The evening commenced at 6pm when we congregated outside the main post office opposite Jardine’s House; there our chariot awaited, a twenty-eight seater bus to escort us to the hugely popular restaurant in Sai Kung, namely One Thirty-One. Now with a fair journey ahead we thought it appropriate to serve champagne on board just to oil the cogs in preparation for a great evening ahead and what better champagne than that of Delamotte 2002. So after a couple of three point turns in the bus stop and a layby we finally reached the turning, which led us down off the beaten track and to One Thirty-One. Nestled in the bay of Three Fathoms Cove, One Thirty-One will take your breath away. The restaurant is located in a 3 storey Mediterranean style house situated in one of the most beautiful parts of Sai Kung and a stone throw away from the sea shore. There was word around the table that the dinner setting was reminiscent of something one may find in Barbados, others mentioned it was like dining out in the South of France, it really was idyllic.

Awaiting us was a vertical tasting of Phélan Ségur from 2003 through 2009, to which all wines were showing exceptionally well but if I had to pick a top three it would be 2003, 2005 and 2009 (we still have a few cases of the 2009 remaining, this really is a must buy wine for your cellar). Then onto dinner, where we had one long grand table seating twenty four people, this is where the real superstars of the evening awaited, with five quite superb wines. Opening the dinner up we had the 1996 (from magnums), which was absolutely delicious then to accompany the Foie Gras the 2001 was served. Following a few words from Véronique we were soon welcoming a very rare vintage, the 1975 (to which amazingly there are only 18 bottles remaining in the Château, so a real treat) which was simply gorgeous. Next course to follow was a succulent pigeon breast which was swiftly accompanied by the outstanding 1989, which was very similar to the 1975 but with more weight and flesh to it. And then to the finale, the pièce de résistance, the 1982 complemented by the 72 hour, slow cooked Wagyu Rib. The 1982 was quite sublime, absolutely stunning.

And so the evening was drawing to a close, all that needed to be done was to usher all guests onto the bus for the return leg to Central. The journey back was a touch more mellow, with many no doubt reflecting on a quite superb evening.

Here’s a snap shot into the wines tasted vertically from 2003 to 2009:

2003: Beautiful nose of dark forest fruits and earth, well balanced palate with soft tannins.  A lovely wine.

2004: A gorgeous nose of dark cherries and scorched earth, not as forward as the 2003. Good firm tannins and well balanced palate.

2005: A little closed on the nose (but to be expected being a 2005 and also served straight from the bottle). From the glass jumps, blackcurrants, cherries and earth. A huge mouth feel with firm tannins and good acidity. Give it two years of further bottle age and this will be (well already is) fantastic.

2006: This is a real crowd pleaser. A gorgeous nose of sweet blackcurrants, tobacco and earth. Very accessible now  with rounded, ripe tannins. This will bring much pleasure.

2007: What a pleasant surprise was the 2007, a vintage that has been mistakenly overlooked. Not quite as forward as the 2006, yet still has that wonderful nose of tabacco, and blackcurrant brambles.

2008: Showing a little closed although the lovely earthy, blackcurrant characteristics did still peak through.

2009: Masses of jammy dark forest fruits, well integrated supple tannins and a huge mouth feel, this will be a knockout wine.

Click here to view available wines from Ch. Phélan Ségur.

Further Options

What’s with the yellow’ was the first thing coming to my mind thinking of Lafon Rochet’s bright yellow and red labels when I met the Château’s proprietor Basile Tesseron, who answered with the usual emphatic French shrug and a cheeky smile: ‘Just bad taste…!’ Given the intellectual flexibility of his winemaking, this must be just smart marketing as even Robert Parker made comments about the ‘Las Vegas Cat House’ labels.

Basile represents the third generation to run the property since Guy Tesseron, diversifying out of Cognac, he bought Lafon Rochet, his first Bordeaux property in 1959 and subsequently Pontet Canet in 1975.  As is well documented, the Tesseron’s have a flair for buying dilapidated properties and bringing them back to their former glory and even beyond. They are also steadfastly, with other luminaries such as Xavier Planty at Chateau Guiraud, one of the big believers in biodynamic or even organic wines. Basile was very keen to push forward the fact that block by block, Lafon Rochet is turning its vines to biodynamic and, in some cases, organic culture. Quite a feat, especially if you have wet years such as 2011 and need to deal with botrytis without falling foul of the regulations.

Having survived the UGC 2009 tastings at the Royal Opera House, the ever enthusiastic Basile took the opportunity to present several vintages of Lafon Rochet with a surprise première of the Roset de Lafon Rochet in a packed top floor at the Michelin starred Gauthier Soho organised by Corney & Barrow.

