Latour to leave the en primeur system

So, Chateau Latour recently announced that this 2011 vintage is the last they’d release for en primeur… makes sense, if their cash flow is strong anyway, why not withhold the wines, bypass the negociants, and reap the higher market price when they finally release the wines? It’ll be interesting to see if the rest of the first growths follow suit, and even more fascinating to observe the fallout on the thriving en primeur markets.

But I wonder if their timing isn’t the greatest. 2009 and 2010 were phenomenal vintages; and the Cheateaus have all signaled that they will be cutting prices for the 2011 vintage, which has suffered hail, storms, and whatnot…

Decanter’s report of the announcement:

Chateau Latour to leave en primeur system

• Monday 16 April 2012
• by Jane Anson in Bordeaux

Chateau Latour has indicated it will not sell wine en primeur – as a future – from the 2012 vintage onwards.

The Pauillac first growth has sent a letter to Bordeaux wine merchants and negociants saying that the upcoming 2011 campaign will be its last vintage sold en primeur.

Instead, director Frederic Engerer says, the first wine, Chateau Latour, and the second wine Les Forts de Latour,  will be sold – through negociants – when they believe they are becoming ready to drink.

Their last en primeur campaign will be with the 2011 vintage.

Engerer’s motivation, according to negociants who received the letter, is partly a response to the increasing desire of consumers for ready-to-drink wines that have been stored in optimal conditions, and partly to be able to offer vintages to the market over a longer period of time.

As a sign of the power that Latour holds within Bordeaux, of the dozen negociants contacted by Decanter.com, none were willing to go on record. Most, however, noted that Latour has been reducing the amount of wine sold en primeur for the past decade, building up supplies at the chateau in anticipation of this strategy.

It was noted during en primeurs earlier this month that a new cellar was under construction at the property.

Most negociants believed the strategy could be successful with emerging markets such as China – where the concept of buying en primeur is still in its infancy – but that it would be more difficult with the traditional markets of England, the US and Europe, who have built up a relationship with the property, sometimes over centuries, and count on large allocations of wine every year.

Some of these merchants, who had bought recent vintages of Latour in good faith en primeur, would now be competing against releases from the chateau itself.

Almost all saw the effect on the end consumer as higher-priced wine, released in small quantities by the chateau to control circulation.

‘If Latour is looking to kill the speculation side of the market,’ one negociant said, ‘then we should applaud the move. But it will be challenging to convince large numbers of consumers to pay current high prices, especially if the wines are sold years after the excitement created by the en primeur tastings has passed.’

Other negociants pointed to the effect on smaller chateaux if the Latour move disrupts the wider system, as their cashflow often depends on en primeur sales.

An owner of one of these smaller estates, however, felt optimistic. Again unwilling to go on the record, he said, ‘As long as negociants make more money on 12 bottles of a First Growth than on the entire production of a cru bourgeois, we will never share their mindset. But if enough 1855 chateaux follow Latour, they may have no choice but to return to the real economy of the smaller estates. This could be great news for the non-speculative estates of Bordeaux.’

Reaction outside of Bordeaux was also more positive. Jancis Robinson said on Friday, ‘So sensible, Chateau Latour’s move to sell wine only when ready. Lucky Pinault (François Pinault, owner of Latour) can afford it.’

Chris Adams of Sherry Lehmann in New York said, ‘My impression of the Latour team is that they are wine lovers committed to making and releasing the best wine possible — so it follows that their being able to assess a vintage as it ages and making a more informed decision about its release date will consistently deliver to the market a wine that has been meticulously cared for with a clearer context for its consumption.’

It is not yet clear if Latour will show the wine during the main en primeur season, or wait to even have it tasted until they believe it is ready to drink. Until things become clearer, most observers feel it is simply too early to comment on the long-term effect.

‘This can’t really be compared to any previous commercial strategy within the Bordeaux system,’ said a courtier. ‘It’s certainly a risk, but whether it pays off, only time will tell.’

Simon Staples, Berry Brothers wine director, said he thought it was ‘a brave decision’ that ‘has been on the cards for a while now’.

But, he went on, it saddened him, as it took the glamour away from the business of selling futures.

‘I don’t think it will help the value of Latour increase in the global market. En Primeur, when it is managed properly – a rare occurrence indeed – with correct pricing and far more importantly, the timings of release, is a beautiful thing to behold. Merchants, journalists and negotiants get excited and in turn get private clients buzzing to buy. Very similar to a major sporting event really but when Brazil, the All Blacks or Barcelona decide not to enter it does take the patina off a little.’

Judgement of 2010

DGS had a long hiatus. Since J’s last hosting in February, we haven’t done anything. The old list was out of date; maybe 50% of the people on the list we were either no longer in contact with, or they had moved away.

