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Merlot:
Used for both blending and varietal wines, Merlot is the foremost grape in the Bordeaux. Merlot wines usually have a medium body with hints of berry, plum and currant. Its softness and fleshiness, combined with earlier ripening, makes Merlot a popular grape for blending with the sterner, later-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon, with its higher tannin levels. Its name comes from the Occitan word “merlot” which means “young blackbird” – a nod towards the grape’s beautiful dark-blue colour. An offspring of Cabernet Franc (and therefore a sibling of Cabernet Sauvignon), it was first mentioned in 1784 where a labelled wine made from the grape attracted praise from all quarters.

The grape can easily be identified by its loose bunches of large, plump grapes. The colour is less or a blue/black hue than Cabernet Sauvignon and it has a thinner skin, with correspondingly fewer tannins. Pruning has a massive impact on the outcome of the wine, with reduced yields giving higher quality wine. Merlot has a propensity to quickly over ripen after hitting its initial ripeness level, sometimes in a matter of a few days. The renowned Chateau Petrus favours early picking to ensure acidity and ageing potential, while other growers favour late picking and the added fruitiness that comes with the additional ripeness of the fruit.

Merlot is now the most commonly grown grape in France, which claims two thirds of the world’s total Merlot cultivation.

Cabernet Sauvignon:
Despite being so prominent in the winemaking industry, the origins of this variety were shady up until the 1990s. Prior to this, many felt that the variety was ancient origin – perhaps even the Biturcia grape used to make ancient Roman wine. However, these romanticised and altogether dubious origins were placed on the shelf when DNA typing, undertaken by the UC David Department of Viticulture and Enology, determined that Cabernet Sauvignon was the offspring of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc – most probably due to a chance crossing in the 17th century.

Cabernet Sauvignon can grow in various different climates and soil types – in fact the wine usually gives a sense of the terroir in the taste. Naturally prone to vigorous yields, winemakers must be careful not to compromise the quality of the wine. Practices such as using less vigorous rootstock, green harvesting and aggressive pruning of grape clusters ensure lower yields.

This variety is most famously found in Bordeaux blends and thrives on the gravelly soils of the Medoc, being both well drained whilst also radiating heat to the vines. However, internationally varietals are very common – especially in warmer climates.

Cabernet Franc:
Cabernet Franc is one of the major red grape varieties worldwide, principally being grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as is the case with the Loire’s Chinon.

As might be expected it is in general it is very similar to its offspring Cabernet Sauvignon, however it buds and ripens at least a week earlier. This allows the vine to thrive in slightly cooler climates, such as the Loire and even Canada. The winged bunches are elongate and small-medium in size, with the berries being quite small and blue-black in colour, with fairly thin skins. The grape is highly yield sensitive, with over-cropping producing wines with more green, vegetal notes than is usual.

In France it is found predominantly in the Loire Valley and in the Libournais region of the Bordeaux. As of 2000, it was the sixth most widely planted red grape variety in the country. Internationally speaking it can be found in Italy, Canada, and the USA in significant quantities. Interestingly in the USA it is used by ‘Meritage’ wines that aim to emulate the Bordeaux blend in California, while in Canada it is used to produce superlative ice wines with immensely concentrated flavours.

Petit Verdot

Petit Verdot is thought to be native to western Bordeaux, likely present in the Médoc well before Cabernet Sauvignon and probably more prevalently grown. Plantings are sparse today but where it is grown, the variety’s contribution is significant.

In Bordeaux Petit Verdot is confined to the left bank of the Gironde, where the deep gravel soils are warmer than the clay soils of the right bank. It ripens extremely late, after Cabernet Sauvignon, and in cool years may not ripen at all, or only irregularly. Wet growing seasons also work to its disadvantage. Hardy but not prolific, the Petit Verdot vine produces small, spherical, thick skinned berries of intense blue-black color, high in tannin, alcohol, acidity and phenolics, or flavoring elements.

In the Médoc, in those properties where it is planted at all, it usually represents less than ten percent of the vines. Its grudging cooperation in the vineyard is likely why it is not more prevalent, since it is an excellent contributor of color, structure, fragrance and fruit density, though it lacks finesse. On its own, in warmer climates, it yields a dark, firmly structured, tannic wine of superb acidic balance with full, fresh, spice, pepper and black fruit flavors and aromas offset by an impression of violets. Also grown in Italy, Spain, California, Australia, Chile and Argentina.

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A chateau located in the Pessac-Léognan appellation, located very close to the city of Bordeaux.

In the early 16th century the land belonged to the family de Rostaing who planted the vines before passing it on to the Lestonnac family in 1540. It remained under their ownership for over a century until 1654 when it was willed by Madame de Lestonnac to the Pères Lazarists, priests of the Mission of Saint-Vincent de Paul.

