Chronicle 173: Bordeaux 2014 – summer at last! From Léoville Las Cases 1986 to the development of the 2005’s

Bordeaux 2014 – summer at last! From Léoville Las Cases 1986 to the development of the 2005’s. Lafont Rochet, Lynch-Bages, Rausan Ségla, Domaine de Chevalier, Malartic Lagravière, Saint-Pierre, Léoville Poyferré, Léoville Las Cases, Pontet Canet, Pichon Baron, Berliquet, Laroze, Beauséjour Duffau Lagarosse, Troplong Mondot, La Conseillante, Hosanna, Trotanoy. Chronicle 173 (September 26, 2014) 28, 30, 35°C (82, 86, 95°F) in the vineyards. Since the 1st September, Bordeaux has been blessed with an Indian summer with light and heat unlike any it experienced in July and August. The average temperature in Saint-Estèphe in July was 20.6°C (69°F) and 18.6°C (65.5°F) in August. Some scattered showers have been reported here and there, which is a cue for me to tell you how uneven rainfall has been in 2014. On Monday 8th September, Saint-Emilion and Taillan Médoc had fine weather, while 30 mm (1.2 inches) of rain fell in Margaux, 3 mm (0.1 inches) in Saint-Julien and 10 mm (0.4 inches) in Saint-Estèphe. Vincent Millet measured 30 mm (1.2 inches) of rainfall in July at Calon Ségur, while in Capbern Gasqueton, just 2 kilometres down the road he got 40 mm (1.6 inches). However amazing it may seem, the fruit on his young vines have the equivalent of 15.5° of alcohol and he is crying out for rain. In my garden, my poplar trees are parched and losing their leaves. This last fortnight has brought back the conditions the grapes need to ripen unchallenged by disease, except in the vineyards that have already lost too much leaf to mildew: if there are no more leaves, ripening becomes impossible. On the early ripening soils of Graves and Pomerol, the Merlot is not quite ripe. The grapes have lost volume and the skins are still thin and fragile. The extremely long flowering period followed by an extended initial colour change in the fruit has led to great differences in ripeness in the grapes within the same bunch. Pierre Olivier Clouet, the technical manager of Cheval Blanc, is worried that these riper grapes may become infected with botrytis rot. Should these early grapes have been cut off to balance the bunch in a sort of reverse green harvest? The Cabernet Sauvignon and the Cabernet Franc are much more uniform than the Merlot and still a long way off being ripe. We need another month like this, as Pierre Olivier puts it. On the 17th, 15 mm (0.6 inch) of rain fell in 30 minutes and 25 mm (1 inch) more fell the following day. This storm hit the Medoc and the right bank (where 80 mm or 3.1 inches) fell in places, but spared Pessac Léognan. Will the effects of this be perceptible in the wines? On the 19th, the weather was fine and hot again and on the 20th the temperature moved up to 29°C (84°F). For now, this respite in the weather has given the vintage a second wind, when three weeks earlier it looked as if it would turn out poorer than 2013. The dry whites Harvesting of the dry whites began on 1st September. Winemakers are reporting good alcohol contents varying from 12 to 13.5%, and aromatic musts with straight structures resulting from low pHs. I have tasted none of them so far. Next week from Monday 22nd to Wednesday 24th September, I will welcome ten readers and we will taste the grapes for three days in the major vineyards. Watch this space. From Léoville Las Cases 1986 to the development of the 2005’s I have just tasted my third bottle of Léoville Las Cases 1986 in six months. The latest was superb (18.5 // 97) and beat the Pape Clément 1989 (16.75 // 93) hands down that was served just before. What did the people having lunch with me say as they tasted it blind? “It’s younger!” Well, in fact not! Fresher and livelier on the palate, which is why it appears younger, this wine is the archetypal Bordeaux that has slowly evolved over time. There is great pleasure in tasting a wine that was once a little firm (Professor Peynaud said 1986 in general hurt his palate as a primeur!) and after 24 years in bottle has become as soft as barley sugar, but will this enjoyment soon be a thing of the past? I often think it will, because today wines are expected to be smoother and softer to be more appealing to “the market” en primeur. In fact, firmness in young Bordeaux wines is legitimate and natural; Bordeaux is not after all a southern winegrowing region. It is all part of these wines’ complexity. In the 2005’s I find all the qualities that promise a glorious future i.e. a subtle mix of opulence, the lustre of the fruit, softness and well placed, mellowed tannins. These are wines that will become soft, but not sweet. “2005, classic genius” I wrote in one of my Reports. 