We kicked off our dinner with a Grilled Scottish Scallops with a raw radish Salad which went down well with a magnum of Roset de Lafon Rochet (Rosé with a T for Tesseron?) which are made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, very lightly pressed and left only one month to ferment producing an elegant salmon pink wine that went stupendously well with the Scallops. The wine is well balanced and you can taste the freshness of the Cabernet Sauvignon – you could nearly feel the close parenthood to Sauvignon Blanc. Basile proposed to make Roset as they drink so much rosé as an aperitif at Lafon Rochet, they might as well produce a better one themselves! 10,000 bottles are made and according to Basile, 3% of production is consumed at the Château, mostly by his father…

We followed on with the reds: Château Lafon Rochet 2001 was served with a Brown Butter Risotto with Morellos and Parmesan. This was pure gluttony on my side as I love risotto and wild mushrooms and also adore the 2001 vintage. The Lafon Rochet did not come short. Basile described the 2001 as a ‘stunning vintage’ that had to compete with the 2000. In order to achieve that, 50% Merlot was used vs 60% Cabernet Sauvignon in 2000. I found it very easy to drink, nearly like a right bank, with a nose of spicy liquorice and star anise, ending in cherry and cocoa nuances with some tarry hints at the end.

The piece de résistance was the twin serving of the 1995 and 2000 paired with Roasted Veal, Gnocchi with a cream of Ceps and a Kohlrabi Salad. The 2000 was a mastodon of fruit, treacle cinnamon and mint with cocoa, still trying to find its feet – it will need some more time to develop. This wasn’t the case for the 1995, served from a magnum bottle, as in the 2001 vintage has a large amount of Merlot, around 57%. Its nose was a powdered combination of cassis and graphite with crushed cardamom which transformed in to rose petals – again not St-Estèphe but more Pomerol like.

We finished off the evening with the 2003 – which was surprisingly good. The vintage was saved by the clay soil keeping the vine roots from wilting during the hot summer and, although yields dropped to 36Hl/Ha, is mainly constituted of Cabernet Sauvignon. It had a lovely creamy, blueberry jam nose and although still a bit closed, was unlike the ’03’s of its neighbours.  Basile intimated that this was one of their best vintages and compared them to 1947 and 1961. It is no surprise only 1000 bottles of this vintage are left in the cellars of Lafon Rochet!

At the end of the evening I asked Basile which vintage made him most proud and he mentioned the 2007. He was thrown into swim at the deep end in his first year in charge, when his father went off on summer holiday and the Château’s technical director was laid off sick, too. I will have to try a bottle soon, as it is in the difficult vintages that you can really judge the quality of the winemaker. In fact, I can’t wait to taste his 2011 too, which like its neighbours was hit by a freak hail storm in early September.

Further Options

The top 10 at Corney & Barrow

 18 Aug 2011 by Richard Hemming, JancisRobinson.com

Corney & Barrow very kindly offered subscribers to this site some free tickets to their summer tasting in June. They didn’t come without a catch, however, since I asked the lucky few to rank and score their top 10 wines of the tasting. So, many thanks to Tim Jackson, Mark Chenhall, Andy MacFaul, Leigh Johnson and Nick Davidson for sharing their thoughts with us.

It was an informal experiment that nonetheless yielded strong results. All three of the J J Prüm Rieslings that were on show appear in our aggregate top 10. As Mark commented, ‘they are just so good, and their combination of fruit, acidity and precise minerality make for a compelling mouthful of wine’.

The Achaval Ferrer wines were all highly thought of too, with Finca Bella Vista at number 2 in the charts (and Finca Mirador at number 11) – although Tim comments that they are ‘all well made, clearly, but in an overly hedonistic alcoholic fashion that Argentina doesn’t need to own’.

The Romeo Rioja at number 4 also split opinion, with several of us noting its relentlessly modern and powerful style – although all agreeing it is impressive. There was general admiration for the Delamotte champagnes too, with the newly released Blanc de Blancs 2002 the overall preference.

Looking at the list as a whole, it has a pleasingly catholic range of origin and style – a credit to to Corney & Barrow’s buying team. It also illustrates reassuringly varied taste from our five volunteers. It doesn’t feature much in the way of bargains, however, and indeed the whole portfolio is stoutly priced.

Thanks again to Tim, Mark, Andy, Leigh, Nick and all at Corney & Barrow for their help.

The aggregate top 10, compiled from the rankings from all six of us, is as follows:

1. J J Prüm, Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 2009 Mosel
2 .Achaval Ferrer, Finca Bella Vista Malbec 2007 Mendoza
3. Biserno, Il Pino di Biserno 2007 IGT Toscana
4. Benjamin Romeo, La Cueva del Contador 2007 Rioja
5. René Rostaing, Cuvée Les Terroirs 2008 Côte Rôtie
6. J J Prüm, Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Spätlese 2008 Mosel
7. Giacomo Conterno, Cascia Francia 2008 Barbera d’Alba
8. J J Prüm, Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett 2009 Mosel
9. Delamotte, Blanc de Blancs Brut 2002 Champagne
10. Cakebread Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 Napa Valley

My full notes follow below, ordered by style and country or region. Within each section they are grouped by colour and then listed alphabetically by producer (sur)name.

