Michael’s Fine Wine BLOG

Michael’s Final Report - Bordeaux 2010
Michael Klauber – Michael’s Wine Cellar & WineFlorida.com

A Classic Vintage

I was fortunate to start my relationship with Bordeaux 2010 last fall at Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion. The group of Bordeaux lovers that I led during our annual Connoisseur Club wine and food trip were lucky to witness the first red grapes of the harvest arrive at the château. Jean-Philippe Delmas and his team were very enthusiastic, and it was hard to remember a more beautiful or more exciting sight than those pristine grapes being crushed.

We spent the next 5 days criss-crossing the region, all the while enjoying the perfect weather and tasting delicious ready-to-pick wine grapes off the vine. My long-time friend, Bordeaux négociant Bill Blatch, was with us for the experience – I think he rather enjoyed getting a close-up look at the various vineyards that we visited. It was fantastic to listen to him, as he would slip aside to casually interview Bordeaux’s top vignerons as they eagerly awaited the harvest. You could see that Bill knew something was up.

Each day we would see more and more pickers across the horizon. There was a sense of great enthusiasm at every stop and yet a hesitation by the chateaux to make any serious predictions. The harvest lasts a month and the weather in Bordeaux can change very quickly. The more than 20 top chateaux we connected with along the way were still glowing from the world’s love affair with their 2009’s.

Rumors start quickly in Bordeaux, and it was not very far into October when the enthusiasm turned into jubilation at the chateaux. There was much whispering about another “vintage of the century”, but it was too early to say it very loudly. One thing was for sure; if the weather cooperated, something special was brewing again!

Several months passed, and my sense from the Bordeaux winemakers I kept in touch with was an almost embarrassment that they might have to say the dreaded words “vintage of the century” again! My next “up close and personal” was in January when a group of eight top chateaux owners visited Sarasota to participate in our Forks and Corks wine events. The Bordeaux master class they hosted was a thrill; you could just feel the excitement in the air! Patrick Maroteaux of Branaire-Ducru was one of the first to speak of the quality and reminded all of us how important the US market is to Bordeaux. This seemed to ease the fears of so many that Asia had taken control of the top Bordeaux wines. There was no way to stop the buzz now, and throughout the weekend the questions and sly grins from Anne and Olivier Bernard of Domaine de Chevalier confirmed to me that they knew something, but were not going to sing from the rooftops just yet.

Fast forward to the much heralded and incredibly technical report that is issued each vintage by Bill Blatch. His analysis is over 15 pages of weather factors and micro-details, but his report is what professionals in Bordeaux and around the world wait for each spring.

To quote Bill:

“Back in November, many owners were already quietly confident that their 2010 was better than the already legendary 2009 but, coming hot on the heels of the hallowed 2009’s, they seemed embarrassed to say it too loudly. Today, half of Bordeaux is less timid in assessing 2010 as great as, if not greater than 2009, whilst the other half is more reserved in such a judgment. But there is one point of total agreement: it is totally different from its predecessor. Both vintages have enormous concentration and high alcohols. Both have great power and weight. But there the similarities end: The 2009’s are, superficially anyway, softer wines made from gentle, progressive weather, with gradual concentration coming from perfect summer ripening, followed, continuously and without interruption, by further concentration from a perfect autumn. The year had gone through the gears seamlessly with no jolts. The 2010s on the other hand are robust wines made from more aggressive and extreme conditions and their concentration comes from more extreme dehydration. They are the product of drought, of a more irregular sugar build-up in summer and a sudden reconcentration at the finish. Most importantly, they get their higher acidities from the cooler August-September minimum temperatures and from the cooler autumn. Add to all this the 2010’s later spring water replenishment, in June as opposed to April, all just a bit too late to get a gradual start to the vegetation, the yo-yo June conditions for the flowering and the consequent need, as in 2000, for the season to catch back up as from July, and a parched dry summer that knocked it back into shape, and the harsher, very robust and strongly tannic style of the 2010’s begins to be explained”.

So, to translate into English, the 2009’s are softer, rounder but have very dense fruit with lower acidity than many of the 2010’s and certainly more gentle tannins that made them a joy to taste last year. In contrast, the 2010’s are denser in fruit, with higher acid levels that really gave many of the wines brilliant vibrancy and freshness along with the “more aggressive but ripe tannins”. The 2010’s are certainly more classic and structured in style much like the fantastic 2005’s. I believe that many of the top 2010’s will experience amazing longevity and likely age 50 years or more.

As most of you have probably already seen, the world press has almost universally classified 2010 as a classic vintage. The scary part right now is that in comparison to 2009’s top wines, the most celebrated 2010’s will be even more expensive than their 2009 counterparts. The first fact is the Euro is approximately 15% higher than last year at this time. The second is that world demand is so strong that many chateaux will want to raise their prices too. The third factor is Asia. By now, it must be clear to you that they have discovered Bordeaux. Although the initial demand started with the First Growths, I now get regular requests for Bordeaux’s top wines from Asian buyers willing to pay top price. This challenge does not seem like it is going away any time soon.

Here is my plan. As we saw last year, in vintages like this, many of the petite chateaux have the ability to make delicious wines; this will be the same in 2010. I do not believe that the petite chateaux will take much of an increase but remember that even if they don’t, the Euro factor will come in to play. I will be searching out and buying the best value wines. These wines at $15 - $50 per bottle will outshine their American counterparts easily in value and quality. Watch for these wines as we offer them – they will go fast. I will be more conservative on the top end and will watch those prices very closely.

You will hear lots of comparisons of 2010 to 2009, but please understand that some are unfair. Winemaking in Bordeaux has undergone a renaissance over the last 20 years (and especially the last 10). The plain fact is that vineyard management, winemaking and even the basic facilities have improved significantly. I have heard professionals and writers comparing this vintage to some of the greats, even 1961, 1982 and 1990. It’s really a difficult comparison because so much has been learned and improved over the years. The growing conditions may have been similar, but how we handle the wines today has dramatically evolved. Detractors may say that some of the wines are overdone and more like California than Bordeaux. I believe that growers were dealt a second “special hand” with near perfect conditions that produced the concentrated and powerful wines that have emerged.

I am thrilled that these two vintages are as different as they are, and it will actually play out nicely for those who purchase both. I believe that as we are finishing up our earlier-drinking 2009’s, that the 2010’s will start to hit their best drinkability. Lucky for us, we will be enjoying fabulous quality wines from Bordeaux, from these two back-to-back vintages for many years to come.

As many of you know, I am not a great believer in micro-scoring wines. I still taste wines by my simple philosophy of “I don’t like it, I like it or I like it a lot!” Undoubtedly, every wine I have listed here will classify as favorites in my top category. I will leave you to battle it out with the Wine Advocate, Wine Spectator and Decanter Magazine over the points that these wines deserve. It will be fun to watch!

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Michael’s Shopping List for 2010 Bordeaux

Exceptional Wines
In my mind, the finest wines of the vintage. Breathtaking wines that show amazing power and richness, with precision and freshness that I believe is unparalleled. They will also be very expensive and extremely scarce (maybe even non-existent if the Asian markets have anything to say about it!)

Ausone, St. Émilion
Cheval-Blanc, St. Émilion
Cos d’Estournel, St. Estèphe
l’Evangile, Pomerol
Haut-Brion, Pessac-Léognan
Lafite-Rothschild, Pauillac
La Mission Haut-Brion, Pessac-Léognan
Latour, Pauillac
Le Pin, Pomerol
Leoville-Las-Cases, St. Julien
Margaux, Margaux
Montrose, St. Estèphe
Mouton-Rothschild, Pauillac
Palmer, Margaux
Pavie, St. Émilion
Vieux-Château-Certan, Pomerol

Cellar Selections
These wines are top of their class. They offer great character and length and exhibit great complexity, structure and excellent cellaring potential. These are the wines that will be superstars in our cellars for years to come! Although we will see greater availability here, these wines will be snapped up quickly.

Angelus, St. Émilion
Brane Cantenac, Margaux
Branon, Pessac-Léognan
Domaine de Chevalier, Pessac-Léognan
Clos Fourtet, St. Émilion
Ducru-Beaucaillou, St. Julien
l’Eglise Clinet, Pomerol
Les Forts de Latour, Pauillac
Giscours, Margaux
Grand Puy Lacoste, Pauillac
Haut-Bages-Liberal, Pauillac
Haut Bailly, Pessac-Léognan
Lascombes, Margaux
Leoville Barton, St. Julien
Leoville Poyferre, St. Julien
Pape Clément, Pessac-Léognan
Prieuré-Lichine, Margaux
Pichon Longueville Baron, Pauillac
Pontet-Canet, Pauillac
Rauzan-Ségla, Margaux
Smith-Haut-Lafitte, Pessac-Léognan
Troplong-Mondot, St. Émilion

Special Delivery
A superb selection of wines from some of Bordeaux most forward thinking and progressive winemakers. These suggestions are full-bodied and complex with wonderful concentration, and intensity, clearly some of my favorite wines. This group may be approachable earlier, but will also hold their structure and class for 8-10+ years.

d’Aiguilhe, Côtes de Castillon
Batailley, Pauillac
Branaire Ducru, St. Julien
Brane Cantenac, Margaux
Camensac, Haut-Medoc
Chasse-Spleen, Moulis
Clos Puy Arnaud, Côtes de Castillon
Durfort-Vivens, Margaux
Faugeres, Cotes de Castillon
Fleur de Boüard, Lalande-de-Pomerol
Fombrauge, St. Émilion
Gloria, St. Julien
Grand Puy Lacoste, Pauillac
Haut-Bages-Liberal, Pauillac
Phélan-Ségur, St. Estèphe

Sensational Values
These are my “sleepers of the vintage”. These Châteaux are some of the lesser-knowns that will offer the great value that comes from smaller properties and emerging appellations in an outstanding vintage. Most will be enjoyable upon release.

Domaine de l’A, Cotes de Castillon
Brisson, Cotes de Castillon
Cantemerle, Haut-Medoc
Chambrun, Lalande de Pomerol
Charmail, Haut-Medoc
Clos Les Lunelles, Cotes de Castillon
Courteillac, Bordeaux Superieur
Les Cruzelles, Lalande de Pomerol
Feret-Lambert, Bordeaux Superieur
Grand-Mayne, St. Emilion
Haut-Bergey, Pessac-Léognan
Laplagnotte-Bellevue, St. Émilion
La Prade, Cote de Francs
Parenchère, Bordeaux Superiore
Patache d’Aux, Haut-Medoc
Poujeaux, Moulis
Reignac, Bordeaux Superieur
Thieuley “Reserve Francis Courselle”, Bordeaux
Tour de Bessan, Margaux
Tour St. Bonnet, Medoc

Sauternes/Barsac

2010 is a superb year for Sauternes and Barsac. 2010 has been almost unanimously heralded by Sauternes growers as one of the most perfect vintages they remember. The best here offer amazing concentration, with near-perfect levels of botrytis and beautiful balance. Honeyed flavors were balanced by great acidity.

