by Wine Owners
Posted on 2019-04-29
MONDAY 17th JUNE
Some huge scores for Vieux Chateau Certan 2018 this year, including an impressive 18.5 from Julia Harding of JancisRobinson.com. VCC is on a massive roll and there is no disputing the quality - the scores from recent vintages are level pegging with their very much more expensive neighbours, Petrus and Le Pin. Released at £219 per bottle, a 20% premium to our proto-price, the 2018 is 10% cheaper than 2016 but more expensive than the ‘09 (12%) and the same price as the ’10.
We prefer the 2011, mis-judged by Robert Parker in many people’s opinion, and similarly loaded as the ’18 with Cabernet Franc. Julia scores it 18 and Neal Martin 96-8 and at less than £100 a bottle is less than half the price of the ’18 – go figure! See full note here.
99-100 Points - James Suckling
98-100 Points - Wine Enthusiast
97-100 Points - Wine Advocate
98-100 Points - Wine Cellar Insider / Jeff Leve
94-97 Points - Antonio Galloni, Vinous
98-100 Points - Decanter
FRIDAY 14th JUNE
Figeac has been released this morning at £181 per bottle, 46% clear of our proto-price of £124.22. There seems to be no doubt among critics that Figeac has produced one of the best wines in their history. The 2017, which is still languishing at release price, just takes the lead in absolute relative value (see chart), but isn’t really in the same league as the 2018, a vintage which may prove a qualitative milestone for Figeac.
Worth noting too that the relative value score is high at 20, and compares extremely favourably to similar quality wines from other St Emilion properties. Pavie, for example released at £292 per bottle, which makes the better scoring Figeac look quite exciting.
97-99 Points - Wine Advocate
18 Points - Julia Harding
96-99 Points - Antonio Galloni, Vinous
98-99 Points - James Suckling
97-99 Points - Jeb Dunnuck
Conseillante has also been released this morning at £168 per bottle, so 60% up on our proto-price of £105. This is 35% above last year’s release price, but there’s a palpable increase in quality, and still looks well-priced in comparison to top-flight Pomerol peers.
96-98+ Points - Wine Advocate
95-98 Points - Antonio Galloni, Vinous
97-98 Points - James Suckling
97-100 Points - Jeb Dunnuck
97 Points - Decanter
Cheval Blanc is also off and running this morning at £549 per bottle, a relatively modest 12% above our proto-price of £490.33.
Given the potential for a top score, it’s arguable that there’s value here, but many buyers would be forgiven for wondering whether back vintages may be the answer, with the 100 point 2005 readily available at around £560 per bottle.
97-99 Points - Wine Advocate
18.5 Points - Julia Harding
97-100 Points - Antonio Galloni, Vinous
98-99 Points - James Suckling
97-100 Points - Jeb Dunnuck
THURSDAY 13th JUNE
Ausone is the first of the big Right Bank releases, coming out this morning at £556 in London, so almost spot on our proto-price of £545. 2017 is still the winner on relative value at the moment, but even though well priced for Ausone it’s unlikely to achieve a perfect score. 2018 might just do that, and if it can be expected to follow the path of the 09s,(£725) 2010’s (£932) and ultimately 2005 (£900) in terms of price, it makes sense to buy on release.
Evangile is the second out of the stalls this morning at £180 per bottle against our proto-price of £151.48. 19% north of our proto-price, but one of the few chateaux not to increase prices from their 2017 release.
On relative value, given the high score and relatively reasonable pricing, we think this looks like one to buy if offered.
Lafite is one of the most hotly anticipated releases of the vintage, with near-universal praise from critics. If this wine doesn’t get Bordeaux lovers hearts' racing, nothing will, says the Wine Advocate’s Lisa Perotti-Brown. The question is, does the price engender palpitations of excitement or terror?
£428.32 was the proto price, so the release at £500 from UK merchants is 17% up on that ideal - not too ungenerous in a vintage that’s often been 20-30% over.
Relative value analysis suggests that the 2018 works pretty well. The contender in comparable vintages in 2017, which pushes ahead on absolute value, but probably doesn’t have the potential to be a top scorer, which the 2018 does.
On balance, a buy, if you can get some.
98-100 Points - Wine Advocate
19 Points - Julia Harding
99-100 Points - James Suckling
98-100 Points - Decanter
TUESDAY 11th JUNE
Margaux has been released this morning at £426, around 10% up from our proto-price of £386.41, so less ambitious than many so far.
