Author Archives: AlexR

Ruminations after drinking a 2004 Bahans Haut Brion

I usually aim for 2-3 posts a month, and have been keeping fairly well to this schedule – even though I see that blogs are less popular than they once were: http://fermentationwineblog.com/2016/01/wine-blogs-die-without-funeral/
However, I still believe that they serve a useful purpose, especially for more specialized subjects. But then I would, wouldn’t I? :-).

As focused as I am on Bordeaux, I am interested in all the world’s wines. That having been said, I prefer not to talk about them here. For example, I just spent a week in Italy (in Milan, Parma, and Modena) enjoying some fantastic food and wine. And on Saturday I will be going to a tasting of 2008 Premier Cru wines from the Côte de Nuits. But that is not the subject of Bordeaux Wine Blog, is it?

Yesterday, I was all on my own on a cold, wet, winter’s evening. I thought to myself that this would be an ideal opportunity to slowly savor a good wine and write about it. So, I uncorked a bottle of 2004 Bahans Haut Brion and decanted it two hours before dinner.
I have a huge soft spot for the wines of Haut Brion or, more precisely Domaine Dillon. I know the estate professionally, good friends have worked there and, of course, there is also the American connection. Bahans Haut Brion was the second wine of Haut Brion for many years, and was replaced by Le Clarence de Haut Brion starting with the 2007 vintage.
So, drinking Bahans Haut Brion is like drinking a little bit of history – a wine that no longer exists – like Bélair (a Saint Emilion first growth that has since become Bélair-Morange), Tertre Daugay (a Saint Emilion classified growth acquired by Domaine Dillon and renamed Quintus), La Clusière (a Saint Emilion classified growth absorbed by Pavie), La Fleur Milon (a Pauillac bought by Philippe de Rothschild), etc., etc.

The color of 2004 Bahans Haut Brion was deep and surprisingly purplish. The rim was slightly thin with only a suggestion of bricking.

The understated nose showed subtle plummy aromas and ethereal black fruit, as well as some lead, a dusty quality, and a faintly resinous hint.

Palate: The wine was quite fluid and light on its feet, with obvious class. It was unquestionably smooth and slick, with a certain sweetness. However, there was not the volume, body, or length of a great wine, and the expression “un ordinaire de roi” leapt to mind. The wine did not develop authoritatively and dipped on the middle palate. There was also some bitterness on the finish. Still, this was a perfectly creditable showing for a second wine over ten years old and it was clearly within its drinking window. And it made a dreary evening something special.

Oh, and you may wonder. What dish did I have to accompany this fine Bordeaux? Well, it happened to be homemade lasagna. And it was delicious.

Book review: “The Thirsty Dragon – China’s Lust for Bordeaux and the Threat to the World’s Best Wines”

Book review of “The Thirsty Dragon – China”s Lust for Bordeaux and the Threat to the World’s Best Wines” by Suzanne Mustachich
Published by Henry Holt in New York

Disclosure: I have been a friend of the author, a fellow American in Bordeaux, for years.

With so many people talking through their hat about the Chinese interest in Bordeaux, a knowledgeable book on the subject, with facts and figures, is very timely.

Suzanne Mustachich’s analysis has been seriously researched (30 pages of notes) and brings together far-ranging inter-connected factors: the Chinese state, French négociants, Hong Kong merchants, China’s booming wine industry, the trials and tribulations of foreign investors and winemakers, the market for Bordeaux around the world, the challenges of turning the world’s most populous country on to wine, etc.

Things happen quickly in China, and this book refers to events leading up to late 2014. It covers the history of viticulture and winemaking in China and Bordeaux’s meteoric rise to become one of the country’s most prestigious luxury products – especially Château Lafite Rothschild, a veritable icon. It also describers the pioneering efforts of French winemakers to target specific terroirs in China, cope with the local bureaucracy and, against all odds, produce good wine, some of it world class.

The book takes a balanced view of counterfeiting (which must be neither under nor overestimated), the complexity of registering and defending brand names and, the dramatic drop in sales of great growths en primeur since the 2010 vintage. Although Bordeaux-based, the author pulls no punches in distributing blame for a bubble that was bound to burst sooner or later. Her recounting of how this came about and how two very different cultures don’t always understand one another are especially perspicacious…

The author pulls together complicated factors typical of today’s globalization and ends up not only informing, but telling a fascinating story that all began in 1996 when Deng Xiaoping, the Chinese leader, encouraged his countrymen to drink red wine instead of baijiu, the traditional spirit. This was not only touted as healthier, but also showed a certain sophistication. From that point on, there was no looking back. Red wine, and its finest expression – Bordeaux – became a must for a segment of China’s middle classes. Of course, even a small segment of the Chinese population amounts to many, many people. Chinese imports surged and despite a steep downward trend since, that country remains Bordeaux’s largest export customer in both volume and value…

Suzanne Mustachich

Of course, Hong Kong’s role has been very important, and the removal of duties and administrative controls in 2008 was a real shot in the arm, turning the former colony into a commercial platform for all of Asia. The author’s description of a Southeby’s auction of Lafite and other great growths in Hong Kong, netting three times the estimated amount, is one of the best parts of the book.

The perceived invasion of Chinese investors in the Bordeaux wine country is also recounted. Over a hundred châteaux have been sold (only one great growth: Bellefont-Belcier in Saint Emilion). However, this must be set against the region’s 6,000… That the Bordelais have accepted this without batting an eyelash must be compared with the controversy that arose when Stanley Ho bought the Château de Gevrey Chambertin in Burgundy. This shows the greater international orientation of Bordeaux, but also the fact that “money talks” here – some would say far too loudly… This goes along with the fabulous increases in the price of Bordeaux great growths in the past few years. The Chinese market has become more mature and the fabulous return on investment that buyers started out with has become a damp squib. This obviously has had repercussions around the world.

When talking about Bordeaux, there is a basic misconception in some quarters as to the very meaning of the word. In fact, the most famous wines, i.e. the great growths, only account for 5% of production. The Chinese market’s nose dive in this category (starting with cancellations of 2010 en primeur orders) led to some inaccurate and alarmist reporting. However, an encouraging development has been increased imports of affordable Bordeaux – wines that are not resold or regifted, but consumed. The book ends up on this note without attempting to make a serious prognosis – probably a wise decision in light of the market’s volatility…

In short, Thirsty Dragon is a very interesting read about a world that the author has seen from the inside while the rest of us have just been listening to the rumor mill… It is engagingly written rather than academic in style and is vital for anyone who wishes to understand the wine scene in China, as well as how the place de Bordeaux works.

Sauternes: visits to 13 châteaux in a day

I’m a great lover of Sauternes. Even if I don’t drink it on a regular basis, I am rarely disappointed when I open a bottle. I took advantage of a Portes Ouvertes weekend on Saturday the 7th of October to go to Sauternes and Barsac with Jarad and Gabriel, two young American enologists studying vineyard estate management at Bordeaux Sciences Agro (ex-Enita). I love these occasions to learn more about Bordeaux, and inevitably come away with a few bottles for the cellar…
This trip was both intense and pleasurable. I say intense because we visited thirteen estates. While this is not a record for me, it makes for a very full day.
In fact, we visited 5 first growths before lunch!

