Last affordable vintage - Bordeaux 2001?

Following the magnificent 2000’s and the resultant high prices it was away from greed relief for the 2001’s. Many pundits likened the wines to the 1985 or the 1986’s for their style.

Jancis Robinson MW in her Purple Pages www.jancisrobinson.com recently re-appraised the 2001’s as did the Financial Times.

Overlooked by the outstanding 2003 and 2005 vintages. Both of whom were on the receiving end of a heat-wave. Coinciding with the arrival of new money in the wine market, driving prices up in these two vintages. Leaving 2001, 2002 and 2004 looking reasonably priced.

The 2004’s are still a little tough and too young for drinking because of their tannins. The 2002’s are cheaper than the 2001’s because they are rather stern and have yet to soften. So if the 2000’s, 2003’s and the 2005’s are beyond your means then the 2001’s are for you. Many of the wines are approaching drinkability even at the top level. This is not a long term vintage.

I nicely balanced vintage with all the classic claret attributes. However careful selection must be made as the quality does vary. Just to clarify this is not an investment vintage but therefore it remains firmly in the province of the drinkers.
A late harvest under sunny and cool skies gave Bordeaux another outstanding vintage, according to some of the leading names in this top French wine region "We are very, very happy," said Charles Chevallier, technical director of first-growth Château Lafite Rothschild.
For the red wines, "It is a cross between 1986 and 1988, two classic years for Bordeaux," said Jean-Guillaume Prats, president of second-growth Cos-d'Estournel in St.-Estèphe. "We have wines with high alcohol and excellent fruit, plus they have maintained their acidity."
The weather for most of the growing season was variable at best, with a large part of the summer being wet and dreary. By mid-August, many wine producers thought that the vintage could be a real calamity. But things began changing for the better at the end of August and continued to improve throughout September and October, with the latter bringing particularly exceptional weather.
"We had a wonderful autumn," said Patrick Maroteaux, managing director of Château Branaire-Ducru in St.-Julien and the president of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux, an association of many top estates. "We had a little rain at the beginning of the harvest, but we were lucky enough to have good weather for the rest of the time. If not, we would have had slightly unripe wines."
Many leading Bordeaux estates said they had a smaller crop in 2001 than in 2000 due to an uneven flowering period and poor berry set; in addition, the variable weather kept the grapes from ripening evenly throughout the vineyards. Some châteaus harvested 15 percent to 20 percent fewer grapes than usual. Part of that drop may also be attributed to a highly selective green harvest in the summer -- when unripe grape bunches were cut away from the vines -- which was apparently essential this year to maintain high quality.

"Those people who worked seriously in their vineyards did well in 2001," said Frédéric Engerer, president of first-growth Château Latour in Pauillac. "In addition, 2001 will be a year for great vineyards. Those vineyards in the best locations should make the best wines."

Please click on this link to see you full selection of Bordeaux 2001’s, complete with reviews. Welovefinewines