Relative value analysis makes this look reasonably good, although in absolute terms behind the 2017. The gamble is this being re-scored in the upper limit of the ranges (i.e., 99-100), at which point it would clearly outstrip its rivals on value.
94-97 Points - Antonio Galloni, Vinous
97-99 Points - Wine Advocate
96-98+ Points - Jeb Dunnuck
18 Points - Julia Harding
100 points - James Suckling
Pavillon Rouge is released at £149 per bottle, bang on our proto-pricing - at last the Chateaux are listening! It works therefore and the Relative Value Score is attractive too.
94-97 Points - Antonio Galloni, Vinous
97-100 Points - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate
98-100 Points - Jeb Dunnuck
17 Points - Julia Harding
98 - 99 points - James Suckling
Haut Brion joins the advance this morning too, releasing at £426 from London merchants, and like Mouton comes in 12% above our proto-price of £380.15.
Solid scores here, though Antoni Galloni, as for the La Mission, is a dissenter with a (relatively) meagre 93-96.
If we consider this a 99 point average, it pushes ahead of the pack on relative value, but only marginally. Again, a fairly fully priced offering that seems sensibly, if not compellingly, priced.
93-96 Points - Antonio Galloni, Vinous
97-99+ Points - Wine Advocate
97-99 Points - Jeb Dunnuck
18 Points - Julia Harding
98-99 points - James Suckling
WEDNESDAY 5th JUNE
Chateau Montrose just out at £130 per bottle, so about 25% above our proto price of £102.63.
It’s a good score, but Montrose has been consistently performing well recently, and the price seems too high here to make it truly compelling. The 96 point 2014 looks like incredible value if you can get a case under £90 per bottle which is easily achievable!
This morning sees a release from one of the most consistently outstanding wineries in the world - Chateau La Mission Haut Brion is out at £1,475 per 6 bottles.
There is no doubt one of the most historic sites in Bordeaux is basking in a true renaissance period, producing wines of incredible concentration and richness in recent years.
98-100 Points - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate
97-99 Points - Jeb Dunnuck
97-99 Points - Jeff Leve, Wine Cellar Insider
97 Points - Jane Anson, Decanter
TUESDAY 4th JUNE
This afternoon’s first highlight is Haut Bailly, which was universally loved by member of the WO team when tasted over the last few months.
In a rare occurrence for this year, this has been released below our predicted proto price, at £87 per bottle v a proto price of £88.95.
The very high score puts this in a league with the 2009 and 2010, both of which it far outstrips on relative value, and makes it one of the most sure buys of the vintage so far.
Also released this morning is Pichon Baron 2018, at £117 per bottle, so a good 20% north of our proto-price at £98. Clearly a special wine, and receiving much critical acclaim, and the relative value score is good, though not 2015 and 2014 are ahead and 2017 not far away. On the other hand, the consensus seems to be that this is about the highest scoring Baron since the legendary 1990, which will clinch the deal for many buyers.
Cos d’Estournel out this morning at £148 per bottle. Although at a premium of c.22% to the 2016 release it is offered at a significant discount to the ’09 and ’10 vintages – unlike many others!
Cos 2016 is now trading in the secondary market at £150 per bottle, meaning that however great the 2018 is, it shows no discount to the current market of one of the greatest ever wines from Cos d’Estournel. This will be a hot issue however, the relatively understated Galloni stating:
A regal, soaring Saint-Estèphe, the 2018 Cos d'Estournel is also clearly one of the wines of the vintage. On the palate, the 2018 is dark and sumptuous, with striking aromatic presence and silky tannins that wrap around a rich core of exotic fruit. Black cherry, savory herbs, leather, spice and menthol build in the glass in a wine that is both aromatically intense and richly textured. The 2018 has been nothing short of breathtaking on the two occasions I have tasted it so far. Don't miss it.
97-100 Points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous
MONDAY 3rd JUNE
Ducru Beaucaillou 2018 is out at £144 per bottle versus a proto-price of £114. Another set of top-notch reviews from the critics and a very good relative value score to boot (see attached).
