A VERY FIRST PREVIEW OFTHE 2003 VINTAGE IN BORDEAUX
It is a courageous act to put up the new wine for critical tasting in
January following the vintage. Whoever
tastes has to understand enough to look beneath the unreadiness
of the wine, its primary tones on the nose and the rawness of as yet unmelded and unharmonised
elements. None the less it is also a
highly intelligent move and quite incredibly useful. Even more so if you organise it as did Hubert
Bouteiller of Chateau Lanessan. The wine at Lanessan is the result of
teamwork by Hubert himself as Proprietor, Jacques and Eric Boissenot
as well known oenologists and consultants, professors at The Bordeaux
University of Oenology, and of Franck Barbaza as Lanessan’s maître de chai of long standing and great experience.
The tasting was set up to show all the elements which went into the
final wine of 2003 and then the final wine itself. We tasted one by one all the different
vats. There were 4 vats of Merlot, 1 vat
of Cabernet Franc, 1 vat of Petit Verdot and 4 vats of Cabernet Sauvignon as
well as the Vin de Presse
and of course the final blend.
The vintage dates were naturally of prime importance. In a year when many growers started picking
red grapes from 20th August Lanessan held off, waiting for phenolic
ripeness, and taking the gamble of low acidities and very high must
weights. Without question this paid off
handsomely as it did for others who took the same route. Finally it was not really the exceedingly
early vintage, which it was reputed to be, and which received so much press
coverage. More precisely it WAS but
probably should not have been. Here the
vintage started on 15th September - a perfectly normal date! What was absolutely amazing, and this is the
first time that it has happened for many years, was that the Petit Verdot was
brought in not only before the Cabernet Sauvignon but even before the Merlot - quite unheard of. Usually it is the last to be picked and often
never reaches full maturity. It was
picked on 15th September. The
Merlot was picked from 16th - 20th with the 1 vat of Cabernet Franc also
being picked on 18th. Finally
the Cabernet Sauvignon was started on 20th and finished on 30th
September. Almost exactly two weeks of
picking.
The final blend, as we shall see, had 13.8˚ Alcohol, 3.2 total acidity and 67 IPT - just about perfect equilibrium.
COLOUR
Contrary to many who went for very early picking, Lanessan had no
problem with colour extraction. They
even had to be careful not to over extract.
No enzymes were needed or used and the colour is deep and intense.
ACIDITY
Acidities caused havoc in many vats and barrels in all regions. Growers were so worried by the danger of too
low Total Acidities that they acidified with tartaric acid, especially as
official permission to do so was given for the very first time. This authorisation led people to suppose that
it must be essential. Those who were
patient or who carefully measured the PH as well as the Total Acidity realised
that it was not really needed. Acids
which were “salifiées” or combined with potassium and
other mineral salts and thus neutralised, were released back into the wine
during fermentation. Total Acidities, to
the astonishment of many, were often higher after fermentation than
before. At Lanessan it went up from 2.9 - 3.2 grams. The wine was absolutely not acidified.
TANNINS
Polyphenols, and therefore
principally tannins, were what made growers such as Lanessan hold back. Polyphenols refused
to speed up and keep pace with the sugar and acidity. However the waiting combined with the
relatively fine September did finally ripen most of them fully. The IPTs are much
lower than last year. The tannins
extracted themselves without any forcing and are therefore remarkably unagressive and well integrated at this early stage. In spite of this they possess all their
ageing potential. Indeed one of the most
striking things about this entire tasting was the peaceful equilibrium of the very
young wines after the roller coaster year of meteorological extremes.
ALCOHOL
It was very high - very high indeed! Vats of up to
14.6˚ and a final blend of 13.8˚, even a small lot of
15.3˚. This certainly worried
everybody and led to expectations of wine with a burn at the back of the
throat. Many growers had serious problems
with yeasts that were reluctant to finish the fermentation in the presence of
so much alcohol. Cultured finishing
yeasts were sometimes needed. Lanessan
controlled temperatures very carefully, cooling the grapes on arrival to about
20˚C (they have powerful cooling equipment), and then letting the
temperature rise in easy stages:
22˚C, 25˚C, 28˚C, 30˚C and holding it at each
stage. Handled like this the fermentation
went according to the textbook and the natural yeasts finished their job of
totally transforming the sugar without hesitation.
