Bordeaux 2017 En Primeur – Averys Vintage report

Bordeaux 2017 En Primeur – Averys Vintage report

‘'The top wine estate of Bordeaux made some outstanding quality wines that will deliver beautiful drinking for years ahead.’ James Suckling

Introduction

It rained and it rained whilst we were in Bordeaux for the Primeur week tastings in early April and when it wasn’t, there was a sense of foreboding that the next storm was only around the corner. Throughout, it could have been easy to let these dank conditions seep into one’s feelings towards the infant 2017s, especially considering the pessimistic snippets we had heard prior to touching down at Bordeaux’s Merignac Airport. However, after tasting through hundreds upon hundreds of samples that week, I am delighted to report back that what we encountered, not only surprised, but truly delighted. Whilst yields are down, and subsequently available wines will number less than previous years, make no mistake there is genuine quality to be found - these are wines very much worth searching out.

The Vintage & the ‘F’ word

In short, whilst it’s a fool’s errand to generalise when it comes to a region as complex and varied as Bordeaux, the wines have a deftness and lightness of touch that marks them out as purposeful and elegant in flavour profile, and by extension will please upon those who appreciate classically toned and proportioned Bordeaux. Whilst not a truly great vintage in the vein of 2016, 2017 is in fact a very good one, with some chateaux having made wines that will compare favourably to the very best of years. The whites and Sauternes (so often over-looked), produced some very fine examples. With the whites in particular, benefiting from the higher acidity derived from the vintage in 17, and the Sauternes (although suffering from dangerously low yields) are a masterclass in ‘on the edge’ winemaking.

In way of overall conditions, the vintage will seemingly forever be associated with its stark yields, and the alluded to ‘F’ word - Frost decimation - up to 50% and the worst recorded since 1991. However, the losses are much more negligible amongst the majority of the area’s 150 top estates, and indeed the ones we will be offering. It is hard to offer up a firm narrative picture, or to pit one appellation against another, as quality is to found from north to south, and from the Left to Right bank. However, a particularly salient point to be made is that when considering purchases, I would urge taking each chateau on it’s own merits and not that of its neighbours. It’s a year when it’s important to do your research; either by critic’s reports, talking to your Wine Merchant, or indeed tasting at one of the many UK based tastings in May.

Selected Highlights

If pushed to recommend wines, outside of the first growths, on the left bank – Pichon Lalande and Lynch Bages have made memorable wines in Pauillac. Rauzan-Segla and Malescot have continued upon a rich vein of form in Margaux, and the northern powerhouses of Calon-Segur, Cos & Montrose do not disappoint. St Julien, so often relied upon for great consistency, and Leoville Barton and Gloria do not disappoint, and the perennially over-looked Pessac’s were a delight - with old favourite Dom De Chevalier, and a benchmark effort from Carmes Haut-Brion standing out in the group behind Haut Brion and La Mission. Across on the right bank, the best chateaux on the Pomerol plateau benefited from their heat-retaining clay soil, and it was here we tasted a magnificent La Fleur-Petrus with Christian Mouiex, though it has to be said VCC will be very hard to beat. In St Emilion, conditions were generally more challenging, but Canon continued its purple patch of vintage showings, and I suspect will be hot property (again!). From a value perspective Ch Capbern is sublime in 2017, as was Chateau Dalem from the un-fashionable Fronsac. As ever though, all of these selections merely scratch the surface of an incredibly complex but ultimately a fine vintage.

Summary & comparisons

Every year we are asked to draw comparisons with past vintages, and this will be no different. Stylistically, these are wines that sit quite nimbly between the two recent vintages of 2014 and 15. Whilst not reaching the peaks of 2015, there is an argument that quality exceeds that of 2014 amongst the cru classe contingent. Going further back in time, 2001 and 1988 could also be drawn for comparison. What is for sure though, is that by and large, the wines that succeed in the vintage are the ones that have tried to harness, rather than wrestle, the unique vintage conditions in the winemaking process. The best are wines borne in a post-Parker Bordeaux, where subtlety, elegance and pin-point extraction have seemingly won out. It is one of wine’s most over used buzz words, but yes -  this is a terroir vintage - and in my opinion, all the better for it.

Daniel Curtis