From the first taste of the lowly appellation Bordeaux Rouge at Le Cercle Rive Droite’s presentation at Chateau Laroque on March 28th, to the last sip of Chateau Smith–Haut–Lafitte 1961 – purchased at Christie’s by the the Cathiards – at lunch on April 1st, I don’t think I have had a more interesting en primeur experience. Even on the Right Bank, where the drought conditons had burnt out many parcels of Merlot, producers were raving about the quality of their Cabernet Franc. In the Graves, the white wines were fabulusly ripe, Sauternes had notched up another great vintage and in the Medoc, the further north one went, the better the wines. 2003 was an exceptional vintage in weather terms and will be one of the most interesting vintages for the Bordeaux lover. SS
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Written by Decanter