TASTING
The following are brief extractions from the tasting notes made on each
vat, which give a very clear picture of how the various elements combined to
make up the final wine.
Merlot
Vat 1. 76 IPT. 14.4˚. Sandy gravel soil.
Deep black colour. No colour extraction problems. The PH was 3.78 before the malo-lactic. Good deep Merlot
fruit. Some spice. Very melted tannins. Round and fine with good sucrosity. Harmonious.
Vat 2. 78 IPT. 14.2˚. Gravelly clay
No suffering from heat or drought.
A lot of grip.
More intensity, more concentration, more alcohol on taste (not in fact),
tannin harder
Vat 3. 70 IPT. 14.27˚. More clay
No suffering here. More primary nose. Very deep fruit. Great fruit presence.
Firm but smooth tannins. Good ageing potential
Vat 4. 64 IPT. 12.5˚. Sandy soil
With this soil it suffered both heat and drought. Much lighter. None the less has
deep ripe fruit and firm tannins.
It is quite clear that the Merlot is VERY high in alcohol (apart from
Vat 4). Vat 4 will be extremely useful
as a diluter in the blend. The Merlot
will give roundness, fruit, fat, richness and classical elegance - exactly what it is grown to
do.
Cabernet Franc
Vat 1. 53 IPT.
12.08˚. Gravel
soil
Just the one vat of 95 Hectolitres. Young vines.
Lanessan limited the yield to 30 Hectolitres/Hectare to get maximum
intensity. Light colour. Nose closed.
This is a light but happy Cab-Franc at home in its soil. Light, fruity, higher
acidity (young vines). Delicate and pure.
This vat of Cabernet Franc will be ideal to add a touch of fresh acidity
and nice juicy young fruit to the final blend.
Petit Verdot
Vat 1. 92 IPT. 14.0˚. Clay soil
Vintaged
first. No suffering at all. Look at the
Tannin! Classical but
ripe P.V. Huge
black colour. Masses
of fruit on first taste. Strong powerful tannins on the finish - still
granular. Extremely
fresh. A delight!
A remarkable wine! It will do a
grand job of intensifying the colour and adding weight and depth. It has always been known here in the Médoc as “medicine wine”.
It will strengthen the structure as well. Lanessan used almost all the 136 hectolitres
in the final blend, which will amount to about 7%. Great stuff!
Cabernet Sauvignon
Vat 1. 63 IPT. 12.6˚. A lot of clay
Deep colour. Nose not open or generous. The tannins are very present but not overly
aggressive. Strong and
granular in spite of the fact that the IPT is only 63. The tannins show more because of the lower
alcohol. Wine is round but with a fine
austerity. Will give
both body and structure.
Vat 2. 58 IPT. 12.54˚. Gravel soil
Younger vines (lower alcohol). Pure cigar-box Cabernet nose. Lots of fruit but more spicy and more “fin”
than vat 1. Harmony
and balance. Will
bring elegance to the blend.
Vat 3. 60 IPT. 12.3˚. Gravel with clay
Fine colour. Fresher, younger, vigorous and as yet more raw. Punch,
drive, spice. Good acidity, plenty of
tannin, which is already melding. End
mouth is dry and tannic. This will give
some of the heart, the solid, sound structure to the blend.
Vat 4. 70 IPT. 12.8˚. Gravel soil
Biggest vat - 270 hectolitres. 40-year-old vines. Lanessan’s favourite parcel of vines.
Fine colour, deep. Deeply fruited nose. Balance, class, harmony. Tannins strong but smooth and classy on the
finish and very deeply imbedded. This
will form the basic heart of the final wine.
Its structure and shape as well as a lot of its style.
