2011 Bordeaux Vintage

As many said at the time, it was summer in spring, autumn in summer, spring in autumn. After a cold snap and snow in December 2010, the winter turned mild and dry. January and February brought less than half the normal rainfall, setting up the drought that marked the year, and March was drier and warmer than normal. Bud break came in the last week of March, two weeks earlier than in 2010. April 2011 was the second-hottest April since 1900, with only about 10mm of rain against an average of 80mm, and May was hot and dry too, its average maximum close to 25C and 4.5C above normal. Gavin Quinney measured just 89mm of rain at his property from March to June, against a 30-year average of 290mm. Flowering was fast and even: the ISVV put mid-flowering at 17 May, 15 days early and the earliest date since its monitoring began in 1952. June stayed very dry, and on 26 and 27 June the thermometer reached 40C, burning bunches exposed to the afternoon sun. Cabernet Sauvignon on the driest soils sometimes lost more than 20 percent of its berries. From 6 July the weather turned cool, with 200 hours of July sunshine against 281 in 2010, and Quinney recorded 153mm of rain over July and August against a 30-year average of 106mm. Mid-veraison still came about 15 days early. The August rains swelled berries on deep sandy or silty soils and diluted their flavors, especially in Merlot, and some vines began growing new leaves instead of ripening their grapes. Hail was a recurring threat. A storm hit the Sauternes area hard on 25 April, damaging nearly 500 hectares, and more hail struck Podensac, the Entre-deux-Mers and the Blayais on 1 and 2 May. On 1 September a violent hailstorm ravaged part of Saint-Estephe, bringing 80mm of rain and hastening the Merlot harvest in the worst-hit parcels. After that, September ran warm and dry, with no more than 25mm of rain at Bordeaux against an average of 90mm. Dry white picking began on 17 August, Merlot on 5 September and Cabernet around 12 September, and the Cabernet harvest ended in the last week of September or the first days of October. Almost all the red grapes were picked in September; the only recent precedent was 2003. The official estimate put the Bordeaux crop at 6.1 million hectolitres, 5 percent above the five-year average, though many top chateaux made far less wine.

• Bud break in the last week of March, two weeks earlier than 2010; April was the second-hottest since 1900 and May came close to the record dryness of May 1945
• Mid-flowering on 17 May, 15 days early and the earliest in ISVV records going back to 1952
• 40C heat on 26 and 27 June burned exposed bunches, followed by a cool July and 153mm of July and August rain against a 106mm average
• Hail hit the Sauternes area on 25 April and Saint-Estephe on 1 September; a warm, dry September carried the harvest

In the Medoc and Graves, a poor summer led to mildew and rot, with uneven ripening and a difficult harvest. Decanter's vintage guide rated Saint-Emilion and Pomerol 2.5 out of 5, noting less rot on the Right Bank than on the Left and some excellent wines in Pomerol. In Quinney's April 2012 assessment, the best Left Bank wines came from the better terroirs of Saint-Julien and Pauillac, while Margaux and Saint-Estephe were mixed. On the Right Bank, the clay-limestone sector of Saint-Emilion and the plateau of Pomerol did best, along with Fronsac and some of the Cotes, because the limestone beneath the clay gave the roots enough moisture during the drought for the tannins to ripen. Decanter found that Cabernet Franc generally did much better, and estates with high levels of it in Pomerol and Saint-Emilion fared well. In Pessac-Leognan, Quinney judged the dry whites successful and the reds a mixed bag. Decanter rated Sauternes and Barsac 4.5 out of 5, with Barsac singled out as particularly fine.

