Bordeaux En Primeur – Reprise

The NLC held its long anticipated En Primeur event this past week, which I previewed in a posting a few weeks ago. For anyone who has more than a passing interest in wine, this was not to be missed (if you did, hopefully it will be back again next year).

There were 66 wines presented – red, white, and sweet – covering all the important appellations in Bordeaux. Many of the wines were poured by representatives of the wineries themselves, so there were opportunities for in-depth information. With no crush of people, the three hours of tasting gave plenty of time to try every wine if you wished.

Seeing and tasting the red wines before they have spent any appreciable time aging in barrel was particularly interesting. The deep purple colours stained the glasses, your hands, and your teeth! Although the aromas of the reds were often muted, the vibrant fruit flavours were evident in the glass. The few reds with appreciable aromas stood out, such as the Château Pédesclaux with its violets. Finishing the red wines will require oak aging for periods of months to more than a year, depending on the specific wine. The outcome of the development of the structure of the wine through the aging process will not be seen until the wines are bottled and delivered in a couple of years – a moment worth the wait for the 2015 vintage.

All the winemakers I spoke to were unanimous in their praise of the vintage. That’s not a rare situation if you are trying to sell wine, but this year does seem to have a lot in its favour. Conditions at harvest were apparently the most significant factor. The whole harvest period was on the cool side, and dry. The grapes did not rush to ripeness, and the wine-makers were able to pick at the perfect moment, rather than taking chances with forecasts of rain. The fresh, ripe fruit flavours in all the wines I tasted were convincing evidence.

The white wines of the tasting were the greatest surprise to me, and you could even argue they were hidden stars of the show. The aromatics, finesse, and freshness were exceptional across the board. The Château La Garde Blanc, Château de Chantegrive “Cuvee Caroline” Blanc, and Château Rahoul Blanc deserve to be mentioned. The two I rated the highest were the Château Doisy-Daëne Blanc and the Château Malarctic Lagraviere Blanc.

The Malarctic was of special interest to me, as I had attended a lunch event earlier in the day, hosted by Greg Winter of Dialog Wines at Mallard Cottage. The feature guest was Jean Jacques Bonnie representing the winery, and among the wines he served were three vintages of the Blanc: 2010, 2011, and 2012. I don’t have the experience to predict, but I can imagine the fantastic 2015 tasted in the evening will be every bit as good or better than the wonderful wines enjoyed at lunch. [And just saying, Mallard’s lunch was a feast!]

I admit I attended the En Primeur event expecting that I would be limited to tasting, and that most of the wines would be more expensive than I would care to spend. I was wrong. There were plenty of wines in the $20 – $30 range which I would judge to be of good value, including the Château la Lauzette at $21.00, Château la Prade at $23.99, Château Cantenac at $29.00, and some of the whites mentioned above.

More importantly, there were many wines under $50 which were so good that I will likely be ordering them: Marquis de Calon, Château Labégorce, Château La Garde Blanc, and Château Doisy-Daëne Blanc.

There were several wines from Saint-Emilion and Pomerol which were exceptional, but probably outside my price range, most prominently the Clos Fourtet and Clos l’Église. Other notable wines included Château Phelan Ségur, Château Calon Ségur, Château Léoville-Poyferré, and Château St Pierre.

Without a doubt, the region with the most outstanding red wines over a range of prices was AOC Margaux. I’ve already mentioned Labégorce, and to that one you can add a number of Châteaux: Kirwan, Prieuré Lichine, Marquis de Terme, d’Issan, and Cantenac Brown. All these wines showed velvety suppleness with the distinctive Margaux perfumed nose beginning to emerge.

After such a remarkable tasting, it was appropriate to close the evening with a beautiful example of Sauternes, the Château Giraud, which is sure to be ranked highly in years to come.

Let’s hope En Primeur returns next year, and this time make sure you plan to attend!