These scores will be on Livex and in an article on the primeurs for Harpers Wine and Spirit magazine. The price is my estimate for a case of 12, in Bond (ex-VAT), as offered by specialist UK wine merchants.

I’ve tasted over 500 Bordeaux wines from the 2012 vintage in April.

Key points about Bordeaux 2012

1. 2012 is a good to very good vintage, but not a great one.

2. It’s certainly a vintage for drinking, not investment. Many wines will be good to drink in the short to medium term.

3. 2012 was a late harvest which tended to favour the earlier ripening Merlot over the Cabernets, partly because drizzle, humidity and finally heavy rain set in from the second week of October onwards.

4. It’s an uneven vintage but hundreds of reds have lovely colour, supple fruit, crowd-pleasing texture and no hard edges.

5. Happily, very few wines show any green, unripe character. The fruit is ripe (thanks to ten weeks of sunshine from mid-July onwards) even if many wines lack real depth, complexity and length.

6. 2012 is notably strong in the ‘précoce’ terroirs of the Right Bank, and south of Bordeaux in the northern Graves. More often than not, for Merlot.

7. The plateau of Pomerol is successful, but it’s tiny and expensive. Several candidates for ’wine of the vintage’ come from here.

8. Merlot on the clay and limestone terroirs around the town of St-Emilion (and beyond) also fared well. Here there are some great wines, although you have to pick those that suit your palate, and pocket.

9. There are many attractive Crus Classés in the Medoc, yet few big scoring wines for me (or for Mr Parker, I’d suggest). It might have been different if October had been kinder to the Cabernets.

10. There are some real successes, and possible values, from all four of the major Medoc appellations (Margaux, St-Julien, Pauillac and St-Estephe) but there are several fairly disappointing wines, including some big names. I think you have to treat them on a chateau by chateau basis.

11. It’s not quite correct to say that it’s a Right Bank vintage, however. There are some lovely wines from Pessac-Leognan on the left bank, south of Bordeaux, and many estates there produced fine dry whites to boot. The Graves should prove to be a source of values in 2012.

12. There are many pretty wines from the petit chateaux of the Right Bank, less so for the Cru Bourgeois of the Left. It’s a vintage to re-evaluate after bottling at this level.

13. Élevage – barrel ageing – will be key. With such gentle fruit, new oak could dominate while older oak barrels can dry out a wine. It’s not that the wines are over-oaked; they could simply be under-wined.

14. Thankfully, few estates got it wrong with the dreaded ’over-extraction’.

15. Hundreds of estates have seriously upped their game in the last decade or so. There’s much more precision than there used to be – in the vineyard, with picking dates, in sorting the grapes, in the wine-making – and there’s stricter selection for the final blends. It shows in the wines, almost more so in 2012 than in a uniformly good year like 2010.

16. It’s a fine vintage for dry whites, and not just at the top level in Pessac-Léognan. Most Sauvignon and Sémillon across Bordeaux were picked in fine weather in mid-September, in very good condition.

17. The summer drought and October rains proved difficult for sweet wines after three excellent years on the trot. Although some big names declared that they wouldn’t be making a wine this year (Yquem, Rieussec and so on) there are, in fact, some heroic efforts from Sauternes and Barsac. In small quantities.

18. Comparison with another vintage? None, as far as the climate goes. 1998 perhaps, 2001 even? Not really. As it was a case of ’picking before the rains’ for many chateaux, 2012 could even be a modern take on 1964 (great Pomerols, St-Emilions and Graves, awkward in the Medoc on the whole). But much has changed since the Beatles.

Actually, never mind 1964, a lot has changed since 2004. Not least, the prices. Onwards and upwards.

Here are my top 40 wines, with the appellation, my score from 100, estimated maturity, and the likely en primeur or ‘futures’ price in the UK – per case of 12 ‘in bond’ (ex duty and VAT).

Here is my Bordeaux 2012 weather report, which provides an important background to the character of the vintage. The following is a slightly updated version of the one that was published a fortnight ago by Jancis Robinson and Livex. (Included here are daily tracking graphs for June, July and August which I’ve just compiled, and some photos.)

I’ll follow up with my thoughts on the wines.

I wrote three 2012 harvest reports for Jancis’s site entitled ’Scorching summer but no rush’ last August, followed by ’The Late Show’ in October and lastly ’The end in sight at last’. Given these headlines, you’d be right in thinking that it was a late harvest. What was largely missing from those articles were some weather statistics, so here they are in a graphical format.

After the two outstanding vintages of 2009 and 2010, it’s only normal that onlookers will compare 2012 with 2011. Yet the weather conditions in 2011 and 2012 could hardly have been more different, even if we like to slot two years into the same bracket of ’good but not great’.

12 WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS IN 2012

1. A late bud-burst and a wet April meant a slow start – the opposite of 2011.

2. Mildew was a real threat and had to be kept in check.

3. Mixed weather in June resulted in the flowering being drawn out.

4. Bordeaux enjoyed an excellent summer from mid-July to late September.

5. August was dry and hot but veraison (when grapes change colour) was spread out.

6. The dry whites were picked in fine September weather.

7. The weather changed towards the end of September, and October was up and down.

8. Humid, drizzly weather from 6 October ’encouraged’ many to pick.

9. Expensive grape-sorting machines earned their keep.

10. Sauternes had a challenging year, after three great vintages.

11. Yields were low but not as bad as other parts of France.

12. Quality is uneven and there should be some very good wines.

 THE WEATHER CHARTS

1. Late winter, late season

The 2012 Spring bud break in the vineyard was much later than usual and a full three weeks later than 2011. Winter was mild until February and the vines didn’t shut down properly for their much needed winter rest until quite late.

Then we had a bitterly cold February, much chillier than the norm, and the ground froze. It was to be some weeks before the ground warmed up and the vines came out of hibernation.

We’d had three dry vintages on the trot (09, 10 and 11) and the winter of 2011-2012 was quite dry. There was a deficit in the amount of water (December being the exceptional month), with 336mm of rain here from October 2011 to March 2012, compared to 457mm as the Bordeaux average of the previous ten years.

