Comments for Bordeaux Gold

Comment on 2012 Sauternes – First Thoughts by admin

admin — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 08:02:01 +0000

I’m glad someone is awake! The next blog will be an interview we’ve just done with Pierre Lurton of Yquem and the full list of Yquem no shows is part of our discussion. Apologies but our clips are always live and just occasionally my memory plays tricks on me.

Comment on 2012 Sauternes – First Thoughts by R.Morcomb

R.Morcomb — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 01:25:50 +0000

Bill, what about no Yquem in 1992?

Comment on What Price 2011 Château d’Yquem? by What Price 2011 Château d'Yquem? STOP PRESS | Bordeaux Gold

What Price 2011 Château d'Yquem? STOP PRESS | Bordeaux Gold — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 09:12:49 +0000

[...] turns out the price fetched in my previous post for the case of 2011 Château d’Yquem included a personal tour of the property and lunch for [...]

Comment on Barsac by A Guide To Barsac Wine | Great Meals

A Guide To Barsac Wine | Great Meals — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 08:48:58 +0000

[...] is also an appellation in its own right and, uniquely, wine made there can either be labelled as Barsac or [...]

Comment on What Price 2011 Château d’Yquem? by Bill Blatch: What Price 2011 Château d’Yquem? | Wein-News SigiHiss

Bill Blatch: What Price 2011 Château d’Yquem? | Wein-News SigiHiss — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 12:00:19 +0000

[...] put up for sale at a French auction last week with the bottle size to be decided by the customer. Den kompletten Artikel auf Bill Blatch’s Webseite.……… Share and Enjoy: Diese Icons verlinken auf Bookmark Dienste bei denen [...]

Comment on 2009 Sauternes Tasting From Bottle – Part 2 by Chris Kissack

Chris Kissack — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 23:37:37 +0000

Another interesting run-through of the wines, thanks.

Comment on 2009 Sauternes Tasting From Bottle – Part 1 by admin

admin — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 14:03:05 +0000

More coming later today – sorry for the delay!

Comment on 2009 Sauternes Tasting From Bottle – Part 1 by Chris Kissack

Chris Kissack — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 12:37:04 +0000

Thanks Bill and Steve, I enjoyedthis video. Clearly a really strong vintage for the region. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on subsequent wines.

Comment on No 2012 Yquem – a Strange Decision? by admin

admin — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 15:32:59 +0000

Dan – I forgot about the Suduiraut part of your question. Pierre Montegut hinted to us in the cellar that he, somewhat against the opinions of other winemakers, preferred his 2010 to his 2011. If you had said in 20 years time then I would probably go with Pierre but personally I’d be fascinated to see how the 2009 is doing in 40 years time – it was one of the top three wines from the vintage in our recent bottle tastings.

I wouldn’t also ignore 2012 completely. There are likely to be some good wines despite Yquem’s decision, especially in Barsac, and they could be great value for money.

Comment on No 2012 Yquem – a Strange Decision? by admin

admin — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 15:27:32 +0000

That is simplifying it perhaps a little too much. 2009 is definitely the richest and ripest vintage – watch out for our upcoming reviews from bottle. Sweetness levels are generally the highest but there is enough acidity in most cases to provide balance. At this stage it appears that the wines that tried to contain the power of the vintage and produce fresher wines by picking wider (i.e. adding in some green, non-botrytised grapes) have struggled a little but that would be nit-picking. Overall it is just a fantastic vintage where the lesser estates had a good shot at producing wines to match the quality of the top chateaux. There are some great value wines to be had.

In 2010 botrytis came more slowly but the wines sometimes have a few more layers to them as a result. You are right that acidity levels are higher but take care not to confuse ‘total acidity’ and ‘ph’. In 2011 the ‘total acidity’ profiles were similar but ‘ph’s’ were lower and it is this that gives the 2011′s there remarkable freshness and brightness even though they, like the 2009s had a fantastic rush of botrytis.

In a way then the 2010s are maybe between the 2009s and 2011s in terms of style – rich and full 2009s, bright and breezy (but powerful underneath) 2011s with a bit of both for the 2010s alongside their complexity.

But that’s being far too simplistic too!