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2015 EN PRIMEUR TASTING NOTES: MARGAUX

A few remarks:

It is impossible to taste everything, but I did evaluate a great many wines over an intense 4-day period. Seeing as I am reserved about numerical rating, especially for wines at the beginning of barrel ageing, there are no scores.
Also, I have not mentioned color because most young Bordeaux of this caliber has a lovely deep color – not to mention the fact that it is deucedly difficult to describe colors with words!

I have included the proportions of grape varieties in the final blend because this can vary considerably from year to year.

N = nose
P = palate

MARGAUX

Brane Cantenac
70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Carménère
N: soft, very pure sublimated cherry – and cherry vanilla ice cream! – aromas.
P: lovely balance between fruit, sexy texture, and acidity. Good sappy fruit. Clearly a boring wine no longer.

Cantenac Brown
61% Cabernet Sauvignon and 39% Merlot
N: bit old-fashioned, but floral and attractive
P: both soft and chewy with a satisfying zing on the aftertaste. Very good third growth. The future looks bright for this estate.

Dauzac
72% Cabernet Sauvignon and 28% Merlot
N: indeterminate and mostly absent
P: heavy, ponderous mouthfeel. Big, but lacks delineation and subtlety. Converging berry fruit, but a little clunky and dry.

Desmirail
60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, and and 5% Petit Verdot
N: sweet typical Margaux aromas as well as some coffee nuances and a little tankiness that will undoubtedly disappear over time.
P: heavy mouth feel. Classic. Good tannic grip, but never overriding the Margaux magic. Great acidity. Good ageing potential. A wine to follow.

Ferrière
69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot
N: subtle dark berry fruit with some caramel nuances
P: plush, sensual, and melts in the mouth. Develops well into a characterful aftertaste. Considerable finesse.

Giscours
70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot
N: lacks personality at this stage
P: much better on the palate with a good, generous mouthfeel. Sturdy, but not very smooth and fizzles into a hard, dry (oak) finish. Needs to be tasted again after bottling.

Kirwan
50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot
N: attractive and cherry and chocolate nuances, as well as marked floral overtones. Seductive.
P: the liveliness and aromatics continue onto the palate, which has a silky texture. Very good this year.

Lascombes
50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Merlot, and 3% Petit Verdot
N: some vinification odors, but deep berry fruit in the background
P: lovely velvety texture with a lipsmacking finish. Soft, well-made, typical of its appellation. Very good.

Malescot Saint-Exupéry
70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot
N: not very expressive, but some underlying spirity fruit and a perfumed quality
P: nice, rich mouth feel with a great balance thanks to fresh acidity. Good, lingering black fruit and tarry aftertaste with textured tannin. Very successful.

Margaux
87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot
N: fragrant, sophisticated, and extremely pure, with the subtle perfume of spring flowers. Long caressing aftertaste. Fresh with velvety tannin. Superb example of soft power.

Marquis de Terme
60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot
N: some cherry, good fruit, good potential
P: develops nicely on the palate, starting out round and ending with a soft, pure, mineral finish. Very well made. Marquis de Terme is on the up-and-up.

Monbrison
57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Petit Verdot
N: soft, beguiling, subtle, and elegant with talcum powder aromas
P: medium-light with a pure mineral aftertaste. A feminine wine that would shine with refined food.

Prieuré Lichine
66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 4% Petit Verdot
N: fine and deep with floral and plummy aromas
G: heavy, almost syrupy (!) mouthfeel. Thick and with cosmetic nuances. Oak overwhelms at this point. Dry finish. Care should be taken with moderating oak influence if time alone does not, as I fear, do the trick.

Rauzan Gassies
84% Cabernet Sauvignon and 16% Merlot
N: fruit… as well as soy sauce aromas.
P: better on the palate. Some greenness there, but there’s a fine texture. Old school and an improvement over past vintages.

