![\"2021](\"https:\/\/www.leaandsandeman.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Figeac.jpg\")
As with Pomerol, we started on a high. In the wine trade, it\u2019s quite easy to become jaded. We\u2019re treated to an awful lot of wonderful food, wine and in this instance, buildings. Pulling up to Ch\u00e2teau Figeac, who have been talking about their \u2018new\u2019 winery for what seems like millennia, it was hard to see what all the fuss was about. The sympathetically crafted wing was stuck onto the Ch\u00e2teau and no doubt, to the casual observer, would have looked like it had been there since the get go. That was, until you set foot inside\u2026<\/p>\n
The glass tasting room overlooking this new behemoth was our first taste that we were no longer in Pomerol. The lids to the vats stood open over griddles which you could easily make you feel like you\u2019d just wandered into a giant\u2019s BBQ. The downstairs was a maze (a very orderly maze) or pristine stainless steel and wooden vats, illuminated in such a way that you thought at any moment dry ice would start pouring in and a DJ would rise out of the floor. It sounds a bit gauche but had been put together so skilfully that it really was overwhelmingly impressive.<\/p>\n
Ch\u00e2teau Troplong Mondont<\/strong><\/h4>\n![\"Chateau](\"https:\/\/www.leaandsandeman.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Troplong-mondont-bottles.jpg\")
The wine itself was full of super succulent red berries. This new winery allows them to now conduct full plot by plot micro vinification, the result of this process is a blend of total precision \u2013 it still had the Figeac elegance, but was somehow fuller, more supple\u2026 All without losing anything. It\u2019s easy to be sceptical when someone throws this much money at a project, but the results were remarkable.
\nAfter this, we went roving up the hill. Troplong Mondot is easy to find as it\u2019s the highest point in St \u00c9milion \u2013 you just look for the water tower (apparently not secretly a fermentation vessel). Troplong are great fun (they had a course set up for racing a little electric land rover to win a double magnum of their 2018. Sadly, David and I were distinctly mid table) and since the new team came in, they have done a huge amount to refine the wine. In fact, so much so that this was the first Troplong below 14% alcohol since 1999. It\u2019s exciting to see this very special terroir start shining through.<\/p>\n
![\"Troplong](\"https:\/\/www.leaandsandeman.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Troplong-mondont.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Ch\u00e2teau Pavie-Macquin<\/strong><\/h4>\n![\"Pavie](\"https:\/\/www.leaandsandeman.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Pavie-Macquin.jpg\")
A slightly perilous drive through the town of Saint \u00c9milion and down the winding tracks carved between the limestone bought us up the driveway to Ch\u00e2teau Pavie-Macquin (one of those that elegantly folds back on itself, but we found impossible to negotiate the corners without quite a lot of reversing and dry steering \u2013 again, sorry hire car). I\u2019ve long been an advocate for the leaps forward in quality that are being made here by the Thienponts. The terroir is fantastic, neighbouring big players like Ausone and they completed substantial renovations to the winery, tasting room and vat house in 2012. The 2021 is a very tensile wine which will doubtless benefit from age, but already has so much to enjoy. It\u2019s easy to forget that Nicolas Thienpont and St\u00e9phane Derenoncourt pioneered biodynamics here in the 1990s, and so much has changed since then \u2013 more Cabernet Franc, gentler extraction, lighter use of oak. I will continue to wave the flag of this marvellous and frankly undervalued winery.<\/p>\n
Ch\u00e2teau Laroque<\/strong><\/h4>\nOur next visit was somewhere new and, for the left bank, even Saint \u00c9milion, really rather grand. Ch\u00e2teau Laroque appeared for the first time on La Place de Bordeaux in 2020, we tasted it well and then and it keeps attracting some great scores. We\u2019re always really impressed by its elegance, and this didn\u2019t change in 2021. The beautiful Ch\u00e2teau is rather dramatically perched on a plateau of solid limestone (makes Laroque, or \u2018la rock\u2019 make a lot of sense) and is part 18th century Ch\u00e2teau, part Medieval castle.<\/p>\n
2021 took that red fruit elegance to ever greater extremes. It was one of the lowest PH wines we tried and was incredibly fine and zesty. We\u2019ve a sneaking suspicion it will flesh out very nicely in years to come (winemaker David Suire used to work on Pavie-Macquin and Larcis Ducasse, so knows what he is doing), but it\u2019ll be for fans of the more fine-boned style of Saint \u00c9milion.
