Claret vintage series: Notes on the 2001 to 2005 vintages, and random scribblings on 2006-2010

As I mentioned in my previous note, beyond 1996 my knowledge and experience is a bit sketchier than for the older vintages I earlier wrote about in more detail.

2001

Overall vintage rating ****

This rating is conservative. Potentially...probably...2001 is worth four and a half stars. Qualitatively it is not far behind the 2000 vintage, and arguably it is better on the right bank, but those arguments probably won’t be resolved for a while. The 2001s are clearly much more accessible than the 2000s, but it is hardly a ‘restaurant vintage’ like 1997. Whenever I have looked for value and to back fill I have been more active in buying the 2001 vintage than any other. The 2001 vintage definitely suffered from a post Millennium hangover coming, as it did, on the heels of the vintage of the century/millennium/millennia, and in my opinion is the most under-rated vintage of the new millennium.

The smattering of wines I have tried on the left bank below first growth level have generally been excellent, typified by outstanding wines made by Pichon Baron, Leoville Barton, Gruaud-Larose and Giscours. An excruciatingly tannic Leoville-Lascases, and an over exuberant Pape Clement in Pessac, as that estate tried to reinvent itself, seem to be exceptions to this general rule. Below first growth level, 2001 left banks are generally superior to 1998 and 1999. You can buy 2001 left banks confident in the knowledge that you are getting what for today’s buyer is surely an ideal combination of accessibility, fair price point, and classic claret attributes. For me at least, this is a winning combination. As for the first growths, I instantly fell in love with Chateau Margaux when I tasted it this year. It is a restrained style of Margaux, but ever so classy.

But the excitement is really on the right bank, where prices dropped to bargain basement levels for a while. I picked up some incredible wines in the last two years including bottles of La Conseillante and Trotanoy both @$75 and Petrus @$1295 in America; and cases of Figeac @ £438ib, Certan De May @£360ib, Berliquet @£210 all in and Cheval Blanc @£1800 all in.  Prices of 2001 right banks have risen lately as the market has belatedly recognised the superb quality of these wines. All of these right banks mentioned here compete head to head with the best wines these estates have produced.

As for 'wine of the vintage' it would be tough to choose between Chateau Margaux, Cheval Banc and Petrus. Finally it is worth mentioning that 2001 was probably the best year in Sauternes and Barsac in living memory. Good as the red wines are in 2001, nothing comes close to Chateau D’Yquem.

Favoutite clarets in 2001: Chateau Margaux, Leoville-Barton, Cheval Blanc, Figeac, Certan De May, Petrus, Trotanoy

2002

Overall vintage rating *** ½

This vintage was also somewhat under-rated from the beginning. It is a cabernet vintage which at least matches 2001 on the left bank, but cannot compete with it on the right bank. In some respects 2002 is like a toned down version of 1996, but without the same degree of power and opulence. The left banks are classically styled wines for true claret aficionados. They err towards being too lean for some tastes, for those weaned on modern fruit bombs. Some of the wines are actually quite thrilling, with St-Julien being the outstanding appellation, though Pichon-Baron deserves a special mention because the 2002 is even better than the 2001, though it does not quite match the power and authority of the 2000. Mouton-Rothschild in Pauillac is outstanding.

In St-Julien Leoville Lascases is absolutely out of the top drawer, and clearly superior to the surly 2001. Leoville-Barton is outstanding, but if you put a gun to my head I would opt for the 2001. Lagrange is another beauty. Ducru Beaucaillou is good but surprisingly accessible. In Pessac-Leognan the wine that really stands out for me is Smith Haut-Lafite. It is modern, but it ticks all the boxes. I have limited experience of 2002 right banks.  

Favourite clarets in 2002: Pichon Baron, Leoville Lascases, Leoville Barton, Smith Haut Lafite

2003

Overall vintage rating **

This is perhaps the most controversial vintage of the noughties, possibly in living memory; and it was certainly the hottest. In 2003 the whole of France and its vineyards got scorched. A lot of the burgundies got cooked, you can taste the excessive heat in the northern and southern rhones, and the same can be said for Bordeaux too unfortunately. But this is a vintage that divided opinions and some of the optimists like to draw comparisons with the searingly hot late 1940s vintages, notably 1947 and 1949 which produced incredibly long-lived and some legendary wines with port-like characteristics. However silly talk that this vintage might be wine of the century material soon dissipated.

