2012 Bordeaux Vintage – A Pleasant Surprise Rewarding Hard Work, Precision & Adaptation
The Weather
2012 started under precarious conditions. It was cool and damp in the spring leading to outbreaks of mildew, uneven flowering and coulure. Properties scrambled to deal with these issues according to their individual philosophies and financial capacities throughout late April, May and into June. Luckily, in July and through the end of September, the weather improved: it turned hot, sunny and dry. In certain instances it became very hot, with temperatures over 100°F. Towards the end of September, hot days, newly arrived cool nights and some much needed rain nourished the grapes through to excellent maturity levels and left the early-ripening merlot primed for the picking. Depending on where you were located in the region, the 1st and 2nd week of October brought varying temperatures and rains, resulting in damp, less than ideal harvest conditions. Merlot was mostly picked prior to the 5th of October under dry and warm conditions. It was ripe, concentrated and clean if the vineyard manager made the difficult decisions to eliminate the unripe grapes caused by uneven flowering and to pick early enough to retain freshness and balance. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and other blending varieties had varying levels of maturity, cleanliness and attractiveness depending on their geographic location and the rigidity of the sorting both in the vineyard and at the table(s).
The Narrative
Uneven flowering always stirs the pot and delays the vines’ maturation cycle. Hot and dry summers always push the grapes to the brink of over-ripeness without phenolic ripeness and freshness. Damp harvest conditions have the potential to complicate matters even further. The unpredictable weather in Bordeaux makes it a struggle to grow grapes in most years. The weather in Bordeaux is kind of depressing for a lot of the year. Just ask Anderson and he’ll tell you that it rained every day for 5 straight days during his first visit to the region with me last week. Sure, there are certain vintages (recently ’00, ’05, ’09 and ’10) where it seems like the stars were so aligned that if you didn’t make a good wine, you really shouldn’t be making wine or you should at least be kicking yourself for getting in the way. In most years, though, it requires a skilled, well-financed and creative winemaker or vineyard manager to get the most out of a Bordeaux vintage. The vines are constantly stressed, which is one of the main reasons why I believe these wines to be so profound. The most important questions to me are threefold. 1. Does the vineyard manager or winemaker have the skill and high-quality vineyards to produce excellent fruit no matter how difficult the vintage may be, by working hard in the vines, sorting out the bad and only keeping and concentrating on the good? 2. Is the Chateau able to put only the best fruit into the Grand Vin, or are they obliged (by financial necessity or unabashed greed) to include in the Grand Vin a greater percentage than they should of their total production? 3. Did the winemaker try to push the extraction, introduce too much wood or generally manipulate the process so much so that the resulting wine is out of balance, uncharacteristic of its terroir and generally not pleasurable? These are the questions that you have to ask yourself each year in Bordeaux. Wine by wine. Chateau by Chateau.
I find 2012 to be a very difficult vintage to generalize one way or the other. We tasted at over 40 different Chateaux as well as a large number of wines at the appellation/ regional tastings and at our negociants’ offices. If anything, I’d say it was up and down, and certainly very good to excellent for some properties. Pomerol, St. Emilion, Margaux and individuals in St. Julien were quite successful. There were even a few in Pauillac and St. Estephe that we really liked. Some people have compared it to 2001, but I think the ‘01s were pretty hard in the beginning. They’ve since softened and are drinking very well today, but the best examples of ’12, on the other hand, are pretty delicious even today and seem poised to age and improve in the cellar. You may be tempted to drink them as soon as they land, but would reward yourself by allowing them to reach greater maturity in the cellar.
