Véronique Sanders, Château Haut-Bailly,
Bordeaux.
Andrew Jefford’s October issue cover story, ‘The problem with Bordeaux, and how to fix it’, prompted a flurry of engaged and often passionate responses. Here we publish an edited selection, including the view from one of Bordeaux’s leading cru classé estates.
Dear Andrew,
In your article you pointed out that, for you, a great Bordeaux fine wine ‘may be the most obvious, unoriginal and unhip “favourite wine” in existence, but at its best it’s also the most subtle, refined and complex red wine of all’.
About 473 years ago, the Valladolid Controversy pitted those who claimed that Native Americans had souls against those who disagreed. The recurring debates surrounding ‘the Bordeaux crisis’ are often no less fiery or radical, and I like the way you nailed it.
Do we have a soul? Are we about to die, if not already dead? Are we still the very best grands vins of the world, carrying the name of the first and only global worldwide wine brand: Bordeaux? Or are we definitely done?
Herein lies the paradox, though, and here’s my question to you: how can a wine devoid of character, originality and spirit be at the same time the most subtle, refined and complex of all the world’s great wines? Isn’t subtlety a character trait? Isn’t it the refinement of a grand vin that underpins its originality? Isn’t its complexity a testament to its spirit?
You have known Bordeaux intimately for the past 30 years, dear Andrew, and you speak of it with such great accuracy when you say that our great wines are ‘the most food-friendly, the most successful in terms of accomplishing metamorphosis with age, the most qualitatively consistent across a broad price spectrum, the most generous in terms of market offer, the most profoundly satisfying, and the most digestible and health-bringing wine of all’ that I have to ask your precious help on the matter.
What should we do to try and help change the conversation about Bordeaux, calm tempers, put things back into perspective and, quite simply put, get back to the fundamentals and keep moving on, instead of sawing off the branch we’re sitting on?
Every year without fail, we welcome American sommeliers who come in small groups to Bordeaux and to Château Haut-Bailly. They arrive full of preconceived ideas, and they leave with tears in their eyes, deeply moved by what they’ve seen (the terroirs, the people, the magnificent landscapes…) and by the great wines they have tasted. Within a few years, the wine lists of New York and Los Angeles have changed, reintegrating the great fine wines of Bordeaux in explosive fashion.
This is my message to my dearest colleagues who manage great domaines on Bordeaux’s Left and Right Banks: together works better. Let’s continue to open our doors to wine professionals and connoisseurs from all over the world, individually and at appellation level. Let’s invite them to visit, and let’s provide them with an unforgettable experience – not only during the en primeur tastings, but all year round. Wine is life, and there’s no substitute for tasting it on our own land, with our feet in the vines, before sitting down to eat and share our thoughts and emotions.
In a word, let’s break down the armour, get out of our own backyard, show off our strengths and the tremendous progress we’ve made over the last three decades: granular knowledge of our soils, attentive care of our vines, constant refinement of our winemaking processes, thanks to considerable investment in the most advanced technologies.
Let’s put an end to preconceived ideas: our wines can absolutely be drunk young, as today’s great Bordeaux wines are flawless, supple, elegant and fruity. Yet, they have not lost their legendary capacity for ageing.
The great wines of Bordeaux are better than ever, and this is exactly why we thank you, dear Andrew, for reminding us of what is a reality, and not a wish! I invite everyone…
Source : https://www.decanter.com/magazine/readers-respond-to-andrew-jeffords-the-problem-with-bordeaux-545365/
