Test of Endurance: Bordeaux 2014 Ten Years On

BY NEAL MARTIN |&nbsp;MARCH 19, 2024My 15
minutes of fame began around midday. A strange female voice telephones from the
Paris press office of the Daily Torygraph&nbsp;- the starting pistol for a
surreal afternoon when every national newspaper craves an interview with yours
truly. Soon, there’s a call every five minutes. My wife hollers up the stairs… 

“The BBC’s
on the phone.” 

They
want me to come into the studio, but there’s not enough time, so I’m
transferred to a household name journalist and interviewed for that evening’s
Six O’Clock News, the frivolous ‘…and finally’ to cheer up listeners after all the
war and pestilence. I’ve barely put down the receiver when it’s the call I’ve
been dreading… 

“Hi. This
is The Sun.”

How did
this muck-raking tabloid obtain my number? Hacked? Should I call Prince Harry
for advice? A spurned ex-girlfriend giving lurid details of our love life? A winemaker
avenging a poor review? Once we establish that his knowledge of wine goes
little beyond cheap beer, I agree to help him rustle up something witty to
appeal to a readership that I suspect is unfamiliar with the double-Guyot
pruning or biodynamics. The only stumbling block is a requested list of supermarket
recommendations – not my specialty. After surviving that call and scooping up my
daughter from infant school, I return home to find a stranger in a trench coat,
armed with a Nikon weaponized with an enormous lens, loitering at the front
door.

“You
Neal Martin?” he says gruffly, breath stained with tobacco. “Been sent to take
a photo for tomorrow’s piece in The Sun.” 

We
repair to the green outside my home. I pose within smelling distance of the dog
waste bin. Later, I stubbornly refuse to listen to the Six O’Clock News, though
I can tell I’m being aired by my daughters’ hysterical laughter. The Sun “exclusive”
appears the following day, occupying the entire page seven under the headline:
I hate wine snobs…I write my guide in McDonald’s. The first part is true,
the second a misquote, but whatever, it’s a fun piece, even if my five wine
recommendations are completely fabricated. 

Why recount
my 15 minutes of fame? Well, the previous evening, at a pre-organized press conference,
sitting next to the abdicating king of wine criticism, Robert Parker announced
that coverage of Bordeaux was being handed to some geezer from Essex who never
even drank wine until he was twenty-five. First assignment? The 2014 Bordeaux vintage…

Time
flies. It’s difficult to believe that a decade has already passed since my 17th
en primeur. I was fortunate insofar that 2014 followed the woeful 2013s, so the
only way was up. Hence, there was a veil of optimism that the wines were at
least better than the previous three vintages, essentially a “useful” crop for
merchants and consumers alike, inasmuch as they were decent wines at decent
prices. <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1710775101878-bordeaux+2014+tasting+%281%29.JPG">Between
flights of the Southwold 10-Year-On tasting held at Farr Vintners 

I
revisited the wines blind in 2018, soon after joining Vinous. Now that the
2014s have reached ten years of age, I conducted two annual tastings to examine
their evolution. The first, organized at Bordeaux Index, comprised around 57 top-tier
wines that I could assess at a leisurely pace. The second, just a few days
later, took place at the annual “Southwold” 10-Year-On at Farr Vintners’ office;
150 wines tasted blind and overlapping the first tasting. For this reason, you
will see either amalgamated notes or, if deserving, separate snapshots, two
separate reviews, especially if the same wine showed differently. All in all,
it is a thorough examination of the vintage. Readers should note that I
habitually fold this into my annual “Centuries of…” article; however, since
these wines probably occupy more cellars and restaurant lists than older
vintages ending in the same number, I decided to publish as a standalone piece.The Growing Season The
year began wet and warm, in fact, the warmest for some 24 years, and this was
crucial in terms of replenishing the water table after a succession of dry
seasons. Temperatures rarely dipped below freezing. March was warm, which would
have prompted an early budding had the vines not been dissuaded by cold night
temperatures. Buds finally broke around mid-March, approximately a fortnight
earlier than average. Unlike 2017, a warm and dry April precluded frost damage.
Towards the end of April, inclement weather saw some white varieties affected
with some&nbsp;filage en vrille, whereby the vine expends energy-producing
tendrils instead of bunches. May was cool and damp, and this caused some
coulure and millerandage as well as diluting mineral uptake, though
fortunately, flowering passed evenly and quickly over a week in early June.