Du Tertre
70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Petit Verdot
N: straightforward, slightly spirit
P: sweet and showing bright fruit. Maybe a little weak on the middle palate, but still very nice with good grip. Surprisingly, a little hotness going only with the impression on the nose.

2015 EN PRIMEUR TASTING NOTES: HAUT-MÉDOC, MOULIS, AND LISTRAC

A few remarks:

I have included the proportions of grape varieties in the final blend because this can vary considerably from year to year.

N = nose
P = palate

HAUT-MÉDOC

Beaumont
50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Merlot, and 3% Petit Verdot
N: slick and relatively simple with good fruit.
P: an impression of sweetness. A successful commercial style with a fine finish. A winner, and a wine for claret lovers who are after value for money.

Belgrave
74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, and 3% Petit Verdot
N: inky, cosmetic, and floral. Delicate and slightly smoky.
P: good mouth feel and develops well on the palate. Chewy. A wine of substance. Only reproach is that it is a little short.

Cantemerle
59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and 6% Petit Verdot
N: open, generous, sweet, and enticing with a biscuity element.
P: heavy mouthfeel, which is surprising for Cantemerle. Round, rich, and with medium body. Merlot seems to come through more than its proportion in the final blend would suggest, especially on the long aftertaste. One of the best wines.

Citran
59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and 6% Petit Verdot
N: soft and a little plummy with unexpected citrus peel aromas!
P: A bit odd, with cough lozenge flavors. Shows marked acidity that bodes well for ageing. There’s a little greenness on the long gummy blackberry aftertaste with a textured, velvety, and slightly hard finish. Not a tremendously classy wine, but a good one. Worth looking into if the price is right.

Coufran
85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon
N: not very attractive at this stage, with some mint (reminder: the bouquet at this point is not paramount).
P: a middle-of-the-road wine starting out soft and then showing considerable acidity. Very supple and best enjoyed within the next five years.

La Lagune
60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot
N: not terribly expressive, but there is some good fruit accompanied by sweet oaky and blackcurrant notes.
P: wonderful plush mouthfeel, and there’s a good tannic backbone to support everything from beginning to end. Only drawback: the aftertaste is not very long.

La Tour Carnet
60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Petit Verdot
N: almost New Word exuberance of black fruit jelly with a cosmetic aspect
P: sweet and big. In fact, a little too big and assertive, but with a nice aftertaste. A successful modern style, but care should be taken with the role of oak in the rest of the ageing process.

LISTRAC

Clarke
70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon
N: ripe with candied fruit nuances. Some grassy notes and a little sulfur.
P: juicy and round at first, then rather acidic with plenty of oak (70% new barrels) on the aftertaste. A commercial style and certainly acceptable, but not showing very well. Needs to be retasted later.

Fonréaud
45% Merlot, 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Petit Verdot
N: sweet to the point of being confected with hints of violet and some reduction.
P: silky soft. Very Médoc with fine-grained tannin. Well-balanced within a fairly narrow register. Strong new oak on the finish.

Fourcas Hosten
54% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 1% Cabernet Franc
N: fresh berry fruit and molasses with a little reduction
P: round, upfront, very juicy. Dry tannic finish. On the whole, a crowd-pleasing wine the will be enjoyable young. Not typical of its appellation.

MOULIS

Chasse Spleen
% Cabernet Sauvignon, % Merlot, % Cabernet Franc, and % Petit Verdot
N: deep, but suave, promising nose
P: medium-heavy mouthfeel. Marked acidity. Very fruity and slightly dilute. Long aftertaste. Made to last. Stands out from others at this tasting.

Poujeaux
50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, and 6% Petit Verdot
N: rich, chocolaty, floral, and smoky – fascinating.
P: rich as well on the palate, with a heavy mouth feel. Long. Delicious. Fine effort. Unquestionably of great growth stature. Derencourt and Thienpont are consultants.

