All in the car for 7.30am and we’re joined by new team member, Rachel, our educator extraordinaire at Bon Coeur who flew into Bordeaux last night, joining us for the last two days of the En Primeur marathon.
First stop was D'Issan for breakfast at 8.30am, which is much easier to taste at this time in the morning as Margaux is more elegant and graceful. We were not disappointed by either Blason d’Issan or d’Issan, and we also had the chance to taste Pédésclaux again (as it's also owned by Jacky Lorenzetti). Classic Pauillac here with typical minerality and impressive density for the vintage. One of the best Pédésclaux we have tasted from barrel.
Short sprint to Palmer where we received a warm welcome from Sebastien. We tasted the dynamic duo of Alter Ego and Palmer in the cellars, without doubt one of the highlights of the week.
Across the road to Rauzan-Ségla where we first tasted from barrel in the cellars; very interesting to taste the different impact of the assortment of barrels (they use between 8-10 different coopers to bring an array of nuances to the final blend). Winemaker Nicolas Audebert described the vintage and the challenges. His wine making passion was evident both in the wines and his stature.
Hop, skip, and a jump to Château Margaux, anticipation builds as we waited to go through to taste in the magnificent cellar where the 2023 vintage lays quietly in barrel. Their attention to detail has gifted a classic Margaux, and a quiet confidence filled the Chai.
Next the bio-dynamic wines of Durfort-Vivens. We tasted the range of wines, of which Haut-Bages Liberal shone through (despite a big yield with a whopping 53 hectol / ha). Welcome news, we can report that overall the vintage has good yields, with an average of 49 hecto / ha for Margaux appellation.
UGC La Lagune was the next stop with 18 Margaux wines on show. More speed dating… stand out wine was Giscours, a step up in quality.
We all piled in the car for a 45 minute drive to Domaine de Chevalier, which gave us time to spend catching up on our report and posting a few Instagram stories, as well as driving and navigating, discussing the vintage.. l. we are all multi-tasking! Thank you to everyone; customers and the Châteaux for sharing our journey on Instagram and our blogs. Merci bien.
We tasted through the Domiane Chevalier wines including Clos de Lunes “Lune d’Argent” their dry white from Sauternes before a formidable lunch. A big thank you to Hugo and Olivier Bernard for their kind hospitality.
Then onwards to Carbonnieux for the UGC Pessac-Léognan and Sauternes tastings. We only had 20 minutes so more speed dating with some second dates and first encounters! The Sauternes were showing well with lovely viscosity, balance, and vibrant acidity.
Our next appointment was at Haut-Bailly an outstanding winery with stunning architecture and design. We tasted through the wines and enjoyed hearing more about the vintage and its challenges.
10-minutes down the road we had a red carpet welcome at Smith Haut Lafitte. After a quick tour of the cellars, we started the tasting with La Thil, an adjoining property they own on the northern border of the estate. Some lovely wines on show with a special nod to potential smart buys; Le Petit Smith Haut Lafitte Rouge and Blanc (second wines).
A little tired now, yet with some encouragement of car banter we picked up our pace again for the final tasting of the day at La Mission Haut-Brion. We tasted through the range and to our delight, discovered some of the most pleasurable wines we have tasted in this vintage.
A fabulous end to another day in Bordeaux. A swift change into black tie (!), we now have an hour drive to Guiraud in Sauternes for the Bordeaux Commanderie du Bontemps dinner to celebrate the vintage. Bonne nuit!
