My Article: More Tastings of 2010 Bordeaux

(BORDEAUX) I am absolutely exhausted tonight, but before I call it a night, I wanted to write a little about my thoughts after tasting about 200 wines from 2010 here. I had a tough afternoon tasting at the laboratory of international consulting enologist Michel Rolland. I had no idea that he was organizing about 120 samples when I arrived this afternoon, but I got through the wines. See photo.

What’s interesting about the 2010 reds is that the wines are very easy to taste. They are balanced and fresh with wonderful fruits, ripe tannins, and bright acidities. I thought that perhaps it was the ripe yet refined tannin structure that kept the wines so clean and precise. But, according to Rolland, it is the fresh acidity that keeps the 2010s so bright and invigorating to taste. “What’s amazing is the low pH of the wines even with so much fruit and ripe tannins,” he said.

I keep thinking back to last year with the 2009s. The reds of 2009 were much more concentrated, fruiter, and slightly more alcoholic at this stage. They were fatiguing to taste. They were all about incredible ripe fruit. After about 30 wines, I was so, so tired. But they were amazing. And I love them.

The 2010s I have tasted so far seem much more in check. They are impressive with their ripe and exuberant fruit but they have reserved, tighter structure. Tasting these young 2010 reds is like looking at an abstract painting that has the perfect frame to highlight the form of the art. There’s definition and precision to the 2010s.

Rolland called it “harmony.” He also called the 2010 “clearly better than 2009.” But I am still not sure.