Food and wine matching with Rauzan Gassies

Date: Sun, Mar 7, 2010 Wine Tasting Wine Business

I am currently updating the Bordeaux section of www.winetravelguides.com, and just finishing up the South Medoc section. It reminded me that I have some great recipes that I thought I'd share. They were put together by Chateau Rauzan Gassies to work with their wines. The property itself has some fantastic food and wine matching workshops (or just eating opportunities) in their new tasting room in Margaux.

Chateau Rauzan Gassies 1999, with a dark chocolate fondant (they have this as their 'For Him' recipe).

FOR 2 PEOPLE:
Preparation: 10 minutes
Waiting: 15 minutes
Cooking: 15 minutes: 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS:
2 eggs
40 g. of sugar
30 g. of hazel nut powder
50 g. of black chocolate
50 g. of butter + butter and flour for the moulds

Method
Whip together eggs and sugar. Add the hazel nut powder.
In a pan, dissolve the chocolate and butter. Smooth well and add to the
eggs/sugar mixture. Butter and coat with flour some aluminium
Fill up the ramekins. Keep 15 minutes in freezer so that the heart is
Put in the oven for 12 to 14 min (more or less depending on the ovens).
Let cool 10 min and turn them delicately out of the tin.

Best served with Château Rauzan-Gassies 1999
Open the bottle 30 minutes before tasting. Temperature: 18°C.
This vintage which has begun its evolution develops aromas of blackberry, peony, that mix in mouth, to notes of cinnamon, tobacco. A delicious association with the warm and melting chocolate!

Blueberry Muffins and Rauzan Gassies 2003 (they have this as 'For Her')

For 6 muffins
Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking: 20 minutes

Ingredients
2 eggs
120 g. of sugar
1 sachet of vanilla sugar
40 g. of almond powder
120 g. of flour
100 g. of butter
1 teaspoon of yeast
150 g. of fresh or frozen blueberries

Method
Preheat the oven at 180ºC (Th. 6).
Mix together eggs and sugar. Then, pour the melted butter and mix the
Add the almond powder, the flour and yeast.
Spread the paste in the muffins moulds and put in the oven for 20 minutes

Château Rauzan-Gassies 2003
Open the bottle 30 minutes before tasting. Temperature: 18°C.
2003 works best, as the nose is characterized by flavours of very ripe black
fruits and remarkable smoothness in mouth.

Comments

Read Full Wine Blog Post

Is Pauillac most expensive vineyard land in Bordeaux?

Date: Wed, Feb 17, 2010 Wine Tasting Wine Business

A very interesting study was published this week by the Aquitaine Office of Food, Agriculture and Forests (DRAAF), on the price of vineyard land from 1991 to 2008.

It clearly reflects what has happened to the price of the wine itself, which is the enormously widening gulf in Bordeaux between the haves and the have-nots...

If you are looking to buy the basic appellations, from the Cotes, Bordeaux / Bordeaux Superieur, pretty much in fact 39 of the 44 appellations of Bordeaux, your money is going to go a lot further than it did nearly 20 years ago. Pretty depressing reading if you're a winemaker in one of these regions, but the price of land producing AOC Bdx Rouge is down to 13,700 euros per hectare (a drop of 42% from 1991). Cotes de Blaye is at 16,000 euros/ha (a drop of 45%), and red Graves down a whopping 50% to 22,800 euros/ha.

There are five clear winners: Pauillac, Pomerol, Margaux, Saint Julien and Saint Estephe (note that even Saint Emilion doesn't make it into this rareified list, probably because of its size. In fact in 1991, one hecatre of Pomerol was equivalent to 2 hectares of Saint Emilion, whereas in 2008 that same one hectare would have been worth 5 hectares in its neighbouring appellation).

The figures (it was journalist Cesar Compadre in the SudOuest who picked these out, so thankyou Cesar) get particularly incredible when you realise that these five prestigious AOCs account for just 5% of the vineyard area of Aquitaine, but for over 50% of its value. Their value has multiplied five-fold since 1991, and today it would cost you an average of 800,000 euros per hectare to purchase some vines. The average price of vineyard land across the whole of Aquitaine is 65,500 euros/hectare.

There will be another reason, I would imagine, why St Emilion land hasn't risen in quite the same way, and that is the classification system that says its the land that is classified, not the chateau name. Unlike in the Medoc, where a classified 1855 property could buy some parcels of a neighbours vineyard (of course only within their own appellation) and start bottling it in their first wine, therefore raising the price of that vineyard land by (on average) one third. That will start pulling the average price of vineyard land up pretty quickly in those appellations - something that can't happen in Saint Emilion (or at least they have to prove over the course of a decade that the wine has remained as good).

Even the 'nearly there' appellations can't keep pace. Not only in St Emilion losing ground to Pomerol, but one hectare of Pauillac is equal to 12 hectares in Listrac or Moulis - and 20 years ago it was equal to just under 3 hectares.

Comments

Read Full Wine Blog Post

Bordeaux teaching schools get serious

Date: Tue, Feb 16, 2010 Wine Tasting Wine Business

I had a very interesting visit to Chateau Dillon last week, a large and dynamic wine estate based in the southern end of the Medoc ( www.chateau-dillon.com ) that has a teaching school attached.

There are in fact three wine teaching schools in Bordeaux - most famously at Ch la Tour Blanche in Sauternes, but also Ch Dillon and another at château Grand Baril in Montagne St Emilion (not, by the way, Grand Barrail in St Emilion!). These have always been in the shadow of the more prestigious Faculty of Oenology, but have as of January 1, 2010, joined together under one umbrella.