Coutet
Climens
Doisy-Daëne
De Fargues
Guiraud
Suduiraut
La Tour Blanche
D’Yquem

It is almost painful to tell the story of another great vintage in Bordeaux. The fact that 2010 follows the superb 2009 vintage is remarkable as well. And of course, there is the potential for serious wine consumers who love Bordeaux to once again be bludgeoned with skyrocketing prices that are likely to exceed those that were asked for 2009. Yet the world continues to change, and it is an inescapable truth that 2010 has produced another year of compelling Bordeaux that will go down as a prodigious vintage alongside 2009. Take your pick – this news is either tragic or mythical, but I have tasted enough wines from 2005, 2009 and 2010 to realize that these may be the three greatest Bordeaux vintages I have tasted in my career.

2009 will always be the more “fun” vintage because of its more sumptuous, fruit-forward, lower acid wines with soaring aromatics as well as fleshy, exuberant flavors and plush, succulent personalities. Their style vaguely recalls ripe, precocious vintages such as 1982 and 1990. 2010 exceeds 2009 in record setting alcohols, but, paradoxically, it is the fresh acids, lower pHs and massive tannins that have dictated more precision in the mouth despite the record alcohol levels these wines attained. While massive and highly extracted, the 2010s are also fresh and incredibly pure. Moreover, they will enjoy astonishing longevity.

It is no secret that the finest Bordeaux vintages are dry (often drought-like) years when there is early, consistent flowering followed by gorgeous weather in September and October. The old saying, “June makes the quantity, August makes the style and September makes the quality,” has considerable merit, and it could be modified to include October along with September as making the quality. Most of the 2010 and 2008 crops were harvested extremely late, some well into the last weeks of October, as more and more producers seek full phenolic maturity.

The only problem 2010 encountered was a poor flowering with the Merlot crop, which reduced yields dramatically. Readers will hear the French use the words coulure, which means tiny “shot” berries, and millerandange, which is often referred to as “hens and chickens” that results from problematic weather during the flowering. Throughout Bordeaux, in the Médoc, Graves and Pomerol, the Merlot crop was affected dramatically by these conditions in 2010. However, the only effect was to reduce yields and ultimately, based on the weather that occurred subsequently, to increase concentration and extract levels in the grapes. 2010 was another drought year, but unlike 2009, the summer was more similar to 2005 with no dramatic heat waves, only extremely dry weather. Even though June turned out to be a warmer month than in either 2009 or 2005, it was also less sunny. That changed in July, which was warmer, sunnier and drier than both 2005 and 2009. This was followed by three months, August, September and October, that were cooler than both 2009 and 2005, but with drought-like conditions. In short, there was less precipitation from July through September than in 2009, 2005 and 2003. I think these statistics explain why the wines are so concentrated and rich, yet also have higher total acid numbers and lower pHs than 2009, thus giving the 2010s a freshness and precision that is the paradoxical characteristic of this vintage. Normally, incredible ripeness as was achieved in 2010 with alcohol levels averaging 13.8%-14.5% and higher in the Médoc and Graves to 15.5% and higher in Pomerol and St.-Emilion are accompanied by low acidities and suspiciously high pHs. That is not the case in 2010. The pHs are actually quite respectable, running between 3.5 and 3.8, and the total acids are normal as well. Add the extraordinary concentration of flavor and the high polyphenal levels with tannins that are often off the charts in terms of analytical readings, and readers can see that this is a massively concentrated vintage that will be less sumptuous and not nearly as friendly as 2009. In short, if there is any vintage that 2010 tends to resemble, it would be 2005, which was a great vintage of backward, dense, concentrated wines. 2010 has also turned out to be a top-flight vintage for the dry white Bordeaux as they seem to have levels of concentration and fruit that has produced the finest white wines Bordeaux has seen since 2007 (also a top vintage for dry whites).

I do not think it would be fair or prudent to say that 2010 exceeds in overall quality what was produced in 2009, 2005 or perhaps even 2000. However, it is unquestionably another great vintage. While Bob Dylan may have been talking about his own country when he wrote the song With God On Our Side, it sure looks as if fate has smiled on Bordeaux in an extraordinary way for much of the last decade with four great vintages (2000, 2005, 2009 and 2010). Moreover, the quality of the other vintages in that decade is very good.

If 2009 stood out for the historic richness and potential of the Médocs and some Graves and Pomerols, 2010 seems relatively homogeneous throughout Bordeaux. The Cabernet Sauvignon has once again done exceptionally well, while there may be a handful of Merlot-based wines where the tannins are unusually rustic and excessive, by and large this is a great vintage in every appellation. As time elapses, I do believe it will be the Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines that put on the most weight and reveal the greatest nuances.

The Global Marketplace and the Increasingly Intimidating Prices Asked for Great Bordeaux

The Bordeaux marketplace is a global one and more and more it is apparent that a caste system has developed. One could argue that this has existed ever since the famous 1855 Classification of the Wines of the Gironde was published. Today, the world is shocked by skyrocketing prices for 30 or 40 châteaux. Normally this would look like a bubble ready to burst. However, that does not look to be the case. The fact is, the demand continues to increase and the quantity of these wines remains the same as it has for decades. In fact, for many of these estates the selection process has become so draconian that there is actually less wine being produced than in the past. Much has been written about the investment firms in Great Britain that are allowed to purchase fine wine as an investment. That was a factor in 2009, and will be so again in 2010. Add to that the roaring Chinese economy where more millionaires are being created each day than in a month in the United States, and their propensity to love Bordeaux, and to want to buy the world’s finest wines, and readers can see there is too much upward pressure for the top 40 or so Bordeaux châteaux. However, some Bordeaux wines still represent phenomenal bargains, and, hopefully, many of them are covered in these reports. Additionally, in the middle category of $30-$75 a bottle offerings, there are many great wines that represent fabulous value in terms of world-class wines that will age for 25-30+ years.

In summary, the Chinese are buying fine art, jade and great Bordeaux, for both consumption and as a hedge against inflation. Combine that with the investment firms taking a position in the top Bordeaux châteaux, and all the conditions are there for continued high prices. I had hoped we would see a replay of what happened in 1990 when Bordeaux prices dropped after reaching record levels in 1989. However, I do not believe this will happen in 2011. Everywhere I went in Bordeaux the news seemed rather pessimistic that prices would remain stable or go up. In fact, most négociants and proprietors were talking about 15-20% increases as they watched their 2009s soar in value in secondary marketplaces.

What this all actually means is that readers need to forget about the first-growths, super-seconds and a handful of other limited production glamour wines as they will be beyond the reach of all but the wealthiest millionaires and billionaires. However, these represent only a tiny fraction of the entire Bordeaux production. There are many, many good values and great wines to be found at far lower prices. It makes sense to buy those wines as futures if you are dealing with a reputable merchant with a history of buying and delivering Bordeaux futures.

About the 2008s

This vintage came out at low prices and the top wines have soared in value. However, most 2008s remain somewhat forgotten and under-valued vis à vis the two subsequent vintages. These are classic and outstanding wines that represent excellent value. 2008 is an exceptionally strong vintage in Pomerol and St.-Emilion as well as Graves. The Médocs are more mixed, but as the following tasting notes indicate, there are some top wines in this vintage even though they may not hit the high marks of the sumptuous 2009s or massive 2010s.

What If?

Any serious introspection of the global wine market for Bordeaux over the last two years has to include the fact that it is impossible to determine the amount of 2009 Bordeaux futures (and in a few months, 2010 Bordeaux futures) that have actually been sold to consumers. Throughout Bordeaux there is talk of the massive market in Asia, and the increasing significance of the English wine investment firms, but there are those (and I wouldn’t dismiss their opinions) who tend to think that such assertions are grossly inflated. Moreover, they argue that there is a real bubble that is in danger of bursting if the right external influences unfold. One theory is that the Big Eight (which includes all the first growths of the Médoc as well as Haut-Brion and the trifecta of unofficial first growths of the Right Bank, Petrus, Cheval Blanc and Ausone) are actually hoarding huge inventories of their wines to inflate prices. This theory also suggests that the super seconds and many of the other cherished names in Bordeaux are doing the same thing. Why? They are trying to manipulate the market price. The appearance of little or no appreciable quantities of wine from two great vintages equals higher and higher prices.

Is there a falsification of the demand from Asian consumers? The fact is, no one seems to know the answer. While some 2009s have not held their initial opening prices because they were too high, many have. If much of the 2009s, as well as the 2010s, are not sold through to wine consumers, who are the true marketplace since they actually drink these wines, and then tend to replenish their stock, buttressing the marketplace, then this is a bubble. Despite huge warehouses filled with reserve stocks of great vintages, prices could be set for a major adjustment, just as we have seen in the United States with the real estate market. What, if any of this, is true?

I raise this issue only because it is a possibility. The fact that no one can (or wants to) provide the actual sales figures of how much 2009 (or over the next six months, how much 2010) is actually being sold through to consumers is astonishing. If most of the stocks of these two vintages are held by importers, négociants, wholesalers, or on paper by investment firms, then it is obvious the consumers have not purchased 2009 and eventually 2010. In any event, I think this scenario has to be raised, given the overheated marketplace and the sometimes absurd rhetoric about how popular these wines are at prices of $1000 or more a bottle.

About the Tastings
All of the wines were tasted between March 19 and March 31, 2011, in both centralized and châteaux visits. With the exception of the first-growths and a handful of the super-seconds, most of these wines were tasted at least twice, some of them 3-5 separate times during the nearly two weeks I spent in Bordeaux. While one cannot control the weather in Bordeaux, I have generally had very good weather during the 32 years I have been visiting this region. I had perfect weather for tasting on this trip, meaning high pressure, no humidity and lots of sunshine. Not a drop of rain fell on 12 of the 13 days I was in Bordeaux. The weather can have an effect when tasting barrel samples, especially if a low depression descends on Bordeaux, and the weather is cold and rainy. None of these conditions developed during my visit. The wines, particularly the 2010 barrel samples, performed remarkably well with the exception of a handful that had just finished or were still undergoing malolactic fermentation. If that was the case, that was noted in the tasting notes.

—Robert Parker

Bill Blatch’s Preliminary Bordeaux 2010-vintage report Dec 2010 – March 2011
2010: An embarrassingly good vintage

Back in November, many owners were already quietly confident that their ’10 was better than the already legendary ’09 but, coming hot on the heels of the hallowed 2009s, they seemed embarrassed to say it too loudly. Today, half of Bordeaux is less timid in assessing ’10 as great as, if not greater than ‘09, whilst the other half is more reserved in such a judgment. But there is one point of total agreement: it is totally different from its predecessor.

Both vintages have enormous concentration and high alcohols. Both have great power and weight. But there the similarities end: The 09s are, superficially anyway, softer wines made from gentle, progressive weather, with gradual concentration coming from perfect summer ripening, followed, continuously and without interruption, by further concentration from a perfect autumn. The year had gone through the gears seamlessly with no jolts.