Mi-floraison&nbsp;was around ten days
earlier than in 2013. Two heat spikes followed on 21 June and 17 July that
caused some&nbsp;grillure, especially towards the eastern flank of
Saint-Émilion. This aside, June was relatively benign and raised hopes for a
growing season worth getting excited about. Alas, July was cooler than expected
insofar that temperatures only exceeded 30° Celsius on three occasions and
never in August. The late Prof. Denis Dubourdieu’s report noted that average
temperatures were 5.8° Celsius below the 1981 to 2010 average in July and 2.2°
Celsius below average in August, along with 12% less sunlight
hours.&nbsp;Therefore, the vine refocused its energy upon foliage to increase
photosynthesis instead of bunches, hence the protracted&nbsp;véraison.
In some localities,&nbsp;véraison&nbsp;began in mid-July, and in others,
it did not start until the end of August thanks to the cool temperatures, lack
of diurnal temperature variation and moisture levels. Bunches began to show
uneven ripeness levels that obliged constant work in the vineyard to thin out
obvious under-ripeness. It should also be noted that Saint-Émilion and Margaux
suffered more rainfall than either Saint-Julien or Saint-Estèphe. To add to
their woes, there were the constant lurking threats of oïdium and an outbreak
of&nbsp;cicadelles&nbsp;to make vineyard work “uncomfortable”. By the
end of August, hopes had been dashed. I still recall one winemaker who
confessed that they thought 2014 would end up even worse than 2013.&nbsp;

The second
summer saved the day as a high-pressure system squatted over Europe and warded
off the low depressions that might have come in from the Atlantic. Temperatures
in September averaged 27.8° Celsius, with 27% more sunlight hours than in August.
Despite outbreaks of thunderstorms that affected Saint-Émilion, September was a
perfect month, and it verged on excessive as high temperatures caused some
berries to shrivel. These had to be discarded before entering the vat, although
at least these high temperatures compensated for the lack of concentration
earlier that summer. The harvest kicked off around 3 September with the dry
whites as usual under dry conditions. The Merlot started coming in around 22
September after potential alcohol levels rocketed by almost a degree per week.
The clement conditions enabled vineyard managers to drag out the growing season;
most of the Cabernets were picked in an October that was warmer than usual and
with only 20mm of rainfall. The berries were found to be small and
concentrated. In Sauternes, the second summer was a mixed blessing since it
precluded the onset of&nbsp;pourriture noble, at least until an outbreak
of rain in October caused an explosion of botrytis that necessitated almost
block picking rather than the piecemeal&nbsp;tries&nbsp;through the
vineyard. Estates had to be careful since some vineyard managers noticed
some&nbsp;bouïroc&nbsp;or sour rot in a small number of bunches, but
finally, they were able to crop fruit that would create very fine, sweet wines.

Before
fermentation, it was wise to keep the fruit cool because the temperatures were
warmer than usual. Maceration periods were a little shorter, and pumping over
was less frequent compared to other vintages, as many feared over-extraction.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1710775120441-bordeaux+2014+firsts+%281%29.jpg">The Wines Comparing
the two tastings, I felt that the wines showed slightly better at the first
tasting at Bordeaux Index. I wonder if that might have something to do with the
weather. While I am not one to believe in root or fruit days, atmospheric
pressure does impinge upon wine. The first tasting was a bright sunny day, the
second coinciding with a deep low-pressure system that brought torrential rain.