Liguel was itching to have a Bordeaux/Napa taste off though – Lida’s convinced that Bordeaux wines are tastier than the Napa ones; but Mig is more keen on getting good value for money – so we dusted off the webs on the DGS list, started a new one, and set up a marathon tasting.

Twelve people, 11 bottles (including 3 doubles).

Chat Teyssier ‘Grand Destieu’ St. Emilion 2006
Robert Parker 91 “An exceptional effort, the inky/purple-hued 2005 Grand-Destieu exhibits plenty of tapenade, black cherry, licorice, and toasty oak characteristics along with medium body, firm tannins, and serious potential as well as purity. The extravagant black raspberry and currant fruit, lavish richness, and long finish are brilliant! Anticipated maturity: 2013-2022.”

Chateau Malmaison Baronne Nadine de Rothschild 2006
Wine Spectator 90 TOP 100 2009 Rank 84 “Blackberry and raspberry jam aromas follow through to a full body, with very soft tannins and pretty berry and currant character. This is seamless and well done for the vintage. Best after 2012. 8,330 cases made.” ~J.S.

Chappellet Mountain Cuvee 2007
Wine Spectator 92 “Chappellet winery always seems to over-deliver on quality for the price, thanks in large part to the estate’s 100 acres of vines on Pritchard Hill, high above Napa Valley. The 2007 is a blend of 51 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 46 percent Merlot, with a dash of Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The wine is rich and seamlessly mouthfilling yet complex and beautifully structured. It?s ready to drink in the short term?it brought out the best in the beef?but will do fine in the cellar for a few years. I rated it 92 points, non-blind. It sells for $29, a bargain by most Napa standards.” ~ T.F.
– This was the third wine of the night, a Californian. Compared with the Rothschild, it had a much fruitier nose, but a little less complex. General consensus: great wine for the price.

Chat Leoville Barton St. Julien Medoc 2006
Wine Spectator 94 TOP 100 2006 “There’s a great dark color to this, with intense aromas of cedar, wood, new leather and crushed blackberry. Full-bodied, with loads of fruit and a firm, powerful palate. Long and mouthpuckering. A muscular baby. Best after 2015. 18,750 cases made.” Robert Parker 91+ “Not surprisingly, this wine is closed, masculine, but super-rich, with a denser, more complete and full-bodied style than its sibling, Langoa Barton. Some toasty vanillin is apparent in the black currant aromas intermixed with tobacco leaf, cedar, and spice box. The wine is full-bodied and has a boatload of tannin, not unusual for this estate, as well as an impressively pure, long finish. Everything is here, but this wine, made with uncompromising vision, is meant to be cellared for an exceptionally long period of time. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2035.”
– Eh, for its price, most of us were quite disappointed by the taste – almost sour, and very mouth puckering. That was after we left it sitting in the decanter for a couple hours. Perhaps it just needed much more time, but there were definitely better wines to sip on that night.

2006 Chateau Larcis-Ducasse Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
“Since 2002, this great terroir has been fully exploited by the dynamic duo of Nicolas Thienpont and Stephane Derenoncourt. Following the monumental 2005,a legend in the making, it is hard to get excited about the 2006, even though it is an outstanding effort. While more austere and not as concentrated as its predecessor, it is an impressive blend of 89% Merlot and 11% Cabernet Franc displaying a deep, dark ruby color as well as a striking bouquet of powdered rocks/minerals, sweet cherry and plumlike fruit, and hints of Christmas fruitcake and spice box. It is an elegant, medium-bodied, moderately tannic, pure effort possessing outstanding density. Give it 2-3 years of bottle age and drink it over the following 15-20 years.” 91 Points Robert Parker, Jr.
– We tasted it next to the St. Julien, and it was a clear relative favorite, for both the price and the smoothness.

Chatequ DuTertre 2005 Margaux
‘Du Tertre is one of the finest values amongst the Bordeaux classified growths and has been consistent since 1978. Under the recent ownership of Eric Albada Jelgersma, it has improved dramatically, and this is an estate consumers should keep a close watch on as prices remain fair.’ Robert Parker

Wine Advocate Even in the highly acclaimed 2005 vintage, Du Tertre remains under most consumer’s radar. Made by essentially the same winemaking team as Giscours, this cuvee exhibits a dense purple color, followed by earthy, truffle, smoky blackberry, floral, and cassis aromas. It is a beautifully pure, medium to full-bodied wine with abundant but sweet tannin, fine opulence, a multilayered texture, and a long finish that is neither aggressive nor astringent. Cellar it for another 3-4 years, and consume it over the following 20-25. Score: 90. —Robert Parker, April 2008.
– We drank this next to the Hall. Mig was trying to convince everyone that the Hall was a better value ($15 cheaper at $32), but in the end, even he had to concede that the Margaux was a more superior wine in complexity, smoothness, and taste. We did prefer the berry-spice nose of the Hall over the “smelly Frenchmen” stink of the Margaux, and Yeming brilliantly corrected this problem by blending the two wines together. Best of both worlds.