 
CHAMPAGNE

Delamotte, Blanc de Blancs Brut 2002 Champagne 16.5 Drink 2011-2014
Cream cheese on the nose, then toast on the palate. Light bodied, ephemeral, perhaps missing a bit of vim, but a classy number nonetheless. (RH) 12%
£39.99 Corney & Barrow

ROSÉ

Olivier Leflaive, Cuvée Margoton Rosé 2009 Bourgogne 15 Drink 2010-2011
Very light. Not sure it tastes of anything really. (RH) 12.5%
£10.99 Corney & Barrow

Ch Léoube, Le Secret de Léoube Rosé 2010 Côtes de Provence 16.5 Drink 2011-2012
Made by Jean-Jaques Ott, who sold his eponymous winery to Louis Roederer in 2000. It has all the mineral quality and texture of the best Provence rosé but with more concentration, fullness and body than most. (RH) 13%
£19.99 Corney & Barrow

Ch Léoube, Rosé 2010 Côtes de Provence 16 Drink 2011-2012
Gentle, definite mineral scent. Peachy and floral. Very slight but very good at what it does. (RH) 12.5%
£13.99 Corney & Barrow

Tissier, Rosé 2010 Sancerre 16 Drink 2011-2012
Leafy, good level of red cherry and lemon sherbet flavour. Dry, refreshing. (RH) 12.5%
£14.99 Corney & Barrow

ARGENTINA

Dominio de Toyo Torrontés/Chardonnay 2010 Famatina Valley 15 Drink 2011-2013
Smells much more like Torrontés than Chardonnay. Soapy. Steep at the price. (RH) 12.5%
£7.29 Corney & Barrow

J & F Lurton, Gran Lurton Corte Friulano 2009 Uco Valley 16.5 Drink 2011-2014
Oak comes through well: creamy spicy, vanilla – quite thick on the tongue. Long, smoky finish. Not for the oakophobic. (RH) 13%
£14.29 Corney & Barrow

Achaval-Ferrer, Quimera 2008 Mendoza 16+ Drink 2012-2015
Scented, fragrant, vibrant fruit but quite austere and unyielding on the palate. Needs time – a sleeping giant. (RH) 14%
£24.99 Corney & Barrow

Achaval-Ferrer, Finca Mirador Malbec 2007 Medrano 17 Drink 2011-2017
Clay vineyard at 2,600 feet above sea level. Blueberries, cherries, loads of purity and length. Has all the character of Malbec without the spoofy overkill. (RH) 14%
£51.99 Corney & Barrow

Achaval-Ferrer, Finca Bella Vista Malbec 2007 Mendoza 16.5+ Drink 2013-2017
Limestone vineyard at 3,100 feet above sea level. More tannic and taut than the Mirador. Fine yet muscular. Little complexity – as of yet? (RH) 14%
£51.99 Corney & Barrow

Dominio de Toyo Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz 2010 Famatina Valley 15.5 Drink 2011-2013
A bit reductive in a not unattractive way. Light but not watery. Easy drinking, satisfyingly dry. (RH) 12.5%
£7.29 Corney & Barrow

Ruca Malen, Kinien Malbec 2007 Mendoza 16+ Drink 2011-2013
Violets, plums, creamy vanilla oak. Dry tannins, full and powerful, high acid. Nice development – and still more to come, it seems. (RH) 14%
£19.99 Corney & Barrow

AUSTRALIA & SOUTH AFRICA

Heywood Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc 2010 South Eastern Australia 15 Drink 2011
Neutral, light grass and lime. Decent but undistinguished. (RH) 11.5%
£7.99 Corney & Barrow

Old Vines Wine Cellars Chenin Blanc 2009 Stellenbosch 15 Drink 2011
Dry, a bit cheesy. Ripe enough though rather wishy-washy overall. (RH) 13%
£9.29 Corney & Barrow

Eagle Vale Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot 2008 Margaret River 15.5 Drink 2011-2014
Green pepper, black cherry, smooth and drinkable but with a herbal dominance that is a bit overblown. (RH) 14%
£12.49 Corney & Barrow

Mont du Toit 2003 Wellington 16.5 Drink 2007-2011
Very ripe blackcurrants, dark liquorice, tar and aniseed. Dense, heavy and oaked. (RH) 14%
£17.99 Corney & Barrow

Nelson Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot 2003 Paarl 15.5 Drink 2011-2014
Ripe blackcurrant, tomato stalk, light body and some chocolate and smoke to finish. Pretty tannic, though finely chiselled. (RH) 13.5%
£13.99 Corney & Barrow

CALIFORNIA & CHILE

**Carmel Road Riesling 2009 Monterey County 16 Drink 2011-2014
Lime, lemongrass plus some unexpected honey on the palate. Dry finish, but then lots of opulent stone fruit which undermines the Riesling-ness. (RH) 13%
£14.39 Corney & Barrow

**Carmel Road Pinot Noir 2009 Monterey County 17 Drink 2011-2014
Luscious red fruit with cordial style concentration. Sweet and fruit-centric, but dry on the finish. Not for Pinot purists, but a good example in the oversized mode. (RH) 14%
£17.99 Corney & Barrow