Next installment: Saint Julien

2000 Malartic Lagravière, 96 Haut-Bailly, 81 Martha’s Vineyard & 58 Ausone

A friend came down to visit from Paris, so this was a great opportunity to invite some other friends over to enjoy a wine dinner.

The aperitif was Mumm rosé. I was surprised by this wine for three reasons. First of all, by the dryness. Many mainstream bruts have perceptible residual sugar. But not here. Second, as opposed to many rosé Champagnes, you could actually taste the tannin on the finish, and this was very attractive. This was a rosé with attitude. Third, the quality was much better than one might expect from a huge producer. So, this was an altogether pleasurable experience.

The first red wine of the evening was 2000 Malartic-Lagravière. To the amazement of my Bordeaux-loving friends, I have found many of the 2000s open for business. However, I must admit that this Malartic was still a little too young. It was also delicious and the wine of the evening.
It had a lovely dark core and the rim is just starting to show some brown.
The nose was wonderful, with hints of lead, leather, truffle, humus, and matchstick. There were also subtle coffee and blueberry aromas. The bouquet was really very elegant, complex, and seductive.
The wine was only slightly less good on the palate, with a texture that was unctuous, but not thick. In fact, it reminded me so much of a good Pomerol that I checked Malartic’s Merlot content in the Féret: 45%. The château’s round, sensual side was there in spades along with a welcome touch of tartness. The tannin on the aftertaste was reminiscent of tea, and showed that 2000 Malartic-Lagravière will have more to offer in the coming years. I might add that Malartic represents tremendous value for money. A class act that won’t break the bank… The Bonnie family have another Pessac-Léognan, Ch Gazin-Rocquencourt, that is also well worth investigating.

Next up was 1996 Haut-Bailly. Curiously, this seemed younger than the previous wine. The color was beautiful and vibrant, and there were still bright purple highlights. On color alone, I would never have taken this wine to be 20 years old.
The nose was very deep, with brambly, lilac and, once again (like Malartic) truffle nuances. There was a dark, brooding side to the bouquet, as well as ethereal, powdery notes.
96 Haut-Bailly was less giving on the palate than the Malartic. It had high-quality textured tannin, but also a tight side that time will certainly soften to some extent, but never completely. There were attractive cherry and briary aromatics, but the wine is just too restrained.

The next two wines were served blind.

The 1981 Martha’s Vineyard had just come from Paris that day, so it was a little cloudy. The color was light with purple highlights. The nose showed plummy, blackcurrant, and biscuity aromas. The wine had lovely balance on the palate and sweet candied fruit flavors. There was nevertheless a certain hotness on the aftertaste. People were a little destabilized as to the wine’s origin and several guessed Châteauneuf-du-Pape. That does not surprise me because I have often thought that many California Cabernets resemble good Rhone Valley wines more than they do Bordeaux.
This thirty-five year old wine proves, to any who doubted, that California can indeed produce fine wines with good ageing potential. This 1981 certainly seemed much younger than its years. Martha’s Vineyard is an iconic Napa Valley Cabernet produced since 1966. It corresponds to the American version of a grand cru and this wine confirms that reputation. Bordered by eucalyptus trees, the vineyard is sometimes said to reflect their odor, although none of us were able to perceive this.
If we can get beyond the dilemma of comparing apples and oranges, Martha’s Vineyard this evening was in the same league as the two Pessac-Léognan great growths.

The last wine was 1958 Château Ausone (no photo, the bottle had no label, but the capsule and cork were authentic). What can I say – other than to thank my friend for bringing such a rare wine (as well as the Heitz). This 58-year-old Ausone was like a dream, a shadow of its former self, as reflected in the dark, but obviously extremely old color. There were vaporous aromas of charred wood, burnt rubber, and rose petals on the nose. The wine showed searing acidity on the palate, as well as subtle tertiary (you might even say quaternary!) notes. 1958 has an execrable reputation, and this wine would have been better some time ago, but it was still wonderful to drink a bit of history, and a fine end to the evening.

