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BORDEAUX
– GRAPES –
The Oenoconseil team tasting wines
or 3.9. Lower acidity makes for a more easy drinking flavour,
and adds to fatness and roundness. The wines, however, have
lower ageing potential, whilst the tannins seem finer. Médeville
has rarely seen producers in the region rectify their wines using
tartaric acid, as can occur in warmer regions.
He insists on steps that need to be taken in the vineyard. A
later-ripening rootstock is required and green harvesting and
leaf removal need to be reduced. If it is very hot during the
day, the time of picking can have an impact on the fruitiness
and oxidation of the grapes. For Grands Crus where the fruit
is picked by hand, the inability to harvest before sunrise is
sometimes an issue. Dry ice on the grapes can keep them cool
until they reach the winery. Cold pre-fermentation soaking is
becoming more common, and fermentation temperatures need
to be properly controlled. Refrigerated tanks have become the
norm across the region.
When Merlot is too ripe, it produces wines with candied fruit
aromas, but you can already taste this in the grapes themselves,
points out Médeville. About ten years ago, over-ripeness was
aimed for deliberately – the wines had to be more concentrated,
and richer, à la Robert Parker and garage wines. In previous
44 SPRING 2021 GILBERT & GAILLARD - THE FRENCH EXPERTS ON WINE