Where the 1990s gave Bordeaux winemakers a number of difficult challenges, the first 10 years of the new millennium were far kinder. Looking back at the decade today, not a single vintage was a complete disaster. There were challenges, unquestionably – 2002, 2004 and 2007 all had tough moments, and 2003 was in a league of its own for sustained drought that lasted through the entire season (although it was greeted with great acclaim at the time by many). But there were also a number of standout vintages, notably 2000, 2005 and 2009, with 2001 becoming a cult classic, and 2008 an underrated star that delivered some of the best prices of the decade. Not a bad 10 years in all.
These were also years of significant change in Bordeaux. New wineries sprang up, notably at Château Pichon Baron in 2007 with its vast underground cellar. Cranes were a regular sight, although it was the revenue from the successful 2009 vintage that would cause building fever to pick up pace from 2010 onwards.
Technology was moving fast, and both new and existing cellars were invariably moving towards smaller vats that allowed plots in the vineyard to be isolated and followed more carefully from beginning to end, even if the green revolution in classified properties of the following decade had not yet fully blossomed, with just Châteaux Pontet Canet in Pauillac and Guiraud in Sauternes flying the flag for organics, and most estates still following traditional practices in the vineyards.
Many of the current generation of Bordeaux owners arrived during this decade. Ronan Laborde arrived at Château Clinet, Pomerol, in 2003;
Jean-Charles Cazes took over from his father Jean-Michel at Château Lynch Bages, Pauillac, in 2006; and Prince Robert of Luxembourg became president of Domaines Clarence Dillon (Châteaux Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion, Pessac-Léognan) in 2008. Today’s leading directors were also getting settled; Thomas Duroux arrived at Château Palmer, Margaux, in 2004 and Olivier Berrouet took over from his father Jean-Claude Berrouet at Petrus, Pomerol, in 2008. Other high-profile arrivals were Silvio Denz at Château Faugères, St-Emilion, in 2005, and the first Chinese owner in 2008, with trading company Longhai
