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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This single vineyard cuvee from Jonathan Maltus is planted with 80-year-old vines that somehow survived the famous frost of 1956. Rooted in a thin layer of clay over limestone, they have produced a sensational dense ruby/purple-colored 2011 offering fragrant notes of forest floor, spring flower, lavender, creme de cassis, and a subtle touch of smoke. Broad, savory, rich and brilliantly executed, this wine can be drunk now or cellared for 12-15 years. The composition is 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc.
Wine Description
The Story
This leading Grand Cru Classé estate, Château Teyssier is celebrated around the world for its imitable handcrafted fine-wines. Progressively growing in size and quality since the 1700s, this wine-producing tract is now the flagship property and residence of Englishman Jonathan Maltus and his family. Purchased in 1994, right in the middle of the pivotal garage movement, the Saint-Émilion château gained recognition for their oenological technologies and viticultural passion culminated by their wine, Le Dome. Today, the over 50-hectare vine covered estate stretches across the village-hugging Cru Classé terroirs of the appellation, producing eight wines ranging from estate to limited-production single-vineyard bottles. The modern vinification practices, headed by Neil Whyte start with pre-fermentation maceration, followed by malolactic in barrel and ageing on the lees for added richness. Each blend is produced in the same spirit of excellence, the wines are soft, attractive, subtly spicy, dark and plummy examples of the region.
This Single Vineyard wine is made from a single hectare on 'Astéries' (rock limestone) soil between Château Fonroque and Clos Fourtet. The vines survived the frost of 1956 and are up to eighty years old. ‘Panachéed' in the old style (merlot interspersed with cabernet franc to ensure easy blending in the days before pumps) they are cropped down to four bunches per vine to reflect the 'terroir' of the parcel.
Unlike most of the wines of the Château, Les Astéries exhibits a strain of minerality that emphasises the 'rock' like sub-soil.
The wine is pure vineyard rather than a 'winemaker's' wine. Huge colour, high extraction of black fruits, totally hedonistic palate but almost Saint-Estèphe grip on the finish, fresh and very, very long.
Vintage 2011
The 2011 vintage is not easy to handle.
Smith Haut Lafitte not only makes great white and red wine from Bordeaux in Pessac Léognan, they are also at the cutting edge of technology. They were one of the first Bordeaux wine producers to begin using optical sorting, which came in handy with the difficult 2011 Bordeaux harvest. Fabien Teitgen, long-time general manager, joined us for a long detailed conversation about what happened at Smith Haut Lafitte for the 2011 Bordeaux vintage.
“In my opinion, 2011 is balanced with a low pH and a medium alcohol level. So for those who picked at the right time, their wines will be balanced, with good concentration and good freshness. This vintage is not so easy to handle. »
Château Cos d’Estournel, Saint-Estèphe, began its 2011 Bordeaux harvest on Monday, September 5.
Jean Guillaume Prats told us that 2011 set a modern record for an early start to their harvest at Château Cos d’Estournel. He added: “It was the second earliest harvest on record. To find an earlier date, we had to go back to 1893! » Although the precise date to begin picking was not set in stone, the original plan was not to begin their Bordeaux harvest on September 5. But due to a ferocious storm that swept through the region, the massive 2011 Bordeaux storm hit the northern Médoc, any hope of waiting has gone out the window. “We had initially planned to start around September 9, with the young vines. After the storm, we gave ourselves time over the weekend to assess the situation and make the appropriate decision: wait and see how it will evolve in the coming days depending on the weather. We are “lucky” that this vintage is extremely early. The damage in terms of phenolic maturity of the grapes should be very minor. If it was a later year, like 2008, 2009 or 2010, the effects would be much worse.
" said Prats
The day starts before sunrise
Château Haut Brion and Château La Mission Haut Brion began harvesting their young Merlot vines on August 29. It’s early for the First Growth domain. To give you an idea of when Haut Brion started picking its young Merlot vines in 2010, September 8. In this vintage, the harvest continued until October 9.
Between the two properties of Pessac Léognan, with red and white grapes to pick, they have a busy schedule. Harvesters begin their day working on the grapes for their Bordeaux white wine, often starting their day before sunrise.
Jean-Philippe Delmas explains why they harvest early in the morning: “The goal of picking white grapes early in the morning is to ensure that the fruit stays fresh. This helps the berries retain their unique, fresh flavors. This year, we picked our white grapes between 7 a.m. and noon. The reason is that at this time of the day, the skin is dry. There is nothing left of the dew of the night. »
Château Lafite Rothschild began harvesting Cabernet Sauvignon from their northernmost plots, located not far from Château Cos d’Estournel, on Friday September 2. 2011. This is one of the first harvests recorded for the property. You will read quotes from many Bordeaux wine producers that 2011 Bordeaux, for many châteaux, will be their earliest harvest on record since 1893! However, producers located in certain districts of Bordeaux have brought forward their harvest calendars even earlier than expected.
Due to the enormous deluge and rain in the northern Médoc, centered near the border of Pauillac, Saint-Estèphe, to avoid possible rot problems, many châteaux in this vicinity decided to start picking sooner than they had originally planned. The most notable property is the famous Premier Cru, Château Lafite Rothschild. It is possible that the storm, which dropped half an inch of massive rain in a twenty-minute period, caused flooding in Lafite Rothschild's cellars.
“With our 2011 harvest, we harvested earlier because the cultivation of the vines was earlier than usual, due to the very hot spring. But the ripening weather conditions in summer were cool and cool, so the wine is of a cooler style than a late vintage. The pleasant weather conditions at the end of August and September were very good for phenolic maturity.” Fabien Teitgen from Château Smith Haut Lafitte.
Bordeaux 2011 /The earliest harvest recorded since 1893