The ‘10s on the other hand are robust wines made from more aggressive and extreme conditions and their concentration comes from more extreme dehydration. They are the product of drought, of a more irregular sugar build-up in summer and a sudden reconcentration at the finish. And, most importantly, they get their higher acidities from the cooler August-September minimum temperatures and from the cooler autumn.

Add to all this the 2010’s later spring water replenishment, in June as opposed to April, all just a bit too late to get a gradual start to the vegetation, the yo-yo June conditions for the flowering and the consequent need, as in 2000, for the season to catch back up as from July, and a parched dry summer that knocked it back into shape, and the harsher, very robust and strongly tannic style of the ‘10s begins to be explained.

And what caused such a cold winter, such erratic conditions in early summer and such a hot and dry high summer and autumn? I apologise for this but once again we have to go back to the South-Central Pacific where we left off last year with a mild El Niño system that had unexpectedly developed in June 2009 and had ended up creating a slight wobble in the air flows over the Atlantic, producing Bordeaux’s fine regular Bordeaux summer of that year.

This had been an unusual result. Historically, strong El Niños produce cool summers in Europe: The poor Bordeaux summers of 1925-26, 1972-1973, 1987-88 correspond exactly to strong El Niño events; and one of the strongest of all times in 1789 is supposed to have caused the crop failures and bread shortages that sparked off the French Revolution. In 2009, it had not been strong enough to inflict such disastrous weather on the whole of Europe, only the North and East, whilst the South-West was spared.
This El Niño event continued up to June 2010, some say also aggravated by an almost total absence of solar activity (no nice auroras to admire in the Arctic this year), and over the winter it had the effect of displacing the Icelandic low pressure systems further East, which in their turn sucked Arctic air down round them, anti-clockwise, into Europe. Hence the very cold winter.

When, in May-June, it was succeeded by the strongest La Niña since 1973, there was a short period of erratic conditions during the transition, disturbing Bordeaux’s month of June. Thereafter, as it got ingrained, its effect rolled eastwards over the American Continent, resulting in exactly the opposite conditions to 2009: a cold and dry South American winter, a miserable Californian summer, heat-waves in the South and East of USA, and finally the warmest ever North Atlantic sea surface temperature, which, when joined by an unusually warm Labrador current descending from the fast melting polar ice cap, strengthened the unsettled summer westerly winds. These came in on a more southerly track than usual, over Ireland, Southern Britain and the Channel, leaving the retreating Azores high pressure system to benefit only the South-West. Northern Europe had a miserable summer, and could hardly believe it when we said in October that, down in Bordeaux, we were parched from drought.

Winter 2009/10
We couldn’t know it at the time, because we didn’t know that we were going into such a dry year, but the very high early winter rainfall was to become the saving grace of the vintage, storing up in the depths of the soil a reserve of dampness that would become crucial in the dog days of summer that were to come.

As soon as the ’09 harvest was over, some tight low pressure systems moved very slowly over England and then got stuck over the Channel, spinning off wheels of rain-bearing stationary fronts. During the first 11 days of November, it rained and rained, and again at the end of the month, bringing twice the average precipitation for November: 204mm against the average 106.

December, with 92mm and January with 78mm, were par for the season and kept the water tables nicely topped up. From then on, apart from normal rainfall in March and a very wet June (when it came a bit too late – 2 months later than last year), we were to experience continuous drought all through the rest of the vineyard year.

November was unusually warm, 2°9C above normal, and the yellow leaves stayed stuck to the vines well into December, a month which started off warm, but then which careered into a sudden cold snap from 13th to 21st December. On 17th, when Eastern Europe was at -30°C, we hit a “mere” -7°C, still very chilly by Bordeaux standards. The prevailing winds had changed from the warm southerlies of November to very cold continental easterlies and northerlies for December, January and February, all three months returning average temperatures well below the average, so that this became the coldest January since 1992 and Aquitaine felt like East Germany. On January 6th, snow fell, an unusual occurrence in Bordeaux, and it stayed on the ground for a full week (however not quite so extreme as in Britain) .Over the whole winter, we had 40 days of freezing temperatures as compared to the average 22, more than enough to ensure that the vines remained dormant and a good antidote to any bugs that might have been having any malicious intentions.

Spring 2010 and the budding
With winter receding, we started to go into an even more irregular weather pattern, certainly a product of the nascent La Niña system, which elsewhere would culminate later in the year in the disastrous crop failures and mine floodings in the Southern hemisphere and the devastating hurricanes in NE Australia. Meanwhile, in France, some equally erratic things were starting to happen. On February 28th, a freak hurricane “Xynthia” slammed into the coast just North of Bordeaux, claiming 59 lives in the Vendée. There followed an uncanny freezing calm that descended on Bordeaux for the first two weeks of March, as the Atlantic high pressure systems, so typical of good Bordeaux summers but not winters, ballooned over the whole of Europe, sucking Arctic air down through Scandinavia. There were 10 frosts over this period: It was a very unusually long period of frost so late in the winter, the likes of which we had only been seen before in March 1971. It similarly was responsible for the season’s lateness which would never be caught up.

It ended rapidly on 17th March with a return of those low pressure systems over the Channel, bringing warmer, damper and then rainier conditions up to 4th April. 63 of March’s 68mm of rain fell now. These should have been perfect conditions for activating a strong budding. But it had been just a bit too cold, and continued quite cool well into April. We saw a few swellings trying to push through the dry wood before the end of March showers, but it was only when this damp cool period ended and the warmth accelerated that the budding could really get under way. Most of the bud break was to happen therefore mid-April, between 4-8 days late, and quite spun-out (although less so than last year). However much everyone realises that the flowering rather than the budding dates determine the earliness or lateness of the rest of the vineyard year, there were some concerns that we really were getting a little too late. In addition, April and May continued in the same irregular vein as March, both months starting showery and cool, then crescendoing into unusual heat before dropping back to cool again. It was at this time that the vine started to do what it was going to do all year: produce short periods of intensive growth, interspersed by long periods of consolidation, totally different from its progressive development of the previous year.

Most buds had burst by mid-April, and by the end of the month, the Right Bank and the warmer gravel soils had good growth, with shoots of 25 cm or so, whilst the Left Bank and cooler central area vineyards were still a sea of little flecks of pale green, looking like an impressionist landscape, barely out to two leaves. Such disparity was very noticeable and we were still quite late but nevertheless the mood was positive. The mid-April and mid-May night-time temperatures were very low but there had been no sign of spring frost; there was absolutely no pressure from disease, most properties still only on their 2nd spraying as late as end May; and the “sortie” was well-set and plentiful so that you could now see a good number of regularly-spaced and healthy-looking bunches.

Early summer 2010, and the flowering
With the drought continuing through May, it was now time for the vines to flower, and after such yo-yo conditions of April and the persistent drought continuing throughout May, the prospects were not perfect. The vine seemed not only thirsty but also confused by such changeable conditions. From 21st May, egged on by sudden heat, it tried hard to flower, and in many cases succeeded, especially for the Merlots and Sauvignons and then the scorching weekend of 5th June brought on a further bout of very rapid flowering of both Merlots and Cabs. It all started to look as though it would be OK after all. But then suddenly the Sunday 6th night temperature spiked back down to a horrible 10°C and, as from Monday morning, a jumble of weak stationary fronts brought a series of cool nights and grey, showery days. Many flowers of this period ended up infertile (“coulure” or “shatter”), whilst those bunches that we had previously thought had set successfully, especially the older Merlots, now ceased to develop and became “millerands” (aborted).

There seemed to be no particular geographical reason for successful or unsuccessful flowering. Both banks, all central and outlying areas got hit indiscriminately. It was more a question of each flower’s individual evolution at certain precise moments such as that Sunday night cold snap or during certain phases of the previous yo-yo conditions. But as usual, it was the Merlots rather than the Cabs that got hit. This event became a big factor in the reduced yield of the vintage and of any disparity of potential quality at the end..

On a more positive note, the lateness had been partially caught up and we were now about on the same schedule as 2009, late but not seriously late. Secondly, there was excellent air circulation amongst the bunches – especially the miller and ones - all already looking unusually big and long, probably due to rapid growth from the hot, damp week immediately before the flowering. This would make for a much safer situation if the weather turned damp. Thirdly, the big rainfall of mid-June (91mm – the average for the whole month being 63mm) had re-invigorated the soils. We would have preferred it earlier, as in April the previous year, but were happy with what we got, as this was to be virtually the final precipitation of the vineyard year. It was the most defining moment of the vintage: without it, the vines would have totally shut down during the long summer drought that was to come.

High summer
With the June rains out of the way, 2010’s mid-season turbulence started to steady in Bordeaux and from 20th June right through the rest of the summer, the Azores high pressure system brought its permanently hot North-Westerly air flows into the region, protecting it from the series of depressions that continued to slam through the British Isles and Northern Europe. Bordeaux was thus shielded from this worsening turbulence of world weather that drowned thousands in the floods in Pakistan and China, that produced the violent heat-waves in the US and that made the Californian “May gray” and “June gloom” persist into July and August.

The end of June spike of heat was impressive, with daytime temperatures suddenly up at 28°1 for those final 10 days, compared to an average of 23°5. This provoked violently fast growth of the vine’s hitherto unprolific foliage, necessitating a more urgent “levage” (lifting the foliage onto the wires) and more “écimage” (topping) than usual. The heat and, above all, the drought continued all through July and August, which between them registered 534 sun hours, 2 hours more than for 2009’s exceptional summer and 50 hours above the average. During these two months, there were only 11 days when it rained at all, and then only very slightly, totaling just 32mm against an average of 114mm. So this
really was total drought, more so even than in 2005, when the odd thunderstorm had alleviated the situation and a little more so than in 2009 with its occasional shower or two.

As in 2009, however, the heat was never excessive, apart from the occasional spike of 35°C+ and it came in from the moister ocean rather than from the drier East. There were 44 days over 25°C, pretty close to the 30 year norm of 38.1 days, there were 17 days over 30°C (the norm is 12.7 days) and only 3 days over 35°C, So we were far from the brutal scorching conditions of 2003, 1990 and that all time record 1921.

The main difference to ’09 was that July was the hotter month of the two, with average temperatures at 22°4C against the norm of 20°8, whereas August was considerably cooler: 20°8C against a norm of 20°9C. In 2009, it had been the other way round, with the temperatures rising progressively during July and August, accounting for a much more gradual ripening. In 2010, with the greater heat coming earlier, the sugar build-up was accelerated a bit prematurely and, as in 1998, seemed to trap some of the more acidic elements into the concentration process. Then the cooler August, and especially the very cool nights of mid-August, often down to 10-11°C, preserved that freshness of acidity as the grapes moved towards total ripeness Combined with the shrinking effect of the drought on the berries (they often lost 30% of their weight through dehydration at this time), this element of acidity got exaggerated and went on to become a salient feature of the 2010 vintage’s style of fresh and often aggressive tannins for the reds and enhanced aromatics for the whites.

