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Bordeaux ’09 – Best Vintage in Half Century

  • Spence Cooper
  • October 22, 2009

We may be witnesses to the worst global financial crises in decades, but growers and wine experts claim the the 2009 Bordeaux vintage harvest may be the best of the 21st century — with some growers claiming this is the best harvest in Bordeaux in 60 years.

The key to this prestigious harvest was a perfect blend of rain, sunny days and cool, dry nights in the final days before grape picking began last month; the cool nights prevented grapes from over-ripening. Wine and food writer John Foy, himself a chef and former owner of three award-winning restaurants says, “In my more than 30 years in the wine world, I have not witnessed a more perfect harvest in Bordeaux than this year’s.”

Merlot is the predominant grape in the right bank, and most of the Merlot is already harvested. “Its deep purple skins in nearly flawless clusters beckoned me to pick a few, said Foy, who spent the first week of October in the vineyards and wineries of Fronsac, Pomerol, Lalande-de-Pomerol, St. Émilion and its surrounding villages. “Gently biting them, the juice was sugar-sweet, blueberry-flavored and with brownish seeds. The latter is an important indicator of ripeness; if the seeds are green, the grape is under-ripe, and the wine will absorb the seed’s bitterness.”

Bordeaux ’09 – Best Vintage in Half Century“Aside from a hail storm in May, 2009 was perfect,” says Christian Mouiex, owner of the world-renowned Château Petrus in Pomerol. “We had rain when we needed it, and sun all the time. I compare it to ’47. We will have that kind of extraordinary character.”

“Nature has been extremely generous, it is sumptuous,” said Denis Dubourdieu, director of the Bordeaux Institute of Vine and Wine Sciences and a renowned winemaker. “Such a fall after such a summer, it’s rather extraordinary, one can’t dream of anything better.”

Winegrowers always hype their crop to boost sales, but foreign wine traders and importers confirm that this year is exceptional. In the wine blog of the British importer Berry Brothers & Rudd, the company’s Bordeaux buyer, Max Lalondrelle, said: “The weather in Bordeaux (and the rest of France) has been textbook, with the fruits being the healthiest I have ever seen All the ingredients of a good vintage look to be in place.” We just wonder how this will fare. An effect of the recent economy has been a drastic decrease in the sales of pricey exports in the US. Wines that were once allocated by distributors are now being sold at never heard of prices. Perhaps in a few years when the 09 VT’s are released, we will be able to purchase them at accessible prices or get we can get a hand on some wine discount coupons.

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