What this means they now have one director (Alain Sixtre, formerly director of ch Dillon), will share teaching staff and allow the students to get experience of practical wine making from pruning to vinification in the three very different approaches of Left Bank, Right Bank and Sauternes. Basically the intention is to raise their profile and improve training standards. They do a lot of research and development and will now work together on research (on things like, right now, using acacia barrels rather than oak, and development of carbon-neutral, low impact winemaking).

The schools are state funded, but the wine estates attached are run as entirely separate businesses, as commercial enterprises (but ones that must undertake to allow students to take part in the winemaking and viticulture).

They are interesting properties to know about, because the teaching aspect means they have access to many of the latest machines and experimental techniques in the vineyard (and their dynamism, in the case of Dillon at least, is also seen in having ecommerce on their website... slowly, slowly, more Bordeaux chateaux are doing this).

Comments

Read Full Wine Blog Post

Bordeaux negociant joins forces with American importer

Date: Sun, Feb 7, 2010 Wine Tasting Wine Business

This news story has been briefly reported in the past week or so, but I thought I'd put a more in-depth look at it here - as yet more proof of how the Bordeaux negociants are trying to regain their footing in the US market, and no doubt with great urgency before the 2009 en primeur campaign gets underway in a month or so.

Compagnie Médocaine des Grands Crus (a subsidiary of AXA Millesimes, owners of Pichon Baron and Petit Village) has announce a partnership with Frederick Wildman and Sons (longest established fine wine importer in the US) for the distribution and marketing of Bordeaux Classified and Cru Bourgeois estates and chateaux in the United States.

The partnership begins on March 1st, and will give all the wines offered by Compagneie Medocaine a direct route the market to US wholesale and retail customers - many of whom would have been previously served by Chateaux & Estates (see last post).

“We are delighted to enter into a collaboration with our long-time friends at Compagnie Médocaine des Grands Crus”, said Wildman President, Richard Cacciato in a press release. “We have long observed the Bordeaux market and were very active years ago when the market conditions were more propitious”, continued Cacciato. “They are again now, and we consider it an honor and a duty to be part of the Bordeaux Market with CMGC. This partnership will allow us to provide a tremendous service to our distributors and customers”.

Compagnie Médocaine des Grands Crus’ Managing Director, Georges Haushalter, added, “We have been present in the United States for many years now and are delighted to enhance our existing business with a partner as well established as Frederick Wildman and Sons. The United States market and our many customers there are very important to us”, Haushalter continued, “and this connection will allow us to provide even more service to them. Equally important, we will be able to provide greater distribution to the chateaux and domaines in Bordeaux with whom we work closely”.

Comments

Read Full Wine Blog Post

Gruaud Larose buys back its wines from the US

Date: Fri, Feb 5, 2010 Wine Tasting Wine Business

There have been some very interesting stories out this week about the continued fall out of Chateaux & Estates (subsidiary of Diageo) pulling out of Bordeaux in the US market after 35 years of being the major buyer of en primeur wines.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100202/lf_afp/franceusdrinkwineindustrybordeaux_20100202053025 (from journalist Suzanne Mustacich)
http://thepour.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/16/filling-a-gap-in-the-bordeaux-market/ (back in December from New York Times)

So I was very interested to receive a press release from Château Gruaud Larose in Saint Julien concerning the steps that they have taken.

Apparently, the chateau has just bought back 15 different vintages of its wines from US importer Chateau & Estate Wines.

'After years of strong sales, Gruaud Larose considered the opportunity to re-build its famous oenotheque going down to 1815 through this acquisition. Regarding recent vintages, Gruaud Larose will be in a position to respond favourably to the rising demand from clients based in Asia.

"When it was official that Chateau & Estate Wines was stopping everything and going to sell off its stock, immediately we were in contact," said Jean Merlaut, owner of Château Gruaud Larose, to the news agency AFP. “I considered to buy 2,700 cases of Gruaud Larose wines which were stocked in perfect conditions either in the US or still in our château. This a great opportunity for our oenotheque and Château Gruaud Larose, which is particularly appreciated in America, needed at the same time to protect wine merchants in order to help them to continue their business as usual. After many years of strong sales, Gruaud Larose needed to re-build its oenotheque and the perfect quality of Chateau & Estate Wines’ stock was an ideal opportunity.

Regarding recent vintages, Gruaud Larose will finally be in a position to respond favourably to the rising demand from clients based in Asia, a part of the world where our brand image has
developed strongly over the last few years. For the rest, I am pretty sure that some of these wines will return to the USA in a few years.”

Comments

Read Full Wine Blog Post

Opportunities in the UK wine market

Date: Fri, Jan 29, 2010 Wine Tasting Wine Business

At the end of a very interesting week taking 13 women winemakers around London, in our now fourth annual immersion week!

The winemakers have been to Tesco head office, to the brilliant Sampler wine shop in Islington (soon to open a second store in Kensington), to meet a sommelier organisation, and to meet the press team at Decanter.

One of the most interesting talks has been from Summit, the company responsible for all the promotions of Bordeaux wine across the UK. They gave a snapshot of the UK wine market, and how Bordeaux fits in to it.

A few of their findings:
Tesco and Sainsburys are 45% of UK market. Supermarkets in total are 70.6% of the market
Mail order and internet now up to 12% of market
Tesco next year are set to overtake Direct Wine in terms of market share with their online wine offering.
Sainsburys in 2010 are also expanding into mail order wine service.

France still dominant in the on-trade (the only sector where it is), but lost 2.5million cases last year.

In ontrade, 52.8% white, 12% rose (Doubled in two years) and rest is red.
Consumption 9 litres per capita in 1991 to 27l per capita in 2009 (bdx 1.7% of that) – was 3% in 1991. France had 35% of the market in 1991, has 15% today
New World had 5% in 1991, has 59% today. Own labels were 50% then, today are around 15%

Average price in the off-trade is £4.32 (up from £4.02 in 2007, but mainy due to VAT increases). France average price is £4.91.

