Anson: Lafleur 2018 and the battle against climate change

The last round-up of Bordeaux 2018 wines covers some of the most interesting names of the region, including the recently bottled Lafleur 2018, as well as Latour, Carmes Haut-Brion, Figeac and Le Dôme.

Scroll down to see Jane Anson’s new tasting notes for Lafleur 2018, plus Figeac, Carmes Haut-Brion and more…

These are all estates that show clever approaches to handling a Bordeaux 2018 vintage that was extremely wet in the first half of the season, and extremely dry in the second part.

The conditions meant close attention was needed in the vineyard but also in the cellar.

It was a vintage that asked again what is needed to combat a changing climate?

‘A crazy season’

The newly-approved Bordeaux grape varieties allowed as of January this year get most of the headlines, but the real work of adaptation has been ongoing for some time.

Commenting on Bordeaux 2018, Château Lafleur estate manager Omri Ram says, ‘It would not have been easy to make great wine in this crazy kind of season even a decade ago – with the vines receiving an excess of water at first, then the valve being abruptly turned off.

‘It means the plant goes from comfort to discomfort extremely quickly, and you have to be there to help it adapt.

‘But years with such contrasts have become more common recently, and now we know how to make great wines from them, as long as our attention is 150% in the vineyard.’

He adds, ‘In 2018, the rain of the first half of the season meant lots of green growth of shoots and leaves, and we therefore had to be careful with the canopy size.

‘When the sun comes out that canopy becomes a sugar machine and therefore has an impact on alcohol levels, so you have to reduce the canopy very quickly to ensure the leaves don’t take up all the energy and nutrients, and that the sugar levels in the grapes don’t go too high.

‘The clay of Pomerol gives you more of a buffer against drought than sandy or gravel soils, but once it dries up it is extremely unforgiving.’

Ram continues, ‘The regularity of the dry seasons that we are seeing now mean that I expect irrigation to become widely used in Bordeaux within the next decade.

‘The problem is that it can be used as an easy shortcut without thinking about the plant and how best to work with it.’

Lafleur is quietly undertaking some of the most interesting vineyard work in Bordeaux, much of which is driven by the need to ensure a vineyard that is robust and sustainable.

Lafleur research in the vineyard

Its massal selection of old Cabernet Franc vines – they refer to them under the older name of Bouchet – has been under way since 2009.

It has now been extended into Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc, planted across their estates in Pomerol, as well as in Château Grand Village, Les Champs Libres and Les Perrières in the Fronsac region.

The team today count more than 65 different genetic variations of Bouchet alone, all of which are tracked at every stage of evolution for differences in growth and ripening, and in aromatic and taste expression in the final wine.

For the Sauvignon Blanc the team has massal selection Sancerre, massal selection Bordeaux from their oldest vines, and clones.

‘But we have only just begun working on Bordeaux massal selection for Sauvignon Blanc, and we expect to take another 10 years before we really have any answers,’ says Ram.

‘Whole bunch’ at Carmes Haut-Brion

At Carmes Haut-Brion, another form of adaptation to climate change is seen in the cellars, where whole bunch fermentation has been gradually climbing over the past five years.

The 2018 vintage retasted here saw 53% whole bunch fermentation.

‘It allows us to drop the alcohol by around 1% in the final wine and helps develop salinity,’ says estate director Guillaume Pouthier.

‘But you have to be careful. We are able to do this because our vineyard site at Carmes Haut-Brion is warm, as we are so close to the city centre of Bordeaux and have the thermal impact of this location.

‘It means that the stalks get extremely ripe, turning from green to brown and red, and therefore are not loaded with harsh tannins.

‘Even so we sort them out very carefully before use, and we are also careful to use mainly Cabernet Franc and Merlot vines. I have found less success with Cabernet Sauvignon.’

Both of these estates are interesting to follow right now – and are part of a growing number of properties looking at intelligent ways to combat changing conditions without the drastic step of introducing entirely new grape varieties.

See Jane Anson’s latest tasting notes and scores, including Figeac, Carmes-Haut Brion and Lafleur 2018 in the bottle

NB: Château Latour 2018 has not yet been released.

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