\nI\u2019m really not sure what game is being played with the Saint Emilion classifications at the moment.<\/p>\n
![\"Chateau](\"https:\/\/www.leaandsandeman.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Chateau-Laroque-building.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Ch\u00e2teau Cheval Blanc<\/strong><\/h4>\n![\"Cheval](\"https:\/\/www.leaandsandeman.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Chateau-Cheval-Blanc.jpg\")
It\u2019s a bit toy soldiers. The next trio of wines, however, showed why it\u2019s really not especially meaningful which letter you have by your name. Ch\u00e2teau Cheval Blanc have the magic formula, but recently have seemingly added more to their spell book. Yes, it\u2019s predictable \u2013 one of the two best wines in Saint \u00c9milion is absolutely great, thanks Jack for reporting the obvious. But I think we need to give them credit. Not only have they got the pricing absolutely spot on the last two vintages, they\u2019ve also made a stunning 2021. It\u2019s fascinating to look at their vines and see the work going into creating a biodiverse environment (in some areas they even had small trees between the rows to go with the wild flowers and other fauna). The attention to detail here goes beyond anything you\u2019d imagine and the results speak for themselves. It\u2019s a cabernet dominant wine in 2021, so has something of a serious edge, but they somehow still managed to make it so incredibly friendly and drinkable. So I\u2019ll admit, it\u2019s boring to report that the old Class A is a great wine, but at least you know you\u2019re buying something which is a true step up on the rest.<\/p>\n
Ch\u00e2teau Ausone<\/strong><\/h4>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.leaandsandeman.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Ausonne-la-clotte.jpg\")
Speaking of stepping up, we took to playing a silly game over dinner and extended it to other merchants, negociants and unassuming guests. What would you buy every year from Bordeaux if money were no object? I\u2019ll admit first that we excluded the super Pomerols from this (Petrus, Le Pin) because not enough people had tried them, but, an overwhelming number of people said Ausone, and I\u2019m on board. Of scores published so far, the only potential 100 point wine of the vintage, Ausone\u2019s yields were absolutely devastated this year, so much so that they only made the grand vin, Chapelle and La Clotte, which is a real shame, but what was left\u2026
\nAusone is the only barrel sample which every year, without fail, you would happily sit there and drink. It\u2019s so remarkably sensual and delicious \u2013 multifaceted, layered, glycerol and charming, but sleek, elegant and complex. It\u2019s a wine which defies hyperbole. 2021 was no different, but perhaps the biggest surprise was Chapelle. For the first time ever, the blend was all Cabernet, both Franc and Sauvignon. A peculiarity of the harvest, but it made a riveting and very serious second wine, which we think will be stunning in years to come.<\/p>\n
Ch\u00e2teau Tertre Roteboeuf<\/strong><\/h4>\nThe third and final \u2018we don\u2019t care what the classification is\u2019 wine from Saint \u00c9milion might come as a surprise for some. Walking into the small gravel courtyard on a sunny evening at Tertre Roteboeuf felt like such a peaceful departure from some of the glamour we\u2019d already experienced. Fran\u00e7ois, upon marrying into the family who own Tertre Roteboeuf in the early 70s, decided he needed some training and took himself to Ch\u00e2teau Figeac for two years to learn the ropes. Since, he has guided Roteboeuf via nothing more than his own intuition and creates a wine – miles apart from the rest of the appellation. He’s never had any interest in being classified, and stood in that gravel courtyard, drinking the 2021s from a little glass decanter which looked a bit like a potion bottle, we understood exactly why he didn\u2019t need to chase acclaim or approval. It already found him.![\"Tertre](\"https:\/\/www.leaandsandeman.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Tertre-Roteboeuf-decanter.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
David was actually the one to use the \u2018B word\u2019, saying how this small family home was much more like being in Burgundy, with the 2021 even taking a leaf from that particular playbook. Fran\u00e7ois has a bit of a reputation for being on form in years others find challenging, and this was no departure. The 2021s \u2013 Domaine des Cambes, Roc des Cambes and Tertre Roteboeuf, were all stunningly good. There\u2019s a misconception that these wines can\u2019t age, probably because they\u2019re so deeply pleasing on release, but the opposite is really true. He was kind enough to open a bottle of the 2003 Roc des Cambes while we were there \u2013 a vintage where so many, even top left bank producers, have gone to soup.<\/p>\n
![\"Roc-des-Cambes-2003\"](\"https:\/\/www.leaandsandeman.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Roc-des-Cambes-2003.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
This was still wonderfully fresh and vivacious. We can\u2019t\u00a0recommend these enough in 2021.