Off licenses down 18% over 2009 mainly because of Threshers.

Under £4, france does very badly and has lost a lot of volume, because other countries do it better. But once you hit over £4, particularly £5plus, it is growing, and has been doing so consistently for the last few years. Bordeaux tends to lose in volume and gain in value.

Bdx 1.3 million cases in the UK – total of all the chtx.
Over £5 category for wine has grown by 34% in the last two years (07-09), and by 60% in the last 5 years.

21% of market is premium, over £5 (in UK) – and that works for Bordeaux. 21.3 million cases. France is second in this category, and Bdx is 25% of that. Bdx currently has 7% of the over £5 market in the UK.
(Australia is still number one in this +£5 category, mainly for wines that are priced between £5 and £6)
79% of market is under £5.
Average price of a Bdx wine in the UK is £6.20

The main opportunities identified for Bordeaux were:
Capitalising on its reputation
Converting new consumers who have grown up on New World wine
Breadth of offer/home of varietals
Growth of £5+
Association with food
Promoting their white and rose offerings
Gaining a larger share of internet and small specialist stores

Comments

Read Full Wine Blog Post

‘The market for the First Growths has permanently shifted’

Date: Mon, Jan 11, 2010 Wine Tasting Wine Business

As 2010 gets underway, Bordeaux is already thinking about the en primeur week in early April. I thought I would kick off the year with an interview I had with Nick Pegna, managing director Berrys Hong Kong. I did this interview in October 2009, but have just got round to writing it up in its entirety, as it is relevant to an article I am currently writing on wine storage. Sorry for the delay Nick!

The 09 vintage. ‘My first reaction after hearing reports of the quality was not dismay, but concern. Of course we all want great wine, but is the market ready? There is a difference between the perception of quality and the reality of market conditions.’

‘But quality vintages always have their place, and are a benchmark of what Bordeaux can do.
Everything I have heard is that they will draw a line in the sand and say ‘this is what these wines are worth’.

'I do have a slight concern for merchants stretching the credulity of their customers to say four years later that here is another vintakge of the century – and I find it hard to believe it can be as good as 2005. It will be a tough sell to those who bought into the concept of 2005.

'From a market persective thing we are in a strong position in this part of the world. Of course the downturn is tough, and a double dip is possible, but we are in a good position in Hong Kong. No real exchange rate issues, and more importantly people are still enjoying the feeling of prosperity – they are still in jobs, still making money, no great interest rate rises, overall the mood is quite positive, restaurants and hotels are full and a huge amount of business in being done in fine wine.‘

‘Certainly there is a feeling that the centre of influence is shifting. If first growths release at 275/300 euros a bottle, Europe will say it is too much, and the speculative money has been swallowed up even if they want it. But here is Aisa, there is still an appetite for it.’

‘Wine now goes to Asia and it stays there. It’s not a bubble being created... great bottles are coming here, and are being druink. But there is an assumption from chateaux owners that China will open up tomorrow. There is no particular indication that this is going to happen – no change in duty on wine as yet. Korea has just announced it will bring duty down, and feel more and more that this region is in a better position to negociate, particularly if existing positions in the US are not being taken up. If you are a collector of fine wines, the auctions in Hong Kong are a pretty happy place to be, and since the introduction of 0% duty, we have never been busier.’

'For the UK, the weak pound is a substantial benefit right now, because current stocks are cheap and so sell well. But once those stocks are depleted, replenishing will be much more expensive, so as the market becomes less competitive, the honeymoon period will come to an end.

'But I think the relevance of the UK market is not going to diminish, because still have fanstastic trading relationships, and if you want big allocations, you still often have to go through UK merchants.'

'Maybe we can exclude the UK and the US from the vintage in a major way, and perhaps Asia will become the most important buyer for the first tine. It started to happen with the 2008 vintage, when Berrys for the first time sold more en primeur in Hong Kong than in London for the first time. 80% of our business is in Hong Kong and China.

The concept of en primeur is not easy if you have just started getting involved in fine wine. It’s a mistake of course to write off the traditional markets. We are enjoying a buoyant market in Asia, but no one is saying that Eruope and the UK is over. Appetite to spend on wines may not be there right now, but it will come back. But I do believe that for first growths, sales are permanently shifting. Today, we sell big quantities of Lynch Bages, but sell more first growths than we do seconds and thirds, and that seems to me a fundamental change.’

Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing – there is ia thirst for these wines there, and they are not buying just for the image, as perhaps happened in Japan in the 1980s and 90s, they are buying to drink. Also true of Burgundy – we sell more Romanee Conti than almost any other Burgundy wine. Just yesterday we sold £3/4 milion of Romanee conti to a private collctor, and there is no chance that will ever go back on the secondary market, he’s going to drink that.’

‘They buy as collectors, but when it comes to selling, it becomes a consumer product and they want to enjoy it.’

Comments

Read Full Wine Blog Post

First Bordeaux consultant to release Green Winemaking Charter

Date: Fri, Dec 11, 2009 Wine Tasting Wine Business

Following on from the Carbon Initiative begun last year by the Bordeaux Wine Bureau (with aims to reduce emissions by 75% by 2050), Bordeaux wine consultant Olivier Dauga has taken a leading role in ensuring it reaches its commitment.

As an influential consultant in the region, working with over 30 properties, Dauga is using his role
to convince wine producers to adopt a more environmental-friendly approach to their winemaking.
‘We need to be thinking together about how we can protect our environment and our cultural
heritage for future generations. I believe that organic winemaking doesn’t go far enough, and it is
difficult to follow financially. Instead, this Charter is based upon common sense, and practical
ways to lower carbon footprint while making natural, healthy wines.’ says Dauga.

