Here is a question that I am asked daily. What is the best bang for the buck wine in Bodega Bar? This open ended question tends to need follow up questions. For example, what price point and do you have a varietal preference are the top 2 questions I need answered to help a guest with this question.
If I tell the guest Ch Lynch Bages Pauillac 2000 at $150 / Bottle, I am most likely to get a blank stare. Would my answer be wrong? Technically probably not, Lynch Bages has a cult following and is one of the most coveted 5th growth Bordeaux's in the market today. It sells for $1,000 less a bottle in some vintages compared to it's rival Estate's (Chateau Lafite-Rothschild Pauillac 2000 currently trading at well above $2,000 / Bottle or Chateau Latour Pauillac 2000 currently trading at above $1,800 / Bottle.) What about wine critics like Robert Parkers reviews - Lynch Bages (97), Lafite-Rothschild (98+) & Latour (98)! Yes maybe Bordeaux is the extreme on perception of value. The industry credits the Asian market with Skyrocketing prices on the top end of Bordeaux and Burgundy.
Let's Say that most of us in the fine wine world are really looking for the Home Runs that cost us under $20 a bottle on the retail shelf or under $40 in our favorite wine bar (like Bodega.). Most of us are looking for fuller flavored and bodied wines as well. Obviously, Lynch Bages is a "no-go" in this scenario. I might ask if the guest prefer new world or old world styles of wines. New World typically more fruit forward and Old World is typically a touch more earthy with a more mineral edge and brighter acidity.
More times than not in Bodega most people enjoy the more Fruit Forward styles of wine. Usually all I have to do is mention Malbec and the response is generally "I love Malbec!" Argentina continues to deliver some very high quality wines at still the lower end of the price scale on fine wine. If you look at some of the reviews of these wines they score just as high if not higher than wines double the price from other wine regions. Don't forget about some wonderful wines coming out of Washington State as well. They may push into the mid $20's but there are some real gems and values in the market. If you are a die hard California fan, than look into some of the wonderful wines coming out of Paso Robles especially in the Rhone Ranger style.
Speaking of the Rhone Rangers, some of the guest tend to lean towards Old World style of wines. This is where I think you can truly get good value drinking wines with or without food. The "Great" bottles of wine are still priced out of this price category but one can easily find some wonderful interesting wines from Europe for less than a bottle of Caymus Conundrum. Cote-du-Rhone, Rosso di Montepulciano, Ribera del Duero (one of my favorites) & pretty much any wine region in Spain minus Priorat are easily accessible at under $20-$25 retail. These wines are often times released by wineries expecting that you drink them while waiting for the more tannic and expensive wines to cellar longer.
So What does Value Price Ratio mean? To me, I enjoy and savor every sip of wine. When I am choosing a bottle to share with my wife, I choose enjoyment over price. Sometimes price plays into how much you can enjoy something. If you are constantly thinking about how much you paid, you paid too much. In my opinion, the phrase "it isn't bad for $10's" baffles me. I would never take my family to a restaurant because it isn't bad for a certain price. If I wouldn't eat it or be happy with it for any price, than I choose not to subject myself to it. One should never choose anything solely based on price, choose based off of enjoyment. After all consumed in moderation, wine can truly be a perfect compliment to your life.
Here are some wines that have really won me over on quality with a low price point this week (May 1, 2012):
(Bodega Bar = Price to purchase and drink it in our wine bar)
(Retail = Price to purchase to take off-site un-opened)
White
Muga Blanco 2010 - ($20 Bodega Bar, $16 Retail)
Naia Rueda Verdejo 2010 - ($25 Bodega Bar, $17 Retail)
Inama Foscarino Soave Classico 2009 - ($30 Bodega Bar, $25 Retail)
Reds
Poliziano Rosso di Montepulciano 2009 - ($20 Bodega Bar, $16 Retail)
Cellar Pinol Ludovicus 2010 - ($20 Bodega Bar, $12 Retail)
Vina Cobos "Felino" Malbec 2010 - ($30 Bodega Bar, $20 Retail)
Remember life is too short to not enjoy the wine in your glass!
Amier
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Friday, May 20, 2011
Bordeaux 2010 - Great Vintage or the beginning of the end
Bordeaux 2010 - Vintage Report and Top 25 (What I tasted)
My experience in Bordeaux is still in many ways in its infancy stage. This past April was my fifth visit to this historical wine region. My first visit was the en primeur tasting of 2002 union des Grand Crus (March 2003.) Besides the recent 2007 vintage (which I preferred), the 2002 vintage was rated the lowest score by Wine Spectator over the past decade.
I do know that experience and familiarity counts when it comes to Bordeaux. So when I travel to this region, I really make an effort to try objectively as many wines and vintages from as many producers as possible. I have found that what draws my heart to these wines is the balance they can posses. Could they be powerful? Definitely. Could they be elegant? Preferably. Could they be earthy? Sometimes. Tannic? Maybe. Balanced? Well, they used to be.
With my experience studying, drinking & evaluating Bordeaux starting primarily with the 1995 vintage (16 years,) I have dramatically seen a shift in wine making style. Specifically, the wines are plumper with higher sugars, longer macerations, darker colors, lower acidity levels, sweeter tannins and higher alcohols. Some of these lead to the other, yet none of these things are what I think of when I am looking for balance in a wine. So the question becomes why have wines gone away from traditional wine making to these sugar laced, high alcohol fruit bombs? Some say: Global Warming? Better Wine Technology? Better Viticulture? Better Yeast? Parker or other influential Wine Critics? The Market?
I find it interesting the changes in landscape of the wine market today versus 16 years ago. Today, investment firms own many of the top wine estates around the world. I think as a result less and less wine is made out of passion and more out of profits. Implementing strategies the yield the greatest returns on investment and reaching higher profit margins. Caves have been dug all through Napa & Sonoma, financed through bank loans and corporate investments. Wines have to be sold at higher and higher price points to bring about a return on the substantial cost of production. The after market for wine trading has become a huge facet in the wine world. Often selling for 2 to 3x face value wines are now purchased as stock with no intention of enjoying the fruit, but enjoying the profit from it. Marketing of products has also become a large part of a wineries business plan. Where it used to be about pretty labels and trade tastings, it has become about wine ratings that move products and price points. Who better to market through than the media that publishes articles about the product? If the public responds to arbitrary numbers, than who’s to blame for the change in wine culture? I think our search for right and wrong answers to wine are mostly to blame. Most of us want to validate or be told by someone which is right and which is wrong. We want expertise to lead us so we do not make the wrong decision. What if the experts don’t have our best interest at heart or the integrity of the trade in mind? I think it is upon us to decide what we like and don’t like by just listening to our opinions on the matter.
So why would Bordeaux follow down that same path? A region that has classified itself for quality differentiation since 1855, a region that has produced the most significant wines for centuries, so why does this region need to adapt its philosophies to meet this new culture? Could it be wine is just being made at a higher level than in the past and we demand it be made that way? Could it be that even Bordeaux must conform to the standards beset by our preferred wine critics? Could it be a significant escalation in the image of wineries and the glamour of the wine business that possesses the power to evolve history in years what took centuries to establish? If you told the Baron James de Rothschild (Purchased Lafite in 1868) that in 2010 his wines would be released at over $1,200 a bottle on a future program or over $24,000 a case (the value of some cars), he would say that was crazy. If you also told him the value of farmland in Bordeaux was $120,000 to $2 Million Euro per Hectare, he would undoubtedly have dropped to the floor. Napa has experienced the same phenomenon; in 1990 it cost $40,000 / acre roughly for vineyards in the heart of Napa Valley. In 2010, that number was closer to $180,000 / Acre. At 720 bottles per ton and fine wine is typically harvested at 1 – 4 tons per acre, it converts to approximately $64 a bottle on vineyards that are 100% planted to a harvest level of 4 tons per acre. Add in oak, equipment, labor and overhead, it is easy to see why it is difficult to make a profit on wine in this day and age. A move to start virtual wineries has over taken California winemaking. Why not when you can pay $5,000 a ton for Napa Cabernet Sauvignon fruit at less than $7 a bottle and not have to deal with harvest.