Appellation Specifics
In Margaux, the Cabernet Sauvignon was pure and fine if sorted properly and well-attended to over the course of the early part of the vine’s maturation during less-than-ideal growing conditions. I think these may be the best examples of d’Issan and Pavillon Rouge du Chateau Margaux I’ve ever tasted. Also, I very much enjoyed Cantenac Brown and Brane Cantenac, although these may need more time to resolve their more gripping tannins. In Pomerol, the Merlot was nearly perfect and, if picked at the right time, it was fresh and flavorful. Vieux Chateau Certan, La Conseillante, Clos l’Eglise, l’Eglise Clinet and, yes, even Le Pin (#shocker) made amazing wines that should not be missed, defined by their delicious pure fruit that in certain instances featured anise or licorice flavors that left you smacking your lips minutes after you tasted them, wishing there were more in the glass. In St. Emilion, I think the properties closer to the medieval town on the Côte, where there is shallow clay over limestone, had more success than those in the lower part (some call it the Graves section of St. Emilion), where there is more clay and gravel than limestone. Chapelle d’Ausone, Ausone, Pavie Macquin, Larcis Ducasse, Barde-Haut, and La Fleur de Board all made excellent, fresh and relatively balanced wines. Some are made for earlier drinking than others, but all are delicious in their own way. There were some disappointments in St. Emilion as well, where it seemed like extraction was pushed over the edge and where there was more new wood in the final wine than the fruit and structure could support. This always seems to be the case in St. Emilion, so it came as no surprise. I believe there are some great properties in this large appellation that should be banished to drinking vodka if they continue to mask their terroirs and apply the new wood make-up they seem so determined to employ.
I found Pessac-Léognan and Graves to be the most difficult. Haut Brion and La Mission (again #shocker) made excellent if atypical wines dominated by the highest percentage of merlot of all time. Further up the Médoc in St. Julien, Pauillac, and St. Estephe, results seemed to be much more varied. We really liked Calon-Ségur and Léoville Las Cases. Pontet Canet made a fascinating wine as well. For the first time here, the Grand Vin was raised in 30% amphorae, and Tesseron continues to push the biodynamic philosophy on the backs of his ever-increasing stable of horses. Lynch Bages, St. Pierre, Gloria, Gruaud Larose, and Pichon Baron were also stand-outs. In these three appellations, however, there were also a number of wines that were green, uninteresting, and marked by a decided hollowness. We joked all week that this was the year of the donut. Sweet fruit up front on the attack, then hollow in the middle, finishing abruptly and sometimes harshly. It seemed that some were not content to just make what nature gave them, either waiting to pick too late or maybe over-extracting and pushing the wines out of balance in the cellar, and in some cases both. Nevertheless, in each appellation, the winemaking and the decisions made along the way were the key to what I believe to be a very interesting and compelling vintage. Many producers, critics and folks in the trade have called this “a pleasant surprise,” but for me, it should come as no surprise at all given these growing conditions. If you did the hard work required over the course of the vintage, then you had the potential to make very good to excellent wines. Mother Nature gave many properties a lot of positive raw material to work with if they were working smartly.
A great profile on Guy Bossard and his Domaine de l'Ecu in Muscadet from The Wine Doctor. We tasted through his '10s yesterday and were extremely impressed. Look for an offer soon.
Lower alcohol, less big fruit, less ripeness? Less California-ness in California? Chris Deegan from the restaurant Nopa in San Francisco weighs in on winemakers who make wines they like to drink. It's a great read on a trend we hope continues.
A really intelligent and concise take on 2010 Burgundy on Doug Barzelay's blog, Old Vine Notes. The article is a few months old, but it's a great read for anyone curious about '10's, many of which will be hitting the market in the coming months.
Bert Celce is the author of what may be one of the most underrated wine blogs on the internet, Wine Terroirs. In this post, he explores the vineyards and cellar of Alice and Oliver de Moor, who run one of the most exciting up-and-coming domaines in Chablis. They are making fantastic and authentic wines for a song, and they won't be 'up-and-coming' for much longer, if they even still are.
The premox "bumblefuck" with White Burgundy: explained in layman's terms by Remoissent's President, Pierre-Antoine Rovani of former erobertparker.com fame.