\nSpeaking of restraint and how some people worked better with it than others in 2021 is an easy segue onto the wines from the Comte von Niepperg cellar. I must admit that I am more endeared to the charming Comte than ever as we both turned up to a party in Bordeaux wearing the same green velvet smoking jacket (he cutting far more of a dash) and he was very sporting about it (neither of us obviously showing the prescience that women do when planning their dresses). That said, we tasted the wine before this happened and can say without any degree of fashion bias that the 2021 vintage really benefitted his style.<\/p>\n
Clos de l’Oratoire<\/strong><\/h4>\nAnother producer who I\u2019ve been a long-time fan of (I promise I won\u2019t pretend this about everyone), one of my seminal early wine moments was with a case of 2005 Clos de l\u2019Oratoire, that myself and some friends bought for a Christmas bash after reading Parker\u2019s note saying \u2018it tastes so good, it may be declared a \u2018banned substance\u2019 by neo-traditionalists. We loved it, but the style was perhaps not for everyone. What 2021 endowed these wines with was greater freshness. By the time we left Bordeaux, we got the sense that some of the typically hedonistic, quite rich styles had just had that extra degree of temperance. Something we all rather liked.
\nThe Comte was generous enough to have donated an imperial of his 1952 Clos de l\u2019Oratoire to the party, a bottle which had aged as well as himself.Our final visit in Saint \u00c9milion continued the high we\u2019d experienced. \u2018One of the classiest and most complete wines of the Right Bank this vintage<\/em>\u2019 is the perfect summary from William Kelley. In a year which seemed to create a divergence of opinion amongst many tasters, one thing we all universally agreed on was that Canon was excellent. I need say no more than that.<\/p>\n
The wine itself was full of super succulent red berries. This new winery allows them to now conduct full plot by plot micro vinification, the result of this process is a blend of total precision \u2013 it still had the Figeac elegance, but was somehow fuller, more supple\u2026 All without losing anything. It\u2019s easy to be sceptical when someone throws this much money at a project, but the results were remarkable.\nAfter this, we went roving up the hill. Troplong Mondot is easy to find as it\u2019s the highest point in St \u00c9milion \u2013 you just look for the water tower (apparently not secretly a fermentation vessel). Troplong are great fun (they had a course set up for racing a little electric land rover to win a double magnum of their 2018. Sadly, David and I were distinctly mid table) and since the new team came in, they have done a huge amount to refine the wine. In fact, so much so that this was the first Troplong below 14% alcohol since 1999. It\u2019s exciting to see this very special terroir start shining through.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nA slightly perilous drive through the town of Saint \u00c9milion and down the winding tracks carved between the limestone bought us up the driveway to Ch\u00e2teau Pavie-Macquin (one of those that elegantly folds back on itself, but we found impossible to negotiate the corners without quite a lot of reversing and dry steering \u2013 again, sorry hire car). I\u2019ve long been an advocate for the leaps forward in quality that are being made here by the Thienponts. The terroir is fantastic, neighbouring big players like Ausone and they completed substantial renovations to the winery, tasting room and vat house in 2012. The 2021 is a very tensile wine which will doubtless benefit from age, but already has so much to enjoy. It\u2019s easy to forget that Nicolas Thienpont and St\u00e9phane Derenoncourt pioneered biodynamics here in the 1990s, and so much has changed since then \u2013 more Cabernet Franc, gentler extraction, lighter use of oak. I will continue to wave the flag of this marvellous and frankly undervalued winery.<\/p>\n
Ch\u00e2teau Laroque<\/strong><\/h4>\nOur next visit was somewhere new and, for the left bank, even Saint \u00c9milion, really rather grand. Ch\u00e2teau Laroque appeared for the first time on La Place de Bordeaux in 2020, we tasted it well and then and it keeps attracting some great scores. We\u2019re always really impressed by its elegance, and this didn\u2019t change in 2021. The beautiful Ch\u00e2teau is rather dramatically perched on a plateau of solid limestone (makes Laroque, or \u2018la rock\u2019 make a lot of sense) and is part 18th century Ch\u00e2teau, part Medieval castle.<\/p>\n
2021 took that red fruit elegance to ever greater extremes. It was one of the lowest PH wines we tried and was incredibly fine and zesty. We\u2019ve a sneaking suspicion it will flesh out very nicely in years to come (winemaker David Suire used to work on Pavie-Macquin and Larcis Ducasse, so knows what he is doing), but it\u2019ll be for fans of the more fine-boned style of Saint \u00c9milion.
