by Adam Lechmere – As the UK wine trade makes its way back from Bordeaux they are more preoccupied with price than at any time since the 2008 vintage. At this stage of the week there are points on which most agree. Few would argue that the vintage is not ‘mixed, to say the least,’ as Neil Sommerfelt MW of Jeroboams said. But, he added, ‘when they are good they are very good.’
Decanter‘s consultant editor Steven Spurrier has his reservations about certain wines and communes but his overall summing up is that the left bank has produced ‘a classic claret. They are straightforward, very good wines, perfectly expressive of their chateau.’ Continue reading “decanter.com: Bordeaux 2011 – Price is ‘single factor’ of vintage, say merchants”
Sigi Hiss – Der komplette Twitter Text – HEADING BACK TO BORDEAUX NEXT WEEK TO TASTE 2011s-ABSOLUTELY NO INTEREST IN THIS VINTAGE IF
MY instincts are correct – fährt in die Bordeaux Kampagne ein, wie Blitz & Donner. Das ist ein Vorab-Urteil, welches die Bordelaiser Weingüter ins Mark treffen könnte, Betonung auf könnte, Erschütterungen werden jedenfalls zu spüren sein. Apropos Blitz & Donner, zusammengefasst ein Gewitter also – ein (Preis)reinigendes Gewitter? Das wäre wohl allen willkommen, die Weingüter im Bordeaux mal außen vor gelassen. Gespannt bin ich, wie sich diese Aussage von Robert Parker auf die Bewertungen, Meinungen & vor allem auf die Subskription auswirken.
Between December and February reigns over the technical team of Château Palmer a studious atmosphere conducive to making an exceptional vintage. The tasting sessions to prepare the final blend take place during this period. Magical moments, with measured gestures and refined palates, which allow us to imagine the final structure of Château Palmer and Alter Ego 2011.
A play in several acts
In order to maintain a certain distance and allow the different batches to continue ageing, the blend tastings take place in several steps.
The first act is to blind-taste all of the batches. Very useful, this tasting session allows our tasters to identify the characteristics of the different parcels and their expressions in a specific vintage without knowing their origin. A way of leveling the playing field that can lead to some nice surprises. Continue reading “Chateau Palmer: Blending notes, 2011 vintage”
Selected Comments:
Ludwig Kreuzberg, Weingut Kreuzberg (Ahr):
We’ve registered high Oechsle degrees (Frühburgunder @ 89-97°; Spätburgunder @ <100°) as well as good acidity and pH values. During the last two weeks, pH values have stabilized and have hardly risen. In the Grosses Gewächs sites Sonnenberg and Schieferlay (Spätburgunder) and Hardtberg (Frühburgunder) everything – with few exceptions – we harvested is suitable for GG status. Because clusters are perfectly healthy, almost the entire crop could be harvested. As such, quantities are good; in some sites, even above-average. The young wines show very good color; aromas are rich – full-bodied, juicy.
Familie Schlumberger-Bernhart, Weingut H. Schlumberger (Baden):
Status quo vintage 2011: healthy crop; good quantities; somewhat high must weights; acidity values are a bit too low; and terrific aromas. The speed with which ripening proceeded and must weights rose necessitated a rapid harvest.
Paul Fürst, Weingut Rudolf Fürst (Franken): Continue reading “VDP: Vintage 2011 – Feedbacks from Growers”
by Kerin O’Keefe – Italian vintners are in positive mood, with high hopes for an excellent vintage in 2011.
After severe heat and drought in the second part of August, which caused plant stress that greatly lowered yields, 2011 is expected to be 10-25% down in terms of quantity.
The pulling up of over 9000ha to reduce overall wine production is a contributing factor.
‘The Italian 2011 Harvest will probably be at an all-time low’ in terms of quantity, according to harvest reports just released by UIV (Unione Italiana Vini) and ISMEA (Istituto di Servizi per il Mercato Agricolo Alimentare). Continue reading “decanter.com: Italy hopeful for 2011 vintage”
by James Lawrence – The 2011 Champagne vintage is being hailed as one of the most unusual in the region’s history, as vignerons deal with the aftermath of one of the most difficult growing seasons on record.
Oenologist Herve Jestin, who consults for several properties in the Côte des Blancs, including Russian-owned Chateau D’Avize, told Decanter.com Continue reading “decanter.com: Champagne copes with difficult vintage”
by Adam Lechmere – A fire has destroyed the three-storey chai at Chateau de France in Bordeaux, and ruined a large part 
of the 2010 vintage.
The fire at the Pessac-Leognan property started around 7.30pm on Monday in the chateau’s cellars, local newspaper Sudouest reported.
It is unclear exactly how much of the 2010 vintage has been destroyed or ruined by the fire, but by Tuesday morning, Sudouest said, it was obvious the damage was considerable.