Hall Wines Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
Wine Spectator 94 “A rich, dense, concentrated style, this is full-bodied, focused and pure, with hints of mocha and black licorice rounding out the core currant, plum and black cherry flavors. Focused and persistent, with a long finish.” “Our 2006 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is an orchestral m􁪽lange of hand-selected fruit from our Hardester, Napa River Ranch, Bergfeld and Sacrashe vineyards. Each distinctive terroir interweaves complementary components which culminate in a preeminent Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, a gestalt of balanced, rich, concentrated character. The inviting deep ruby color and rich aromatics of cassis, roasted espresso bean and dark ripe plum follow through with flavors of blackberry, cr􁪽me cassis and hints of graphite that linger relentlessly. Rewarding now, this wine will continue to impress for 5-10 years.” ~ Winery notes

Chateau La Tour Carnet Haut-Medoc 2006
Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (WA): 91-93 “Owned by Bordeaux empire builder Bernard Magrez, this estate has been on fire … qualitatively speaking … since 2001. The 2006, another topnotch effort, underwent two de-leafings (one in early summer and one a few months later) and two crop-thinnings, which explain the tiny yields. There is also a severe triage after the wine is made. A final blend of 60% Merlot, 31% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot has resulted in a wine with a lovely perfume of sweet black currants, truffles, incense, and smoke. With sweet but noticeable tannin, medium to full body, brilliant concentration and purity as well as terrific precision and style, this stunning effort is unquestionably a sleeper of the vintage.”

At the end of the night, when we got a little too tipsy to properly taste the wines, we broke out Mig’s favorite table wine, the Columbia Crest. By then, to be honest, it tasted better than the St. Julien (although I think that if I were to compare them side-by-side with a fresh palate, I might have still made the same choice). That’s when we started playing Lida’s favorite game, Dirty Charades. Good, clean fun.

WSJ: When First Growths Place Last

WSJ wine editors Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher conducted a blind tasting of the 2006 Bordeaux First Growth vintage, and came away with distressing conclusions. Heh, and that’s why I won’t taste my 2008 vintages of Lafite, Margaux, and Cos d’Estournels. I can’t imagine that it would be that worth its price. So long as someone else (with paychecks 10x or more than mine) can.

When First Growths Place Last
Combination of high prices, so-so Bordeaux makes ’06 special—and not in a good way
AUGUST 14, 2009, 9:48 A.M. ET
By DOROTHY J. GAITER AND JOHN BRECHER

The famous first-growth Bordeaux from the 2006 vintage are arriving in stores now with prices that look reasonable only in comparison to the ridiculous prices of their immediate predecessors.

Ah, yes, remember those 2005 first growths? They hit the market just before the entire economic system teetered last year. While these five wines—Châteaux Haut-Brion, Lafite Rothschild, Latour, Margaux and Mouton Rothschild—are always pricey, the 2005s were outrageous. We paid an average of $1,329 a bottle for them. By comparison, in the 10 previous years, including well-regarded vintages such as 2000, we had paid an average of $250 a bottle.

WSJ: Bargains in Bordeaux

WSJ posted an article about the summer bargains that can be found in Bordeaux. I’d be on the look out for such bargains, but what was more interesting to me was the part on wine brokers trying to get rid of their surplus supplies on hand. Indeed, my wine broker sent me a couple of “exclusive” offers on 2003 Margaux today, as well as several 2008 second growth en primeurs. I see the rationale – now that there is a glut in supply, prices have come down quite a bit, so it could make sense to snap up a couple cases now and hold on to them for a couple years until demand starts to exceed supply. That said, I have no excess cash right now.

A Surprise Summer Bargain in Bordeaux
Once hyped, now overstocked, midrange 2005 vintage offers quality and promises long life
By DOROTHY J. GAITER AND JOHN BRECHER
31 July 2009

Good wine stores are awash in 2005 Bordeaux. Remember 2005? It was yet another “vintage of the century.” Prices on good Bordeaux—not just the famous first growths, but most of the well-known names—rose to ridiculous heights. Even regular folks on Main Street were somehow convinced that an ever-more-valuable case of 2005 Bordeaux would be the ticket to an early retirement, which created even more demand and even higher prices.

It wasn’t exactly a tulip craze, but it was close. Now prices have come back to earth—or at least they’re somewhere in the lower atmosphere—and it seems to us that stores are stuck with boatloads. Not a day goes by that we don’t get an email alert from a store shouting about its OUTRAGEOUS DEALS on 2005 Bordeaux. They seem to be getting louder as the 2006 Bordeaux hit the shelves, much like car dealerships trying to move last year’s models. While few people are calling 2006 the year of the century, we assure you that merchants are preparing ad copy even now explaining that the Bordeaux they personally are selling happens to be the exception and, in their own way, are indeed the deals of the century. So those 2005 models must go!