\nI\u2019m really not sure what game is being played with the Saint Emilion classifications at the moment.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ch\u00e2teau Cheval Blanc<\/strong><\/h4>\nIt\u2019s a bit toy soldiers. The next trio of wines, however, showed why it\u2019s really not especially meaningful which letter you have by your name. Ch\u00e2teau Cheval Blanc have the magic formula, but recently have seemingly added more to their spell book. Yes, it\u2019s predictable \u2013 one of the two best wines in Saint \u00c9milion is absolutely great, thanks Jack for reporting the obvious. But I think we need to give them credit. Not only have they got the pricing absolutely spot on the last two vintages, they\u2019ve also made a stunning 2021. It\u2019s fascinating to look at their vines and see the work going into creating a biodiverse environment (in some areas they even had small trees between the rows to go with the wild flowers and other fauna). The attention to detail here goes beyond anything you\u2019d imagine and the results speak for themselves. It\u2019s a cabernet dominant wine in 2021, so has something of a serious edge, but they somehow still managed to make it so incredibly friendly and drinkable. So I\u2019ll admit, it\u2019s boring to report that the old Class A is a great wine, but at least you know you\u2019re buying something which is a true step up on the rest.<\/p>\n
Ch\u00e2teau Ausone<\/strong><\/h4>\nSpeaking of stepping up, we took to playing a silly game over dinner and extended it to other merchants, negociants and unassuming guests. What would you buy every year from Bordeaux if money were no object? I\u2019ll admit first that we excluded the super Pomerols from this (Petrus, Le Pin) because not enough people had tried them, but, an overwhelming number of people said Ausone, and I\u2019m on board. Of scores published so far, the only potential 100 point wine of the vintage, Ausone\u2019s yields were absolutely devastated this year, so much so that they only made the grand vin, Chapelle and La Clotte, which is a real shame, but what was left\u2026
\nAusone is the only barrel sample which every year, without fail, you would happily sit there and drink. It\u2019s so remarkably sensual and delicious \u2013 multifaceted, layered, glycerol and charming, but sleek, elegant and complex. It\u2019s a wine which defies hyperbole. 2021 was no different, but perhaps the biggest surprise was Chapelle. For the first time ever, the blend was all Cabernet, both Franc and Sauvignon. A peculiarity of the harvest, but it made a riveting and very serious second wine, which we think will be stunning in years to come.<\/p>\n
Ch\u00e2teau Tertre Roteboeuf<\/strong><\/h4>\nThe third and final \u2018we don\u2019t care what the classification is\u2019 wine from Saint \u00c9milion might come as a surprise for some. Walking into the small gravel courtyard on a sunny evening at Tertre Roteboeuf felt like such a peaceful departure from some of the glamour we\u2019d already experienced. Fran\u00e7ois, upon marrying into the family who own Tertre Roteboeuf in the early 70s, decided he needed some training and took himself to Ch\u00e2teau Figeac for two years to learn the ropes. Since, he has guided Roteboeuf via nothing more than his own intuition and creates a wine – miles apart from the rest of the appellation. He’s never had any interest in being classified, and stood in that gravel courtyard, drinking the 2021s from a little glass decanter which looked a bit like a potion bottle, we understood exactly why he didn\u2019t need to chase acclaim or approval. It already found him.<\/p>\n
David was actually the one to use the \u2018B word\u2019, saying how this small family home was much more like being in Burgundy, with the 2021 even taking a leaf from that particular playbook. Fran\u00e7ois has a bit of a reputation for being on form in years others find challenging, and this was no departure. The 2021s \u2013 Domaine des Cambes, Roc des Cambes and Tertre Roteboeuf, were all stunningly good. There\u2019s a misconception that these wines can\u2019t age, probably because they\u2019re so deeply pleasing on release, but the opposite is really true. He was kind enough to open a bottle of the 2003 Roc des Cambes while we were there \u2013 a vintage where so many, even top left bank producers, have gone to soup.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This was still wonderfully fresh and vivacious. We can\u2019t\u00a0recommend these enough in 2021.