Some
2014s have evolved faster than envisaged since my last assessment in 2018. This
takes the shine off the vintage and suggests that it twinkled brightly in its youth,
but many of its alumni were not predisposed toward longevity. It certainly lacks
the legs of, say, 2010 or 2016, perhaps even 2012 or 2017. Most alarmingly, I
was perturbed by some Right Bank wines that felt overly advanced with tertiary
aromas that usurped the fresh fruit-driven scents evident six years ago. Such
secondary scents can definitely be appealing. However, they were occasionally
accompanied by insufficient fruit, thus rendering them a little mean, even
dour. Moreover, there is no question that some of the modern, turbo-charged
Right Bank wines are hobbling along, at worst, quite distasteful. Thank
goodness we have moved on. &nbsp;

As you
move up the hierarchy, the wines have much more to offer, not least those blended
with Cabernet Franc: Cheval Blanc, Figeac, Ausone and a refreshingly
more restrained Pavie in Saint-Émilion. L’Eglise-Clinet,
Lafleur and in particular, Vieux Château Certan, excel over in
Pomerol, likewise Petrus and Clos l’Eglise. Yet none of the
aforementioned ranks among their best wines, and overall, I do not consider it
a fecund vintage for the Pomerol appellation. To wit, the likes of Clinet,
Hosanna and La Conseillante show much better in other vintages. 

Pessac-Léognan
was up and down with the usual suspects performing well, perhaps my personal
favorite Domaine de Chevalier, notwithstanding a decent showing from
nowadays less bombastic Pape-Clément. While the Malartic-Lagravière
was perplexing compared to previous showings, Haut-Bailly came across as
nicely restrained and classic in style. Some, like Carbonnieux and La
Louvière, imply that these wines have zipped past their drinking windows,
which frankly is far too brief considering their standing. Between Haut-Brion
and La Mission Haut-Brion, I erred towards the latter, though again,
neither belongs within the canon of top vintages. 

As the 2014
Bordeaux vintage matures, the wines confirm a view stated in my original en
primeur report: the Left Bank is more consistent than the Right Bank. That is
logical since the clement September and October months advantaged later-ripening
Cabernet Sauvignon-orientated blends, and as I already mentioned, those on the
Right Bank with a splash of Cabernet Franc. The Margaux appellation is
inconsistent, although I admired the second bottle of Palmer, having
demanded a second bottle, convinced the first was simply out of sorts. I scored
the Pavillon Rouge so generously that it was a little different from the
Grand Vin. Blind tasting can skew results in this way since Deuxième Vins are
predesigned to flatter in their youth. There are a couple of overperformers,
namely Siran and Prieuré-Lichine; however, if I had to buy one
Margaux in 2014, then it would definitely be the Brane Cantenac, a wine
that I have rated highly on several occasions and showed splendidly in both
tastings. 

At this
juncture, the appellation that appears to rise to the challenge is
Saint-Julien. It was “business as usual” on release, though it did not grab
headlines. However, Saint-Julien was the most satisfying flight for some
attendees, including myself, at the Southwold 10-Year-On tasting. For sure, you
cannot go wrong if it has “Léoville” in the name, in particular Léoville
Poyferré, one of the few 2014s that caused a rush of endorphins. Given
market prices vis-à-vis other vintages, this represents a wise acquisition. I
was more positive towards the Pauillacs than other attendees. Pick of the bunch
without question is the 2014 Mouton-Rothschild, a contender for
wine of the vintage. This is one of a handful of wines that transcends the
limitations of the season, partly due to the skills of former winemaker
Philippe Dhalluin. The 2014 Latour, already late-released, was
tremendous and a few steps in front of Lafite-Rothschild. The 2014
Grand-Puy-Lacoste is outstanding and performed neck-and-neck with the First
Growths. I must caution that two bottles at the blind tasting were oxidized and
were not scored. Other strong showings came courtesy of Clerc Milon and
Pichon Comtesse de Lalande, though I’ve had better bottles of Pichon
Baron in the past. 

