Bordeaux en primeurs

When we received the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux’s invitation for the premiere week of the 2012 vintage, we immediately accepted because it is certainly interesting and pleasant to discover the prospects of a great wine while it’s still in its embryo state. The 40 year old association groups together 132 Grand Cru from the Bordeaux region following a simple criterion: every château stands out for its quality and must be located in the noblest areas of the Gironde’s appellations. That is to say Médoc, Haut-Médoc, Saint-Estèphe, Pauillac, Saint-Julien, Margaux, Moulis en Médoc, Listrac, Graves, Pessac-Léognan, Sauternes, Barsac, Saint-Emilion and Pomerol.

The Primeurs tour winds among wineries that put together the members following the area, forming a tasting itinerary that creates a comparison among the wines of the same territory from the 2012 vintage. Only the press, distributors and buyers are allowed to participate: 5 thousand people who, after tasting the wines, can offer useful elements so that the vignerons can define the future quotation of this vintage which won’t be on sale before 2014.

After comparing the different terroirs with over a hundred tastings of this vintage, a relevant element stands out: it’s more difficult to judge wines which are still “young” and less harmonic, such as those from Médoc and Haut and Listrac-Médoc. It would be interesting to verify this judgement in one year’s time to better understand their evolution. Saint–Emilion and Margaux have given, on the other hand, a more elegant interpretation of the terroir.

In Pomerol, the great châteaux have best expressed the potential of the merlot in a vintage which was defined as «fair» while, as for Sauternes and Barsac, one can notice the effect of some important absentees such as Château d’Yquem, Suduiraut, Rieussec and Fargues which will not go out on the market with the 2012 vintage. Without doubt, Barsac’s interpretations are better. The tasting of the Cheval Blanc 2012 with Pierre Lurton, director of the château (and of Yquem too) was shared with Helmut Köcher, president of the Merano Wine Festival, an event which always hosts a delegation of the Union, who reciprocated by defining him «le roi», a real star.

The wine of Pomerol par excellence, namely Petrus, is also a king: the story narrated by its creator, Jean Claude Berrouett, points out how in 2012 there was a maniacal selection of the grapes which results in a wine which is already extraordinary in this phase, a real interpreter of this territory and of Merlot.

At the same time of the Grand Cru tour, the famous independent vignerons of Saint Emilion, the Thunevin’s, owners of the famous Château Valandraud, recently admitted as a Premier Cru Classé, have been inviting producers from all over the world for a private preview for a decade. Famous names such as that of Peter Sisseck, Danish oenologist founder of Dominio de Pingus and of the mythical wine Ribera del Duero Pingus, famous for the 100 points given by Robert Parker to the 1995 vintage, stand out.

Sissek also produces the excellent Saint Emilion Château Rocheyron. Last but not least, we remember some of the Thunevin’s Italian friends such as Lorenzo Zonin from Podere San Cristoforo: with his Petit Verdot, produced since 2007, he offers a wine with intense berry notes, reaching the level of excellent vignerons. We only need to wait for its evolution.