You can deduce that wine might no longer be made with the passion just to make wine. It might be made to elevate a company or personal image. It might be made with ego. Maybe it is made just to win awards and points like alluded to in this Decanter article of 2 prestigious Bordeaux producers:
“ In both the 2010 and 2009 vintages it was common to see Merlots surpass 15% alcohol, a situation Didier Cuvelier, owner of Chateau Leoville Poyferre in St Julien , finds ‘disturbing’.
In the Medoc, one of the reasons for planting Merlot had been because it ripened better than Cabernet Sauvignon, Cuvelier said.
‘But more recently, the Merlot has got so high in alcohol that we run the risk of losing the Bordeaux style,’
While all varieties have seen higher alcohol levels, Merlot’s susceptibility to ripen quickly and attain the highest alcohol levels makes it more of a challenge, consultant Denis Dubourdieu said.
A string of very good vintages since 2000 have meant there ‘has been no need to chaptalise, so sugars are naturally there and that is a good thing.’
But he noted the tendency for properties on the Right Bank to strive for greater concentration of sugars in the grapes by techniques such as leaf removal, which results in small and concentrated grapes.
Later picking – sometimes even after the Sauternes harvest in October – was becoming more common, Dubourdieu, who also owns the Barsac estate Chateau Doisy Daene, said.
‘There is a race towards concentration, to please many critics,’ he said. ‘I have been a consultant for 30 years; I have spent the first 20 years telling people not to harvest too early; in the last 10 years I have told them not to harvest too late.’”
Whatever the reason these wines have started a decent down a path to ambiguity I fear. Just as Australia, a wine country rich with great fruit and tons of potential found. If you paint that brush to just one style based of the popular trend, then you have to hope that trend stays for a long time. For Australia, people have graduated from the super fruit bomb. For California Merlot, people moved away from the sometimes over planted and boring varietal that was planted everywhere in the mid to early 90’s (especially after Sideways.) If Bordeaux fails to correct the steering of the path they are on, it might be concivible that you would have difficulty classifying it as old world wine. Bring back typicity of Bordeaux, let California and Australia have the fruit bombs and bring me back my terrior laced, regional placed & a smile to my face for my lovely classic Bordeaux.
That being said, my overall impressions of the 2010 Bordeaux wines is that it was good to very good vintage. There were some wines that I thought were better than there 2009 counterpart, but as a whole the 2009’s were the better of the two vintages. Here is a list of my top 25 of what I tasted in Bordeaux this past April and where I rated them on a 100 point scale:
1) Chateau Margaux 2010 – This wine shows that sticking to your guns no matter what the trends can pay off huge. This may have been my favorite wine of the past 2 en primeur tastings. A perfect sense of place, elegance and persistance. 98 Points
2) Chateau Cos D’Estournel ST Estephe 2010 – It seemed to be even more powerful than the 2009. This may not be the style I look for in Bordeaux, but when someone hits a homerun you must acknowledge it. This is on par with 1st growth Bordeaux. 95 Points
3) Chateau Mouton-Rothschild Pauillac 2010 – Outstanding and made with a heavy dullop of Cabernet Sauvignon. It shows heady tannins right now, but still manages to show a graceful side as well. Great balance for a modern style. 95 Points
4) Chateau Leoville-Poyferre St Julien 2010 – What an effort for a wine often not associated with a Super Second (A second growth that should be elevated.) 95 Points
5) Chateau Suduiraut Sauternes 2010 – One of the hardest wines to rate, but when you get to the top wines from Sauternes from a vintage, there is no question. 94 Points
6) Chateau Malescot-st-Exupery Margaux 2010 – This wine makes a case for the talk of a Super Third category of Bordeaux. 94 Points
7) Chateau Guiraud Sauternes 2010 – 93 Points
8) Chateau Guaraud-Larose St Julien 2010 – 92 Points
9) Chateau Pape Clement Rouge Pessac-Leognan 2010 – 92 Points
10) Chateau Rauzan-Segla Margaux 2010 – 92 Points
11) Domaine de Chavalier Pessac-Leognan Blanc 2010 – 92 Points
12) Chateau Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Pauillac 2010 – 92 Points
13) Chateau Leoville-Barton St Julien 2010 – 91 Points
14) Chateau Grand-Puy-Ducasse Pauillac 2010 – 91 Points
15) Chateau Clerc Milon Pauillac 2010 – 91 Points
16) Chateau Larrivet Haut-Brion Pessac-Leognan Blanc 2010 – 91 Points
17) Chateau Reiussec Sauternes 2010 – 91 Points
18) Chateau Cantenac-Brown Margaux 2010 – 91 Points
19) Le Petite Mouton Pauillac 2010 – 91 Points
20) Chateau Langoa – Barton St Julien 2010 – 90 Points
21) Pagodes des Cos St. Estephe 2010 – 90 Points
22) Pavillon Rouge du Chateau Margaux 2010 – 90 Points
23) Chateau Pichon-Longueville Pauillac 2010 – 90 Points
24) Chateau Lafon-Rochet St Estephe 2010 – 90 Points
25) Chateau La Conseillante Pomerol 2010 – 90 Points
Notables: Brane-Cantenac Margaux 2010 (90), Chateau Gazin Pomerol 2010 (90), Chateau D’Armailhac Pauillac 2010 (89)
Cheers! Prices are just starting to come out on some of these wines and it looks like up is the direction that Bordeaux this vintage is going to go. As always, feel free to visit me at Bodega Bar to visit and learn more about the wines of the world.
Amier Taherzadeh
President
Chateau Wine Market & Bodega Bar
4514 Travis Street
Dallas, TX 75205
214-528-9463
My experience in Bordeaux is still in many ways in its infancy stage. This past April was my fifth visit to this historical wine region. My first visit was the en primeur tasting of 2002 union des Grand Crus (March 2003.) Besides the recent 2007 vintage (which I preferred), the 2002 vintage was rated the lowest score by Wine Spectator over the past decade.
I do know that experience and familiarity counts when it comes to Bordeaux. So when I travel to this region, I really make an effort to try objectively as many wines and vintages from as many producers as possible. I have found that what draws my heart to these wines is the balance they can posses. Could they be powerful? Definitely. Could they be elegant? Preferably. Could they be earthy? Sometimes. Tannic? Maybe. Balanced? Well, they used to be.
With my experience studying, drinking & evaluating Bordeaux starting primarily with the 1995 vintage (16 years,) I have dramatically seen a shift in wine making style. Specifically, the wines are plumper with higher sugars, longer macerations, darker colors, lower acidity levels, sweeter tannins and higher alcohols. Some of these lead to the other, yet none of these things are what I think of when I am looking for balance in a wine. So the question becomes why have wines gone away from traditional wine making to these sugar laced, high alcohol fruit bombs? Some say: Global Warming? Better Wine Technology? Better Viticulture? Better Yeast? Parker or other influential Wine Critics? The Market?
