A good start to the trip and we arrived at just before 6pm on Saturday and received a warm welcome from our friend Bill Blatch, with our first tasting of over 50+ Sauternes. Whilst Andrew got stuck in I fired up the bbq and we enjoyed sausages from the renowned butchers, Rogers of Masham. It was good to be back at The Lac, meeting friends and fellow tasters, whom we haven't seen for a number of years. There was much chat on expectations of the new vintage, however we do like to form our own opinions and with an early start we opted for a good nights sleep in anticipation of the busy week ahead.
It was a cold North Yorkshire start to our second day (Sunday) in Bordeaux as we were greeted by a cool 12°C breeze as we headed off for our first Négociant tasting. On arrival we were met by 300 samples from across all appellations for us to get an early and broad picture of the vintage. A few producers were present; including Véronique Dausse (Managing Director) at Château Phélan Segur and Alice Leuret (Brand Sales Manager) at Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion; both wines stood out from the crowd.
Others comprised of Deyrem Valentin, Caronne Sainte Gemme as well as Chanel’s trio: Berliquet, Canon and Rauzan-Ségla (Berliquet is catching up with its more famous siblings) to name a few. Other wines to catch our attention were Baron de Brane (Château Brane Cantenac) and Croix Canon (Château Canon), which also showed well.
A quick bite to eat and we travelled to our second Négociant tasting at Ballande et Meneret, where we worked our way through the rank and file of predominantly reds with a few excellent dry whites like Clos des Lunes “Lune d’Argent” and Doisy-Daëne Grand Vin Sec, which are well worth a mention.
The real surprise of the tasting for me was Château Laroque due to the superb concentration it has harnessed for the vintage, whilst maintaining energy, brightness and focus.
Our first Château visit was with Annabelle Cruse Bardinet at Château Corbin, one of our rising stars of the Right Bank, nestled on the Pomerol/Saint-Émilion border, where we learnt about the different terroir of the estate. Hats off to Annabelle for producing such an elegant, poised and pure 2021.
After Château Corbin our final stop in neighbouring Pomerol at Château Séraphine with old friend Martin Krajewski (ex-Château de Sours) and the delightful winemaker and his daughter, Lolly Krajewski. We tasted the Grand Vin of the estate, as well as their Saint-Émilion property Clos Cantenac (and second wine; Petit Cantenac). Both properties are well made; unfortunately Clos Cantenac suffered from the April frosts, whilst Séraphine, although touched, managed to avoid most of the Mother Nature’s harsh grip. Château Séraphine was the stand out of the tasting.
Great to catch up with Martin after three years apart and share a glass of a new wine “Trilogie” 2007-08 from the famous Le Pin property. Very generous, merci Martin!
Back to Bordeaux Lac to get our heads down for an early 9am start at JP Moueix. Day 3 awaits…