Viña Mar, Reserva Pinot Noir 2010 Casablanca Valley 14.5 Drink 2011-2012
Very tame nose. Light, a bit meaningless, not a good buy at the price. Nowhere near as good as their 2008 was. (RH) 14%
£9.99 Corney & Barrow

Rosario Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 Central Valley 15 Drink 2011-2013
Bit of reduction, vibrant blackcurrant juice. Prominent oak but nicely handled. Technical but quaffable. (RH) 13%
£6.99 Corney & Barrow

San Pedro, 1865 Single Vineyard Carmenère 2009 Maule Valley 15 Drink 2011-2013
Medicinal, syrupy fruit. Floaty, sweet oak – unintegrated. Peppery finish adds a bit of interest. Not bad, just not as premium as it tries to be. (RH) 14.5%
£12.99 Corney & Barrow

 FRENCH WHITE

**Henri Bourgeois Sauvignon Blanc 2010 Vin de Pays du Val de Loire 15 Drink 2011-2012
Grassy, very hard and citric. Sour finish. Hard. (RH) 12.5%
£9.99 Corney & Barrow

André et Edmond Figeat, Les Chaumiennes 2010 Pouilly-Fumé 15.5 Drink 2011-2012
Mineral, smoke, slate – very true. Austere, bitter juniper finish. Initially appealing but seems a bit too bitter to enjoy in quantity. (RH) 13%
£13.79 Corney & Barrow

Ch Grinou, La Combe de Grinou 2009 Bergerac 15.5 Drink 2011-2013
60% Sémillon, 40% Sauvignon Blanc. Green pepper, lime, very sharp but not over-zealous acid. Dry, plump, floral. (RH) 12%
£8.29 Corney & Barrow

FRENCH RED

**Bosquet des Papes, Chante le Merle 2006 Châteauneuf-du-Pape 17 Drink 2010-2016
Bronzed colour. Some meat and gravy on the palate, lots of concentration, ultra smooth tannic paste. As warm and inviting as a fireside. (RH) 13.5%
£46.89 Corney & Barrow

**Bourg, Les Graviers 2009 St-Nicolas de Bourgueil 16 Drink 2011-2014
Fragrant, leathery, luxurious. Bit of green leaf for authenticity – bright pink hue, tame tannins, a few sprinkles of dark chocolate. (RH) 12.5%
£12.49 Corney & Barrow

Jean-Pierre Moueix, Corney & Barrow Company Reserve 2005 Bordeaux 15.5 Drink 2008-2011
Light, rather fruitless. Liquorice and a touch of toast to finish, but rather dull. Drink now. (RH) 13%
£11.49 Corney & Barrow

René Rostaing, Cuvée Les Terroirs 2008 Côte Rôtie 17 Drink 2013-2018
in 2008, Rostaing blended the three separate cuvées he usually makes into one wine. Really peppered. Violets, blackberries and seared meat. Youthful – too keen, needs time. Plenty of acid to last. (RH) 13.5%
£34.99 Corney & Barrow

Saissac Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 IGP Pays d’Oc 16 Drink 2011-2015
Subtle black fruit perfume with chocolate, dark spice, melded tannins and a slight bitter twist. VGV (RH) 13%
£7.49 Corney & Barrow

Tardieu Laurent, Vieilles Vignes 2008 Châteauneuf-du-Pape 16 Drink 2011-2015
Scented and perfumed on the nose, with a gravelly texture on the palate and plenty of heat on the finish – better integration than their 08 Rasteau. (RH) 14.5%
£39.19 Corney & Barrow

Tardieu Laurent, Vieilles Vignes 2008 Rasteau 15.5 Drink 2011-2013
Ripe cherry cake nose. Bit of VA lurking about, and a little spirity too. (RH) 14%
£16.59 Corney & Barrow

 GERMANY

J J Prüm, Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Spätlese 2008 Mosel 16.5 Drink 2011-2021
Slate and steel, tropical lime, fragrant and spicy. Babyfaced, but approachable now. Much less abrasive and therefore much more appealing than the Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett. (RH) 9.5%
£25.29 Corney & Barrow

J J Prüm, Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Ausese Goldkapsel 2009 Mosel 17.5+ Drink 2014-2029
Only primary now, but the balance and length attests to its longevity. Wonderful honeyed purity. Every adjective you can think of for Riesling is here. Very very long and sweet to finish. (RH) 7.5%
£64.69 Corney & Barrow

J J Prüm, Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett 2009 Mosel 16 Drink 2011-2016
So pungent! Really very extreme – perhaps too sulphurous. I tasted this recently in my MW exam and it perplexed me then too. (RH) 9.5%
£20.19 Corney & Barrow

 ITALY

Il Carretto, Blanco 2010 IGT Sicilia 15 Drink 2011-2012
Almond and marzipan fragrance plus banana and white pepper. Tastes like Fiano plus Grüner Veltliner plus Viognier (turns out it’s Grillo). Bit floral for some, but good enough for the money. (RH) 12%
£6.49 Corney & Barrow

