Tasting Report: More than 500 Tasting Notes From 2013 Barrel Samples

This is my complete report on more than 500 barrel samples of 2013 Bordeaux. Late last March, I tasted the wines in Bordeaux in wineries and cellars throughout the region.

As I have written in the last few days, the wines to buy in 2013 are white - both dry and sweet. They are vibrant and exciting whites with wonderful minerality and intensity as well as subtle character, just ripe fruit and lively acidity. The Sauternes are especially interesting due to their purity of botrytis character giving them an almost dry spiciness with a balance of fruit, acid and sugar.

The reds, of course, are a mixed bag. Most of the millions of gallons of red made in 2013 are mediocre at best. They will end up in inexpensive blends for the mass market.

However, the top estates made some fascinating wines with finesse and subtlety. I look forward to buying and drinking some as well, but I am most likely going to pass on en primeur, or futures. I doubt prices will be low enjoy to generate interest, but that's another blog.

It's interesting how most reds in 2013 were less than 13 percent alcohol, and most winemakers had to chapitalize their grape musts during the fermentation to increase the weight of their wines. This hasn't been done in years, and it underscores the difficulty winemakers had with ripening grapes in 2013.

I also admired the fact that most winemakers didn't push their wines too much. They kept their macerations to a minimum and stayed away from processes such as reverse osmosis that would have artificially concentrated their wines and made them out of balance. Some winemakers were even afraid to bleed their vats during fermentations for the same reasons.

Most winemakers also said they reduced their new barrel usage in 2013 and planned to mature their wines for less time in barrel. In other words, the wines will be bottled earlier than normal. It's all about maintaining the light fruit in the wines.

That's why most of the best reds in 2013 have a delicate fruit character and weight, reminding me of wines from the 1970s and early 1980s when I began drinking and tasting wines as a young man. They are clarets in every sense of the word and will give enjoyment a few years after their release. In fact, it was fun to taste them from barrel with their fresh acidity, creamy textures, and fine fruity character

I heard a lot of things during my 10-day tasting tour, but the words of Paul Pontallier, the long time winemaker of Chateau Margaux, are most memorable. "The 2013 vintage made me rethink everything," he said, while I was tasting his red 2013. "We had to pick early and now I see how something is different. There is a freshness and there is something more beautiful than certain great and ripe years."

Indeed, there is something beautiful about 2013, despite being one of the ugliest vintages in a long time for Bordeaux. 

Click for a full list of all the wines tasted and their ratings sorted by name, or sorted by score.