"This is so layered and beautiful with incredible tannin quality. Full-bodied with a caressing texture that reminds me of the finest cashmere. So layered. You want to swallow this. Brings a smile to the face. Wow. So well crafted." 98-99 Points, James Suckling
Pichon Lalande 2018 is released at £138 per bottle, our proto-price is £97.27, so a chunky premium but this is a Chateau on the up, with scores to match (see chart). James Suckling says “A deep and intense young red with blackberries and blueberries, as well as green olives and hints of fresh tobacco. But really black fruit. Full-bodied, tight and integrated with a refreshing and harmonious finish. Just floating on the palate. Great tannin backbone to this. A classic. Another flying carpet." 98-99 Points
Leoville Las Cases 2018 is released today at £179 per bottle. It is loved by the critics, a potential 100 pointer according to Perrotti-Brown, Suckling and Dunnuck, but a more conservative 95-8 from Galloni. It’s a fully charged, expansive wine with plenty of power (14.5%), expression and charm. It is, however, marginally more expensive than either ’09 and ’10 but a bit less than ’16….
WEDNESDAY 29th MAY
This morning also sees the releases from the von Neipperg stable, including Mondotte, and Canon la Gaffeliere, both well scored, but reasonably fully priced.
Canon la Gaffeliere comes out at £64 per bottle against a proto price of £54, so slightly closer, and much similar to recent vintages in terms of relative value.
Neverthless, the high score makes it relatively good value in comparison to other recent vintages and a definite improvement on the ‘16, with more consistent reviews. On balance, it’s a yes, if you can get a case...
Julia Harding: 16.5
James Suckling: 94 - 95
Wine Advocate: 94 - 96
Mondotte is £171 v. a proto price of £154.13, so not far off the mark. We’re calling this 96 points on average, although no Wine Advocate review available for this wine. At this price, relative value analysis prefers the 2017…
Julia Harding: 16.5
James Suckling: 97 - 98
Lynch Bages 2018 is this morning’s major release, one of the more hotly anticipated wines of the vintage. Pricing looks well above the proto-price threshold of £79.62, with a London merchant price at £92 per bottle.
Neverthless, the high score makes it relatively good value in comparison to other recent vintages and a definite improvement on the ‘16, with more consistent reviews. On balance, it’s a yes, if you can get a case...
Julia Harding: 17
Decanter: 97
James Suckling: 97 - 98
Jeb Dunnuck: 96 - 98
Wine Advocate: 96 - 98
Wine Spectator: 96 - 99
TUESDAY 28th MAY
A little closer to our predicted proto-price of £83.81 for Clos Fourtet. the offer from London traders is out at £504 per 6, so pretty much spot on. The property has gone from strength to strength in the last 10 years without pricing itself out of the market.
Relative value indicates we’re doing better than back vintages as the score is considerably better (another 96 average), even though the release is more expensive.
Score: 95-97, Jeb Dunnuck
Score: 94-97, Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Score: 95-97, Wine Advocate
Our proto-price calculation came in at £61.61 for Leoville Poyferre, so a price from London merchants at £408 is a little north of where we had hoped, but on the other hand the scores are high, averaging to a Wine Owners 96 points, better than anything in our comparable vintage list. In terms of relative value, it’s fine, lagging a little behind 2015, but probably nothing to write home about.
Score: 96-99, Jeb Dunnuck
Score: 94-97, Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Score: 94-96, Wine Advocate
Our proto-price calculation came in at £82.03, and the ex-Negociant price this morning is around EUR 86.80, so we’re well within the bounds of reasonable pricing. Coupled with some very high scores, and clear desire from the Chateau to reposition themselves as a top player we think, on balance, that it’s a buy.
Score: 94-96, Jeb Dunnuck
Score: 94-97, Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Score: 93-95+, Wine Advocate
FRIDAY 24th MAY
Pontet Canet ’18 is released today at £86.50 per bottle. It is a HUGE wine. With a proto price of £84.39 and with a 2/3 reduction in crop thanks to mildew, Pontet Canet could be accused of being generous – not something we’re accustomed to! The relative value score is also strong and the critics are mad about it. Monsieur Tesseron opened conversation when we were there with “clearly this is the best modern day vintage of Pontet Canet”. Buy some if you can.
Score: 96-98, Jeb Dunnuck
Score: 97-99, Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Score: 94-96+, Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate
The 2018 vintage has probably produced Phelan Segur’s highest ever scores; LP-B 93-5, JS 95-6 and AG 91-4. There is no doubt this is a Chateau on the up, with a new owner and under the beautiful directorship of Veronique Dausse this is one to watch. The Relative Value Score is good, the price is a not too taxing £35.41.
