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This magazine goes out to nearly 20.000 Bordeaux Wine Lovers all over the world!
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Ronald tasting the 2017 Vintage at the UGCB press tastings
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A Personal Note From Ronald,
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This issue of the Bordeaux Wine Magazine is dedicated to the Bordeaux vintage 2017 and there is a lot to be said about this vintage. In the first place there was the frost in April that seriously damaged some vineyards. Fortunately many were spared or suffered minor damage. I tasted all these wines during the “en primeur week” and I was impressed with the quality of many of the wines.
In this issue you will find my tasting notes and ratings of many of the most important producers in Bordeaux and I hope that they may serve you with your purchasing decisions.
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An interesting vintage 2017
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I sincerely hope that you will enjoy this issue. You can simply click to see my tasting notes on the First Growths from both Left Bank and Right Bank. From the other wines I have included my ratings. I tasted all these wines personally and these ratings represent my opinion. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments and simply reply to this magazine. I look forward to hear from you.
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Ronald and Margaret love to share
their passion for Bordeaux with you
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And please remember: Don’t drink anything I wouldn’t drink!
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2017 Finally a lucky number seven, but not for everybody
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Every year, Bordeaux presents the newborn baby vintage to the international press. At the welcome dinner for the international press at Chateau Kirwan, Olivier Bernard, the president of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB) commented on the increasing number of journalist that flock to Bordeaux each year. This year the number of tasters broke the records of the last few years. Bernard commented on the 2017 vintage calling it: “Good, sometimes very good but not on the same level as the 2016 and 2015 because those were excellent.”
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Olivier Bernard, the president of the UGCB is possitive
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The openings dinner at Kirwan in Margaux
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Bernard already gave his prediction on the 2018 vintage: 2018 is starting late in the vineyards and the harvest will be later as well. It will be like the 2008 and I love the 2008.” This prediction drew some laughs, especially at my table where some chateau-owners jokingly remarked: “If Bernard is right, we can already plan our vacations.” They meant of course that it is way too early in the race to predict anything about a new vintage.
Having said that, as I am writing this, there is a sense of relieve in Bordeaux that April has passed this year without any frost, so in that respect Bernard turned out to be right.
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The 2017 is better than expected, if there is wine…
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Let’s start with the good news: The Bordeaux vintage 2017 presented itself way better than expected at the futures tastings. It took seven decades after the famous 1947 to get a seven-vintage up to par. And as things go with lucky numbers, not everybody can be lucky. I am afraid that 2017 will be remembered because of the frost in April, in some cases destroying entire harvests. The frost hit Bordeaux twice: first on the 20th and 21th of April and then again more brutally on April 27 and 28 destroying between 30 and 50% of the crop in Bordeaux. The result is a very heterogeneous vintage, even within plots.
But 2017 is also a vintage of terroir.
Some chateaux lost everything where others, especially in the Northern Medoc were not even touched. In some cases extreme counter measures were taken against the frost. Figéac (Saint-Emilion) deployed helicopters to move the cold air away from their vines. Others, like Haut Baily (Pessac-Léognan) sent staff out into their vineyards in the early morning to light fires to protect their vines. Some properties, like Chateau Corbin (Saint-Emilion) and Chateau Fieuzal (Pessac-Léognan) lost their entire crop and made no wine at all.
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2017: better than expected
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Terroir made the difference in 2017
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Terroir is more than “just” the soil.
The closer the vineyards are to the Gironde in the Medoc for instance, the better they are protected against the frost. The low-lying plots in the simpler appellations were hit the hardest. As in the frost of 1991 Léoville las Cases was largely untouched by the frost as a result of its privileged location on the Garonne River. Winemaker Bruno Roland of this Second Growth from Saint Julien said to me: “We knew that the wine would be very good when we started the pumping over. The color was incredibly deep, almost black. We knew that we were not going to produce any rosé this year.”