10 days later, the cork of the Léoville Las Cases 1986 was stained red with dried wine and still smelled of roses! In any case, the people who took part in the tasting below were clear about the complexity of the 2005’s flavours, which they adored, although it is still not ready to be served. One day it will have to be stated that there is wrongly or rightly a definite difference between what consumers think and the opinions of consultants. For example, more and more drinkers prefer their wines undecanted rather than decanted. I’ll come back to this. The wines were tasted blind, decanted and in the following order: Lafon Rochet 2005 16,5 // 92 Powerful, animal nose. Rich and supple, slender, long, spicy and very good on the palate. 2018 – 2045 Lynch Bages 2005 17,5 // 95 Lots of colour, elegant nose with a lovely Cabernet Sauvignon smell and a hint of smoke. Complete, rich and supple, and flavoursome on the palate, a little extracted on the finish, but a superb marriage of strength and elegance. 2020 – 2050 Rauzan Segla 2005 18 // 96 Deep colour. Subtle, elegant, creamy nose that is fresh and multilayered. Ethereal and powerful at the same time on the palate with elegant, fragrant tannin. It’s long and very, very nice. 2017 – 2050 Domaine de Chevalier 2005 17 // 94 Truffle and ripe fruit on the nose. Silky, graceful, melting and long on the palate with fine tannin. Lovely aromatic echo as it lingers. 2018 – 2050 Saint Pierre 2005 18 // 96 Subtle, multilayered nose. Richly supple on the attack, melting in the middle, noble texture, vigorous, sappy and long. Beautifully made. 2018 – 2050 Léoville Poyferré 2005 18 // 96 Ripe fruit and tar on the nose. Immediately big on the palate, very fruity and powerful, a little extracted on the finish, but creamy, complex and long. 2020 – 2050 Malartic Lagravière 2005 17 // 94 This is a must-have in this wine with its elongated body, elegantly fleshy, fragrant finish and fine-grained tannins. 2018 – 2050 Berliquet 2005 16,75 // 93 Very ripe, woody nose. Caressing, fragrant, flavoursome and fresh on the palate, refined, long and delicious. Still as Burgundy-like as ever! 2018 – 2045 Laroze 2005 16,25 // 91 Fruity, fresh, spicy nose. Soft and melting on the palate with a noble mouthfeel. The body lacks a little presence on the finish. 2018 – 2040 Beauséjour Duffau Lagarosse 2005 18,5 // 97 Unfortunately I find more and more major variation from one bottle to another of this vintage of the wine. Yesterday the bottle was hard as it was last June. But that evening, the wine shone with all its complexity and breeding, and its great, very fine-grained finish. 2020 – 2050 Troplong Mondot 2005 19 // 98 Lots of truffle on the nose. Impressively big, deep, multilayered and rich in flavour on the palate with a regal mouthfeel. This wine stands out from the others because of the way it seems to speed up between the mid-palate and the finish. Great length. A fantastic bottle. Tasted it again twice since with less impact. 2020 – 2060 Pichon Baron 2005 16 // 90 ? While the nose is multilayered, it is shy on the palate. Another difference between bottles. Léoville Las Cases 2005 16 // 90 ? Very young colour, very ripe nose. Very aromatic on the palate and fleshy in the middle, but too much wood on the finish. Pontet Canet 2005 ? Metallic nose and a harsh finish making me wonder if this is a bad bottle. La Conseillante 2005 18 //96 Great nose with subtle fruit and an empyreumatic hint. Round, luscious and very fragrant on the palate, developing to become multilayered with fine-grained tannin. Slightly more aged than others. 2018 – 2040 Hosanna 2005 17 // 94 Slightly green on the nose. Appealing on the palate with its refined mouthfeel and melting body, but a little spiky on the finish. 2020 – 2040 Trotanoy 2005 19 // 98 Slightly aged colour. Deep, elegant nose. Superb, big, richly supple, flavoursome and multilayered on the palate with very rich flavours on the mid-palate. Tightly knit, yet the wine melts, which is amazing, when you realise that this is Merlot grown on gravel. Grand wine, still too young. 2020 – 2050 Happy reading. Jean-Marc Quarin ____________________________________________________________ © Copyright 2014. This publication is the original work of Jean-Marc Quarin Sarl, 10 allée de Ginouilhac, Le Taillan-Médoc. France. - E-mail : jmquarin@quarin.com 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.

2014 Chronicles

Chronicle 173: Bordeaux 2014 – summer at last! From Léoville Las Cases 1986 to the development of the 2005’s

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