A great article on the Burguet brothers and a visit to their Gevrey Domaine from Aaron Ayscough. We had a similarly amusing impression of the 'odd couple' Eric and Jean-Luc when we met them at a tasting earlier this year. Their '10 Champeaux was ridiculously good.
I've been digging through some older podcasts from The Guild of Sommeliers and found a great interview with Jean-Marie Fourrier from August of last year.
Billy and I were extremely excited to embark on Day 2 of our 2011 En Primeur tastings. We set out very early the morning of April 6th to visit a few négociant partners and to taste nearly 100 wines from the 2011 Bordeaux vintage. This year I made a conscious effort to not read too much about the vintage prior to the trip to avoid any preconceived notions. The power of suggestion for me is always problematic when tasting wines, so I was excited to embark on the day’s tastings with an open mind and a well-rested palate.
Because I have a business to run and a limited amount of time to devote to writing about weather patterns in Bordeaux, I would like to share with you some of my favorite sources for reliable information regarding the vintages. Bill Blatch’s annual vintage report is probably the most detailed and interesting reports you will ever find regarding the weather of any particular Bordeaux vintage. As far as I can tell, he has not yet released his 2011 report. He’s launched a website, http://bordeauxgold.com/, and I strongly encourage you to sign up for his newsletter. Bill was formerly a négociant and is now particularly focused on the sweet wines of Sauternes and Barsac. His 2011 vintage report should be of extreme interest because, by all accounts, 2011 is a tremendously successful sweet wine vintage. I, of course, also encourage you to read Robert Parker’s vintage report and tasting notes. There is little question that he continues to be the most important market mover in the business, and once his scores and comments come out for 2011, the En Primeur campaign will start in earnest if it hasn’t already. You can access all things Parker at http://www.erobertparker.com/. I also encourage you to frequent Jeff Leve’s site, http://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/. Jeff is a long-time collector and an extremely passionate and knowledgeable guy who is a lot of fun to read and drink with for that matter! His site is full of images, interviews and very detailed overviews of each appellation. He publishes complete tasting notes and is covering Bordeaux as well as anyone at this point. Check out those sites to really dig into the weather, but, in general, here is my take on the growing conditions for 2011:
Bordeaux experienced summer in the spring and spring in the summer during the year. The temperatures were unusually warm in the spring, causing bud break to happen earlier than normal. I remember being there last year for the En Primeur tastings of the 2010 vintage in April, 2011. The weather was beautiful, warm and the buds were breaking on the vines. This sped up the maturation cycle of the plant, encouraged leaf and fruit growth but all under very dry conditions. The vines suffered from hydric stress, and then were hammered with some extremely hot days at the end of June. Then came cooler weather, rain, and, because of the uneven leaf growth in the spring, the grapes grew in an uneven fashion. The severe heat that shocked the vine’s sap (the blood of a vine) in late spring brought the vine’s maturation to a halt in some instances and made it difficult to achieve the appropriate level of phenolic ripeness. Some appellations were hit by hail and many had to perform green harvests to concentrate the vines’ vigor towards the best remaining fruit. Luckily, the harvest occurred under ideal temperatures and again very dry conditions. Those who were able to maneuver through the odd spring and summer ended up making well-balanced wines from tiny, concentrated grapes that feature bright acidity, good sweet fruit, and firm but not harsh tannins. Good examples should show well young and for the near to medium term. The best examples will require a moderate level of patience (3 to 5 years in the cellar) and then should provide decades of enjoyment. It’s actually a very interesting vintage aside from some disappointing wines. I think the key is to focus on the appellations that did well, and then ever further by looking for the Châteaux with the financial ability and wherewithal to do the work necessary to produce a proper wine in this challenging vintage.