We are always looking for bargains, so this certainly seemed like a good time for us to pounce. To get an idea what was out there and whether it was indeed a good deal, we decided to check out midrange red Bordeaux from the 2005 vintage. We set our price limit at $65 and bought 10 wines that have been among our favorites for many years: Châteaux Beychevelle, Brane-Cantenac, Duhart-Milon, Giscours, Gruaud-Larose, Gloria, Haut-Batailley, Lafon-Rochet, Lascombes and Phélan Ségur. Other people have different favorite midrange Bordeaux, but these are some of ours. They have been our go-to fancy Bordeaux reds for decades. We have drunk them young and with age. They are old friends. In each vintage, they give us a good snapshot of fine Bordeaux and a hint about their ageability. We bagged all 10 wines and tasted them in small blind flights over three nights. In each case, we tasted the wines first when we opened them to confirm that they needed decanting—they did—and then we let them sit for an hour before we tasted. Each night, we then also tasted them with steak or a roast (not just for the tasting but because, geez, if you’re having fine Bordeaux, it just seems like a shame not to have some good beef).

At the end, here’s what we would say: Depending on where you buy them—because prices are so variable—these wines are tremendous bargains and a wonderful departure from the whites you’ve been drinking this summer. They are classic Bordeaux, with layers of tightly wound fruit, hints of tobacco and cedar, fine acidity, balanced oak and the kind of mineral underpinning that tastes like true earth. These are the kind of wines you want to sip, not gulp, because every little taste includes so many different, interesting flavors and such great texture—not to mention that the wines seem to change with each passing minute, as they get more air and warmth. They are wines with the structure of a beautifully crafted building.

These days, so many of us are so comfortable with our California Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot that it’s really important to pick up a fine Bordeaux from time to time just to remember how different they are—more textured, more challenging, less eager to be loved and more confident in their own pedigree. That doesn’t make Bordeaux better, just different, and different is good.

We were least impressed with Brane-Cantenac and Phélan Ségur, which were good but not as impressive as the other eight. Our favorite was our very old friend Gruaud-Larose, which brings back warm memories going back 50 years (50 years of vintages, not 50 years of drinking). It’s so classy and so beautifully made that it’s a bargain at about $60.

While these wines are good now—your friends would be blown away if you served one of these with a steak off the grill this summer—we really would suggest that you lay some down. It’s impossible to know when wines will be at their peak, but in general, we’d say these will be better 10 years from now. They have all the stuffing needed to have a long, beautiful life. In some vintages, the wines are excellent but too expensive for us to think about laying down a case or two. In other years, the wines are affordable, but not built for the long haul. We find the combination of prices and age-worthiness in the mid-range 2005 Bordeaux to be unmatched in many years.

Even more than usual, it’s important to shop around for these. We bought Beychevelle, for example, in one store for $47.99 and at another for $89.95, almost double.

We don’t know about you, but, for us, there’s a big psychological difference between paying $48 for a wine and $90—in fact, it’s the difference between a wine we might actually drink and enjoy for no particular reason and a wine that falls into the dreaded “save for a special occasion” category.

One more thing: Because 2005 was such a good vintage, we have found that the lower-priced, more-obscure Bordeaux wines from that year also can be great deals. While they generally are not made to age, and in fact should be drunk soon, there are quite a few of them on shelves, too.

Because they are often quite inexpensive—sometimes less than $10—it’s worth taking a chance on one. Their names are generally unfamiliar—like Château de Lugagnac, Château Au Grand Paris and Château Les Tours de Peyrat—but they can offer a lot of bang for the buck.

The case for Lafite

After much deliberating, I bought a case of Lafite. If I could have afforded it, I might have bought two – one potentially for my own consumption, and the other to cover the cost for my own consumption (at least, that is the hope).

What pushed me to go for it?

The case for Lafite:
1. Pretty compelling case for appreciation, over the longer term. As an example, I will compare it to the 1998 vintage, using data provided by Wine Spectator (alas, I am too cheap to purchase the subscription to Liv-ex to gain access to the detailed price charts). Wine Spectator rated the 2008 vintage in the range of 91-94 points; the 1998 vintage was rated 93 points. The 1998 Lafite was released at $135, and in 1Q09, the average WS auction price per bottle went for $410, down from $671 in 3Q08; wine isn’t immune to the broader stock market after all. Still, that’s a 204% gain over a 10-year period, or a respectable 7.4% annualized return. And at $671 a bottle, that would have spelled a 397% gain, or a 14.8% annualized return. As point of comparison, the Dow was down 13.5% over the same period (1Q98-1Q09) and the S&P down 28.0% over the same period. WOW.