We started out at Ch. Rayne Vigneau, owned by the Crédit Agricole. This is one of the appellation’s great estates that more or less went into hibernation for a number of years. There has been a major effort to improve things and this is clearly reflected in recent vintages. We tasted the 2008 Madame de Rayne, the second wine, which was an attractive commercial wine, but the 2009 Rayne Vigneau was in another category altogether and the best I think I’ve ever had from this château: a very stylish, classy wine. I came away with a half bottle.
Also on sale in their boutique was a rare and unusual gift set. This consisted of three bottles of wines from the Crédit Agricole estates (Rayne Vigneau, Grand Puy Ducasse, and Meyney) aged in barrels made from the rare Morat oak: http://www.indianwineacademy.com/item_1_500.aspx
After a short stop at the Maison du Vin in Sauternes to pick up a map of châteaux participating in the Portes Ouvertes and tasting their generic Sauternes, 2012 Duc de Sauternes (the less said, the better…), we went on to Ch. Guiraud, owned by the Peugeot family along with Olivier Bernard and Stéphane de Neipperg. We tasted the second wine, le Petit Guiraud, from 2013 which did not leave as memorable impression. However, the 2005 Guiraud was much better, even though the degree of bitterness on the aftertaste detracted from the overall impression. Viticulture at Guiraud is both organic and biodynamic. I find that Guiruad takes on a deep color fairly early in the game and that it is not always one for the long haul.
Next stop was at Ch. La Tour Blanche, which has also been a lycée viticole since 1911. This large estate has a fine track record and students there help make the wine. Seeing as there was a sizeable crowd by the time we arrived (you didn’t used to see large groups of Chinese, how times have changed!), we stayed only long enough to sample the 2011 vintage, which was one of the better wines of the day.

We could park the car and visit the following two “sister châteaux” on foot. Sigalas Rabaud has always been a dependable wine, and we were not disappointed with what we tasted. Although the 2014 second wine, Demoiselle de Sigalas, was not exactly earth-shaking, the 2007 grand vin was pure and delicious, with fresh tangy acidity to counter-balance the sweetness. The next door neighbour, Rabaud Promis, was no slouch either. The château always has plenty of things going on during the Portes Ouvertes, so there were artisan food producers selling their wares and special promotions for the wine. The 2010 Rabaud Promis disappointed me, but the 2007 had it all together, with a deep long aftertaste. No way I was going to leave without buying a bottle, especially at the special price (if memory serves me right, under 24 euros). This brings to mind two comments.
The first is that the 2007 vintage is lovely in Sauternes, which only goes to show how red wine vintages and sweet wine vintages in Bordeaux can be very, very different (1982 is famous example of this phenomenon).
The second is that Sauternes represents superb value for money. In fact, the prices are so low that many producers encounter difficulty making ends meet. Why the low prices? Simply because Sauternes has gone out of fashion to a great extent, and few consumers realize its wonderful potential as a “food wine”. In Bordeaux, Sauternes is frequently enjoyed as an aperitif, which freaks out my English-speaking friends, who mostly consider it a “dessert wine” – something which makes people cringe in Sauternes.

Having 5 châteaux under our belt by 12:30, it was definitely time for lunch. This was enjoyed in the barrel cellar of Ch. Gravas in Barsac. I have known the owners, Florence and Michel Bernard, for years, so felt very much at home here. The 20 euro meal was classic Southwest France: duck foie gras and warm rillettes, duck leg in a Sauternes sauce with potatoes cooked in duck fat (naughty, but oh so scrumptious!), sheep’s cheese from the Pryenees with cherry jam, and pastis from the Landes. We enjoyed 2012 Gravas with the meal.
Doisy-Daënes is just across the road, so we of course stopped there. There were plenty of people and a jazz band. The whole Dubourdieu range was on show, but we restricted ourselves to the Barsac, which was as good as ever.

Next stop was Château Coutet, where we were taken around in English by Franco-American Aline Baly. Coutet is definitely worthy of its reputation, as confirmed by the 2005 we sampled. Once again, the price was eminently reasonable: 45 euros for a 10 year-old first growth from a great year. The wine is distributed to the trade exclusively by Philippe de Rothschild.
Our next stop was Château Suduiraut where the 2005 shone. This was rather old fashioned in style, with beeswax aromas, unabashedly rich complexity on the palate, and a touch of “rancio”.
One of the best wines of the day.
We went from there to Haut-Bergeron, also in Preignac, which I am not alone in considering one of the best-value wines in Sauternes. It was therefore not surprising that the place was mobbed. We quickly tasted the 2012, which was up to our expectations and were then off again. This is the first year that I have not bought any wine there, but I already have a fairly good stock. It is worth noting that Haut Bergeron makes a less expensive, more early maturing wine called Ch. Fontebride that is just wonderful.

I was intrigued to visit a small (6-hectare) nearby estate, Clos le Comte. This was recently constituted and the quality is very encouraging. They make a rich easy-going wine called Cuvée Emilie, and a more classic one, with ageing potential named Cuvée Céline. Quite close by is Domaine de Monteils, a 13-hectare estate that has been in the same family since the mid-19th century. Their wine is good and their barrel-aged cuvée prestige even better. There was some discussion here about the proposed new TGV train line from Bordeaux to Toulouse that will cut through the Sauternes vineyards. Apparently, there is genuine concern about its effect on the delicate ecosystem conducive to botrytis. After a long legal battle, the right to build the train line was recently upheld, but now it appears that there is not the money to pay for it!

The last stop of the day was at Ch. Laville whose dependable wine I have known for some time. I enjoyed both their first and second wines and came away with a bottle of each. But what really made my head spin (no, nothing to do with consumption of alcohol, I religiously spit) was to come across a late harvest Riesling-Gewurtztraminer blend produced in Sauternes! Of course, this is not entitled to the appellation, but not only is it very rare – dare I say, a unicorn wine? – but also quite delectable, with the zippiness and spiciness of its two main components. It will be an excellent one to serve blind one day when I am feeling particularly sadistic…
And so ended a wonderful day out that renewed my love for the mysterious and wonderful wine of Sauternes.

Dinner at Domaine de Chevalier

Olivier and Anne Bernard were kind enough to ask me to dinner in the middle of the 2015 harvest, on the 1st of October. Jeffrey Davis, a Bordeaux-based American wine merchant and his Rumanian clients were also invited, as well as fellow blogger Izak Litwar from Denmark.

Prior to dinner, the evening at Domaine de Chevalier started off with a tasting of all of Olivier Bernard’s white wines and wines in barrel.
Clos des Lunes is a very unusual wine – in fact, three different wines. This range of dry Sauternes is revolutionary in that Olivier Bernard set out from the start to make a wine exclusively of this type, rather than a “by-product” of Sauternes.
Furthermore, there is a movement afoot to grant an appellation other than Bordeaux to such wines.