THURSDAY 23rd MAY
If you believe in the gospel according to Suckling, one must buy Domaine de Chevalier (rouge) at £65: "Wow. I can’t get over the pureness of fruit in this wine with so much currant, tar and wet-earth character. Flowers, too. So aromatic. Full body, yet pureness and brightness of fruit. Layered. Incredible depth and beauty. 65 per cent cabernet sauvignon, 30 per cent merlot and 5 per cent petit verdot. Greatest ever?" Score: 99-100
Scores from other critics are also very high and it was certainly one of the best wines this taster tasted in the primeur tastings. Is this a break out moment for this famous Domaine? Like the man from Del Monte, the price and the scores say YES!
Score: 94-96+, Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate
Score: 94-97, Antonio Galloni
Score: 96-98, Jeb Dunnuck
It’s the big blast – the Canon! One of the most fashionable Chateaux of Bordeaux have released at £87 a bottle, representing a 11.5% premium to our proto price of £78.04. It looks like relative value to recent vintages at current market levels and people will be fighting for allocation. Will it power up from here like the 2015 and ’16? Maybe not that much but it looks good nonetheless. BUY.
Huge points from the major critics:
97-99 Points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Advocate
94-97 Points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous
96-98+ Points, Jeb Dunnuck
98-99 Points, James Suckling
Another jewel in the Chanel crown and today as equally as fashionable as Canon, Rauzan Segla is out at £75. There will be equally as much bun fight over allocations for this one as well. The proto price is £63.80, so a premium of 17%, but one which will easily be achieved. Good relative value and with a slightly higher average score than Canon, it is a BUY.
Gruaud Larose has been released at £55.83 today. Our proto price is £45.31, nearly 19% lower. The wine split the critics with exuberance from Perrotti-Brown (95-7) and Suckling (95-6) and reservation from Julia Harding (JR.com) (16) and 89-92 from Galloni “For my taste, Gruaud is on the edge of being too much”. All vintages since 2010 are available today at less than this release price and 2014-2017 inclusive all have higher relative value scores.
WEDNESDAY 22nd MAY
Leoville Barton is released today at £66.16 per bottle. There is no question the wine is of a very high quality and the Chateau, quite rightly, has a devoted following based on its strong rapport qualité/prix. Our proto price is £58.51. Here is the relative value analysis.
Julia Harding (Jancisrobinson.com): 16.5
Lisa Perrotti-Brown (Wine Advocate): 94-96
Antonio Galloni (Vinous): 93-96
Also known for its excellent rapport qualité/prix, the popular Grand Puy Lacoste released today at £56 a bottle, a tiny premium to our proto price of £54.15. It is also a tiny premium to today’s market price of their ’09 vintage.
Julia Harding (Jancisrobinson.com): 17.5
Lisa Perrotti-Brown (Wine Advocate): 92-94+
Antonio Galloni (Vinous): 93-96
It’s rapport qualité/prix day from Bordeaux! Chateau Talbot is always commercial and is priced to sell well at en primeur when the vast majority of their wine is released. At £43.16 it looks decent value, especially looking at the Relative Value Score.
TUESDAY 21st MAY
At £35 per bottle Lagrange is a little over our proto price of £31.76 but follows a completely barren ’17 - most Chateaux would have been far more demanding price wise. We continue to recommend Lagrange as a good value wine for consumers.
Julia Harding (Jancisrobinson.com): 16.5
Lisa Perrotti-Brown (Wine Advocate): 93-95+
Antonio Galloni (Vinous): 92-95
Buy Lagrange 2018
FRIDAY 10th MAY
Duhart Milon has released at £54.66 per bottle, a very modest 11% premium to our proto-price of £48.46. The Wine Owners team were very impressed by it and many of the critics have asked the question of it being the best Duhart ever. Certainly the Rothschild family have been investing here and it’s bearing good fruit! A ‘modest’ 14% alcohol too! 17.5 (95) from Julia Harding and a lovely note. This is a Chateau on the up.
Lafite’s Technical Director, Eric Kohler commented, 'The Merlot performed very well—Duhart-Milon might just have better terroir for Merlot than Lafite'.
And the Relative Value Analysis screams BUY:
Clerc Milon was released at £61.65 per bottle, awarded 93-95 points by Lisa Perrotti-Brown (WA).