With today’s knowledge and technology, vintage variation is much less than it used to be and 2017 proves this point. Let’s be franc here. The general level is not like that of the previous two vintages. But having said that, there were some brilliant wines made in 2017. If I said that terroir made the difference, it will come as no surprise that the most famous properties made the best wines. The Lafite and Mouton were so lovely that I wanted to drink my barrel sample. At Pontet-Canet we almost grabbed the sample-bottle to finish over lunch.
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La Conseillante, one of my winners in 2017
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Didn’t they get the memo?
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Trying too hard
The style of the vintage is surprisingly accessible and the best wines will benefit from aging in your cellar for 10 to15 years, some even longer. Having said that, I would also like to express some criticism. “We try harder” was a wonderful marketing slogan but sometimes one can try too hard. In some of the Margaux, Pauillac and to some extend Margaux wines I found a fairly modern style with a strong emphasis on (over)extraction. Winemakers are searching for color and fruit and sometimes too much in my opinion. Didn’t they get the memo that Robert Parker retired? I largely prefer the more classic style like the exemplary Chateau Palmer, for instance. This explains why I have rated some wines lower than usual because I don’t like this over-extraction.
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To buy or not to buy, that is the question
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Let’s cut to the chase here: the vintage 2017 is far from being a no-brainer like 2005, 2010 and more recently 2015 were. The wines from 2017 won’t be wines to cellar forever but that is not a bad thing per se. We need earlier drinking vintages where we wait for the ones that take more time to come around. In general I think that most wines from this vintage will reach their drinking window before the 2015 and 2016. The vintage honestly produced some pretty average wines at some properties. At the same time others produced great, and in some cases even outstanding wines. Wines well-worth having in your cellar. In general I feel that buying these wines, takes doing your homework and reading ratings and tasting notes before making a decision. And then there is the issue of price obviously. When the prices are reasonable there were many very interesting wines produced in this vintages. You should remember that there is still a lot of wine available on the market of the much-lauded vintages 2015’s and 2016’s. For me the underrated vintage 2014 offers some great opportunities as well. And these wines are readily available. On top of that you win three years of ageing with buying the 2014 for instance. To buy or not to buy the 2017depends much on the price the chateaux set. The first releases show reasonable prices so far but at the time I am writing this, none of the big guns has released yet. To be followed.
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You definitely need to do your homework before
buying any 2017
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Tastings, critics and criticism
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In the old days we had to drive to all the different chateaux to taste the wines, an enormous waste of time in the view of many tasters, forcing many of us to make a strict selection of which chateaux to visit. Fortunately the UGCB created the grouped and seated tastings for the international press. Here we can taste and compare wines in an optimal condition. The First Growths never participated with these tastings but this didn’t matter so much as they represented just 5 appointments.
Nowadays we see more and more chateaux feeling the need to “play First Growth” and dropping out from the UGCB tastings and forcing us to come to their chateau to taste their wines. This is rather a nuisance for us as professional tasters because it is becoming physically impossible to taste all wines in a week. I would like to make the argument that these chateaux return to the UGB tastings. Maybe an even stricter selection of the accredited journalist may entice those chateaux to return.
I know that Bordeaux will do what it will do but I feel the need to express this sentiment here…
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Chateaux all want to roll out the red carpet
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Why I use the 20-point scale
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Rating wine is a very personal experience. A wine rating is one individual opinion of one individual taster on one specific moment and we should be modest about the outcomes. Nobody has an absolute judgment about wine, not even Robert Parker. Again it’s just an opinion of one taster.
There are many different systems of ratings. Some rate wines with stars with a maximum varying from three to five stars. In France wines traditionally are rated on a 20-point scale, the same scale that is used in all educational systems in France. The American wine critic Robert Parker introduced a 100-point scale and that became an instant success.
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100 points equals 100%?
I personally think that this 100-point scale attracts us so much because the 100-point mark unconsciously makes us think about 100% meaning perfection. For me the downside is that I feel that this 100-point scale is too refined. Can one really consistently discern the difference between a 93-point wine and a 94-point wine?
Personally I doubt this very much. The difference becomes even more important at the 90-point mark. 90 points or 89 points makes all the difference for a wine and as a result for the finances of a chateau. Just one point difference in a rating may mean a price difference of four to eight euro a bottle. And if a chateau produces between 100.000 and 200.000 bottles this adds up.
