We have crossed the river and started the morning with Cheval Blanc and Ausone followed by the generic tastings in St-Emilion and Pomerol. Wines with higher proportions of Cabernets and those that have managed to retain freshness by not harvesting too late and gentle extraction showed best. Cheval Blanc was particularly fine with real poise [...]
Monthly Archives: March 2010
Bordeaux 2009: Left Bank round-up
Tuesday 30 March 2010 – 17:57
After a full-on day, it was time reflect on our tastings in the Médoc as we drove across to just north of Libourne. Certainly our impressions thus far suggest that we have a great vintage on our hands, with Cabernet Sauvignon leading the way in the Northern Médoc. Having tasted this morning at Château Calon-Ségur, [...]
A Cabernet year
Tuesday 30 March 2010 – 14:22
I’m dashing between tastings at the moment so won’t report in full, but just from our tastings so far it’s becoming clear that on the left bank at least 2009 is definitely a Cabernet year. That isn’t to say that Merlot isn’t good, but generally Cabernet has performed better and this is being reflected in [...]
Reflections
Tuesday 30 March 2010 – 6:11
On reflection the tastings yesterday become more and more interesting. Yes, we saw what will undoubtedly become great wines, but even at the top of the league there was variation. The problem, if we can call it that, was that winemakers had just so much time to decide what to do – not all of [...]
First tastes of the first growths
Monday 29 March 2010 – 17:34
It would have been hugely disappointing if today hadn’t provided fireworks. The 2009 vintage in Bordeaux is being billed as one of the best ever, and we had hourly appointments at some of the world’s most sought-after estates. Not everything was as (I) had expected. In 2003 the hot summer gave a certain uniformity to [...]
A good start to the week
Sunday 28 March 2010 – 21:52
We’ve arrived at Caronne Ste Gemme, our home in the Medoc for the early part of the week. Francois served 2000 with dinner – it’s a delicious mix of ripe fruit and attractive freshness. Let’s hope the 2009s age as well.
Bordeaux 2009: an introduction
Sunday 28 March 2010 – 13:26
The inescapable Bordeaux PR machine has been rolling since the summer of 2009, when we first started to hear whispers about the potential of the vintage that was currently hanging on the vines. With the autumn, as the fruit was brought in, came more confident proclamations, which grew in strength over the following months. Now, [...]
Lay & Wheeler launch blog
Friday 26 March 2010 – 18:14
Our friends at Lay & Wheeler have launched their own blog, over at blog.laywheeler.com. They’ve already been busy posting detailed information about the upcoming Bordeaux 2009 campaign, and I’ll reproduce the highlights here over the weekend, but customers of fine wine and en primeur will want to subscribe to Lay & Wheeler’s RSS feed and/or [...]
Introducing the Majestic Golden Grape Awards!
Wednesday 24 March 2010 – 14:50
A prestigious new award scheme has been launched here at Majestic! From now on, we’ll be regularly asking all of our knowledgeable staff to recommend their favourite wines to drink at a variety of occasions. There are 2 rounds of voting: Round 1: Every single member of staff, from sales assistant to chief executive, has [...]