• Decanter ratings: Saint-Emilion and Pomerol 2.5/5, Sauternes and Barsac 4.5/5
• Saint-Julien and Pauillac led the Left Bank; Margaux and Saint-Estephe were mixed
• Clay-limestone Saint-Emilion, the Pomerol plateau and Fronsac held enough moisture through the drought to ripen tannins
• Cabernet Franc did much better, helping estates rich in it in Pomerol and Saint-Emilion

Quinney called 2011 the first year the new sorting systems truly earned their keep, since grapes even within the same bunch ripened unevenly and there was more rot to remove. At Mouton Rothschild, Philippe Dhalluin said the sorting line, including an optical sorter, rejected 8 percent of the crop, and Jean-Philippe Delmas of Haut-Brion described discarding 5 to 7 percent on top of manual sorting in the vineyard. In Saint-Julien, optical scanners were used at Leoville Las Cases, Leoville Poyferre, Ducru-Beaucaillou and Gruaud-Larose, all of which Quinney rated as having made outstanding wines. Latour, Pontet-Canet and Leoville-Barton, which also made superb wines by his account, relied on manpower on their double-sorting lines. Yields at the top were low: Chateau Margaux at 29 hl/ha, Mouton Rothschild at 30, Haut-Brion at 39, Latour at 42 and Lafite Rothschild at 50, against a maximum permitted yield of 57 hl/ha in the top Medoc appellations.

• Mouton Rothschild's sorting line rejected 8 percent of the crop; Haut-Brion discarded 5 to 7 percent beyond vineyard sorting
• Optical scanners at Leoville Las Cases, Leoville Poyferre, Ducru-Beaucaillou and Gruaud-Larose, all rated outstanding by Quinney
• Latour, Pontet-Canet and Leoville-Barton made superb wines using manual double-sorting lines
• First growth yields ran from 29 hl/ha at Chateau Margaux to 50 hl/ha at Lafite Rothschild

The dry whites were aromatic, dense and long, with good acidity and the character of Bordeaux vintages with cool summers; their musts had a little less sugar and more acidity than 2010 and 2009. Not everyone agreed at first: Wine Spectator's November 2011 harvest report said reds and dry whites struggled throughout the region. For the reds, Merlot on limestone and clay was deeply colored and fresh, and Left Bank wines were set to be structured by remarkable Cabernet Sauvignon, though in small volumes. Quinney wrote that the best reds combine good color, lovely fruit and texture, balance, fine acidity and freshness, but that tannins were the big issue, with some wines showing very dry, astringent, pippy tannins. Decanter pointed to some good early drinking wines on both banks, with fresh fruit and gentle tannins, though not consistently. In Sauternes and Barsac, a pure noble rot spread after the early September rain and morning fogs, and temperatures reaching or passing 30C for several days from 8 September concentrated the grapes very fast. The whole crop came in from 5 to 28 September, generally in two passes at Barsac. The ISVV report's authors had seen such a rush of noble rot only twice in forty years, in 2009 and 2011, and called the Sauternes and Barsac great. Decanter judged them close to 2001 in quality, crediting the cool harvest for their acidity.

• Dry whites: aromatic, dense and long with good acidity
• Best reds: color, fruit, balance and freshness, but tannin quality varied, in Quinney's assessment
• Sauternes and Barsac picked from 5 to 28 September after a fast, pure spread of noble rot
• Decanter put the sweet wines close to 2001 in quality

"It's back to reality after 2009 and 2010," Frederic Engerer, general director of Chateau Latour, told Wine Spectator. Denis Durantou of L'Eglise Clinet in Pomerol put it to Quinney this way: "It's good to return to an Atlantic vintage, after two Pacific ones." Quinney rated 2011 good but not great for reds, well below 2010, 2009, 2005 and 2000 but above 2007, 2004, 2002 and most 2003s, sitting alongside 2008 and 2001 depending on region and chateau. He rated it very good for dry whites and excellent for Sauternes, giving Sauternes and Barsac four top vintages out of five (2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011). The vintage also marked a turn in the market. On Friday 13 April 2012, Latour told its Bordeaux negociants that 2011 would be its last vintage sold en primeur, with future releases sold only in bottle. Quinney noted that most of the trade and press at the April primeur tastings found the 2011s better than expected, and agreed that prices would have to be lower for the wines to sell as futures.

• Quinney ranked 2011 reds below 2010, 2009, 2005 and 2000, above 2007, 2004 and 2002, and alongside 2008 and 2001
• Very good for dry whites and excellent for Sauternes and Barsac, in Quinney's view
• Latour announced on 13 April 2012 that 2011 was its last en primeur vintage
• Primeur tasters found the 2011s better than expected and agreed prices had to come down