The charter has taken nearly a year to research and compile, helped by Geology Masters researcher
Romain Leycuras. Launched this week, Dauga hopes to begin rolling it out with his clients in early
2010.

The Charter looks at key stages across the entire winemaking cycle, and suggests concrete ways
to optimise energy consumption, to reduce dependence on non-renewable sources of energy, to
phase out use of herbicides, to apply prevention rather than cure measures against disease, to
respect treatment thresholds, to encourage biodiversity, and to ensure reduced use of sulphur in
the cellars.

‘There are many practical ways which ensure clean, clever winemaking and keep the quality of our
wines paramount,’ says Dauga. ‘Part of the solution is using sensible viticulture such as clearing
weeds away manually and not using treatments, and partly it is understanding as new
technologies evolve to help us find ecologically-sound solutions. Part of my job with this charter
will be to ensure my clients know not just what is out there, but what is coming.’

www.daugabordeaux.com

Comments

Read Full Wine Blog Post

Liv-ex: Bordeaux 2009 Play or Pass?

Date: Tue, Dec 8, 2009 Wine Tasting Wine Business

The Liv-ex monthly report came out this week, and included an interesting final passage on the 2009 en primeurs that I hope they don't mind my repeating here:

The major event of 2010 is sure to be the 2009 Bordeaux en primeur campaign. If early reports are to be believed, quality is on a par with some of the region’s finest vintages ever. With the last three campaigns having been mediocre at best, there will surely be an attempt to increase prices to maximise revenue. This is particularly true of the First Growths, who released the 2008s at prices
significantly lower than both 2007 and 2006. Is the 2005 release price a likely target? Since the summer of 2006, currency movements have been far from kind to UK and US consumers. A return to the price of the 2005 vintage in euro terms would make it the most expensive vintage on record, by 30% for UK buyers and 26% for those in the US. This would also make the vintage a pricey option when compared to other currently available years. Looking at current exchange rates and wines available on the market, only the 1982, 2000 and 2005 vintages would fetch a higher price.

With this in mind, what is the best buying strategy in 2009? The answer may be somewhat surprising. The last vintage released at a big premium to the general market was the 2005 – which was priced higher at release than all other generally available years, bar 1982. (Liv-ex compiled an interesting chart which showed the percentage price increase of 33 leading chateaux from July 2006 to November 2009 in selected vintages, and showed that the 2005 vintage has actually been the worst performer since its release).

It is the comparatively lesser years of 2001 and 2002 that have shown the greatest returns, with both showing a price rise of 89% over the period. Indeed, the average price increase of all other vintages in the chart equals 63%; 18% higher than that shown by 2005. In essence, the high price of the 2005 vintage sparked price rises among its lower priced peers. If the trend of four years ago is repeated, then 2006 and 2008 are likely to represent the best opportunities for investment. Key to this, however, will be the scores update for the 2008 vintage – will Parker reconsider his lofty
scores with a potentially legendary vintage now in barrel? The 2004 vintage and those of the mid 90s also look extremely cheap.

So just how successful will the campaign be? In general the outlook is positive. The buzz surrounding the vintage is enormous and collectors and merchants who have largely sat out recent campaigns may well return. There are, however, a number of caveats to consider. With exchange rates against them and the recovery still fragile, collectors in the US and UK may tread carefully, particularly at the very top end. The US is also suffering from the withdrawal of Diageo from the market, formerly the largest US buyer of en primeur.

Asian demand for a big en primeur campaign is also uncertain. Traditionally Asian collectors have chased brand and value, looking for the cheapest examples of the wines they favour. They also prefer to buy wine when it is physical. Will buying expensive wine on a futures basis appeal? It seems unlikely that Asia will replace the demand lost in the UK/US completely. There are certainly no guarantees that general demand will return to the levels seen for the 2005 vintage and the chateaux will need to price the wines carefully to support the still fragile market recovery of the past 12 months. Nevertheless, a blockbuster vintage will attract both publicity and new money and this can only be positive for the market in 2010.

Comments

Read Full Wine Blog Post

Jean Michel Cazes in 'Drops of the Gods' manga

Date: Sun, Dec 6, 2009 Wine Tasting Wine Business

I wrote a story for Decanter this week on Jean Michel Cazes taking a starring role in the cult Japanese manga 'Drops of the Gods', and particularly the 2003 vintage of his Chateau Ormes de Pez.

http://www.decanter.com/news/292551.html

I thought I would add here the response from Marina Cazes, his daughter, with some interesting background on how it happened:

'We had absolutely no idea that my father was going to be pictured as a manga character and that such focus would be given on Ormes de Pez and our other activities.

Indeed, Shin and Yuko Kibayashi recently came to Pauillac where they were intronised by the Commanderie and, on that occasion, Shin Kibayashi ran the Marathon!

We only had a subtle feeling at that time that both of them had enjoyed pretty much Ormes de Pez 2003 during a dinner at Cordeillan-Bages. I think my father was not expecting at all to be featured as part of the story… but in my opinon, the cartoonist has managed to capture some of his expressions.

For me what was most touching was the allusion to my grand-father André Cazes: that is another detail where fiction meets reality as my father actually gave one of my grand-father’s hat to Shin Kibayashi...

We first heard about “Les Gouttes de Dieu” thanks to an article published in the New York Times last October 2008. And about the same time, my father ran into the cartoonist Shu Okimoto at Café Lavinal in Bages. She was visiting Lynch-Bages with a Japanese friend from Bordeaux. They had a good contact. Shu Okimoto told my father that the authors had been invited by the CIVB for the Medoc Marathon. He offerred to help them organize their visit in Bordeaux and invited them to stay at Cordeillan. The induction in the Commanderie was a "must". Then contact was established with both the publisher in Japan, Kodansha Company, and the French publisher Jacques Glénat who was also very helpful.