The bio-dynamic, certified organic estate that is Chateau Palmer released their 2018 wine today at £241. Our proto-price was £221.67. Following a heavy dose of mildew and the long hot summer the yield was a miserly 11 hectolitres per hectare, translating into 6,000 cases and no Alter Ego was made at all. This could turn out to be a unicorn wine it’s so rare and deserves to be treated as a special case. It receives amazing and interesting reviews, 18.5 (97) from Julia Harding, 98-100 from Jane Anson, 97-100 from James Molesworth (notoriously tight!) but, by his standards, a paltry 94-5 from James Suckling – I was expecting something in four figures! Like most 2018s, it comes with the usual 2018 caveat that it is strong in alcohol – 14.3%.
Market Price versus Score here:
Relative Value Analysis here:
Other releases include:
Chateau Gloria at £29
Chateau Lafon-Rochet at £32
Chateau Saint Pierre at £42
THURSDAY 9th MAY
Today sees an attractive release price from Bernard Magrez’s Pape Clement (red) at £66.16 ex London merchant. Our ‘proto-price’ is £75.13, so very nearly a 12% discount to that.
There are a wide range of scores for Pape Clement with Julia Harding of Jancis.Robinson.com scoring it 16.5 (converting to 91 on the 100 point scale), whilst Lisa Perotti-Brown of the Wine Advocate awards a much more optimistic 96-98, James Suckiling 98-99 but a more modest 93-96 from Antonio Galloni.
Using a generous 97 points, it’s looks like very good value:
But at 91 points, it’s a different story:
Our very own Fabian Cobb really liked the wine and gave it 95 but he’s notoriously mean with his scores. Elegance was his take, so clearly a different experience to that of Julia Harding who wrote a bit “a bit monolithic”.
Pape Clément Blanc was released at £98.66 (London price) - 16.5 from Julia Harding.
TUESDAY 7th MAY
Today's releases included:
Calon Ségur released at £72 per bottle.
A record release price for Calon Ségur at £864 per 12 in the London market. Significantly above our proto-price of £63.57 but the wine was very well received by most critics. The WO house view was a bit too full and sweet to be a masterpiece but undeniably impressive. Its high scores relative to previous vintages leads to an attractive Relative Value Score.
Pavie Macquin released at £52.7 (£632 per 12), the same as last year. Our proto price is £47.36, so 11% below the release. The RVS below uses a Julia Harding's score of 16.5 (equivalent to 91), significantly lower than some of the other critics, one of which went as high as 97-99. The jury is out.
Beychevelle released at £60 per bottle and Cantemerle out at £20.50.
Carmes Haut Brion was released at £69 per bottle.
THURSDAY 2nd MAY
Lafleur 2018 released at £483 per bottle, 10% above our proto price but it will sell out with Julia Harding’s big score and is still only half the price of the secondary market average of 09, 10, 15 16. The closest thing to a dead cert a wealthy collector can buy this year.
Fair price from Clinet - £64 per bottle. They are pricing 12.5% below current market for 2016 (£73). Just £2 per bottle above our suggested proto price. Are they listening?!
Gazin out - £62 per bottle EST (with negociants as we speak). No price advantage over the chasing pack of back vintages.
They are very pleased with it this year they say, but it doesn’t make sense as an EP buy on this basis, and it didn’t wow us.
TUESDAY 30th APRIL
Batailley 2018 released at £408 per 12 (London Merchant Price).
Relative Value Score, using a WO aggregated score of 93:
MONDAY 29th APRIL
Today saw the release of Branaire Ducru 2018 at £462 per 12 (London merchant price).
A higher release price than the last three vintages and 12.4% higher than last year. Our proto-price was £44.48 per bottle, so at £38.50 it looks interesting. Relative Value Analysis, however, indicates the 2016 being better value, a trend that we think is likely to continue.
by Wine Owners
Posted on 2019-04-17
A secret of the greatest wines of the world is their balance of glucose and juicy fruit, offset with a certain amount of balancing natural acidity. Perception of sweetness is affected by additional factors beyond fruit acidity, such as oak barrels and amino acids.
The French have a word for a sweet-fruited, succulent mid-palate – sucrosité.
Even the most classic palates enjoy wines that show a crunchy sucrosité. Cross the line in a hot vintage though, and that perfect pitch sweetness turns sugary.