2. April showers, summer drought

After very little rain in February and March, it bucketed down in April – 194mm compared to a 30-year norm of 78mm – and it was cold too (9.9C compared to 12.4C). Vine-growth crawled along at a snail’s pace and mildew soon became a huge threat. May, thankfully, was comparatively dry.

Between March and September 2012, total rainfall was between 420mm and 460mm, depending on the sector. That’s close to the 30 year average in Bordeaux of 476mm. But what matters is the timing of the rain, and almost half the rain in this period fell during the month of April. (Irrigation is banned in Bordeaux, as in other AOCs, so just the right amount of rain and at the right moment is something we pray for.)

The extremes of the rain in 2012 are shown here, compared to the average each month. An April deluge, a little too much in June, a very dry summer and then rain again in the early autumn.

3. Rainfall compared to recent vintages

The April deluge stands out (see comments above) but a key period was during the flowering in June. More on that anon.

You can also see just how dry it was during July and especially August. This sets 2012 apart from years like 2006, 2007 and 2011.

Here are the rainfall figures for the month (and the 30 year average in brackets). And the actual number of days of rain.

April 194mm (78mm) over 24 days with rain.
May 44 (79.8) over 8 days.
June 79.6 (62.6) over 12 days, notably 2/6 and 9,10,11.
July 35.5 (50), 8 days.
August 26.5 (56) 7 days.
September 56 (90) 7 days, notably 25/9 (see below).

September rain was lower than the average and most of the rain came towards the end of the month (see below).

Note: my figures are from my local weather station, some 15 miles south east of Bordeaux, except the ‘average’ figures quoted, which are for Bordeaux itself.

4. Chilly April, hot August, warm September

April was not only very wet, but cold, accentuating the slow start to the growth of the vines.

Here are our monthly temperatures (against the 30 year average):

April 9.9 (12.4)
May 16.5 (16.1)
June 19 (19.3)
July 19.4 (21.3)
August 21.8 (21.4)
September 18.5 (18)

As you can see, August was pretty warm compared to recent vintages – as were the first three weeks of September – giving the grapes a chance to ripen.

5. Hours of sunshine

2011 had far more hours of sun in April, accelerating the early growth that year. However, 2012 had more sun than 2011 in each of the months of June, July, August and September, and this should be evident in the wines.

2012 compares very favourably to years like 2006, 2007 and 2011 from June to September, and isn’t far short of the top years. Note how the total hours of sunshine per month in the excellent years of 2005, 2009 and 2010 stack up, and how, for example, the weaker vintage of 2007 was saved by September.

6. Uneven June flowering

Merlot at a top estate in Pomerol, 13 June

The rain in June (80mm here against an average of 62mm) fell on 12 days from 2 June to 20 June, and it was cold in the second week too – a critical moment of flowering.

As a result, the floraison was drawn out and fruit set was uneven and inconsistent. Some vineyards were absolutely fine, although I have rarely seen bunches of grapes at such different stages of ripening – not just in different plots but from one vine to another, or even from one bunch to another.

Many Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes were comparatively large but slightly fewer in number per bunch. One enologist friend reckoned it was because the vine was allowing for room for expansion in the event of rain late in the season. If true, this could have an impact on the quality and character of the wine.

7. July downs and ups

Merlot at a top estate in Pomerol, 31 July

I love July here. There’s much to do in the vineyard, the French haven’t all buggered off on holiday just yet, and when we have some free time, the beaches and approach roads are relatively uncrowded. The weather too is usually fairly even, but in 2012 it was a game of two halves. Cool and damp at the start, sunny and dry later.

As for the prospects for the vintage, the mood reflects the weather. After a protracted flowering in June, things were not looking good in the first ten days of July  – but hope springs eternal as soon as the sun comes out and there’s a full two months before the harvest.

8. August was hot and dry

Merlot at a top estate in St-Emilion, 21 August

August was quite cool at the beginning and at the end of the month (lowering the average temperature), but we had 12 days of 30˚C and over between 9 and 27 August, with minimal rain. Many vines, especially young ones, suffered from heat and water stress.

The veraison for red grapes, when they change colour from green to magenta, was very drawn out across the month. This stemmed from the uneven flowering and, in some cases, from the heat or water stress.

Well financed Chateaux sensibly removed green grapes towards the end of veraison. Chateau Cheval Blanc in St-Emilion, for example, had 40 people hastily ditching green bunches once the vineyard was at 90% of colour change towards the end of the month.

9. Start of the harvest: September

Cabernet Sauvignon at Pichon Longueville, 26 September

After a hot and sunny August, the fine weather continued well into September. Sauvignon Blanc and then Sémillon were picked in excellent weather for the dry whites. The temperature dropped in the second week, which also proved helpful when harvesting the whites. Dry white, however, makes up only a small percentage of the harvest in Bordeaux (less than 10%), so the real money was on the how the reds would ripen.

The weather turned on the weekend of 23 September, and a handful of estates began picking young Merlots that week.

In 2011, almost all the reds had been brought in by the end of September but in 2012 very little had been picked to this point. It was a huge contrast, and a reminder of just how the weather controls the vintage.

10. Red October

Merlot harvest at Petrus in Pomerol, 5 October

The red harvest began in earnest in the first week of October on both banks. Pomerol was largely completed by the end of the week, with the top estates of St-Emilion only kicking off from Monday 8 October.

The weekend of 7 October proved to be a turning point, as it was both humid and drizzly, forcing many to bring forward their harvest plans in case rot took hold. Some had to compromise between harvesting healthy grapes and physiologically-ripe ones.

Last but one day of the Cabernet Sauvignon at Lafite Rothschild in Pauillac, 15 October

Most estates had wrapped up the red harvest by the time of the heavier downpours on the 19 October. This would have favoured Merlot from the better terroirs over the later-ripening Cabernets. Having said that, all the Cabernet Sauvignon I saw being brought in on the Left Bank in mid-October looked in very healthy condition.

The above rainfall figures from my local weather station. Rain in Pauillac, for example, was heavier than here around 14 October to 20 October.