The authors are truly great French wines ambassadors. They do have a unique talent to describe wines; just think about the comparison between Château Mont Pérat and the band Queen for instance!
Also the series is very educational in a positive way: it creates a new connexion between manga readers (a traditionally young audience) and the world of wines as it turns it more accessible through emotions and images.

Of course we are aware of the impact of that series on French wines sales in Japan but our crystal ball is quite hazy to predict the effect on the sales of Ormes de Pez… I think it is too soon to come up with a forecast, however, our distribution partners have already given us a very positive feedback as they will undeniably use it as a promotion tool.

And last, but not least, we are very happy with the way Ormes de Pez is showcased in that episode: the fascinating dance of the flames in the fireplace, the crackling logs and family get-together… what a hearty and evocative description…'

Link to a reproduction of the manga here:
http://www.lynchbages.com/manga_news/manga_uk.pdf

Comments

Read Full Wine Blog Post

New Pomerol Estate

Date: Fri, Nov 27, 2009 Wine Tasting Wine Business

Creating a new estate in this tiny appellation is extremely rare, as the 780 hectares of land are already divided up into a patchwork of tiny estates, and any plots that come on the market tend to be snapped up by existing owners (you may remember me mentioning the racetrack that is due to add an extra 13 hectares http://www.decanter.com/news/289932.html )

So it was very exciting to taste Chateau La Connivence on Friday (and to be the first English-speaking journalist to do so!). This 1.45ha plot (going up to 1.55 in a few years as some new vines are being planted in 2010) has been newly established from vines that previously belonged to Chateau les Templiers, which was broken up for succession reasons. It's currently building a winery on site, and the 2008 vintage will be released in May of next year, with just 2,000 bottles and around 500 bottles of a second wine La Belle Connivence.

Four friends are behind the idea; Alexandre de Malet Roquefort (of La Gaffelière), engineer and businessman Jean-Luc Deloche,and two Bordeaux and French national team footballers Matthieu Chalmé and Johan Micoud (in France, second only in fame to Zidane; both pictured below). Stéphane Dérénoncourt in on board as consultant.

The vines are located on a little gravel croup near to the main Libourne road, which is always a few degrees warmer than the rest of the appellation because closer to the city of Libourne (the same principle applies to the Pessac Leognan appellation and the city of Bordeaux).

The intention is to create something very high-end and customers will only be able to buy a maximum of a dozen bottles of each year (they never intend production to go above 3,000 bottles, and even professionals will be limited to 270 bottles, with exclusivities in various countries). And at around 155 euros, it is definitely going to attempt to position itself in the top league of the appellation.

I was genuinely surprised by this wine. The idea of basically a garage wine, micro-production, with celebrities on board (not only the footballers, but the wine will have a 'godfather' each year as an ambassador, as Bernard Magrez does with Pape Clement. The first of these will be actor François Berléand) meant I was expecting a blockbuster, dripping with alcohol, liquorice and chocolate.

Instead, I got a wine that has a very fine structure, that doesn't immediately jump out at you but builds in power on the palate. They talk about it being a 'terroir wine', and I can see why. It's almost entirely farmed organically, although not certified, and its 95% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon berries go whole into 400 litre Burgundy barrels for integral vinification (that never goes above 28 degrees). No bleeding of the wine, and only a tiny amount of press will be used (none was in 2008 but the quality in 2009 is so good that around 5% press will go into the wine). It will stay in barrel for around 18 to 20 months (they are not quite sure yet, as this is the first vintage). Malo starts naturally (as in Ch Rouget in Pomerol, and apparently also Ducru Beaucaillou in St Julien). Currently they are renting space in a neighbouring cellar, but construction of a winery should be compete in the next two years.

There are four types of soil across the 1.5ha - large gravel with good drainage, fine gravel, then sandy-clay and sand-crasse de fer. Alexandre told me yesterday that they were offered more of the 6 hectares of Les Templiers, but they only took the very best parts.

This is a wonderful wine, with loganberry and blackberry flavours that sit for a while in the mouth, then gather steam. There is a real power beneath, and a serious tannic structure, but elegance and soft plummy fruits is the impression that stays with you. I tasted a number of wonderful wines yesterday during a day in Pomerol researching for Opus Vino, but this was the one that I was still thinking about last night.

www.chateaulaconnivence.com

Comments

Read Full Wine Blog Post

How does Bordeaux fit into the Future of Wine?

Date: Thu, Nov 19, 2009 Wine Tasting Wine Business

In the interest of doing what I say on the tin, I thought it would be useful to highlight how Bordeaux fared during the Wine Future conference in Rioja.

For a start, there were very few Bordelais winemakers there. Among the non-speakers, I saw Jean Charles Cazes, and reportedly Bernard Magrez was there, although I didn’t see him personally (would love to hear what he took away from the two days though; if anyone can squeeze something useful out of this, it has to be Magrez; definitely one Twitter feed I would like to subscribe to). There was also a Pessac Leognan chateau (can’t remember which one – money well spent there, sorry about that guys) in the lunchtime tasting. I asked one of the delegates why there were so few people from Bordeaux, and they replied, ‘Perhaps they are jealous of Rioja having had the idea to hold the conference?’.