\nSpeaking of restraint and how some people worked better with it than others in 2021 is an easy segue onto the wines from the Comte von Niepperg cellar. I must admit that I am more endeared to the charming Comte than ever as we both turned up to a party in Bordeaux wearing the same green velvet smoking jacket (he cutting far more of a dash) and he was very sporting about it (neither of us obviously showing the prescience that women do when planning their dresses). That said, we tasted the wine before this happened and can say without any degree of fashion bias that the 2021 vintage really benefitted his style.<\/p>\n
Clos de l’Oratoire<\/strong><\/h4>\nAnother producer who I\u2019ve been a long-time fan of (I promise I won\u2019t pretend this about everyone), one of my seminal early wine moments was with a case of 2005 Clos de l\u2019Oratoire, that myself and some friends bought for a Christmas bash after reading Parker\u2019s note saying \u2018it tastes so good, it may be declared a \u2018banned substance\u2019 by neo-traditionalists. We loved it, but the style was perhaps not for everyone. What 2021 endowed these wines with was greater freshness. By the time we left Bordeaux, we got the sense that some of the typically hedonistic, quite rich styles had just had that extra degree of temperance. Something we all rather liked.
\nThe Comte was generous enough to have donated an imperial of his 1952 Clos de l\u2019Oratoire to the party, a bottle which had aged as well as himself.Our final visit in Saint \u00c9milion continued the high we\u2019d experienced. \u2018One of the classiest and most complete wines of the Right Bank this vintage<\/em>\u2019 is the perfect summary from William Kelley. In a year which seemed to create a divergence of opinion amongst many tasters, one thing we all universally agreed on was that Canon was excellent. I need say no more than that.<\/p>\n
\nI\u2019m really not sure what game is being played with the Saint Emilion classifications at the moment.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a bit toy soldiers. The next trio of wines, however, showed why it\u2019s really not especially meaningful which letter you have by your name. Ch\u00e2teau Cheval Blanc have the magic formula, but recently have seemingly added more to their spell book. Yes, it\u2019s predictable \u2013 one of the two best wines in Saint \u00c9milion is absolutely great, thanks Jack for reporting the obvious. But I think we need to give them credit. Not only have they got the pricing absolutely spot on the last two vintages, they\u2019ve also made a stunning 2021. It\u2019s fascinating to look at their vines and see the work going into creating a biodiverse environment (in some areas they even had small trees between the rows to go with the wild flowers and other fauna). The attention to detail here goes beyond anything you\u2019d imagine and the results speak for themselves. It\u2019s a cabernet dominant wine in 2021, so has something of a serious edge, but they somehow still managed to make it so incredibly friendly and drinkable. So I\u2019ll admit, it\u2019s boring to report that the old Class A is a great wine, but at least you know you\u2019re buying something which is a true step up on the rest.<\/p>\n
Ch\u00e2teau Ausone<\/strong><\/h4>\nSpeaking of stepping up, we took to playing a silly game over dinner and extended it to other merchants, negociants and unassuming guests. What would you buy every year from Bordeaux if money were no object? I\u2019ll admit first that we excluded the super Pomerols from this (Petrus, Le Pin) because not enough people had tried them, but, an overwhelming number of people said Ausone, and I\u2019m on board. Of scores published so far, the only potential 100 point wine of the vintage, Ausone\u2019s yields were absolutely devastated this year, so much so that they only made the grand vin, Chapelle and La Clotte, which is a real shame, but what was left\u2026
