First taste of 2011 white Sauvignon Blanc at Latour Martillac Litlle mountain of harvested Cabernet Sauvignon grapes at Latour Martillac

Sorting hands at Latour Martillac Rotating equipment for barrels at Latour Martillac

We tasted 2009 white Latour Martillac, which had fine aroma of acacia flower and heather, fine acidity and smooth aftertaste. 91p. 2007 red Lagrave Martillac (second wine) was pleasant, round and very drinkable (86p) while 2007 red Latour Martillac displayed surprisingly fine concentration of dark fruit, fine balance, length and finish. Splendid effort for the vintage - 89p. 1995 red Latour Martillac showed very mature flavors and was ready to drink. Tristan Kressmann explained, that Merlot was successful that year but Cabernet Sauvignon wasn't. 87p. 2005 red Latour Martillac was a great example of good things this vintage offers - perfectly ripe fruit, sweetness, many nuances and excellent length. 92p. Then a showstopper - 1975 red Latour Martillac. Still young and vivid with well-preserved aromas, truffles and excellent balance. 95p. Great experience!

From Latour Martillac I went to La Mission Haut Brion to taste 6 wines in 2008 vintage. Initially, I asked in my email to have possibility of tasting 2010 and/or 2009 vintage, but received polite "no" and explanation that 2010 was undergoing difficult fase in development (barrel) and that 2009 has been bottled 2 months ago (July 2011) and therefore both vintages not available for tasting. 2008 Le Clarence de Haut Brion was round, nicely balanced, soft texture, sweet cherry fruit and splendid structure. 90p. La Chapelle de La Mission Haut Brion acted mineral, more gentle on the palate than Clarence, with good tannin grip and fine balance. 89p.
2008 red La Mission Haut Brion was strong with fine tannin and great depth, firm finish. Classy and stylish wine. 95p. 2008 red Haut Brion offered more complex wine than La Mission with more nuances, excellent balance, finesse, richness and very long, smooth and caressing finish. Stunning wine worth all these 97p. 2008 Laville Haut Brion displayed fresh aromas of lemon grass, citrus and apple, great acidity, finesse, elegance and delicate finish. Awesome wine. 95p. 2008 white Haut Brion showed intense aromas of pear, pineapple and acacia flower, was formidably knitted together, had impeccable balance and length. Fantastic stuff. 97p. I was told that harvest would finish on the 27th September and so far they were satisfied with the quality of grapes despite the well-known weather problems in 2011.

Next stop and last visit of the day was Seguin, which I discovered one year ago during my harvest trip organized by wine syndicate of Graves/Péssac-Leognan. At Seguin, the harvest was going at full speed and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes were of very, very good quality. I was left speechless tasting 2010 Seguin in the end of March and this wine continues to amaze me with all these chocolate/wild black cherry aroma, power on the palate, extremely long, sophisticated and stunning richness. The best Seguin ever produced!! 95+p. 2009 Seguin was excellent too, but didn't have the flamboyance and richness of 2010. 93p. 2008 Seguin was very mineral, multifacetted, well constructed and structured, big on the palate and with sophisticated touch. Splendid effort for the vintage. 92p.

Sorting table at Seguin - the first guy on the right side is Xavier, cellar master of Seguin since 2007 and mainly reponsible for its great uprise

Friday, the 23rd September

It's a Pomerol day and I'm om my way to Clinet. My first visit ever at this property.

You can't ask for a better weather during harvest, can you? It was like that all day and 22-29 degrees Celsius.

Ronan Laborde, young manager of Clinet. Perfect weather outside in Pomerol

Ronan Laborde arrived at Clinet in September 2003 and he told me it was quite difficult year to begin with and learn all the necessary things. Last three vintages (2008-2009-2010) witnesses a lot of his excellent work.

He was very happy with the weather during the week of 19th-26th September 2011, which according to him allowed grapes to get ripe and steady after barely perfect weather in previous week. Ronan expected to finish harvest in the beginning of following week.

Clinet is 85% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Cabernet Franc. 20% of Clinet's vineyard are planted with 75 years old vines, which give big concentration of fruit and tannin to the wine. Many vines are over 35 years old. Because of large content of clay in the subsoil, Clinet harvests late.

2008 Clinet displayed lot of black cherries, minerality, sweet creamy fruit and sweet long finish. Very complex and rich wine. Ronan told me, that late harvest (17th October!) that year allowed him to get the best possible out of Merlot grapes. Stunning wine worth every point of 94p. Pomerol was very successful in 2008 vintage, so Clinet fits very much in the top wines of this vintage.

