Robert Parker re-rates 2003 Bordeaux, Montrose Vertical & 2013 En Primeur

With August typically the quietest month in the fine wine calendar, the latest edition (#214) of The Wine Advocate released last Friday was just what many in the UK market needed to get September off to an interesting start. In a market place which has lacked a good story for some time, Mr Parker provided plenty for the trade and collectors alike to get their teeth stuck into, in what was an inevitable bumper issue of the famed publication.

After rather sudden back surgery last summer, Parker was finally able to give attention to the 2003 Bordeaux retrospective, covering the vast majority of both Left and Right Bank estates to see how the vintage is getting on 10 years after it first came to fruition (pun intended). If 187 notes from the 2003s wasn’t enough, there were a further 354 from the 2013 En Primeur in addition to a 50-year vertical of Chateau Montrose

Highlights:

• Chateau Angelus 2003 upgraded from 93 to 99 points with Parker describing the wine as “Pushing perfection….”
• “A candidate for a perfect score…” – Montrose 2003 was also scored up, from 97+ to 99, very narrowly missing out on the coveted 100 pt score
• Chateau Pavie 2003, achieving 99 points from a previous 98+, Parker refused to pull any punches; “At its release, the 2003 Pavie was somewhat controversial in wine tasting circles, but eleven years later it is obviously a great classic.”
• Another impressive jump in score went to Clos Fourtet. From 94 points upon release to 98 points, Bob was clearly impressed; “this great Bordeaux is one of the vintage’s superstars…”
• Montrose 1989 saw a predictable rise in score from 96 to 98+, reflecting that the wine “…has finally begun to rival and possibly eclipse its long-time younger sibling, the 1990…”
• Montrose 2010(£1,650) was upgraded to 100 pts from 99, confirming its status as one of the best ever vintages from this estate equal in quality to the 2009 (£2,000) and 1990 (£5,000)
• White Bordeaux was most definitely the winner from this year’s en primeur releases for Parker with the top 10 scored wines being awarded to either dry whites or sweet whites from the Bordeaux region.
• Parker claims that despite 2013 being the most challenging vintage since 1992, 1991 and 1984 ‘the wines have turned out better than any of those previous vintages’.

Top Scoring 2003’s: