Jeroboams - En Primeur Bordeaux 2010

Friday – Day 5
Negociant Tasting, Climens & d’Yquem

Our last day in Bordeaux, so its bags packed and goodbyes to the extremely hospitable folk at Chateau Clement Pichon.

We expertly loaded the car (why are suitcases always fuller at the end of a holiday compared to when you arrive) filled the petrol tank and headed to our first appointment of the day at one of Bordeaux top Negociant. An annual event, this morning tasting provides a great opportunity to taste the last handful of wines we were unable to see throughout the week as well as re-taste a few wines that required a second viewing. After nearly 50 wines tasted  including a masterclass with Stephane Derenoncort, who very kindly talked us through a dozen or so of the Chateaux that he consulted on this year (a real treat and hugely educational), we finished with a beautiful canapé lunch and a glass of 1999 Louis Roederer which showed particularly well. We were very pleased with the new wines tasted, in particular, Les Fiefs de Lagrange and Haut Batailley which will certainly represent great value and a star find from the Pauillac appellation, Chateau Pedesclaux. At its level, for which it over performed this offered good fragrance, lovely textured fruit and excellent intensity all in a modern style. Another wine we agreed would appear on our best value list.

An excellently scheduled last day, left plenty of time for a decent lunch before our afternoon and final appointments at Chateau Climens (Barsac) and finally Chateau d’Yquem (Sauternes). What a great way to end a hectic weeks tasting.

Rolling through the picturesque Barsac countryside we arrived basked in glorious sunshine at Chateau Climens for what turned out to be one of the most educational Chateau visits of the week. With the Grand Vin not yet constructed we were led from barrel to barrel in the cellar tasting samples from various pickings of different periods. A real insight as to how different the wine tastes depending on the date of picking and the extent of the Botrytis on the grapes. A rollercoaster ride from freshness through to richness back through to freshness, the one characteristic that each of this barrels had in common was the wonderful precision and balance of the acidity and sugar levels, a truly joyful experience and despite the difference in each of the samples it was clear that the end product would be something very fine indeed. As if that wasn’t enough we were then treated to a vertical tasting of Climens from 2005-2008 to provide a reference point for the 2010. With the palate well and truly stained with botrytised fruit we headed up the countryside for our final rendezvous at the beautiful Chateau d’Yquem. Talk about going out in style. Effortless elegance, stunning freshness, balance and clarity. The essence of Sauternes, a real masterclass, nectar of the gods. We thought the 2009 was good, this might just have eclipsed it.

With the tasting trip completed we took a moment in the sunshine at d’Yquem to reflect on the successes of the campaign before heading back to the car for our final journey back to Merignac (every good wine merchant must make this journey at some point in their career) for the 8pm flight to London. With the quality of the vintage firmly established the only questions that remained were availability and pricing. Questions that we would find the answers to over the coming weeks.