No doubt it was a difficult vintage on the right bank. The biggest disaster I have tried was Rouget but that is a lowly Pomerol. On the left bank the general rule of thumb is that the further north you go up the Medoc the better. It is no coincidence therefore that Sociando Mallet is one of the top wines in 2003. Some of the wines further down the Medoc I have tried have been troubling. In St-Julien Lagrange was a disaster, and likewise some of the wines from the Margaux appellation, like Lascombes. However Ducru Beaucaillou made a good, albeit Napa-like wine, and so did Leovilles Barton and Lascases apparently. The normally reliable Grand Puy Lacoste in Pauillac struggled in 2003. It was recognisable but blighted by heat. You can buy it quite cheaply these days.

Cos D’Estournel was impressive tasted in 2012, and and Montrose is even better. So far, my wine of the vintage. Lafon-Rochet in St-Estephe is also a very good wine, which coped well with the heat. But the second wine of Cos, Les Pagodes, was more obviously heat tainted, especially tasted side by side with the 1996 Pagodes. A lot of the 2003s come across as being really gawky and unbalanced, with harsh tannins swamping in some cases fading fruit. I only own two cases of 2003 claret: Giscours and Pontet-Canet. I don’t remember what I was thinking when I bought the Giscours, while the Pontet-Canet came highly recommended from a source I now regard as dubious; I must confess to being nervous about both. It was a good year in Sauternes & Barsac, however, and I own Yquem and Rieussec.

Favourite clarets in 2003: Montrose, Cos D’Estournel, Sociando-Mallet, Lafon Rochet

2004

Overall vintage rating *** ½

My early impressions of this vintage are based on a horizontal tasting in New York City in late 2007, and none of the wines, mainly left banks, impressed me very much, with the exception of Lafite, which was streets ahead of everything else. A lot of them had the leanness of the 2002s, but tasted more modern and seemed to lack the classical charm of the T-2 vintage. However, I tried Latour in Nov 2011, and it is clearly an extremely competent effort.

My most recent experiences of the vintage have, however, been positive, and I think I have underestimated the 2004s, based on very competent, well made wines by Prieure-Lichine and Grand Puy Ducasse, which illustrated the care that goes into making wines these days. Pontet-Canet is a very good wine but is too clinical for my liking.  I own cases of this, Langoa Barton, which was highly recommended from a reliable source, Malescot St-Exupery, which I found a bit soulless, modern and anonymous when I tried it at a very young age, and La Conseillante, which is evolving very slowly but will be exceptional.

In Pessac-Leognan, super wines were made at Pape Clement (a huge improvement on the 2001), Haut-Bailly and Smith Haut-Lafite. On the right bank 2004 is a promising vintage, especially in Pomerol, but some of the wines still need quite a bit of time: wines like La Conseillante, L’Evangile, Gazin and VCC. In St-Emilion, Belair is a wonderfully cerebral and misunderstood wine.

Favourite clarets in 2004: Lafite, Grand-Puy Ducasse, Pape Clement, Smith Haut-Lafite, Belair, La Conseillante

2005

Overall vintage rating ****(*)

I would rate 2005 above 2000 judging by my somewhat limited experience. For example Pichon Baron is even better in 2005 than it is in 2000; or 1989 and 1990 for that matter. As Christian Seeley remarked at his Pichon Baron horizontal in London last November, it is the best wine that he and that estate had ever made. The 2005s exude class and are outstanding across the board. It was probably the greatest vintage ever made...until the 2010s came along...but that is another different story.