The Bernard family now owns no fewer than 80 hectares in the Sauternes appellation, all devoted to making dry white wine.
Clos des Lunes comes in three categories: Lune Blanche, Lune d’Argent, and Lune d’Or. I tasted all three from the 2014 vintage.
It is important to understand that these wines are primarily Sémillon-based and produced from very old vines, blended with a little Sauvignon Blanc from the Graves and Sainte-Croix-du-Mont.
Lune Blanche is a slightly spicy, thirst quenching wine: crisp, fresh, and well-made – as one would expect from Olivier Bernard. I might add that this entry level wine is quite affordable and represents excellent value for money. It also receives no oak ageing and is ideal to drink quite young.
2014 Lune d’Argent is more complex, with a perfumed bouquet showing some sweetness and a kiss of mint. It is 25% oak-aged. There is more body on the palate, with fennel/angelica nuances. The flavour is a step up, and truly satisfying. In fact, a week prior to the tasting I had a party at my house. Thirty people came to lunch and 2014 Lune d’Argent was the white wine served to unanimous curiosity, followed by enthusiastic approval.
2014 Lune d’Or is fermented and aged in barrel, but the oak is not overwhelming. The bouquet also shows some beeswax overtones and the wine is silky and rich – but also perky – on the palate. There is a nice long aftertaste and a pleasant tanginess. This is more serious still and definitely one for the table rather than sipping.

Next up was 2012 Domaine de la Solitude (65% Sauvignon Blanc and 35% Sémillon). The vineyard, in Martillac (AOC Pessac-Léognan), is owned by the sisters of the Order of the Holy Family, and Olivier Bernard has a long-term lease to make wine there. His 2012 white Domaine de la Solitude is quite fresh. Sauvignon Blanc predominates on the bouquet, and there is a good long aftertaste. It is useful to point out that this fine white Graves is in the very affordable price range. It also has medium-term ageing potential.
Château Lespault-Martillac (65% Sauvignon Blanc and 35% Sémillon) is a newcomer to the range. This little-known estate in the Pessac-Léognan appellation is owned by the Jean-Claude Bolleau family, who also granted a lease to the Bernard family. The latter’s first vintage was in 2009. The 2012 is promising and this is surely an estate to watch.
My previous post was about a tasting of second wines and, unlike some of my Bordeaux-loving friends, I have no prejudice whatsoever against this category of Bordeaux. This 2012 Esprit de Chevalier is truly a case in point. The bouquet is attractively fruity and sweet, and the wine is lovely on the palate with a great mineral finish. I gave it a score of 15/20, and I’m a very tough grader…

The star of the line-up was, as expected, 2012 Domaine de Chevalier blanc, with a killer nose of citronella, mint, and a soupçon of camphor. It shows tremendous poise on the palate, a sophisticated dryness, and a great interplay between richness and minerality. Just lovely, and has many years ahead of it: 17/20. The 2011 Chevalier was not far behind. The color was noticeably deeper here and the ethereal nose very pleasing, but it seems to have less intrinsic potential than its young brother.

We then went to the cellar to taste wines in barrel – as well as the 2015, although I am certainly not qualified to evaluate wine at this stage! Anyway, the 2014 white Chevalier was very aromatic on the nose (I picked up some peppermint) and close in quality to the 2012. The 2014 red had a very deep color and a lovely, upfront, classy bouquet with an elegant, perfumed, feminine side. The wine was rich, and the fruit and oak very much in balance. There was a kind sensuality there that reminded me of fine Burgundy…

Not only does Olivier Bernard make wine at an estate belonging to nuns, and one from the handkerchief-size vineyard at Bordeaux airport (!) called “La Croix de Guyenne”, but he also vinifies the grapes from an enormous single vine over two centuries old located in the middle of Bordeaux, at Place de la Victoire. We stopped to look at a barrel of the fermenting grapes, the rare Tchacouli Rouge variety (the white version is found in the Spanish Basque country).

Dinner

Olivier Bernard has an original game plan at dinner: the wines are served blind and the vintage always contains the last digit of the year in progress.
Therefore, everything we tasted ended in “five”.
It was up to us to guess the year!
I consider it rude to take notes at table, so please forgive the brief appraisals:

We started off with a 1975 “Carte d’Or” from Veuve Clicquot in magnum as an apéritif. This was the firm’s prestige cuvée at the time. I quite like aged Champagne, what the French call le goût anglo-saxon, but I don’t like exaggerated oxidation. Fortunately, there was barely a trace of oxidation in this baby, which was utterly delicious. It was not just alive, but with all pistons firing. One often forgets that Champagne is one of the world’s great wines. This was superb, a monument, and it certainly dispelled my prejudice that Veuve Clicquot is on the heavy side.
The Champagne was followed by 4 flights of wines.

The first included a delicious 1985 Puligny-Montrachet (village) from Leflaive and a 1985 Domaine de Chevalier blanc. We (collectively) found the right vintage by the process of elimination, but both wines were in fighting form and appeared much younger than their age. The Chevalier was wonderful and the village wine every bit as fresh – quite a tribute to the winemaker.

My, oh my, were we ever off with the next wine! Old for sure, but which decade? We all failed, utterly. In our defense, how often does one serve you a glass of 1925? The Cos d’Estournel was still alive with a sublime subtlety and tertiary refinement to which words cannot do justice. We were all bowled over when the vintage was announced, partly because it is accepted practice to serve wines from young to old. But Olivier Bernard rightly felt that such an old wine would be overwhelmed after younger, more vigorous wines. I can remember a similar occasion when my friend Pascal Delbeck, manager of Château Ausone at the time, served an ancient Ausone before all other vintages.

In fact, this reasoning makes a lot of sense, and I thank Olivier for sharing such a rare wine.

The second wine of the pair, 1955 Grand Puy Lacoste, was not in the greatest form. In fact, Olivier said that there was noticeable CO2 when he uncorked the bottle, to an extent he had never before seen in an old wine. The GPL was certainly drinkable, but paled in comparison to its partner.

These two Médocs were followed by a brace of 1975s, a vintage which the group (rather than me personally) guessed fairly quickly. 1975 was deemed to be a hard vintage, and one that did not quite live up to its reputation. However, the three wines were quite pleasurable at age 40, although arguably past their best. My preferences, in descending order, were for Léoville Las Cases, Domaine de Chevalier, and Cos d’Estournel. It was quite something to have two wines from Cos separated by half a century! It was also a tremendous treat to linger over these fine old Bordeaux. Once again, please forgive the lack of detailed notes.

The two wines with dessert were somewhat controversial. Also from 1975, the table seemed evenly divided between the Guiraud and the Gilette “Crème de Tête”. Certainly the Guiraud was the more classical of the two, but the Gilette seemed more dynamic and fruity.
Many, many thanks to Olivier Bernard for such an unforgettable evening. I might add this: Bordeaux (the city, the people, the wines…) is all about harmony and beauty and classic good taste. Sometimes this can err on the side of stiff formalism, stifling orthodoxy, or snobbishness. But the evening I spent at Chevalier was completely different: a fun time with people dressing down, cracking jokes, and being themselves alongside the rather serious business of tasting some of the world’s greatest wines.