The “véraison” (colour change) was noted between 4th and 12th August, the drought conditions encouraging the vine to temporarily abandon its foliage and devote all its attention to its fruit. So the cycle caught up its lateness a little, now down to about 4 days later than the norm, further suggesting, in spite of the terrific build-up of sugars, that this hot, dry year would also be late and therefore bear little resemblance to similarly dry but very early harvests such as ’90 or ’03.

During the summer, the usual vineyard work continued, but with less crop-thinning than last year. The first green harvest of late June / early July was generally lighter than usual, since a lot of the Merlot had already been lost to coulure and millerandage, and the spacing of the grapes had been naturally more satisfactory anyway. The second culling, at the véraison, when any laggard bunches and grapes are weeded out, was also quite light, except for some of the millerand bunches.

There was little need for pest-control. Oidium and grey rot were at an all-time low and it was so dry that few felt the need for anti-botrytis treatments. The cochylis and eudemis 5 months were a bit of a problem, especially the 3rd generation at the end of August, but nowadays these are treated more and more by sexual confusion than by spraying. This was becoming an easy year for properties on their final qualifying year to get bio certification

September-October and the harvest
Coming off such a dry period, with lawns yellow and roadsides like savannah, it was amazing to see the vines such a beautiful dark green, like Las Vegas golf courses, showing no signs of stress – apart from recently planted vines which had often keeled over and occasionally others on lighter soils or exposed at the end of the rows whose leaves had started to shrivel and bunches to raisin.

The summer had been arid but the vines had never really shut down, certainly largely because the heat had been neither too dry nor too extreme. It was just a question of lack of rainfall: almost nothing since mid-June. But at this time, many were worried about the effect of such drought if it were to continue into the autumn.

The forecast for 6th-9th September was for the remains of hurricanes Danielle, Earl and Fiona to bring some alleviating rain, but they all veered off to the North, leaving Bordeaux with a few small showers, gratefully received and very invigorating, but only of much use for the dry white harvest which had started on 31st August for the earliest Pessac-Léognan estates, on Monday 6th for the Entre-Deux-Mers Sauvignons and on 13th for most Sémillons. Apart from these little useful showers, the dry white harvest was undertaken in totally dry and often hot conditions, generally up until 24th. It is a tribute to the cool nights of August that, unlike the previous year, these hot, dry conditions would make these white wines as fresh as they would be rich.

The traditional Equinox disturbance had been very light. This year, it was rather the spring tides of 12th that influenced the weather. The locals had said that if there was to be high pressure at the high tides, the fine weather would stay…and they were right: it did.

Now it was time to prepare for the red harvest. Back in August, they had mostly been preparing for a 22nd September start, but, as the drought wore on and the tannins evolved so slowly, most pushed the programme back by a week. The feeling mid-month was that, although the sugar readings were already at almost 14° for the Merlots and 13° for the Cabs, this was not the kind of vintage that could be harvested at will as in‘05 or ‘09. Unlike both these vintages, there had just been too many difficulties: lateness of the harvest, coulure and millerandage at flowering, straggly bunches, irregular véraison, high acidities, and stressed vines.

In addition, just before the harvest, the tannin levels were getting out of control (often 50-70% more than 09) and the total acidities very high (often at 4,5 g/l in relation to 3,5 last year).

As usual, the traditionally earlier-ripening vineyards of Pomerol and Pessac-Léognan now started picking: around 22nd or 24th, during a second period of very light refreshing showers, and the rest during the much cooler week of 27th. The musts came in black and dense, very sweet, and bursting with tannin. For the rest, it was an “à la carte” harvest that was generally delayed another week.

With these Merlots just about finished and the superb conditions continuing for the St Emilion and Médoc Merlots that were just starting, September finished almost totally dry with just 23,8mm of precipitation versus a norm of 90,3mm, and also hugely sunny with 243 sun hours versus a norm of 182. The thunder-storms of 7th and 8th were to be the only rainfall of the year to produce precipitation irregularly and the differences were significant: only 8mm on Pessac-Léognan and the mid and South-Médoc, but up to 30mm on Northern Médoc, St Estèphe, Fronsac, parts of St Emilion and Southern Graves and Sauternes.

The forecast had always been for a lot of rain over the first ten days of October. Bordeaux was supposed to be about to bear the brunt of the very deep depressions swirling across the North Atlantic, the remnants of several Caribbean tropical storms. In the end, the only really rainy day was Monday 4th October, with between 20 and 30mm in all regions of Bordeaux, followed by 10mm on 10th. Apart from these two days, the weather was overcast but not wet. Hurricane Otto, predicted as the villain of the piece, decided to veer away from the usual clockwise track and to wander aimlessly about in the mid-Atlantic, where it ended up dying out, close to the Spanish coast of all places, actually pushing the high pressure system towards Bordeaux. We should build a monument in the Place des Quinconces for Otto.

This was the final clincher for the second half of the harvest. The vines were now refreshed from these two days of rain and, in very warm temperatures (the first 10 days of October were a full 5°C over the norm), could function once more. After a few days, and the Merlots safely in, a cool, drying Easterly air current blew into Bordeaux and, as in ’86, these fine, cold, dry days allowed the Cabernets to re-concentrate and to be harvested in the best possible conditions. The cold nights – on 18th down to freezing – totally prevented any rot risk, and the fine cool days allowed the final touches to be put on the Cabs. Most finished by mid-month, and when the rains returned on 23rd, it was all safely in. These 3 weeks of October had gone from very warm to very cold but above all, the month finished with an incredible 180 hours of sun hours (the norm is 134).

Vinification
The IPTs (total tannin counts) were absolutely enormous. But, unlike the gentler more progressively-evolved tannins of 09, these tannins were the result of hydric stress, of the dehydration of the juice that left more thick hard skins than juice. There were also some raisined grapes amongst them So there was a real potential for harshness and everyone had to be very careful with their extraction. Anyway, extraction came so quickly that it was quite clear from the start that there simply was no need to work the skins too hard. Most eliminated the first and last “remontages” (pumpings-over), reduced the daily number from 5 to 3, didn’t do “délestages” (whole tank wooshing), reduced any “pigeage (cap-plungeing), and most labs encouraged a 10% reduction in fermentation temperatures. Bitterness was never a problem: generally the grapes had only 2 pips each, the norm being 3,5. The problem was quite simply hyper-tannin. The fermentations went much slower than last year, yet there was generally very good control of brett and volatile acidity, always dangerous with so much alcohol around.

The malolactic fermentations were generally very difficult to get started, and once started, to finish, in spite of, or maybe also because of, the high total acidity. Many said the acidities were more tartaric than malic. Some of the malos only finished in early March. The Burgundians can be proud of us. One of the challenges of this vintage was the elimination of “millerand” grapes. Often the harvesting machines or the de-stalkers would not do this properly, and those who are equipped with vibrating sorting tables really won out; Manually, it was an extremely laborious process and, especially lower down the scale, not everyone was prepared to do it, and ended up with a touch of herbaceousness in the wine. Several estates now have electronic optical sorting capability, and they are pleased they had it, although murmurs can be heard around Bordeaux, especially from the old guard, saying that this just adds to the boring uniformisation of modern claret.

The wines
2010 reds
These are solid wines and happily so – at current prices, we have to provide maximum bang for the buck! High sugars once again produced highly alcoholic wines, mostly slightly less than 09 but sometimes in parts of the Right Bank and in most of Pessac-Léognan, even more. But if they have all the power of the 09s, they have nothing of the opulence and thickness of the 09s. They are much more rugged, have an incredibly strong tannic surge and there is more acidity in those tannins. Tasting them in any number is a challenging exercise, especially as the wines were much later developers and sometimes are only just through their malolactic. Distinguishing between the different forms of the enormous tannins is a detailed and tiring exercise this year, and in addition, allowance has to be made for the press wines which are often not yet incorporated in the blend. (Because extraction was so light, the press wines are usually excellent and will be used quite extensively). The extra difficulty is that the cult of reductive élevage continues, mainly on the Right Bank and little information is given about which of the samples come from unracked barrels and which from racked ones – often very recently - maybe for fear of complicating each year’s conveniently simplified hierarchy of the wines. Why rock the boat? “Don’t ask, don’t tell”!

The word going round is that these will be long-lasting wines, making the 09s look like a softer more rapid version. The jury is out on this, but it could be that nothing is farther from the truth: Bordeaux often has an initial preference for the harder, more traditional vintage. The same was said about the ‘83s versus the ‘82s at the start. So why should it be any different this time? And why should the initially more strongly tannic vintage be necessarily the longer lasting anyway? After all these are monster tannins that may never settle down, or maybe they will? Or maybe they will continue harsh all their lives?

Other great pairs in Bordeaux’s history also seem to always have one softer and the other harder, but in the end the softer ones have about the same longevity as the harder ones 1995-1996, the first drought-driven then softened by late season rain, the second cooler and more tannic; 1985-1986, the first another drought vintage softened by late rain, the second a classic vintage of Cabernet re-concentration in October; the deep, mellow, soft-tasting 1929s preceded by the similarly rich but very tannic 1928s (so I am told); the soft and ripe-tasting 1900s coming hot on the heels of the just-as-generous but harder 1899s; and the.1869-1870s, equally concentrated but the first more balanced and softer, the second densely tannic and slow developing.

The strong nature of these ‘10s would seem to point to a similarity to ’00 or ’05. Yet this similarly dry, hot year had a better first half, in spite of all its problems, than the 2000s for which the sun only really started shining from mid-July. The comparison to ’05 holds better, with its more similar drought conditions, the same number of sun hours in July and the same high but not excessive maximum temperatures in August-September. But ’10 was a drier year still than ‘05 with 40% less rain in July-August, with higher maximum daytime temperatures in July but considerably lower ones in October and many more sun hours during the re-concentration period in September-October. All of this meant that the ‘10s have more of everything than the similarly-styled ‘05s. Their sugar concentration is greater, their tannins are far higher and seem to have more acidity in them, with more strictness of structure for both Cabernets and Merlots, and the whites have a more nervous kind of power and the Sauternes a more vibrant and aromatic style.

In terms of individual vintages, if, by its velvety texture,’09 has a lot in common with ’82, ’47 or ’29, then ’10, with its strong tannins, is more in the vein of ’05, ’00, ’86, ’49 and ’45, but with more sheer alcohol than all of these.

Merlot? / Cabernet? Left bank / Right Bank?
Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc are quite clearly a major success. In some cases, in spite of their high alcohol levels (generally between 13 and 14°), they may not all have achieved the total ripeness of last year before the wintery nights of mid-October were upon them and there are some with a little - not disagreeable - marmalade touch to the tannins. But generally they were absolutely ripe, having been picked further away from the early October rainfall and taking full advantage of the second drying concentration period of mid-October. They are nicely aromatic but above all, if not over-tannic, have a firm, tensile, strong structure of great breed.