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Although I feel that points are for Ping-Pong and wine is for pleasure, I use points as well for my ratings. I use the traditional 20 points scale where I sometimes added some half-points or even the occasional “+” or “–“ where I want to add some nuances. I have been using this 20-point scale over the last 30 years and it served me well. I hope my ratings will help you make your purchasing decisions in the very interesting Bordeaux vintage 2017.
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Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2017,
1er Grand Cru Classé, Pauillac
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Lafite in the middle of an ocean of the best vineyards
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Driving up to Lafite Rothschild is always a pleasure. One can’t fail to be impressed to see the chateau appear in the middle of an ocean of the best vineyards of Bordeaux.
I tasted the Lafite Rothschild in the new tasting room at this remarkable First Growth with Christophe Congé, the winemaker and Eric Kohler the technical director at Lafite. Both gentlemen couldn’t hide a smile when I complemented them with their very successful 2017. Modestly they credited much of the result to Lafite’s extraordinary terroir (that was completely spared from the frost).
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Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2017,
1er Grand Cru Classé, Pauillac
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Always a pleasure to be at Mouton
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I tasted the Mouton Rothschild at the chateau with Philippe Dhalluin. With over 35 years of experience Dhalluin has seen it all. Ever modest, Philippe almost blushed when he told me that Mouton Rothschild hadn’t been touched by the frost at all. That is, for the red wines: “We used the Petit Verdot [a late ripening variety] for all three chateaux. They were perfectly ripe, so we were very lucky indeed.” From the look on his face I could see that he hinted at those producers who were not so lucky and were touched by the frost.
Dhalluin decided to harvest early and started on 7 September. And three weeks later on September 29 the entire harvest was done, including the late-ripening Petit Verdot.”
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The Mouton Rothschild was my wine of the vintage in 2017
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Chateau Latour 2017,
1er Grand Cru Classé, Pauillac
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Ronald acting like he owns the place…
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Latour is working towards going 100% biodynamic for the “grand vin” (entirely organic) and this is not just an improvement for the wine but a great effort for the planet as well as there are no more chemicals being used.
I tasted the Latour at the chateau with Hélène Génin, the technical director of the First Growth. She explained that Latour was touched only slightly by the frost. 2,6ha were lost, mainly on the Pauillac, the third wine.
Latour isn’t released on futures anymore. The chateau keeps the wines in bottle in their cellar and releases the wines when they feel that they are entering their drinking window. This year they will release the Pauillac 2013, the Les Forts 2012 and the Latour 2006.
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Chateau Margaux 2017,
1er Grand Cru Classé, Margaux
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Alexandra Mentzelopoulos made me feel very welcome at Chateau Margaux
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It is always a great pleasure to be greeted at Chateau Margaux by Alexandra Mentzelopoulos, who is starting to play an ever-increasing role in representing this excellent First Growth. Her radiant smile and warm personality made me feel very welcome indeed. I tasted the Chateau Margaux traditionally in the cellars. The yields an Margaux are 35hl/ha and 8 ha on a total of 82 ha was lost due to the frost. The production of the Pavilion Rouge was down 50% compared to the previous vintages due to frost and strong selections.
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Pavilion Rouge was down 50% compared to the
previous vintages
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Chateau Haut Brion 2016 – La Mission Haut Brion 2017,
1er Grand Cru Classé, Pessac-Léognan
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In the professional tasting room at Chateau Haut Brion
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I tasted the Haut Brion wines in the professional tasting room in the tower of the chateau in the presence of two Jean-Philippes: Jean-Philippe Masclef, the Technical director of Haut Brion and Jean-Philippe Delmas, the estate manager of this First Growth.
My tasting here included of course Haut Brion, but also La Mission Haut Brion as well as the superb white wines that are produced here.