I find it interesting the changes in landscape of the wine market today versus 16 years ago. Today, investment firms own many of the top wine estates around the world. I think as a result less and less wine is made out of passion and more out of profits. Implementing strategies the yield the greatest returns on investment and reaching higher profit margins. Caves have been dug all through Napa & Sonoma, financed through bank loans and corporate investments. Wines have to be sold at higher and higher price points to bring about a return on the substantial cost of production. The after market for wine trading has become a huge facet in the wine world. Often selling for 2 to 3x face value wines are now purchased as stock with no intention of enjoying the fruit, but enjoying the profit from it. Marketing of products has also become a large part of a wineries business plan. Where it used to be about pretty labels and trade tastings, it has become about wine ratings that move products and price points. Who better to market through than the media that publishes articles about the product? If the public responds to arbitrary numbers, than who’s to blame for the change in wine culture? I think our search for right and wrong answers to wine are mostly to blame. Most of us want to validate or be told by someone which is right and which is wrong. We want expertise to lead us so we do not make the wrong decision. What if the experts don’t have our best interest at heart or the integrity of the trade in mind? I think it is upon us to decide what we like and don’t like by just listening to our opinions on the matter.
So why would Bordeaux follow down that same path? A region that has classified itself for quality differentiation since 1855, a region that has produced the most significant wines for centuries, so why does this region need to adapt its philosophies to meet this new culture? Could it be wine is just being made at a higher level than in the past and we demand it be made that way? Could it be that even Bordeaux must conform to the standards beset by our preferred wine critics? Could it be a significant escalation in the image of wineries and the glamour of the wine business that possesses the power to evolve history in years what took centuries to establish? If you told the Baron James de Rothschild (Purchased Lafite in 1868) that in 2010 his wines would be released at over $1,200 a bottle on a future program or over $24,000 a case (the value of some cars), he would say that was crazy. If you also told him the value of farmland in Bordeaux was $120,000 to $2 Million Euro per Hectare, he would undoubtedly have dropped to the floor. Napa has experienced the same phenomenon; in 1990 it cost $40,000 / acre roughly for vineyards in the heart of Napa Valley. In 2010, that number was closer to $180,000 / Acre. At 720 bottles per ton and fine wine is typically harvested at 1 – 4 tons per acre, it converts to approximately $64 a bottle on vineyards that are 100% planted to a harvest level of 4 tons per acre. Add in oak, equipment, labor and overhead, it is easy to see why it is difficult to make a profit on wine in this day and age. A move to start virtual wineries has over taken California winemaking. Why not when you can pay $5,000 a ton for Napa Cabernet Sauvignon fruit at less than $7 a bottle and not have to deal with harvest.
You can deduce that wine might no longer be made with the passion just to make wine. It might be made to elevate a company or personal image. It might be made with ego. Maybe it is made just to win awards and points like alluded to in this Decanter article of 2 prestigious Bordeaux producers:
“ In both the 2010 and 2009 vintages it was common to see Merlots surpass 15% alcohol, a situation Didier Cuvelier, owner of Chateau Leoville Poyferre in St Julien , finds ‘disturbing’.
In the Medoc, one of the reasons for planting Merlot had been because it ripened better than Cabernet Sauvignon, Cuvelier said.
‘But more recently, the Merlot has got so high in alcohol that we run the risk of losing the Bordeaux style,’
While all varieties have seen higher alcohol levels, Merlot’s susceptibility to ripen quickly and attain the highest alcohol levels makes it more of a challenge, consultant Denis Dubourdieu said.
A string of very good vintages since 2000 have meant there ‘has been no need to chaptalise, so sugars are naturally there and that is a good thing.’
But he noted the tendency for properties on the Right Bank to strive for greater concentration of sugars in the grapes by techniques such as leaf removal, which results in small and concentrated grapes.
Later picking – sometimes even after the Sauternes harvest in October – was becoming more common, Dubourdieu, who also owns the Barsac estate Chateau Doisy Daene, said.
‘There is a race towards concentration, to please many critics,’ he said. ‘I have been a consultant for 30 years; I have spent the first 20 years telling people not to harvest too early; in the last 10 years I have told them not to harvest too late.’”
Whatever the reason these wines have started a decent down a path to ambiguity I fear. Just as Australia, a wine country rich with great fruit and tons of potential found. If you paint that brush to just one style based of the popular trend, then you have to hope that trend stays for a long time. For Australia, people have graduated from the super fruit bomb. For California Merlot, people moved away from the sometimes over planted and boring varietal that was planted everywhere in the mid to early 90’s (especially after Sideways.) If Bordeaux fails to correct the steering of the path they are on, it might be concivible that you would have difficulty classifying it as old world wine. Bring back typicity of Bordeaux, let California and Australia have the fruit bombs and bring me back my terrior laced, regional placed & a smile to my face for my lovely classic Bordeaux.
That being said, my overall impressions of the 2010 Bordeaux wines is that it was good to very good vintage. There were some wines that I thought were better than there 2009 counterpart, but as a whole the 2009’s were the better of the two vintages. Here is a list of my top 25 of what I tasted in Bordeaux this past April and where I rated them on a 100 point scale:
1) Chateau Margaux 2010 – This wine shows that sticking to your guns no matter what the trends can pay off huge. This may have been my favorite wine of the past 2 en primeur tastings. A perfect sense of place, elegance and persistance. 98 Points
2) Chateau Cos D’Estournel ST Estephe 2010 – It seemed to be even more powerful than the 2009. This may not be the style I look for in Bordeaux, but when someone hits a homerun you must acknowledge it. This is on par with 1st growth Bordeaux. 95 Points
3) Chateau Mouton-Rothschild Pauillac 2010 – Outstanding and made with a heavy dullop of Cabernet Sauvignon. It shows heady tannins right now, but still manages to show a graceful side as well. Great balance for a modern style. 95 Points
4) Chateau Leoville-Poyferre St Julien 2010 – What an effort for a wine often not associated with a Super Second (A second growth that should be elevated.) 95 Points
5) Chateau Suduiraut Sauternes 2010 – One of the hardest wines to rate, but when you get to the top wines from Sauternes from a vintage, there is no question. 94 Points
6) Chateau Malescot-st-Exupery Margaux 2010 – This wine makes a case for the talk of a Super Third category of Bordeaux. 94 Points
7) Chateau Guiraud Sauternes 2010 – 93 Points
8) Chateau Guaraud-Larose St Julien 2010 – 92 Points
9) Chateau Pape Clement Rouge Pessac-Leognan 2010 – 92 Points
10) Chateau Rauzan-Segla Margaux 2010 – 92 Points
11) Domaine de Chavalier Pessac-Leognan Blanc 2010 – 92 Points
12) Chateau Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Pauillac 2010 – 92 Points
13) Chateau Leoville-Barton St Julien 2010 – 91 Points
14) Chateau Grand-Puy-Ducasse Pauillac 2010 – 91 Points
15) Chateau Clerc Milon Pauillac 2010 – 91 Points
16) Chateau Larrivet Haut-Brion Pessac-Leognan Blanc 2010 – 91 Points
17) Chateau Reiussec Sauternes 2010 – 91 Points
18) Chateau Cantenac-Brown Margaux 2010 – 91 Points
19) Le Petite Mouton Pauillac 2010 – 91 Points
20) Chateau Langoa – Barton St Julien 2010 – 90 Points
21) Pagodes des Cos St. Estephe 2010 – 90 Points
22) Pavillon Rouge du Chateau Margaux 2010 – 90 Points
23) Chateau Pichon-Longueville Pauillac 2010 – 90 Points
24) Chateau Lafon-Rochet St Estephe 2010 – 90 Points
25) Chateau La Conseillante Pomerol 2010 – 90 Points
Notables: Brane-Cantenac Margaux 2010 (90), Chateau Gazin Pomerol 2010 (90), Chateau D’Armailhac Pauillac 2010 (89)
Cheers! Prices are just starting to come out on some of these wines and it looks like up is the direction that Bordeaux this vintage is going to go. As always, feel free to visit me at Bodega Bar to visit and learn more about the wines of the world.