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.

A tasting of 17 wines from Saint Estèphe

Bruno Prats of Château Cos d’Estournel once told me that the Médoc should not be divided into communal appellations, but rather a string of gravelly rises running parallel to the Gironde, i.e. vertically rather than horizontally. The word he used, chapelet, also means rosary beads!
In fact, I have heard this explanation several times since from dyed-in-the-wool Médocains. It goes on the premise that a thick gravelly rise in Margaux and another in Pauillac have far more in common than such a terroir and a more pedestrian one in the same appellation…
Be that as it may, wine from each Médoc commune pretty much has its own reputation. Margaux is said to be “feminine”, Saint-Julien “fleshy”, etc. Adjectives often used to describe Saint Estèphe are “strong” and “virile”.
It has been a long time since I did an in-depth tasting of wines just from Saint-Estèphe, so I was delighted with the opportunity to go to one organized by Terre de Vins magazine. This was held on the 4th of February 2016.

Before I recount this experience, here is a look at total area under vine in each of the Médoc communal appellations:
Pauillac – 1,239 hectares
Saint-Estèphe – 1,212 hectares
Margaux – 1,500 hectares
Saint-Julien – 910 hectares
Moulis – 600 hectares
Listrac – 540 hectares
Saint-Estèphe has 43 independent winegrowers, 5 great growths (24% of total area under vine) and a cooperative, Le Marquis de Saint-Estèphe, with 17 members.
Here is a brief look at the 17 wines I tasted. I debated whether or not to post scores, but decided not to, largely because I am a tough grader and this may have given a misleading impression…
Every château served two vintages: the 2013 and one other of their choice. I decided to bypass the 2013s, not out of snobbery, but because with 40 estates present, I couldn’t taste everything.
Please also note that the color of young Bordeaux does not vary tremendously, so I have rarely mentioned it in my tasting notes.

: M. & Mme Cuvelier Ch. le Crock

: Bernard Audoy Ch. Cos Labory

The first wine I sampled upon arriving was at 2011 Ch. Le Crock (32 hectaresà. This was poured by Didier Cuvelier, who is also owner of Léoville Poyferré.
The wine had a well-focused, soft and fairly understated bouquet of brambly berry fruit. The wine seemed quite fluid on the palate with unaggressive tannin. Not a powerful wine and the aftertaste is shortish, but pleasing and with decent grip on the aftertaste. Will be enjoyable soon.
Next up was Château Cos Labory (18 hectares), where I tasted the 2010. I stopped to chat with M. Bernard Audoy, who also happens to be the president of the Saint Estèphe winegrowers association. Because of the number of people crowding around the tasting table, I did not have much time to talk to him, but was able to slip in one question: “What are the trends in your appellation, what has changed most over the past several years?” He thought a moment and replied, “The percentage of Merlot is now much greater than it used to be”. The 2010 Cos Labory I sampled had a very closed, almost mute nose, but there were some cranberry notes lurking there and little evidence of oak. The wine started out quite round and forthcoming and then shifted gears to show the estate’s hallmark tight and somewhat astringent tannin. Not the kind that will soften with age, in my opinion. It is remarkable how different this wine is from its neighbor, Cos d’Estournel.

: Jean-Marc Martin Ch. Martin

: Yves Delsol Ch. Tronquoy-Lalande

I had never come across Château Martin, so I was interested to meet the owner, M. Jean-Marc Martin, and taste his 2010. He has 28 hectares in Saint Estèphe and 24 at in the next town over, Vertheuil (Cuvée La Marsaudrie). The nose showed a surprising amount of toasty oak and a touch of caramel. The wine was round, chewy, and very fresh on the palate. This freshness continues onto the aftertaste. Although very enjoyable now, the wine will also age. This was a nice discovery for me, the sort that makes tastings such as this worthwhile.

