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Prior to posting my notes about 2015 great growths

I took 4 days off from work this month to taste 2015 Bordeaux great growths. This was a fantastic experience and despite living in Bordeaux for many years, I still find it thrilling.

The experience is as much about people as wine: meeting château owners, technical directors, etc., as well as members of the wine trade from all over the world.

The organization of en primeur tastings is quite incredible. Hats off to the Union des Grands Crus for receiving hordes of professionals and even providing everyone with gourmet lunches at famous estates. The system in Bordeaux is well and truly unique in the world of wine. It also creates a lot of jealousy, especially since the price increases at the most famous estates since 2005…

The whole en primeur system is presently being called into question. This is because older wines from fine vintages can often be found at the same or even lower prices than futures. This has left consumers bewildered or even bitter. They ask themselves “What’s the point”? This has led to much naysaying, as well as predictions that “the bubble will burst” and that the great growths will be brought to their knees. Color me sceptical on that count… I have seen this happen only once in my (considerably long) lifetime, in the 1970s. However, I do not think it will occur again now.

For a start, it is well-known that exports to China declined significantly in 2013/14. However, word does not seem to have spread that the 2015 figures were up by 31% in volume and 25% in value. China’s interest in Bordeaux is here to stay. The market has become more mature and the Chinese are buying more intelligently. But they are still buying. Massively. And they remain Bordeaux’s number one export market.

You have only to see the wry smiles on the faces of winegrowers when asked “What vintage does this remind you of?” or “Do you think that this is more of a Left Bank or a Right Bank vintage?”. So many people don’t seem to understand the sheer size and complexity of Bordeaux, and the fact that making generalizations is like walking on eggs. Still, in this age of “Wine for Dummies” pronouncements will be made. But not by me!

There is an urban myth that samples are doctored to make them more flattering to journalists, critics, and major buyers. In fact, this is not totally false. Several château owners freely admitted that the wines we were tasting were blended to give a better idea of what the wine will be like down the road. And that they were not the actual final blend at the present time. This is only worrying to the extent that one places blind faith in how representative such young wines are, or should be…
In the past, the en primeur tastings were spread over a 3-month period. Now they take place very early and in a short time span. And, as we all know, leading critics give numerical scores at this early date – ones that have a huge effect on the market. One can disagree with the very premises of scoring systems, but they are inevitable. People like to quantify things that cannot be quantified, and be made to feel secure. So be it.

I will be posting my (non-numerical) notes, for what they’re worth, in the near future.

All the best,
Alex

1998 Margaux and 1998 Lafite

Bordeaux may be a provincial city, but it is a tremendously cosmopolitan one, and wine lovers from all over the world always end up here one way or another. Dinner at my house on Saturday included people from several continents. The lingua franca was English.

We started off with a fine Champagne. Francis Boulard has many fans and his Les Rachais is arguably the top of the range. The 100% Chardonnay vines are grown organically and are an average age of 43 years old. Les Rachais is a “brut nature” with zero residual sugar. The wine is aged in barrel, undergoes malolactic fermentation, and is neither fined nor filtered. It is much appreciated and well noted in France. For what it’s worth, I see that it has received a score of 93+ from Parker.
We found the wine bone dry but gracious and ethereal. A great aperitif.

Foie gras and toast usually means Sauternes in Bordeaux, but I figured a full, rich white Burgundy from a very ripe year should also marry very well.
I might add that trade professionals in Bordeaux freely acknowledge that the great white wines of Burgundy are among the best in the world.

Bâtard-Montrachet is a grand cru with about 12 hectares of vines (Le Montrachet and Chevalier-Montrachet each have 8 hectares, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montachet has 3.7 hectares, and Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet has 1.6 hectares).
Leflaive is by far the largest owner of vines in Bâtard-Montrachet (a quarter of the vineyard) and the domaine has a stellar reputation.
Jasper Morris in his book “Inside Burgundy” writes that Bâtard reflects “weight and power rather than vibrancy and elegance”.
After this lengthy explanation I’m sad to report that despite the reputation of the vineyard and the producer, this was not a memorable wine. It was not prematurely oxidized or corked, just blah, neutral and flabby. When you consider the price, this is very disappointing.
It must be due to the vintage.