The below are the impressions that we gathered from our tastings on the afternoon of April 6th:
Based on this relatively comprehensive tasting we did that afternoon, here is my general take on how the appellations performed:
2011 Bordeaux & Côtes, Médoc & Haut Médoc & Others
Most of these vineyards are located in and around Margaux and others are scattered throughout the Right bank. As is always the case, these appellations delivered an awful lot of forgettable wines, but I was happy with a few and am always shocked at how good some of these wines are for their money. My favorite wines in the $15 to $25 dollar category were Sénéjac, Camensac, Potensac, Citran and Poujeaux. Sénéjac is actually insanely good for the money if it stays cheap. Parker gave ‘09 93 points so look out below!!! I also enjoyed Clos les Lunelles again this year, and, at the higher price point, Cantemerle and La Tour Carnet were nice. There were others that suffered from under-ripeness and over-extraction: Croix-Mouton, d’Aiguilhe, Caronne St. Gemme (downright green), Lannessan, Clement-Pichon, Chasse Spleen, and Maucaillou. Overall this was a fairly mixed bag, but there are a few that should be solid bets for the money. I sort of think of these appellations like slot machines. You don’t have to spend a lot to play, and many times you are disappointed and lose your quarter; other times you make out shockingly well. It never hurts to give it a shot.
Tasted: Croix-Mouton, Cap de Faugeres, d'Aiguilhe, Les Lunelles, Caronne Ste. Gemme, Sénéjac, Citran, Clement-Pichon, Maucaillou, Camensasc, Poujeaux, Chasse-Spleen, Cantemerle, La Tour Carnet, Potensac, Chapelle de Potensac, Lanessan, Peyrabon.
2011 Pomerol
I wish that we had tasted more from Pomerol. I’ve heard that Vieux Château Certan is a candidate for wine of the vintage, and if it is any follow up to ‘09 and ‘10, I don’t doubt it. From what I could tell, the best wines were balanced on fresh acidity and pure fruit. They were fine and not at all harsh. I think they will drink well early and often. On the other side of the coin, there were a few that seemed a bit unsure of themselves: thin, acidic and fairly forgettable. I definitely enjoyed La Conseillante the most out of this group. I love Gilles Pauquet’s finesse driven approach to winemaking, and, in this vintage, the silky soft tannins of Merlot from Pomerol shine through. Honestly, I love Burgundy for its ethereal texture and weightlessness, so La Conseillante is right up my alley. Petit-Village was good, and I also enjoyed Le Gay, whom I think are a Château to watch. They’ve been on a roll in recent vintages. Nénin and Fugue de Nénin were among the thin camp and were out of whack acidity-wise. Overall, I think Pomerol did well and the Merlots were fairly healthy, but I didn’t taste very much of it and didn’t have any Châteaux appointments on the Right bank. All that we tasted from these Appellations were done at the négociant tastings.
Tasted: Petit-Village, Le Gay, La Conseillante, Fugue de Nénin, Nénin.
2011 St. Emilion
The wines from St. Emilion were really difficult, and I fear that way too many tried to overdo it with the extraction (trying to get the same color and power of ‘09 and ‘10). This coupled with high acidity resulted in many wines with a hollowed-out mid-palate, unripe tannins and short, bitter finishes. The most notable wines that fall into this disappointing category were Pavie-Macquin, La Gaffelière, Figeac, Pavie-Decesse, Bellevue Mondotte, Monbousquet and Pavie. The best wine I tasted here was Angélus, which I thought laid off of the extraction just enough to produce a balanced and quite powerful effort. I also enjoyed some drinkers: Pressac, Fleur Cardinale, and L’Arrosée, so, if you are on a budget, don’t be shy with these Châteaux.
Tasted: Pressac, Quinault L'Enclos, Faugères, Rol Valentin, La Confession, Lucia, Destieux, Monbousquet, La Gomerie, Bellevue Mondotte, Fleur Cardinale, L'Arrosée, Bellefont-Belcier, Larcis-Ducasse, La Gaffelière, Clos Fourtet, Pavie-Macquin, Troplong-Mondot, Pavie-Decesse, Figeac, Beau-Séjour Bécot, Duffau, Angélus, Pavie.