Tronquoy-Lalande is a 30 hectare estate that is the younger brother of Château Montrose (by the way, this was the only great growth I was not able to taste – they had run out of wine!). Their 2007 was on show. The nose was deep, but not wide – a fine bouquet in a minor key. Forest floor nuances accompanied the fruit and there was a very feminine side. I might have detected a hint of volatile acidity though. The wine was big on the palate, but somewhat hollow and short. It picked up, however, on the aftertaste. This is the kind of wine that would be a treat with food, but suffers when appraised on its own.

: Martial Mignet Ch. l’Argilus du Roi

: Benoït Thomas Ch. Meyney

I had never tried Château L’Argilus du Roy (5 hectares) before so was intrigued by their 2012, which I quite enjoyed. It had a lovely berry nose: upfront, smooth, and sweet. The wine had good volume, even if there was a certain hollowness on the middle palate. There was a fine tannic follow-through and an attractive tangy finish. This was certainly one of the discoveries of the tasting for me. I’d like to see what this estate do in a better vintage and follow its progress, because the present owner, M. Martial Mignet, has not been in the driver’s seat for very long. He told me that Guy Savoy orders his wine, which is a pretty good recommendation.
Château Meyney (50 hectares) has long been a favorite of mine. Curiously, I’ve never visited and that is something I must remedy J. The 2012 did nothing to change my opinion about this dependably delicious wine. The nose was very classic Médoc: clean and bright with plenty of blackcurrant and a slightly spirit side. The wine was round and meaty on the palate with a lovely deep black cherry flavour and a great aftertaste showing good grip. A textbook Saint Estèphe and a very good wine that does not need to blush when compared with certain grands crus. The fact that the estate is owned by one of France’s biggest banks, the Crédit Agricole, doesn’t detract at all, as far as I’m concerned. They do good work.

: Frank Maroszak Ch. Lavillotte

: Marie Dumazeaud Ch. Lilian Ladouys

I have dim memories of having tried Château Lavillotte (12 hectares) before, but definitely wanted to become reacquainted. Unfortunately, this was not one of the better wines that evening. The 2010 featured a nose that was overoaked and reminded me of smell of a cellar with all new barrels. The wine was light and, once again overpowered by the oak on the palate. It seemed inconsistent with its appellation and the great vintage it came from. I must give it another chance sometime.
Lilian Ladouys (45 hectares) is part of the Jacky Lorenzetti empire. This Franco-Swiss also owns fifth growth Château Pédesclaux in Pauillac and half of Ch. d’Issan in Margaux.

The 2012 Lilian Ladouys had a penetrating bouquet with a nice balance between fruit and oak. The wine was juicy and lively on the palate with a tangy finish. This is a modern Bordeaux in a crowd-pleasing and relatively early-maturing style. The aftertaste was more authoritative than expected, if a little bitter. As for ageing potential, I’d give this the benefit of the doubt.

: Jean-François Delon Ch. Ségur de Cabanac

2012 Château Ségur de Cabanac (7 hectares) was light in color with a pure, simple, understated bouquet. It was big and round, but somewhat dilute on the palate. The wine fell down in the middle and the tannin on the finish was rather unyielding. A sound wine, but not one of the best.

It is fairly rare for Médoc châteaux to produce a cuvee prestige, but La Haye (16 hectares) has one called Majesté, which I tasted from the 2012 vintage. This was a classic example of what happens when one tries too hard – the nose was patently overoaked. Of course, I don’t rule out the possibility that the fruit will emerge and possibly take the upper hand over time, but color me dubious. 2012 Majesté was big and reminiscent of a New World wine with strong tannin and a dry finish (oak). I prefer the regular bottling of Château La Haye.

: Basile Tesseron Ch. Lafon Rochet

The next table was Château Lafon Rochet (45 hectares), manned by Basile Tesseron. 2009 Lafon Rochet turned out to be one of the high points of the tasting. The nose displayed fine, well-integrated oak and a soft, enticing, complex nose of sweet fruit (raspberry). Just wonderful. The wine turned out to be unexpectedly soft on the palate and segued into a tremendously long aftertaste with an ethereal berry finish and superb tannin. Give it another 10 years. Unquestionably one of the top wines in its appellation – and the classified growths of the Médoc.