The Merlots are once again very rich, in some cases as alcoholic or even more so than 09, sometimes over 15° and mostly over 14°. This is tough to explain, as they were more handicapped than the Cabs by poor flowering in June and by becoming ripe close to or during the October showers. Maybe part of the explanation is to be found in their looser, less populous bunches that allowed the vine’s vigour to be channelled into fewer grapes. More importantly, most pre-harvesting grape analyses showed that they dehydrated more than the Cabs, often losing 30% of their weight over the summer versus the Cabs’ 10%. And finally, the Merlots are usually grown on the denser limestone or clay soils which were precisely those that retained the most moisture during the drought thus allowing better functioning of the vine during the dog days of summer. Whatever the reasons, the sheer alcoholic power of the Merlots puts them closer in style to 09 than the Cabs.

2010 dry whites
This is clearly going to be a tremendous vintage for whites. They are less fat but just as alcoholic as those other dry vintages 05 and 09. Yet they are more aromatic and vibrant, as bright and fresh as the 08s but with all the weight of the 05s and 09s. The Sauvignons are especially aromatic, some to the point of a Kiwi gooseberry kind of floweriness. The Sémillons too are very concentrated and surprisingly aromatic (more in the grapefruit range of flavours), even more so when grown on the more water-retentive clay or limestone soils.

The cool nights of August trapped acidity and freshness of flavour into the grapes as they were approaching full ripeness. Then, just as most were preparing to harvest, there were those few early September days of moisture that re-awoke the vines for the final push and, by 20th September, most had finished, under the most ideal conditions possible, an unhurried and relaxed harvest. The vintage was not marred by any frost, as in ’08, or by any hail-storms, as in ’09, so there was more produce to select from, and the result is that they seem finer-tuned.

Yields
After the budding, there was a natural excess of bunches, stemming from the perfect “aoûtement” of the previous year’s wood, which is where the embryos proliferate if the conditions are favourable then. But after the bud-burst had confirmed this large potential crop, from then on, it gradually got whittled away, first by a difficult flowering resulting in coulure and millerandage, very heavy in parts; then by an uneven fruit set; then by weight loss in the grapes, and by the June-July green harvesting that was calculated for normal sized grapes, before it was known that they would dehydrate by as much as 30%; and finally by a very strict final selection. All this meant that the harvest often went from a potential 50-55 ho/ha right down to a final 30 or 40 during the vineyard year. The generally, top estates, which go to great lengths to weed out everything that is slightly imperfect, have produced between 10 and 30% less than last year, whilst lesser estates and many generics are about the same.

Sauternes is the odd man out here, having been blessed with both excellent wines and a large harvest, most ending up with a total production, including second wine, on the maximum yield of 25 ho/ha. So we may be able to maintain primeur allocations of Sauternes this year, but certainly not quite the same amount of reds.

2010 Sauternes
Less dense and less opulent than their monumental predecessor, these 2010 Sauternes and Barsacs make up for that by being the prettiest vintage of all time, with lovely, floral,uniformly pure and totally fresh-styled wines that are all the same beautifully lush and sweet.

As in 09, and also 05, the summer drought produced an exceptional build-up of sweetness in the grapes, giving the concentration a similar head-start. But this time September remained almost totally dry, so the skins remained hopelessly thick and hard and it took a long time for the botrytis to do anything with them. So the similarity to those two vintages ended here, the 05 and 09 having botrytised fast and massively early in October, the 10s, with half the September precipitation of 09, which was already half that of 05, getting spread out over a full 7 week period with the bulk of the best of it late rather than early in October. So there they were mid-September looking at lovely golden, rich grapes, without an ounce of bad rot to be seen, but no noble rot either. It was then that the showers of 6th-9th September loosened things up a bit, and were followed by a crescendo of heat up to 30°C on 15th which brought on some isolated patches of full botrytis and also some excellent shrivel. So very slowly a small and laborious first picking was generally undertaken as from 15th and became generalized from 28th. These first pickings produced a very small quantity of concentrated musts of up to 24° potential, with a clean, incisive appley / citric character. By the end of the month, the botrytis had virtually dried up again, and many stopped harvesting completely. The showers of 3rd, and the 30mm of rain on 4th October, followed by a succession of very warm days up to 12th, produced a sudden onrush of widespread botrytis, but the moist oceanic air flow prevented it from concentrating properly and a lot of it stuck at
“pourri plein” without being able to concentrate properly to the optimum “rôti” stage. Some managed to do a 2nd and 3rd picking by carefully selecting out small quantities of individual “rôti” amongst the “pourri plein” from about 8th to about 17th but there was not much of it and again, it was a very laborious process.

This was not a particularly happy time for the Sauternais who were now well into their fourth week of picking, with not that much to show for it. The “pourri plein” was mostly already over 20° and some was picked at this time, more out of impatience than anything else. Then suddenly, it all flipped to “rôti”. The wind had gone round to the East on 12th, producing the same drying effect as for the final ripening of the reds. At last, for those who had had the patience to wait, the second half of the month provided the best of the crop, and also the most volume, usually around 80% of the total. The musts came in as fresh and pure as the first ones, but now with much more richness and the added complexity of aromas that can only come from such full botrytis.

Many finished after this, picking a little wider to reduce the sweetness a bit, but quite a few continued on into November, picking right up to 4th and even, for one or two to 6th. These were not always the best pickings. The quite heavy rainfall of 23rd-24th October often fell on botrytis that was too old and tired and, with a few exceptions, there was a drop in complexity as well as in sweetness and acidity, especially after the further showers of 29th.

The wines are still in their separate lots, but generally the hallmark of the vintage, -after the opulence of 09, is one of grace and charm, less concentrated, less persistent but immensely pure and fine, generally with a much more delicate balance of barely 14° alcohol and 120–135 g/l residual (but there are a couple at 160-165 as last year) and above all with a refreshing acidity from the cool summer nights and also from the often freezing nights of later October.

They seem to combine very neatly features of all the last three vintages: the complexity (without the absolute power) of 09, the spiciness (without the frost devastation) of 08 and the absolute purity of 07. This vintage is probably capable of long ageing, but as we wait all those years for the massive 05s and 09s to be ready, will provide greater earlier enjoyment while still all fresh and primary.

Conclusion
So ended, for the second year running, an extreme vintage. Exceptional pairs of seasons always seem to coincide with very turbulent global meteorological conditions, In 2010, globally, the weather went crazy. The re-assurer Munich Re had to deal with 950 natural catastrophes, as compared to the 30 year average of 615. They caused 295,000 deaths and 97 billion Euros of damage…and the Australian floods are not yet in the figures, nor any earthquakes or tsunamis. Bordeaux was no exception. It was a violent vineyard year that tested the vine’s resistance to chaotic conditions: during its grape formation, to extreme drought during ripening and to a high variation of hot and cold temperatures at the end - totally the opposite of the previous year’s just as excessive but very regular cycle. 2010 is a vintage born of extremes but the extremes went the right way. They could have gone the other way. Those 1000km wide anomalies in the American summer were often down to 200 km by the time they reached Europe. Maybe the butterfly effect exists - but for Bordeaux, in reverse… The bad summer and autumn weather was never far away:and it would only have taken a slightly southward track in a transatlantic depression system to wreck the whole scenario (as in ’76). While Bordeaux was baking, Northern Europe was under water. It had been a very close call… or maybe it’s just that someone up there still likes us….

We want to be your wine store, your go-to wine specialists – the place you know you can come and talk about wines; what’s new, what’s hot and what you need to drink. So in addition to our weekly e-newsletter picks from Noel, Chris, Tim and Danielle, we are starting a blog about wines we think you would be interested in taking home and enjoying for yourself. Each week, we’ll be suggesting a group of impressive wines for your pleasure.

We invite you to come in and talk one-on-one with our wine specialists, if there’s one thing that makes our store stand-out above the rest; it’s the passion our staff has for wine, spirits and beer. Ask them anything; how it tastes, the notes, what they like about it, and how they would suggest you pair it, by itself, or with a dish.

From Noel Shaw, Michael’s Wine Cellar’s Store Manager

Cabernet Sauvignon, Faust, Napa Valley, CA 2007 $41.95

I recently read an article in the New York Times about Faust’s 07 Cabernet Sauvignon, they rated it number one. I love this wine. It is a great drinking Cab, and it has everything you would want in a Cab. I like the mouthfeel it gives the entire palate – excellent body, good finish and well balanced both acidity and fruit. There are distinct flavors of dark fruits – cherries, currents and cranberries. The alcohol level is moderate, so it’s a smooth wine to savor. As you can see, our pricing is much lower than the national average, and of course, if you are a Gulf Coast Connoisseur Club member, you receive points, which amounts to an average of 10% discount!

An excerpt from the New York Times article: “Even so, our No. 1 wine was a $47 bottle from Faust, owned by the wine magnate Agustin Huneeus of Quintessa, a higher-end Napa producer, and Veramonte in Chile. It displayed not only the freshness of the vintage, but harmony, restraint and an underlying complexity.”

Pinot Noir, Lola, Russian River, CA. 2008 $24.95

Being from Bradenton and in the wine business, I burst with pride when a local becomes a “homegrown hero” in the wine industry, and I am so fortunate to grow up with just that person, Seth Cripe of LLV Vineyards. Seth may have grown up in Bradenton, but he has spent eight years working for Caymus Vineyards in Napa Valley before branching out on his own. Seth really has become the “Local Boy Makes Good!” Some of you might have had the pleasure of meeting him at this year’s Forks & Corks food and wine event. We were so glad to welcome him home and to taste his debut creation, the 08 Lola Pinot Noir.

What to say about Seth’s baby, Lola’s 08 Pinot Noir. Well, first, it’s luscious from the first sip. I have to say that it has the perfect amount of ripeness, acidity and body; honestly, it has a complete taste. I found this wine to be more palatable than most Pinot’s. It is build for the Florida climate. There are soft fruit notes including: raspberries, strawberries, with a hint of toastiness. This wine gem pairs well with Salmon, Chicken and Pork Tenderloin, and for the value conscious connoisseur, this is a great buy at only $24.95.

Chenin Blanc “Natural Sweet”, Delheim, Paarl, South Africa, 2009 $14.95

Typically, Chenin Blanc wines tend to have a strong acidity and green apple tartness to them, and generally need richer foods such as scallops, or a cream sauce to balance the flavors. The Delheim Natural Sweet Chenin Blanc is as its name, actually sweet. That may be, because they leave the grapes on the vines to build a higher concentration of sugar. This particular wine is a favorite of mine, because it presents more palatable, sweeter, and less tart. To me, this wine offers a beautiful concentration of dried apricots with a pleasing aroma of orange peel. Between the sugar and acidity, Delheim has produced a wine with good balance and a nice lingering aftertaste that can be enjoyed by itself. If you prefer to savor with food, I would recommend pairing with raw oysters or a mignonette sauce. A wine fact: The Chenin Blanc grape is one of the most successful in South Africa, and the original cuttings came from the Loire Valley in France.

From “The Budding Wine Girl”

Lettre d’Eloise, Maison Ambroise, Burgundy, FR $15.95

Chardonnay is not generally my cup of tea, so to speak, as my mother always said, “You have to try it, if you don’t like it you don’t have to drink/eat it, but you have to try.” So, I keep trying, but the masculine oakiness found in many California Chard’s are just a bit to bold for my budding palate. Until recently that is. During Forks & Corks, I happened upon a brilliant Chardonnay from Burgundy - “Maison Ambroise Lettre d’Eloise”; and I now find myself picking up a few bottles each visit.