2011 Margaux
I found Margaux to be challenging as well, with a very inconsistent effort across the appellation. There were many wines with harsh, dry tannins, and I fear that many Châteaux also pushed the extraction too much without ripe enough fruit/tannins to do so. For that reason, I wasn’t crazy about Prieuré-Lichine nor Giscours. Lascombes is just too overblown and a mess in my opinion in 2011. I admit that I didn’t taste too much Margaux, but, in order of my enjoyment, I liked the following: Cantenac Brown, d’Issan, Malescot St. Exupéry, and even the inexpensive Monbrison. Stay away from Marquis d’Alesme Becker, as it had some finger nail polish thing going on and very harsh tannins. Ferrières was…yikes! Durfort-Vivens was rather rustic and du Tertre wasn’t too bad but was nothing to write home about.
Tasted: Desmirail, Monbrison, Marquis d'Alesme, Ferrière, du Tertre, Durfort Vivens, Cantenac-Brown, Prieuré-Lichine, Giscours, d'Issan, Malescot St. Exupéry, Lascombes.
2011 Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Similar to Margaux, I found this appellation’s quality to be up and down in 2011. In general, there were hard, tannic wines with hollow middles, and very few that managed to achieve enough ripeness to balance out the high acidities and dry tannins. Pape Clement and Smith-Haut-Lafitte were too extracted and dry. Latour-Martillac and Malartic-Lagravière featured harsh, dry tannins with not enough fruit content. I didn’t mind Haut-Bailly, and, although it was a bit modern and in your face, I thought de Fieuzal was fairly successful. I enjoyed Domaine de Chevalier the most. It had a weird nose, but good balance and freshness. Bargain shoppers should go for Chantegrive: a little thin in the middle, but pretty easy drinking wine. Graves/Pessac was probably my least favorite in 2011 on the Left Bank.
Tasted: Chantegrive, Martillac, Larrivet Haut-Brion, Carbonnieux, Fieuzal, Malartic-Lagravière, Domaine de Chevalier, Smith Haut Lafitte, Haut-Bailly, Pape Clément.
2011 St. Estèphe
I tasted very few wines from St. Estèphe this day, and, unfortunately, only 2 others thereafter: Cos d’Estournel & Montrose. I’ll discuss those in my next post regarding some Châteaux appointments we had on April 10th. It has been pretty wildly documented that St. Estèphe experienced a rather severe hail storm on the 1st of Sept. This caused some panic and some vignerons picked too early, ending up with unripe, harsh, green tannins and hollow mid-palates. Lafon-Rochet was extremely woody and disjointed. Phélan Ségur had a thin middle and short finish. Meyney was hard and dry and Tronquoy-Lalande was very difficult to enjoy. I think you have to be careful with 2011 St. Estèphe. I believe Montrose made the best wine ahead of Cos d’Estournel, but you still see some of the vintage’s less desirable parts in both of these wines. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed them a great deal, but they are nowhere near their ‘09 and ‘10 counterparts. I’ll discuss these two properties in greater detail in the days to come.
Tasted: Meyney, Tronquoy-Lalande, Phélan Ségur, Lafon-Rochet.
2011 Pauillac
I think Pauillac made some pretty decent wines and in certain instances (Pontet-Canet, Pichon Baron, and Grand Puy Lacoste, I believe some excellent wines were made. Unfortunately, we did not get to taste too much from Pauillac on this day, but we did get to taste Pontet-Canet, Lynch-Bages, and Pichon-Baron at their respective Châteaux on April 10th. I’ll detail those tastings in 2011 Bordeaux Futures Post #3. On this tasting day, I enjoyed Grand-Puy-Lacoste a great deal. It had good deep fruit, balance and freshness. Pichon-Baron on this day was firmer than I’ll report in next post. Les Forts de Latour was very good, but it should be for $200 plus per bottle. Petit Mouton was actually enjoyable and it usually isn’t En Primeur. Clerc-Milon had more concentration than d’Armailhac, but was still nothing to get too excited about. I’ve also heard that Haut-Batailley was really good, but I unfortunately did not get to taste it. I think there was some up and down, but the ones who got it right made some pretty strong wines.
