2010 Harvest at Clos des Jacobins
Clos de Jacobins in St. Emilion is an estate on the move. Since they began working with Hubert de Bouard of Chateau Angelus, the Bordeaux wine being produced at the property continues to display marked improvements. According to Thibaut Decoster, the 2010 Clos des Jacobins Harvest is going to be a better year for the property than 2009 for this Right Bank property.
Thibaut Decoster started off explaining what took place during the 2010 Bordeaux wine growing season at the property. “2010 was a sunny, dry with warm but reasonable temperatures year. Today, we don’t only wait for good weather to get good ripeness. If you do so, you don’t just get sugar at the end, you also get phenolic ripeness. That is the result of a full completion of every cycle for the plant. “
Is this a different way for you to look at when to harvest? “Today, we have accurate analysis (and still good sense) that help knowing exactly how ripe the grapes are. We also have the techniques to help ripening if the grapes need it. But the real difference with the past is, we now do not hesitate to use all the techniques available, regardless of the cost.”
What are you looking for in your wines? “I believe that quality lies in sugar-acidity-tannins balance. That is to say, if we respect this balance naturally given by nature, as soon as there is no over ripening or over extracting, we will make a very good wine. Wine, like nature, needs time and attention.”
Did the use of Optical Sorting play a role in your harvest? “Our new optic sorting table worked perfectly! The quality of the sorting was very good. Moreover, because this sorting is very fast and we need only a few people to make it work, we were able to concentrate more of our attention on the wine making.”
What are your technical analysis showing today? “Our potential alcohol level is high, around 15% but not more. Our pH level is not high. The highest is 3.68 and the lowest 3.25. So we are around an average of 3.5. We didn’t have to make any special choice during the vinification because everything was OK and our alcoholic fermentations are already finished.”
What’s the next thing you need to do? “The next step is to get the wine into barrels in the following days to avoid over extraction.”
2 Comments
Tracy… I agree. They are becoming a better property each year. As for their view of 2010, they feel for their property, it is best wine they have produced yet. I look forward to tasting the wine in April.
Another less well known gem Jeff….I bought a case of the 2005 because it was just delicious. I become aware of this producer when the 05’s were showing up locally through friends in the wine business. I also recently purchased 6 of the 09 futures based on Parker’s notes. I have not tasted the 09 of course but I have now taken note that Mr. Decoster (Winemaker I assume) likes his prospects for the 2010. I checked your wine tasting notes and saw the 09 writeup. The 05 was really good and for me about 93+ score, terrific fruit and balance – tasted twice 2 years ago.