The winemaker, Monsieur Bertrand Ambroise was in Sarasota for the 4th annual Forks & Corks event. During the wine tasting here at Michael’s Wine Cellar, he offered me a taste, and I must admit that I hesitated for a moment, but I could hear my mother’s voice, and of course, it would be bad manners to turn down the winemaker standing in front of you ready to pour. I am so glad that I didn’t, because, I just fell in love with this wine.

Lettre d’Eloise was created by Monsieur Ambroise for his daughter Eloise. How shall I explain this beauty… it has feminine, floral characteristics and is simply pretty. I understand this soft trait is because of the limestone, which offers good minerality. I find the essence of grapefruit is not acidic at all, but rather crisp and bright on the tongue. It’s a great wine to enjoy by itself, or perfect with a roasted chicken with tarragon and lemon. This is an excellent buy at just $15.95, and it’s so delish!

Stop by Michael’s Wine Cellar today and let us introduce you to “Lettre d’Eloise”.

It was a thrill to discover Bordeaux 2009 and experience the world’s most famous growing region at its best!

My long-time friend, Bordeaux négociant Bill Blatch was one the many professionals that encouraged me to attend the 2009 barrel tastings this year and I am so glad that I did. I was able to get an amazing snap-shot of one of the greatest vintages of my 35-year professional career, running from one fabulous château to another to taste the young 2009 vintage. I heard “it’s my best harvest ever” in many châteaux. After all of the post-harvest hype from château after château of an unparalleled vintage my expectations were very high. Another “vintage of the century”? Perhaps.

I was able to visit 38 châteaux over four and-a-half days, and tasted close to 350 wines. One of the highpoints of my trip was to participate in the larger Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux tastings, and also enjoyed exclusive private visits to all the first growths, and many other top properties that I had only dreamed of visiting. Meeting so many of the top winemakers and château owners was an honor. Reconnecting with owners and winemakers who have visited us here over the years was a special treat. For the many years that I have been selling Bordeaux “en primeur”, I have always been able to trust my mentors. This year I got to experience this phenomenon for myself!

The tastings provided an amazing perspective, and it was great to taste this particular vintage in depth, because in some areas quality varied. I was able to experience some breathtaking 2009s, but also some not so good. Not everyone was able to manage the super-ripe grapes that came off the vines. I cannot point out a winning bank or sub-region: in every part of Bordeaux I encountered beauties as well as a few less special examples of this much-heralded new vintage.

The main characteristics for me of the 2009 vintage seem to be great concentration, an amazing freshness and an extraordinary high level of fine but very ripe tannins. This bodes really well for near-term enjoyment and long-term cellaring. I believe that Cabernet will shine brightly in this vintage. I was surprised that some of the wines with high ripeness and alcohol content managed to be beautifully balanced. The Right Bank had some greats but there were a few misses with some of the Merlots being overripe and alcoholic. Some châteaux picked a bit early with the fear of rain and have wines that are out of balance with tannins that are “green” or harsh. Winemakers seem to be more capable and aware of not creating over-ripe, jammy “cartoons” of wines as well, and that was a relief, especially on the Right Bank. Château Pavie was a great example of handling the high sugars and intense concentration of the fruit, without the wine becoming a “bomb”!

I believe that the truly great wines of the vintage are certainly centered in the four main communes of the Médoc – Pauillac, St. Julien, St. Estephe and Margaux; with consistent high quality and some truly magnificent, ethereal wines – especially at the level of the First Growths.

You will hear lots of comparisons of 2009 to past great vintages, but please understand that some are unfair. Winemaking in Bordeaux has undergone a renaissance over the last 20 years. (and especially the last 10) The plain fact is that vineyard management, winemaking and even the basic facilities have improved significantly. I heard many professionals comparing this vintage to some of the greats, even 1947 and 1982. It’s really a difficult comparison, because so much has been learned and improved over the years. The growing conditions may have been similar, but how we handle the wines today has dramatically evolved. Detractors may say that the some of the wines are overdone and more like California than Bordeaux. I believe that growers were dealt a “special hand” with near perfect conditions that produced the concentrated and powerful wines that have emerged. I did not experience I would call over-extracted wines, with the exception of maybe a couple, which I have not included in my recommendations.

The bottom line for me is that this vintage has produced an amazing array of fabulous wines. I believe that we will see some château prices in the stratosphere because of world demand, particularly the emergence of the Chinese interests. Most importantly, I have identified some superb wines that will offer great value we can all enjoy sharing with friends and family, for many years to come!

As many of you know, I am not a great believer in micro-scoring wines. I still taste wines by my simple philosophy of “don’t like it, like it or like it a lot!” Without a doubt, every wine I have listed here would classify as favorites in my top category – several are the best I have ever tasted. I will leave you to battle it out with the Wine Advocate, Wine Spectator and Decanter Magazine over the points that these wines deserve. It will be fun to watch!

Michael’s Shopping List for 2009 Bordeaux

Exceptional Wines
In my mind, these are the finest wines of the vintage. Breathtaking wines that showed power and richness, with precision and freshness that I believe is unparalleled. A few are the finest examples of Bordeaux that I have ever tasted. Of course they will also be extremely scarce and very limited (maybe even non-existent if the Chinese have anything to say about it!)

Château Ausone, St. Émilion
Château Cos d’Estournel, St. Estèphe
Château l’Evangile, Pomerol
Château Haut-Brion, Pessac-Léognan
Château Lafite-Rothschild, Pauillac
Château Latour, Pauillac
Château Le Pin, Pomerol
Château Leoville-Las-Cases, St. Julien
Château Margaux, Margaux
Château Montrose, St. Estèphe
Château Mouton-Rothschild, Pauillac
Château Pavie, St. Émilion

Cellar Selections
This group of wines is top of their class. They offer great character and length, and exhibit great complexity, structure and excellent cellaring potential. These are the wines that will be superstars in our cellars for years to come. Although we will see greater availability here, these wines will be snapped up quickly.

Château Cheval-Blanc, St. Émilion
Château Clos Fourtet, St. Émilion
Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, St. Julien
Les Forts de Latour, Pauillac
Château Giscours, Margaux
Château Haut Bailly, Pessac-Léognan
Château l’Eglise Clinet, Pomerol
Château Leoville Barton, St. Julien
Château Malescot-St.-Exupéry, Margaux
Château Pape Clément, Pessac-Léognan
Château Prieuré-Lichine, Margaux
Château Pichon-Longueville-Lalande, Pauillac
Château Pontet-Canet, Pauillac
Château Rauzan-Ségla, Margaux
Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte, Pessac-Léognan
Château Troplong-Mondot, St. Émilion
Vieux-Château-Certan, Pomerol

Special Delivery
A superb selection of wines from some of Bordeaux most forward thinking and progressive winemakers. This group of wines is full-bodied and complex, with wonderful concentration and intensity, clearly some of my favorite wines of the tastings. This group may be approachable earlier, but will also hold their structure and class for 8-10+ years.

Château d’Aiguilhe, Côtes de Castillon
Château d’Armailhac, Pauillac
Château Batailley, Pauillac
Château Camensac, Haut-Medoc
Château Chasse-Spleen, Moulis
Château Clos Puy Arnaud, Côtes de Castillon
Château Courteillac, Bordeaux Superieur
Château La Fleur de Boüard, Lalande-de-Pomerol
Château Fombrauge, St. Emilion
Château Haut-Bages-Liberal, Pauillac
Château Haut-Bergey, Pessac-Léognan
Château Mont-Perat, Cotes de Bordeaux
Château Phélan-Ségur, St. Estèphe
Pauillac de Château Latour, Pauillac

Sensational Values
These are my “sleepers of the vintage”. This was an extremely surprising group of wines that showed wonderful richness, bright fruit and ripe, silky tannins. These châteaux are some of the unknowns that will offer the great value that comes from smaller properties and emerging appellations in an outstanding vintage. Most will be enjoyable upon release.

Château Beau-Site, St. Estèphe
Château Brisson, Cotes de Castillon
Château Cap de Faugeres, Cotes de Castillon
Château Charmail, Haut-Medoc
Château Faizeau, Montagne-St.-Emilion
Château Laplagnotte-Bellevue, St. Émilion
Château Parenchère, Bordeaux Superiore
Château Patache d’Aux, Haut-Medoc
Château Thieuley, Bordeaux AOC
Château Tour de Mirambeau, Bordeaux Superiore
Château Tour St. Bonnet, Medoc

Sauternes/Barsac

2009 is a superb year for Sauternes and Barsac. The final year in this decade has been almost unanimously heralded by Sauternes growers as one of the most perfect vintages they remember. The best here offer amazing concentration, with near-flawless levels of botrytis and beautiful balance. Honeyed flavors were balanced by great acidity.

My favorites:
Château Coutet
Château d’Yquem*
Château Doisy-Daëne
Château Rieussec
Château Suduiraut
Château La Tour Blanche

Michael Klauber – Michael’s Wine Cellar & WineFlorida.com

Well my friends,

What an amazing week in France. There is so much sensory evaluation to do that it is overwhelming, but worth every sip. You realize that you are part of a much bigger picture. One of the revealing aspects I discovered on my trip was that the US isn’t the big fish in Bordeaux anymore, we are only 30% of the Bordeaux market, and there is a whole world of people who are also vying for these wines from all over Europe and beyond. I was surprised to learn that our newest competitors this time are the Chinese. Several of the negociants had their books not only in French and English, but also in Chinese. So it is definitely going to be a changing year. A fascinating bit of news: this year’s En Primeur tasting drew the most people ever, because of all the hype about the final vintage of this decade.

This was my first time going to the barrel tastings; this time of year is our peak season at my store and restaurant, and it has always been a challenge for me to get away. I felt strongly that if I was ever going to do it, this was the year. I was particularly inspired to go, by the winemakers that were here during Forks & Corks. They all told me, “Michael, this is the year, you have to go, and it is going to be the best Bordeaux vintage ever”. I traveled with a really great group of wine professionals, who were very kind to me as the rookie. I learned a lot, and loved every moment, swirl, and sniff.

The hospitality was incredible. The châteaux were so welcoming, and the winemakers and owners were charming. Many of the tastings that we went to were private and by appointment only, which made them even more special. Some of the Chateaux are never open to the public for a tasting. Each destination was unique and memorable. The group I traveled around the region with, was a small group of 6 to 8 wine professionals from around the country; importers and top retailers.

I must give a special thanks to one of the great gentlemen in the US wine import business, our guide on this amazing trip, Chris Lano of Stacole Fine Wines for his help in creating this landmark experience for me (and you!) It was also a great treat to spend the day traveling around with Simon Bradford from Ballende et Meneret. As I said in an earlier blog, he accompanied us throughout the Pomerol and Saint Émilion appellations.