Saint-Estèphe
was touted highly at en primeur. For sure, there are some excellent wines,
namely Montrose, Calon-Ségur, a dark horse in the form of
Tronquoy-Lalande. A fabulous Haut-Marbuzet had the chutzpah to score higher
than the Cos d’Estournel, though stylistically, there are similarities between
them, a sense of opulence and voluptuousness. Some of the wines seemed to have
lost a bit of momentum in recent years, and I expected more from Meyney and a
misfiring Phélan-Ségur that I’ll endeavor to revisit. Sometimes bottles
misbehave. Don’t we all? 

The
Sauternes benefitted from a much-needed rush of botrytis that was ignited by
mid-October rains after a long arid stretch. The Southwold tasting saw impressive
showings from Climens, de Fargues, Doisy-Daëne and Rayne-Vigneau.
My highest score was not Yquem but, in fact, Suduiraut (which
blind, I mistook for Yquem.) It’s not a consistent vintage for Sauternes: the
La Tour Blanche is a little toffee-ish to my liking, and Doisy-Védrines is missing
the mineralité of its Barsac siblings. Given prices, it is certainly a
vintage that I would give consideration to.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1710775152011-bordeaux+2014+pomerols+%281%29.JPG">Final Thoughts Even
since I started writing about wine, I have felt that it is a writer’s duty to
keep returning to a vintage and monitor its evolution. Some are more
predictable than others. Revisiting a vintage at any juncture is certainly not
to reconfirm previous scores to convince readers of your preternatural
consistency. Wines differ from bottle to bottle as evidenced in this very
tasting. A vintage can be like a murmuration of swallows and dive en masse in
an unexpected direction. Perusing my report in 2018, I wrote that the wines would
doubtlessly be “more unpredictable than other vintages,” and so, that is one
prediction proven correct.

After
an initial burst of promise that lasted several years, these wines suggest that
with a handful of exceptions, they are not going to repay long-term cellaring. Some
are beginning to fray at the edges. They are definitely not unattractive.
There’s part of me that feels the negative remarks in this introduction don’t
quite correlate to a bunch of scores in the low 90s. On reflection, perhaps I
was hoping for a surprise package, a comparatively unsung vintage that would
prove doubters wrong. I suspect it is simply a vintage to approach with modest
expectations. You need to sort the wheat from the chaff, separate those that deserve
drinking in the near future and others that might deliver more, and do not
expect much above a notional 95 points. Maybe we have become accustomed to that
in recent years? At best, the likes of Léoville Poyferré, Mouton-Rothschild,
Lafleur and Grand-Puy-Lacoste will be intriguing to revisit at 15 years, though
I wonder whether the 2014s might start flagging. To reiterate my point, it is
definitely not a bad vintage. The optimist in me expected more, especially
based on the positive showing in 2018. Sometimes, vintages are like lovers.
They just let you down when you least expect it.

I would
not go so far as to say that the 2014 vintage’s moment of fame is as fleeting
as my own. Still, it will be interesting to see whether it was predestined to
be a vintage attractive only in its flush of youth or whether, at ten years, we
simply encountered the wines at an awkward juncture. Perhaps I should ring up The
Sun to ask whether they are interested in reporting on the wines to their
readers? Somehow, I think not. The one thing that I can promise is that this
report was not written at McDonald’s. I no longer eat fast food -
another thing that has changed since 2014. © 2024, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or re-distributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright, but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.<hr> You Might Also Enjoy<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/a-century-of-bordeaux-the-threes-aug-2023">A Century of Bordeaux: The Threes</a>, Neal Martin, August 2023 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/a-century-of-bordeaux-the-twos-sep-2022">A Century of Bordeaux: The Twos</a>, Neal Martin, September 2022 <div><div></div></div><div><div></div></div><a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/a-century-of-bordeaux-the-nines-sep-2019">A Century of Bordeaux: The Nines</a>, Neal Martin, September 2019

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