This morning started with a crawl through the Monday morning rush hour traffic as we made our way to the first tasting of the day (9am) at Hangar 14 in Bordeaux’s historic Chartrons district. Located on the banks of the Garonne River, this is the principal Union des Grands Crus (UGC) portfolio tasting showcasing wines of all classification levels, from all appellations. However, we decided to concentrate on Pessac-Léognan and the Médoc, as unfortunately we have such a tight schedule later in the week. A couple of standout wines were Domaine de Chevalier (with Olivier Bernard’s 40-year anniversary label), as well as Château Cantemerle.
Leaving at 10:30am we made a dash to Libourne for our annual appointment at JP Moueix on the quai de Libourne and their portfolio of Châteaux and exclusivities, which included Bélair-Monange, La Fleur-Pétrus, and Hosanna to name but a few. It was great to see Édouard again and discuss the vintage, where he stated their 2022 wines have “unbelievable ripeness with complexity of tannin, similar to 2010, however, the tannins are much more refined.” Promising indeed…
From the centre of Libourne it was a fast fifteen-minute jaunt over to Saint-Émilion and Château Montlabert; an estate owned by Castel Frères and has recently promoted to Grand Cru Classé status, to taste their Grand Vin (First Wine). I think it’s one of the best vintages that I have tasted from the property, easily surpassing the 1988 vintage when I helped with the harvest. Bravo tout le monde!
We then headed to the other side of the village to Château de Ferrand for a tour, tasting and lunch with the hospitable proprietors; Pauline Bich Chandon-Moët and Philippe Chandon-Moët. This is an impressive estate and the second highest elevation in Saint-Émilion after Château Troplong-Mondot, which coincidentally was our next rendez-vous. It feels like General Manager, Aymeric de Gironde, is really hitting his stride having joined in 2017, declaring that “the closest vintage comparison is 1990… in 2022 the vines had to search a bit for water, and as a result, extracted more character from the soil with surprising mineral freshness, even from such a warm vintage.”
The intense afternoon schedule continued with five back-to-back Châteaux visits in quick succession, beginning at neighbouring Château Larcis Ducasse for the Nicholas Thienpont collection; there is no denying that Château Pavie Macquin was the standout wine. We moved back up onto the top plateau for Château Croix de Labrie with the enthusiastic husband and wife team of Pierre and Axelle Cordurie, who have once again crafted an impressive wine, and is an estate that continues to catch the attention of many top critics and journalists...
Our penultimate visit was Château Quintus (owned by Domaine Clarence Dillon), which has produced a powerful, brooding wine with plenty of tension. We were also provided the opportunity to taste Château Haut-Brion. Quelle bonheur!
Last but by no means least was our appointment with the charming François Mitjavile of Château Tertre Roteboeuf, which is always one of our most special tastings of the campaign. Although Tertre Roteboeuf is a classic masterpiece, I have to say that Domaine de Cambes and Roc de Cambes are not to be underestimated and offer that magical Mitjavile touch at a fraction of the price of their older sibling. It is no wonder that Domaine de Cambes is becoming a cult favourite.
With another day under our belts, we headed back to Bordeaux Lac for supper and a much needed cold bière blanche! An early night beckoned so we will be raring to go for our first appointment tomorrow at Château Canon La Gaffelière at 9am.
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