Personally, I think Bordeaux needed a fortnight of better weather at the end, but that’s always going to be the risk with a later harvest. It’s not that the grapes were unripe, it’s just a shame that after a marathon growing season and a fabulous summer in 2012, we limped across the finishing line. The opportunity to make outstanding wines across the board disappeared as Autumn closed in.

‘Ah, my favourite Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc.’
At La Tupina in Bordeaux

Chris Evans, host of BBC Radio 2’s Breakfast Show, came to Bordeaux earlier this month with his lovely wife Natasha for an extensive wine tour. We were honoured to be asked to show them around, via a friend of a friend, and here’s what we got up to, along with some holiday snaps. (To enlarge any picture, click on it.)

“I beg you, if you like wine, take a plane, hire a car and go to Bordeaux,” Chris wrote in his weekly column for The Mail on Sunday, tapped into his Blackberry at his hotel in St-Emilion after just a couple of days here. “It’s a dream trip.”

On their ’kids-free wine tour’, we visited Chateau Clinet and Le Pin in Pomerol, Chateau Haut-Brion in Pessac, Chateau Pichon Longueville Baron in Pauillac and Cos d’Estournel in St-Estephe. We also tried a few wines from around the region over dinner here at Chateau Bauduc, at restaurant La Tupina in Bordeaux and in the two restaurants at Les Sources de Caudalie, the hotel set amongst vines to the south of the city.

“Twas fanbloodytastic” he texted when he got home, before appearing on Friday evening’s The One Show on the beeb. He looked fine. I was bloody exhausted.

Then, on Monday, the reality check. “Just been to gym. Nearly died. Holidays not worth the relapse,” he announced on Twitter. (Apparently, he’d put on half a stone.) The trouble with an excursion to this corner of France is that the wine and food can be a little too tempting.

The plan

The Bordeaux plan had come about because Chris and Natasha are building a wine cellar in their new house and wanted to learn more about what to put in there.

After a bit of googling, they booked their flights and a place to stay on the first night, and asked a friend with connections in the trade about where to go, and one thing lead to another. They’d been offered tours at Chateaux Cheval Blanc and Haut-Brion but, other than that, could I play host and come up with a cunning plan for their few days here?

Sure, I said. Other than being someone you’d want to have around for dinner, Chris has quite a few followers on Twitter (about 1.15 million more than me), to say nothing of his 10 million listeners for his Breakfast Show on Radio Two (source: Chris Evans).

So here’s what we got up to.

Day One, Sunday

See Chris’s article in The Mail on Sunday. (Written on his Blackberry, would you believe?)

Monday: Chateau Clinet

Ronan Laborde & Monique Montepini of Chateau Clinet, Natasha & Chris Evans. And tour guide (left).

The tour could have started off badly. We’d originally been told that Chris and Natasha were staying in St-Emilion on their first night, the Sunday, and that the tour of Chateau Cheval Blanc nearby had been booked for the Monday afternoon. So I arranged to look around and have lunch at a Chateau in Pomerol – close to Cheval Blanc and St-Emilion, and home to some of the most sought-after wines in the world such as Petrus and Le Pin.

A few days before, it transpired that they weren’t, in fact, staying in St-Emilion on the Sunday night but in St-Estephe, which is about a million miles away on the other side of the Gironde estuary (see the map above). Added to which, Cheval Blanc had cancelled their visit in the afternoon for some reason.

Now the last thing that any normal couple would want to do on their first morning away is to drive about 100 kms to their first Chateau visit. But normal couples don’t get lent a Bentley GT Convertible, like the one that was driven from England for Mr and Mrs Evans to cruise around Bordeaux in. So we stuck to the agenda. Thankfully, it was also a lovely, sunny morning and when we met up at noon at Chateau Clinet in Pomerol, they were in great spirits.

“We’ve had a brilliant drive, and got hundreds of questions already” they said. With that, I knew we’d be okay. “What’s all this about terroir…” Before long, I was digging out handfuls of clay from deep below the surface like Monty Don, near L’Eglise Clinet.

Having a big sign is a good idea. On the left, Denise of Ch Clinet, in the middle, the chef.

Clinet is a small property, as is usually the case in Pomerol, with 11 hectares of vines dotted around the better parts of the appellation. Ronan Laborde’s father bought the chateau in 1999, and a new winery was built in time for the 2004 harvest, complete with oak cuves (or tanks) for making the wine in. Ronan and his small team make lovely wines and, for a top Pomerol, they are still vaguely affordable.

Monique, Ronan’s girlfriend, showed us around the chai. We bumped into Steve Blais, a friend of mine who works for Michel Rolland, the best-known wine making consultant in Bordeaux. Steve, a Canadian, is bi-lingual, and consults with wineries all over the world, so it was opportune that he could stop by to explain why Pomerol makes, probably, the greatest Merlot on the planet. It’s all to do with the ripening of the tannins in the pipe and the skins.

You soon realise that it’s the people that make wine tours interesting, however impressive the tasting rooms, the batteries of fermentation tanks and endless rows of barrels.

The wines help, of course. We were privileged to be treated to a delicious lunch by Ronan and Monique, and that’s the way that Bordeaux wines should really be sampled.

With the starter, they served my Chateau Bauduc Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc 2011. (Monique had texted me beforehand to ask if I wouldn’t mind if they served Bauduc, as it was their house white. They don’t make white in Pomerol. ’Oh, alright then.’)

Mr Evans with the big bottle, Natasha with the little Tokaj, Monique with Bauduc, Ronan with 2005 Clinet

We then drank Chateau Clinet 2005, Ch Clinet 1996 from magnum, and a sweet white from Ronan’s family estate in Hungary, the Essencia 1993 from Chateau Pajzos.

The 2005, from a topnotch, ripe vintage, was just beginning to open up after a sleepy time in bottle, and that the 1996, from a year that was generally better in the Medoc than on the Right Bank, proved that you shouldn’t stick religiously to vintage charts.

Chris and Ronan compared notes on sports cars and events, and Ronan pulled out some pictures of his collection of miniature cars. Boys will be boys.

