Bordeaux En Primeur

2010 is a fabulous year for the wines of Bordeaux. The reds are ripe and powerful but with fine acidity and firm tannins, the dry whites are exotic but crisp and bright. The sweet white wines have good botrytis and balance – fresher and less exuberant than 2009. This vintage is a twin for the equally exceptional 2009 – but certainly not an identical twin!

The growing season was one of the longest and driest ever. Unlike 2009 it was never really very hot. July and August were dry and sunny but relatively cool with temperatures in the high 20’s celcius rather than the 30’s of 2009 (or 40’s of 2003!). September and October were also dry allowing the producers to choose when to pick their grapes at ripeness levels to suit their wine-making styles. For a detailed vintage report from our friend Bill Blatch (who has been tasting and reporting on Bordeaux vintages since 1970) please click here. For a detailed technical analysis of the vintage from the Cazes family of Lynch Bages please click here.

As far as the red wines are concerned, this is clearly a great, classic vintage that is less opulent and forward than 2009 and much more in the style of the 2005 vintage. Customers should consider 2010 as 2005 with even greater intensity. The alcohol levels in 2010 are higher than in 2005 but on the whole the wines do not taste heavier because they are exceptionally well balanced by some of the highest acidity levels ever and firm tannins. The dry, but cool summer produced an exceptionally long ripening window in which the fruit could reach full maturity whilst remaining fresh. The near-drought conditions meant that the berries were smaller than usual with thicker skins, thus ensuring high tannin levels to match the sugar and resultant alcohol.

If the 2009’s can be described as rich, flamboyant and powerful wines in the style of 1982, 1989 and 1990 then the 2010’s can be described as massive, more dense wines with powerful tannins and alcohol levels. This is a vintage in which the words “grip” and “lift” were often heard to describe the character of the wines. They certainly resemble 2005 but also we have heard comparisons to 1996, 1986 and 1961. We have probably never tasted a vintage before with such concentration of everything and our tongues and teeth were jet black by the end of our visit to Bordeaux in early April.

Like 2005, there are great wines to be found at all price levels and in all parts of Bordeaux. The Médocs, with their classic Cabernet Sauvignon character, are firm and built, for the most part, for the long term. A real “vin de garde” vintage. The Pessac-Léognans with their Cabernet/Merlot blends are both fleshy and structured whilst the Pomerols – certainly those from the plateau at the top of the appellation – are simply sensational as the always plump Merlot fruit has found optimum balance this year and this variety has appreciated the cooler summer. Our only concerns are in Saint Emilion. Here the thick, tannin-rich skins have meant that the producers who like to extract the maximum substance from their grapes have impressive concentration, but also mouth-puckering tannins. As the wise and erudite Christian Moueix told us, this is a vintage in which to under-extract not over-extract and it was very important not to exaggerate the naturally strong tannins of the vintage.

Our own tasting notes, scores and recommendations are published here and we will be adding those of respected independent commentators and critics, as and when they appear. The 16 strong Farr Vintners tasting team was accompanied and advised by our “two wise men” - Barry Phillips,(whose first en primeur purchase was Lafite 1953) and Derek Smedley MW (who has tasted every vintage en primeur since 1961). Their knowledge and experience has been invaluable to our team. You can read a report – in four parts – of our visit to Bordeaux on the blog pages of our site.

For your information, we show the current UK market price of the 2005 and 2009 vintage of each wine along with our estimates for the 2010. It is important to note that these estimated prices are liable to change in early May when the all-important Robert Parker scores are released because, as we all know, a good or bad Parker score makes a significant difference to the market price. Customers who have pre-ordered or wish listed wines can amend these at any time until the wine is released and in any case we will advise of any changes to our estimates.

We doubt that this en primeur campaign will get under way until May and we expect it to run until early July. We would advise customers to "pre-order" or "wish-list" now the wines that they are interested in so that, as soon as a wine is released, we will be able to offer it to those who have requested it. Please see the How to Order section for full details.