Climatic conditions
It is fair to say that 2018 was a vintage of two halves. Firstly, the spring and early summer were wet and humid creating the ideal conditions for mildew, attacking crops incredibly quickly. Edouard Moeuix and Emeline Borie (Francois-Xavier’s daughter at Grand Puy Lacoste), both stressed the importance of having their own Viticultural team who were able to monitor and work in the vineyard 24/7. This allowed them to take the necessary steps to reduce the effects of mildew, whereas those who used contractors and couldn't get any essential work done until Monday morning found they were too late and the damage was already done. In many cases, volumes were down from 40 hectolitres per hectare down to 30 and below.
Biodynamic and organic producers were hit even harder and their yields were reduced significantly. Chateau Palmer and Chateau Pontet-Canet both produced yields of 10-12 hectolitres, whereas Chateau Climens harvested a minute 5 hectolitres per hectare.
Hail was also a prominent feature with storms in both May and July. The majority of the Medoc survived without any real damage with the exception of La Lagune, which to our knowledge have not produced a wine in 2018. Some areas of Pessac and Sauternes were badly hit, yet in most cases it reduced the yields rather than creating total devastation. However, do spare a thought for Chateau Guiraud who unfortunately did lose 100% of their Sauternes crop.
August, September and October were extremely warm and dry, with hardly any rain at all in September. Although there was a heat wave, temperatures were not excessively hot, like 2010 and the nights were reasonably cool, maintaining freshness. The hydric-stress towards the end of September and early October helped reduce volumes and concentrated musts. Sugar levels were reasonably high, which is why most of the wines have an ABV between 13.5-14.5%.
It was an incredibly long “Californian” harvest as the condition and quality of the grapes were so good, that there was no need to rush picking. Most chateaux picked between 17th September to the 20th October, when they received some showers that created the injection of Botryis, much needed in Sauternes. Incredibly, Chateau d’Yquem picked their dry wine harvest between the 22nd-28th August, while they had to wait 2 months (until 22th-29th October) to pick their Sauternes.
Vines at Chateau Palmer, Margaux
Style of the vintage
Can be it compared to any other vintage? The straight answer is no and it is totally unique. However, many people have described 2018 as being between a combination of the opulence, exuberance and density of 2009 with the elegance and freshness of 2016.
It is in my view (as my 22nd En Primeur campaign) that 2018 is a “concentrated and fruit-driven vintage”, the all-important terroir and style of wines have not been cloaked by excessive aromas and flavours; it is well balanced, expressing the character of the wines in a classic, true reflection. Overall a 9/10 vintage with some wines hitting 9.5 ...
In terms of grapes, the Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc were more suited to the hotter temperature. There was optimum ripeness across the board, however, the Merlot grapes produced higher alcohol and many of the blends favoured a higher proportion of Cabernet and in some cases Petit Verdot. Guillaume Thienpont at VCC (Vieux Chateau Certan) quoted it was the Cabernet Franc that made the vintage for them.
It is a vintage with a lot of dark fruits aromas with spice that has both come from the terroir as well as from the hot temperatures throughout the summer. The wines that have really shone are from the properties that focused on balance and purity, as it is easy to over-do alcohol, tannins and fruit concentration levels. We have noticed a trend for many chateaux producing wines with a reduced amount of new oak, which in my opinion is excellent, possibly to due dwindling influence of American wine critic Robert Parker.
Syndicat de Pomerol tasting
Vintage conclusion
In my opinion, 2018 is a good to very good vintage where some exceptional wines were produced. Price as always, will be a key factor in many cases and will make or break the success of the vintage. We have tried to identify many up and coming chateaux that are producing better wines than their price tag suggest and will potentially be big names to look out for in the future. These wines are listed below as “hidden gems” and “star value buys”.
Top 10 wines of the vintage
As always, UGC En Primeur is an intense yet highly rewarding week. With over 400+ wines tasted, we were really put through our paces. However, whilst writing up our tasting notes, Andrew and I have made the tough decision to whittle down our Top 10 wines of the vintage. In no particular order, they are:
James
Cheval Blanc / Lafite Rothschild / Tertre Roteboeuf / Montrose / Canon / La Conseillante / Les Carmes de Haut Brion / Margaux / VCC / Mouton Rothschild
Andrew
VCC / Canon / Tertre Roteboeuf / Cheval Blanc / Montrose / Lafite Rothschild / Mouton Rothschild / Calon Segur / Pontet-Canet / La Mission Haut Brion
Hidden gems
Villemaurine, St Emilion
Quinault l’Enclos, St Emilion (Cheval Blanc stable)
La Marzelle, St Emilion
Rouget, Pomerol
Pedesclaux, Pauillac
Brane-Cantenac, Margaux
Domaine de Cambes, Cotes de Castillon
Star Value Buys
Saintayme, St Emilion (Denis Durantou)
Les Cruzelles, Lalande-de-Pomerol (Denis Durantou)
Puy Blanquet, St Emilion (Moeuix)
Teyssier, St Emilion (Le Dome stable)
Please feel free to call us on 01325 776446 if you would like further advice on the vintage, or a personalised cellar plan putting together. Wines will start to be released in the next few weeks. Please if you are interested in buying En Primeur, I urge you to express your interest as in some cases the allocations will be reduced and the market will move fast for the top wines of the vintage.
I hope you have enjoyed reading our blogs, thanks for everyone's feedback...
James Goodhart / Andrew Ray
