Bordeaux Tour Nov-Dec 2017: Part two
Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2017 12:04 pm
The next day we had an early afternoon appointment at Chateau Lafite, based on contacts with the estate, after lunch at Lavinal restaurant in the village of Bages in Pauillac. There, we tried a glass each of Chateau Mauvesin, a Moulis estate purchased by the Bartons six years ago. The 2012 was better than the 2011, but both were frankly pretty bland. I suspect the quality has improved in more recent vintages but there is a long way to go. We also had small pours of the 1999 and 2004 Ch. Leoville Bartons, and the gulf in quality was immense. These wines are absolutely top drawer in the context of these vintages and are still bargains for the quality.
We arrived 15 minutes early at Lafite for our tour (hint: if you do manage to secure an appointment don’t arrive late), which lasted for nearly an hour and a half, and included a comprehensive tour of the facilities and cellars, a tasting and a stroll around the gardens. The over-riding impression is that Lafite, as much as possible, is sticking with tradition, to make the best possible wine with the terroir, with which this most famous of all Bordeaux estate is blessed. In this regard it has notable similarities with Ch. Leoville Barton, as our articulate and affable guide Nicolas readily acknowledged, whilst noting that mistakes are not tolerated.
We walked up the ‘stairway to heaven’ to the cellars which house bottles going back to the 1790s. Roughly 10-15% of each vintage is held back, which is a lot of bottles for future generations, given that Lafite is a 110 hectare estate. In the circular barrel room we were offered a glass of the 2007 Grand Vin, a beautifully elegant medium-bodied wine with the Lafite signature. Spittoon was neither offered nor required. It is drinking well now, but in 5-10 years all the constituent parts will have come together.
The 2007, which is 84% cab-sav, 15% merlot and 1% petit Verdot, is an atypically forward example of Lafite and most vintages need a minimum of 20 years, according to Nicolas. He also advises opening bottles several hours before drinking - in the morning if you are going to drink a bigger vintage, like for example a 1995 or 1996, in the evening. He personally has tasted over 100 vintages of Lafite since joining the estate in 2009, and rates the 1953 and 1959 among his favourites. By this time we were a luminous green.
Back at Chez Rychlewski Christine made a fabulous chicken risotto, with which we had two mystery wines from the same vintage. I guessed 2004 and we all preferred wine two. Turned out that both were from the 1996 vintage, with wine one a quite a reticent albeit good pre-Perse Pavie Decesse 2006 and wine two Cantenac Brown, an impressive wine with quick thick texture, recognisable Margaux berries just getting into its stride.
We arrived 15 minutes early at Lafite for our tour (hint: if you do manage to secure an appointment don’t arrive late), which lasted for nearly an hour and a half, and included a comprehensive tour of the facilities and cellars, a tasting and a stroll around the gardens. The over-riding impression is that Lafite, as much as possible, is sticking with tradition, to make the best possible wine with the terroir, with which this most famous of all Bordeaux estate is blessed. In this regard it has notable similarities with Ch. Leoville Barton, as our articulate and affable guide Nicolas readily acknowledged, whilst noting that mistakes are not tolerated.
We walked up the ‘stairway to heaven’ to the cellars which house bottles going back to the 1790s. Roughly 10-15% of each vintage is held back, which is a lot of bottles for future generations, given that Lafite is a 110 hectare estate. In the circular barrel room we were offered a glass of the 2007 Grand Vin, a beautifully elegant medium-bodied wine with the Lafite signature. Spittoon was neither offered nor required. It is drinking well now, but in 5-10 years all the constituent parts will have come together.
The 2007, which is 84% cab-sav, 15% merlot and 1% petit Verdot, is an atypically forward example of Lafite and most vintages need a minimum of 20 years, according to Nicolas. He also advises opening bottles several hours before drinking - in the morning if you are going to drink a bigger vintage, like for example a 1995 or 1996, in the evening. He personally has tasted over 100 vintages of Lafite since joining the estate in 2009, and rates the 1953 and 1959 among his favourites. By this time we were a luminous green.
Back at Chez Rychlewski Christine made a fabulous chicken risotto, with which we had two mystery wines from the same vintage. I guessed 2004 and we all preferred wine two. Turned out that both were from the 1996 vintage, with wine one a quite a reticent albeit good pre-Perse Pavie Decesse 2006 and wine two Cantenac Brown, an impressive wine with quick thick texture, recognisable Margaux berries just getting into its stride.