There is a parallel between classic cars and fine wine, of course: investment potential. As Chris pointed out, when we talked about the leading Pomerols, “The best investments are often when you have to pay tomorrow’s prices today.”

Overlooking St-Emilion near the Hostellerie de Plaisance

By the time lunch was finished, I was relieved that Cheval Blanc had cancelled. We’d have been very late.

Chateau Bauduc

After checking into the Hostellerie de Plaisance in St-Emilion, and a chance for a rest, a local taxi brought Chris and Natasha to Bauduc, about 20 minutes down the road. With our drive in need of resurfacing, at least the the undercarriage of the Bentley wasn’t placed at risk.

A brisk, early evening vineyard tour was required – part education, part appetite-building. We’re lucky enough to have lovely views here. ’What a place’ wrote Chris in his piece for The Mail on Sunday. After the walk in the vines, we studied my oversized, 6-foot Bordeaux map before supper. Understanding the geography makes it much easier to remember the names of wines you’ve drunk, especially in Bordeaux. Wines you’ve enjoyed while sober, that is.

Ch La Tour Figeac 1998, Ch Lynch Bages 2000, Ch Bauduc, Les Trois 2003

We cooked one of our house specialities, Cote de boeuf  grilled on vines in the fireplace, and served rare with melted garlic butter. We used to do frites but I usually bugger up the timing when the pressure’s on, so Angela prepared dauphinoise potatoes, grilled tomatoes with thyme, and simple salad to follow.

We experimented with lots of wines. Firstly, our young 2010 red got the thumbs up (an Evans trademark) as did an older vintage of Bauduc, Les Trois Hectares 2003. ’That’s all you need’ said Chris. ’Seriously, I’d be very happy with that.’ I’d be happy if we had more than a few bottles left. We’ve only got the 2010.

A house favourite, Ch La Tour Figeac 1998, a St-Emilion estate that borders onto Pomerol and Ch Cheval Blanc, went beautifully. We felt it worked better with the beef than the delicious Ch Lynch Bages 2000, a top class Pauillac that is just beginning to open up and drink really well. (Wines I’d bought long ago, affordable at the time and best not to think what they’d cost today.)

Amelia, Chris, Alexis our assistant, Tom, Sophie, Ange, Georgie, Tash

After the statutory spread of cheese – we have a fantastic cheese shop locally – it was home made tarte aux pommes, made by our assistant Alexis who’s working at Bauduc during her year abroad from Cambridge Uni. A half bottle of delicious Sauternes, Ch Suduiraut 2001, went down a treat.

The evening was a treat for the Quinney family, more so as the younger ones had never heard of Chris Evans. He and Tash were delightful guests and there was never a dull moment. He has the knack of wanting to know about everyone and everything else without being intrusive or prying. A handy attribute if you talk to a lot of people for a living.

Chris wrote in The Mail on Sunday: ’Gav (sic) is a good winemaker, with a passion as fiery as anyone’s, but his legacy might well turn out to be the new secret wine-grading system he’s working on for those of us who love wine but know little if anything about what we should be buying…

The view of Bauduc from the Chateau

’By the end of the evening we decided Gavin needed a mission statement, to get him more focused on the job in hand for the sake of all of us.

’However, because of his generous pouring, what that actual statement might be would have to wait until the morning.’

Chris thinks everyone should have mission statements. “Two, if you like – one personal one, the other professional. It makes it much easier to decide what you do with your time and energy – and what you say yes to, and when to say no.”

Tuesday: Le Pin

With Jacques Thienpont at Le Pin

We were lucky that Jacques Thienpont, who was lives in Belgium, was around to show us the wonderful new winery he built at Le Pin two years ago. He’s a charming man and I doubt very much that anyone else but him would have dared open a half-bottle of the 1998.

Chris was after a bigger bottle:

First stop of the day with @gavinquinney: At Le Pin with Jacques Thienpont & @achrisevans twitter.com/GavinQuinney/s…

— Chris Evans (@achrisevans) March 5, 2013

If you don’t know of Le Pin, it’s a tiny 2 hectare (5 acre) vineyard producing one of the most delicious yet expensive wines of Bordeaux. Jacques took us through the history of how Le Pin hade come into being, how he makes the wine in the new shiny stainless steel tanks (in contrast to the oak ones at Clinet), and the underground barrel cellar. Best of all was the small but perfectly formed bottle cellar of one of the world’s rarest and most sought after wines.

God knows what that 1998 would sell for. It was Chris’s wine of the week. Amazing Merlot, perfect Pomerol.

The view from the new roof is hard to beat too – sweeping round from Chateau Trotanoy, the church of Pomerol, the vines of Chateaux Lafleur, Petrus, Vieux Chateau Certan, L’Evangile, La Conseillante and across to Cheval Blanc.

‘How much for that hectare of vines over there?’

We left with Chris wanting to buy a hectare on the plateau of Pomerol (price tag circa €4 million, if you can find one) with Jacques taking care of it. I can see the first bit happening, but probably not the second. If you own Le Pin, why would you make wine for someone else?

The good news is that while the price of Le Pin is way beyond the reach of mere mortals, the red from Jacques and Fiona’s new vineyard on the limestone slopes of St-Emilion near Ch Troplong Mondot, called ’If’, is to be priced reasonably when the first vintages of 2011 and 2012 go on sale (a few hundred quid a case). Worth looking out for.

Chris with Jacques Thienpont at Le Pin, and Bentley GT

One of the great advantages of Pomerol, as became clear later on, is that there’s no classification system. Just a dominant grape, Merlot (with Cabernet Franc in a supporting role), not a lot of land, and much-sought after, prestigious names. The problem is the good stuff doesn’t come cheap.

En route from Pomerol, and with the little time in hand, Chris needed a fuel stop and Natasha a coffee. (We’d already agreed that we’d take a break from lunch.) Pulling into the petrol station on the outskirts of Libourne, I mentioned that we’d be pressed to find a coffee in time and that maybe, God forbid, we should grab one at the McDonalds next to the garage.

