After loading 50 addresses into Google Maps, then transferring them one-at-a-time to the French map on my Garmin Nuvi, the final logistical touches are just about set for next week's departure to Bordeaux.  For the past two months, a steady flow of e-mails have criss-crossed the globe as writers, merchants, and well placed enthusiasts request invitations to sample the newest Bordeaux baby-in-barrel, the 2010 vintage.  Although the major critics from the USA are already tramping their way up and down the D2, the 2010 Primeurs season kicks off in earnest the first week of April, with the tastings organized by the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux, the Circle Rive Droite, and a host of other organizations.

Last year, tasting with my good friend and longtime Bordeaux expert Izak Litwar of Denmark, I was grateful for all the arrangements he made for us to visit many Chateaux.  We tasted hundreds of wines together, at the organized journalist tastings, and by special appointment at Chateaux. Izak has tasted Bordeaux barrel samples since the late 80's from top to bottom, with a particularly keen emphasis on Pomerol, Sauternes, and the smaller appellations of the Right Bank.  I learned a lot from Izak, he is a very good taster, and is also a direct, no-BS guy.  We shared a view that, while 2009 is certainly superlative among the top chateaux and the best vineyards, there were a surprising number of Right Bank reds that were hot, out of balance, and in some cases, as Izak would say, "not challenging to taste".  On the Left Bank, throughout the Medoc and in Graves, there can be no doubting the 2009 Vintage.  The top wines are magnificent.  The only question is whether these beautiful Cab blends will remain as enjoyably approachable in youth as they were to sample from barrel.  Well, there is also the amusingly controversial question about Cos d'Estournel, and whether this amazing Chateaux is really a Napa Cult Wine in a Bordeaux bottle.  And then there is the impolite question about the eye-popping price for the 2009 vintage, but we defer that to another time. 

This year, I will meet Izak at a few of the organized tastings, including an opening tasting at Domaine De Chevalier the day I land in Bordeaux, and also meet up with other friends and Journalists along the way.  The first full day out, Friday April 1st, I am delighted to accompany Jane Anson of Decanter Magazine (and @Newbordeaux on Twitter) into the Médoc.  Jane literally wrote the book on Bordeaux -- the exhaustive section on this regtion in the recently published Wine Opus is hers entirely.  She and her husband Francis and their two delightful daughters live in Bordeaux.  Somewhere out there will be Panos Kakaviatos, who hails from Germany, or Alsace, by way of Washington DC.  Panos writes for himself, and for Decanter, and also tastes for MacArthur Beverages, so he will have a very full schedule indeed.  I also expect to run into many from the UK Merchant and Sommelier guilds, and the veteran tasters directly from the Decanter team, headed by Jancis Robinson.  

It is well publicized within the industry, but for the record, the UGC-Bordeaux, in addition to organizing the tastings, also arranges for accommodations for the many invited journalists, including me, from April 4-7, with Chateaux or hotels around the area, for which I am most grateful.  Many Chateaux donate rooms and host dinners for this purpose.  Before and after those dates, it's every man and woman for themselves.  Thankfully, many in Bordeaux also open up their homes to visitors.  I will stay with friends, and am also renting hotels and apartments on my own to complete the schedule.  The UGC does offer group shuttles, but does not provide airfare, car rental, expenses, stipends or transfers. Nor do they have any bearing on the decision to taste blind vs non-blind, spit vs non-spit, or even what to taste.  I haven't even seen a UGC Tip Jar!  

Note some of the large, organized tastings will be blind, whereas at private Chateaux appointments we are necessarily quite aware of what's in the glass.  I particularly enjoy the blind tastings.  While it is not the end-all verdict on wine (when was the last time you gargled and spat out your wine at dinner?), it is a useful way to get your arms around the expression of the vintage in different appellations, and perhaps call out some real winners or stinkers as the case may be.

My schedule for the fortnight:

March 30th  Depart LA for Paris.  Hopefully I will sleep on the plane for once. 

31st  Arrive Bordeaux.  Tasting at Domaine de Chevalier

April 1st  Medoc:  Lafite, Latour, Cos d'Estournel, Montrose, Calon Segur, and Pontet Canet

2nd  Marché St. Michel in Bordeaux for roast chicken

3rd  Circle Rive Droite, for Pomerol, St. Emilion, and Satellites

4th  Appointments at Thunevin, Angelus, Conseillante, Moueix, then to Sauternes for the UGC Blind tasting at Guiraud

5th  UGC Blind tasting for Graves at Carbonnieux, then back to the Right Bank for Lafleur, Ausone, and St Emilion Grand Cru Classe

6th  Cheval Blanc, UGC Blind tasting for Pomerol/St Emilion, and the Premiere Grand Cru Classe B comparison (also Blind) at Beausejour.  Then appointments at La Gaffeliere and Pavie.  Then a race back to Bordeaux to the Yquem tasting.

7th  UGC Blind tasting for Margaux at Fonreaud, then appointments at Palmer, Margaux, Ducru Beaucaillou, and Brane Cantenac

8th  UGC Blind tasting for Pauillac/St Julien/Ste Estephe at Cantemerle, and appointments at Leoville Las Cases, Pichon Longueville, and Mouton Rothschild

9-10th: Bordeaux

11th  Finale.  Chateau Haut Brion, and special Sauternes Appointments with Izak.

12th  Exit stage right and back home

I will have my usual photo and video kit with me.  When and where there is WiFi, you can expect a few stories and images along the way. That's all for now, and if you're in Bordeaux next week, see you soon!