Amier Taherzadeh
President
Chateau Wine Market & Bodega Bar
4514 Travis Street
Dallas, TX 75205
214-528-9463
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Northern Spain
Espana Espana Espana
My recent travels had me touring the Northern Wine Regions of Central and Eastern Spain. Ribera del Duero, Toro, Rioja, Terra Alta & Priorat were all truly unique from the other yet I am not sure if anyone in Spain would realize it.
“Vino Tinto, Por Favor” was pretty standard at most restaurants and Tapas bars. A dangerous phrase in a wine bar in the United States as one might get a $40+ glass of wine. Yet in Spain, they know it is House and it is going to be cheap and a small glass. It was very typical to see 7cl as a glass of wine (2.33 oz.) or what we in Texas call a shot or taste. Price range was from .80 to 1.50 Euro ($1.12 to $2.10) The Bodegas or wineries know the locals do not spend money on wines in Tapas bars and so they often make the prices very low to find themselves on Tapas Bar Chalk Boards often only featuring 15 or less wines by the glass. For a glass (7cl) of other than Vino Tinto (or the house Wine) usually ranged from $1.50 to $3.50 Euro ($2.10 to $4.20.) And these are wines like Pesquera Crianza (US - $25 - $30 Bottle or $20+ a glass.)
Each wine region was proud to feature the wine of the commune or maybe those wines were just very aggressively priced for the restaurant and bar owners.
Here are some of my impressions of the wine regions:
Toro – A small village that pretty much you could drive by in the matter of minutes. Outside the village where the vineyards are located is a dry dusty earth what appears to be vines with significant age in red rock soil. The wines are powerful yet can be tannic. It seems that in order to find these wines you might be better off searching a US Wine shop. In Valladolid, a large town in between Toro and Ribera del Duero, I found very little Toro wines.
Ribera del Duero – Soils seemed to vary greatly amongst the Ribera del Duero. Reminded me of Bordeaux with what appeared to be satellite villages amongst a larger wine region. Yet also reminded me of Tuscany as there were some rolling hills. If you ask the locals they really enjoy the Ribera del Duero wines, yet many behind closed doors think Rioja has better quality at the high-end (excluding Vega Sicilia of course.)
Rioja – Vines, Vines and more vines. It seemed that any where grapes could grow vines were planted. Some were old and some were new. I saw several younger vines book-ended by Old Vines. I started to notice olive trees here and it was a theme as we headed towards Terra Alta. Vineyards started becoming dispersed with Olive trees. Logrono was the town we stayed in which would have been the centrally located in Rioja. Wine shops here I found to have many old bottles of Rioja which were expensive and had turned because apparently Spain has yet to receive the Memo that Wine and direct sunlight don’t mix.
Terra Alta – High elevation and vines of 60-70+ years of age pretty much everywhere. Spacing is very broad and trellising almost non-existent. Betea is a village of 2,000 people in which they have there on co-op and unfortunately for the DO of Terra Alta many of these producers are using techniques that oxidize and fail to express the potential of the area. Fortunate for the consumer, these keeps wines like Portal and Ludovicus under $17 a bottle (even though they score in the 90’s by Parker on multiple vintages.)
Priorat – Another one of those towns that we only drove through versus stopping into town for further investigation. Just a stop as we headed to Bordeaux. The Licorella is truly unique and another blink and you pass it wine regions. It looks to be quite difficult to manage a vineyard and harvest must be exhausting. These wines seem to be very well respected in most of Spain, but I failed to locate a single bottle in any shop of the other major wine regions.
Spain seems a bit disorganized and maybe slightly dis-interested in attempting to really push global expansion and local education. It is quite difficult when you need a siesta in the middle of the day to stay focused on an industry. While one day they will realize that the wine potential of Spain might by synonymous with Global wine powers such as France and Italy. Until then, enjoy the massive savings on world-class old world wines.
My recent travels had me touring the Northern Wine Regions of Central and Eastern Spain. Ribera del Duero, Toro, Rioja, Terra Alta & Priorat were all truly unique from the other yet I am not sure if anyone in Spain would realize it.
“Vino Tinto, Por Favor” was pretty standard at most restaurants and Tapas bars. A dangerous phrase in a wine bar in the United States as one might get a $40+ glass of wine. Yet in Spain, they know it is House and it is going to be cheap and a small glass. It was very typical to see 7cl as a glass of wine (2.33 oz.) or what we in Texas call a shot or taste. Price range was from .80 to 1.50 Euro ($1.12 to $2.10) The Bodegas or wineries know the locals do not spend money on wines in Tapas bars and so they often make the prices very low to find themselves on Tapas Bar Chalk Boards often only featuring 15 or less wines by the glass. For a glass (7cl) of other than Vino Tinto (or the house Wine) usually ranged from $1.50 to $3.50 Euro ($2.10 to $4.20.) And these are wines like Pesquera Crianza (US - $25 - $30 Bottle or $20+ a glass.)
Each wine region was proud to feature the wine of the commune or maybe those wines were just very aggressively priced for the restaurant and bar owners.
Here are some of my impressions of the wine regions:
Toro – A small village that pretty much you could drive by in the matter of minutes. Outside the village where the vineyards are located is a dry dusty earth what appears to be vines with significant age in red rock soil. The wines are powerful yet can be tannic. It seems that in order to find these wines you might be better off searching a US Wine shop. In Valladolid, a large town in between Toro and Ribera del Duero, I found very little Toro wines.
Ribera del Duero – Soils seemed to vary greatly amongst the Ribera del Duero. Reminded me of Bordeaux with what appeared to be satellite villages amongst a larger wine region. Yet also reminded me of Tuscany as there were some rolling hills. If you ask the locals they really enjoy the Ribera del Duero wines, yet many behind closed doors think Rioja has better quality at the high-end (excluding Vega Sicilia of course.)
Rioja – Vines, Vines and more vines. It seemed that any where grapes could grow vines were planted. Some were old and some were new. I saw several younger vines book-ended by Old Vines. I started to notice olive trees here and it was a theme as we headed towards Terra Alta. Vineyards started becoming dispersed with Olive trees. Logrono was the town we stayed in which would have been the centrally located in Rioja. Wine shops here I found to have many old bottles of Rioja which were expensive and had turned because apparently Spain has yet to receive the Memo that Wine and direct sunlight don’t mix.
Terra Alta – High elevation and vines of 60-70+ years of age pretty much everywhere. Spacing is very broad and trellising almost non-existent. Betea is a village of 2,000 people in which they have there on co-op and unfortunately for the DO of Terra Alta many of these producers are using techniques that oxidize and fail to express the potential of the area. Fortunate for the consumer, these keeps wines like Portal and Ludovicus under $17 a bottle (even though they score in the 90’s by Parker on multiple vintages.)
Priorat – Another one of those towns that we only drove through versus stopping into town for further investigation. Just a stop as we headed to Bordeaux. The Licorella is truly unique and another blink and you pass it wine regions. It looks to be quite difficult to manage a vineyard and harvest must be exhausting. These wines seem to be very well respected in most of Spain, but I failed to locate a single bottle in any shop of the other major wine regions.
Spain seems a bit disorganized and maybe slightly dis-interested in attempting to really push global expansion and local education. It is quite difficult when you need a siesta in the middle of the day to stay focused on an industry. While one day they will realize that the wine potential of Spain might by synonymous with Global wine powers such as France and Italy. Until then, enjoy the massive savings on world-class old world wines.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
The Beautiful Sound of a Mistake…POP!