Another cru classé was next on the list: third growth Calon Ségur (50 hectares). A lot of changes are happening here. The estate was sold by the Capbern-Gasqueton family to Suravenir Assurances in 2012 and a new cellar is being built. However, the most important change is the wine itself, where a new, more supple and early-maturing style is being sought. The vintage I tasted, the 2008, is from before this change. The nose was toasty and brooding with a chocolatey side. Very promising. The wine was quite big, chewy, and assertive on the palate: my notes, written in the heat of the moment, say “an elegant steamroller”, whatever such expressions mean! The aftertaste was tight and seemingly uncompromising. Further ageing will nevertheless smooth this out considerably. On the whole, though, there was not quite enough richness to back up the tannic structure and the wine could be better balanced – a good, but not a great vintage for Calon Ségur.

: Marine Taransaud Ch. Cos d’Estournel

: Bernadette Brousseau Ch. Haut Coteau

Calon Ségur was followed by second growth Cos d’Estournel (91 hectares), a big hitter by anyone’s standards, and one of the great Médocs. The nose of the 2012 was quite classic and pure with exquisite hints of blackcurrant as well as cedar and graphite reminding us that Pauillac is just a stone’s throw away. The bouquet was both intense and subtle. The wine was very classy on the palate, with great acidity and balance. There was a pleasant dryness on the finish. The oak needs time to meld and this is on the light side for Cos, but it is nevertheless quite a successful wine from a middling vintage.

I was totally unfamiliar with Château Haut-Coteau (14 hectares), so I was eager to try the 2010 vintage. Redolent of wild berries, the nose was simple and pleasant but lacked a little oomph and definition. It was fairly enticing even so. The wine showed better on the palate, with juicy morello cherry flavours, although it dipped in the middle. The flavour picked up again on the aftertaste with plenty of (slightly rough) tannin. This wine will be ready to drink soon, but will never be altogether balanced.

: Adrien Lagneaux Ch. Petit Bocq

: Aurélie Marcou Ch. de Saint-Estèphe

2011 Château Petit Bocq (19 hectares) had an upfront, aromatic nose of ripe blackcurrant, vanilla, and mint that was reminiscent of New World Cabernets. However,there was too much oak, or this was overly toasted, or both… The wine seemed a little overdone on the palate, but it did have a tangy finish. Pity that the balance was off due to the type of barrel ageing, because this is an interesting wine. It just needs less oak.
The Château de Saint-Estèphe (12 hectares) is owned by the Arnaud family, who also own Château Pomys, also in Saint Estèphe. I tasted the 2011 which had a confected nose with spring flower, wild berry, and caramel nuances. It was also toasty and unfortunately already a little tired. The wine was simple, fruity, and ready to go on the palate, with a thirst quenching quality and an unexpected dry mineral aftertaste. Best enjoyed sooner rather than later.

: Pierre Braquessac Ch. Beau-Site Haut-Vignoble

The final wine (after 15 or 20, I’m just no good) was 2009 Beausite Haut Vignoble. The bouquet was on the indeterminate side, with forest floor overtones and a touch of greenness. Fortunately, the wine was much better on the palate with deep, rich, candied cherry flavours – one of those instances where there is a decided sensation of sweetness despite the absence of sugar. The aftertaste was on the dry side, but this was nevertheless a good wine that would be even better with food.

Can any sort of conclusion be drawn from the tasting? Broadly speaking, I would say that the wines were on the hearty, solid side. The crus classés confirmed their position as clearly superior. I haven’t mentioned price at all, but several of the crus bourgeois were very good indeed and the price puts them among the best values to be found in the world of wine today.

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.

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.