I heard over the weekend that Pomerol's Le Pin is being given a make-over. Apparently the famously 'compact' property, currently a cross between a swiss chalet and a run-down garage, is being knocked down and replaced with an altogether smarter property more worthy of its reputation. I assume they are leaving the pine trees where they are...
Petrus did something similar a few years ago, smartening up its buildings, and making it rather more palatable to visiting coaches (who are not allowed in of course, but stop regularly for photographs).
Very good description of visiting Le Pin on the Wine Doctor (I was due to be on that visit with them, but didn't make it, something I haven't stopped berating myself for...)
http://www.thewinedoctor.com/bordeaux/lepin.shtml
Talking of Pomerol, I was there today having a harvest lunch with Jean Baptiste Bourotte and his team at Chateau Bonalgue (he also owns the excellent Clos de Clocher, and heads up Audy Negociants in Libourne). We had a delicious Bonalgue 1995 with lunch.
They started bringing their grapes in last week, and have potential alcohol levels of around 14.5, which surprised me for 2008. Jean Baptiste said that the sunshine and east wind, even without really high temperatures, have concentrated the grapes sufficiently that sugar has risen very high. But good malic acid to keep things balanced.
All in all he was quite positive, but did liken his state during harvest to the scene in La Haine, as a man falls his death from a skyscraper and repeats 'so far I'm okay, so far I'm okay' until the moment of impact.
According to Jean Baptiste, 'I feel like that every year during the harvest'... and we thought winemakers had it so easy...