A police inquiry will determine the cause of the fire, described by a spokesman for the fire service as ‘intense’.
Fifty firefighters with six high-pressure hoses Continue reading “decanter.com: Chateau de France fire destroys chai and part of 2010 vintage”
by Rebecca Gibb – Moët & Chandon has revealed that the 2004 vintage will follow the recent release of its 2002 Grand 
Vintage.
It will be released at the end of next year, Moët winemaker Axelle Araud told Decanter.com.
‘The ’02 is very complex but I think the ’04 will be a bit more subtle, more delicate,’ Araud said. ‘It has been on lees since 2005 and it should be very classical. It was a good ripening season.’
She would not divulge the composition of the blend, which changes each vintage. In 2002, it consisted of 51% Chardonnay, 26% Pinot Noir and 23% Pinot Meunier. Continue reading “Decanter: Moet – 2004 will be next Grand Vintage”
by Adam Lechmere – The extraordinary weather patterns of 2010 have contributed to wines that are robust, concentrated and acidic – and ‘totally different’ to the 2009s, Bordeaux negociant Bill Blatch says.
In his comprehensive weather report for 2010, Blatch says the vintage’s saving grace – the high acidity of the grapes – was achieved by the cooler weather in August and September, and the cooler autumn. Continue reading “Decanter: Bordeaux 2010 vintage saved by wet winter, cool August”
by Cheryl Lincoln in San Francisco – Vintners in Napa are reporting ‘excellent quality’ across the region in reds and
whites – though the season wasn’t without significant challenges.
Joseph Phelps Spring Valley Ranch: ’1991and 1985 were cooler than 2010: both were great‘
Across the region volumes were low, there is good colour in the must, sugars are good but not excessive, and alcohol levels will be comparatively modest.
This should mean ‘balanced, elegant wines’, as Terry Hall of Napa Valley Vintners put it.
The 2010 season was exceptionally cool and long, with some wineries leaving parcels until November. It was a year of extremes for growers, with prolonged coolness, intense heat spikes in August, and monsoon-like rainfall in late October which interrupted a much-needed Indian Summer.
Some wineries pickec before the October storms but many lost a sizeable amount of fruit, either from heat spike damage or green harvest – dropping clusters to enhance ripening in the cool temperatures. There was also the issue of uneven ripeness. Continue reading “Decanter: Napa: long, cool 2010 promises ‘elegant’ vintage”
by Cheryl Lincoln in San Francisc – Napa vintners are gearing up for one of the coolest harvests on record – and many are saying wines will be more balanced, elegant and lower in alcohol as a result.
While grapes have been slow to ripen in the long cool growing season, vineyards have also been prey to a number of different hazards – like a heat spike in August – which have reduced yield significantly. But winemakers are sanguine: indeed, some, like Elias Fernandez at Shafer, and Ivo Jeramaz at Grgich Hills Estate, see the difficult season as a boon.
‘After 3 years of draught, we now face one of the coolest seasons on record,’ said Jeramaz, vice president of vineyards and production at Grgich, a champion of lower-alcohol wine. Continue reading “Decanter: Napa 2010 – long cool summer promises ‘European’ vintage”
just-drinks.com editorial team – Exchange rate losses on wine exports have forced Australian Vintage to cut its net profits forecast for the current financial year.
Australian Vintage said today (26 May) that it expects net profits after tax to increase by 75% for the 12 months to the end of June, compared to the same period last year.
The McGuigan wines producer predicted in February that full-year profits, before one-off items, would double. But, an unfavourable rate for the Australian dollar against sterling (GBP) has taken some of the shine off the wine group’s resurgence. Continue reading “AUS: Australian Vintage lowers profits forecast”
Leading Beaujolais wine producer Georges Duboeuf has claimed that 2009 is “one of the best” Beaujolais vintages in the last 50 years. In his most recent harvest report, Duboeuf said the region could not have expected a better yield in terms of quality and polyphenol maturity. The quantity is expected to be close to appellation yields ranging from 43 to 48 hl per hectare. Continue reading “FRANCE/US: Georges Duboeuf predicts strong Beaujolais vintage”
Oliver Styles – The 2008 vintage in the Napa Valley looks set to produce ‘elegant’ wines despite a ‘crazy weather year’, according to the region’s trade body. Continue reading “Napa claims elegant 2008 vintage despite ‘crazy’ growing season”
The first grapes of the 2008 vintage were picked around 20 September in Burgundy under glorious sunshine, but the real harvesting began around 25 September. Continue reading “BURGUNDY 2008 VINTAGE”
by Sally Easton MW – Chianti Classico is suffering a strange and difficult vintage according to Daniele Rosellini, oenologist for the Consorzio Chianti Classico. Continue reading “Chianti Classico vintage a difficult one”
The lowest yields since 1961.