On the stage, there was one main Bordeaux speaker; Mathieu Chardronnier from CVBG Dourthe, who represented the new generation of Bordeaux (he is in his early 30s) and was speaking about the crisis. Then Paul Pontallier of Chateau Margaux spoke on the second day, but just in the round table at the closing ceremony. This seemed entirely fair – no one country was represented more than that (okay, perhaps the US got the most, with Bob Parker, Ryan Opaz, Gary Vayn-er-chuck (thanks Gavin at Bauduc for the spelling, very helpful!), Kevin Zraly and Mel Dick, and I’m probably forgetting others) and it was clever to have one person from the old guard and one from the new.

What did Mathieu have to say? His speech was generally well received (although he felt it was mis-represented in some media outlets afterwards – nicely illustrating Gary’s point about telling our own stories).

A few highlights: ‘Bordeaux classified wines are the Champs Elysee of Bordeaux, but also the Silicon Valley – the Hermes, but also the Google.’ He very much drew a line between the grand crus and the rest of Bordeaux in terms of the crisis – although didn’t pretend that things are rosy for anyone, talking about the exchange rate leading many sellers around the world to liquidate their stocks, and how ‘many in Bordeaux are literally fighting for their survival because were already in a crisis before the global financial issues’, and that excessive regulations have long made France uncompetitive.

But the interesting part was how he saw the future – far more ‘vertical integration’ in terms of negociants becoming producers, and producers becoming negociants (or at the very least becoming their own sales team). Dourthe are a good example of this – they are a major, Top 10 negociant house, but have an increasingly big portfolio of their own estates, and with 500 hectares are now one of the most significant vineyard owners in the region.

He talked about other good quality, emerging producers such as the Despagne Family ( blog.despagne.fr ) and Michel Lynch (cheating a little, as this is the branded wine end of JM Cazes and Lynch Bages www.michellynch.com ), and saw the way out of the crisis as vineyard-driven through quality - seeing the future of Bordeaux as belonging to premium and super premium wines. This might be tough to take for many of the small producers in little-known appellations, but it’s very likely to be true – he rightly said it is very tough for Bordeaux to be competitive at $5 because climate and cost structure don’t allow it, but it is easy for them to be competitive at $20, when buyers are looking for quality wines of character. He also pointed out that Bordeaux was badly in need of undisputed leaders in this category.

Jean Charles Cazes confirmed many of these thoughts for me afterwards, and suggested that, particularly with the withdrawal of Southern Wine & Spirits and Diageo from the en primeur market, sensible Bordeaux chateaux, even classified growths, were having to relook at the way they work with negociants and merchants in the US, and take more of a direct role themselves.

Then there was the round-table at the end of the whole thing, and Bordeaux inevitably came into play again, in answer to the question can the best of Spain compete with Bordeaux in terms of prestige and demand? The answer (from Jorge Ordoñez, an influential importer of Spanish wines in the US) talked about the Vega Sicilia auction in Hong Kong last week http://finewine.finewinepress.com/journal/?p=2243 , as proof that yes they can compete, and brought up a lively exchange that I will recreate here (as best as my notes can allow):

BOB PARKER: I am against all forms of government intervention, but I do wish that the word speculation would be banned from use in association with the word wine. To believe that you are producing a wine for speculators, or that is going to increase in value, is wrong. You should be thinking of producing a wine that people will drink, not speculate upon, and the whole idea of speculation is relevant for less than 1% of wine lovers. Even though my scores are used for the worst possible scenarios, speculation for me is a dirty word.

JORGE ORDONEZ I agree, and I also know the reason behind Vega Sicilia’s auction at Christies was for prestige and awareness of the product, not speculation as such. More and more consumers in Asia buy these wines at auction, and then drink them immediately. So Hong Kong is becoming a major centre of auctions, and the wines are being consumed, not traded. But I agree with Bob that it is not a good thing for the wine trade.

JANCIS ROBINSON, turning to PAUL PONTALLIER – isn’t it sad sometimes, as someone making one of the great Bordeaux, isn’t it sad that some of this wine will be traded rather than drunk?

PONTALLIER Certainly we don’t feel very happy about it. The bad news is that there is nothing you can do against it. The good news is that when we make it, we don’t pay attention to that. We still make wine for people that enjoy them – now, in 20, 30 and 40 years time. Speculation has affected the market in terms of price, but not affected the quality, and perhaps even pushed up the quality. But honestly don’t think that anyone in Bordeaux makes wine for the speculators. We make it for the wine lovers who will open the bottle and enjoy it’ (!!exclamation marks entirely my own).

Another part of the ‘round-table’ can be seen here (answers to the question about the leading challenges facing the panellists at the moment)
http://catavino.net/event/wine-future-conference-brief-overview-of-day-2-la-rioja-spain/

I don't think they have yet decided where Wine Future 2010 is going to be held... can Bordeaux step up and meet the challenge??

Comments

Read Full Wine Blog Post

Wine Future: what will it look like?

Date: Wed, Nov 18, 2009 Wine Tasting Wine Business

I've been back from the Wine Future conference in Rioja for a few days now, and have been hearing from a number of other attendees who agree that it was fascinating in parts, but patchy, with speakers dividing into those who stayed on point and talked about the future (the clue was in the title guys), and those who just talked about themselves, and their own organisations.

One of the most interesting things for me was how fun and useful it was to use Twitter during the two days - to comment on talks, to locate people, and to track the general mood of the conference. 'If this is the future of wine, I'm changing industries...'. said Decanter correspondent and MW student Rebecca Gibb on her twitter feed (@rebeccagibb) on the first day.

She definitely had a point that things got off to a shaky start - we were treated on the first day to Spain's leading wine writer telling us he was going to make his writing more succint in the most rambling speech of the day, and Mel Dick of Southern Wine & Spirits telling us that a Florida wine festival had benefited from sunshine and blue seas.

