UK wine merchant Edward Parker Wines have just circulated this eye-witness account of the 2010 vintage in Bordeaux that I thought might be of interest. They are presumably slightly more objective than the Bordelais themselves:
'At the end of September, we visited Bordeaux in order to get a better feel for how the 2010 vintage is looking. As ever, the Bordelais had been saying what a fine vintage is was going to be, and we thought we ought to check! It is no 2005 or 2009, but following the difficult flowering and budding, the conditions were pretty good. The fruit going into the presses looks decent, although there were some immature grapes and a little rot, but with effective sorting the juice will be good.
'Temperatures were higher than average, causing some to immediately make comparisons with 2003, but due to the cooler nights, we don't believe they will be that similar. Alcohol levels may be an issue, but after the success of the winemakers in managing this down in 2009, we are confident they will handle this effectively with their 2010s. Next stop the tastings at the beginning of April, but we would hope for a decent drinking vintage. More than that, it's too early to say.'
The picture, incidentally, is of the plastic crates used to pick the 2010 vintage at Le Macchiole in Bolgheri.