So what are the challenges behind trying to preserve the all-important mid palate character and aromatic profile in a vintage that’s the hottest in more than 50 years?
Feel vs numbers
Extreme climatic conditions challenged the current winemaking playbook by numbers. We suspect looking at the numbers alone to decide perfect phenolic maturity this year will not have worked as well as trusting in human judgement based on daily tasting of berries from across the myriad plots that make up a typical Château’s vineyard holdings.
Tea bags
In 2016 Figeac’s stunning success was in part down to an ultra-gentle infusion to minimise extraction. It was a year, like 2018, where polyphenals (tannins and colorants referred to as 'IPT' for short) were huge and needed gentle handling. Combine high IPT numbers with high alcohols and the potential to create an out-of-balance wine increases.
Stuck fermentation
High sugar levels in super-ripe fruit can be a worry in a vintage like 2018. Fermentations are prone to stall where high sugar levels feed rapidly rising alcohol levels. In many instances stuck fermentations can be kick-started by tipping in musts from other vats where the fermentation has already successfully completed. But there’s no getting away from the atypical character of the resulting wine. Of course extra sweetness can be offset with acidification in the cellar - permitted in Bordeaux as elsewhere.
To the manor born
It’s a year where terroir appears to have played a significant part in cutting the grade. However unfair this may seem, the best soils and expositions tended to deliver the best wines. A bit like a heat sink regulates and dissipates excessive temperatures, somehow so do the greatest vineyards.
As reported by Jane Anson in Decanter, Eric Kohler put it like this: 'even after 25 years of working at Lafite I continue to be full of admiration for this terroir. Other plots that we own reacted to the heat at times, but Lafite just kept sailing on as usual'.
One lump please
Away from top terroir, there were a lot of sugary mid-palates in 2018. You either enjoy the extra sweetness or you don’t. We’ll be avoiding the wines with more than one lump.
by Wine Owners
Posted on 2019-04-08
Much has been said of the hot, drought conditions of 2018 from July onwards and the consequent high alcohols, higher than normal pHs and high polyphenols (colorants and tannins) that resulted in dense, rich, darkly coloured wines.
A warming planet we are told is likely to get warmer and wetter – in which case the sort of challenges posed by the weather in 2018 are likely to become a more common occurrence. Might whole bunch fermentation be a rational response to these increasingly extreme conditions?
Whole bunch fermentation is a bit of a nouveauté in Bordeaux, practised by producers with a leaning towards Burgundy style and weight.
There are a number of arguments in favour of whole bunch:
Stems act as a sponge in fermentation and leach colour out of the wine by absorbing some of the colorants. In a really hot Bordeaux vintage such as 2018 this helps make the wine’s robe less black and more attractive.
Stems in a very hot vintage are more likely to be fully lignified and a higher percentage can be used without imparting unripe flavours into the wine.
Stems give a perception of greater freshness, apparently because of additional molecules that have ‘attractively astringent properties’. In reality they don’t actually lower the pH; they tend to do the opposite since the pH of stems is higher than in grapes.
Stems marginally lower alcohol levels in the finished wine.
Two estates in Bordeaux stand out for their practise of vendanges entières:
Chateau Rouget in Pomerol is owned by Domaines Labruyère who famously own Jacques Prieur in Burgundy. The wine was exceptional, very rich yet beautifully balanced, a gorgeously controlled mid-palate and with alcohols of 14 degrees (low for 2018 given a 85% merlot dominant blend) and with a pH score of 3.62. That’s low for the vintage, where other Chateaux were boasting about how low their pHs were at 3.65-3.69. Small differences in pH can make a very significant perceived difference.
Chateau Carmes Haut Brion appears to also be a fan of Burgundian weight and style, and have used whole bunch for the last few vintages very successfully, having produced a shockingly good 2017. In a much hotter year than any of the preceding 4 vintages how would it fare? Very well, with a perfumed nose, croquant fruit, stacked for sure, yet with real presence and poise fin de bouche.
In our view both these Chateaux produced wonderful wines in 2018, and insomuch make an argument for how whole bunch can work well in a hot vintage where balance and constraint are the watchwords, and where finesse and focus are much harder to achieve than in a more normal, temperate year.
by Wine Owners
Posted on 2019-04-08
Given the climatic conditions of the Bordeaux 2018 vintage described in an earlier post here – what impact did this have on the wines produced?
