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

Wine 101 - Monday Nights at Bodega Bar Dallas

As I prepare for another adventure to Europe, I am reminded at just how complex our industry has become. 20 years ago, when I began my career in wine service, it seemed so simple. In your choices were Chablis (most likely California Chardonnay), White Zinfandel or Merlot. How times have changed? Not only does your local pub, with wine service out of 1.5L sitting at room temperature and been open longer than the waitress has been employed, serve a selection larger than 6 wines; but your fine dining restaurants are now expected carry and understand wine programs in the 100's. Oh, how times have changed.

Now wine professionals travel the globe to attend trade events that often barrel taste wines yet to be released just for an opportunity to stake claim to those few bottles that may one day mold your next memory. The sophisticated side of wine measures success in Quality and reputation not in production widgets and profitability. The wine industry goes against the grain of everything one learns in business school. Which is where the saying, "How do you make a small fortune in the wine business? Start with a large one!" comes from. Yet competition remains fierce as passions and love affairs with Vitis Vinifera remain so strong. Awards for wines and now awards for Sommeliers, producing an even more competitive environment for wine professionals.

Competition for awards and degrees have become a large part of the life of a Sommelier. Complex exams, blind tastings & wine service now separate on paper the knowledgeable from the enthusiast. In an Era where degrees count more than experience, Wine professionals are starting to see this trend as well. Most successful wine professional will agree, the best part of a career in wine is the study. The only way to learn is to have experience, and experience tastes so good. This year I set a goal of getting back to Europe (having a young child can have challenges in the traveling to Europe for weeks at a time department) & continuing the Master Court Sommelier course I started a couple of years ago (Pre-Baby.) I invite all of you to come along (Vicariously of Course.) I plan to make short video diaries of my travel, my classes & my general wine experiences.

Introducing Wine 101 - My Monday Night Classes. Attend my weekly classes as I prepare for upper level sommelier exams by teaching you the knowledge that I learn along the way. A class schedule is on our website under the link Wine 101. A short note: It is sad to see Crush close, if you have friends that used to go to Crush and don't have a new home (let's face it - a good wine bar is like a Home away from Home) tell them to come to Bodega Bar. Remember our Wine Fair is this Saturday and would be a great way to introduce new friends to Bodega Bar.


Cheers,

Amier