Fine wines despite harsh growing season

IT IS 11am on a summer's day in Bordeaux; the sun is high in an almost cloudless sky. I am sitting in the garden of Château Figeac, our "home" in Saint-Emilion, now sadly without the presence of Thierry Manoncourt, a dear friend of 20-plus years who died in 2011. The house and the Château go on, with his widow, Marie-France Manoncourt, in charge and fiercely protective of her beloved Figeac.

"Figeac remains Figeac," she said, referring to attempts to take over by huge predators hovering around like vultures! And indeed it remains Figeac, with Madame Manoncourt and her youngest daughter Hortense holding court, with the help of a new technical director and influential oenologist, Michel Rolland, as advisor.

I had last been to Bordeaux two years ago. Unfavourable reports of the harvest in 2012 and 2013 persuaded me that it was time to visit Bordeaux again to assess the vintages for myself. Previous experiences with vintages reported in the wine press to be "poor", e.g. 2001, had taught me not to place too much reliance on the press for adequate en primeur buying guidance, especially in difficult vintages. Lay press reports on vintage quality almost invariably seemed to delight in putting down the quality in difficult vintages, e.g. 2001 and 2002.