Fortunately, Ian and Maureen had contributed a rare white 99 Château Pape Clément which saved the day. This was pretty much the polar opposite of the Bâtard: light gold in color, with a zippy nose and vibrant acidity to match the richness. People often think of Bernard Magrez’s wines as being a little overdone. This was not at all the case here. The wine shone and went well with the foie gras. It also has years of life ahead of it.
The main course was milk-fed lamb, accompanied by 3 red wines.

The first one was a fun, rather than a serious wine: a 100% varietal Carménère from the Côtes de Castillon that I mentioned in an earlier post about a visit to that appellation.
Carménère is genetically related to Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Sauvignon Blanc. This variety was extremely widespread in Bordeaux in the 19th century, but when the vines were grafted they produced less and were also much more subject to coulure. So, Carménère all but disappeared in Bordeaux. However, it is making a modest comeback in the Libourne region.
Our 2012 Carménère came from Château Lapeyronie the Côtes de Castillon. The wine was a little sharp, but it’s always fun to taste oddball wines like this, as well as instructive to get a handle on varietal character. This Lapeyronie was great as an introductory wine, but no one is expected to take it seriously in the Bordeaux hierarchy.

Received wisdom is that 1998 Right Bank wines are wonderful and that Left Banks ones are much less so… Parker’s vintage chart gives the former a full ten points higher! Less damning, Jancis Robinson, notes “Very good on the Right Bank but a less starry performance in the Médoc, whose 1998s are a bit stolid, means that these wines, and their equally successful counterparts in Graves have tended to be overlooked”.
Féret says that “the 1998 red wines are balanced, powerful, and generous” but that “Merlot-based wines are better than Cabernet-based ones”.
Well, Lafite and Margaux are poster children for Cabernet: 70% for the former and 75% for the latter. What would their 1998s taste like 18 years down the line?

The wines were served blind. Margaux was fairly evolved with earthy, musky aromas and mostly resolved tannins. There was some dryness on the finish. Lafite was clearly the more enjoyable of the two. In color, bouquet, and flavour it was pure and zippy, with much life ahead of it. A joy.
The tasting notes are a little skimpy, but you know how it is when you are the host…

As for the last wine, I wrote in a blog post last year: “Ch. Laville in Preignac (AOC Sauternes) produces a late harvest Riesling-Gewurtztraminer blend! 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…”
Well, friends, that day had arrived, and the wine was indeed served blind at the end of the meal.
Of course, hell would freeze over before anyone nailed this! But everyone loved it. There were candied fruit flavors of apricot and other white fruits and somehow it seemed more like a late harvest than a botrytized wine. But above and beyond it’s oddball quality, the wine was also very tasty.

We ended the meal with a glass of Crème de Cassis from Mouton Rothschild. This seemed not very alcoholic (16-18°) and everyone enjoyed the sweet concentrated flavors.

2006 Providence (Pomerol) and 1982 Beauséjour Duffau-Lagarrosse

My friends Ian Amstadt and Maureen Keer came to visit from London (put their car on the Eurostar and drove down to Bordeaux).
Sharing the same love of fine wine, we wasted no time in getting down to brass tacks…

Having enjoyed Mumm Rosé just a few days ago, I thought it would be nice to open a Bollinger Rosé. The story here is that the négociant Millésima had a tasting with 27 Champagne producers not long ago with such houses as Krug, Dom Pérignon, etc. I went there with my wife who, realizing that it was impossible to taste everything, thought she would focus on rosé and nothing else. Tasting all evening, she found Bolly to be best.
As much as I liked the Mumm, the Bollinger was more suave and subtle. A really elegant drink and a great aperitif.

Ian had opened a bottle of wine the day before and not finished it. So used his Vacuvin, brought it with him, and we tasted it with a platter of delicatessen meats.
I enjoyed the 2007 Barolo “Cerequio” from Michele Chiarlo, but am unfamiliar with the category, so my comments are not very knowledgeable. This 9 year-old wine had a lovely, still quite purple color and an intriguing subtle, smoky nose of sour cherry. The wine was big (14.5% alcohol) and a little raisiny, but had an attractive tartness that makes these wines go so well with food.

