 |
| Chateau Mouton Gardens |
2013 was an excellent year for Bordeaux’s desert and white wines yet it was one of the most difficult vintages in recent history for the production of Bordeaux reds. Weather conditions were challenging from winter months right up until the harvest and vine growers could only thank warm and stable conditions in the months of July and August for saving the crop. Bordeaux veterans believe that twenty years ago these kinds of poor weather conditions would completely destroy the production and that vintage would end up with little or no crop. Yet in 2013 the chateaux with sufficient financial muscle, access to knowledge and modern technology have managed to produce a number of good wines in what has been very difficult circumstances.
The 2013 red wines are extremely
varied in quality and so it was more important than ever for our team to make
the trip to taste wines across the appellations. The wines we have identified as
the best of the vintage lack generalisation. They all come from variety of soils,
from different appellations and some are predominantly Cabernet blends and some,
Merlot. It appears that the best wines are result of technological advance, terroir,
hard work in the vineyards and rigorous selection of, in many cases, a very
small harvest. Importantly the small selection of wines that we can recommend
are those that are reasonably priced and these are the chateaux who took the overall
nature of the vintage and market into full consideration when deciding on price.
Wines
2013 is an excellent vintage for Bordeaux’s
sweet wines. Stable and warm weather during July and August accelerated
ripening, and the cool and wet weather that followed has ensured high levels of
underlying acidity and development of noble rot. As a result the sweet wines are
expressive and very attractive at this early stage. They are already displaying
charm and complexity but all the necessary components are there to promise a long
life ahead.
2013 was also an excellent year for dry
Bordeaux whites. There is a vibrant energy found in most white wines and the aromatic
profile is precise with prominent floral notes and restrained citrus and peach.
Many are already quite revealing and inviting but offer excellent levels of
acidity and high fruit concentration suggest very good ageing potential.
When it comes to the reds, they are much
more varied in quality. The gap between properties being able to invest in new
technology and facilities and those with lesser financial muscle is widening which
is further reason for the uneven quality of this vintage. Most of the 2013 red wines
are light in body and sugar/alcohol levels are significantly lower than in previous
years. In the best cases gentle maceration and extraction were well managed so
the wines ended up with fresh, fruity characters with low tannins and a reduced
influence of new oak. Cool summer months ensured good levels of acidity and
development of restrained, cool red and black fruit aromatics. 2013 reds will
be early drinking wines that in the words of Michel Rolland will be “allowing
for 2008, 2009 and 2010 to be forgotten in the cellar”
Growing Season
The
winter of 2012/3 was one of the wettest on record. In Pauillac, Chateau Latour
reported 614mm of rain, 20% above average for the period between October and
March. Cool and rainy weather continued in spring slowing vegetal development. In
Margaux, Chateau Palmer recorded average temperatures in the period between
April 1 and May 31 as lowest of the decade. A drop in temperatures in late
April caused frost across many appellations and unstable, cool and wet
conditions continued until end of June. As a result, flowering occurred 15 days
later than in the previous year. It took place in cold, wet conditions and it resulted
in coulure and millerandage that was widely reported on both sides of the
river. This will have a crucial impact on the small size of the vintage. In
this period a deficit of 25% less sunshine hours was reported in the months of
May and June and the rainfall was well above average, bringing
the threat of mildew and botrytis. Hard work was required in the vineyards to
protect the plants and many used this opportunity to engage in de-leafing and
lateral shoot removal. The weather finally improved in July bringing sunshine
and high temperatures. In St Estephe, Cos d’Estournel registered the hottest
and driest July on record in the last 60 years with average temperature well
above 30°C, while at Chateau Clinet average July temperatures were closer to 31°C.
The end of July was marked by heavy hail storms that brought considerable
damage. These episodes were short-lived and sunny, warm weather continued into
August. Around the 15th the plants experienced moderate water stress
and mid-veraison was observed around 23rd August. The rains returned
in September and the fight for technological and phenolic maturity continued
together with increasing threat of botrytis. Additional leaf thinning was
needed and the fight against parasites continued. In most cases the harvest was
brought forward to secure a healthy state of the grapes. The picking was
conducted in the last 15 days of September for whites - from 17th
for Sauvignon Blanc and from 24th of September for Semillon. Merlot
was picked from the 24th in Graves, the 27th in Margaux, the
29th in Pomerol and the 1st October in Pauillac. The last
vineyards of Cabernet Sauvignon were harvested on the 11th October
in Graves and St Estephe. Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon was harvested on
the 12th October in Pomerol in St Emilion and on the 13th
in Pauillac. The harvested crops needed rigorous selection with many grapes affected
by millerandage and botrytis. Acidity levels were satisfactory with the pH levels
ranging from 2.99 to 3.29 for whites and 3.50 – 3.62 for reds. However, there
was uneven sugar maturity of gathered grapes and the crop often required
chapitalisation particularly on the left bank. However, one of the main aspects determining
the quality and style of 2013 reds was the nature of obtained tannins. Growers
who picked too early risked green and astringent tannins while those seeking
extra ripeness risked the onset of botrytis. The best Chateaux carried out up
to five sorting rounds and those with sufficient financial muscle used optical sorting machines. The first wines in
many cases included less than one third of the total production. Finally there
was an important shift in winemaking techniques. Careful
extraction was needed in order to avoid hard tannins. Maceration and fermentation were shortened, fermentation
temperatures were lowered by 3-4 degrees, the number of pump-overs was
significantly reduced and the application of new barrels was cut down by 30-40
%. As a result many of the wines are light and lacking necessary substance. The
best are exhibiting fruity and fresh character and majority will be best
consumed soon after release.
Neb Gusic
Director
Bancroft Wines
No comments:
Post a Comment