The following table charts the Liv-Ex Fine Wine Index vs. the Dow Jones and S&P from July 2001 through March 2009 (I could only get data from Liv-Ex from that date). As the chart shows, if you had invested $100 to track the Liv-Ex in July 2001, you would have $223 at March 2009, vs. $72 if you had tracked the Dow, and $66 if you had tracked the S&P:

2. Prices have come down 36% compared to the 2007 vintage, which was only awarded 89-92 points by WS. Of course, that means that investors who bought into the 2007 vintage are screwed – at the moment anyway; they might still stand a chance for price appreciation when the market does turn back up.

3. I like to see this as an investment with limited downside risk. If in the end I don’t make anything, I could still pop open the bottles, one every year, and enjoy them over 12 years.

4. It’s a sexier investment compared with a CD. And also sexier than the stock market, without the volatility – ie. I won’t see my investment go down to zero, unlike some alternative energy and financial stocks…

Potential downside risks:
1. The 2008 vintage, is not, by any stretch of the imagination, one of the best vintages of the decade. The 2005 vintage takes that prize, followed by the 2000 (Robert Parker’s Vintage Chart for years 1970-2007; he has yet to release scores for the 2008 Bordeaux vintage). Thus, if the 2009 vintage turns out better than the 2008, we could see a repeat of what has happened to the 2007.

Liv-ex 2008 Bordeaux Prices

Following up on the previous post, here’s a table from Liv-ex, showing the current London release prices for the 2008 Bordeaux:

	Critical acclaim			London release price (GBP / cs)
	RP	JR	WS	2008	Date	2007	2006	2005	2004
Angelus		17.5	89-92	725	06/04/2009	1,000	1,125	1,400	540
Ausone		18.5	93-96			5,000	7,500	8,500	1,450
Beychevelle		17	83-86			260	240	270	175
Branaire Ducru		16.5	88-91			270	275	350	165
Brane Cantenac		15.5+	86-89			210	245	300	180
Calon Segur		17.5+	88-91			320	300	470	215
Cheval Blanc		18-	92 -95			3,600	4,250	4,500	1,275
Conseillante		16	87-90			595	650	800	325
Cos d’Estournel		18	91-94			650	720	1,120	425
Ducru Beaucaillou		17	90-93			540	750	990	360
Evangile		17	90-93	720	16/04/2009	845	900	1,120	495
Grand Puy Lacoste		NA	87-90			320	305	420	195
Gruaud Larose		17	88-91	260	15/04/2009	300	270	330	210
Haut Brion		18	93-96			2,450	2,950	3,800	950
Lafite Rothschild		17.5+	91-94	1,590	17/04/2009	2,500	3,200	3,900	950
Lagrange St Julien		16.5	88-91			250	225	265	155
Langoa Barton		16.5+	89-92	240	15/04/2009	280	300	400	185
Latour		18.5	91-94	1,590	14/04/2009	3,250	3,250	4,500	1,200
Leoville Barton		16.5+	90-93	330	15/04/2009	395	395	550	240
Leoville Las Cases		18	91-94			900	1,150	1,680	450
Leoville Poyferre		16-	90-93	305	16/04/2009	355	355	495	220
Lynch Bages		16.5+	89-92	360	17/04/2009	360	470	240	240
Margaux		17.5+	90-93	1,590	17/04/2009	2,450	2,950	4,500	950
Mission Haut Brion		18	91-94			2,000	2,950	1,550	580
Montrose		16	88-91			450	465	635	300
Mouton Rothschild		18.5-	91-94	1,470	15/04/2009	2,450	3,600	3,500	880
Palmer		18	89-92			1,175	1,150	1,370	480
Pape Clement		16.5	89-92			720	750	850	385
Pavie		17.5+	92-95			1,225	1,495	1,800	660
Pichon Baron		17+	88-91			520	520	720	320
Pichon Lalande		17.5	89-92	465	17/04/2009	595	650	750	385
Pontet Canet		17+	90-93			440	395	480	240
Talbot		16	86-89			250	220	265	165
Troplong Mondot		16.5	91-94			430	650	900	220
Vieux Chateau Certan		17.5	88-92			620	810	980	450

RP = Robert Parker; JR = Jancis Robinson; WS = Wine Spectator

Master Class: Chateau Cos d’Estournel

I went for my very first wine master class on Friday; Cristalle kindly accompanied me, although I dare say that she also enjoyed herself.

It was an eye opening experience – both because of the wines we were going to try (my first time tasting second growth wines!) and because that was our first introduction to the Singapore wine aficionados. While they weren’t intimidating, they had quite a knowledge of the Bordeaux wines and could confidently prattle off the different vintages and labels and compare them to our tastings that night. We had quite a lively conversation at our table, exchanging stories about wine tasting in Bordeaux, talking about wine investments, and about all the different tasting events held in Singapore.