Extensive tasting of second wines

I had never before attended a tasting of second wines as such, i.e. nothing but second wines, so I was very interested to do so on Saturday the 26th of September in Bordeaux.
This event was organized by Terre des Vins magazine, part of the Sud-Ouest media group and Cash Vin (http://www.cash-vin.com/), a wine merchant, in the newly renovated Marché des Douves next to the Capucins market.
Second wines are widely perceived to be a mixed bag and the sort of wine lover who thinks Bordeaux is limited to the great growths is likely to snub anything “less than the best”.
However, this reasoning only goes so far…
In fact, the history of second wines goes back a very long way. There are records of such wines in the 18th century, and their increased number in recent years has gone hand in hand with improved quality starting in the 1970s. In fact, most classified growths have a second wine nowadays.
The principle is quite simple: the grand vin, the estate’s flagship wine, can be improved by selecting only the best vats. The remaining wine is less good, but also less expensive and usually ready to drink earlier. For consumers, second wines are worthwhile to the extent that their quality does not lag too far behind that of the grand vin and that they cost significantly less.
They are also ideally suited to restaurant wine lists.
The selection process includes a variety of parameters. In difficult years, the proportion of second wine is generally much higher and, in extreme cases, can totally replace the grand vin. Also, vats from specific plots not quite up to the standard of the main label are put into the second wine, as are wines from young vines.

Then there is the issue of second wines that refuse to admit they are second wines… Examples that spring to mind are Forts de Latour and Clos du Marquis, but there are many others. Their owners claim that these come from a specific part of the vineyard and do not incorporate less good vats from the best part. They therefore must be seen as “estates within an estate”. I don’t find this explanation very convincing and despite the hype still consider them second wines. What else do you want to call them? Furthermore, Latour and Léoville Las Cases even produce third wines, respectively le Pauillac de Château Latour and Le Petit Lion. Château Palmer’s Alter Ego, is not presented as a second wine either, but this just boils down to semantic differences.
Created in 1930, Mouton Cadet was originally the second wine of Château Mouton Rothschild. Over the years, it has become a branded AOC Bordeaux négociant wine.
French for second wine is second vin rather than deuxième vin. The reason for this is that when there is a series of just two things, the word second is used. As soon as there are three or more things, deuxième replaces second.

Here are my impressions of the 21 wines – all red – I tasted.
C = color
N = nose
T = taste
Please note that the scores are out of 20 and that I am a tough grader.

The retail prices are in euros per bottle including sales tax (VAT).
The purchase of 6 or more bottles entailed a discount of approximately 10-15%.

Conclusion / bottom line: Like any tasting, this is a mixed bag, so generalizations are difficult. However, the best wines were well worth the money, and some were true bargains, for people who drink wine rather than money. Also, if you like the “grand vin”, there’s a very good liklihood you’ll like the second wine!

2012 Les Voiles de Clos Floridène, Graves rouge
Belonging to Denis (the famous professor, consultant, and Dean of the Bordeaux Faculty of Enology) and Florence Dubourdieu, Clos Floridène is located in Pujols, quite close to Sauternes, and is better-known for its white wine, produced in more significant quantity.
C: lightish
N: vibrant strawberry and petits fruits rouges, some confectionery notes
T: fresh, thirst quenching, soft, enjoyable young, well-made, and with a short aftertaste
Score: 12.5
Price: 10.95 euros

2010 Les Hauts du Tertre, Margaux
This is the second wine of Château du Tertre, a fifth growth in Margaux that is much appreciated by Bordeaux lovers who are seeking quality without paying a fortune.
C: purplish, with medium intensity
N: nice berry fruit, fresh blueberry
T: fluid, light, easy-going tannin, a great luncheon claret! The finish is a little gummy. Needs time, but not much.
Score: 13.5
Price: 21 euros

2011 Esprit de Labrède, Graves rouge
Château de Labrède, a genuine castle and major tourist attraction, once belonged to Montesquieu, and stayed in his family until quite recently http://www.chateaulabrede.com/
The vineyard (4 hectares of red and 2 of white wine varieties) had gone out of existence, but was revived on a tenancy basis by Dominique Haverlan, owner of Vieux Château Gaubert, also in the Graves. This is his first vintage, and a very successful one at that.
C: good, medium deep
N: sweet fruit and oak in a minor key, hints of tobacco and a pleasant greenness
T: round, easy-to-drink, modern, with a puckery, lip-smacking finish. Wine of substance and an unexpected pleasure.
Score: 14
Price: 15 euros

2012 Moulin de Couhins, Pessac-Léognan rouge
Château Couhins is owned and managed by INRA (Institut National de la Recherche Agricole). It has long been under the radar and is a good value for that reason.
C: OK, a little hazy
N: brambly and reflecting its origins, along with discreet oak, and a cosmetic quality
T: sweet, simple, cherry fruit, and light tannin. qaMore grip than most. Should be ideal in 3 years. Some greenness.
Score: 13
Price: 13.50 euros

2012 La Réserve d’Angludet, Margaux
Angludet has long had a strong following, and is especially well-known on English-speaking markets due, in no small part, to the owners, the English Sichel family.
C: medium, a little dull
N: upfront, direct, seems relatively commonplace, but pretty with some nice notes of black fruit jelly, with a touch of greenness
T: suave, light, and pure. Nice juicy aftertaste with good tannin but in a minor key. Attractive, to drink young.
Score: 14
Price: 19 euros

2012 Jacques Boyd, Margaux
Third growth Boyd Cantenac has long had a low profile, but it is a stalwart classic as far as I’m concerned.
C: a little weak
N: old-fashioned, classic Médoc typical of the Margaux appellation. Light, engaging, with some vanilla oak overtones
T: starts off chewy, becoming light on the palate with a pleasing mineral element on the tail end
Score: 13
Price: 24 euros
Lucien Guillemet was also showing the 2002 Jacques Boyd, but this was very tertiary and past its best.
2010 Diane de Belgrave, Haut-Médoc
This classified growth and exclusivity of CVBG (Dourthe-Kressmann) deserves more of a reputation than it has. My notes show a wine that is good rather than very good, but at 13 euros a bottle, this was tremendous value for money.
C: good, medium deep with purplish overtones
N: sweet, pure candied fruit with some class. Rather feminine.
T: sweet once again. Charming and seductive, even if quite simple. A real crowd pleaser. The tannin on the finish, however, is perhaps too rough compared to the wine’s intrinsic body.
Score: 12.5
Price: 13 euros

2006 Sirène de Giscours, Margaux
After going through a variety of phases, Giscours has seemed back on track in recent vintages. This 9 year old second wine, however, was not the best reflection of what the château can do.
C: looking older than its years
N: old, indeterminate, past it
T: ditto
Score: no score given
Price: 26 euros

2010 L’Arpège de Haut-Nouchet, Pessac-Léognan
I am not familiar with this estate in Martillac.
C: medium-light with darker core
N: simple and closed with berry fruit. Lacks depth.
T: better than the bouquet. Sweet, but hollow and rather one-dimensional. Tart, bitter finish.
Score: 10.5
Price: 13.5 euros

2012 Blason d’Issan, Margaux
Issan is unquestionably one of the best third growths (there are ten of them…) in the Margaux appellation. It is now 50% owned by Jacky Lorenzetti, who also owns Pédesclaux and Liliane-Ladouys.
C: good, youthful
N: straightforward, with lovely, subtle Margaux berry fruit
T: good body and melts in the mouth. Bigger than expected. Magical. Good balance. Nice to drink as of now.
Score: 14
Price: 21 euros

2011 Hostens-Picant, Sainte-Foy-Bordeaux
This estate is located in the tiny and not well-known Sainte-Foy-Bordeaux appellation. I had only previously heard of their white wine.
C: average
N: some ash, quite one-dimensional
T: sweet, but not in a good sense. Barely drinkable. Dry, nasty finish.
Score: no score given
Price: 20 euros

