The 2012 Bordeaux vintage for us, in Pessac Leognan was dry until the end of March. Next it was very humid until the end of July. This was followed by a hot and sunny August with 2 or 3 days of rain.
At Branaire Ducru, we focus on obtaining freshness along with the best purity of the fruit possible. And of course a lot of finesse.
We opted not to use the optical sorting. I’m not in favor of it. Wine making is at its best, when it’s hands on.
Rule #1 When thinking about which wines to open for Thanksgiving, serve wine people are going to like. It’s a simple explanation, but simple is often the best solution, especially when it comes to Thanksgiving wine and food pairings. Pairing wine with food is supposed to be fun. not rocket science.
We completed our new fermentation cellar added, 10 small concrete vats. Also, now everything in the cellars is moved by gravity. Plus we have a new barrel room too.
The 2012 Bordeaux vintage turned out to be a great year for Merlot, with the ripeness of 2008 coupled with the balance of 1998.
Haut Brion adds to their Pessac Leognan holdings with purchase of vines located inside Haut Brion owned by the Allary family.