Tasted: Haut-Bages-Libéral, Grand-Puy-Ducasse, d'Armailhac, Clerc-Milon, Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Petit Mouton, Pichon-Baron, Forts de Latour.
2011 St. Julien
To me, St. Julien was the most consistent appellation in 2011. The Cabernet was noble, sweet, pure and ripe enough, albeit lacking a bit of concentration for some wines. Gloria was excellent and you should check it out for the money (around $50 bucks last year). It had good freshness, clean fruit, good length and balance: very pleasing wine that should drink well early and for the medium term. Lagrange wasn’t bad, but a bit light. Branaire-Ducru was quite good with above-average concentration and a creamy mid-palate lifted by acidity and fine tannins to finish long. This should drink well young and for a good while. 2011 St. Pierre was another strong effort from this fast emerging gem of a property. On a side note, I tasted a bottle of ‘09 while I was there. What a delicious wine that is already drinking beautifully. I actually think ‘10 might be better, and ‘11 is no slouch. It’s very open and aromatic already and should also prove an early drinker with fine, soft tannins and plenty of freshness. Beychevelle was too extracted. I never like this wine and can’t believe Asian markets pay what they do for it. All three Léovilles were strong efforts with Las Cases leading the way. LLC was very closed in the nose, but with some coaxing revealed some pretty floral and lead pencil aromatics. This was an attractive and always classy wine that also seemed to invite early drinking and good length to last in the cellar. Not sure this will last as long as ‘09 and definitely not as long as ‘10, but this is a nice wine if the price is right. 2011 Léoville-Poyferré was as it should be: a pretty, medium to full bodied wine that all can enjoy. It had the most concentration behind LLC, and good high acid to keep you salivating for more. There is a certain harmony in Poyferré that is much like a Burgundy, but certainly one on performance enhancing drugs. Clos du Marquis was thin and forgettable. I liked Léoville-Barton, as I usually do. You must be patient with this wine, but this was good.
Tasted: Gloria, Talbot, Lagrange, Langoa-Barton, Branaire-Ducru, St. Pierre, Beychevelle, Léoville-Barton, Léoville-Poyferré, Petit Lion du Marquis de las Cases, Clos du Marquis, Léoville Las Cases.
It was a long day of tasting and actually a very exhausting experience. Tasting wine is a very physical enterprise, and although you may think at first glance that this is all fun and games, you actually have to really concentrate and get your mind in the right place to taste this many wines in one sitting. The tannins seem to build on your teeth and palate like snow on a snow ball rolling down a hill. You have to break it up with plain bread and water and give yourself breaks in between. Your palate gets fatigued and each wine becomes more and more difficult to analyze. After 4 vintages of tasting En Primeur, I find it to be more efficient and informative to taste this way vs. attending the UGC walk-around, cow to the trough tastings held in each appellation. I also strongly encourage you to drink beer after you taste this many wines. Your palate will thank you the next day. Naturally, since this day was so grueling with nearly 100 wines, Billy and I needed to refresh the palate with some beer. We went to Café Brun in Bordeaux center. I love this place and always meet some interesting folks in the trade as well as some very friendly locals. The beer is cold and in big mugs, so we sat and drank to the 2011 vintage and tried to recount the long day of tasting. In Post #3, we head into the Médoc to visit Pichon Baron, Lynch-Bages, Pontet-Canet, Montrose, and Cos d’Estournel in a series of Château appointments. In Post #4, we’ll show you around St. Emilion by way of photos and culinary exploits on Easter Sunday. There will be a Post #5 to wrap things up in due time, but please don’t yell at me if this takes me a while. Manhattan Wine Company is a busy place these days! ;) MT
2011 Bordeaux Futures - Domaine Clarence Dillon - Haut Brion & La Mission - Post #1
My brother Billy and I arrived in Bordeaux on the morning of April 5th and hit the ground running with our first En Primeur tasting at Chateau Haut-Brion that afternoon. En Primeur tasting schedules and pace are not for the faint of heart and, despite our lack of sleep and the time change, we arrived at Haut-Brion excited and ready to dig into this vintage. In the summer of 2011, Domaine Clarence Dillon, owner of Chateau Haut-Brion and Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion, acquired Chateau Tertre Daugay in Saint Emilion and renamed it "Chateau Quintus," as the estate represents the "fifth child" in the Domain's repertoire. Quintus is a ~16ha estate that is 67% planted with Merlot and 33% Cabernet Franc. From our conversations, it was clear that the Domaine was excited about the acquisition and the prospects of producing a Saint Emilion classed growth.