2012 Amiral de Beychevelle, Saint Julien
Fourth growth Beychevelle is clearly on the up-and-up. This was one of the best wines of the tasting.
C: medium-deep
N: solid, well-focused brambly fruit with good definition
T: fleshy and big. Maybe not a long aftertaste, but lovely cherry flavors and good tannin. Potential for ageing there. Archetype of a good 2nd wine. Not second rate by any means
Score: 14.5
Price: 38 euros

2011 Tourelles de Longueville, Pauillac
This has long been considered one of the best second wines in the Médoc. Only now, Pichon Baron will be producing another second wine – like Clos du Marquis and les Forts de Latour – that claims it isn’t really a second wine… This is called Les Griffons de Pichon Baron, and was first made in the 2012 vintage.
C: medium-deep with a lightish rim
N: deep and enticing, but closed. Some chocolate overtones.
T: silky, satiny texture. Sweetness on palate with high-quality tannin that melts in the mouth with just a hint of greenness. A round, friendly Pauillac that will nevertheless improve.
Score: 14
Price: 39 euros

2012 Fleur de Pédesclaux, Pauillac
This fifth growth was nothing short of obscure until Jacky Lorenzetti (an Italian speaker from Switzerland who made his fortune with the Foncia real estate chain) bought it and turned it around.
Pédesclaux is rare in that it is a Pauillac made from 100% Merlot!
C: medium thin with purplish rim
N: sweet, pure bouquet with coffee-vanilla nuances
T: round as one might expect, but also rich, sweet, gummy, and lip smacking good
Score: 13.5
Price: 21 euros

2009 Réserve de la Comtesse, Pauillac
One expects a great deal from a “super-second” that is universally appreciated, especially in a vintage like this. I was not disappointed.
C: OK, medium-deep, not entirely clear
N: a little simple, but reminiscent of the grand vin. Sweet with graphite overtones.
T: round and sensual with lovely soft tannin. Great finish and showing very well at present (can be enjoyed as of now), but will be fine for the next 5 years. Good acidity.
Score: 14.5
Price: 42 euros

On to the Right Bank…

2012 La Fleur Laroze, Saint Emilion
I am not very familiar with this 27-hectare grand cru classé.
C: light and bright
N: a little green and rustic but with deep fruit even so
T: big with good minerality
Score: 12.5
Price: 13.50 euros

2012 Clos La Gaffelière, Saint Emilion
I am not alone in having some severe disappointments in the premier grand cru classé Ch. La Gaffelière. But the owners have called in consultant Stéphane Derenoncourt and things have changed for the better.
C: medium light
N: lovely, pure, perfumed
T: very soft and upfront, melts in the mouth. Drink sooner rather than later. More voluptuous and big breasted than serious, but lots of pleasure there…
Score: “objectively” 13, but this is a joy to drink
Price: 19 euros – tremendous value for money.

2012 Dauphin de Grand Pontet, Saint Emilion
I’ve not often tasted wine from the 14-hectare grand cru classé Grand Pontet.
C: satisfyingly dark with purple highlights
N: a little weedy along with ripe and candied fruit overtones. Sweet and fairly simple with good, understated oak
T: round, big, and a little hot on the palate. Honest and foursquare, like a rich peasant.
Score: 12
Price: 13 euros

2009 Filia de Grand Mayne, Saint-Emilion
This 18-hectare classified growth has a strong following.
C: very deep
N: coffee, blackberry jelly, and a little rustic
T: big mouthful of wine but a little hollow (weak on the middle palate). Modern with some heat on the finish. Hearty, but lacks finesse. One wonders why the second wine has to be this concentrated. Perhaps a feature of the vintage…
Score: 12
Price: 16 euros

2010 Haut-Faugères, Saint-Emilion (sorry, not shown)
Faugères was promoted to grand cru classé status, and enjoys a good reputation, like the other Silvio Denz wines.
C: very dark and good
N: slightly oxidized
T: better on palate, but top-heavy and still off
Score: not scored
Price: 16 euros

2009 Croix de Beauséjour, Saint-Emilion
This second wine of Château Beauséjour (Duffau-Lagarosse) was a great discovery.
C: fine, with a deep core and slightly browning rim
N: lovely understated cherry-vanilla bouquet, that only lacks some depth
T: nice mouthfeel. Lush and rich, but backed up by fine minerality. Classic. Very good indeed. Drink now until 2022.
Score: 14.5
Price: 39 euros

2011 Marquis de Bellefont, Saint-Emilion
One of the newly-promoted grand crus classes, Bellefont-Belcier is 14-hectare estate recently acquired by a Chinese firm.
C: bit cloudy
N: oak, and more toasty oak, with coffee overtones, that overrides the fruit
T: overdone, intrinsic softness marked by bitterness. Another look needs to be taken at barrel ageing.
Score: 10
Price: 15.50 euros

After the tasting, my friend Pierre and I had lunch at the Cochon Volant, a nearby restaurant. This is a wonderful, earthy place featuring the best of cusine from Southwest France. Warning: portions are enormous!
We enjoyed a 2009 Ch. Moulin-à-Vent (Moulis) with lunch.

Côtes de Castillon: good value wines galore!

When I first arrived in Bordeaux, the word going round was that Fronsac was the up-and-coming wine region, and was headed for great things. However, this never really materialized. Then a similar buzz was heard about Castillon. I must admit to feeling there is more potential for the latter appellation, not only because it’s so much bigger (2,300 hectares compared to just over 1,000 for Fronsac and Canon-Fronsac), but because the wines are more appealing to the general public.

Although “Castillon, Côtes de Bordeaux” is not exactly a household name, it has long been a treasure trove of good-value Bordeaux beloved of connoisseurs. Historically, the appellation was known as “près-Saint-Emilionais”, and the geographical proximity with Saint-Emilion is unquestionably reflected in the wines. Let’s be clear: a good Castillon is better than a ho-hum Saint-Emilion, and has a much lower price tag to boot.
In fact, Castillon is where to bring people who moan that Bordeaux is too expensive or Burgundy lovers with blinders on. This is where you can find worthwhile wines for as little as 7 or 8 euros a bottle and truly delicious ones for not much more. And I’m talking about really good wine here.
Bordeaux has Portes Ouvertes (“Open Days”) in most major appellations. These are marvellous opportunities for anyone who’s interested in visiting châteaux, meeting the winegrower, sampling the wine, and either buying or not as one sees fit. Absolutely no pressure is brought to bear. The Portes Ouvertes in Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux took place on Saturday the 5th and Sunday the 6th of September. The number of participating estates was relatively limited (17), but included a good cross-section of the appellation.
I went there on Sunday with an American friend, author, and fellow blogger, Tom Mullen: http://vinoexpressions.com/about-wine-and-work/

Portes Ouvertes programme

We visited 7 châteaux and had a wine lunch at Château Pitray. Here’s a brief rundown of the experience, which I can strongly recommend.

