Our last morning and a final early start as we needed to checkout of our chalet and get on the road to Sauternes. With an hour delay, again on the rocade, we arrived half an hour late however the sun was shining and Berenise was smiling... We knew it was going to be good. We were hosted by Frédéric Nivelle Technical Director at Climens who is a fountain of knowledge not only on Climens but the ins and outs of Sauternes wine. Here we discovered they source their barrels from two coopers in Burgundy, Cadus and Hermitage, which they say are perfectly matched to Climens. The 2015 vintage was described stylistically as 'a mixture between the freshness of 2007 and the weight of 2010'. We tasted five different barrels over three different pickings. All were simply outstanding.
Next we vertically tasted the Climens from 2014 back to 2009. My favourite was probably the '11 due to its vibrancy and bright characters combined with incredible intensity. However, I wish I had all the vintages in my cellar!
From Climens we headed to Chateau D'Yquem to get a better understanding of the wine (as we had already tasted it at Cheval Blanc). 2015 was an early picked vintage, interestingly the backbone of the vintage came from the second picking, between 28th September and 2nd October. The wine itself had incredible structure, intensity and energy yet was still graceful and elegant. Without doubt an excellent D'Yquem.
Our next stop was a last appointment to Smith Haut Lafitte in Pessac. When we left we could still taste the D'Yquem on our palates....
We decided to stop for a quick lunch before heading to Smith Haut Lafitte only 2 hours before our flight departure so needed to step on the gas. A really interesting tasting with some fine wines, plenty of ripe fruit with plenty of structure and it was worth the last minute visit. Back in the car for the 30 minutes rush to the airport. Finally, the Rocade was kind to us and we arrive with 20 minutes before final check in and our thoughts turned towards a pint of Theakstons... We should makes last orders if we have a good run up the M1 from Luton!!
Over the next fortnight I will deliberate, look over my notes and finally write my Vintage Review for Bordeaux 2015. It is definitely the best vintage since 2010. It doesn't have the power of the 2010 but the cool nights of September and October created a superb vintage that can't really been related to one single previous vintage. In is best described as the 2015, unique, with fine structured tannins, wonderful freshness and purity. One I will definitely be buying personally if the prices are right. Smiles all round from myself and Louis. A great vintage for Louis to start with, as it is fairly straight forward and easy to taste and understand. Au revoir from Bordeaux, Yorkshire here we come….