We started the event off with a glass of white Chateau Cos D’Estournel 2006. One guy at my table said that it had a really strong Chardonnay nose, while I thought that it tasted like a Sauvignon Blanc. Later, one of the presenters for the master class sat at our table for a bit, and she commented that it was probably a blend of both, and some Semillon. Tasting it, I was struck by how completely old world (or perhaps another word would be rustic) it felt: none of that crisp fruitiness I’d grown used to in my Australian and Napa cabs. Interestingly, the 2006 was the Chateau’s second ever release of a white wine. And amazingly, it appears to be retailing for around £100! Gulp. I liked it, but truth be told, wouldn’t have been able to discern it from a much cheaper bottle.

Notes from the vertical tasting of Chateau Cos D’Estournel:

Chateau Cos D’Estournel 2006:

92-94 – Robert Parker
The dense ruby/purple-tinged 2006 recalls such vintages as 1988 and 1996. It offers a classic bouquet of incense, licorice, pain grille, black currants, truffles, and flowers.

First thought when I tasted it: it needs to go with some food. It had a spicy nose, without the jamminess that you’d associate with a Napa wine, and was quite a bit more fragrant than the 2004. I thought I detected some vanilla in the nose as well. It tasted close. But after 1.5 hours in the glass, it softened up quite a bit, and we could now smell the black currants and flowers.

Chateau Cos D’Estournel 2004:

92 – Robert Parker
Huge, black intense color with a strikingly exotic intensity of fruit, really firm and grippy, yet overall smooth and velvety texture, great density and length.

We thought that the nose was a bit muted at first, though it had more fruit (raisiny) than the 2006, mixed in with some spice. The aroma of berries was more distinct after it had sat in the glass for over an hour.

Chateau Cos D’Estournel 2000:

92 – Robert Parker
A dense ruby/purple color is accompanied by scents of green peppers, spice cedar and minerals. The aromatics suggest considerable complexity as this wine ages.

Cristalle did not like this one, thinking that it tasted flat. Everyone else thought that the 2000 vintage notwithstanding, it could do with a few more years of aging before it started really showing its potential. On my part, I quite enjoyed the incense and spice cedar notes.

Chateau Cos D’Estournel 2002:

93 – Robert Parker
Exceptional. Intense aromas of crushed berries, with wet earth and licorice. Full-bodied, with super fine tannins and a medium finish. This is impressive, firm and powerful.

My notes: Wow. I could totally smell the crushed berries! I really loved the nose; the guy sitting next to me said he could see why, since I was a professed Napa wine lover. This was my favorite tasting of the night, so much so that I later asked for a full glass to enjoy, heh. The tannins were super smooth on this one too. Mmm!

Chateau Cos D’Estournel 1996:

93 – Robert Parker
A young, intense color. Good aromas of preserves and fruits. Exceptionally long in the mouth. Very silky tannins. A dazzling finish, full of flavor.

Definitely the most developed wine of the lot. Not as fruity as the 2002, with a lot more spice on the nose, but it had a beautiful body and a nice long finish. Cristalle, with a satisfied look, “I like.”

All in all, I had a really good time, and I’m seriously considering attending the Chianti master class this next coming Sunday evening. It was quite exciting to get a peek into the wine community here in Singapore, and to chat with serious wine geeks.

Jeff Wines: A Flight of Blind Tastings

I’m living vicariously through Jeff’s wine adventures back in Chicago – here is the review of the wines he’s had in the past week, starting with the bottle of Russian River Petite Syrah he picked up to complement his home-cooked Korean meal.

 
Castle Rock Russian River Petite Syrah (US$15)

A smoky, full bodied wine with a bit of spice. I like wines with some bite and this one paired well with the spiciness of the bi bim bap and complemented the bulgolgi well. I like. 

At the Karaoke Night blind tasting with the wine-n-climb gang, Julian shared four bottles of wine with the crew. Jeff’s notes:

2005 Hawk Crest, Cabernet Sauvignon (US$9; from Stag Leap Wines)

I liked this one out of the two reds. When I tasted this in a regular glass, I preferred the taste and the finish to the other red, but when tasted in the Reidel glasses, I preferred the nose, taste and finish. I think this wine has a little bit more complexity – it’s a bit more tannic but I like the tickle on the tongue sensation. It also has a longer lasting finish. Has a nice fruity nose – unfortunately, the nose seemed to have been obscured a bit by the cardboard smell due to the packing of the glasses. 

2005 Clos Marsalette, Bordeaux (US$27)

This tasted more mellow than the other red. It’s very drinkable and enjoyable, but the finish is a bit flat. It seemed to have a bigger nose in the Reidel glass but it might’ve just been the effect of the glass. 

Chateau St Michelle Merlot

Don’t remember too much – i think it was yummy though 

2005 Chalone Vineyard Chardonnay (~US$30)

Good nose and taste. 

L’ecole 41 Chardonnay (~US$20)

A tart, acidic wine – perhaps a bit young, but mellowed out after a while in the bottle

Bordeaux, Finger Lakes, Mendocino, Chile, Spain

Had some good wines recently – the first three we downed at our cabin down in Kentucky on Saturday.

