Deep Dive Bordeaux: When is your claret ready to drink?
Hosted by Jane Anson & Richard Bampfield MW
For many of us, the prospect of opening a classed-growth Bordeaux goes hand in hand with seeking out its drinking window according to the world’s finest critics – no one wants to commit wine infanticide, nor take a corkscrew to a precious bottle whose glory days now require carbon dating.
However, their palates are not yours, and your own preferences (a penchant for fierce, palate-wrenching tannins, perhaps) understandably carry the most weight.
In another unmissable Deep Dive Bordeaux, Jane Anson and Richard Bampfield MW supply you with the tools needed to undertake your own risk assessment, illuminating their guide with a selection of Bordeaux’s finest wines, from a variety of vintages and regions.
Also available as a tasting kit to digital members (this is exquisitely interactive television) they lead us through the hallmarks of each vintage, region, and even the château, all the while explaining the key factors in gauging a wine’s evolution.
Château Smith Haut Lafitte, Grand Cru Classé de Graves, Pessac-Léognan 2015
Château Haut-Bailly, Grand Cru Classé de Graves, Pessac-Léognan 2000
Château Batailley, Cinquième Grand Cru Classé, Pauillac 2008
Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Cinquième Grand Cru Classé, Pauillac 1990
Château L’Evangile, Pomerol 2005
Château La Conseillante, Pomerol 1989