as having pleasing, dusty tannins. The 2008 Magence red had that but more, and that was but one example. And the Magneau white is focused and flavorful, and costs something like €8. So there. Bordeaux is not just cru classé that costs over €100 per bottle. As Véronique Bouffard of Château La Louviere told me: So many people work hard every year to make good wines; customers should not associate Bordeaux with just the top 3%. She is absolutely right.

[Jack Bulkin]

Just another vintage to me Panos. There are exceptional wines made and some great people I will always fondly remember in Bordeux but the overall greed, insincerity and disloyalty to long time buyers of the likes of Jean-Guillaume Prats and others have taken their toll. Like a lover who discovers that his love interest has cheated on him, I no longer give Bordeaux the benefit of the doubt or really lovingly look forward to the wines. I had for thirty years drooled with anticipation when opening a fine Bordeaux. Lately, I have been more disapointed than enthralled. Point inflation by the critics has also been a turn off. Hopefully it's just a phase I am going through since I still have a lot of the wines. Thanks for your effort nevertheless.

[Panos Kakaviatos]

Greetings Jack! Thanks for reading. Well I have not been in the wine market for as long as you have :-). In any case, I just wanted to point out as well that many Bordeaux wines that are tasty these days are not so expensive. But I understand how you feel. Chrs Panos

[Ken_Birman]

Not sure Orange has so much charm! But your video is great, Panos. You've picked up a fan here in Ithaca....

[Jeff Cassetta]

Panos, another great video! I'm not as jaded as Jack, but I do hope that the greed at the top gets burned. Bordeaux still offers a great value to me with the little wines. The quality level can't be beat in the $15-30 range. I'm loving my "lesser" 2000's that I'm currently going through, especially the Pessac-Léognan. Chateaux La Louvière, Brown and La Garde are currently drinking fantastic, as well as wines from lesser appellations like Epicurea de Château Martinat. The '10's can be purchased for similar prices as the 2000's. It will be wines like these that I will buy in the future from Bordeaux.