Below are my notes on the wines we tasted from Domaine Clarence Dillon and our discussion with the Chateau on the vintage:
2011 Vintage: "Spring of all Fears"
Haut-Brion and La Mission experienced a super dry spring--in fact, the driest on record since 1949. As we all know, these arid conditions are normally extremely beneficial to the vines, forcing them to dig deeper in search of water. As the roots bring the water back up to the vine, they also bring those wonderful trace elements of terroir to the grapes, resulting in greater complexity and nuance, as we saw in the (also dry) 2010 vintage. However, the region experienced two extremely hot days in late June (26th and 27th) that severely impacted the vines’ ability to produce evenly ripe fruit. These severely hot days and tremendous hydric stress during the spring basically defined the vintage and severely and adversely impacted the vines ability to achieve phenolic ripeness. Haut-Brion came in at 73 ITP and La Mission came in at 71 ITP.
Rain finally came, which enabled the vines to continue growing through the summer. August was relatively cool and unusually rainy. September on the other hand was dry, which enabled harvesting in ideal conditions.
The weather conditions had varying impacts on the different types of grapes and the Chateaux's yields:
Semillon suffered in comparison to Sauvignon Blanc. Merlot was hardly impacted by the weather, while the Cabernet Sauvignon struggled. During the harvest it was not uncommon to see green, pink, red and even shriveled grapes all on the same vine. Cabernet Sauvignon yields were among the lowest ever seen at the estates.
As a result, the Chateaux had to go to extreme lengths during sorting to remove all of the unwanted elements. At Quintus, they employed an air knife sorting machine to blow away anything that wasn't perfectly round in shape, while at Chateau Haut-Brion and Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion they employed optical sorting machines that sort not only by shape, but also by color. This necessary heavy-handed sorting resulted in the loss of 5-10% of the overall harvest.
Creating the ideal blend was more challenging than usual in 2011. Less than 45% of the total harvest was used for the first wines at Chateau Haut-Brion and Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion, and only 30% at Quintus.
The Wines of Domaine Clarence Dillon
The Reds:
2011 Le Dragon de Quintus, a blend of 54.3% Merlot and 45.7% Cabernet Franc, is the second wine from Chateau Quintus and quite a difficult wine to taste this year. It was herby and lean, and on the attack it was acidic and hard. Very little build in the mid-palate and quite astringent on the finish. Unripe fruit and too much extraction. Not very good.
2011 Chateau Quintus, a blend of 50.5% Merlot and 49.5% Cabernet Franc, was much more enjoyable and clearly benefited from the severe sorting that took place at the estate. Only 30% of the total production found its way into the Grand Vin of Chateau Quintus and resulted in a much more enjoyable wine. The aromatics were much more pronounced and clearly there was more depth and concentration to this wine. It attacked sweet and full with good acid and complexity. The mid palate left a bit to be desired but had a little creaminess to keep you engaged until the boxy, uptight tannins began to take over in the long and dry finish. I'm sure this property will produce great wines moving forward, and this first effort by Domaine Clarence Dillon is not bad considering the growing conditions.