An additional treat, we got to taste at all five first growths on this trip including: Château Lafite-Rothschild, Chateaux Mouton-Rothschild, Châteaux Latour, Château Haut-Brion and Château Margaux. To be able to accomplish that over years is impressive, but to do it in the span of four days is unbelievable.

It was really great seeing dear friends, who I have been doing business with for many years. Of course I have to start with my Bordeaux friends who brought their wines to Forks & Corks including: Gerard Fenouillet, Virginie Achou-Lepage, Emilie Gervason, Bertil Corgie and of course Florence and Daniel Cathiard. I was really excited to run into Frank Poote of Champagne Oudinout, and to see winemakers/sisters Marie and Sylvie Courselle from Chateau Thieuley. They, along with many of the others, have come to Sarasota for wine dinners at Michael’s On East. It was really terrific to also run into Charles Curtis, who is now running the wine department at Christie’s Auction house in New York, and Robin Kelly O’Connor, who shared the great news with me about his new position at Sherry-Lehmann.

I have to tell you that it was just wonderful seeing the Baroness Philippine de Rothschild holding court in her Château. She was just as ebullient, outgoing and charming as she was when she visited Sarasota for a special wine dinner. Her château was so elegant, and every detail was just perfect.

It was really terrific meeting some of the winemakers that I have been following and buying for years, including:

• Alain Vauthier of Château Ausone
• Jean-Guillaume Prats from Château Cos d’Estournel
• Frederick Engere at Château Latour
• Comte Stephan von Neipperg of Château Canon-la-Gaffeliere and Chateau d’Aiguilhe
• Pierre Lurton of Château Cheval Blanc and Château d’Yquem
• Alexandre Thienpont of Vieux Château Certan
• Jacques Thienpont from Château Le Pin
• Denis Durantou from Château L’Eglise Clinet
• Hélène Garcin-Lévêque of Château Clos L’Eglise
• Gerard Perse of Château Pavie
• Claire Villars Lurton of Château Haut-Bages-Liberal
• Jean Pierre Foubet of Château Chasse-Spleen
• Arnaud de Labarre of Chateau Laplgnotte-Bellevue
• Gonzague Lurton of Château Durfort-Vivens

There were so many wonderful moments throughout the week: great food, great company and exceptional scenery. My evening with Dominique & Marie-Claude Meneret of Chateau Courteillac was one of the top notes. They opened their home to us, and Marie-Claude prepared a beautiful dinner. Their home was exquisite and the experience is something that I will carry with me forever.

So down to the numbers…
During my five days in Bordeaux, I visited 38 Châteaux, four négociants, including the Bill Blatch tasting, two spectacular tasting lunches, and two exceptional dinners, and most importantly, tasted a little over 350 wines of Bordeaux 2009. In some cases, we got to taste the wines on more than one occasion.

Properties I visited:

Margaux
Château Palmer
Château Margaux
Château Rauzan-Ségla
Château Dauzac

St. Julien
Château Ducru-Beaucaillou
Château Léoville-Las-Cases

Pauillac
Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste
Château Mouton-Rothschild
Château Pichon-Lalande
Château Latour
Château Lafite-Rothschild
Château Batailley

St. Estèphe
Château Calon-Segur
Château Cos d’Estournel
Château Montrose

St. Émilion
Château Cheval Blanc
Château Beau-Sejour Becot
Château Teyssier
Château Canon-La-Gaffeliére
Château Ausone
Château Angelus
Château Pavie
Château Laplagnotte Bellevue

Pomerol
Vieux-Château-Certan
Château L’Eglise Clinet
Château Clos L’Eglise
Château Gazin
Château L’Evangile
Château Le Pin
Château Le Gay
Château Bon Pasteur

Pessac-Léognan
Château Haut-Brion
Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte

Haut Médoc
Château Cantemerle
Château Patache D’Aux

Bordeaux Superior
Château Courteillac
Château Parenchere

Négociants
Bill Blatch (Vintex)
Nathan Johnston et Fils
Ulysse Cazabonne
Ballande et Meneret

Monday, I will be sending you recommendations about the must-haves, great investments, and sensational values.

This has been a wonderful trip. I have brought back many great memories, and more importantly a fantastic shopping list. It has been my pleasure to go on this extraordinary expedition to find the very best of Bordeaux 2009 for you.

Bordeaux, Toujours, Bordeaux
Michael

C’est la Grande Finale!

Well, Day Five, the final day of my Bordeaux 2009 Barrel Tastings! We began the last day our “Tour de Bordeaux 2009” in grand style at Château Haut-Brion, the home of Prince Robert of Luxembourg. I had the distinct pleasure of meeting him at the Four Seasons during the Grapes of Humanity dinner in NYC, last October. It was very exciting to visit his property; the setting was elegant and formal. I was surprised at how close the property is to the city - it is surrounded by the town now!

We tasted seven wines at the château: four reds and three whites. To begin with the reds: La Chapelle de la Mission, Le Clarence de Haut-Brion (a new name for the second wine of Haut-Brion), La Mission Haut-Brion, and Château Haut-Brion, The Chateau Haut-Brion was dark, had incredible intense color; beautifully integrated flavors and tannins, with bright fruit, and an elegant minerality. Everything about this wine says that it’s going to be a fabulous wine for the long-term. The whites stood-out for me as well - the La Clarté de Haut-Brion, La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc and the Haut-Brion Blanc, which is one of the most famous wines of Bordeaux. Interesting that they serve the whites AFTER the reds!

After the tasting with His Royal Highness, we traveled on to Château Smith Haut-Lafitte, and ran into my friends, Florence and Daniel Cathiard. They hosted all the Graves and Pessac-Léognan growers in a huge, tasting beautiful room on their estate. There were twenty-five producers, all members of the Unions des Grand Cru de Bordeaux. I started with the Château Smith Haut-Lafitte of course; the rouge had really strong fruit, and just a marvelous richness. I have to say that it is the best Smith Haut-Lafitte that I have tasted so far from them. A few tables table over was Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion, and ran into Emilie Gervason. You might recognize both Emilie and the Cathiard’s, they all came to Sarasota this year for the Forks & Corks events, including this year’s Forks & Corks University, in which we focused on the Bordeaux and members of the Unions des Grand Cru. The highlights of the wines at this 2009 tasting for me were: Domaine de Chevalier (blanc), Chateau Haut-Bailly (rouge), Chateau Larrivet Haut-Brion, rouge and blanc were wonderful, also the white Chateau Malartic-Lagravière, and finally, Château Pape Clément rouge and blanc.

While we were at Smith Haut-Lafitte, Florence and Daniel sent us on a tour of their property. They have a fabulous spa called Les Sources de Caudalie. They offer a most unique spa service called Vinothérapie. They incorporate grape and vine extracts into the services and were the pioneers of these unique treatments . If you are planning a trip to Bordeaux, this is a must do on your list and a beautiful place to stay. We had a delicious lunch at one of their restaurants at the spa called La Table du Lavoir, hosted by a great young winemaker, Arnaud de Labarre. He and his family own Château Laplognotte-Bellevue, which we have carried in my store and restaurant before. We tasted their 09, 08, 07 and 06. The 09 is spectacular and the best Laplagnotte-Bellvue that I have tasted to date.

After lunch we then went to the UGC (Unions des Grand Cru de Bordeaux) Sauternes tasting at Chateau Dauzac, in Margaux. They brought the Sauternes to us, rather than having us travel so far out of the way. There were 30 producers, and I must say that it was quite a feat to enjoy all of that sugar. The Sauternes are incredible wines this year, extremely rich, they’ve got lots of sugar and a very good botrytis, which is a key component of great sauternes; it is the “noble rot”. My top choices were the Château Rieussec, Château La Tour Blanche, and Château Suduiraut. I must say however, that of all the Sauternes I’ve tasted during my trip, the earlier tasting of the Château d’Yquem shines above all. As always, the price will be in the stratosphere, and these wonderful wines are more accessible and delicious as well.

We celebrated our finale evening with a wonderful dinner at L’Estacade, which sits directly on the river facing the center of Bordeaux. The city was just illuminated, and simply a spectacular finish to a wonderful week, and as a treat we celebrated with Champagne Billecart-Salmon Rosé.

This has been an inspiring and incredible experience. I’ve tasted over 350 wines in just four and a half days. The key is to: See Swirl, Sniff, Sip but most importantly, Spit!

I will be sending out a recap of the highlights from my trip, and then a list of my pics of the Bordeaux 2009’s over the next few days!

À bientôt Bordeaux, et Bonjour Sarasota!

Bordeaux, Toujours, Bordeaux
Michel (Michael)

Hello again from Bordeaux my friends,

Let me tell you that I have had an amazing time so far, discovering some of the best 2009 Bordeaux wines, and every day is better than the day before. Day four is a very full day, we have 17 tastings along the way.

So where to start:
We began the day at offices of Ballande et Meneret, another top négociant in the Bordeaux wine world. It was a beautiful setting and quite charming people. There were about 250 wines to try, which is a lot of wine. Remember, when you’re tasting wine, the protocol is to: See, Swirl, Sniff, Sip and Spit. You couldn’t make it through 17 tastings, with hundreds, and hundreds of wines, if you actually drank them all. I did however, taste through 75 of them, and I found even more great wines that I think will be reasonably priced and will be absolutely delicious.

Today was quite a treat for me, Simon Bradford, the Directeur Export from Ballande et Meneret, accompanied us through each tasting, and it was nice to have a guide who knows the wines, the people and the countryside.

After our first tasting we then travelled to Château Cheval Blanc. This is a legendary property in the St. Emilion appelation, and probably one of the most sought wines in the world. We tasted three wines, and the wine that stood out for me was the Château Cheval Blanc, which was deep red, huge, elegant, long-broad flavors, and an exciting finish. Then we tasted the most famous of all the dessert wines, Château d’Yquem. It is the most desired, most famous, and most expensive dessert wines in the world. It maybe the best Sauternes, but I will have to wait until the Sauternes tasting tomorrow. It has a huge nose, extremely rich, precise and a very long finish.

We veered off our course to stop by Château Bon Pasteur to taste the wines from Michel Rolland. He is the winemaker to the start, as far as the wine world goes. Highlights were his Bon Pasteur, which was a super wine. We tasted all of the wines he makes, including one of my fav’s- La Grande Clotte. It’s one of my favorite inexpensive, fun wines that comes from Michel’s private estates. We sell this beauty at a reasonable price at Michael’s Wine Cellar.

Vieux Château Certan is one of the oldest estates of the Pomerol appelation. The wine was dense without being overpowering. The winemaker told us that it was a reference year for merlot in comparable to 1998. The great things about these tastings are that we actually travel all around to all the appellations in the Bordeaux regions, visiting the Châteaux where they make the wines and have for centuries.
What I really am enjoying this trip is going off the beaten path and our itinerary to discover Châteaux that I might not have found, if I stayed on schedule. I mention this, because we stopped by Chateau Le Pin, on the right bank in Bordeaux. The winemaker is the original garagiste (original garage wine of Bordeaux). It was absolutely incredible. It just may be one of the best wines of the vintage, when I am done. There are only 28 barrels with 25 cases per barrel for the whole world. We will have to put this one on our list of must-haves.

