2017 Bordeaux – Mirror, Mirror on The Wall… (Version en Français)

2017 Bordeaux – Mirror, Mirror on The Wall…

BY ANTONIO GALLONI | MARCH 05, 2020

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Left Bank: Margaux | Pauillac | Pessac-Léognan | Saint-Estèphe | Saint-Julien | Sauternes | Satellites

Right Bank: Pomerol | Saint-Émilion | Satellites

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The bottled 2017 Bordeaux capture all ups and downs that were characteristic of a growing season marked by dramatic frost and uneven weather throughout the rest of the year. Although 2017 is not a great vintage across the board, it is a vintage with many great wines, as readers will discover in these paragraphs and reviews. On a personal note, I like challenging vintages like 2017, because it is precisely in these kinds of years that professional critics have the opportunity to add the most value. Sadly, there does not seem to be a whole lot of interest in these wines, for reasons I will explain below. That will almost certainly create some buying opportunities down the road for savvy readers.

I won’t recount the entire 2017 growing season blow by blow here. Readers can find a synopsis in my article 2017 Bordeaux: The Heart of the Matter. A devastating spring frost, uneven weather during the summer and rain just before harvest are some of the key events that inform the growing season and wines. In the most dramatic cases, frost wiped out all or most of the production at a number of estates and sharply curtailed yields at other properties. Leaving aside those cases, though, readers will find more than a few stunning, rivetingly beautiful wines in 2017.

Sunset in Saint-Émilion.

The Right Bank Shines…

In March 2018, I wrote “2017 is, in my opinion, very clearly a Right Bank vintage…a number of 2017s on the Right Bank are positively thrilling.” I feel the same way today, especially in the great terroirs. Starting in Pomerol, Lafleur is very clearly the wine of the vintage, in either banks. The 2017 was monumental from barrel, but it is even better from bottle. It is closely followed by L’Eglise Clinet, Vieux Château Certan, Lafleur-Petrus, Petrus, L'Évangile, La Conseillante and others, all of which I would personally be thrilled to own. The second wines of Lafleur and L’Eglise Clinet, Pensées de Lafleur and La Petite Eglise, are terrific choices for consumers who want to dabble in the vintage without spending the sums required for the big guns. Blason de L'Évangile, with its strong Cabernet Franc imprint, is another compelling second wine.

In Saint-Émilion, Troplong Mondot shows the direction of the estate under its new ownership and management. The 2017 is the first vintage made by new CEO Aymeric de Gironde and consulting winemaker Thomas Duclos, and it is a stunner. Other wines of note include Ausone, Canon, Tertre-Rôteboeuf, Valandraud, Pavie, La Gaffelière, L’If, Figeac and Cheval Blanc, all of which are truly sublime. Saint-Émilion is of course a very large appellation with a lot of diversity and plenty of wines that lurk under the radar. Larcis-Ducasse and Millery are two hidden gems that will appeal to readers who like freshness and energy, while Poesia and Clos Saint-Julien are Saint-Émilions that will delight consumers who seek more overt richness and body. The weak spot on the Right Bank was lower lying vineyards, where frost was especially damaging. Conditions essentially created a natural selection to the point many estates focused only on their very best parcels, but in many cases, especially in satellite appellations, that was just not possible because of the smaller size and vulnerable location of a number of properties.

Baptiste Guinaudeau made the wine of the vintage at Lafleur.

The Left Bank – Highs and Lows

Things are much more variable over on the Left Bank. Late season rains were an issue. As a result, many blends feature Cabernet Sauvignon prominently. Saint-Julien is the clear star of the Left Bank. The wines are simply tremendous. Léoville-Poyferré, Léoville Las-Cases and Léoville Barton are all stellar, while Ducru-Beaucaillou, Branaire-Ducru and Beychevelle aren’t too far behind. In fact, some readers may prefer the opulence of Ducru or Beychevelle over the more structured Léovilles. Langoa-Barton, Gloria and Saint-Pierre will quench the thirst of readers who want to drink well without spending a ton of money.

Outside of Saint-Julien, quality is highly inconsistent. Starting north in Saint-Estèphe, many wines are penalized by late season rains and are therefore lacking in depth or structure. Calon Ségur is an example. Montrose and Cos d’Estournel are notable, though. In Pauillac, Latour, Lafite-Rothschild and Lynch Bages are all strong. I was especially impressed by Lafite, where the wines have an extra flair that is impossible to miss. Other wines, like Pichon-Comtesse and Mouton-Rothschild are austere and hard to read at this stage. Margaux is also mixed. Palmer, Château Margaux and Marquis de Terme are among the stand outs. In Pessac-Léognan, which are often grouped together but probably should be spoken about separately, Smith Haut Lafitte (both white and red), Pape Clement (both white and red) and Les Carmes Haut Brion all confirm my positive impressions from barrel. The entire range at Smith is especially of note, including the second wines that rarely get much mention. Unfortunately, the Domaine de Chevalier (Rouge) is just as awkward as it has always been. Lastly, the 2017 dry whites are very much worth your consideration.