2011 La Chapelle de La Mission Haut-Brion, a blend of 68.7% Merlot and 11.7% Cabernet Franc and 19.6% Cabernet Sauvignon, offered up a quiet nose and subtle floral aromas. It entered the palate a little sweet, but quickly turned to acid. The middle was a bit hollow and highly acidic, lacking any semblance of real concentration. Tannins were fine and gripped the mouth, and the wine finished moderately long. Not bad, but nothing to get too excited about.
2011 Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion, a blend of 33.7% Merlot, 11.3% Cabernet Franc, and 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, had a good deep color and moderately pronounced aromatics. It too was a bit sweet on the attack but had more depth and concentration in the mildly creamy mid-palate. It quickly turned towards the acid with moderate fruit concentration. The finish was very tannic and stopped rather abruptly. Not a classic La Mission Haut-Brion, but not terrible either. This wine will need time to cellar for the tannins to settle down. My guess is that Parker will give this wine 90 to 92 points which is a big step down from the 100 points he lavished on the '09 and the 100 points I think he will ultimately give the '10.
2011 La Clarence de Haut-Brion, a blend of 71.5% Merlot, 4.5% Cabernet Franc, 22.8% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1.2% Petit Verdot, had a pretty nose and deeper color than Chapelle. It entered sweet and supple and built nicely in the mid-palate. The tannins were fine, present and seemingly ripe enough. This is classic claret that will age nicely and actually should show fairly well in its youth. Pretty solid effort and if this is cheap enough (fingers crossed!), it is a wine worth seeking out.
2011 Chateau Haut-Brion, a blend of 34.8% Merlot, 18.9% Cabernet Franc, and 46.3% Cabernet Sauvignon, was clearly the best red wine of today's tasting. It had a decent dark color and nice aromatics. The palate was much more interesting than the nose. It entered sweet and relatively powerful with a touch of creaminess in the middle and great freshness due to its acidity. Clearly more concentration, depth and complexity than La Mission, but still not a knockout wine. It finished with a lot of dry extract and was much longer than La Mission. If the price is right here, I say buy this wine as you should be able to enjoy it relatively early on in its development and should cellar for at least 15 to 20 years. Since I'm in a guessing mood, I bet Parker goes with 93-95 points and has some favorable things to say about this. I enjoyed it.
The Whites:
2011 La Clarte de Haut-Brion, a blend of 22% Sauvignon Blanc and 78% Semillon, revealed a very pronounced aromatic profile of Semillon. On the nose, entrance and mid-palate it was very Semillon, and on the finish it was high acid Sauvignon Blanc. This was a pretty wine and a very successful effort. This shouldn't be too expensive and definitely worth buying and enjoying for many years to come.
2011 Chateau Haut-Brion Blanc, a blend of 42.1% Sauvignon Blanc and 57.9% Semillon, had a very pretty nose, but not nearly as pronounced as La Mission Blanc. It attacked sweet and fairly forceful, but the middle was a bit disjointed. The acid was not as pronounced as it as was with La Mission Blanc and lacked a bit of freshness. This won't last nearly as long as La Mission Blanc. Ok wine, but for the money, forget it.
2011 Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc, a blend of 27.1% Sauvignon Blanc, 72.9% Semillon, was a tremendous success in the 2011 vintage! It had an amazing nose that exploded from the glass. It attacked powerfully and was lifted by great acidity and concentration. Extremely creamy mid-palate and a very balanced wine. Great minerality and precision on the long and pure finish. This was delicious and if it were not so damn expensive, I'd love to own this. Clearly the best white wine of the bunch.