’I’ve never eaten a McDonalds and I’m not going to start now,’ Chris protested. Natasha won the day, and the frites and coffee went down well in double quick time (no burgers, mind), with the Bentley gleaming next to the golden arches. ’They’re actually not bad, these chips.’

For part two, click here.

In one of the barrel cellars at Haut-Brion

Chris Evans, host of BBC Radio 2’s Breakfast Show, came to Bordeaux earlier this month with his lovely wife Natasha for an extensive wine tour. Here’s what we got up to, along with some holiday snaps. (To enlarge any picture, click on it.)

Tuesday: Chateau Haut-Brion

From Libourne, it was 45 minutes to Chateau Haut Brion in Pessac. It’s a bizarre setting for one of the world’s most famous wines, first mentioned in English by Pepys in seventeenth century London. A wonderful old, gravelly vineyard, with a beautiful old chateau, set in the ugly, modern outskirts of Bordeaux, with a TGV train line cutting through the middle of it.

Laetitia of Chateau Haut-Brion shows Chris and Natasha a model of the vineyard

All visitors are greeted with a video, which is really a collection of pretty photographs, set to relaxing classical music and a voiceover by the owner, Prince Robert of Luxembourg. ’I doubt they’ll put you in front of the video,’ I said, ’but they just might.’ They did. It was dangerously soporific.

After this rather touristy introduction to such a wonderful estate, our guide Laëtitia looked after us very well.

Two of the more interesting aspects of the tour at Haut-Brion is the lab, where some returned ’corked’ bottles of wine were being analyzed, and the in-house barrel maker. Unfortunately the cooper wasn’t there, but we saw a great many of his barrels.

The tasting included the wines of La Mission Haut-Brion

We then tasted the full line-up of 2008s, including the red and white wines of Chateau La Mission Haut Brion next door, which is under the same ownership.  The reds are more of an even mix of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot than we’d had on the Right Bank, the dry whites a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. We felt the 2008 reds were some way off before they’re ready to drink but it was a generous and interesting tasting nonetheless.

Tuesday: Les Sources de Caudalie

Outside Les Sources de Caudalie, with a welcome flag next to Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte in the background

Our next stop was for Chris and Natasha to check into their hotel, some 20 minutes from Haut-Brion, heading out of town. I’d recommended Les Sources de Caudalie as it’s the best country-house hotel in the region, and a good base from which to explore both the city of Bordeaux and the so-called Left Bank (the west side of the river Garonne and the Gironde estuary). It also has an excellent vinotherapie spa, using vine and grape-based treatments to make you look and feel beautiful, and two restaurants.

’Come and have a drink at the bar before you head home’ said Chris. It was tea time. ’Can we have the wine list?’ he asked the batman. ’Oh look, Clinet,’ he said. The 2001 was half the price of the 2000, and just as good. ’Let’s start with that.’

An unscheduled wine tasting in the bar

The tasting had clearly not finished for the day. Vieux Chateau Certan, from the same vintage, soon followed, along with a bottle of Clos Fourtet 2003, one of the better wines from St-Emilion in that vintage.

Will Lyons, the London-based wine critic of the Wall Street Journal, joined us for a glass of Pomerol. He was in the area and had politely but cunningly tracked us down for a brief interview with Chris about his interest in wine.

Will departed for a prior dinner engagement and I tried to do the same. The plan was for Chris and Tash to have a quiet dinner together.

They were having none of it, and insisted I join them for supper in the Table du Lavoir restaurant at the hotel.

Vieux Chateau Certan 2001, Clinet 2001, Clos Fourtet 2003

After some Champagne to refresh the palate, Chris asked the young sommelier to choose a Bordeaux from the cellar, and to serve it blind at the table in a decanter.

Chris was straight in there, confidently, with ’Left Bank.’ ’2004 – Pichon Lalande?’ I guessed, diving in. ’You’re half right’ said Tash, who’d seen the bottle. ’St-Julien’ said Chris. After throwing a few more chateau names about, we got there. Ducru Beaucaillou 2004. St-Julien. (Pichon Lalande’s a Pauillac, with vines bordering on St-Julien, darn it.)

For someone new to this game, Chris was learning fast.

Wednesday: Caudalie, Bordeaux and la Tupina

The following day was designed to be a break from barrels and too much wine chat. The hotel is right amongst the vines at Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte, so we’d provisionally arranged a tour of the winery there in case Chris and Natasha had withdrawal symptoms. There are also plenty of other chateaux within a few miles that are worth a visit, such as the excellent Chateau Haut-Bailly.

A mid-morning visit to the spa at Caudalie was welcome but they didn’t make the optional visit to Smith. Instead, they spent the afternoon in the city of Bordeaux. If you’re going to spend a few days visiting the region, the centre of Bordeaux is a must.

How beautiful is Bordeaux ? lockerz.com/s/286183659

— Chris Evans (@achrisevans) March 6, 2013

For dinner, I’d booked them into the restaurant La Tupina, famous for its classic cooking from South West France and the best known of Bordeaux restaurants. Chris pinged me an email from town, asking if Angela and I would like to join them, as a thank you.

The world famous entrance at La Tupina. Natasha, Ange and Chris.

As with several local restaurants, La Tupina encourages the local wine trade – growers, brokers, négociants – to frequent their establishment by having a relaxed approach to BYO for professionals. It’s always best to ask them on the phone first but they’ve never said no to me, or if they have, I’ve misunderstood.

That way, if someone’s buying us dinner, then we can contribute with a decent bottle of wine or two. The bottle of ’99 Mouton Rothschild I took would have set us back a fortune on the list, while it cost me about sixty quid en primeur, as far as I recall.

Chris wanted to buy a bottle too, asking my advice as we peered into the Eurocave wine cabinet which holds the best wines in the house. I could not bring myself to recommend the most famous names. I was dithering, not unusually. ’Gun to the head?’ was his way of getting an answer. As soon as I said ’Chateau Angelus 2001’, I knew it was a mistake. It’s a lovely wine but still an infant, even with an hour in the decanter.