Cecilia Beretta, Masseria Bianca Fiano 2010 IGT Salento 15.5 Drink 2011-2012
Aromatic, rich and viscous. Firm, with a bit of phenolic grip. Bitters to finish. (RH) 14%
£7.99 Corney & Barrow

**Enrico Santini, Campo alla Casa 2009 Bolgheri 15 Drink 2011-2012
Grapefruit, banana, rather sharply acidic. Plus there’s an aftershave type of flavour. Bit of a mish-mash. (RH) 13.5%
£14.99 Corney & Barrow

Biserno, Il Pino di Biserno 2007 IGT Toscana 17 Drink 2011-2016
Blackcurrant, truffle, mushroom, earth. Leaf litter on the palate, wonderful creaminess, tannins are loose but supportive. Fine acid. (RH) 14%
£38.99 Corney & Barrow

Il Carretto 2010 IGT Puglia 16 Drink 2011-2014
Simple, cheery cherry fruit. Very drinkable, soft and balanced with a good savoury dryness and respectable length. GV (RH) 12%
£6.49 Corney & Barrow

Giacomo Conterno, Cascina Francia 2008 Barbera d’Alba 16 Drink 2011-2016
Green leaf, black cherry. Dark, impenetrable. Bit of funk on the palate – seems all a bit overbearing to me. Youthful, for sure, but rather heavily extracted too. (RH) 14.5%
£36.69 Corney & Barrow
 

PORTUGAL

Quinta da Chocapalha, Reserva 2008 Lisboa 17 Drink 2011-2013
Flinty and broad like Meursault – the spitting image! Nicely constructed, long smoky finish. Excellent. (RH) 13%
£17.99 Corney & Barrow

Wine and Soul, Guru 2008 Douro 16.5+ Drink 2011-2013
Tangerine, flowers, nuts, bitter almonds, very serious and firm. Probably needs a few years yet – but it’s already showing signs of oxidation, so not too long. (RH) 12.5%
£27.49 Corney & Barrow

Wine and Soul, Pintas Character 2007 Douro 15.5 Drink 2011-2014
Something funky this way comes. Definite fungal character. Not necessarily unattractive, but too dominant. Very dry and unforgiving. (RH) 14.5%
£26.99 Corney & Barrow

SPAIN

Roqueta, Mas Oliveras Macabeo/Chardonnay 2010 Catalunya 14.5 Drink 2011
Nutty, clinical, full bodied. Dry and textural but crude. (RH) 13%
£7.49 Corney & Barrow

Benjamín Romeo, Predicador Blanco 2009 Rioja 16 Drink 2011-2014
Lovely generous oak, really custardy and powerful. Very much the modern style – oak über alles. (RH) 13.5%
£23.69 Corney & Barrow

Benjamín Romeo, Predicador 2007 Rioja 16+ Drink 2012-2017
Very closed nose. Better brightness on the palate, but all a bit serious. Needs food, time or both! (RH) 14%
£24.29 Corney & Barrow

Benjamín Romeo, La Cueva del Contador 2007 Rioja 16.5+ Drink 2013-2023
Dry, quite light bodied. Substantial tannins, but very drinkable. Dry, bold – perhaps a bit too flashy and over-exuberant. (RH) 14%

Visit www.corneyandbarrow.com or call 020 7265 2430 to buy these wines.

Further Options

 The evening was to focus on the two communes Ets. Jean-Pierre Moueix is associated with – Pomerol and St-Emilion – with Château Magdelaine and Château Trotanoy being the highlights. The news of this excited me from the onset; Ch. Trotanoy is my personal favourite in Pomerol and Ch. Magdelaine, very much the insider’s choice of the 1er Grand Cru Classés.

We started the evening with a tasting of 6 wines which Edouard had chosen to show from the so-called ‘lesser vintage’ of 2007 and 1 from 2006. The 1^st 3 wines were Les Songes de Magdelaine 2006, Les Songes de Magdelaine 2007 and Château Magdelaine 2007. The second flight showed the neighbouring commune in the form of Château Lagrange 2007, Château La Grave à Pomerol 2007 and Château Trotanoy 2007.

Edouard guided us through the two sets of wine skilfully, using charming analogies to grip you and make you understand the properties, their locations, their soils and importantly the reflection within the wines. It seamlessly showed the power, structure and purity of St-Emilion to the depth, generosity and minerality of Pomerol.

Les Songes de Magdelaine 2006 showcased its approachable and fruit-laden style against the more structured (and pure?) 2007. The La Grave à Pomerol was my pick of the six for drinking now; supple and elegant with a silken palate and a touch of alluvial minerality. Magdelaine 2007 was heading in the right direction for me and will be in its prime in another 2-3 years. Red Merlot fruit bathes the mid-palate with spice and kirsch riding the finish. Tannins still a little firm. The Trotanoy 2007 was the final key to dispersing any negative preconceptions over 2007 as a vintage. It was dense and surprisingly rich with dark fruit integrated into a medley of spice, truffles and underbrush. A muscular build with an abundance of tannin supporting, will be superb in 6-8 years.