Proud owners of Ch. Rose Poncet

Our day started off with Château La Fleur Poncet in Gardegan-et-Tourtirac, where we were greeted by Madame Elisabeth Rousseau-Rodriguez, Vice-President of the Castillon winegrowers association, and her husband. This 10-hectare estate, in the family for the past two centuries, is located 7 km from Saint-Emilion and within sight of Château Michel de Montaigne in the neighboring Bergerac appellation. The predominately Merlot grapes were in excellent condition and had already reached a potential alcoholic degree of 13.5° on the 6th of September! So things were looking very good – as opposed to 2013 when a hail storm virtually wiped out the entire crop… The estate makes two wines, the regular cuvée and Mon anGe, an anagram of her children’s names. The latter is 100% Merlot, made from 35 year-old vines, and aged in new oak. My favorite wine was the 2010 La Rose Poncet.

The Lydoire family

The next stop was Château Bellevue in Belvès-de-Castillon. This 12.5 hectare estate is owned by the Lydoire family. They have a higher-than-than usual percentage of Cabernet Franc: 25%. We tasted their quaffable 2012 Bordeaux Supérieur and interesting 2012 vieilles vignes from Castillon, as well as the unusual 2011 Cémacuvée, made in a successful ripe, oaky, modern style.

The last stop before lunch, one of the best of the day, was at Château Lapeyronie in Gardegan-et-Tourtirac. When we arrived, we were somewhat surprised to see three gendarmes in the cellar and I quipped that, honestly, I had spat everything out so far! I don’t think the same could be said of them… Furthermore, they were from Burgundy, whose wines were obviously much better than ours ;-). Anyway, we were welcomed by Hélène Thibaut, a professor of viticulture and oenology and partner of Jean-Frédéric Lapeyronie. He looks after the vines, and she’s in charge of the cellars. The 2012s we tasted were among the best all day, and the prices quite reasonable. Several nice surprises were in store for us. One was an excellent Côtes de Francs with a nice tannic texture to round out the fleshiness of the Merlot – the best Francs I can ever remember tasting. The other was an exceedingly rare 100% Carménère. This is sold as vin de table français, presumably because it is considered a secondary rather than a primary grape variety. Not only rare, the wine also happens to be quite enjoyable with a peppery bouquet – quite the wine to baffle someone at a blind tasting! And as if this weren’t enough, Lapeyronie also makes a wine with zero sulfur, a so-called natural wine. Despite my scepticism, I had to admit it was good, and commend the estate for branching out and doing unusual things.

Lunch was an outdoor affair open to the general public on the beautiful grounds of Château Pitray. Several hundred people attended and, fortunately, the weather cooperated. We skipped the tasting part of the event and sat down to enjoy the inevitable grilled entrecote steak with a sturdy 2009 Cuvée Madame from Pitray (aged in new oak) and a previously enjoyed 2012 unsulfured Château Lapeyronie.

Madame de Ch. Pitray

After lunch, we met with Madame Françoise Lannoye, President of the Castillon winegrowers association and owner of Ch. Moulin de la Clotte. The affable Mme Lannoye, who speaks very good English, talked to us about the appellation. She feels that joining forces with the other Côtes de Bordeaux (Bourg opted out) for promotional and marketing efforts was the right move.

: Maison du Vin in Castillon

: Mme Lannoye

Furthermore, she explained that Castillon benefits greatly from tourism. The battle ending the Hundred Years’ war was fought here, when the forces of King Charles VII of France defeated John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury (yes, who gave his name to Château Talbot in Saint Julien), thus ending three centuries of English rule over the Aquitaine region.
A much-acclaimed re-enactment of the battle is held throughout the summer: http://www.bdc-server.com/index_UK.html

Battle monument: Battle monument

Talbot’s tomb: Talbot’s tomb

There are also a number of medieval castles in the region and a Maison du Vin in Castillon (population 3,000) – whose full name is Castillon-la-Bataille

Maison du Vin

Madame Lannoye said that Castillon is sold mostly in France, but also exported to Belgium, England, and Japan. She also places hope in the US market. When you see the value for money these wines represent, they should do really well in America. However, there is somewhat of an image problem: not a bad image, but rather a lack of image altogether. The Côtes group are working on this as much as their budget allows.

We visited three more châteaux after lunch. Most of these were in “hop, skip, and taste” mode 🙂

The first of these was Clos Védélago. A roofer by trade, Jean-Paul Védélago bought 2.5 hectares vines in 2004. He brings grapes from two of those hectares to the cooperative in Puisseguin-Saint-Emilion. The remainder (exactly 0.47 hectares!) are in the Castillon appellation. These are used to make a luscious 100% Merlot wine. We tasted through 5 vintages (2010 to 2014). The ones I liked most were the 2014 and 2012. His wines have received medals and been cited as Coups de Cœur (“special favorites”) in the Guide Hachette.

We then went on to Château Château Les Fleurs de Trentin in Sainte Colombe, who grow their grapes organically. We enjoyed their 2012, what the French call a vin plaisir, i.e. an up-front, seductive, easy-drinking wine. The 2009 Cuvée Nathanoé was a little rustic, but showed a strong personality. We tasted the estate’s cuvee prestige in the 2008 and 2009 vintages, much preferring the former.

: Pélerin de Fonbaude

: L’Ame de Fontbaude

: Pélerin de Fonbaude

: L’Ame de Fontbaude

Our final visit of the day was to Château Fontbaude in Saint-Magne-de-Castillon. We arrived to see Christian sitting in the shade of a large tree behind a table with several bottles, in a beautiful and infinitely calm setting. We tasted the 2014 Pélerin de Fontbaude, a delight to drink young, followed by the 2010 Fontbaude and the 2012 cuvée vieilles vignes. The star of the show was 2011 l’Ame de Fontbaude a rich, fruity wine with a sinewy, silky texture, great aromatics, and some fine spicy nuances.

Thus ended our day in Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux.

La Brasserie Bordelaise: southwest cuisine and a great wine list…

The primary meaning of brasserie in French is “brewery”. But it also means a specific sort of establishment in France: a café-cum-restaurant with a relaxed atmosphere that serves food outside the usual set mealtimes. Brasseries usually offer a limited range of popular dishes rather than an elaborate menu, and diners frequently do not linger, often ordering just one dish.
What is the difference between a “brasserie” and a “bistrot”? It’s actually more complicated than it sounds, and you can find a long discussion (in English) on that subject here: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187147-i14-k6250591-Difference_between_brasserie_and_bistro-Paris_Ile_de_France.html

But I’m sure you get the idea :-).

The Brasserie Bordelaise is located at 50 rue Saint-Rémi in Old Bordeaux, about a 5-minute walk from the Grand Théâtre. There are no fewer than 25 restaurants practically side-by-side on this street, ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous…

Where does the Brasserie Bordelaise fit in?

in Old Bordeaux

First of all, created in 2008, the Brasserie has already become an institution. It is relaxed, authentic, and lively, sometimes to the point of boisterousness. No chichi here. There’s a good buzz and a lot of positive energy. The food is simple, hearty, and wholesome. The wine list is outstanding.

The first part of the restaurant has a bar and perhaps a dozen tables, and there is a larger room downstairs with long wooden tables and wooden benches, as well as a mezzanine overlooking it.