2009 Clinet was strong, intense, had cherries mixed with grated chocolate, mocha, fine acidity, great balance, depth, fat ripe tannin, sophisticated touch and long firm finish. Flamboyant wine of excellent quality. 96p.

2010 Clinet seemed to be on same level as 2009, maybe slightly less concentrated,less powerful softer and more elegant. Still, a wine of immense quality. 95p.

Great visit and assurance, that Clinet is in the hands of very dedicated and talented young winemaker.

After Clinet I went to Bourgneuf, a property just behind Trotanoy. I have visited this property several times since my first visit in 1998.

70 years old vine - Cabernet Franc. Bourgneuf

Daughter and mother, Frederique and Dominique Vayron, examining bunches of Cabernet Franc. Look very happy what they see and have,

don't they? Bourgneuf Vayron

Top of the vat at Bourgneuf

I spent several hours at Bourgneuf looking at the harvest and work in the cellar.This was the last day of the harvest (Cabernet Franc) at Bourgneuf and Vayron family felt the quality of it was excellent, not unlike 2008. Overall, they were very satisfied with 2011 harvest and especially the final part of it in brought in beautifullly sunny and warm weather. Amid watching Frederique and Dominique Vayron spinning in and out of the cellar and also participating at sorting table, I tasted 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2005 Bourgneuf.

2009 had great intensity of sweet black cherries on the nose, chocolate flavour, fat ripe tannin, great balance, seamless structure, depth and long, intens and fruity finish. Really great effort for the vintage and Frederique’s clear imprint on it. 94+p.

2008, first vintage made by Frederique Vayron with help of her father, was tight and backward with splendid concentration, well-balanced, mineral, long and nuanced. A bit of old fashioned style her with slightly rustic tannin, but anyway a splendid effort for the vintage. 92p.

2007 had hint of cocoa powder, truffles, was light and with somewhat ripe fruit, round and with good grip. Pleasant to drink already. 87p. 2005 made by Frederique’s father, Xavier, had many similarities with 2008, but of course 2005 provided more ripeness and sweetnes to the fruit and tannin to this wine, and not to forget balance and depth. 100% Pomerol wine here! 93p.

Hat to close fermenting vat and to keep CO2 and warm temperature inside, instead of thermoregulating

After Bourgneuf, I arrived at Lafleur. It was last day of the harvest too and Jacques Guinaudeau view on the outcome of the vintage was much better now than some weeks ago. Of course he doesn't expect something similar to 2009 and 2010 vintage, merely a classic Bordeaux á la 2008.

Myself (right) and Jacques Guinaudeau (left) watching if I cut the bunch properly at Lafleur in Pomerol

Jacques Guinaudeau examining the bunch of grapes at Lafleur in Pomerol

Monday, the 26th September

To something completely different - it's botrytis time - Sauternes and Barsac!

Canon Ixus 220 HS doing its job perfectly!!

Close up of botrytis at Nairac in Barsac

Excellent botrytis at Nairac in Barsac

Excellent but somewhat irregular botrytis at Nairac in Barsac

My first visit of the day (Monday the 26th September) was Nairac in Barsac commune. Nicolas Tari-Heeter, told me that quantity will be significantly less than in 2009 and 2010, due to problems with the weather, ripening and presence of bad rot. Quality of the juice from already harvested grapes is splendid and he hoped that Semillon grapes around the property would gain more in alcohol content, to make better selection. He wouldn't say which vintage 2011 will resemble, but certainly it will be a fine one.

I tasted vintages 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.

2009 (barrel sample) - very aromatic, sweet pineapple, apricot, honey melon, excellent support of acidity to intense and luscious fruit, long and hoyened aftertaste, great complexity and style. Sophisticated and refined. Fabulous stuff. 96p.

2008 - only 2.5 hl/ha in yield for Grand Vin because of frost in April 2008, which destroyed more than 50% of buds meaning heavy loss of grapes. It had botrytised flavours of guava on the nose, crème brulée, great intensity, fine acidity and structure. Long on the palate with graceful aftertaste. Terrific effort. 94p.

2007 - this wine showed big, big nose of intermixing flavors of grapefruit, apple, orange peel and pear. Full-bodied. Splendid acidity and beautiful balance. Rich and refined. Smooth and long finish. Fabulous stuff! 96p.

2006 - spicy botrytised flavours of grapefruit and apricot on the palate, crème brulée on the nose. Splendid balance and plenty of finesse. Honeyed aftertaste. Fine effort. 93p.