I was finding out that Chris has fairly traditional, classic ’British’ taste in wine – he enjoys red Bordeaux that’s evolved a bit in bottle, a wine that’s more elegant and refined, and a wine that’s not too big, fruity or juicy in style, with a stack of tannin.  A bottle you want to polish off. In a word, digestible.

A fine dry white Bordeaux, obviously: Chateau Bauduc 2011

Tash is more of a white wine drinker, and Bauduc fitted the bill again. It costs a less than the Angelus, too.

Ange didn’t drink, so we dropped them back to the hotel in our faithful Toyota Previa. Not quite the Bentley but I don’t think it mattered. At least we’d scraped the Haribos off the seats.

This was important for him to understand as he’s building a cellar. Given his collection of classic cars, I imagine it won’t be too shabby.

Thursday: Pichon Longueville Baron

No wine tour of Bordeaux would be complete without a drive up the D2 in the Medoc, north of the city.

Chateau Pichon Longueville Baron

“There can’t be any other roads in the world with so many famous and beautiful houses on” Chris remarked as we cruised through Margaux in the Bentley. We’d come around the ring road, or rocade, and heading north beyond the ugly, sprawling outskirts of the city.

Few Chateaux are more synonymous with Bordeaux than Chateau Margaux, which is the one chateau that requires a ten-minute deviation from the main drag. We had to stop off there for the obligatory photo, and tweet.

We were made to feel at home by Christian Seely and Corinne Michot. Well, sort of.

The other seriously imposing property on the same stretch lies twenty minutes further north, Chateau Pichon Longueville Baron. And that’s where we stopped for a pre-arranged tour. (Pichon is, by the way, open to the public for tours and tastings, but you should book.)

I pointed out that while the houses are impressive, there can’t be many sweeping stretches of cabernet sauvignon that can match this (although Lafite and Mouton, a little further on, might contest this). As you swing by the vineyards of Leoville Las Cases, with the Gironde estuary just beyond on your right, you dip down out of the St-Julien appellation and up into the vineyards of Pauillac, with the Enclos – the best bit – of Chateau Latour on your right, and the plateau of Pichon Longueville on your left.

In the new barrel cellar at Pichon Longueville

Corinne Michot, a former sommelier in London and now the brand ambassador for the AXA estates in Bordeaux, was there to greet us. We were joined by Christian Seely, the managing director, who had kindly offered to lay on a lunch in the chateau, as well as host the tasting.

It was a real treat. After a walk around the vineyard, the winery and the huge barrel cellars, we tasted the recent vintages of Pichon that revealed how different each year can be and, importantly, when you should drink them: the 2007 (approachable), 2008 (some years off), 2009 (huge and approachable in a few years) and 2010 (for me the best Pichon yet, a wonderfully pure wine that requires cellaring for 15 to 30 years). They are roughly two thirds Cabernet Sauvignon, one third Merlot.

Coates & Seely English sparkling, Domaine de l’Arlot blanc 2007, Pichon 2000, 1990 & 1988, Suduiraut 2005, Quinta do Noval Nacional 1994

What a setting for the lunch, and what amazing wines. In the salon, Christian served us Coates and Seely sparkling wine, from his English vineyard. A chorus of approval for that. Then, for the first course in the elegant dining room, a white 2007 from Domaine de l’Arlot, AXA’s estate in Burgundy.

Three vintages of Pichon followed, the 2000 (just beginning to lose its youthful shell), the 1990 (absolutely bloody delicious) and the 1988 (an underdog that Christian’s father had told him that would one day be a great wine). Both Chris and Christian gave the nod to the ’88. I slightly preferred the 1990 but who cares. They were all lovely wines.

With dessert, the excellent Chateau Suduiraut 2005 from Sauternes was served, followed by a great and rare port from another AXA estate, the Quinta de Noval Nacional 1994. So youthful for almost 20 years old, and utterly wonderful.

Thank you kindly, sir

Christian mentioned that the American publication, the Wine Spectator, scored it 100 points, whereas their compatriot, the critic Robert Parker, only gave it a 99. ’How is it missing one point?’ I’m not sure we liked it more or less on knowing that – perhaps it helped to confirm what we thought – but with only a few hundred cases produced, it was indeed a rare treat.

Chris hailed Christian as a guru. Modest as he is, I think that made Christian feel that the lunch had been worth it.

We were already late for our 4 o’clock appointment at Cos d’Estournel, even though we had called to let them know.  More than once.

Chateau Cos d’Estournel

This is another landmark on the D2, with the newly restored and hugely impressive edifice rising up from the road at the start of the St-Estephe appellation, moments after you drive past Chateau Lafite at the northern end of Pauillac.

Chris and Natasha with Aymeric and Geraldine at Cos d’Estournel

The suitably named Aymeric de Gironde is the new Managing Director at Cos, and he was there to greet us and show us around. Geraldine Santier, who runs the PR side, was there to help Aymeric too. ‘In case I get lost.’

They’re still renovating new offices at Cos but the extraordinary investment in the new winery and cellars is complete. If you think Bordeaux is old-fashioned, do try and have a look around.

After the tour, Aymeric and Geraldine kindly opened a Cos d’Estournel 2008, a 1995 and a 1985 in their cavernous tasting area. Out of the three, we enjoyed the 1995 while the 2008 showed off the new direction for Cos. The 1985 was a blast from the past.

After that it was back to Les Sources de Caudalie, and the final dinner, this time in La Grande Vigne restaurant. The food and service were superb. We chose a Ch Léoville Poyferré 1989 from St-Julien that was so good, we ordered a second bottle from their cellar. (These bottles must have been better examples than the ones tasted by Mr Parker, by the way.)

The wine and the enormous cheese board were a fitting finale to a fabulous few days. We’d squeezed more than enough in.

Time to get back to work.

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If you like wine from Europe, my little graph says it all.

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’So let me set out my vision for a new European Union, fit for the 21st Century,’ the Prime Minister said on 22 January.