Everything I have tasted from this vintage has been absolutely top drawer, apart from a strangely short-on-the-finish Figeac. The picture above is from Jacques Levy's Bordeaux tasting dinner in Chappaqua, New York in 2011, where this bottle of Trotanoy showed extremely well. It was big thick and dense, but remarkably finely balanced. This wine has everything in abundance, not least an incredible future. It’s packed with fruit, cassis and other nuances; it is enrobed in silky smooth tannins. Enjoyable now it will be stunning in the decades ahead.

Sadly I don’t own much 2005 save for a couple of cases of Belair and some Sociando-Mallet because I was convinced at the time that the wines were significantly over-priced. Initially the 2005s lifted the whole Bordeaux price structure, but on now they have retraced, and are generally trading below release prices, so bargains appear to be materialising. Beyond this I have little to say.

Favourite clarets in 2005: Pichon Baron, Montrose, Grand Puy Lacoste, Trotanoy

This is the last of my claret vintage series because I just don't have enough on the vintages 2006-2011 to write a separate piece on them.

The only things I would say are the following, based on limited exposure:

- 2006 looks like a good vintage, possible even rating four stars. It probably competes with 2001, 2002 and 2004 on the left bank but is probably stronger than 2002 on the right bank. I tasted quite a few 2006s at Lords in 2007, and the ones that I tried to buy as a result of that tasting were Batailley, Haut-Bailly and Pavie Maquin.  I ended up buying just the first two. At the Pichon Baron horizontal the 2001 and 2002 were better than the 2006 but Christian Seeley really likes it and it did show well at Lords in 2007. At the Figeac vertical the next day the 2006 Figeac was excellent, and I already had a few bottles in my cellar in New York. It was better than the 2003, 2004 and 2005 Figeacs. At the Chateau Margaux vertical in May the 2006 was pleasant but not 'great' and a long way behind the 'great' 2001. Les Forts Latour is very lovely.

My fave wine: Haut-Bailly

- 2007: I have tried very few of these. From what I can gather it may be in the mold of 1997, a useful vintage with early maturing wines, or what might unkindly be described as a 'restaurant vintage.' The Figeac was quite lovely, but not as good as the 2006. Still it would be a lovely wine to own. The 2007 Baron was not shown. From what little I know I would peg 2007 as a three star vintage.

My fave wine: Figeac

-2008: Another potential four star vintage. The Figeac was outstanding. I rated it slightly above the 2006 and preferred it to the 2009 and 2010 Figeacs, which are clumsy and in my opinion both significantly below par in the context of these vintages. It was perhaps the last ever classically styled Figeac and for that reason alone should be worth hunting down. The 2008 Pichon Baron was excellent to outstanding, in a very classic style. It may eventually match the superb 2002. The 2008 Chateau Margaux was, like the 2006, good but not great, but it had a bit more class than the 2006.  

My fave wine: Figeac

- 2009: Clearly a fantastic vintage; clearly a five star vintage featuring some extraordinary wines. The wines are extremely voluptuous and sexy, but have the structure to age well. The tannins are fine and the texture silky. It is an open question as to whether this is a better vintage than 2005. Only time will tell.  One of the most extraordinary wines is Pontet-Canet, while GPL is unbelievably lush and sexy and some people don't like it for that reason. When we visited Chateau Latour in November 2011 we were served the 2004 Grand Vin, the 2006 Les Forts and the 2009 Pauillac Latour, i.e., third wine. It was quite honestly difficult to pick them apart qualitatively, though the Grand Vin was the densest. But the Pauillac was extraordinary for a third wine. By all accounts 2009 is equally strong on the right bank, but I have only tried a few.

My fave wine: Pontet-Canet

- 2010: When I tasted the 2010s last November I was simply astonished at the quality of the wines. In my opinion the 2010s are a step up from 2005 and 2009, which hardly seemed possible before I tried them. Even though I turned 50 this year I did not hesitate to buy five cases from five estates which unequivocally made their best ever wines: La Conseillante, Pape Clement, Leoville Barton, Gruaud-Larose and Branaire Ducru. If I could afford Chateau Margaux I would buy it. Just extraordinary and probably the greatest Margaux ever...if not then certainly in the Mentzelopoulos era.

My fave wine: Chateau Margaux...joint runners up: La Conseillante, Pape Clement