Bordeaux Futures 2009: Results (Part 13)

2009: Dry white wines (Part 1) Thirteenth report (April, 27th 2010) 2009 is a good year for dry white wines in Bordeaux though the vintage is inconsistent and not up to 2008, 2007 or 2006. The wines display a similar character to the 2005 in a somewhat solar style and with a rather low tension on the palate. Hot days alternating with cool nights usually favour the aromatic concentration at the end of the maturing process. I therefore expected more vibrancy in the wines. In fact, 2009 is a “technical” vintage. Here are some of the challenges winemakers had to rise up to: - Dry and sunny weather in August can result in the loss of acidity and an increase in sugar levels- and so of alcohol- which tend to unbalance the wines. For the 2009 vintage, the answer was to plough the ground to prevent it from drying up. - Alternating cool nights and sunny days can harden up the skin of the berries and induce a rustic character in the wine. - And finally, a faulty analysis of the maturing of the grapes can lead to the decision to bring them in too late thus losing the crispness of the fruit. In that particularly demanding context, Denis Dubourdieu, especially with his own estates, gets a first class. I could not fault his wines, which are delicious and particularly aesthetic when others tend to be soft and flavourless. As regards the grape varieties, the 2009 vintage in Bordeaux favours sémillon more than sauvignon, which displays less vibrancy than in less challenging years. Generally speaking, the 2009 dry white wines will be at their best and ready for drinking between 2011 and 2018. ____________________________________________________________________________________ BOUSCAUT Pessac-Léognan blanc 15,5 // 87 - 88 Showing a light yellow color with green hues, this wine offers a lovely intense nose with subtle nuances of fresh and exotic fruits. It performs delicious and melting on the palate, displays a normal body, slightly mellow and yet impossible not to swallow. CARBONNIEUX Pessac-Léognan blanc 15 // 86 Showing a yellow green color with a fruity and subtle nose that smells of tangerine and acacia, this wine offers a caressing and silky expression on the palate. It performs not very powerful and less vivid than usual. It finishes over aromas of white fruits more than of grapefruit. Medium length. CLOS FLORIDÈNE Graves Blanc 16,5 // 90The blend is made from 50% sémillon and 50% sauvignon grown on limestone soils. Showing a very light color along with a discreet nose that, with air contact, smells of orange peel and anis and displays floral characteristics. It melts on the palate, subtle, very tasty and graceful with body presence and a long finish. There are some smoky and noble nuances in the persistence. It is a great wine. COUHINS Pessac-Léognan blanc 14,75 // 85 - 86 This is a fruity and mellow wine but its body lacks density. COUHINS LURTON Pessac-Léognan blanc 14,75 - 15 // 85 - 86 This wine offers a fruity and fresh nose of anis. It is fat and tensed on the palate, of medium length and density. DE FIEUZAL Pessac-Léognan blanc 15 // 86 Showing a yellow green color with quite a discreet nose of white peach and citrus, this wine performs enjoyable, tasty and aromatic on the palate but is of medium density. DE FRANCE Pessac-Léognan blanc 14,25 // 84 - 85 Showing a yellow green color with a fruity and discreet nose, this wine offers a hint of anis. It performs soft, tender and slightly mellow yet enjoyable on the palate. DOISY DAËNE Bordeaux blanc 15,5 // 87 - 88 This wine is made from 100% sauvignon. It shows a very light color and a very aromatic nose. It smells of white peach with a hint of coconut. This dry white offers a great expression on the palate, performing both melting and aromatic. It is delicious! Tensed and long, it delivers taste and a strong hedonistic sensation. The finish lingers over a lemony touch. It is very enjoyable. A success. HAUT BERGEY Pessac-Léognan blanc 16 // 88 - 89 Showing a pale yellow color with green hues, this wine offers a great, complex and truffled nose, along with nuances of sauvignon and a fine wood character. On the palate, it performs subtle and melting, with a superb taste of pear and ripe white fruits. This 2009 Haut Bergey Blanc is extremely fragrant and finishes powerful over fine truffled nuances. Very good indeed. LA LOUVIÈRE Pessac-Léognan blanc 15,25 // 87 Showing a pale yellow color with green hues, this wine offers a discreet nose along with a tender and aromatic expression of ripe fruit on the mid-palate. It finishes vivid with a lemon character. LARRIVET HAUT BRION Pessac-Léognan blanc 15,25 // 87 Showing