As we left the little house that sat on top of the old garage, we made our way to Château L’Eglise Clinet. We had the distinct pleasure to meet Denis Durantou, a true, winemakers, winemaker. What a charming, charming man. We tasted six wines with him. You might be familiar with a couple of the wines, we’ve carried them in the store for a few years. My top three here were: La Chenade, Les Cruzelles, and of course the L’Eglise Clinet, which was fabulous, as usual. Mr. Durantou shared a fun and interesting lesson with us, he said, most of the wines we tasted on the right bank, where we were today, are Merlot and Cabernet Franc based.

As a surprise, we ran across the way from L’Eglise Clinet to Clos L’Eglise and met with the owner/winemaker, Hélène Garcin-Lévêque. My top choices for this stop have got to be the Chateau Haut-Bergey, the Chateau Barde-Haut, Chateau Branon and of course the Clos L’Eglise, which was a charming wine, and I can’t wait to have it.

From there we went to St. Emilion tasting Cercle Rive Droite. These were a lot of the smaller petite Châteaux in St. Emilion appelation, which may not be a part of the Grand Crus. It was an amazing site to see over 100 petite Châteaux in one place. As overwhelming as it was, I ran into some great friends, including sisters Sylvie and Marie Courselle, from Chateau Thieuley. They visited Sarasota a few years ago for a wine dinner at Michael’s On East. They are just the same, wonderful and charming women, as I remembered. I really thought that their new wines were exceptional and right now, we are serving their white in the bar at Michael’s On East. One of the wines that really stood out for me from them was the Clos Puy Arnaud.

One of the highlights of my day was, I got to meet one of my favorite, favorite Châteaux owners, Comte Stephan Von Neipperg of Château Canon-la-Gaffelière. He is a gracious host, who welcomed us to his recherché chateau. We tasted five wines, you may know one of my all-time favorites from the Cotes de Castillon, is Château d’Aiguilhe, Clos de l’Oratoire, of course the Canon-la-Gaffelière and the Comte’s most famous wine, La Mondotte.

Next it was off to Château Beau-Sejour Becot to taste the Grand Cru St. Emilion wines. There were 25 Châteaux there, and it was all the top players! At this tasting, we really started to see that there were some huge wines made this year, everything is extremely ripe. We are really going to have some fantastic and fabulous wines, especially those people who like rich wines that are full of fruit and intensity. Some of the most memorable wines I tasted here were the Clos Fourtet, La Couspade, Pavie Macquin, and Troplong Mondotte.

We made our way through the rain and mud to Château Gazin for the Pomerol tasting. There were 18 Châteaux there to taste, and they are incredibly strong and powerful. At the top were: Chateau La Conseillante, Châteaux Gazin, was wonderful, and Châteaux Clinet. Then it was onto Chateau L’Evangile, a Rothschild property on the right bank. Their main wine is made in the traditional Rothschild style.

Some of the Châteaux are not accessible to the public , and our next stop to Château Auson is a great example of amazing places that is a rare treat to experience. This estate has a very long and impressive history dating back to the 11th century. We tasted six wines, the Moulin St. Georges, we’ve carried in the store before. The other stand-outs were the Chappele d’Ausone and of course the Chateau Ausone, the word that comes to my mind with tasting this wine is ethereal, and it’s the only way to describe it to you. Chateau owner, Alain Vaithier took us on a tour of his historic cellars, and I have to tell you that it was an awesome experience to stand in his cellar that dates back to high middle ages.

This trip has been full of wonderful surprise stops not on our itinerary, and truly these are such great finds, some we know, and some I am discovering. We dashed over to Château Pavie and enjoyed a tasting with owner, Gérard Perse. He makes some really great wines, in the lead, the Clos Les Lunelles, this wine is rich, full and sexy! Also, the Bellevue Mondotte, and the Pavie Decesse were quite appealing. The big one that topped all the wines at this tasting was the Chateau Pavie.

At Château Angelus, I also found a new favorite to add to my list, their Fleur de Bouard, in addition to the lovely Angelus. My final tasting of the day was another surprise stop, Chateau Le Gay, where I tasted three outstanding wines; La Graviere, La Violette and their most well-known, Le Gay.

I ended my evening with a remarkable dinner in the home of Dominique and Marie-Claude Meneret. They produce the famous Chateaux Courteillac, which we also serve by the glass at Michael’s On East.

Well, Tuesday was simply incroyable! Each day just gets better and better, unfolding a new group of Bordeaux wines that are just marvelous. It was raining, it was cold, and it was nasty, but that couldn’t dim my excitement as I arrived at our first stop on this day’s whirlwind tour, Château Lafite-Rothschild. The property is legendary; you can’t miss it when you drive down the main highway through Bordeaux. The scenery was just exquisite, the beautiful willows and lakes, and the entire estate is a spectacular sight.

Now let me tell you, after leaving Chateau Latour on Monday evening, and then turning right back around first thing Tuesday morning to go to this very prestigious tasting, was a unique challenge, but I was totally up for it. Imagine waking up in the morning and being at some place at 9 am to taste one of the great wines of the world and then be asked to judge it. That’s just what we did, and I was not disappointed. We tasted three wines: Château Duhart-Milon, and Carruades de Lafite, and of course the Lafite-Rothschild. All beautiful wines, but clearly Lafite was the star. Typically Lafite-Rothschild is not the most forward wine at this point in its life and that was the case here. The wine showed layers of intense fruit, great texture, density and power with silky smooth tannins. Quite the buzz around here is that this Château Lafite-Rothschild is reminiscent of one of their most famous wines, similar in all parts to the 1982 Lafite.

Some of my most memorable wines, moments and experiences of Day Three:

The Margaux appellation tasting at Château Desmirail - This was just a gorgeous place, wide open, quite memorable. There were 22 châteaux for us to taste - all from the Margaux appellation. This is really tough, because there are so many great wines in this vintage; one is more outstanding than the next. Among my favorites at this particular tasting were the Rauzan-Ségla, Malescot-St.-Exupéry, Brane-Cantenac, and Chateau Lascombes.

While I was at Desmirail, I was very excited to run into Gerard Fenouillet, who is the winemaker from Château Ferrier, and also our great friend Bertil Corgié, who works for the Lurton Family. Both of these gentlemen were here in Sarasota for this year’s Forks & Corks event. It was wonderful to renew our friendships. Gerard’s Château Ferrier 2009 is a beautiful wine and a great example of the elegance you can find in wine from the Margaux appellation.

Médoc tasting at Chateau Cantemerle - This space just blew me away; the huge cellar was a very dramatic setting. We tasted a set of 26 wines all from the Medoc region. Of the top on my Tuesday list was; La Lagune, Château Chasse-Spleen and Château La Tour de By. I told you, every day gets better and better! While we were there, we ran into our friends from Château Chasse-Spleen, who also participated in this year’s Forks & Corks festival in Sarasota.

Château Rauzan-Ségla and negociant Ulysse Cazabonne – both are owned by fragrance giant Chanel. I found some really interesting wines here and had the special treat to meet Robin Corvez, a charming host. We did a flight of their second wine Château Sélga; we tasted the 04, 05, 06 and 07. Then we tasted, their château from the right bank, Château Canon, both the 09 and 07, and then the 2000 vintage, which was an amazing experience to be able to see how beautifully that wine can develop. At the other end of the room I got to try a couple of what I would call my favorite value-oriented Bordeaux, and boy, was I excited by how great they were. Of my four favorites, as it happens, I’ve carried three of them before in the wine cellar: Château Brisson, Château Clos Puy Arnaud, and Château Haut-Bailly, and a new one, Château MyLord. All of these wines usually retail somewhere between $14 - $25 a bottle. I am positive that these are going to be super-delicious wines to drink when young. I had been hoping that I would find some great inexpensive wines, and trust me; there were at least 10 more just today that I haven’t mentioned.

Château Batailley for the Medoc UGC tasting - Even though it wasn’t on our schedule, we couldn’t resist the opportunity to stop by and get peek at these wines. All the wines in this tasting were from the St. Estephe, Pauillac and St. Julien appellations. It’s becoming clear now that a couple of these areas are particularly good – probably outstanding. The Cabernet Sauvignon grapes seem to have been particularly blessed by this vintage! There were about 30 châteaux represented there. The standouts for me were Haut-Bages-Liberal, a gorgeous wine, and as a treat, I got to meet the owner Claire Villars-Lurton. I was thrilled to taste her wine with her. Also topping my notes are: Leoville-Poyferré, Leoville-Barton, and Lynch-Bages, which might end up being some of the top wines of the vintage as well. Another wine that excelled this day was the Batailley 2009, which I thought was a superb wine too, owned by another famous negociant family, Borie-Manoux. I am sure that we will be carrying it again in the wine cellar, as we have in the past. I walked away very impressed with the overall quality of these appellations.

While I was there, I was able to taste the 2009 from Chateau Phélan-Ségur. The Gardinier family have been family friends and supporters of ours for over 25 years and are a “class act”. I am so pleased to say that they have created the greatest Château Phélan-Ségur that I have ever tasted. It was intense, silky, rich and full… the best ever. I am thrilled for them and I hope that it brings them many accolades and further success.

During the tasting, I heard a familiar voice behind me say, “Michael Klauber, what are you doing here?” As I turned around, I saw my good friend Frank Poot, from Champagne Oudinot, who comes to Sarasota every year and supports many events at Michael’s On East. I love their Champagne and we had a great chat and he promised to come back to Sarasota very soon.

Château Calon-Ségur – Had serious concentration, it was dense, pure, rich and as I had suspected, Cabernet really shows through here. This is a beautiful property that has done a lot to upgrade both vineyards and facilities over recent years.

Château Cos d’Estournel – We tried three wines with owner Jean-Guillaume Prats, Cos d’Estournel 2009 is completely amazing, with very deep, concentrated flavors. Wow, what incredible wines, again going to be one of the top wines of the vintage. On top of that, the château has taken great pains to upgrade the facilities and a visit there is totally over-the-top!

Château Montrose – Offered us four wines to taste. Their “second” wine (if you want to call it that!) is La Dame de Montrose, which was superb. Usually if you taste the second wine of a property, and it’s really great, you can only imagine what the first wines are going to be. This was definitely the case here - one of the “wow” wines of the day, super concentrated and a fantastic experience.

The tastings this day are confirming my thoughts that the left bank the northern Médoc and especially the Cabernet Sauvignon are showing incredibly well in 2009.

I decided that I needed to catch up with my blogs, stay in, and ended my evening with a dinner at the wonderful bistro in the Regent Grand Hotel (great oysters again!). The café was also catching the spirit of the Bordeaux season offered a special tasting of wines from Michel Rolland, who’s a consultant to many of the top wineries in Bordeaux. It was a simple evening, so that I can be ready for the journey tomorrow.

Bordeaux, Toujours, Bordeaux,

Michael