Cadman's wine blog

2008 was a very good right bank Bordeaux vintage. A small, late vintage of exciting quality, the best wines are rich, powerful, seductive and structured with a velvety texture, masses of fruit, good tannin and acidity to warrant ageing.

Despite a tricky start to the growing season, a warm autumn produced richer, more concentrated wines than was expected. A wet spring with a late frost caused uneven flowering and poor berry set, with some hail in July adding to producer’s woes. A warm, sunny July provided some relief (and green harvesting), but August saw damp, cool conditions once again. Mercifully, the vintage was saved by a warm autumn and the sun shone from mid-September to mid-October and warm Atlantic breezes helped ripening and kept the grapes healthy.

2008 is proving to be a good to very good classic Bordeaux vintage on the left bank. Despite a tricky start to the growing season, a warm autumn produced richer, more concentrated wines than was expected.

As a result, the later-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon fared better than Merlot on the left bank, and the high Cabernet Sauvignon blends of Pauillac and Saint-Julien set the standard: densely ripe, vibrant, powerful and fragrant, with a fleshy firmness and powerful tannins. Although saying that, Graves’ premier sub-appellation, the Pessac-Leognan produced some absolutely terrific wines.

A wet spring with a late frost caused uneven flowering and poor berry set, with some hail in July adding to producers’ woes. A warm, sunny July provided some relief (and green harvesting), but August saw damp, cool conditions once again. Mercifully, the vintage was saved by a warm autumn and the sun shone from mid-September to mid-October and warm Atlantic breezes helped ripening and kept the grapes healthy.