Pontet-Canet declared best value Bordeaux in retrospective tasting

A tasting of Bordeaux 2001 ten years on just ahead of en primeurs saw Pontet-Canet declared the best value wine of the vintage after voting by a handful of press including Jancis Robinson MW, Steven Spurrier and Neil Martin.

The tasting, organised by Bordeaux Index, was first instigated by the wine merchant three years ago with the 1999 vintage, and asks each taster to submit a top five wines of the vintage as well as a top five best value.

Notably, like last year Latour was voted the best wine of the tasting, although it was in equal place with Lafite and Pétrus, while Château d’Yquem and Mouton Rothschild came in joint fourth.

When it came to rating the leading wines according to value, Pontet-Canet came out on top with Palmer, La Tour Figeac and Nairac Sauternes in joint second place, followed by Malartic Lagravière, Domaine de Chevalier, Vieux Château Certan, La Tour Blanche, Doisy-Védrines, Doisy-Daëne, Langoa Barton, Cos d’Estournel, Brane-Cantenac and Rauzan-Ségla – all of which received an equal number of votes.

The drinks business, which was also present at the tasting, rated, among the reds, Mouton, Pétrus and Pontet-Canet particularly highly but also noted the value present in Margaux from this vintage, led by Palmer (£400 per case), but also backed up by Brane-Cantenac (£450) and Rauzan-Ségla (£440).

According to Bordeaux Index, and referring to Stephen Brook’s The Complete Bordeaux, acidities in 2001 tended to be higher than the previous infamous vintage, but the tannins were not always as ripe. It noted that with some wines approaching 2000 in quality, the 2001 vintage has suffered from being in the shadow of a great year.

Certainly Jancis Robinson MW, writing on Purple Pages, described the 2001 reds as “not overall quite as impressive as the 2000s had been en masse, but although they were less concentrated, they were nicely balanced and pretty impressive at this stage in their development.”

Patrick Schmitt, 31.03.2011