The priests cultivated grapes for almost 130 years before the French Revolution and it’s anti-clerical stance which included the expropriation of property by the state. It was bought by Martial-Victor Vaillant in 1792 and for a century it was run by the Chiapella family.

In 1919 it was sold to Fréderic Otto Woltner. Woltner’s sons, Henri and Fernand, embraced innovations in viticulture and restructured the vineyards to yield the very best grapes. Henri became manager of the estate in 1921 and pioneered the use of glass linked tanks in the vinification process – as a result he was heralded as a “wine-maker genius”. The entrepreneurial Woltners received the neighbouring Chateau La Tour Haut-Brion from widower Marie Coustau by way of her will. In 1931 the successful duo acquired the nearby Chateau Laville Haut-Brion, producing a dry white wine considered one of the very best in Graves.

Though it passed to Fernand’s daughter, Françoise Wolttner, family issues meant that the estate assets were sold to Domaine Clarence Dillon 1983.

The wines produced are renowned for their consistent excellence throughout the last hundred years and beyond. It is critically acclaimed and has even received a 100 point rating from influential wine critic Robert Parker. As a result of this success many argue that La Mission should be listed as a Premier Cru.

The vineyard is situated on stony soil that extends nearly 21 hectares between the two portions of Pessac and Léognan. The grape variety distribution is 48 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 45 percent Merlot and 7 percent Cabernet Franc. Case production averages at 8,000 a year.
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The original home of ‘clairet’ – a dark rose appreciated by the Dutch and English from the 13th to the 18th century. Although this wine is now uncommon in the region nearly all Bordeaux reds are now referred to as clarets in English. In fact, Pessac Leognan is the most probably the place where wine growing first took off in the Bordeaux over 2000 years ago.

The terroir features a thick layer of gravel and stone which is carried by the River Gironde. Beneath this is sand, hardpan and clay. Vineyards are sometimes surrounded by purposefully planted pine trees to protect from humid prevailing winds.
The reds produced here tend to have an alluring bouquet and are among the very best in Bordeaux. Pessac Leognan is the home of Haut-Brion, Grave’s resident first growth. The white wines have impeccable structure and are ticking time bombs for after five years or so they begin to express an intensely rich aroma.

Soils: Gravels
Size: 1,350 hectares
Output: 9,000,000 bottles
Type of wine produced: Supple red wine with an explosive bouquet. Medium to full body white wines.
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot for reds. Semillon and Sauvignon for whites.

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Vintage Overview

One phrase which is being used increasingly to describe the 2010 vintage is ‘embarrassingly good.’ Given how 2009 was lauded to the heavens by the bordelaise as ‘the best ever’, it’s something of an awkward truth that – a mere twelve months later - we are faced once more with awe-inspiring quality. A due sense of cynicism is to be expected, but this mustn’t interfere with our appreciation of what is, quite objectively, a fabulous vintage.

Not that this came as a sudden surprise, as Bill Blatch (Bordeaux expert and negociant) notes: “Back in November, many owners were already quietly confident that their ’10 was better than the already legendary ’09 but, coming hot on the heels of the hallowed 2009s, they seemed embarrassed to say it too loudly. Today, half of Bordeaux is less timid in assessing ’10 as great as, if not greater than ’09.” He adds, “There is one point of total agreement: It is totally different from its predecessor.”

What we appear to have is more of a stylistic shift, while the quality has remained essentially static in its excellence. This quality isn’t reserved to the top tiers of Bordeaux producers, either. David Peppercorn MW observes that wines are attractive at all levels, from lesser properties all the way up to Grand Crus: “Those with lesser sites have made excellent wines.” He added that he would be quite happy to list many of them as everyday wines at the prestigious West End Garrick Club, where he sits on the wine committee.

The Reds

These are not wines for the faint-hearted, and in their excellence they are uncompromising. The average alcohol level is 14.5 per cent, peaking at 15.5 per cent in some cases. In addition, pH values are very low, acidity is obviously very high, and the tannins are formidable (ensuring fantastic ageing potential.)

Overall, these are ripe, dense wines packed with sweet fruit notes such as raspberry, strawberry and black cherry. Some are so richly flavourful that they take on a delicious ‘pruney’ dimension. Ordinarily this would be overpowering, but the keen balancing acidity keeps everything in check.

There is also what we might call a ‘rustic’ edge to many of these reds, in contrast to the silky voluptuousness of the 2009s. This is due to a searing hit of green tannins, which will develop and imbue the wine with steadily greater structure and balance.

Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc were generally picked in near-perfect conditions during the gloriously dry conditions of mid-October.

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