Over the past week, the Wine Spectator’s Senior Editor James Molesworth has published a series of 2010 tasting notes and scores for many of Bordeaux’s finest wines. So far, the critic has tasted more than 30 barrel samples from Pomerol, St Emilion, Margaux, St Julien and Pauillac – including four First Growths. There is little doubting his enthusiasm for the vintage, with Lafite, Latour and Margaux all receiving 96-99 points, and Mouton – "another battleship" – coming in a touch lower at 95-98. Bear in mind that Molesworth shied away from awarding perfect scores when covering his previous beat, the Rhone.
As well as top-quality Premiers Crus, Molesworth's notes suggest that the quality of the First Growths’ second wines is particularly high this year. Pavillon Rouge, Petit Mouton, Forts de Latour, Carruades de Lafite and Duhart Milon all seem to be superior to their 2009 equivalents (judging by their Wine Spectator scores, and in some cases their Parker scores too). Is quality rising to match demand and pricing?
On the Right Bank, the critic has yet to taste the biggest names (Petrus, Ausone and Le Pin). But of those that he has sampled, the best performers have been La Fleur Petrus (96-99) and Trotanoy (96-99) – “one of the top wines of the vintage”. Numerous other wines received more than 95 points, including Latour Pomerol and Hosanna (both 95-98).
All things being equal, scores for Haut Brion and its wines will probably be published tomorrow. Check back for an update and log on to Winespectator.com for the full set of tasting notes.
UPDATE:
Molesworth has published another handful of tasting notes on the 2010s from Pessac-Leognan. His verdict? Haut Brion's first and second wines look to rival those of Lafite and Latour and were awarded 96-99 and 93-96 points respectively. "The sixth First Growth", Mission Haut Brion, received 95-98 points.