Christian profusely apologized for the opening of the bottle of Bollinger Grand Anee 2000 Brut Champagne with a loud Pop. I reminded him that my mouth was salivating in anticipation from a seemingly Pavlov experiment. “Music to my ears” I said. I don’t think there is another experience quite like Champagne. From sight to the occasional Sound, it scintillates the palate, mind and mood. For those that say, “Champagne gives me headaches.” I say you are not drinking the right Champagne. I have had the occasional pounding of the temples from Sparkling or so called Champagne, but never from a top tier Champagne house (i.e. Bollinger, Jean Vesselle, Krug, Louis Roederer, Jean Milan, Andre Clouet, Alain Robert, Comte de Dampierre, Taittinger & more.) I did not include Veuve or Moet & Chandon, I believe that the top tier wine from these houses is still on par with excellence but the White Star and Yellow Label are more and more tasting like bulk production sparkling wines and aren’t made at the same standards as they were in the past.
Driving through the Champagne region towards Epernay, it was amazing to see the vineyards on top of the hillsides. You could see in some areas the chalk, which according to Christian from Bollinger, what makes Champagne the greatest region for growing Sparkling wines. It helps feed the vines water and provides an environment that keeps acidity high while the grapes reach mature flavors. In the Ay region of Champagne, Bollinger gets predominately Grand Cru Pinot Noir grapes for their blend. Bollinger house believes that Pinot Noir makes the best Champagne. The house style of Champagne is more of a full-bodied profile using at minimum of 60% of the Pinot Noir grape. Using 85% of Grand Cru and Premiere grapes, Bollinger uses and pays a premium for the grapes that they use to make their Champagne.
Another fact that differentiates Bollinger compared to other Champagne houses, is they hold thousands of bottles of Reserve wine that they blend into their wines giving them complete control of the blends to make their house style. They sit in individual bottles taking up to 200 meters in the underground cellars. Everything at Bollinger is Hand riddled by a riddler (the quarter turn of a bottle of Champagne promoting the eventual flow of the lees and sediment in the bottles that are going into secondary fermentation) who can quarter turn over 50,000 bottles in a normal work day. Bollinger uses Cork all the way through the secondary fermentation process instead of Bottle caps which is what most Champagne Houses use today. They only use Bottle caps on Special Cuvee NV blends.
Now to the best part, Barrel fermentation, the REAL difference between Bollinger and the rest. Very few Champagne producers use Barrel fermentation to make sparkling wine. Just with any wine, if you don’t have really good grapes (especially in Champagne) the Champagne will fall flat or muted by the Oak fermentation. Krug and Bollinger have really mastered barrel fermentation and Champagne. All you have to do to see that is just look at the wine ratings. When you drink a bottle of GREAT Champagne, you know it. Bollinger uses 5 year used plus White Burgundy Barrrels mostly from Puligny-Montrachet. They boast about the fact they have the largest collection of barrels at over 3,000 for a Champagne producer.
There is no question when you taste a Bollinger Grand Annee or Krug Vintage Champagne, you know that you are drinking some of the best sparkling on the planet. The complexity of the barrel fermentation adds great flavors almonds, nuts, but mostly gives the wine an incredible elegance and softens the acidity making the Champagne seem less abrasive, more full-bodied and creamy. I personally love to drink Champagne, and I do drink Champagne on just about every occasion that I can. I believe no great meal starts without a bottle of fantastic bubbly. Sometimes they begin, continue and end with bottles of Champagne.
The Champagne industry has struggled as the Euro has pushed the wines past what Americans are used to spending on Champagne. Even Christian mentioned that the Bollinger House was extremely worried about its future with the American market due to a decline in sales here. I told Christian to let me sell Bollinger Champagne for $30 a bottle on the shelf in the US and we both had a good laugh. We sampled through some of the House Champagne’s.
Bollinger Special Cuvee NV – This Champagne remains one of my favorite NV’s in the Texas Market. Sure Krug NV is also really special, but Krug at $150 a bottle, Bollinger at $80. I think they both have a place in your cellar. At this level I like the fact that Bollinger uses more Pinot Noir.
Bollinger Special Cuvee Rose NV – It is a very well made Rose but I think the Special Cuvee Brut is their Forte. Dried Cherries, Raspberries flavors, on a toasty palate with a long red fruit finish.
Bollinger Grand Annee 2000 – Great weight, texture, complexity, plenty of minerals, toast, grilled bread, nuts, flowers, hints of citrus rinds, delicate yet robust. Absolutely gorgeous Champagne, it is one that needs to be at anyone’s next special occasion.
Bollinger R.D. Grand Annee Champagne 1997 – More Leesy and toasty than the Grand Annee 2000, you can tell this Champagne really developed more plump weight with the extra bottle age before disgorgement. It is far more creamy, with vanilla tones. For the bigger is better fan, it is disgorged at a lower dosage level (sugar added before bottling) yet the extra time on the lees really gives it a more creamy texture. Another big hit from Bollinger, it shouldn’t be a surprise at this point. They have only been making great Champagne since 1826.
Recently, Bollinger purchased another Champagne house called Ayala, which is literally right over a hill from Bollinger in Ay. This Champagne house began production on 1860, but fell of the map over the past 20 years and now Bollinger is attempting to recreate it. I was very appreciative to have a short visit with Herve Augustin, who I believe is the President of Operations. Herve used to be with Bollinger and has been put in charge of making a Champagne that does not compete with Bollinger, yet would complement the Bollinger portfolio.
Herve has decided to focus on Zero Dosage or Brut Nature Champagne. As we head to tasting room, I can’t help but notice a smell of Horse or Barnyard. I must say I was quite concerned about the Champagne I was about to taste. Remember it had been raining for the past few days, and continued to rain the entire time I was in Champagne. Thankfully the tasting room did not have the same smell and the Champagne was clean from any wet animal smell. The Champagne’s were good, not the same level as Bollinger but definitely something that I will interested to see how they develop the brand. I am not sure of the price points in the US, but I will send a follow up when I get back the States next week.
The Winner from Ayala:
Ayala Brut Blanc de Blanc 2000 – This Champagne made me forget about the lack of personality from Herve. It is truly exceptional Champagne and should be great vintage Champagne that should retail less than $100 in Dallas, but we will see what import costs are.
Special Thanks to Terlato Imports, Christian Dennis & Herve Augustin.
Well I welcome the Sun as a sit typing this Blog from the patio overlooking the lake in Desenzano, Italy. Next Stop VinItaly..Arrivederci …
Ciao,
Amier
Driving through the Champagne region towards Epernay, it was amazing to see the vineyards on top of the hillsides. You could see in some areas the chalk, which according to Christian from Bollinger, what makes Champagne the greatest region for growing Sparkling wines. It helps feed the vines water and provides an environment that keeps acidity high while the grapes reach mature flavors. In the Ay region of Champagne, Bollinger gets predominately Grand Cru Pinot Noir grapes for their blend. Bollinger house believes that Pinot Noir makes the best Champagne. The house style of Champagne is more of a full-bodied profile using at minimum of 60% of the Pinot Noir grape. Using 85% of Grand Cru and Premiere grapes, Bollinger uses and pays a premium for the grapes that they use to make their Champagne.
Another fact that differentiates Bollinger compared to other Champagne houses, is they hold thousands of bottles of Reserve wine that they blend into their wines giving them complete control of the blends to make their house style. They sit in individual bottles taking up to 200 meters in the underground cellars. Everything at Bollinger is Hand riddled by a riddler (the quarter turn of a bottle of Champagne promoting the eventual flow of the lees and sediment in the bottles that are going into secondary fermentation) who can quarter turn over 50,000 bottles in a normal work day. Bollinger uses Cork all the way through the secondary fermentation process instead of Bottle caps which is what most Champagne Houses use today. They only use Bottle caps on Special Cuvee NV blends.