Counter service

Cuisine: The theme here is superb ingredients simply prepared. Delicacies from Southwest France have been carefully sourced: oysters, dry cured ham, foie gras, lamprey, caviar d’Aquitaine and, above all, beef. In fact, the beef is superb, and what better food to go with good red Bordeaux?
The restaurant’s website gives the background to suppliers: http://www.brasserie-bordelaise.fr/brasserie_bordelaise_en.php#/
Prices are in the moderate range. The meal I enjoyed last week with friends (4 of us altogether) included the following: foie gras, cuttlefish cooked with garlic and parsley, and melon with wafer-thin dry cured ham for the first course followed by rump steak, entrecote steak, and Waygu beef skirt steak for the main course. Everything was just fine, and the beef top class.
We enjoyed a 2010 Cuvée Flora from Château Patache d’Aux (AOC Médoc), that was quite enjoyable, not ridiculously young, and mercifully not over-oaked like many cuvées presige are.

: Delicious ham

Wine: The full wine list can also be found at the above link. It is quite extensive and intelligently broken down into different categories: “Specially Recommended”, “Right Bank”, “Left Bank”, “Wines by the Glass”, “Pomerol”, wines from different négociants (including Bernard Margez, Cordier, and Jean Merlaut – who is part owner of the restaurant), ones from famous winemakers and consultants, “Rare and Exceptional”, etc. As for this last category, you can find crus classés going back to 1995, up to and including first growths, at reasonable retail prices. The choice of vintage Armagnac is very impressive, and not outlandishly priced. I might add that the Bordelais are traditionally more partial to this brandy than Cognac although the former is much closer geographically.
The restaurant recently began handing out the wine list on iPads. However, 4 out of 10 were stolen, so they are rethinking that particular innovation…

La Brasserie Bordelaise is the brainchild of Nicolas Lascombes, a serial entrepreneur who managed La Tupina restaurant in Bordeaux for ten years. Monsieur Lascombes also owns and runs three restaurants on Arcachon Bay: le Comptoir du Port in Arcachon and l’Hôtel de la Plage and Le Bouchon du Ferret in Cap Ferret. Last, but not least, he has been chosen to run the restaurant in the new Cité du Vin, due to open next year.
http://www.citedescivilisationsduvin.com/accueil.html

L’Univerre restaurant in Bordeaux – a wine lover’s paradise

Burgundy in Bordeaux? How kinky can you get? And yet… there’s a restaurant in the center of Bordeaux that has a phenomenal selection of wines from the Côte d’Or (and elsewhere).

I first knew Fabrice Moisan when he managed a restaurant called Verretigo on the rue Georges Bonnac. The décor did not suggest it, but the food was good and wine list phenomenal, with a great selection of Burgundy (!) and oddball wines you’d never expect to see in Bordeaux in a million years, such as fine German wines. What’s more, the prices were downright reasonable.
Two years ago, Fabrice and his associates created Univerre (another play on words…) and moved to a new location, 40 rue Georges Bonnac, also in the Mériadeck district close to the heart of the city. The décor is more in keeping with the restaurant’s standing this time and has gained a devoted clientele.

A visit to l’Univerre’s website will give you a good feel for the place: http://www.univerre-restaurant.com/ And you can enjoy drooling over the wine list: some 1,300 different ones to choose from! The main list is 50 pages long. As incredible as this may seem, Burgundy has pride of place. Confused or overwhelmed by all these “foreign” wines? Fabrice will be glad to guide you!
The first thing you see when you enter the restaurant is the small Pinot Bar which serves fine wines by the glass thanks to a Eurocave dispenser with neutral gas that keeps the wines from going off. The dining room itself is rather small, with just ten tables. The decor is simple and modern, and one wall has a plate glass window with a wonderful view of bottles, some quite rare (Henri Jayer Cros Parantoux anyone?).

The cuisine? Let’s start off by saying that this is a restaurant for wine lovers so the food is necessarily good. But, let’s be honest: the star at l’Univerre is what’s in the glass. The menu is limited, featuring tried-and-true options. My first course was veal kidneys with garlic and parsley, and the main course was a tournedos of aged Aubrac beef. The latter was wonderful and served with chips and shallots cooked in butter.

The wines? We drank a Chablis and a red Burgundy.

2007 Premier Cru La Forêt from Vincent Dauvissat (60 euros) was very enjoyable. The color was medium-deep with chartreuse highlights and showed some age. The understated nose was very typical of its appellation with lemony and delicate orange blossom overtones. The wine had a lovely soft attack, going on to show gooseberry and white currant flavours before evolving into a nippy, dry, mineral aftertaste with good texture and little evidence of oak ageing. The acidity was very precise and there was something deliciously lip-smacking and appetizing about this Chablis. It is quite enjoyable to drink now, but will last for years. The serving temperature was perhaps a tad too cold.

2007 Gevery Chambertin Premier Cru Clos Saint Jacques, vieilles vignes, from Domaine Fourrier (200 euros) went extremely well with the beef. This climat is considered by many Burgundy aficionados to deserve an upgrade to grand cru status along with the likes of Meursault Perrières, Nuits Saint Georges Les Saint Georges, Pommard Les Rugiens Bas, and a few others. Furthermore, Jean-Marie Fourrier is a highly-reputed winemaker.
The color was looking a little older than its years. The nose was sleek and sophisticated with very pure, soft, candied fruit nuances along with some musky and new leather overtones. In fact, the bouquet was altogether sensual, perfumed, and very classy, with cranberry and powdered talc aromas – a real treat just to smell, and impossible to describe with mere words…. Fresh, silky, and spherical on the palate, the wine seemed more ripe than many others from that vintage, and the oak influence was just right. In fact, this 2007 Clos Saint Jacques was so enjoyable that the mind boggles to think what it must taste like in a great year! I found it to be squarely in its drinking window.
Interestingly, Fabrice decanted the wine. I approve, although I know that some Burgundy lovers scoff at this.
I should also point out that Univerre uses impeccable Zalto glasses.

There’s a small branch of the Univerre (shop and wine bar) in the 6th arrondissement of Paris http://www.lasuite-atelier.com/projet/univerre-paris-up/ with a function room for tastings.
The associates have also set up a business in Hong Kong, where they are agents for several Burgundy producers (Roulot, Cathiard, etc.).

Classic French wines, including a 2001 Ch. La Conseillante

Many wine dinners start out with a glass or two of Champagne, but people rarely give this more than passing mention when remembering the line-up of wines they have tasted. I think this is a pity, so I’ll break the mold and give special praise to a 1996 vintage Champagne from Charles Heidsieck.
I have a soft spot for Charles Heidseick (owned by the Descours family, along with Piper Heidsieck, since 2011) because I did a six month internship there in Reims when I was a college student.
I honestly think that this is one of the best grandes marques available today, from the Brut Réserve on up.
1996 is widely considered a fine vintage, and Mr. Parker rates it 97/100, considering it “slow to mature”.
The wine we had was in excellent shape, neither too young nor too old. The color was medium-gold and the bouquet was wonderfully subtle: slightly biscuity, understated, sophisticated, and sexy. The wine followed through in much the same way on the palate, with not a hair out of place, and a long, cool aftertaste. Wonderful.

Our guests that evening were Jakai Zhang (Ch. Le Bon Pasteur in Pomerol), Nerissa Chen (Ch. Kirwan), and Denis Darriet, owner of Ch. Seguin in Canéjan (appellation Pessac-Léognan). Feedback was very positive about the upcoming 2015 vintage which started today, August 24th, in Bordeaux for grapes destined to make Crémant.

