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News from the vineyards
2009 Vintage Update - June 2010 - by Solange Galan
Already on the list of lucky years ending in
“ 9 ”, the 2009 is showing a lot of
ambition, bringing a smile back to the faces of our French
producers.
Could it be the vintage of the century?
Let’s take a look at how this vintage is coming
along region by region…
BORDEAUX - BURGUNDY - BEAUJOLAIS - LOIRE VALLEY
- RHONE VALLEY - LANGUEDOC - ILE DE
BEAUTE/CORSICA - COTES DE
GASCOGNE
BORDEAUX
The Bordeaux region was amongst the luckiest for the year
2009.
Well-known professionals in the wine trade such as the
œnologist Denis Dubourdieu are even proclaiming it “the greatest Bordeaux
vintage of the last 60 years.”
The excellent weather
conditions allowed the production of a top quality
vintage.
The white Bordeaux are proving to be powerful and offer an exceptional
aromatic complexity.
The B&G Sauternes 2009 is simply
superb. The Botrytis Cinerea developed beautifully thanks to the welcome rain at
the end of September followed by a long period of foggy mornings and hot
afternoons.
The year 2009 will be remembered for its prodigious
noble rot, a true illustration of the magic of Sauternes.
Finally, the Bordeaux reds are higher in alcohol than in 2005. These
wines are rich and aromatic with well-present yet silky
tannins.
Château Magnol 2009, currently ageing in barrels, is
already showing a beautifully balanced palate with intense aromas of
blackcurrant and spices.
Christian Veyry, our consultant
œnologist for the Thomas Barton Réserve Privée Médoc, is very optimistic about
the quality of this 2009 vintage. The grapes harvested were perfectly ripe. The
wine boasts a lovely aromatic complexity. The Merlots are especially fruity with
underlining mineral notes in the palate. The Cabernet Sauvignons are refined and
elegant. The blend of these two grape varieties gives us a smooth and exuberant
2009.
BEAUJOLAIS and BURGUNDY
Conditions in Burgundy were almost comparable to the Bordeaux area
except for one detail; the flowering stretched over a longer period.
Nevertheless our producers consider that the perfect ripening process
compensated for the irregularity in the flowering observed in certain
vineyards.
The grapes picked were beautifully healthy and
the bumper crop was the second largest yield after 1999.
The
B&G Chablis 2009, now in bottle, is offering intense aromas of white fruit
and a generous and concentrated palate. The quality of this 2009 vintage will be
equal to that of 2005.
The year 2009 is a real success in
the Beaujolais. The professionals are speaking of a “historical vintage” along
the lines of 2005 and 1976!
The Gamay is expressing its aromatic
qualities (red berries) and there is a good balance as well as a very pleasant
freshness in the mouth.
LOIRE VALLEY
Like the other regions, the Loire benefited from an exceptional summer
but June brought cooler weather than elsewhere, excellent for white wines and
especially the Chenin Blanc.
The B&G Vouvray 2009 is pure
and perfectly balanced. A great
success !
The Sancerre is expressing all the
typical qualities of a Sauvignon Blanc; this lively wine is fresh and aromatic,
developing nice mineral notes.
The Rosé d’Anjou also benefited from the good weather conditions and is
offering a beautiful palette of red fruits mingling with spicy notes.
RHONE VALLEY
The 2009 vintage is in fact reminiscent of great vintages such as 2007
or 2005, although there is a slight disparity between the North and the
South.
The B&G Châteauneuf du Pape 2009, although not as
powerful as the 2007, is a rich, concentrated wine revealing aromas of plum,
morello cherry and tobacco.
The same thing goes for the B&G
Côtes du Rhône 2009 with its good tannic structure and long aromatic
persistence.
LANGUEDOC
The Languedoc Roussillon region was hit by a drought and heat wave
during the summer of 2009.
The good health of the crop and the
great care taken by our partner vine growers enabled us to avoid any potential
diseases or damage. This was primordial to the quality of the
vintage.
The B&G Merlot and the B&G Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 have been
bottled and are available on the market. They are both offering a very intense
colour, an aromatic nose and a palate characteristic of each grape variety:
roundness and finesse for the Merlot, more structure and tannins for the
Cabernet Sauvignon.
Interesting news: The B&G
Cabernet Sauvignon Réserve 2009 was awarded a gold medal at the Concours Général
Agricole in Paris.
The B&G Chardonnay and Shiraz Rosé
2009, also both in bottle, are expressive and ready to be
enjoyed.
ILE DE BEAUTE - CORSICA
The 2009 vintage tasting reveals generous fruity aromas. This
deeply-coloured wine boasts a nice tannic structure and a long spicy finish.
A very expressive wine!
COTES DE
GASCOGNE
Already available, the B&G Sauvignon Blanc 2009 is extremely
refreshing and really lively in the palate.
This very aromatic
wine offers intense aromas of citrus and tropical fruits. Very pleasant
indeed! .
The wines of
this 2009 vintage are superb, especially the red wines that love the sun, even a
little excessively. Excess can sometimes bring happy results, as for this
untypical and extraordinary vintage:
We wish you an enjoyable tasting of
this “excessively” high in alcohol and “excessively” concentrated
vintage!
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