Survival of the fittest
By Susan KeevilThe years 2004, '05 and '06 bestowed mixed Royal Regatta results on Leander, our local rowing club, yet with triumphs aplenty in '07 and '08. Bordeaux's harvests could have similarly spanned from the depths to the heights; however, it's possible to extract success from disadvantage in the cellar because unlike a regatta, a vintage is never winner take all. There are grape-saving techniques available to the clever vigneron that equate to tossing back a tin of Popeye's spinach for a rower - if only that animated solution were grounded in reality!
So when I tasted through the portfolios of nine of Bordeaux's Grands Crus Classés in April, I found an array of wines that would each deserve cellar space in my home (that is, of course, if I had a cellar). Yet a look behind the scenes made me wonder how on earth some of them managed to be so good.
The 2004 was a classic vintage, comparable with the quintessential 1988 and '96, according to the Bordelais. But with the alternating wet and dry weather throughout the growing season, it's hard to understand how the grapes ever became ripe enough to pick. A sunny September harvest did give sugar levels a boost, but from the serious purity of fruit in the Branaire-Ducru and the chocolate-smooth palate of the Léoville-Poyferré (both Saint-Julien) one couldn't guess there'd been the smallest hiccup. Rauzan-Ségla's hearty black core of brooding tannins and Pontet-Canet's chunky length and rich, spiced finish also spoke of sun in Pauillac, not shade.
From the Gironde's Right Bank, the 2004s of Gazin, Clos de l'Oratoire and La Mondotte (Pomerol and Saint-Emilion) hinted at the dominant dry tannins that are said to mark this vintage and give it its precision; only the Smith-Haut-Lafitte and d'Aiguilhe (Pessac-Léognan and Côtes de Castillon, respectively), betrayed a slight hint of early mellowing fruit. Selectively green harvesting immature grape bunches apparently saved the 2004 vintage from itself.
The 2005 growing season went off without a hitch (so I'll leave discussion of the best for last). In 2006, however, the Bordelais had to work harder to get up to race pace. Frost damage and a cool spring reduced berry quantities from the outset; then there was a slow, dragged-out véraison (fruit set). Prospects improved along with the ideal weather in June and July, which spurred hopes for better quality than even 2005. Instead, autumn showers caused rot.
How, then, did robust rose- and leather-perfumed wines emerge from Pomerol's Château Gazin and open-knit, spicy, expressive reds from Saint-Emilion's Angélus and La Mondotte? A tactical harvest game in which the players judiciously gambled on bringing in the fruit before or after the rains rewarded those risk-takers who most adroitly did both.
Over on the Left Bank, the cabernet sauvignon survived the showers; the merlot did not. Hence the big guns have as much as 86 percent (Latour) or 90 percent (Margaux) cabernet in their blends. I wasn't surprised, then, to find the '06 Rauzan-Ségla full of cherry spice and raisin-fruited intensity - classic cabernet characteristics from Margaux. There was more, too: from a black-fruited Le Crock (Saint-Estèphe) to a statuesque, rich Léoville-Poyferré, to a stately, blueberry-black curranty Pontet-Canet rife with classic Pauillac steely tannins.
All worries about early millennium droughts were banished by the 2007 vintage: A cloudy May and June got things off to a slow start, causing a drawn-out véraison, then rainfall all through the summer further dampened hopes. Yet I'm not going to tell you not to buy the 2007s. Leaf thinning, green harvesting and even some pink harvesting (removal of grapes that hadn't fully changed color when the majority of the bunch was already red and ripening), along with a good dose of September sun, was the rescue package this vintage received.
While some 2007s may be a shade delicate - the Smith-Haut-Lafitte, for example, has a weighty, serious structure that supports rather light raspberry-strawberry fruit - others, like the d'Aiguilhe, were deliciously svelte and taut with waiting-to-emerge fruit in the wings. Two Saint-Emilions, Clos de l'Oratoire and Mondotte, were full of youthful expressiveness, while the Angélus was supple, strong, full of cabernet-black currant and more might for the long term.
A few wines from the Left Bank were showing juicy, confected fruit (a sign of winery techniques being used to squeeze out fruit character where little exists), but the Léoville-Poyferré was as seriously steely as ever you could expect from a Saint-Julien (pencil lead character included) and the Pontet-Canet was a real blue blood, offering an almost Port-like richness surrounding a core of pure black currant on the mid-palate.
The much-ballyhooed 2005 vintage was hot and dry, but blessed by cool evening and nighttime temperatures that preserved acidity levels and kept the sugars in balance. When picked, the grapes were small and exceptionally concentrated with some of the highest tannin levels ever recorded, though ripe without a hint of bitterness. The verdict: 2005 is a vintage like the legendary 1982, but better because it hails from healthier, lower-yielding vines; like the great 1990, but better because of the fresher acidity; and like the hallowed 1961, but, again, it was even better.
Better than the latter because of the violet aromas and rich raisin intensity emanating from Château D'Aiguilhe; amazing because of the generous suppleness and lovely intensity of Clos de l'Oratoire; impressive because of the rich, chunky, expansive fruit packed together with gripping tannins of La Mondotte; beguiling because of the spicy, sweet blueberry-ness of Gazin, and the soft tannins and plummy length of Rauzan-Ségla; and supremely age-worthy because of the searingly youthful tannins, intense black pencil lead fruit and unstoppable length of the monster-like Pontet-Canet.
And, as for merging my wine and rowing worlds, perhaps I should ask those fit rowers to channel some of their energy towards digging me a wine cellar. Then I can save up my pennies and fill it with strawberry-spiced Branaire-Ducru 2004, magnificent 2005 Pontet-Canet, Angelus's complex 2006 and perfectly poised Gazin 2007s. Unfortunately, though, I think that's a race I'm going to lose.
London-based European Editor Susan Keevil is a freelance wine journalist and regular commentator on the U.K. merchant scene.