Thank god for Gary Vaynerchuck of WineTV tv.winelibrary.com, who livened things up by assuring the assembled wine producers that they had been shamefully negligent for ignoring their consumers and allowing third parties (stand up wine writers) to tell their stories for them. He was a showman, and enormously entertaining to watch (Robert Parker said on his forum afterwards that Vaynerchuck has a career in motivational speaking ahead of him that is going to net him millions).

The highlight on the first day was - inevitably - the Robert Parker tasting, attended by 530 people, the biggest wine tasting to date in Europe apparently. I'm afraid I wasn't one of these 530, so can only give feedback that I have heard from others - one Bordeaux producer who said, 'it confirmed that Bob has a very different palate from me', and one journalist who was asked not to write about the event. That needed a moment to process - what do you mean don't write about the event? Apart from the fact that there were (apparently) five Flip cameras in the room, and numerous tweets going out throughout... what exactly would Parker have to be afraid of about someone writing about the tasting? And although I missed it, I was lucky enough to try the 1945 Marques de Riscal a few days later - the wine that finished the Parker tasting, and was still amazingly vibrant and youthful.

So, highlights of the conference?
Robert Joseph's excellent talk on the future of branding. He expects there to be:
- fewer and fewer wineries because of lack of routes to market, and few appellations because there will be no reason for them to exist.
- clearer distinctions between beverage wines and fine wines
- Wine will no longer automatically come in bottles with corks - or even screwcaps. 'Wine is everything from Blossom Hill to Vega Sicilia. Why do they all need corkscrews, glasses, corks... and please tell me why anyone needs to drink rose with a cork?'
- Education will have its place, but rather than focus so much on that, why not make wine easier to understand??

And from various speakers, but most eloquently Ryan Opaz of the brilliant http://catavino.net/ and Gary Vaynerchuck, the rise of social media as a game-changing way of doing business. And how lazy and dangerous it is for brand owners and wineries to leave their story in the hands of others, instead of telling their own stories though facebook, twitter and their own websites.

Ryan again emphasised how education might not always be as clear-cut as it can seem to the wine industry: 'The problem is retailers, importers, and the press were all trying to sell the same package of BS that you need to “know wine” to love wine. It’s the teach first drink later model, which I believe leads too often to consumers afraid that they might do something wrong, and as a result they end up simply buying based on price and what the label looks like. Why, because they are the only things not trying to tell them that they aren’t smart enough to enjoy wine'

(this point, by the way, was emphasised so clearly by the wine educators who disappointingly gave the worst 'block' of talks of the whole two days).

Read the whole of his excellent speech here:
http://catavino.net/event/ryans-speech-at-winefuture-conference-in-logrono-spain/

Comments

Read Full Wine Blog Post

Tasting the First Growths

Date: Fri, Nov 13, 2009 Wine Tasting Wine Business

Halfway through the tasting, it suddenly sunk in just how great this was. It’s not every day that you have all five first growths – Margaux, Haut Brion, Mouton, Lafite then Latour – lined up in five glasses in front of you, and with two further glasses to the right, one with Cheval Blanc and one with Ausone. All 2006s, all ready to be tasted in one flight.

During en primeur every year, the first growths do everything they can to avoid you ever getting them lined up against one another like this, insisting you visit each chateau in person, and for the rest of the year, it is only professionals and seriously-well heeled wine lovers who get the chance to taste them together. If we were recreating this tasting at home, and buying all seven of these bottles, it would cost around 4,500 euros...

This wasn’t just a frivolous exercise by the way (god no!), but was a test, nearly three weeks after Max Bordeaux/Wine Gallery (they really should choose one name) opened to see how the wines were holding up in the Enomatic machines. The tasting was with owner Stanislas and PR director Lorraine Carrigan, and we were trying 2.5cl samples of every wine they have in the machines – nearly 40 in total, all in the 2004 and 2006 vintages. The storage Stanislas uses keeps the wines at 16 degrees, and the humidity at 60%. The machines also have the reds at 16 degrees, and the whites at 9 degrees. In theory, the Enomatic technique should keep the wine fresh for three weeks... so did it work?

We started up in Saint Estephe, and worked our way down geographically... and along the way, became more and more aware that this was not just a useful test of the machines, but a wonderful way to make the individual personalities of these wines really become clear. Again thinking about the primeurs, we are used to trying appellations all at one time, but less used to having Leoville next to Angelus, or Cos next to La Conseillante.

