Thomas Duroux at Chateau Palmer gave some very interesting thoughts on how the 2009 vintage is shaping up in the Margaux area:

‘Alcohol levels are getting high. Merlot is particularly high, up to 14-15%. This is the classic situation in a warm vintage – and classic in Mediterranean climates for Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. I know about it from my Italian experience (Thomas worked at Ornellaia for a number of years).

'Is is is a concern? It's always a concern to a certain extent, although we can mitigate the problems. First of all, it is certainly easier to ferment at 13 than 15 degrees, because things can get stuck at high temperatures, and it is difficult for the yeasts, but we know how to manage those situations and I am not worried. The other thing to worry about is balance of the wines. We need to ensure enough acidity and tannins. So far, acidity levels are still quite good. We have low malic acid, but total acidity is quite good.

'I think the tannin extraction will be the key of the vintage. Grape skins are quite thick at the moment, with lots of tannins, but at the moment will not be easy to extract because skin is a little too hard, a little too thick. First, we have to wait a little more time to see if those skins will become a little more gentle - and the rain this weekend will have helped. And then we will have to adapt our extraction to make sure we get the amount of tannin that we need to balance the alcohol, while being very careful not to extract bad tannins.

'We know we have a huge potential in 09, but key will be selecting the right time to harvest to get good tannins and soft skins, and then to extract those tannins in a smart way – perhaps at the beginning of the fermentation, and then becoming very careful once the alcohol levels rise. At Palmer, we got 12mm of rain this past weekend (nothing compared to Pomerol and St Emilion), which was just perfect, we think it will help the vines to complete their growth cycle - and are just beginning with our young vines this week, but waiting to give the water a few days to get to the grapes. We are very confident. Won’t really start until next Monday, 28th – we will see how the next few weeks go.

'It’s a strange vintage, not super easy like 05, huge potential but it will be quite technical. In 03, the berries were cooked, a lot were just completely over-ripe. This year, they are not cooked, just high alcohol, and we need to look for the right balance – and then we will have incredible wines. Get the balance wrong, and the potential will be wasted.'