Now to the best part, Barrel fermentation, the REAL difference between Bollinger and the rest. Very few Champagne producers use Barrel fermentation to make sparkling wine. Just with any wine, if you don’t have really good grapes (especially in Champagne) the Champagne will fall flat or muted by the Oak fermentation. Krug and Bollinger have really mastered barrel fermentation and Champagne. All you have to do to see that is just look at the wine ratings. When you drink a bottle of GREAT Champagne, you know it. Bollinger uses 5 year used plus White Burgundy Barrrels mostly from Puligny-Montrachet. They boast about the fact they have the largest collection of barrels at over 3,000 for a Champagne producer.
There is no question when you taste a Bollinger Grand Annee or Krug Vintage Champagne, you know that you are drinking some of the best sparkling on the planet. The complexity of the barrel fermentation adds great flavors almonds, nuts, but mostly gives the wine an incredible elegance and softens the acidity making the Champagne seem less abrasive, more full-bodied and creamy. I personally love to drink Champagne, and I do drink Champagne on just about every occasion that I can. I believe no great meal starts without a bottle of fantastic bubbly. Sometimes they begin, continue and end with bottles of Champagne.
The Champagne industry has struggled as the Euro has pushed the wines past what Americans are used to spending on Champagne. Even Christian mentioned that the Bollinger House was extremely worried about its future with the American market due to a decline in sales here. I told Christian to let me sell Bollinger Champagne for $30 a bottle on the shelf in the US and we both had a good laugh. We sampled through some of the House Champagne’s.
Bollinger Special Cuvee NV – This Champagne remains one of my favorite NV’s in the Texas Market. Sure Krug NV is also really special, but Krug at $150 a bottle, Bollinger at $80. I think they both have a place in your cellar. At this level I like the fact that Bollinger uses more Pinot Noir.
Bollinger Special Cuvee Rose NV – It is a very well made Rose but I think the Special Cuvee Brut is their Forte. Dried Cherries, Raspberries flavors, on a toasty palate with a long red fruit finish.
Bollinger Grand Annee 2000 – Great weight, texture, complexity, plenty of minerals, toast, grilled bread, nuts, flowers, hints of citrus rinds, delicate yet robust. Absolutely gorgeous Champagne, it is one that needs to be at anyone’s next special occasion.
Bollinger R.D. Grand Annee Champagne 1997 – More Leesy and toasty than the Grand Annee 2000, you can tell this Champagne really developed more plump weight with the extra bottle age before disgorgement. It is far more creamy, with vanilla tones. For the bigger is better fan, it is disgorged at a lower dosage level (sugar added before bottling) yet the extra time on the lees really gives it a more creamy texture. Another big hit from Bollinger, it shouldn’t be a surprise at this point. They have only been making great Champagne since 1826.
Recently, Bollinger purchased another Champagne house called Ayala, which is literally right over a hill from Bollinger in Ay. This Champagne house began production on 1860, but fell of the map over the past 20 years and now Bollinger is attempting to recreate it. I was very appreciative to have a short visit with Herve Augustin, who I believe is the President of Operations. Herve used to be with Bollinger and has been put in charge of making a Champagne that does not compete with Bollinger, yet would complement the Bollinger portfolio.
Herve has decided to focus on Zero Dosage or Brut Nature Champagne. As we head to tasting room, I can’t help but notice a smell of Horse or Barnyard. I must say I was quite concerned about the Champagne I was about to taste. Remember it had been raining for the past few days, and continued to rain the entire time I was in Champagne. Thankfully the tasting room did not have the same smell and the Champagne was clean from any wet animal smell. The Champagne’s were good, not the same level as Bollinger but definitely something that I will interested to see how they develop the brand. I am not sure of the price points in the US, but I will send a follow up when I get back the States next week.
The Winner from Ayala:
Ayala Brut Blanc de Blanc 2000 – This Champagne made me forget about the lack of personality from Herve. It is truly exceptional Champagne and should be great vintage Champagne that should retail less than $100 in Dallas, but we will see what import costs are.
Special Thanks to Terlato Imports, Christian Dennis & Herve Augustin.
Well I welcome the Sun as a sit typing this Blog from the patio overlooking the lake in Desenzano, Italy. Next Stop VinItaly..Arrivederci …
Ciao,
Amier
Thursday, April 1, 2010
More and More Bordeaux
Sometimes it seems as if there is an endless supply of Bordeaux. I guess when you have over 3,000 producers it can be almost a reality. Then you take into account that many of these producers produce 2 - 3 wines. AY!
What started as a pretty laid back day, became a full-throttle marathon before Lunch. In 2 hours, I sampled over 150 wines from Petite Chateaux, 2nd Vins de Grand Cru Classe, Older Classified Growth wines. One of the most impressive sites to be seen is the negociant at Chateau Rauzan-Segla and there inventory of over 1.2 Million Bottles of Classified Growths to Cru Borgeois. I have never seen something like it, truely awe inspiring. Then when you do the math on the Petrus, Chateau Margaux, Lafite Rothschild (2000, 2005, 1982, 1989, you name it just palates and palates of it sitting in temperature storage.) I have never felt like such a kid in a candy store, all I kept asking was do you have any Lynch Bages 1989 (My Wife and I's Special Wine) which is getting harder and harder to find.
Some of the winners from the Day:
Clos du Marquis 2001
Lacoste Borie Pauillac 2006
Croix de Beaucaillou St. Julien 2006
Vray Croix de Gay Pomerol 2009
La Gravette de Certan Pomerol 2007
Chateau Leoville Poyferre St Julien 2007
Sarget de Gruaud Larose St Julien 2007
Chateau Clerc Milon Pauillac 2009 (Yes I Know it's that good that I had to taste it again)
Chateau Beaumont Haut-Medoc 2009
Chateau D'Issan Margaux 2009
Clos Demoiselles Listrac-Medoc 2003
Most of these wines will retail under $60 a bottle and are fantastic. I will have a complete list with tasting notes and prices once I get back to the states.
It was a fantastic day of tasting and tomorrow is a day of one appointment. Only it's in Champagne, a 7.5 Hour drive from here. However, I am a sucker for Champagne. A good Champagne is worth almost whatever it takes to ger it. Bollinger is up there with one of the best Champagne houses. When you ask the Chateau Estate owners what they like to drink from Champagne, it's almost always Bollinger.
If you haven't been to Bodega in a while, we are pouring Montaudon Champagne by the glass for $12 a glass. It's affordable and delicious. I am signing out from Bordeaux, next time you hear from me will be from Champagne.
Cheers,
Amier
What started as a pretty laid back day, became a full-throttle marathon before Lunch. In 2 hours, I sampled over 150 wines from Petite Chateaux, 2nd Vins de Grand Cru Classe, Older Classified Growth wines. One of the most impressive sites to be seen is the negociant at Chateau Rauzan-Segla and there inventory of over 1.2 Million Bottles of Classified Growths to Cru Borgeois. I have never seen something like it, truely awe inspiring. Then when you do the math on the Petrus, Chateau Margaux, Lafite Rothschild (2000, 2005, 1982, 1989, you name it just palates and palates of it sitting in temperature storage.) I have never felt like such a kid in a candy store, all I kept asking was do you have any Lynch Bages 1989 (My Wife and I's Special Wine) which is getting harder and harder to find.
Some of the winners from the Day:
Clos du Marquis 2001
Lacoste Borie Pauillac 2006
Croix de Beaucaillou St. Julien 2006
Vray Croix de Gay Pomerol 2009
La Gravette de Certan Pomerol 2007
Chateau Leoville Poyferre St Julien 2007
Sarget de Gruaud Larose St Julien 2007
Chateau Clerc Milon Pauillac 2009 (Yes I Know it's that good that I had to taste it again)
Chateau Beaumont Haut-Medoc 2009
Chateau D'Issan Margaux 2009
Clos Demoiselles Listrac-Medoc 2003
Most of these wines will retail under $60 a bottle and are fantastic. I will have a complete list with tasting notes and prices once I get back to the states.