1) Cos d’Estournel 2004 – Not a bad place to start. I think it tasted more evolved than a comparable 2004 not out of the machine would taste (this bottle was unchanged since opening), with ever so slight oxidation, and ageing characteristics, but that worked to its favour, as it is open, silky and enormously seductive.
2) Montrose 2006 – Not changed for the three weeks again, but this was ‘at the limit’, gets promptly changed to a new bottle (which we mean to taste again at the end, but somehow it gets lost in the profusion of exciting samples...)
3) Pontet Canet 2006 – Third bottle that they have got through in three weeks, as it’s been a popular choice (I tried it also on the first night. This together with Smith Haut Lafitte and Lynch Bages have been most sampled). It stands up enormously well, wonderfully weighty mouth-feel, with purity of fruit.
4) Lynch Bages 2006 – Still very good condition, the tannins are tighter than Pontet Canet, this feels more of a classic Pauillac, masculine, confident, with weight and power.
5) Pichon Comtesse 2004 – There is a smokier edge to this wine than the other Pauillacs here, it’s also more subtle than the other two, silky and gorgeous ripe damson fruits. This has been changed twice, so the bottle is still very fresh – definitely something you would want to be drinking today over a good lunch.
6) Pichon Comtesse 2006 – Tighter tannins, stylistically feels more ‘Pauillac’, still that lovely sweet smoky edge, and some animal notes. Needs time.
7) Pichon Baron 2006 – Has been in the machine for three weeks, and another one, as with Montrose, that is ‘on the limit’. Doesn’t feel fair to judge, although we all notice that the core of the wine is still good, the machine seems to have affected the nose, and the finish.
8) Pichon Baron 2004 – Much more successful, the Cabernet has opened up, evolved nicely, still powerful but with a soft edge, delicious.
9) Lynch Bages 2004 – Again the evolution is very successful, giving a soft edge to the powerful tannins, and just gently opening up the hard knit black fruits.
10) Pontet Canet 2004 – This feels far younger than the other two 2004s just tasted, still real power and density, and rich liquorice seams in the wine. All three have the original bottles.
11) Ch d’Armailhac 2006 – the first of the trio of ‘other wines’ of Mouton and Lafite. Found the same thing as the Pichon – strange on the nose, and the finish a bit difficult, but the main core of the wine is still delicious. This bottle was immediately changed.
12) Clerc Milon 2006 – Tight tannins, plenty of liquorice and cabernet. The ‘Enomatic’ nose cleared within a few seconds, and the wine tasted great.
13) Duhart Milon 2006 – Again, this tasted great, very smooth tannins, plenty of coffee and chocolate, with very elegant expression of Cabernet.
14) Margaux 2006 – When we decided to do this tasting geographically, it was inevitable that we would have the first growths in the middle. But it worked, as we’d had some wines to open up our palates, but were still fresh. Sadly, this was the last measure in the bottle, and did seem to have been affected by the Enomatic machine. It has a wonderful rich fruit core, but didn’t have the usual length of a Margaux.
15) Haut Brion 2006 – Absolutely gorgeous. Rich, textured, beautiful wine. Everyone started smiling at about this point, wetting their lips in anticipation of the rest of this particular flight...
16) Mouton 20006 – this got one of the highest Parker scores of the year, and based on this tasting, it is easy to see why. Just bursting with personality, swaggeringly confident but very refined, with pure expression of ripe Cabernet.
17) Lafite 2006 – Nose is more closed, this is more masculine, just as you would imagine. Think this almost benefits from the gentle oxidation of the machine... it is rich, but open on the palate, and gives a hint of what it will become.
18) Latour 2006 – this is so elegant, the Cabernet Sauvignon is restrained and the tannins are unmistakably there, but their expression is almost delicate, not at all intrusive.
19) Haut Brion 2004 – Rich, textured, really a beautiful wine.
20) Cheval Blanc 2006 – Okay, over to the Right Bank, and a wonderful richness that comes in from the Merlot and Cabernet Franc. A collective ‘wow’ around the table.
21) Ausone 2006 – My favourite of the Magnificent Seven... such incredible freshness at the end of the palate, it’s all so precise and perfectly aligned – you get the richness of the fruit at first, and then it picks you up gently right at the end with an almost minty caress.
22) Angelus 2006 – Must toastier than the ‘first growths’, more modern in style, but delicious, and does certainly hold its own.
23) Figeac 2006 – Nicely opening, very flattering wine, rich red fruits and a good tannic structure. There is the slight reduction at first, we are starting to think this is an effect of the machine – but it passes very quickly.
24) Vieux Chateau Certan 2004 – Has the slightly strange machine taste at first, with some reduction evident, but almost immediately disappears, and left with the lovely refined and satisfying taste of this wine.
25) L’Evangile 2006 – Bottle issues with this one.
26) La Lagune 2006 – No problem with the storage, a good wine. (sorry, but you try following the last ten wines...)
27) Ch Smith Haut Lafitte 2006 (2 euros) – One of the most popular since the opening three weeks ago, modern in style, good smoky taste, a very accomplished Pessac.
28) Ch Haut Bailly 2006 (3 euros) – Tight fruit, still very young, but very accomplished.
29) Haut Bailly 2004 - – a favourite, silky, soft, does take a moment for the ‘machine’ taste to disappear completely (this one has not been changed since opening) but it doesn’t take nlong.
30) Chateau La Mission Haut Brion 2006 – Another wine to elicit a sigh of appreciation from all three tasters. Amazing depth of flavour, rich black fruits, great concentration
31) Ducru Beaucaillou 20006. (5 euros) Tight tannins, good black fruits
32) La Conseillante 2006 – Lovely fruit, fresh and vibrant, very good. I tasted this on the opening night also, the bottle has been changed one since, and the taste is very consistent – the machine clearly has done a good job here.
33) Ch Palmer 2006 – Not a bad one to end on... 8 euros for the 2.5cl sample, superlative wine, sikly tannins, rich deep fruits.

We then switched to two white wines; Chateau Carbonnieux 2006 and Domaine de Chevalier 2006. The first was all cut grass and classic sauvignon flavours, fruity, crisp and light. The second had more obvious ageing potential, with rich Semillon and a floral nose.

And finally, two little known Sauternes, Ch Riessec 2004 and Chateau Yquem 2004. The Rieussec was full of marmalade, rich and luxurious. It is again one of the most popular bottles in the shop (and the Yquem not far behind, not surprisingly as it is only 10 euros for the 2.5cl glass). The Yquem had more of a floral nose, and more obvious seam of freshness running through it, unbelievable balance between sweet and sour, just a gorgeous wine.

What did we learn about the machines? That three weeks is maybe a bit optimistic, but there seems to be no degradation after two. And that as the level of wine goes down in the bottle, so the evolution speeds up. We questioned whether alcohol levels, or even grape variety, would make a difference to how long the wines last. This surely comes into play, as the sweet wines were still bursting with flavour after the three weeks, and Stanislas seemed pretty confident that they would easily outlast all others (just as they do in our fridges at home)

Comments

Read Full Wine Blog Post