'Mixed' findings from Bordeaux 2011

Published: 03 April, 2012

Initial reports from tastings of the Bordeaux 2011 vintage are mixed - with strict selection and "smart winemaking" some excellent wines have been produced, while others have been less successful.

The British wine trade has decamped to the region for a hectic week of meeting negociants and chateaux and tasting their latest offerings.

Stephen Browett, chairman of Farr Vintners, visited the Northern Médoc and in particular the appellations of St Estèphe, Pauillac and St Julien yesterday. He blogged: "What is becoming very clear to us is that 2011 is a very mixed vintage. This is certainly not one of those years when wine-makers could let nature take its course. Far from it. There was a really challenging growing season full of complications and difficulties. It seems that those who had the biggest problems to face have vineyards in the Northern sector of Pauillac and the Southern part of St Estèphe."

He said Cos d'Estournel had an excellent 2011 "but not without massive sacrifices in the selection process". There will only be 9,000 cases this year - half the amount of last year and a third of what was produced a decade ago, said Browett. "By contrast, there will be 21,000 cases of Pagodes which is consequently a very good second wine indeed."

Lay & Wheeler's Nick Dagley blogged: "It would be fair to say that right bank seems stronger than left, with clay and limestone Merlot working well and some great Cabernet Franc. Also some good surprises from less ambitious but sure to be good value wines and an interesting line up of Médocs who have already pre-released prices, including the excellent Beaumont."

Bibendum's Juel Mahoney said despite 2011's challenging weather, winemakers have adopted the "'when you have lemons, make lemonade,'" philosophy. "They have produced small quantities of good fruit, with strict selection and smart winemaking they have made some very good grand vins."

She singled out Chateau Palmer's grand vin as "the team favourite of the day in the Left Bank", describing it as "unctuous and velvet with great texture and plenty of ripe, classy fruit". "It was not only a technically good wine, but it also had charm," she said.

But others didn't live up to expectations - such as the Lafite-Rothschild. "It is a very good wine. However, tasting it was a bit like watching a technically brilliant tennis player who plays all the shots but who does not really connect to the emotion of the game. Excellent, but not thrilling," she said.

Will Lyons of the Wall Street Journal expects "price falls and probably value" from the vintage. But the Independent's wine critic Anthony Rose is less confident of significant changes in pricing. "On a scale of 1 - 10 what are the realistic chances of Bordelais coming down by 50% or less for #bdx11?," he tweeted.

As online reviews and tweets about the vintage started to gather momentum, Gavin Quinney, owner of Chateau Bauduc, warned via Twitter: "Worth remembering that at this stage, the more you talk up #bdx11, the more it will cost consumers."

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