Aside: Wine lovers are inevitably food lovers. And some of the world’s best foods are the simplest (foie gras, truffles, oysters, certain cheeses, etc.). The right kind of free range chicken slowly roasted is in this category. Not to put too fine a point on it, chicken frequently sucks in the US, UK, and other countries, where it is a mass produced product with little flavor. God bless France, where roast chicken can be delightful, and suitable to just about any wine on earth (forget about “white wine with white meat…”).

The first wine to go with the bird was 2006 Providence.
Providence (one word, no mention of the name château) is an estate in Pomerol that was previously called Château la Providence. It was acquired in 2005 by Jean-Pierre Moueix. There are just under 3 hectares of vines, located between the church and Château Hosanna, which also belongs to Moueix.
Grape varieties are 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc.
This is a rare bottle because not only is production small, but Providence ceased to exist after the 2012 vintage, when the wine began to be incorporated into Ch. La Fleur-Pétrus.
2006 Providence had a deep dark color just starting to brown a little on the rim. The nose was fresh, definitely oaky, and plummy, showing the sort of ripeness one associates with a hot climate country. The wine was fairly sexy on the palate with creamy, vanilla overtones and a rich melt-in-your-mouth texture. This is the obvious, crowd-pleasing sort of wine the Right Bank excells in. It is fine to drink now, and will be equally fine, in a different way, for years to come. Openness at an early age is one of Pomerol’s chief assets.

The next red wine was 1982 Château Beauséjour Duffau-Lagarrosse.
This is one of 18 premiers grands crus classés in Saint Emilion (14 in the B category and 4 in the A category). It is also the smallest. The 6.3 hectare estate is planted with 76% Merlot and 24% Cabernet Franc and has been owned by the same family for seven generations. It has long been confused with another premier cru, Ch. Beau-Séjour Bécot, who added a hyphen to try to simply things…
Although Beauséjour Duffau-Lagarrosse is in a prime location, the wines have had a checkered history. Things have recently been taken in hand by a management team consisting of Stéphane Derenencourt and Nicolas Thienpont, also responsible for winemaking at two other premiers crus: Larcis Ducasse and Pavie Macquin.
Anyway, as we all know, 1982 has a great reputation in Bordeaux, which this wine pretty much upheld. The color looked far younger than its years, with lovely nuances. The nose featured complex aromas of ash, talc, mushroom, and cherry preserves. There was also an old, ethereal side expressed in floral overtones. The wine started off round on the palate, going on to reveal velvety tannin, but also marked acidity on the finish. In my opinion, it started coming down from its plateau a few years ago, but is still vital and very enjoyable.

We ended the meal with a 2007 Burmester Late Bottled Vintage Port. This had an unbelievably intense color, an equally youthful and intense nose, and the taste of a fine young vintage rather than a 9 year-old LBV. This was a fairly spirity and vigorous Port. Does one age LB? I’d be tempted to do so if I had another bottle of this…

2000 Château Haut-Bages Libéral

There’s a saying going back many years that “Lynch Bages is the poor man’s Mouton”, although the former’s rise in quality – and price – make this a little less true nowadays…
Some witty person later added: “… and Haut Bages Libéral is the poor man’s Lynch Bages”!

Half of Haut Bages Libéral borders on Château Latour and the other half is just behind Château Pichon Baron. From the 1960s until the early 80s, this thirty-hectare 5^th growth Pauillac was owned by the Cruse family, and then acquired by the Villars family. Claire Villars Lurton is now at the helm.

We all know about the year 2000 and the speculative fever it induced. I have always liked the wines, but do not agree with people who think the great growths need “decades to age”. On the contrary, my experience has showed that sixteen years down the line many of them are well within their drinking window. So, wondering what wine to serve with a leg of New Zealand lamb I decided to open a bottle of Haut Bages Libéral, which has the reputation of being a reliable if unexciting wine.