2004 - walnuts and grilled flavors (reduction), very elegant, splendid balance, stylish and rich wine. Smooth and long aftertaste. A real charmeur wine. 92p.

Then over to another property in Barsac, Coutet. Was welcomed by Aline Baly and after some sightseeing around property and in the cellar, Aline kindly offered me to taste 2010 and 2003 Coutet.

2010 Coutet offered intense flavor of acacia honey, orange peel and pear, great combination of sweetness and acidity, superb concentration of candied fruits on the palate and smooth finish. Refined with great elegance and style. It’s for sure gained more intensity and concentration since primeur week. 93p.

2003 Coutet was extremely impressive – orange marmalade, candied orange peel , crème brulée with stunning intensity and acidity, rich and sophisticated, great balance and long caressing aftertaste. 95p. This vintage offers almost unlimited combination with food, especially Asian ones. I wonder btw how 2003 Coutet would suit dishes with cépes? – I’ll certainly find out of the combination, as I own both several half and normal bottles of this wine.

Harvest was still going on at Coutet when I visited it and Aline told me it would take additional 2-3 weeks to finish it.

Aline Baly - Coutet

After Coutet, I went to ”old friend ” since 1987, Gilette in Preignac. Andrée and Christian Medeville retired in 2004, and their daughter Julie and her husband Xavier Gonet, have been running family properties since then. Amid very busy harvest time, there was only time to quick visit. Julie prepared following wines in 2010 vintage (except Gilette) for tasting:

Cru Monplaisir (Bordeaux Superieur, situated close to Gironde, just outside Margaux appelation) - ripe fruit, terroir very present, soft and well-balanced with nice grip and intensity on the palate. 88p.

Eyrins (Margaux) – mineral, strong tannin, nice acidity, quite powerful. Looks very promising. 89-90p.

Respide Medeville red - very aromatic with clear wild cherry aroma, powerful with plenty of fruit and tannin in fine balance. Glorious effort. 91p.

Les Justices - nose and palate of sweet pineapple marinated in sugar, excellent acidity to support thrilling sweetness of fruit. 92p.

1989 Gilette – latest vintage release of this wine. Heavy style with alcohol very present but not dominating. Extremely intense botrytised flavors of creme brulée, pineapple and melasse, great interplay between sweetness and acidity, stunning concentration and depth, very strong structure, extremely long finish. Typical of the vintage. 96-97p.

Last visit of the day took place at Raymond Lafon, a property which makes high value wines. Jean-Pierre Meslier, always very good to have discussion with and not only about wine, told me that harvested grapes looked just fine and that the harvest would take around two weeks more. He was very kind to prepare tasting for me of following vintages, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007.

2000 – September pickings were of high quality but then rain came and didn’t stop for remaining months of the year. Acacia honey, sweet pineapple, light but elegant with finesse. Very charming and nice to drink now before the big vintages get mature. 89p.

2003 - 99.9% of entire harvest became Grand Vin!! Extremely intense nose of melasse, mango, candied mandarine peel, crème brulée. These botrytised flavors were incredible and deep. Extremely rich, unctuous and extremely long on the palate, with acidity matching perfectly gobs of sweetness. This was extraordinary stuff, pure extravaganza I say, 99.9% legend and a perfect example of flamboyant style of Bordeaux stickies. I think those who criticize 2003 vintage for being too much sugar and too little acidity, can really eat their words now! This vintage’s really opened for floodgates this year with fantastic wines matching all kinds of food perfectly. 99p.

2004 - Only 1/3 of entire harvest went into Grand Vin - grapes were picked between 27th September and 7th October. It possessed extremely fine botrytis and intense aromatic nose of pear and guava and crème brulée. On the palate, there was citron fromage, great depth and complexity, and acidity mingled perfectly med sweetness. Stunning wine for the vintage! 95p.

2005 - 70% of the harvest went into Grand Vin. Light yellow. Pure, very aromatic with big intensity of botrytised flavors like apricots and walnuts, very rich, great balance and sophisticated touch. Fabulous wine with great potential. 96p.

2007 - Strong botrytised aromas of lemon, grapefruit, orange peel and citrus, strong and powerful on the palate, mineral, beautiful acidity and honeyed aftertaste. Great effort for the vintage. 95p.

Marvellous ending of the day in Sauternes & Barsac.

Tuesday the 27th September

Paul Pontalier explaining his view on 2011 vintage

Control centre monitoring harvest at Margaux. The guy on the left is Thomas Do Chi Nam, previously technical director at Pichon Comtesse, who's only started his new job at the 1st September.

