"Bordeaux 2010 probably even better than 2009"
"An embarrassingly good vintage"
Everything we have read about the Bordeaux 2010 vintage suggests that it is an outstanding vintage and that , consequently, prices will be similar to 2009.
Volumes have been written already about Bordeaux 2010 and, for in depth coverage we recommend that you follow the news on the top critic websites such as jancisrobinson.com , decanter.com, thewinedoctor.com etc. Here we provide extracts from critical comments made to date and we will update this with additional commentary when others such as Tim Atkin, Robert Parker, Stephen Tanzer and others publish their thoughts.
Jancis Robinson
"What's amazing is that Bordeaux really does have two very good - let's reserve the word great for a while - vintages in a row....But the character of the wines could hardly be more different. Tasting 2010 and 2009 side by side, you are struck by how sweet the 2009s look next to the 2010s, mainly, I suspect, because of their very different acid levels.
"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 2009s, they seemed embarrassed to say it too loudly. Today, half of Bordeaux is less timid in assessing 2010 as great if not greater than 2009, while the other half is more reserved in such a judgement. 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 2009s 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 re-concentration at the finish. And, most importantly, they get their higher acidities from the cooler August-September minimum temperatures and from the cooler autumn.
"In terms of individual vintages, if, by its velvety texture, 2009 has a lot in common with 1982, 1947 or 1929, then 2010, with its strong tannins, is more in the vein of 2005, 2000, 1986, 1949 and 1945, but with more sheer alcohol than all of these.
"...I spent yesterday afternoon tasting 2010s made by some of the better-run petits châteaux of the Médoc and found much to enthuse over - especially at the relatively modest prices that these wines are likely to be offered at. These are just the sort of wines for drinkers rather than investors, many of them the sort of wines that are likely to end up being labelled Cru Bourgeois. ..... I'm sure they are stuffed full of tannin, alcohol and, especially, acidity, but the intensity and quality, not to mention freshness, seemed to be something of a stimulant."
James Suckling - Wine Spectator
James Suckling has been out in Bordeaux for weeks and has already blogged that "No one in his or her sound mind could say that 2010 is not an excellent vintage for Bordeaux....With a smaller-than-usual crop and high quality, 2010 certainly won't be a bargain-priced vintage. "
"....2010 looks like it will give '09 a run for its money qualitatively, thanks to a long, dry, warm growing season marred only by some significant coulure (shatter) on old-vine Merlot vineyards that reduced the variety's crop size. That may mean that the Cabernet-dominated wines of the Left Bank will emerge as the top wines of the vintage. Early impressions of the young wines, which are still aging in barrels in the château cellars, indicate that the 2010 red Bordeaux are very ripe and sport some punch-with abundant tannins and slightly higher-than-usual alcohol levels. Despite that, the wines are also fresh and racy, as there looks to be plenty of acidity for balance. "
Stop Press: James Suckling has already released his scores for the vintage and has awarded 5 chateaux a perfect 100 points straight off the bat, before the wines have finished their elevage and been bottled. Another three are rated at a slightly more circumspect 99-100.
Decanter - Steven Spurrier
On the second day of en primeur, Decanter's consultant editor has just finished tasting the white and red wines of Graves and Pessac-Leognan, at Chateau Pape Clement, and he is left in no doubt about the superlative quality of the vintage.
While Chateau Haut-Brion, the only first growth in the Graves, has been highly praised, other wines have been singled out for recognition.
Domaine de Chevalier, Malartic Lagraviere, Smith-Haut-Lafitte and Pape Clement itself, both the latter made under the consultancy of Michel Rolland, were particularly successful, Spurrier said.
'Everything ripened perfectly,' he said, quoting Jean-Philippe Delmas of Haut-Brion. 'There is more fruit, more structure, more acidity and more extraction.'
Decanter.com March 18 - re Cercle Rive Droite tasting (a grouping of some 30 properties from St Emilion Grand Cru Classes to Bordeaux Superieurs, presented their 2010s alongside the just-bottled 09s, 08s and 07s.
The right bank 2010s are remarkable for several reasons: an average alcohol level of over 14.5% and reaching 15.5% in some cases; very low pH values, high acidity, very high tannin levels and a higher than normal Cabernet Franc content, a typical blend containing 20%, as opposed to the more usual 10-15%.
 'The wines are very drinkable with nice acid,' Beverley Blanning MW said, 'but it is the acid which gives the wines their freshness, and without that they may become unbalanced.'
Critics agree the wines are extraordinary. David Peppercorn MW made the point that they were very attractive at all levels, from lesser properties as well Grand Crus.
Another danger producers faced was over-ripeness in the Merlot. This would be one reason why more Cabernet Franc - which holds less alcohol than Merlot - has been used, quite apart from the fact that the Cabernet Franc 'ripened beautifully this year', as Jean-Francois Quenin of Chateau Pressac, a St Emilion Grand Cru said.
Critics agreed that it added a very attractive dimension - as well as its perfume and spice, it also supplied freshness and acidity, and leant juiciness to the tannins, which otherwise would be overwhelming.
The wines are ripe, loaded with sweet fruit - dense black cherry,raspberry and strawberry flavours and in some cases 'almost pruney, ripe dark fruit flavours' as Blanning put it.
They are also very concentrated and - at the moment - balanced by good acidity. Tannins are ripe and powerful."
Bordeaux Negociant - Bill Blatch
Bordeaux negociant Bill Blatch has also just published his excellent annual in-depth vintage report. He reports that 2010 "is clearly going to be a tremendous vintage for (dry) whites" and that it is the "prettiest vintage of all time, with lovely, floral, uniformly pure and totally fresh-styled" sweet wines.
With regards the reds, "Cabernets Sauvignon and Franc are quite clearly a major success"... "nicely aromatic but, above all, if not over-tannic, have a firm, tensile, strong structure of great breed".
Comparing them to their illustrious predecessors, Blatch notes while "they have all the power of the 2009s, they have nothing of the opulence and thickness of the 2009s."
Back in November, many owners were already quietly confident that their 2010 was better than the already legendary 2009s but, coming hot on the heels of the hallowed '09s, they seemed embarrassed to say it too loudly. Today, half of Bordeaux is less timid in assessing 2010 as great 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," said Blatch. The 09s are wines made from gentle, progressive weather, with gradual concentration coming from perfect summer ripening whereas the '10s are robust wines made from more aggressive and extreme conditions and their concentration comes from more extreme de-hydration. They are the product of drought, of a more irregular sugar build-up in summer and a sudden re-concentration at the finish. And, most importantly, they get their higher acidities from the cooler autumn."
Click here to see our 2010 wine list |
