Bordeaux 2015 is so good we needed to call in some reinforcements! In fact, the reports from last autumn when the harvest came in had already steered us to send over more bodies than usual so that this vintage – the best since 2010 – could have a thorough examination from the Tanners team.
Robert Boutflower (your scribe) and Graham Mason were the advance party, with Stephen Crosland, John Melhuish, Rachel Armstrong and James Tanner doing the second week. The task in week one is always to get round the Union des Grands Crus tastings, where one château from a particular commune or village shows all the wines from its neighbours. It’s a bit of a bunfight, a bit of a snapshot with often quite a lot of inconsistencies and, alongside the sheer quantity of wines to get through, it’s the main reason the second group visit the individual properties and make the most of the calmer tasting conditions.
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