Well, I must say I was underwhelmed. The color looked older than its years. The nose was really very muted, but if you looked hard you could discern cherry, briar, humus, graphite, and cigar box aromas. The wine had a thin oily mouth feel and a wimpish aftertaste. I’m all for subtlety, but not to the point where this is the shadow of what a great growth Pauillac in a good year should be. This 2000 Haut Bages Libéral would unquestionably have been better years ago to all but the most hard-bitten adepts of old tertiary Bordeaux. And I’m willing to bet even they would be disappointed with this wine.

I’ve tasted more recent vintages of Haut Bages Libéral and think the estate is on the upswing. However, as a consumer, I will make sure to drink mine on the young side from now on.

Three 99s: Pichon Baron, Pichon Comtesse, and Mouton Rothschild

1999 has a rather low profile. It is certainly not considered a great vintage, but neither do people think of it as a poor one. The “received wisdom” seems to be that it is early maturing and on the light side.

I recently invited some American friends studying wine industry management at Bordeaux Sciences Agro to lunch for a double blind tasting.

My notes are cursory seeing as I was hosting a meal, but I still though they were worth sharing.

We started off with two Champagnes. The Bérêche Brut Réserve was wood-aged, which is not very common these days. The nose was pleasant enough, but the taste was rather one-dimensional and the oak added more hardness on the aftertaste than anything else. The 99 Laurent Perrier, on the other hand, was a beautiful wine, pretty much in its drinking window although it will age for many more years. The nose was biscuity, creamy, complex, and a real treat. The wine was also yummy on the palate with a long fine aftertaste. This was one of the most enjoyable Champagnes I’ve had in a long time.

We enjoyed a bottle of 2001 Ch. La Tour Blanche with foie gras and toast. I have a soft spot for this vintage of La Tour Blanche because I spent a day picking grapes there in 2001 with my wife and son. The wine had a lovely deep golden colour with bronze highlights. The nose was utterly classic with vanilla overtones to complement the rich botrytized fruit aromas. The wine was neither too heavy nor too sweet on the palate and it had a smooth, long aftertaste with some zippy acidity and a lovely touch of bitterness that kept it from being cloying. The consensus was that this 2001 was nearing the middle of its drinking window, but that it has a very long way to go.

Next up were the three 99s, all great growths from Pauillac.

The wine we liked most was Mouton Rotshchild, even though there was some greenness on the nose and we would have liked more flesh on the bones. I had enjoyed this same wine during Vinexpo 2015. That bottle was further along, even tired. This one was more vital, but still not a benchmark Mouton. It is fine to drink now and won’t gain much form further ageing.

99 Pichon Comtesse was, as expected, the smoothest and roundest of the three, but the nose had a carmel quality that I didn’t like very much. My honest impression is that the wine was starting to fall apart and that it was somewhat disjointed. This statement must be put in perspective, however, because the wine wasn’t actually poor – just a shadow of what a great vintage would be like.

99 Pichon Baron might have trumped Mouton except for some TCA on the nose. This wasn’t marked enough to leave off tasting the wine, but it certainly detracted from the overall impression. That’s a pity because the wine was much, much better on the palate than the Mouton, with a good tannic texture and structure missing from the other two wines. I’m inclined to think that a bottle without cork taint would have been the best of the lot.

The 1855 classification: still not set in stone!

The Juridiction de Saint Emilion was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999, and this was followed by the Climats de Bourgogne as well as the Coteaux, Maisons et Caves de Champagne in 2015.

In 2013, Philippe Castéja, president of the association bringing together most of the great growths, announced during the inauguration of the new cellar at Mouton Rothschild that he, too, would seek inclusion of the 1855 classification as one of the world’s great “intangible cultural heritages”. He commissioned a feasibility study and received support from French foreign minister Laurent Fabius.

However, it has just been announced that this project has been abandoned. As unbelievable as this may seem, certain château owners still nourish the hope of upgrading their status and did not want to see the classification set in stone…

The classification has only been changed once in its history, when Mouton Rothschild was promoted from second to first growth. Other French wine classifications, such as Burgundy’s grands crus and Saint-Emilion allow for promotions and, in the latter case, demotions.

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.

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.

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.

Dinner

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.

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%.

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

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

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.

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%.

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

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

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.