Bibendum Wine Limited

Vintage Report

Bordeaux 2006

Click here for the full list of wines, scores and estimates.

The 'Vintage of the Vigneron' is full of surprises after all

"As so many winemakers have told me, 2006 is a year for great terroir, great vineyard management and great cellar work. It's punitive work with an enormous amount of dedication, but it paid off for many in the end in 2006 since none of the well-known estates made poor wines. In fact, almost all made very good to outstanding ones." James Suckling, Wine Spectator

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"... prospects for much lower prices for 2006s don't look promising... the vintage is significantly better than I thought... and there are at least 10 well known wines that made 2006s that blow away their 2005s... and the latter vintage is a very great one for many estates... [It] seems to be a much better vintage for the best estates than anyone imagined 6 months ago..." Robert Parker, www.erobertparker.com

The wines are all listed here.

check out the blog for regular updates.

Meanwhile, here's what we thought, in a nutshell:

Every Bordeaux vintage seems to have its foibles and insecurities. In 2006, the weather set its stall out early for the best vintage ever. Then it all fell apart and it was going to be a bit of a disaster. Finally, things really got going again and we were told it was a very good vintage, if not a great one. A chat with Alexander van Beek of Chateaux Giscours and du Tertre in March yielded the info that those who with top terroir who had invested a lot of sweat, brains and cash were able to produce excellent fruit and hence make fabulous wines.

"This is a year when great terroir triumphed. I work on a number of vineyards but as hard as I tried in the vineyards and cellar, I could only make outstanding wine in my best vineyard. " Denis Durantou, L'Eglise Clinet

By and large, this is exactly the impression we took away ourselves in the end. Many of the best wines show pretty fruit and fine minerality, attached to silky, seductive tannins. At the top level there is real power too, allied with great balance. For those that didn't make all the right decisions there are signs of unripe, bracing tannins and bitterness instead of sweet fruit. It is a vintage for those with patience.

The Lowdown

• We hope and pray the prices come back towards 2004 vintage level, but we suspect they will sit somewhere between 2004 and 2005. We will reject wines if we think they are too expensive

• St Julien and Margaux seem to be the most consistent communes from the left bank, and there are some good St. Estephes

• The right bank has been responsible for both very good and very ordinary wine - a bit of a mixed bag here, but we loved a lot of the Pomerols

• Look out for little gems from satellites like Fronsac (really good!), Cotes de Castillon and Cotes de Francs

• Bordeaux Blanc is truly excellent in this vintage

• All five 1st growths lived up to their reputations and hit the ball out of the park... great 'second' wines too

• Bill Blatch of Bordeaux Negociants Vintex has usually got the most in-depth and informed view from the region itself - you can read his considered opinion of the wines on www.jancisrobinson.com

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