Reignac St. Loubes Grand vin de Bordeaux 2005
Julian and Sandra had been saving this bottle for a special occasion, so I was even more touched that they chose to share it with us. Beautiful wine – nice and structured, super smooth. The finish was the stunner, in my opinion, with a resurgent kick of black fruit that lingered on and on. Blend of Merlot and some Cabernet Sauvignon.

Anthony Road Wine Company Rose, Finger Lakes
Jeff pulled this out of his remaining Finger Lakes collection, and I quite liked it. A little tart, and not at all sweet. We drank it cold out of the fridge, but after it warmed up some, it got a little more complex.

Edmeades Zinfandel, Mendocino County 2005
This was a bottle that had been sitting in my fridge for a bit, such that I’d forgotten when I bought it – think I bought it from Sam’s. Julian liked it a lot – in fact, he said that it was one of the few Zinfandels he actually liked. Heh. I thought it was a pretty nice example of a good Zin too – a little on the sweet end, but not overwhelmingly so like the Brown Zinfandel I had. Flavors of raspberry and mocha, with a touch of spice.

Chono Carménère Chile 2005
Paired this with the Katy’s dumplings and rice dumplings for dinner last night – it was I think the lightest red I had left in my fridge. Lots of dark fruit, and a touch of spiciness that complemented well with the chilli sause I liberally slathered on my dumplings. A little tannic on first taste, but it nicely softened as the night progressed and tasted a lot sweeter. Definitely a wine I’d stock up again in my fridge.

Bodegas Hijos De Juan Gil Juan Jumilla 2005
After climbing tonight, Julian, Sandra, Chuck, Roger, and Peter came over for some dumplings and wine. Julian and Sandra brought their bottle of Bodegas Hijos De Juan Gil Juan, a Spanish grape varietal I’ve never tried before (Chuck brought a bottle of Il Cuore, Barbera 2005 and I opened the bottle of John Christopher Cellars Epic 2003 – I’d had both on previous occasions). I liked it a lot – it was much lighter and softer than the other two bottles we had; perfect for a starter wine while we waited for the dumplings to boil. Ton of fruit in the mouth – blackberries?? – and very smooth.

St. Patty’s Day, the Wine Way

In a very miscalculated move, we didn’t buy tickets to the Metropolitan Opera’s live streaming of Britten’s Peter Grimes, mistakenly betting that the seats wouldn’t sell out. Who knew. So, after a hurried cab ride downtown later, I found myself forlornly standing outside the theatre, clutching my brown paper bag of toasted sandwiches I’d picked up for the 4 hour marathon.

Since we were downtown already anyway, we decided to go wine tasting. Just Grapes, right by my workplace, has free wine tasting from 1-4pm every Saturday, so we headed on there. In between sampling the 5 different tastings offered, we enjoyed a good chat with the store manager and the wine distributor. Ah, for a different career change. Anyway, here are my reviews of the wines:

2006 Riff, Pinot Grigio, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy $11
The store’s tasting notes: “The vineyard sources for most of this Pinot Grigio contain a substantial amount of dolomite limestone which has an obvious impact on the wine’s character and style. It is because of the contrinbution that these fossils (limestone) make to the wine’s character that they have been chosen to be incorporated into the label design as a reminder of its geological origin. Simple, with apple, lemon and light mineral character. Light body. Delicate finish. Drink now.” While I wasn’t too impressed with the body and finish (boring, with no obvious flavors or textures), I really liked its nose. I did get the scent of apple and some lemon, and could see it as a delightful cool drink on a sweltering summer day.

2005 Franz Karl Schmitt, “Niersteiner Hipping,” Riesling Spatlesse, Rheinhessin, Germany $22
The store’s tasting notes: “The estate was founded by Jost-Schmitt in 1546, and has been in family possession since those days. Riesling is cultivated in some of the prime vineyards in Nierstein, including the classic Hipping. The grandfather of the present owner, also named Franz-Karl Schmitt, was renowned for his striving to produce great wines. He was the first to produce Trockenbeerenhauslesse in the Rheinhessen around 1900!” It’s difficult right off the first sip to pronounce that you don’t like sweet wines (which can be really tiring on the palate after a couple glasses), so it was with my experience with this. I prefered the bouquet proffered by the Pinot Grigio, but the gentle sweetness of this riesline was hard to dislike. It wasn’t cloyingly sweet, but the taste lingered pleasantly on in my mouth long seconds after the liquid had been tipped down my throat.

