Jean Luc Zuger spent more time sorting this difficult vintage in the vineyards and cellars. Zuger agrees 2011 lacks the density of 2009 and 2010, but feels the wine is as good as, or better than 2006 and 2008.
Emmanuel Cruse did not compare 2011 with 2010, his personal favorite, 2009, or 2005. However, Cruse felt 2011 d’Issan better than other recent years, for example, 2008, 2006 and 2004.
The fruit took more effort to work with this year. It was the first time we experienced bunches with ripe, green and pink fruit, along with berries attacked by botrytis.
We had to be careful not to over extract. We needed to maintain cooler temperatures during fermentation and reduce the amount of pumping over we did in years like 2009 and 2010.
2011 St. Julien is classic in style. This is a guide to help you find the best wines and values from the appellation in 2011.
Many of the wines have charm, freshness and ripe flavors, but compared to more recent vintages like 2009 and 2010, 2011 Pauillac feels light in weight and style. This will help you find the best wines and values from Pauillac in 2011.
We recently equipped some of our managers with iPads to send instant information and photographs of each parcel. That allows us to know what is going on at all times with each parcel and even individual vines.