\nAusone is the only barrel sample which every year, without fail, you would happily sit there and drink. It\u2019s so remarkably sensual and delicious \u2013 multifaceted, layered, glycerol and charming, but sleek, elegant and complex. It\u2019s a wine which defies hyperbole. 2021 was no different, but perhaps the biggest surprise was Chapelle. For the first time ever, the blend was all Cabernet, both Franc and Sauvignon. A peculiarity of the harvest, but it made a riveting and very serious second wine, which we think will be stunning in years to come.<\/p>\n
Ch\u00e2teau Tertre Roteboeuf<\/strong><\/h4>\nThe third and final \u2018we don\u2019t care what the classification is\u2019 wine from Saint \u00c9milion might come as a surprise for some. Walking into the small gravel courtyard on a sunny evening at Tertre Roteboeuf felt like such a peaceful departure from some of the glamour we\u2019d already experienced. Fran\u00e7ois, upon marrying into the family who own Tertre Roteboeuf in the early 70s, decided he needed some training and took himself to Ch\u00e2teau Figeac for two years to learn the ropes. Since, he has guided Roteboeuf via nothing more than his own intuition and creates a wine – miles apart from the rest of the appellation. He’s never had any interest in being classified, and stood in that gravel courtyard, drinking the 2021s from a little glass decanter which looked a bit like a potion bottle, we understood exactly why he didn\u2019t need to chase acclaim or approval. It already found him.<\/p>\n
David was actually the one to use the \u2018B word\u2019, saying how this small family home was much more like being in Burgundy, with the 2021 even taking a leaf from that particular playbook. Fran\u00e7ois has a bit of a reputation for being on form in years others find challenging, and this was no departure. The 2021s \u2013 Domaine des Cambes, Roc des Cambes and Tertre Roteboeuf, were all stunningly good. There\u2019s a misconception that these wines can\u2019t age, probably because they\u2019re so deeply pleasing on release, but the opposite is really true. He was kind enough to open a bottle of the 2003 Roc des Cambes while we were there \u2013 a vintage where so many, even top left bank producers, have gone to soup.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This was still wonderfully fresh and vivacious. We can\u2019t\u00a0recommend these enough in 2021.
\nSpeaking of restraint and how some people worked better with it than others in 2021 is an easy segue onto the wines from the Comte von Niepperg cellar. I must admit that I am more endeared to the charming Comte than ever as we both turned up to a party in Bordeaux wearing the same green velvet smoking jacket (he cutting far more of a dash) and he was very sporting about it (neither of us obviously showing the prescience that women do when planning their dresses). That said, we tasted the wine before this happened and can say without any degree of fashion bias that the 2021 vintage really benefitted his style.<\/p>\n
Clos de l’Oratoire<\/strong><\/h4>\nAnother producer who I\u2019ve been a long-time fan of (I promise I won\u2019t pretend this about everyone), one of my seminal early wine moments was with a case of 2005 Clos de l\u2019Oratoire, that myself and some friends bought for a Christmas bash after reading Parker\u2019s note saying \u2018it tastes so good, it may be declared a \u2018banned substance\u2019 by neo-traditionalists. We loved it, but the style was perhaps not for everyone. What 2021 endowed these wines with was greater freshness. By the time we left Bordeaux, we got the sense that some of the typically hedonistic, quite rich styles had just had that extra degree of temperance. Something we all rather liked.