2006 Rex Hill, Chardonnay, Oregon $22
The store’s tastings notes: “A crisp, yet complex wine, the 2006 Rex Hill Chardonnay represents the sixth vintage of Oregon’s original ultra-premium unoaked Chardonnay. To highlight the wonderful fruit and underlying minerality in some of the Wilamette Valley’s best vineyard sites, we ferment in small stainless steel to retain the fruit’s bright transparency and then age the wines on the lees to achieve a creamy mouthfeel. Aromas of candied citrus, plums, green apple. Good richness on the attack, with broad palate-coating flavors that echo the nose. The brisk acidity adds structure and freshness, focusing the mineral notes, and lengthening flavors.” It was quite exciting to identify the candid citrus (sort of like those sugar covered jelly beans one finds during the Chinese New Year festivities) and the green apple in the nose, but I couldn’t taste the same flavors in the body. I actually found the body and finish to be quite boring, but not achingly so – within seconds, no trace of its ever being there was left. I’m still not sure whether I prefer the oaked, buttery types of Chardonnay… should do a tasting sometime to tease out my taste.

2006 Paraiso, Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands, Central Coast, California $24
The store’s tasting notes: “Paraiso’s flagship varietal. Wonderful Burgundian character: rich cherry and plum flavors with hints of spice, smoke, and toasty oak. All wrapped by structuring tannins and acidity. Amazingly food-versatile: salmon, roast chicken, beef tenderloin, you name it.” I profess to be quite partial to Pinot Noir, my interest in the grape stemming from a road trip Peirui and I made, oh, two years ago now (!!!). The nose exhibited the characteristics of the grape, but I was quite disappointed by the finish, which I found weak, almost watery. Chatting later with Janel from WineStyles, she confirmed my tasting notes, saying that the area saw too much rain in 2006. Ah.

2005 Chateau Saint Andrew Corbin, Merlot blend, St. Emilion, Bordeaux, $23
The store’s tasting notes: “Garnet with a violet rim, spicy cedar, blueberries and tobacco on the nose. Medium weight with spicy cedar, blueberries and tobacco, great structure.” If I closed my eyes and sniffed really hard, I could just pick out the scent of tobacco and cedar, but my god, the blueberries! It just jumped right out at you, unmistakeable and completely in your face. I loved the nose. But alas, the body was almost unbearably tight, the tannins completely sucking out the moisture from my lips. I suspect though, that a few years in the cellar might do wonders for this wine.

It was still early when we were done, and the revellers were still crowding the hundreds of Irish bars in the city. So we made our way over to Randolph Wine Cellars right down the street, and engaged in an entertaining tasting with another distributor.

My notes:

2006 Licia Albarino, Rias Baixas, Spain $14
Heh, this tasting was right down my alley, since we tasted both the Albarinos and plenty of Grenaches, both grapes of choice right now. I thoguht the Rias had a very light nose, such that I couldn’t quite place the smell. Or maybe sensory fatigue was setting in already. But even so, I could definitely place the lemony structure in the body and finish, almost akin to lemon juice with a kick. Would be a delicious combination with a lightly sauteed fish – mmm, need to do another canoeing trip down the Wisconsin River this spring…

2004 Atrea “The Choir,” Mendocino County $20
It’s a rhone varietal blend, with parts of viognier and roussanne. This one had quite a pungent nose of wood and earth. The heavier body would make it an unsuitable pairing with fish, but the distributor suggested heavy aged cheeses.

2005 Moulin D’Issan, Bordeaux $16
A Bordeaux Superior wine, which doesn’t fall under the 5 growth system, this wine can be found in the Margaux region. Blend of 70% cabernet sauvignon and 30% merlot. Lots of bright fruit in the nose, with a little bit of oak. I thought it tasted a little green.

2005 Domaine du Grand Tinel Chateauneuf-du-pape $30
My favorite tasting of the day, very smooth and balanced, with a hint of orange peel and black plum in the nose and body. It’s a blend of grenache, syrah, and mourvédre.

2004 Domaine Raspail-ay Gigondas, Rhone $22
Eh, to be honest, I’ve forgotten the taste of this, and didn’t take down any notes since I was busy enjoying a long conversation with the distributor about how she fell into wines and the various wine trips she’s taken in France (damn the weak USD right now). I do vaguely remember thinking that it was quite delicious though…

My palate was a little tired by this point, but the green clad revelers were still out on the streets, so we decided to continue the celebrations in our own way by making our way over to WineStyles, where Denise and Janel gave us two tastings of “green wines,” wines made the organic and environmentally friendly way. Erm, I don’t have any notes of those tastings either… but I did leave WineStyles armed with a bottle of Australian Grenahce that Janel says would go great with lambshank or spicy fish. Mmm.

We made a pit stop at Binny’s next, but boo, they didn’t have any tastings available. Disappointed but not deterred, we pressed on next to Sam’s Wine. By that time, I think the tastings were already concluded, so instead I tasted some cheeses (and picked up a slab of pate), and a pizza beer (beer brewed with pizza ingredients such as tomato, mozarella etc. very authentic!). And I also got the bottle of El Tesoro (thank you Cristalle!).

And then, I was done.