The Cabernet Sauvignon will do exactly what it is meant to do - form the backbone, the heart
and the shape of the wine once complexed, fruited and
fleshed out by the Merlot and Cabernet Franc and strengthened by the Petit
Verdot. I have rarely seen more textbook
grape varieties or a simpler, clearer, more obvious blending process. Each grape does exactly what it is there to
do!
PRESS WINE
This must not be overlooked.
Great care is taken with it at Lanessan.
They used only 25 Hectolitres in the blend this year. They would have used more had the wine not
been so powerful already. This is 7-8% of the total volume of
their Press Wine. It had hugely deep,
black colour, dense body, great depth, granular tannins and a lot of
power. Any more would have been overwhelming.
FINAL BLEND - 2003 CHATEAU LANESSAN
Total Acidity 3.2 grams/litre. IPT 67. Alcoholic strength 13.8˚
60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3-4% Cabernet Franc, 6-7% Petit Verdot.
Colour: Pure, deep and vivid
purple
Nose: Still a little primary. Lots of fruit. The fruit comes up slowly on the nose as the
blend is very fresh and just a little shaken up.
Palate: Finesse. Spice. The pepper comes from the Petit Verdot. Tannins are long and still granular, very
deeply imbedded and firm but not aggressive or harsh. The wine is very sapid. It is “sur le
fruit” at the moment. The fruit here is
in the heart of the wine and not on the surface. A deep wine, a structured
wine, a long wine. It promises
well and should be ready to show at the end of March.
FEATURES OF THE YEAR CONRIBUTING TO THE WINE
Intense heat above all. A lot of dried-up, burnt berries. Heat stress and drought, which was very
worrying especially on young vines with relatively undeveloped and therefore
less deep root structures. We shall see
later this spring how badly damaged these young vines were.
Grapes had a lot of skin but very little juice or pulp, thus a very
small vintage. Lanessan were worried
about hardness in the wine from burnt and shrivelled berries so they compensated
vats with a lot of such berries with “saignée” - juice bled off vats of more
juicy grapes.
The hail must not be forgotten.
It was a violent storm, which hit the vineyards on 15th July.
One vat here originally had 15.3˚ of alcohol. In Saint Emilion
over 16˚ is claimed by one grower.
Alcoholic fermentation had to be extremely carefully controlled. Lanessan added yeasts to the first vat to get
things going, but no finishing yeasts were needed as they were in many other
places.
Grapes came in from the vineyards at almost 30˚C. Efficient cooling equipment was required to
cool them down. Those who did not have
it suffered considerably.
Those who picked excessively early are regretting it now, as they did
not have phenolic ripeness. Modern viticulture and viniculture pays more
and more attention to this. Wines with
perfect phenolic ripeness are more
supple, more gracious and the tannins become smooth and silky. The opposite is true of unripe tannins.
At Lanessan in spite of picking during the last two weeks of September
everything went very fast and the Malo-lactic fermentation was
finished by 11th November.
The final blend was decided upon on 5th December. The Merlot was physically blended immediately
and the Cabernets blended and added during February.
HUBERT BOUTEILLER
Hubert is the proprietor of Chateau Lanessan, Lachesnaye and Ste Gemme. He is a past President of the CIVB (Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bordeaux) as well as the present Regional Director
of the INAO (Institut National des Appellations D’Origine).
He has great experience. This,
together with the excruciating attention to detail in the vineyards and in the
cellars and the wealth of practical and technical knowledge of Franck Barbaza and of his advisor Jacques Boissenot,
allowed Lanessan in 2003 to navigate through the stormy meteorological waters
to a calm and well balanced haven on the other side of the vintage! The wines promise well. Promises are often broken but it is my
feeling that this one will not be!
John U
Salvi
4 Impasse
du Pez
Le Pez
33460 Soussans
Tel + Fax
33 (0)557883247
John U
Salvi
4 Impasse
du Pez
Le Pez
33460 Soussans
Tel + Fax
33 (0)557883247
