My Article: Contemplating the Quality of 2008 Bordeaux

(BORDEAUX, DEC. 18, 2010): I woke up this morning in Bordeaux to a light dusting of snow and silence. The bright morning sun was warming the frozen vineyards of Smith-Haut-Lafitte, which is located next to my hotel in the Pessac-Leognan region. It was ice cold and crisp. My mind was clear and tranquil.

I was thinking about the tasting report that I need to write this weekend about the 2008 vintage, which should include about 100 tasting notes. I was contemplating what to write about this very good, sometimes excellent vintage.

What comes to mind is that I was a little severe on the vintage when I tasted it from barrel in Spring 2009. The wines from the top estates significantly improved with aging in barrel. The wines that I scored 90 points or more show wonderful aromas of fresh dark fruits and flowers and firm, racy and delicately fruity palates. Their tannins are polished and refined. It reminds me of the underrated 2001 vintage.

Most of the wine producers I spoke to on my weeklong trip to Bordeaux consistently described the vintage as “classic.” I don’t think they mean classic in the sense of truly exceptional or outstanding. They are talking about the structure or style of the wine. They are describing wines that Bordeaux has the uncanny ability to produce – refined yet dense reds that touch every taste bud and nerve with intense flavor components and silky tannins.

The tendency would be for inexperienced Bordeaux tasters to underrate freshly bottled reds from the top names of the region at this state of their development. But you have to feel the wines with your heart and soul. It’s not just a numbers game. You need to think back to the dozens of vintages you have tasted at this stage and think how they compare and what’s different about what’s in your glass now.

What 2008 proves is that Bordeaux winemakers are some of the most talented in the world in their vineyards and cellars. The old paradigms of overall quality of a vintage are less useful. That’s why I don’t like assigning numbers to vintages. For example, some chateaux may have made better wines in 2008 than the heralded 2005 and 2000 because they had better technique or better equipment. Who knows?

But the fact is that I found about 100 outstanding wines, or 90 points or more,  (I don’t write about wines that I score less than 90 points) and a handful were rated 95 to 96 points. So 2008 will be remembered as a very good vintage that produced some exceptional wines and the fact that the top wines are significantly less expensive than 2005 and 2009 only adds to the attraction of the vintage.