\nThe Comte was generous enough to have donated an imperial of his 1952 Clos de l\u2019Oratoire to the party, a bottle which had aged as well as himself.Our final visit in Saint \u00c9milion continued the high we\u2019d experienced. \u2018One of the classiest and most complete wines of the Right Bank this vintage<\/em>\u2019 is the perfect summary from William Kelley. In a year which seemed to create a divergence of opinion amongst many tasters, one thing we all universally agreed on was that Canon was excellent. I need say no more than that.<\/p>\n
Speaking of stepping up, we took to playing a silly game over dinner and extended it to other merchants, negociants and unassuming guests. What would you buy every year from Bordeaux if money were no object? I\u2019ll admit first that we excluded the super Pomerols from this (Petrus, Le Pin) because not enough people had tried them, but, an overwhelming number of people said Ausone, and I\u2019m on board. Of scores published so far, the only potential 100 point wine of the vintage, Ausone\u2019s yields were absolutely devastated this year, so much so that they only made the grand vin, Chapelle and La Clotte, which is a real shame, but what was left\u2026\nAusone is the only barrel sample which every year, without fail, you would happily sit there and drink. It\u2019s so remarkably sensual and delicious \u2013 multifaceted, layered, glycerol and charming, but sleek, elegant and complex. It\u2019s a wine which defies hyperbole. 2021 was no different, but perhaps the biggest surprise was Chapelle. For the first time ever, the blend was all Cabernet, both Franc and Sauvignon. A peculiarity of the harvest, but it made a riveting and very serious second wine, which we think will be stunning in years to come.<\/p>\n
The third and final \u2018we don\u2019t care what the classification is\u2019 wine from Saint \u00c9milion might come as a surprise for some. Walking into the small gravel courtyard on a sunny evening at Tertre Roteboeuf felt like such a peaceful departure from some of the glamour we\u2019d already experienced. Fran\u00e7ois, upon marrying into the family who own Tertre Roteboeuf in the early 70s, decided he needed some training and took himself to Ch\u00e2teau Figeac for two years to learn the ropes. Since, he has guided Roteboeuf via nothing more than his own intuition and creates a wine – miles apart from the rest of the appellation. He’s never had any interest in being classified, and stood in that gravel courtyard, drinking the 2021s from a little glass decanter which looked a bit like a potion bottle, we understood exactly why he didn\u2019t need to chase acclaim or approval. It already found him.<\/p>\n
David was actually the one to use the \u2018B word\u2019, saying how this small family home was much more like being in Burgundy, with the 2021 even taking a leaf from that particular playbook. Fran\u00e7ois has a bit of a reputation for being on form in years others find challenging, and this was no departure. The 2021s \u2013 Domaine des Cambes, Roc des Cambes and Tertre Roteboeuf, were all stunningly good. There\u2019s a misconception that these wines can\u2019t age, probably because they\u2019re so deeply pleasing on release, but the opposite is really true. He was kind enough to open a bottle of the 2003 Roc des Cambes while we were there \u2013 a vintage where so many, even top left bank producers, have gone to soup.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This was still wonderfully fresh and vivacious. We can\u2019t\u00a0recommend these enough in 2021.
\nSpeaking of restraint and how some people worked better with it than others in 2021 is an easy segue onto the wines from the Comte von Niepperg cellar. I must admit that I am more endeared to the charming Comte than ever as we both turned up to a party in Bordeaux wearing the same green velvet smoking jacket (he cutting far more of a dash) and he was very sporting about it (neither of us obviously showing the prescience that women do when planning their dresses). That said, we tasted the wine before this happened and can say without any degree of fashion bias that the 2021 vintage really benefitted his style.<\/p>\n
Clos de l’Oratoire<\/strong><\/h4>\nAnother producer who I\u2019ve been a long-time fan of (I promise I won\u2019t pretend this about everyone), one of my seminal early wine moments was with a case of 2005 Clos de l\u2019Oratoire, that myself and some friends bought for a Christmas bash after reading Parker\u2019s note saying \u2018it tastes so good, it may be declared a \u2018banned substance\u2019 by neo-traditionalists. We loved it, but the style was perhaps not for everyone. What 2021 endowed these wines with was greater freshness. By the time we left Bordeaux, we got the sense that some of the typically hedonistic, quite rich styles had just had that extra degree of temperance. Something we all rather liked.
\nThe Comte was generous enough to have donated an imperial of his 1952 Clos de l\u2019Oratoire to the party, a bottle which had aged as well as himself.Our final visit in Saint \u00c9milion continued the high we\u2019d experienced. \u2018One of the classiest and most complete wines of the Right Bank this vintage<\/em>\u2019 is the perfect summary from William Kelley. In a year which seemed to create a divergence of opinion amongst many tasters, one thing we all universally agreed on was that Canon was excellent. I need say no more than that.<\/p>\n
\nThe Comte was generous enough to have donated an imperial of his 1952 Clos de l\u2019Oratoire to the party, a bottle which had aged as well as himself.Our final visit in Saint \u00c9milion continued the high we\u2019d experienced. \u2018One of the classiest and most complete wines of the Right Bank this vintage<\/em>\u2019 is the perfect summary from William Kelley. In a year which seemed to create a divergence of opinion amongst many tasters, one thing we all universally agreed on was that Canon was excellent. I need say no more than that.<\/p>\n
![\"Chateau](\"https:\/\/www.leaandsandeman.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Mangot.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"2021](\"https:\/\/www.leaandsandeman.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/CTA-Bordeaux-EP-browse.png\")
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