The new chai in Beychevelle which was used for the first time in 2016 and which helped to manage the 2018 vintage.
©Fabian Cobb / Wine Owners
The generic statistics fail to reveal the arduous nature of the vintage for the vine growers and whilst the widespread difficulties left their imprint on the wines the essentially dry and hot summer which lasted through to the autumn brought a phenolic ripeness to the fruit and permitted the chateaux to harvest in conditions almost unseen for decades.
The three main issues in the Bordeaux 2018 vintage:
Devastating phenomena such as hail which continued late into the year
Mildew – a threat which persisted until early summer
Drought-like conditions in the summer and autumn
Hail, as large as tennis balls, arrived in Bordeaux in May. The devastation it wrought on some vineyards was total and some estates will produce no wine from this vintage. Others were luckier although it reduced their crop. Some vines, incredibly, although struck by hail, managed to repair themselves. For one estate this was only the third time in 30 years hail had struck First floors – not an easy phenomenon to manage.
Given the persistent rain the mildew was extensive in Bordeaux in 2018. The warm almost tropical weather in June followed by further outbreaks in July brought huge casualties across Bordeaux. This was a year of firsts. Managers had rarely if ever seen such extensive ground rot and one estate in Margaux lost two-thirds of their crop overnight. This reduced the remaining crop to one bunch per vine. A common way for estates to deal with the threat of mildew is to de-leaf the vine permitting air to circulate and dry out the plant. However, the canopy might be needed later (as it turned out) and if this effeuillage was too drastic the consequences would be felt later on. Maintaining a canopy might also help to maintain the freshness and fruit. As it turned out, the second half of the year needed to use the resources (water) of the first part. Without this water it would have been a very different vintage.
Once the anti-cyclone established itself over the region the grapes matured with a richness unseen before. This in itself meant additional care at harvest time. One estate manager commented that the change in conditions from the end of July to when people returned from their holidays in August was ‘spectacular’. Something he ‘had never witnessed in the 25 years or working on the estate’. Not only that but the meteorological forecast was ‘extraordinary’ – and was fulfilled.
Given the replenishment of the water table the remaining harvestable crop was of outstanding quality. Merlot berries were normal size because their growth cycle coincided more with the presence of water in the soil but the Cabernet Sauvignon were small and concentrated – but not ‘cooked’ nor ‘confit’.
Some estates might produce normal or near-normal yields but 20-30% less was common, 50% not uncommon, with some reduced to 10hl/ha - a volume not seen since the 60s.
Judging maturity is probably the most important factor to produce a good wine. Undoubtedly, given the richness of the grapes this was going to be another area of distinction for the various estates – when to harvest? Ironically, some estates decided to harvest early to preserve acidity (one source of freshness). But it’s not clear this was a functional objective. As one technical manager told us, ‘some estates near them were harvesting 10 days earlier than them, when normally they would be harvesting a week later. Clearly, a disparity in vision. When the harvest did come in, there were still summer conditions and, if they could, estates cooled the fruit down before it was processed. Realising the grapes were rich, extraction would need to be managed ‘almost by itself’. Reducing the temperature of fermentation was a more common technique along with less pigeage or remontage, for example, and other techniques often employed to extract more. This helped to preserve the fruit and freshness. Tannins dissolve more in higher alcohol solutions - extracting the polyphenols wasn’t going to be a problem in 2018. Some estates had the highest IPT (Indice de Polyphénols Totaux) of any year on record.
The successful red wines from the Bordeaux 2018 vintage (and there are a lot less of those than expected) are dense, deep coloured almost opaque in cases. The benchmark 2018 nose is red fruit driven with some chocolate and coffee aromas. The pallet is full and round, and the tannins have the potential to be silky. Surprisingly, the wines have maintained a degree of freshness. The wines are structured with unusual body. It is a good year for the dry whites which have preserved good acidity and are perfectly ripe. The sweet whites are concentrated and rich but lack the complexity of really good years due to the late arrival of botrytis – it was simply too dry.
A model of the new chais currently underway at Chateau Figeac
©Fabian Cobb / Wine Owners
by Wine Owners
Posted on 2019-04-08
To compare with the 2016 vintage in Bordeaux visit our post 2016 vintage conditions
Chateau Pichon Longueville Baron – 2eme cru classe ©Fabian Cobb / Wine Owners
Looking over the weather stats for the Bordeaux 2018 vintage one is struck by several positive features and, unfortunately, a couple which are likely to cause some difficulties for winemakers. There are certain key weather conditions which the vine needs to perform well. Bearing in mind, always, that generic weather data does not focus on an individual terroir and the way it might cope with the weather nor does it reveal winemakers’ attitudes and decisions.
