2008 Bordeaux Vintage

Winter was mild. January was exceptionally mild and February among the driest, mildest and sunniest, then March turned particularly cool, with unusually heavy rain, strong winds and little sun. Budbreak came at the very start of April, not particularly early or quick, and in the Medoc and Graves it was slow and uneven. On 7 April a relatively severe frost of -2 to -4 C hit early Merlot plots and the whites; Sauternes properties were hit hardest, some as badly as in 1991, and Pessac-Leognan lost up to half its white crop in places. Rain dominated the spring: May brought 151 mm at Merignac, 181% of average, with 50 days of rain between April and July and hail on 11 and 15 May. The Medoc and Graves also had a hail-hit June. Mildew pressure was exceptionally strong, even more than in 2007, and some coulure was seen. Cool, damp June weather delayed flowering to a mid-point of 11 June, ending around 25 June, about ten days later than 2007. July then turned dry and sunny, with 20 mm of rain against a 54 mm average, and a brief water stress at the end of the month slowed vine growth just before veraison. The coolness continued through July and August, and August in the Medoc and Graves was cool and sodden. Mid-veraison came on 15 August, 12 days later than normal. After a few warm, dry days from 26 August and light rain in early September, anticyclonic weather set in from 15 September: dry, sunny and cool. From mid-September to mid-October daytime temperatures in the Medoc and Graves averaged 22 degrees C, with warm Atlantic breezes keeping grapes healthy. Yields were small, and the Medoc and Graves were very low yielding.

This was a late year. The whites began in mid-September and the reds at the end of September, 10 days behind the previous vintage, and picking stretched to the end of October for the last Cabernets. Growers delayed as long as they could and sometimes halted picking for several days. In the Medoc and Graves, Sauvignon Blanc was mostly picked ahead of the Indian summer, while growers held on to harvest reds a good fortnight later than usual. At his Chateau Bauduc, Gavin Quinney started picking Sauvignon Blanc at 4 o'clock in the morning on 17 September, and by 13 October he was bringing in most of his Merlot, with quality "surprisingly high with minimal rot." Sugars built slowly without a sharp fall in acidity, and the grapes came in very healthy, so the early mildew attacks did not do the damage growers had feared. In Sauternes and Barsac, noble rot was slow to start, Botrytis spread in early October, and the tries ran from mid-September to early November.

The ISVV found the best Merlots on early-ripening clay soils and the best limestone plateaux, and more disappointing ones in late sites and on sandy soils. Right Bank Cabernet Franc and Left Bank Cabernet Sauvignon rewarded the work put into them, and Petit Verdot surprised. On gravel soils suited to Cabernet Sauvignon, grapes free of green, vegetal character were within reach; elsewhere it was less certain. Decanter's guide found later-ripening Cabernet gained the most, with the Cabernet Sauvignon blends of Pauillac and Saint-Julien setting the red standard, while quality varied, particularly in the Haut-Medoc and more southerly appellations. For dry whites the ISVV judged conditions close to a perfect vintage, with Sauvignon equal to or better than 2007 and Semillon it called exceptional. The frost and May rain left many Sauternes and Barsac estates with a very small crop.

The ISVV's verdict, translated, was "exceptional dry whites, good to very good reds and excellent Sauternes and Barsac." By that five-condition measure, 2008 met two and a half of five and takes its place among the good vintages. Malolactic fermentations ran extremely long, and the first blends showed deeply colored reds with bright fruit and fresh tannins. Decanter's Medoc and Graves guide summed the vintage up this way: "Classic, ripe Bordeaux, though lacking ultimate wow factor and quality does vary." It found the best wines deeper colored, richer and more concentrated than anyone expected, and the dry whites fresh, floral and citrussy. Its best producers include the first growths, particularly Latour and Haut-Brion, and Cos d'Estournel, with its smallest yield ever barring 1991.

• ISVV: exceptional dry whites, good to very good reds, excellent Sauternes and Barsac (translated)
• Decanter's red picks include Latour, Haut-Brion, Pontet-Canet, Palmer and La Mission-Haut-Brion
• Decanter's Pessac white picks: Haut-Brion, Domaine de Chevalier and Laville Haut-Brion