Bordeaux and Champagne Tasting

The theme was Bordeaux and they had representatives from the chateaux pouring mostly recent vintages.  Although Domaine de Jaugarat in Saint Julien had a 1989 vintage, which was an exceptional year in Bordeaux.  I found it to be still developing and gaining complexity and nuance.

I also had a nice conversation with Paul Barre owner of Chateau La Grave in Fronsac.  They have been practicing bio-dynamic viticulture since 1990. I asked him about the vinification of his wines.  ”We harvest everything by hand, no filtration, no fining and no oenologue.  We do laboratory analysis of the wines but we don’t have an oenlogist telling us how to make our wines.”   I also asked him if he learned about winemaking from his father.  ”My father was actually a wine broker in Bordeaux so I learned the more from trial an error.”  I enjoyed both of his 2005′s and found La Fleur Cailleau de Fronsac to have a great spicy nose, gripping tannins and lots for black cheery flavors.  His efforts have been recognized in the important French wine guides, Le Guide Hachette, Gault Millau.

Sidwalk Bordeaux Tasting at Caves Augé in Paris

Pavillon Dauphine near the Bois de Bologne in Paris

I ran into a colleague there who has imported wines into the US for 30 years and he explained that he has recently started exporting French wines to China.  He spoke about the difficulty of with getting deals done with his counterparts which would be all but impossible without the help of his Chinese girlfriend.  Hong Kong is fast becoming a center of fine wine auctions since it eliminated all duties and taxes on wine.  Most of what he’s selling is the very cheap stuff to mainland China.

Big wine brands far and wide salivate about establishing a foothold in the worlds largest consumer market where wine consumption have grown 61% since 2003.  Tastes lean toward red wines and wine drinking is seen as a sign of wealth on prosperity.  France so far has done quite well accounting for 40% wine imports.  A Bordeaux producer I recently spoke with was just signing a long-term contract to supply 30% of his production to a Chinese company.  A friend of mine also knows a French wine agent based in China who has sold dozens of forty foot containers of inexpensive wine in China.  Besides the fine wine collectors based in Hong Kong much of the current opportunity in China seems to be for the mass produced plonk.

It will be interesting to see how the market develops over time.  Will it be dominated by big brands? Will Chinese consumers’ tastes evolve away from mass produced cheap wine?  Will more independent importers and distributors of small production wines find a way to become established there?

Some Highlights from the tasting:

Le Domaine des Masques, Cuvée Essentiele, 2007, VdP Bouches du Rhone

Interesting blend of Syrah/Cabernet – good new world style with lots of fruit, grapes from cooler high elevation sites in southern Rhone.

Domaine des Roches, Cremant, Blanc de blancs 2008

100% chardonnay, 6 months bottle aging, dry, very good acidity,  biscuity, lemon-lime flavors

Seeing wine sold in bulk from one-liter demijohns reminded me of a visit years ago to a cooperative winery in the Bordeaux region.  Mostly elderly locals would come in and fill up their containers for the week with bulk wine poured from a sort of modified gas pump device.  Back when per capita wine consumption was at its height in the 1950′s wine was generously consumed with nearly every meal and both consumers and producers had little concern about wine quality.  Today per capita consumption in France has declined by two-thirds to 50 liters per year.  The French drink less but they drink better quality wine now mostly bought in bottles.  But here you can relive the old days while enjoying some inexpensive but well made wines.

The trade group of promoting Alsace wines, CIVA, recently sponsored and excellent tasting at the Atelier Richelieu last week.  Forty-five wines were blind tasted and selected in advance for presentation to trade professionals at the event.  Chef David Van Laer created tasty food pairings from oysters, Alaska king crab, dried sausage and cheeses.

Overall many of the Crémants d’Alsace were a little too sweet form my taste.  Although Pinot Blanc is the dominant grape in most Crémants d’Alsace, I tasted an excellent 100% Riesling crémant from Domaine André Dussourt.  It’s aged 15 months ‘sur latte’ and combined tart apple with slightly, petrol-oily flavors and a dry finish.

The other standout was from Domaine Greser’s 2007 Riesling Grand Cru Kasteleberg which was dry, floral nose with tropical favors.

Observations:

Some producers are doing themselves no favors in export markets with very traditional wine labels that haven’t been updated since the 1950′s.

What’s the best technique for holding a wine glass, a small plate and using a fork while standing?

Best food pairing: Alaskan King Crab with grapefruit paired Domaine Henri Schoenheitz Riesling 2006

Fragrant (smelly) Munster was paired Gewurztraminer