Bearing in mind the chart above, there are 5 essential conditions for a good vintage:
A calm, warm and relatively dry period in the Spring to permit healthy flowering and
similar conditions for fruit set a little later;
Gradual introduction of dry summer conditions to induce hydric stress no later than veraison (when the grapes change colour)
Warm weather for even maturation with adequately dry (but not too dry) conditions in August and September, and
Optimum harvest conditions in September and October without rain.
Looking at the chart above one can see that many of these conditions appear to have been met except that although cumulative precipitation was beneficial in the first few months, the wet conditions in June and July plus the warm weather encouraged the onset of aggressive mildiou which provided very difficult conditions for many and particularly estates managed on biodynamic principles. It was an unusually sunny and dry summer fulfilling the criteria for a good vintage although a hail storm in late May affected a few properties in the Medoc. The resulting long period of hot and dry conditions might be referred to as a ‘drought’ – it hardly rained at all for 4 months. The year which had started late for vine development reversed itself and it became an ‘early’ vintage – a rare enough occurrence in Bordeaux.
Fabian Cobb
by Wine Owners
Posted on 2019-04-05
Weather-wise the 2018 growing season was a game of two halves; the first half was excessively wet and was followed by a hot drought through to harvest.
As well as the drought, mildew pressure affected the left bank and Graves, in some cases wiping out 60-80% of the potential crop. The right bank fared better on this front as the clay soils had the upper hand on fighting the drought due to higher levels of water retention.
Merlot was always most likely to be affected by the vintage’s heat, with some properties seeing alcohols rise quickly through fermentation, topping out at 15-16 degrees. Because of this it is assumed that this is a left bank vintage. But merlot came in with the highest alcohols off warmer gravel beds of the left bank than it did on the predominantly cooler clay soils of the right bank.
2018 has produced a singular vintage and one of the most heterogeneous we have tasted en primeur. Estates that tamed the heat, sugar, pHs and tannins resulted in bold expressive wines with massive aging potential, the very best of which may well become legends. Concentration was the word most employed by scribes.
Maybe more than ever, it’s a year where terroir appears to have played a significant part in cutting the grade. However unfair this may seem, the best soils and expositions tended to deliver the best wines and the 1855 classification played out well. As such it’s a year in which Petrus, the First Growths and the best bit of the St. Emilion plateau (Canon, Cheval Blanc, Clos Fourtet) all excelled.
As usual, there were plenty of superlatives being thrown around; Monsieur Tesseron of Pontet Canet claimed “this is clearly the best modern day vintage we have produced, better than ’16 which was better than ’10”. There is little doubt there will be some huge scores from the naturally ebullient.
There are also great disappointments and plenty to avoid. Margaux, Graves and St. Estephe were probably the most inconsistent appellations whilst the others all had their ups and downs.
It’s a hot vintage with big, bold and powerful wines: an absolute joy for some palates but maybe just too much for others. We look forward to the in-bottle tastings but in the meantime let us wait, with bated breath, for the prices!
Top picks by appellation followed by the ‘ones for the notebook’ wines:
St. Estephe: Cos d’Estournel, Montrose, Lafon Rochet
Pauillac: Grand Puy Lacoste, Lafite, Latour, Pedesclaux, Pichon Baron
St. Julien: Branaire Ducru, Gruaud Larose, Lagrange, Leoville Barton, Leoville Las Cases, Talbot
Margaux: Malescot St. Exupery, Margaux, Pavilion Rouge, Rauzan Segla
Graves: Carmes Haut Brion, Clarence de Haut Brion, Domaine de Chevalier, Haut Bailly
St. Emilion: Canon, Cheval Blanc, Clos Fourtet, Petit Cheval, Quinault L’Enclos, Villemaurine
Pomerol: Gazin, Rouget, Petrus, Vieux Chateau Certan
And ‘ones for the notebook’ (good value and/or under the radar): Chantegrive, Chateau de Pez, Croizet-Bages, La Dominique, Lagrange, Langoa Barton, Monbrison, Segla