The tasting certainly generated a lot of conversation as we left the tables and headed towards a glass or two of Delamotte Brut NV. A refreshing interlude of a delicious and dangerously drinkable Champagne. Spirits were high, glasses were full and attention turned to dinner and most significantly, the wines to accompany. The menu was 3 courses starting with a ham hock & guinea fowl terrine with broad beans, peas & wasabi salad to be accompanied by Château Magdelaine 2000. The Magdelaine was wonderfully vibrant and expressive, sweet mixed fruits carried a wave of subtle spices, liquorice and mineral tones onto a delectably long finish. Drinking well now and undoubtedly for the next 8 years too.

The second course was roast saddle of welsh salt marsh lamb with pomme fondant and mange tout, to be served with Château Trotanoy 1998. For me, wow! Double decanted hours before, the Trotanoy ’98 was singing. As I savoured the glass it proved to be one of those exquisite wines that changes character throughout, revealing its many different sides. I had last tried it 3 years ago; it has now shed some of the muscle it displayed then and has hit a wonderful harmony of restrained power with refined edges. The fruit was pure with a dash of fig, an incredible savoury and tertiary character walked hand in hand with an alluvial, almost ferrous, mineral streak, encapsulated in a velvety mouth-feel. A stunning and elegant wine with more to offer in the next decade to come. My wine of the night.

The final course was a selection of English and Continental cheeses which came out with Château Trotanoy 1990 from magnum. It was a wine that split opinion and fell firmly into the ‘absolutely yes’ camp for me. I am a sucker for the evolved, tertiary, heavy wines and from mag. I think this still held some fruit nicely. Prune and dried berries jumped out of the ripe 1990’s fruit with savoury characters guiding. Saddle leather and herbaceous notes swept from the mid-palate onto the finish, framed with fine and soft tannins. The refined nature was reinforced with a balanced yet still present acidity that merged flawlessly. Very much a drink now for me, but this vote was not 100% unanimous.

The evening was only heightened by the precise, absorbing and charming insight given by Edouard Moueix, a key member of the very special family for whom Corney & Barrow have the ultimate respect.

Further Options

So the last day of the trip started, later than usual, with another dose of glorious sun. We had just one tasting and then lunch but a real highlight it turned out to be. Helen drove us out of Bordeaux to the base of Ets JP Moueix in Libourne, where we were greeted by our great friends Christian and his son, Edouard Moueix. We tasted the full range of wines – these will be fully written up in the offer but my brief notes below – many of which are exclusive to us in the UK. We started with the Saint-Emilions, after having tasted the new C & B Company Reserve 2008 blend. The full line up was:

Barrail du Blanc - great value and the best I can ever remember it. Serious too.
Puy Blanquet – Harder to get my head around Les Songes de Magdelaine – I was very impressed here, this is the wine that used to be St Brice many years ago, a savvy buy.
Magdelaine – I was stunned by this and thought it superb and very, very serious. Long-lived potential, as always, but I think I was alone in scoring it higher than Belair Monange. I would like more Saint-Emilions to follow the savory style of Magdelaine.
Belair Monange – Dark and extravagant fruit, nicely different from the Magdelaine, new label too.

Then it was across the commune to taste the Pomerols
Chantaloutte – (second wine of de Sales) – dense and masculine in style.
de Sales – good minerality to this, fruit really coming through on the palate.
Lagrange – the best I have ever tasted it, a very impressive buy for this reason – especially as it is the last Lagrange for a while (They are sorting out the drainage here so the vineyard will be “dug up”.) 2010 was such a drought year that the poor drainage may well have helped to make this so good; weird but logical.
Hospitalet de Gazin - even better than when previously tasted, good value.
La Grave à Pomerol – As expected, seductive and charming fruit, very dependable.
Bourgneuf - structured, red fruits, becoming more serious each vintage now.
Certan Marzelle – 100% merlot if my memory serves me well, creamy red/black fruit, slightly more “modern” in style than most.
Latour à Pomerol – I love this chateau so may be biased, but I found it a little closed initially. Thereafter, the true minerality and savory character of Latour came out; very impressive.
Certan de May – Inkily textured, rich and dedacdent, just stopped short of OTT for me but wowed some others.
Gazin – Consistent with other tastings, good, very good.
La Fleur Pétrus – my note says “gorgeous combo of extravagant and classical.” I liked it!!
Hosanna – More subdued and more serious than I expected which is a good thing in my book
Trotanoy – My top scoring wine of the whole week, “A potential legend in the making” as the normally measured Mr Marus put it. Just the right amount of everything, savoy power but so many layers of fruit too. I was sad to only taste it once.

