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2006 was a year of preconceived ideas, misconstrued expectations and wondrous revelations. Prior to going to Bordeaux this first week in April, I had read that the 2006 vintage was most like the 2004. 2006 is nothing like the 2004! It is much more approachable, with bright fruit and soft tannins.
This is a vintage that is showing a tremendous amount of finesse and aristocracy. Almost every chateau I visited in the Medoc, proclaimed it to be a difficult vintage. July, August and the first two weeks of September were extremely hot. This caused the Merlot grapes to become almost fully ripened. It took patience to leave the grapes on the vines, as rain began to fall the third week of September. Bordeaux, over the past half century, generally receives some rain during the last two week of September, so these rains came as no surprise, nor were they a cause of worry for the seasoned vineyard owners. Those with the wherewithal, and the patience, produced some of the best wines of Medoc.
The difficulty of the vintage was that it was a vintage that required much forethought and hard labor. It was necessary to thin the crop, both in July and in September. It also necessitated the need to pull many of the leaves, allowing air circulation and the chance for the berries to dry, should the rains come. In the case of the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, this proved to be the right choice.
During and after the harvest, strict and careful sorting of the fully ripe grapes gave the vignerons the raw materials to produce these beautifully crafted wines. The right selection of the various lots for the final blend resulted in wines of enduring quality.
The Right Bank vineyards of Pomerol and St. Emilion were a little luckier, in that the Merlot grapes were fully ripe and some even harvested before the rains came. Here, the best Chateaux produced outstanding wines and a good portion of the rest produced wines of an extremely high quality level.
Unlike 2005, the quality didn’t extend unilaterally down to the lesser Chateaux and Petit Chateaux. 2006 belongs to those Chateau owners with the experience, technology and yes, money, to take the time to produce what they know their vineyards capable of. I found several gems among the classified growths, the first growths not withstanding. Among these are Chateau Pontet Canet (another outstanding effort by the tireless Alfred Tesseron), Chateau Leoville Las Cases, Chateau Leoville Poyferre, Chateau Clos Fourtet (a real sleeper) and Chateau Pichon Baron.
In this week of extensive tasting (over 500 wines), I found that, to my palate, the wines of St. Julien and Pauillac to be particularly appealing. The wines of Pomerol and St. Emilion, for the most part, garnered high scores, also. Looking back at my notes, Margaux, as an appellation, rated right behind St. Julien and Pauillac.
All in all, I would say that this was a very successful vintage. While it’s not a 2005, nor will be the prices. I asked several negotiants what they expected the prices to be, and they all said it should be considerably less than the 2005. It most likely won’t be as low as 2004, but hopefully, relief is in sight.
As this 2006 campaign progresses, we will post our purchases as they are made. This is a change from previous years. In the past, we waited until our purchasing was complete before we offered the wines for sale. This year, you will know almost as soon as we do, what is available, and at what price.
If there
are any questions, or you would like to contact me, my e-mail is
dick@goodygoody.com or my direct
line is 214-765-6850
Dick Rick
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