a pale yellow color with a fruity, floral, slightly truffled and peppery nose, this wine performs soft, very fruity and sweet as usual, but with a more nuanced wooden character than in the past and a more vibrant fruit. It finishes fat and sappy, over a good length. LATOUR MARTILLAC Pessac-Léognan blanc 15,25 - 15,5 // 87 Showing a pale yellow color with green hues, this wine offers a fresh and fruity nose of anis. Fruity and caressing on the palate, it performs (a little too) soft and enjoyable. This wine finishes over medium power and length. LE SARTRE Pessac-Léognan blanc 14 // 84 Showing a pale color with a fruity, pure, fresh and enjoyable nose, this wine offers a tender and fruity expression, slightly mellow on the mid-palate and more fragrant on finish. Yet, I found a lack of aromatic expression overall. LIBER PATER Graves Blanc 15,75 - 16 // 88 Showing a pale yellow green color with a fine, fruity and subtle nose, this wine offers a touch of lime. It smells like a dry Barsac. Fat and very fruity on the palate, it evolves quite vivid with taste, body and a silky touch. This wine finishes over a very good length of fine lemon character with a fruity and pure taste. LUCHEY HALDE Pessac-Léognan blanc 14,25 // 84 - 85 Showing a light, pale yellow color, with a fine and fresh nose that evokes raspberry, this wine performs slightly mellow, lacking tension on the mid-palate. It finishes more vivid and fatter. Medium length. MALARTIC LAGRAVIERE Pessac-Léognan blanc 16,5 // 90 Showing a light yellow color with a very aromatic, fine and subtle nose that offers smoky and tangerine characteristics, this wine performs mellow and tender on the palate with a fine taste of tangerine, anis and pear. It is very tasty, aromatic and dense and melts on finish. The 2009 Malartic Lagraviere Blanc delivers a sensation of elegance through the precision of its structure. It ends on a definite terroir expression and is quite impossible not to swallow. OLIVIER Pessac-Léognan blanc 14,75 - 15 // 85 - 86 Showing a yellow green color with a fruity nose that smells of boxwood and crushed nettles, this wine performs tender and aromatic on the palate and displays a medium body. It finishes persistent and tasty. PAPE CLEMENT Pessac-Léognan blanc 15,25 // 87 Showing a yellow green color with a fruity nose of stewed type, this wine offers a tender expression, of slightly low tension on the palate. It has a strongly marked solar character and finishes on a slightly woody note. PAVILLON BLANC Bordeaux blanc 16,5 // 90 Here is a 2009 a bit more subtle than other vintages. A little less strength, it has a beautiful light yellow color, a fine nose, fruity, subtle, very cool and slightly truffled. The entry into the mouth is lively and the wine develops aromatic, with flavor and subtle notes where there is a mixture of smoothness, freshness and tenderness. This is particularly difficult to spit. Something has changed in this wine. The idea of texture seems to appear now. Composition 100% Sauvignon. Alcohol 13 9, pH 3.23. It is fermented in barrels and will be bottled starting in the month of JunePICQUE CAILLOU Pessac-Léognan blanc 14,75 - 15 // 85 - 86 Showing a yellow green color with a fruity, fresh and truffled nose, this wine performs tensed, silky and aromatic on the palate, with a fat body that is revealed on finish as well as a lovely persistence over fine aromas. REYNON Bordeaux blanc 15,25 - 15,5 // 87 The harvest took place on August 31st! It is a blend of 90% sauvignon and 10% semillon. 20% of the wine was fermented in wooden vats. Showing a pale color with an intense, floral, subtle and sunny nose, this wine performs sweet, very aromatic and slightly truffled on the palate. It develops complete and quite complex, with a sappy and mellow character as well as a lovely fragrant finish. Alcohol content 13%; pH 3.25; Total Acidity 4.5. Part 2 will be put on line on Thursday 29th.Jean-Marc Quarin. ___________________________________________________________________________ © Copyright 2010. This publication is the original work of Jean-Marc Quarin Sarl, 10 allée de Ginouilhac, BP 40, Le Taillan-Médoc. France. - E-mail : jmquarin@wanadoo.fr. The news media and subscribing wine distributors, importers and retailers may use portions of this material (such as tasting notes, ratings or quotes) provided that it is not distorted, the proper wine and vintage are stated, www.quarin.com is given credit for the material utilized, and Jean-Marc Quarin (JMQ) is shown as the Copyright holder.

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Bordeaux Futures 2009: Results (Part 13)

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