With the week’s tasting done, we had a chat with Edouard; there is no sales pitch here, we tasted in silence then talk after. We all climbed into the ‘van’ and followed Edouard back to Christian and Cherise’s stunning house. The Moueix family are well known for their love of art and the house is mesmerizing. We had a magnificent magnum of Moët 1983 which was just the ticket after tasting on a hot day; the wine was in great form. The Lunch wines had been carefully decanted by Christian while we were tasting and we were in for a superb treat to accompany a delicious lunch. The two red wines were Magdelaine 1959 and Trotanoy 1955 – both were stunning with very different characters, the Magdelaine with a delicious sweetness and a real harmony, the Trotanoy with more savory notes and a deeper structure – staggering. Discussion flowed onto the fact that these wines had aged so well yet had been made with yields so much higher than wines today – food for thought. Christian then gave us his run through of the 2010 vintage in a very logical and measured way, which will appear in our Moueix release.

There was one last wine to serve and it was a port, served blind. We all had to guess what it was and it turned out to be the only port declared from the vintage of our Chairman’s birth – 1957 – and the shipper was Sandeman. It was in good shape and served, as the French do, nicely cool. A lovely ending. Christian had set the whole meal around Percy’s birth year with a shot each side (’55 & ’59) before the bulls eye. We then had coffee outside while I organised the sweepstake on the Grand national that was to be run later that afternoon. Christian, in particular, (like myself,) loves horse racing. The eventual result saw Bryce win (Ballabriggs), Christian second (Oscar Time) & Cherise third (Don’t Push It). It had been a superb, relaxed and enjoyable lunch and brilliant way to end the week. Many thanks to Christian, Cherise and Edouard.

And so it was done…

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Pétrus 2010 is 100% Merlot, which makes little difference as it has only ever had a tiny amount of Cabernet Franc in it. Only 50% new oak as Olivier (Berrouet) said it was a vintage in which to be careful not to over-make anything. The wine was stunning with an amazingly complex fruited freshness, a cracking start to the day. You might be interested to know that a new cellar is being built at Pétrus at the moment. From Pétrus, we headed across to Cheval Blanc where, as usual, the 2010 blend was different to most other right bank wines with 56% Cabernet Franc and 44% merlot; it was impressive as ever. The Petit Cheval (75% merlot 25% Cabernet Franc) was a little harder to understand but also good.

We were back across to Pomerol (Pétrus’ neighbour in fact) for an in depth visit to Gazin; a wine we have supported for a long time. We had tasted it on several occasions and it showed well again here along with the Hospitalet de Gazin (the second wine and 1/3 the production of Gazin.) A promising pairing and the wines reflect a massive amount of effort is being made here. Interesting to note that, unusually for the vintage, the 2010 had lower levels of tannin than the 2009.

Our last pre-lunch visit was to Louis Mitjavile (son of François) at Domaine de l’Aurage (this has also been covered as a Domaine by Joe Muller – LINK TO JOES BLOG) so rather than repeat ourselves I will leave it to Louis (picture left). The quality of the wines here is staggering and given that (the currently delicious) 2007 was his first vintage, it is impossible not to see this Domaine gaining a cult following, just as Louis father’s Roc de Cambes has done.

It was then lunchtime and off to Café de L’Espérance which is a meat-lovers paradise that Paul had been raving about all week. Having all ordered our slabs of meat (veal mostly,) we were a little mortified to discover that Helen, our driver who we had asked to join us for lunch, was a vegetarian… ooopps. A great lunch was had by all, accompanied by a good bottle of Pavillon de Poyferré 2006. Percy had been warned that the afternoon’s tasting at one of the top Négociants was a gruelling task so took the precaution of an ‘adequate’ pudding.

Lunch done, we were on to the Négociant tasting. Essentially you get a massive menu of nearly 200 wines to choose from all split down by commune. We used this as a chance to re-taste key wines, wines we had disagreed on, wines we hadn’t managed to taste or to taste wines that we had only tasted once and were likely to offer. Combine this with a chance to taste the ‘sweets’ and you get the idea that this was a big tasting. We totaled just under 80 wines and found the experience invaluable. The set up is spectacularly organised and, given that we arrived at 3pm on the Friday of an amazingly busy week, we were tremendously well looked after, including a bottle of Champagne to cleanse the palate at the end. We didn’t argue over many wines and generally reached a consensus. One new thing I took away was how hard the sweets are to taste at this stage; it is unquestionably a strong vintage for them but some showed elegance without guts, some showed texture without acidity and some were even more confusing. Given these are great wines it goes to show that may be they should be tasted later? Or once bottled?

With only the Moueix visit remaining (the next day) – in many ways the most important and the most exciting – there was a slight ‘end of term’ feel about the dinner we had at the Brasserie l’Europe that night, accompanied by Caillou Blanc de Talbot 2008 and Saint-Pierre 2002. We then strolled back to a glass of Calvados, over which we caught up on a bit of the masters golf. A great day.

