A short history of why Cabernet is King in America, and why that could be changing Tasting Bordeaux

Getting ready for a Bordeaux tasting

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Posted by steve on Apr 28, 2014 in Recent Activities, Tasting | 1 comment

To San Francisco today for a Bordeaux tasting, at Wine & Wall, the interesting space just south of Market, near the Embarcadero, that’s such a hotspot of a neighborhood. I know little about the event, except that it involves the following wines:

which of course makes it pretty compelling.

I haven’t paid much attention to Bordeaux for years, overwhelmed as I was with California wine, although I do follow, at a distance, Bordeaux’s fortunes in the trade pubs. The question for Bordeaux, it seems to me, is whether it can hold onto its glorious reputation among a new generation of wine lovers. In Bordeaux’s favor is the old maxim—Newton’s first law of motion, actually—that an object in motion will continue in motion at the same speed and direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. The object in this case obviously is Bordeaux sales, which have continued in motion for many centuries. It can be argued that Bordeaux’s popularity threatened to become unhinged in the 1960s and 1970s, but that Bob Parker came along at the very moment when Bordeaux needed a boost, and a serious one at that; and that is exactly what Parker gave it, with his triumphant review of the 1982 vintage. It can be equally argued that, now that Parker is receding from the scene, the props are disappearing from Bordeaux’s stage, leaving it increasingly bare. We shall see.

I, personally, can see no reason why Bordeaux logically should hold onto its reputation. Worldwide competition has narrowed their appeal; high prices make most consumers look askance. Just this morning, Harpers, via Wine Business.com, reports that the chateaux are already discounting their 2013s, as “Buyers [show] a continued lack of confidence” in the Queen of Wines. Then, too, 2013 was supposedly “the most difficult” vintage in a long time, and Bordeaux consumers are notorious for being vintage-sensitive. This is so unlike the situation in California, where vintage matters far less. It may not be true, as long alleged, that “Every year is a vintage year in California,” but surely vintage differences here—even between an iffy year like 2011 and a superb one like 2012 and (we think) 2013—are more nuanced.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to renewing my acquaintance with the wines of Bordeaux. I’ll be looking for any hedonic pleasure I can find, since pleasure is what I want wine to provide. I’ve reached a point where I can’t really make excuses for a young wine that’s too tannic to enjoy, under the theory that all it needs is 10 or 20 years in the cellar to be drinkable. I’ll pay particular attention to the 2010s, which Parker rated so highly. The ‘03s and ‘04s fared less well, reputationally, but then there are the ‘05s, which for Parker at least was a stellar vintage.

I quote Parker! Yes, now that I’m a “civilian” with no particular allegiance to any publication, I see no reason not to, at least where Bordeaux is involved. Like many people, I rely on the advice of critics, in my selection of movies to see, restaurants to patronize, tech gadgets to buy, and Parker still seems to be the authority when it comes to Bordeaux. I will report on the results of today’s tasting tomorrow. Then I’m off on my first official visit for Jackson Family Wines: a couple days hanging out at the Panorama Vineyard, in the Arroyo Seco, and meeting with Carmel Road’s winemaker, Ivan Giotenov. I’ll be staying at the Inter-Continental; if you’re in the area, give me a shout.