Remembering Jean-Bernard Delmas

BY NEAL MARTIN | OCTOBER 04, 2019

Jean-Bernard Delmas, who passed away at the age of 83 on 3 October 2019, was a giant figure in Bordeaux and especially the Graves. In 1960 Delmas succeeded his father, Georges Delmas, as régisseur of Château Haut-Brion, not just a First Growth for him, but where he was born in 1935. They were large shoes to fill since his father had overseen every vintage since 1921. However, not only did Jean-Bernard Delmas debut with the regal 1961 Haut-Brion that continues to astonish to this day, but he made the audacious decision to replace the château’s old wooden fermentation vats with twelve stainless-steel vessels. Its revolutionary impact cannot be overstated. Fermentation temperatures became easier to regulate and since stainless steel is easier to clean and rendered cuveries more hygienic and less prone to bacterial infection. Delmas designed them himself, squat in design, in order to enhance contact between the must and the marc. His innovations did not stop there. Throughout the Seventies Delmas embarked upon continuous research of rootstocks and clones in conjunction with the INRA through multitudinous micro-vinifications. He also pioneered the technique of using sorting tables to eradicate under-ripe berries from entering the vat. Under his aegis, Haut-Brion made a raft of exceptional wines, such as the 1978, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1996, 1998 and 2000, not to mention La Mission Haut-Brion from 1983 after the Dillon family bought the property on the opposite side of the road. It is the consistency of these wines that really hits home, even in difficult vintages. Yet the pinnacle in many people’s eyes was his landmark 1989 Haut-Brion and 1989 La Mission Haut-Brion, both awarded perfect scores in my recent “A Century of Bordeaux: The Nines” article.