The best Bordeaux don’t fail

May 30 2008 by Jane Hall, The Journal

VERY ripe and rich, but also rather clumsy, chewy and chunky. My terse note doesn’t describe a £5.99 supermarket red, but a ‘great’ claret, a wine that retails, if you’re lucky enough to find it, well in excess of £100 per bottle.

It had better remain anonymous, but it is proof to me that some of the world’s most sought-after wines are ridiculously overpriced. An element of the emperor’s new clothes surrounds them.

However, I would be guilty of a grave calumny if I were to give the impression that all top red Bordeaux wines are like this. The best of them really do possess an elegance and complexity of flavour that is wonderful and inimitable.

A few weeks ago I was privileged to be able to taste some of them, drawn from the last four vintages. It was an opportunity not only to assess the character of each year, but also to compare the unique style of some of the greatest red wines ever made.

The most recent vintage to be shown was 2007. It was a beast of a year, blighted by the worst attack of mildew for three generations. Diligence in the vineyard and the patience to wait until the grapes were as ripe as possible, backed up by a rigorous selection of only the best bunches, even individual berries, was the only key to success.

And the best wines are delicious. They aren’t block-busters, but are gloriously perfumed, generously fruity and will be ready to drink almost as soon as they are released for sale in about a year’s time. Those we tried were all samples specially drawn from the barrels in which they are still being matured.

Jean-Bernard Grenié of Château Angelus, a kindly man who makes one of the finest St Emilions, told me that “nine-tenths of the red wines made from late harvested grapes don’t have a long life.” But his wine picked between September 21 and the first week of October (late by recent standards, if not by those of previous generations) is so appealing that I can’t imagine that anyone will leave it lingering, unloved, in a cold cellar for more than a few years.

Two years ago it was very different. “The 2006 is a wine for patient people,” insisted Monsieur Grenié, “and I know that the English are very patient.”

At this stage of its life, the tannins of many wines are a little strong and acid levels seem high, but the growers all insist that these gawky ugly ducklings have real swan potential.

No one doubts the star quality of 2005. The demand for them is huge. Monsieur Grenié has already sold out. Château Gazin in Pomerol has a fabulous abundance of perfumed fruit, matched by a sensationally silky texture. It’s a superb wine.

Château Pontet Canet is a brilliant success too, with not only an amazing concentration of ripe black fruit, but also a lovely refreshing quality that you seldom meet in big New World reds.

Four years ago was a big surprise. Overlooked by many commentators, especially those who had unwisely splashed out too much on 2003s, it’s a fine, classic, elegant vintage with many approachable, perfumed, well-balanced wines. I love the spiciness of Château Rauzan-Ségla, and the scented, spicy, concentrated fruit of Château Smith Haut-Lafitte.

So how do you pick the gems from the dross? If you want to buy fine claret as an investment, I don’t suppose it matters all that much. But if you want to buy special wine to enjoy drinking it one day, then either taste before you buy, or, if you want to take advantage of opening offers and buy the wine (relatively) cheaply en primeur, before it’s even been bottled, then find a merchant whose tastebuds you trust.

Most of the likely suspects were also at this London tasting. If they’re honest and wise, they will steer you to the truly fine wines that are the only real guarantee of Bordeaux’s reputation. The Wine Society for example, is utterly reliable and so are Farr Vintners, Tanners and Adnams.

WINE OF THE WEEK

Château Barreyres, Haut-Médoc 2005, Sainsbury’s, £8.75

DEEP, purply red with a tempting smell and taste of blackcurrant, bramble and black cherry, joined by licorice on the aftertaste. Silky and sophisticated – a fine Bordeaux that doesn’t cost the earth. One for the Sunday roast.

Affordable and highly enjoyable

ANOTHER affordable and highly enjoyable red Bordeaux from the superb 2005 vintage is Château Tour Pignac, from the Médoc (£9.99 at Oddbins).

Deep and plummy, it combines spicy vanilla with the flavours of plum and bramble, and like my wine of the week, a little licorice. It’s quite soft and at its best now while its fruit is so fresh and appealing. Claret doesn’t always get better if you cellar it.

Most red Bordeaux is a blend of Merlot with Cabernet Sauvignon and a little Cabernet Franc. Cabernet Sauvignon on its own can be quite a tough cookie. It has exceptionally thick, small berries, packed not only with flavour (rather like blackcurrant) but masses of tannin and fairly high acidity.

The fleshier Merlot is usually blended with it to soften it a little and make it a little less austere. Even in the New World, wines labelled just as ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ usually are rounded out by a little Merlot or another suitable variety. Spier Vintage Selection Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 (£8.99 Morrison’s), is a great example of what South Africa can achieve with Cabernet, with or without a dollop of Merlot.

This powerful, rich red wine has aromas of spice, tobacco, chocolate and black fruit, and a huge brambly, blackcurrant flavour underpinned by masses of tannin. It’s impressive, but needs a juicy steak to show its best.