Click here to view the Bordeaux 2010 En Primeur Offer and print off a wishlist.
Click here for the latest Bordeaux 2010 releases and confirmed prices.
For Journalists tasting notes and scores by appellation click below
- Saint Estèphe
- Pauillac
- Saint Julien
- Margaux
- Haut Médoc, Médoc, Moulis en Médoc & Listrac
- Pessac-Léognan
- Saint Emillion
- Pomerol & Satellites
- Sauternes
Introduction to Bordeaux 2010
Is it another miraculous vintage in Bordeaux? Well, yes and no. 2010 was a very dry year, much like 2005 and 1995, producing wines with enormous amounts of concentration. Rich in fruit and robust with tannin, these wines are very different to the 2009 vintage and many growers have been almost a little embarrassed to declare 2010 as an even better vintage. The 2009 vintage produced powerful wines, but they are more opulent and fruit-driven in style when compared to 2010. Although 2010 experienced almost the same amount of sun hours during ripening, the severe lack of water together with warm (but by no means hot) temperatures produced grapes with far more concentration and sugar. The results; wines with greater phenolic concentration, overwhelming aromatic richness, and well-preserved acidity to retain vital freshness. One of my colleagues rather aptly described the vintage as “2005 with bristles”.
Growing Conditions
Early winter rainfall kept the water tables well-topped up (much needed for the dry summer to follow). During spring, the effects of unsettled weather slowed budding and hindered flowering causing ‘coulure’ - un-set flowers leading to open bunches which reduced the need for green harvesting and together with the hot weather, reduced the need for disease control. Temperatures increased from July through to September, but without ever being blistering (no danger of the vines cooking a la 2003). This caused early sugar build-up trapping the much needed acidic elements for the vintage. With almost no rain from mid-June the sugars were at the optimum (14˚-15˚) and all that was required was time for the tannins to mature. Lucky to catch the edge of various low-pressure systems through September and October which provided much-needed rain. The Merlots were picked early and Cabernets left to re-concentrate before being harvested.
The Wines
The 2010 vintage has produced powerful wines as a result of a terrific growing season. High sugars created wines that are structured, higher in tannins and in alcohol, but they have much more acidity than the 2009s and that is the key to freshness - the combined levels of tannin and acidity give them the potential to be very long lived. This is generally a Cabernet vintage (both Sauvignon and Franc), and in some cases the Merlots just couldn’t cope with the dry climatic conditions. The Medoc has (again) produced some magnificent wines, with Pauillac standing out with barely a wine that was not imbued with classic Cabernet fruit - big, but not aggressive, tannins with stunning freshness. St Julien and St Estephe are close behind but Margaux is more mixed, although Chateaux Margaux is sublime.
It has been a storming vintage in Pessac-Leognan/Graves with some superb examples, this is where a higher proportion of Merlot in the blend seems to have worked exceptionally well. Across on the Right Bank, Pomerol has come out well with typical finesse melding with the extra structure and acidity the vintage has produced. St Emilion is where the most imbalance is found, but do not write them all off as a number of top names have proved that less is more in 2010. Further south there has been another fine vintage in Sauternes with many lovely, fresh, pretty wines produced.
The Prices
Hum! Well if truth be known, I can really only hazard a guess on this, as no one was saying much in Bordeaux in early April. My suspicion is that the First Growths will continue the trend of last year and a case at £10k on release cannot be far away. Below this, I suspect that the Super Seconds will follow suit and that the rest will stick their toes in the water at broadly the same levels as last year
Recommendation
Yet again, we have an extraordinary vintage, one that is reminiscent of 2005 with its concentration and 2000 for that matter, but with more alcohol. Some Chateaux believe that their 2010s will turn out better that their 09s, and this could be a re-run of 1989/1990. One thing is for certain 2010 is not 2009, it is bigger, more concentrated and, dare I say it, more Bordelaise in style. I believe that many of the wines will turn out to be even better than their predecessors. It is an exceptional vintage and one that should be part of any serious wine lover’s cellar.