’It is built on five principles.  The first: competitiveness. At the core of the European Union must be, as it is now, the single market. Britain is at the heart of that Single Market, and must remain so…

’It is nonsense that people shopping online in some parts of Europe are unable to access the best deals because of where they live. I want completing the single market to be our driving mission.’

So why, then, is wine taxed so heavily in Britain compared to the continent?

As things stand, and it will be interesting to see what transpires when the Government’s consultation period on its alcohol strategy ends on 6 February, UK duty will hit £2 a bottle in the Budget on 20 March.

That’s 50% up from £1.33 in five years, whereas in the eight years before that it nudged up a respectable 15%. Duty on sparkling wine, including the now fashionable fizz made in England, will be around £2.55 a bottle. (We can bank on these figures, currently £1.90 and £2.43, because the Chancellor has persisted with the duty escalator that Labour introduced in 2008.)

Then there’s the double whammy of VAT on the duty as well as the wine, so the real duty cost will be £2.40 and £3 a bottle, for still or sparkling. And that’s without including the margin that retailers, merchants, pubs and restaurants have to add on top: believe it or not, duty costs more than the wine itself for the vast majority of bottles sold in the UK (that’s on anything under £7 retail – the average is a fiver – or £17 or so in a restaurant).

Meanwhile, and here’s the rub, there is no duty at all on still wine in 17 EU countries, including Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Austria. In France, it’s 3p. To quote the Prime Minister’s fifth principle – fairness – how fair is this for Britain?

At the other end of the scale on the chart above, Ireland have just regained the lead from Team GB with a whopping €1 increase in wine duty in December. As one Irish wine importer remarked, ‘we’re just tax collectors now.’ The other high taxers, Sweden and Finland, adopt a different approach by controlling the sale of alcohol through state monopolies. The duty there, I suppose, could be considered a levy to cover the costs of all the work involved.

To be clear, the amount of UK duty on wine is entirely within the Government’s control. Far from Europe meddling in Britain’s affairs, each member state is allowed to enforce the taxes on alcohol it chooses. Consumers have to pay those taxes, unless they personally take wine from one EU state to another for their own use. The European Court ruled in 2006 against private individuals or clubs being able to order wines from another country, without paying the duty levied in the country where the goods were being delivered to. Perhaps it’s coincidence that Britain only began to charge higher alcohol duties once this decision was made.

So, UK wine drinkers will never be able to order a case for home delivery from overseas without paying UK duty. Not legally, anyway. That’s not a problem – bottles of wine are heavy and breakable, and shipping small volumes is expensive – but the UK ‘on’ and ‘off’ trade need a fairer deal for their customers. More so now as sterling has slumped against the euro to €1.17 to the pound, the lowest in a year:

As the graph shows, the pound buys far less wine compared to six years ago, while duty has mushroomed.

To come back to Mr. Cameron’s point about it being ‘nonsense that people shopping online… are unable to access the best deals because of where they live‘: yes, it is frustrating for wine lovers in Britain and Ireland to use a price comparison website like wine-searcher.com, and see the prices being charged for the same wine across Europe. The differences can be staggering.

The question remains: why should those who enjoy wine responsibly in Britain be taxed far more than their neighbours on the continent?

Before too long, wine lovers will increasingly pop over to France to stock up, which is probably not the ‘driving mission‘ that Mr. Cameron had in mind. Beyond that, God help us if Britain decides in 2017 – in reference to his speech once again – to ‘pull up the drawbridge.’

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If you don’t have any of the items in bold, you might want to add them to your Christmas list.

Which glasses?

1. Good wine glasses are important, and are usually tulip-shaped. (There are exceptions, such as the more angular Zalto.) The best are made of fine glass but they don’t have to be really expensive – the three on the left of the photo below cost under a fiver each.

2. Smallish cut-glass goblets might look traditional but the wine, sorry, just doesn’t smell or taste as good, and you have to fill them up too much.

3. Don’t worry too much about matching the right type of wine to the right type of glass, based on what we’ve been brought up with. White wine, sherry and port is often served in glasses that are too small.

4. Glasses are sometimes named according to region or grape, such as ’Bordeaux’ or ’Riesling’. In the picture, the more bulbous glass on the right is great for Pinot Noir/Burgundy but other than that, don’t worry. (At Chateau Lafite, they use Riedel Chardonnay glasses for their tastings, of all things, and the most popular glass at Bordeaux wine tastings, albeit not dinners, is the Riedel Chianti/Riesling – the glass third from the right.)

Clean glasses

5. The biggest ’wine fault’ I come across isn’t a fault of the wine at all. It’s when the glass smells musty and slightly dirty. This can happen anywhere, as at a Bordeaux First Growth tasting earlier this year.

6. ’Glass whiff’ is more common at Christmas because lots of us tend to use the same few glasses throughout the year and dig out more when friends come round. The musty smell can come from a cardboard box, time spent in a cupboard (worse still if glasses are kept upside down), a rogue tea-towel, or from a dish/glass washing machine.

7. To get rid of the nasty niff, wash your glasses by hand. Some people don’t like to use any washing-up liquid at all but, for me, it’s quick, effective and your glasses will sparkle. It’s essential though to rinse the glasses under plenty of (warm) water to get rid of any soap residue.

8. To dry, use the type of linen tea towel marked ’glass cloth’ that you can buy in stores like John Lewis. Or polish them with a special fibre cloth like this one from Riedel. Be careful when drying – don’t twist the bowl of the glass in the opposite direction to the base. That’s how to break the stem.

Opening bottles

9. If your bottles have corks, you must check every one before serving, I’m afraid. Same with Champagne, by the way. Check by pouring a little into a glass to give it a sniff, like in a restaurant. If the wine smells of damp, musty, mouldy cardboard, it’s more than likely corked. A taste will confirm it – corked wine tastes horrid and bitter. (You should get your money back in most scenarios if you call the supplier or take it back.)

10. The most common problem with ’corked’ wines is when folks assume that just because the first bottle is fine, the rest will be good too. Topping up everyone’s glass of good stuff with corked wine is a crying shame, or even a crime.