It was a fantastic day of tasting and tomorrow is a day of one appointment. Only it's in Champagne, a 7.5 Hour drive from here. However, I am a sucker for Champagne. A good Champagne is worth almost whatever it takes to ger it. Bollinger is up there with one of the best Champagne houses. When you ask the Chateau Estate owners what they like to drink from Champagne, it's almost always Bollinger.
If you haven't been to Bodega in a while, we are pouring Montaudon Champagne by the glass for $12 a glass. It's affordable and delicious. I am signing out from Bordeaux, next time you hear from me will be from Champagne.
Cheers,
Amier
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
St Emilion, Pomerol & Sauternes
130 Bordeaux samples in less than 48 hours and here's what I noticed:
A diverse group of tasters, mostly French, Asian and Brittish crowded the Chateaux in anticipation of an apparently super-hyped vintage. It doesn't take long sampling these wines to realize that dream of terrior is starting to fade away. Chateaux poured very proudly these wines of excellent concentration, almost boasting their oppulence. Even James Suckling from Wine Spectator is already making excuses about the extraction of Oak amd Skin Tannin (yes, after I completed tasting I checked to see what others thought of this vintage.)
Beyond being a trade professional, I am also a huge wine fan. Not like so many of my counterparts that want to drink what's free, I enjoy the search for that great bottle of wine to purchase for my wife and I to share. So when I see the evolution of what I considered some of the greatest wines on Earth, it can be disturbing. When I see Hype and not substance pushing the prices sky high, I have to call a spade a spade.
Is 2009 a great vintage? It appears to be Very Good to Great
Is 2009 in parallel with 1982 as one of the greatest vintages? Only time will tell, people knew 1982 was a great vintage but it wasn't until later that it started to deserve it's reputation as one of the best ever.
The last truely proven great vintages in my opinion - 2005 (?Maybe still too tannic to tell), 2000, 1995, 1989. To me, a great vintage is one when you open a bottle it just makes you melt with anticipation for another taste. It's layered, complex, balanced and focused.
Vintages that I found issue with -
2003 - the wines were overly ripe and many display cooked fruit nuances and lack freshness.
2005 - Some of the petite Chateaux and Cru Bourgeois were excellent. Some of the 5th growths that I tried were amazing. Some of the 1st growths and 2nd growths were so extracted and tannic, they need 10 years just to hope that they come into balance.
I don't remember which wine maker told me this, but I swear by it. A wine doesn't grow into balance. If the wine is not balanced with fruit, acidity and structure than it can't just appear. As simple as it sounds, I think some critics have forgotten that simple rule of thumb.
-On to what I thought of St Emilion, Pomerol & Sauternes
On intial impression, it just seems if Merlot got over-ripe, super-ripe, too ridiculously ripe. SOme of the alcohols were a touch hot, only exaggerated by the huge tannins. There were those that did manage to make fantastic wines and overall you can still tell it was a good ripe vintage. It's a lot easier to make good wines from ripe grapes than green and plump (rain) grapes. It seemed as if some wineries saw the wines taking on an overipe quality and used stems to extract structure. You could really see some of what most have been extreme heat in the Sauternes. They boderline cloying. They seem to as a majority lack the zipline of acidity that makes them truely special.
On my top performers:
Pomerol
Chateau Gazin and Chateau La Conseillante - Both deserve a good mid to low 90's score.
St Emilion
Chateau Pavie Macquin & Chateau Troplong Mondot - These deserve mid to high 90's, they were really superb and really did a lovely job managing some of the prune and raisin quality I found in some of the other St Emilions. By the way, you must come to St Emilion at some point in your future and just see how gorgeous of a region it is. I am always amazed at how pretty it is. Since I was lost twice today as my GPS kept trying to send me down roads that no longer exist, I saw some picturesque countryside.
Sauterenes
Chateau Guiraud & Chateau Suduiraut - These will proabably score very high by critics but I think they should be in the more mid 90's. Nowhere near the freshness that I found in the 2001, which are still just absolutely amazing.
Tomorrow I head back to St Emilion this time to taste with some small estates that can't afford to be a part of the Union des Grand Crus. I hope to get a video or two of what they think candidly of the 2009 vintage. By the way, Wine, Hail, Rain, punishing winds, these are the lengths I go to bring you these reports. Just think of me as the guy from CNN, who stands near the Hurricane, only I have Purple teeth and I get to taste wines the whole time. Ahh the sacrifice!
Cheers,
Amier
P.S. It seems as if spell check in France, only checks for spelling in French - so sorry for all my grammatical errors. I plan to do a spell check when I get back to the States and just see how bad I am at spelling. I think I am in the aweful range.
A diverse group of tasters, mostly French, Asian and Brittish crowded the Chateaux in anticipation of an apparently super-hyped vintage. It doesn't take long sampling these wines to realize that dream of terrior is starting to fade away. Chateaux poured very proudly these wines of excellent concentration, almost boasting their oppulence. Even James Suckling from Wine Spectator is already making excuses about the extraction of Oak amd Skin Tannin (yes, after I completed tasting I checked to see what others thought of this vintage.)
Beyond being a trade professional, I am also a huge wine fan. Not like so many of my counterparts that want to drink what's free, I enjoy the search for that great bottle of wine to purchase for my wife and I to share. So when I see the evolution of what I considered some of the greatest wines on Earth, it can be disturbing. When I see Hype and not substance pushing the prices sky high, I have to call a spade a spade.
Is 2009 a great vintage? It appears to be Very Good to Great
Is 2009 in parallel with 1982 as one of the greatest vintages? Only time will tell, people knew 1982 was a great vintage but it wasn't until later that it started to deserve it's reputation as one of the best ever.
The last truely proven great vintages in my opinion - 2005 (?Maybe still too tannic to tell), 2000, 1995, 1989. To me, a great vintage is one when you open a bottle it just makes you melt with anticipation for another taste. It's layered, complex, balanced and focused.
Vintages that I found issue with -
2003 - the wines were overly ripe and many display cooked fruit nuances and lack freshness.
2005 - Some of the petite Chateaux and Cru Bourgeois were excellent. Some of the 5th growths that I tried were amazing. Some of the 1st growths and 2nd growths were so extracted and tannic, they need 10 years just to hope that they come into balance.
I don't remember which wine maker told me this, but I swear by it. A wine doesn't grow into balance. If the wine is not balanced with fruit, acidity and structure than it can't just appear. As simple as it sounds, I think some critics have forgotten that simple rule of thumb.
-On to what I thought of St Emilion, Pomerol & Sauternes
On intial impression, it just seems if Merlot got over-ripe, super-ripe, too ridiculously ripe. SOme of the alcohols were a touch hot, only exaggerated by the huge tannins. There were those that did manage to make fantastic wines and overall you can still tell it was a good ripe vintage. It's a lot easier to make good wines from ripe grapes than green and plump (rain) grapes. It seemed as if some wineries saw the wines taking on an overipe quality and used stems to extract structure. You could really see some of what most have been extreme heat in the Sauternes. They boderline cloying. They seem to as a majority lack the zipline of acidity that makes them truely special.
On my top performers:
Pomerol
Chateau Gazin and Chateau La Conseillante - Both deserve a good mid to low 90's score.