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Chateau d’Yquem 2017,
1er Grand Cru Classé Supérieur, Sauternes
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Yquem was presented in the Golden room of the Bordeaux Opera House
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A very happy Pierre Lurton welcomed me at the Bordeaux Opera House during the En Primeur week. This golden room at the opera was the elegant backdrop for the presentation of yet another great golden wine of Yquem. Lurton explained that this summer was the 4th hottest since 1897 in Sauternes. Yquem was hardly touched by the frost. The weather conditions were that unusual that a new record was set at Yquem. The harvest of the dry white wine started earlier than ever before on august 16! The botrytis developed evenly through the vineyards and in the end the pickers had to race against the clock to keep the sugar levels down to a reasonable level.
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The beautiful Saint Emilion vineyards
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Chateau Ausone 2017,
1er Grand Cru Classé “A”, Saint Emilion
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With Pauline Vauthier of Chateau Ausone
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Driving up to Ausone is something of an experience. A small winding road leads to the chateau on top of a hill. If there is traffic coming from the other side –well- you have a problem. We encountered a postal van coming down while we were climbing up and I hit the limestone rock on the side with my car. Fortunately the tasting at Ausone was worth it…
I tasted at the chateau with Pauline Vauthier, who is representing the next generation of the Vauthier family at the helm of this extraordinary chateau.
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Chateau Cheval Blanc 2017,
1er Grand Cru Classé “A”, Saint Emilion
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At beautiful Chateau Cheval Blanc
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Cheval Blanc suffered from the frost; about 30% of the vines were touched, especially the Cabernet Franc on the clay. All frozen vines were pruned again to get “second generation” shoots. Two thirds of this second generation made it into the Grand Vin. Cheval Blanc sold 15% of declassified wines in bulk.
The volume produced was lower than usual, especially of the second wine. There will be only 4 to 4.500 bottles of the Petit Cheval and the chateau decided not to release the second wine en primeur. Of the Cheval Blanc 60% will be sold en primeur. The other 40% will be kept at the chateau to be sold at a later stage.
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The production was lower than usual
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Chateau Angelus 2017,
1er Grand Cru Classé “A”, Saint Emilion
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With Hélène and Jean-Bernard Grenié of Chateau Angélus
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Chateau Angélus is a bit hidden just outside of Saint Emilion. It has been said that in the old days on this property you could hear the church bells of no less than three churches sounding the Angélus (a Roman Catholic prayer). And that is why the chateau is called Angélus.
Not many Bordeaux chateaux have managed to remain family-owned over the years. Angélus is still owned by one of Bordeaux’s oldest wine families, the family de Boüard de Laforest. It is the eighth generation that has started working here but it remains Hubert de Boüard de Laforest who makes the wine. I tasted at Angélus with co-owner, Jean-Bernard Grenié and his charming wife Hélène.
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Chateau Pavie 2017,
1er Grand Cru Classé “A”, Saint Emilion
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With Gérard Perse of Chateau Pavie
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I tasted the Pavie in the tasting room of the chateau overlooking the vines and in the presence of the owner, the sympathetic Gérard Perse.
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Other Left Bank 2017 ratings:
Haut Medoc, Margaux, Saint Julien, Pauillac and Saint Estèphe
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With Bruno Roland of Leoville Las Cases
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Other Right Bank 2017 ratings:
Saint Emilion and Pomerol
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With Alexandre Thienpont of Vieux Chateau Certan
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Chateau Coulon Laurensac, without a doubt the best place in the world to taste all five First Growths and Yquem…
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The Bordeaux Wine Magazine
at Chateau Coulon Laurensac
1, chemin de Meydieu
33360 Latresne (BORDEAUX), France
Website : www.BXWINEMAG.com
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Call us:
1-877-203-2665 (toll free from USA & Canada) or
+33 556 20 64 12 (from anywhere else in the world)
(These lines go directly to our Chateau in Bordeaux so please remember that we’re on Paris time!)
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Copyright © 2018 by The Bordeaux Wine Experience. All rights reserved. The content, design and graphical elements of this Magazine are copyrighted. The Bordeaux Wine Experience is a Dutch company specializing in wine and culinary tours in the Bordeaux region for an English speaking international clientele.
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