The first course was accompanied by a 2002 Corton Charlemagne from Domaine Bruno Clair. This also had sentimental value to me since it was a gift from the winemaker, Philippe Brun, whom my wife and I met when we lived in the Napa Valley years ago.
Mercifully, the wine did not suffer from the Burgundian blight of premature oxidation (I had two back-up bottles of chilled white wine just in case). The color was pale gold and the nose ultra-classic and exquisite. Not even an inkling of oxidation. Rather than hazelnut overtones I often find in white Burgundy, there were fine almond nuances. The wine surprised me by being not very rich on the palate, but it lived up to its grand cru status by the way it so gracefully evolved into a super long aftertaste, with controlled power. This wine is delicious now, but has the stuffing to age much longer.
Enough to restore one’s faith in white Burgundy.

I am a great fan of Côte Rôtie, and have attended the Marché aux Vins in Ampuis (http://www.marche-aux-vins-ampuis-cote-rotie.com/) on three occasions. I very much recommend this 4-day event, with the proviso that you go on Friday and/or Saturday morning. Seeing as it is open to the public, there are simply too many people thereafter. Among a host of other wines, I bought two bottles of 2007 Château d’Ampuis 4 years ago at the Guigal stand. This was one of the most impressive wines I tasted all day.
Seeing as I had two bottles, I thought I would try one on the young side to see how it was doing.
The color was very deep and vibrant and the nose had the tell-tale aromas of fine Côte Rôtie: violet, black pepper, and even a smell of blood and raw meat (not as gruesome as it sounds). Despite what one may read in wine books, I tend to think of Côte Rôtie as a feminine wine. However, this one was fairly butch and had plenty of energy, vigor, and ageing potential. Yes, I will wait a long time before opening the second bottle.

The wine with the cheese course was 2001 Châteu La Conseillante. This was served blind, and most people thought it from a more recent vintage. The color certainly looked younger than its age and the nose had the trademark humus and truffle aromas of the finest Pomerol. The wine was luscious on the palate and very rich, but not overpowering or alcoholic – the balancing act of the finest Bordeaux. The texture was funky, velvety and even what I call “furry”. The aftertaste was assertive and featured deep black fruit nuances. As good as this was, the wine will improve further. It also confirms the good opinion I have of the 2001 vintage – and Château La Conseillante.

02 Ch. Sociando Mallet, 01 Ch. Talbot, and 04 Ch. Durfort Vivens

Everybody loves a success story, and Sociando Mallet certainly falls into that category. When Jean Gautreau bought the estate in 1969, there were just 5 hectares of vines. There are currently 85! However, it was not only production that increased. Sociando Mallet also built up a solid reputation for quality and established a loyal following.
The vines grow on a rise overlooking the Gironde Estuary east of the village of Saint-Seurin-de-Cadourne, the northernmost commune in the Haut-Médoc appellation. The soil is very gravelly, with a clay-limestone subsoil.
Sociando-Mallet did not even ask to be included in the most recent cru bourgeois classification. They felt above it, and the price their wine commands tends to confirm that…
The first time I tasted 2002 Sociando was at the Darroze restaurant in Langon, where I had been invited to lunch by Xavier Gonet-Médeville of Ch. Gilette in Sauternes. This was about 5 years ago and the wine was quite closed at the time. The situation was compounded by the fact that young wines rarely have the chance to open up in restaurants, even when properly decanted.
Anyway, by August 2015, this wine was, unsurprisingly, much more developed. It was decanted 3 hours before the meal. The color made the wine appear younger than its age.
As for the bouquet, Sociando is noted for displaying a decided green pepper quality in certain years, to the point where some people have found it too overpowering. The 2000 vintage is a case in point. Personally, I have never felt this way, but that green pepper factor was there in the 2002, albeit in an understated way.
The wine has a velvety texture and good grip on the palate. It also seems to share characteristics with nearby Pauillac. My friends know that I prefer my wines on the young side, but at 13 years I must admit that this is still not all it could be. It is heady and virile, the perfect wine to have with red meat, making up in vigor and assertive Cabernet fruit what it may lack in elegance. That having been said, Sociando Mallet has just 48% Cabernet Sauvigon (and 5% Cabernet Franc), but this variety seems to dominate the flavor profile.
I would love to taste this wine blind in a line-up of California Cabernets…

I have visited Château Talbot, a 4^th growth Saint Julien only once, a long time ago, and have not tasted their wines as often as I’d like to… I have a fond memory of the odd proprietary bottles the Cordier estates used to come in, with a picture of old man Cordier and his white moustache on the embossed part.

Times have changed, and most of those estates (Gruaud Larose, Meyney, Lafaurie-Peyraguey) have now been sold. Château Talbot, though, acquired by Désiré Cordier in 1917, has been in the family ever since. Talbot has 106 hectares of vines, which is absolutely mammoth in Burgundian terms, and big even in Bordeaux. They also make a small quantity of white wine, Le Caillou Blanc, AOC Bordeaux.
I had just one bottle of Talbot in my cellar, from the 2001 vintage, one usually overshadowed by 2000. However, I’m a huge fan and it is not rare for me to prefer a 2001 to the 2000 from the same château.
So, we enjoyed the 2001 Talbot just after the Sociando-Mallet. The Talbot is the weightier wine, with a deep regal color. The nose is gorgeous, everything I love about the Médoc and classic Bordeaux. It smells like a room with old mahogany furniture polished with beeswax, as well as subtle, pure blackcurrant fruit – none of the famous bretty/phenolic odors sometimes referred to as the “Cordier stink” that existed years ago… The wine is also very traditional, refreshing, and well-balanced on the palate. It is a lovely drink, and while not at its peak, is not far off. This 2001 Talbot is an excellent wine to serve to people who think that “modern Bordeaux” is over-extracted, over-oaked, and over-alcoholic. In fact, it is just the opposite.

2004 Durfort-Vivens

Château Durfort-Vivens is one of several great growths owned by the Lurton family, but it never seems to attract the same attention as the other Lurton great growth in Margaux, Ch. Brane-Cantenac. The fact that Durfort has 55 hectares of vines compared to Brane’s 75 may have something to do with this, but that doesn’t explain everything. I once enjoyed a lunch with Lucien Lurton and he told me that the “dur” (meaning “hard”) in Durfort describes the wine’s character. It is perhaps this slightly austere and unyielding side when young that makes Durfort less popular.
The Lurtons sold the actual château building to Philippe Porcheron, who renamed it Château Marojallia. The château is now a luxury hotel as well as the name of the AOC Margaux garage wine Monsieur Porcheron produces.

2004 Durfort Vivens has a browning rim and dark core, with thick legs. The nose is soft and smoky, with subtle cosmetic and chocolate overtones, along with a major earthy/truffle component.
The wine starts out smooth on the palate, showing textured tannin, but the finish unquestionably displays that Durfort hardness, and the wine is starting to dry out. While enjoyable at table, this smelled better than it tasted, and the balance is such that any evening-out of the tannin in a few years will leave the fruit behind. In short, I am somewhat disappointed, especially since I rated the wine highly when tasted en primeur in spring 2005.

2009 Durfort-Vivens