Subdued light, great atmosphere and Paul Pontalier pouring beautiful 2010 vintage of his. 2009 and 2008 Margaux wait for their turn.

This last day of visits in Bordeaux turned out to be a very special day and one always to remember.

Early in the sunny morning, my Bordeaux friend, Alexandre Rychlewski drove me to first stop in our visiting schedule, Château Margaux. For me, entering the “land” of Château Margaux, is always a very special and extraordinary feeling and for once I forgot during all my visit, how expensive it has become. We came 20 minutes too early, but on our way to parking, we noticed Paul Pontalier, Château Margaux’ manager, checking around the vineyard if everything was OK.

He joined us app. 20 minutes later and just imagine that he stayed with us for almost 1½ hour of his precious time, despite the fact that it was last day of harvest. Incredibly nice gesture from him! I’ve always had a great admiration for Paul Pontalier as he’s never let me down during my visits at Château Margaux and have opened the bottles I’ve asked for.

He told us, that grapes were not affected by rot here, yield per ha will barely exceed 28 hl and first vats indicating something similar to 2008. After some sightseeing in vineyard and looking at work of 50 pickers in one part of the vineyard (there were 6 groups á 50 pickers in different places of Margaux’ vineyard), we went inside away from blue skies and hot weather, and to our surprise we saw operational center in the room Margaux uses for tastings during primeur week. Every bin is analysed, position of the pickers visible, filling of the vats and analyse result s of harvested grapes. Two computer experts are included full time in the staff at Margaux and they’ve both developed the software for monitoring the harvest.

Talking about 2011 vintage, he said, that seeing burnt grapes in the end of June (42 degrees Celsius) was something he hasn’t experienced for 45 years, not even in 2003!

Then, vintages 2010, 2009 and 2008 were ready to be tasted.

2010 Margaux – great elegance and class, stunning depth and structure, velvety, sweet cherries, wonderful balance, great depth, extremely long and lingering aftertaste. Racking last month affected this wine just slightly. 98p.

2009 Margaux – what a jaw-dropping wine! My friend told me that this wine stole his heart, but obviously it took mine too. Wonderful, penetrating, extremely intense and deep nose of black cherries and grated Varlhona chocolate. Paul Pontalier said that the nose of this wine reminded him of 1953 Margaux and I couldn’t agree more! Did taste this wine in 1990 and the fragrance of it is sensantional. Back to 2009 – great distinction, seamless, sophisticated, extremely long with many layers and with lingering velvety aftertaste. Flamboyant and breathless wine. 100p.

2008 Margaux – I own few bottles of this wine and was curious to see how it fared. It started with great notes of cherries, freshness, seamless structure and great minerality. Not as flamboyant as 2009, but still classy and stylish wine with great personality. Wonderfully balanced and with excellent acidity. After tasting it, I’ve every reason to jump of joy, having purchased this wine primeur at 1/5 of the price of 2009 vintage or 1/7 of the price of 2010 vintage. 97p.

After tasting, we circled around sorting table and in the cellars. This was a fantastic visit with so many impressions. Thank you very much Paul Pontalier!

Close look at Cabernet Sauvignon bunch. Margaux.

Dry ice put in the container to cool the grapes at Margaux.

High tech - computer by sorting table at Margaux.

Very happy guys! Margaux.

Next visit took place at Lascombes, situated just outside Margaux town. Recently sold to a French mutual insurance company.
Harvest of Cabernet Sauvignon was still going on there. We were received by a youngest member of staff at Lascombes, Anais (it's true - same name as Cacharel perfume), pretty womanl in her mid-20s. Bright and intelligent. After quick sightseeing in high mood, we tasted 2010 Lascombes. It showed much better than during primeur week. Much more intensity and concentration, better balance, more power and longer finish. 92p.
Then some close look at the harvest. Lascombes is renting optical sorting machine, which cost around 1.500 €/day. However, to be sure, there was sorting table placed after this optical wonder. We saw some bunches with rotten grapes but they didn’t pass the final sorting. A lunch with pickers followed and we were treated with fruity and round 2008 Chevalier de Lascombes (second wine 86p) and fine 2006 Lascombes (91p) with splendid minerality, complexity and firm finish.

Dominic Bevfe, Lascombes' manager, was pretty satisfied with what he had in vats, especially after very sunny and warm weather arrived on the 20th September and allowed grapes to get final "touch", following very changeable weather conditions in spring and summer, resulting in uneven ripening, lack of water and rot.

Almost perfect bunch of Cabernet Sauvignon at Lascombes.