St Emilion
Chateau Pavie Macquin & Chateau Troplong Mondot - These deserve mid to high 90's, they were really superb and really did a lovely job managing some of the prune and raisin quality I found in some of the other St Emilions. By the way, you must come to St Emilion at some point in your future and just see how gorgeous of a region it is. I am always amazed at how pretty it is. Since I was lost twice today as my GPS kept trying to send me down roads that no longer exist, I saw some picturesque countryside.
Sauterenes
Chateau Guiraud & Chateau Suduiraut - These will proabably score very high by critics but I think they should be in the more mid 90's. Nowhere near the freshness that I found in the 2001, which are still just absolutely amazing.
Tomorrow I head back to St Emilion this time to taste with some small estates that can't afford to be a part of the Union des Grand Crus. I hope to get a video or two of what they think candidly of the 2009 vintage. By the way, Wine, Hail, Rain, punishing winds, these are the lengths I go to bring you these reports. Just think of me as the guy from CNN, who stands near the Hurricane, only I have Purple teeth and I get to taste wines the whole time. Ahh the sacrifice!
Cheers,
Amier
P.S. It seems as if spell check in France, only checks for spelling in French - so sorry for all my grammatical errors. I plan to do a spell check when I get back to the States and just see how bad I am at spelling. I think I am in the aweful range.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Union des Grand Crus 2009 Primeurs
It's 1am local time and many of my fellow trade professionals are undoubtedly exhausted from such a fantastic day of tasting. As I go through the next few days tasting what appears to an endless supply of hearty Bordeaux, I will keep you posted daily on my findings.
Today: Sampled 85 Wines
Where: Pauillac, St Estephe, St Julien, Margaux, Pessac-Leognan, Graves
Thank you to Chateau Smith Haut-Lafite, Chateau Batailley & Chateau Desmirail for graciosuly hosting hundreds of trade professionals.
Background:
I purposely did not read about what other critics were stating about the 2009 vintage. A) I did not want to be influenced by other opinions. B) I like to taste as blind as possible. C) Let what's in the glass tell me it's story.
When tasting wines that have only been in barrel for less than 6 months, one must keep an open mind on the core components. Fruit, Acidity, tannin, weight and most importantly flavor. Over time one becomes accustomed to tasting wines from a particular region and they have classic flavor profiles that when done right give you a classic reference to search. What makes Bordeaux have a bit of a twist is that they are all blends. Besides the fact it needs to be a blend of some combination from the 5 varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petite Verdot & Malbec: it's really all about microclimate and soil.
Depending on speed of uploads, I will try to upload some videos of the vineyards.
i.e.: I have some great shots at Chateau Smith Haut-Lafite in Graves - Has soils that showcase why Graves has such a chalky, dusty & mineral personality. It's the Gravel. It's everywhere.
Brief Synopsis of the Day:
So many great wines on what appears to be a stellar vintage. The wines are screaming with tannin, which is to be expected at such an early stage, however I wonder if some will ever come to balance. Some of the St Julien's I tasted seemed to be completely masked in Tannin.
St Julien
Chateau Leoville Barton & Chateau Brenaire-Ducru were very well made and should score well into the 90's. I will post all my tasting notes and reviews at the conclusion of all the tastings in Bordeaux.
St Estephe
These wines were ripe and round. Very lush and suprisingly drinkable. My favorite at this tsting was Chateau Lafon-Rochet.
Pauillac
It showed its dominate personality and possibly the reason it contains majority of the first growths. When these wines are on, it's very hard to beat. On a vintage that seems all about robust Cabernet weight, these wines stole the show for the day. Expect many mid 90's and above from this region. Of what we sampled today, Chateau Clerc Milon was a show stopper.
Margaux
This was a hard one to judge, there was such a dominate nose of fresh French oak and someone decided to drench themselves in Cologne that was in the room. However, I did find these wines to be very fine, yet not spectacular. I quite honestly expected a little more from what I expect will end up being considered a classic vintage. Don't get me wrong, plenty of the wines will score in the low 90's. My pick from the tasting was the Chateau Malescot Saint-Expurey & Chateau du Tertre.
Graves & Pessac-Leognan
Some of the whites tasted were out of this world. Pape-Clement Blanc is outstanding and I expect that it will be rewarded quite handsomly with a review in the near future. Chateau Picque Caillou, I thought showed very well also. The reds were kind of all over the board. Definitely not quite as rich and concentrated as some of the other wines tasted today. But the winner's really were superb, Chateau Pape Clement Rouge was singing in the glass, Domaine de Chavelier also was quite well made.
That's all for today as 2am approaches here and tomorrow begins at 8am to head back out to the vineyards. Pomerol, St Emilion and Sauternes are on the agenda for the day.
Avoir,
Amier
Today: Sampled 85 Wines
Where: Pauillac, St Estephe, St Julien, Margaux, Pessac-Leognan, Graves
Thank you to Chateau Smith Haut-Lafite, Chateau Batailley & Chateau Desmirail for graciosuly hosting hundreds of trade professionals.
Background:
I purposely did not read about what other critics were stating about the 2009 vintage. A) I did not want to be influenced by other opinions. B) I like to taste as blind as possible. C) Let what's in the glass tell me it's story.
When tasting wines that have only been in barrel for less than 6 months, one must keep an open mind on the core components. Fruit, Acidity, tannin, weight and most importantly flavor. Over time one becomes accustomed to tasting wines from a particular region and they have classic flavor profiles that when done right give you a classic reference to search. What makes Bordeaux have a bit of a twist is that they are all blends. Besides the fact it needs to be a blend of some combination from the 5 varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petite Verdot & Malbec: it's really all about microclimate and soil.
Depending on speed of uploads, I will try to upload some videos of the vineyards.
i.e.: I have some great shots at Chateau Smith Haut-Lafite in Graves - Has soils that showcase why Graves has such a chalky, dusty & mineral personality. It's the Gravel. It's everywhere.
Brief Synopsis of the Day:
So many great wines on what appears to be a stellar vintage. The wines are screaming with tannin, which is to be expected at such an early stage, however I wonder if some will ever come to balance. Some of the St Julien's I tasted seemed to be completely masked in Tannin.
St Julien
Chateau Leoville Barton & Chateau Brenaire-Ducru were very well made and should score well into the 90's. I will post all my tasting notes and reviews at the conclusion of all the tastings in Bordeaux.
St Estephe
These wines were ripe and round. Very lush and suprisingly drinkable. My favorite at this tsting was Chateau Lafon-Rochet.
Pauillac
It showed its dominate personality and possibly the reason it contains majority of the first growths. When these wines are on, it's very hard to beat. On a vintage that seems all about robust Cabernet weight, these wines stole the show for the day. Expect many mid 90's and above from this region. Of what we sampled today, Chateau Clerc Milon was a show stopper.
Margaux
This was a hard one to judge, there was such a dominate nose of fresh French oak and someone decided to drench themselves in Cologne that was in the room. However, I did find these wines to be very fine, yet not spectacular. I quite honestly expected a little more from what I expect will end up being considered a classic vintage. Don't get me wrong, plenty of the wines will score in the low 90's. My pick from the tasting was the Chateau Malescot Saint-Expurey & Chateau du Tertre.
Graves & Pessac-Leognan
Some of the whites tasted were out of this world. Pape-Clement Blanc is outstanding and I expect that it will be rewarded quite handsomly with a review in the near future. Chateau Picque Caillou, I thought showed very well also. The reds were kind of all over the board. Definitely not quite as rich and concentrated as some of the other wines tasted today. But the winner's really were superb, Chateau Pape Clement Rouge was singing in the glass, Domaine de Chavelier also was quite well made.
That's all for today as 2am approaches here and tomorrow begins at 8am to head back out to the vineyards. Pomerol, St Emilion and Sauternes are on the agenda for the day.
Avoir,
Amier
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