Foil cutters and corkscrews

11. This is a personal thing. Assuming the bottle doesn’t have a screw cap, use a foil cutter or the little knife on the ’waiter’s friend’ type of corkscrew, or even a kitchen knife, to cut off the top of a capsule. Grabbing the foil capsule and pulling it off in one oikish motion leaves the bottle looking topless.

12. As for corkscrews, avoid the 80s double lever type, with it’s big thick screw that mangles the cork. They are hopeless for older corks too.

13. The best corkscrews are the small ’waiter’s friend’ types that have an effective double action to levering out the cork, and have a practical thin wire thread. Each style and brand takes a bit of getting used to, and it’s worth investing in a good one, rather than relying on the freebies you get from wine merchants.

14. If you open a lot of bottles, the much more expensive Screwpull lever-type in the photo will pay for itself many times over.

Decanting

15. If you can, decant red Bordeaux. I do for all but the cheapest. It’s amazing how much the wine can look, smell and taste better after an hour or so in a decanter or carafe, once the wine has had an airing. It also means that any sediment is left in the bottle.

16. What works for Bordeaux doesn’t necessarily work for other reds. I don’t decant red Burgundy as a rule, and for the myriad of other styles, experiment. See what works for you.

17. Decanters make great presents and they don’t have to be expensive. Those in the photo range from about £15 to over £250.

18. If in doubt, decant an hour or two beforehand, but ten minutes is better than nothing. With older, fragile claret (another name for red Bordeaux), give it less time in the carafe than a younger red because it may have a shorter life once opened.

19. Whenever you read about decanting, it all looks such a fidge. It isn’t. That’s because you seldom need to use the lighted candle that is recommended in every mention on the subject. I hardly ever use a candle.

20. Do try to leave an older bottle upright for a while beforehand so that any sediment can settle, or handle carefully from a rack or opened case so as not to disturb any sediment. Do not shake the bottle up.

21. If you haven’t used the decanter for a while, rinsing with a little wine is a good idea. Once you’ve checked that a bottle isn’t corked, as above, pour the dribble from the glass into the decanter and sloosh it around to get rid of any nasty odours inside. Tip that dribble back into the glass (and drink).

22. To decant, simply pour the wine slowly into the decanter, in one steady motion, leaving a little bit in the bottle at the end. That approach will work 98% of the time. That’s it.

23. An iPad works quite well instead of a candle if you need background light to check on sediment.

Temperature

24. Most people prefer their whites chilled, which is fine, but don’t serve your reds too warm. The wine won’t taste as good if it’s been left by the Aga for too long. Remember that when they said that red Bordeaux should be served at room temperature, they didn’t have central heating. It should be refreshing, not flabby.

Serving

25. When serving, don’t fill glasses too full. A good general rule, assuming you’re using tulip shaped ones, is to pour the wine to just below the widest point of the glass. (Handy advice if you’re delegating that bit to elder children.) That way anyone can swirl the wine to take in the hopefully delicious aromas, and to look like a wine pro.

That’s more than enough to be getting on with. As if you don’t have enough to worry about.

Do pass on any suggestions – or disagreements – below.

All were published in 2012.

Wine Grapes by Jancis Robinson, Julia Harding and José Vouillamoz

£120 rrp, £77 on Amazon or elsewhere here. Fascinating for wine geeks but it’s probably not one for the casual reader and it isn’t in the bargain basement. As it says on the cover: ’A complete guide to 1,368 grape varieties, including their origins and flavours.’ (Can you name one of the 22 varieties that start with Z?) It’s hard to think of a more important or thoroughly researched opus on wine. I’m looking forward to getting to stuck in after Christmas.

Bordeaux Legends by Jane Anson

£35 rrp, £31.50 on Amazon. We loved this stunning book on the Bordeaux First Growths by our friend Jane Anson, the Bordeaux correspondent for Decanter magazine, so much that we pre-ordered 35 signed copies for Bauduc Bondholders and Club Members. We were totally oversubscribed in the space of two days. It won’t be available in the UK until the Spring, so we’ll keep you posted, but it’s only fair to include it in our list of favourite wine books from 2012.

The Complete Bordeaux by Stephen Brook

£45 rrp, £29 on Amazon. First published in 2007, this hardback has been updated and revised in 2012. An essential reference book on Bordeaux, it’s a cracking read too. Fantastic value at the discounted price.

Bordeaux: a new look at the world’s most famous wine region by Oz Clarke

£25 rrp, £21.50 on Amazon. Again, this hardback has been revised and updated in 2012. If you haven’t got the 2008 edition, this is certainly worth putting on your list.

Drink me! How to choose, taste and enjoy wine by Matt Walls

£12 rrp, £8.96 on Amazon. If this book is for beginners, then why have I read it from start to finish? Because Matt Walls writes brilliantly. A really good introduction to wine.

How to love wine by Eric Asimov

£17 rrp, £10.90 on Amazon. Eric Asimov is the ’chief’ wine critic for the New York Times (as he says, he’s the only one) and this is a fascinating ‘memoir and manifesto’. An absorbing interpretation of wine – if you like reading about the stuff, do put this on your list.

Pocket Guide to the wines of Bordeaux by Chris Kissack

£6.99 rrp, £6.29 on Amazon. Chris Kissack is a doctor in the NHS, hence his website ’The Wine Doctor’. This is his first book, in a format called Magbook. Certainly one for the stocking.

Hugh Johnson’s Pocket wine guide 2013

£11.99 rrp, £6.50 on Amazon. The perennial favourite. These books come out so early they seem a little out of date as far as vintage reports are concerned. Still, a deserving leader in its class.

Oz Clarke’s Pocket wine guide 2013

£11.99 rrp, £5.28 on Amazon. Another pocket guide, and a very good one. Great value for the stocking.

My top wines for 2013 by Oz Clarke

£7.99 rrp, £5.50 on Amazon. We’re not in this, in case you were wondering, but Oz’s view of what’s good in the world of wine is always worth reading.

Now, time to order that book on Pomerol from Neal Martin. Direct from the author, allegedly.

If I’ve missed any books from 2012, do post a comment below.