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Next, the Pessac-Léognan UGC Tasting, where it was great to taste so many of the Pessac whites in amongst the reds (I did whites then reds some did the other way around), it was an easier ordeal on the mouth and senses and a very different experience from the UGC at Listrac/Moulis the previous day. The white varies in style but the quality and fruit is very good. I think this could be a good vintage to stockpile a few whites as they will be terrific in youth (when most should be drunk in my opinion) but the best will age too. The general standards of the Pessac reds was good too, if a little more variable than the whites. As we left, we waved goodbye to Claire (who was returning to Scotland) and set off for the right bank. First stop – François and Miloute Mitjavile at Tertre Roteboeuf. As usual for the trips between tastings, we all gave Alison our scores for the wines tasted en route; the inevitable squabbles and banter ensued.

On arrival at Tertre Roteboeuf, the hushed and mellow surroundings and the real charm of François and Miloute makes you instantly relax. Before lunch, we tasted the 2009 and 2010 Roc de Cambes and Tertre Roteboeuf and were, as usual, staggered by the wines. The 2010′s are different from the 2009′s, but there seems no difference in quality what-so-ever. The wines are of a sublime ripeness but at the same time, they are balanced – a brilliant effort again. May be it is because of the ripeness but these where amongst the easiest 2010′s to appreciate. And so to lunch, where we had the strange but good combo of oysters with Caviar  and the 2010 Tertre Roteboeuf… these complemented a strong debate on the Euro very nicely! Then Francois got out Roc de Cambes 1990, only his third vintage of the wine; it was matured but still fresh and given it was only the third vintage, I am very excited about what will happen in the future to the current wines. Very generously, Francois then got the 1990 Tertre Roteboeuf  out (the first vintage of TRB had been 1978, François having worked at Figeac in ’75 and ’76) You could see a real common thread in winemaking from the very start – the 1990  offering fantastic intensity and complexity. In the wonderful surrounding of the Mitjavile’s home, these wines and Miloute’s wonderful cooking made it a memorable lunch indeed. (See a blogpost on previous visit toTertre Roteboeuf in March 2011)

The rest of the day was taken up with two contrasting UGC tastings:

1) Saint-Emilion – This is always the least consistent tasting with a few examples of wine from The ‘Made-not-Grown’ School, but also some very fine examples. It is strange that St.Emilion traditionally has the least common thread to it’s wine styles and making; it is not a big commune and the blend (both in the vineyard and the final wines) is loosely so similar that you would think it would be more consistent than it really is.

 2) Pomerol – where the tasting was cooler and smaller (10 wines against St.Emilions 20+) The styles were closer together with a strong showing from Gazin and particularly Conseillante, to my mind.          

 With the temperature really rising, we were all in snooze-mode on the drive back to Bordeaux centre to meet up with Percy, our Chairman, over a cool evening beer before dinner….

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Next up, Léoville Las Cases. (picture left.) Quite a few wines to taste here – Potensac, Chapelle de Potensac, Léoville Las Cases, Clos du Marquis (separate vineyard within Léoville Las Cases), Le Petit Lion (second wine of Léoville Las Cases, not offered until it is in bottle), Château Nenin (Pomerol) and the second wine Fugees de Nenin. I loved the Las Cases but though that Léoville Poyferre still just had the edge in the battle of the Léovilles.

Grand-Puy-Lacoste is always a nice place to taste; a mellow, airy room and a very, very impressive wine this year. I am not quite sure what Xavier Borie and Mr. Marus (picture right) are discussing here(!) but things seem to be going well. We were then due at one Ségur followed by the other. At Château Phélan Ségur – very much a personal favourite – we were able to taste the last 10 vintages – 2010 back to 2001. The rest of the team had tasted this recently and I will defer back to Guy Seddon’s write up http://www.candbscene.co.uk/bordeaux/phelan-segur for notes but I feel the last three 2008/9/10 are a very strong but individual trio and as long as the pricing remains good (one big reason why it is a favorite) then 2010 is another must buy. And so to Calon from Phélan – a real highlight. I have to admit to scoring the two wines here highly. The Calon Ségur is (sadly) down in production this year but was very good indeed ‘giving’ a little more at this early stage than it has in the past. The other wine - Capbern Gasqueton – has a chance to be one of our top value wines, despite not being of Calon’s ‘breeding.’ It is a little gem. Both these last two wines had the vin de presse included which is rare but more informative.

It was lunch time and something I had really been looking forward to. Lunch with Anthony Barton and his wife Eva. Sadly, Anthony’s chef had been injured skiing so we de-camped to the brilliant Cordeillan Bages restaurant where we had a wonderful lunch chosen by Anthony and Eva. The wines were stunning too, with Salon 1995 (really starting to blossom) to start and then the white wine of Lynch Bages from 2008, Blanc de Lynch Bages which had a stunning nose but possibly needs a little more time on the palate. The reds were, of course, Léoville Barton with a bottle each from 1995, 1996 and 1999. All showed very well the 99 the most ‘ready’ now but the 1996 being very classical (a good thing in my book) and the slightly softer subtler 1995 right there too; a wonderful trio but even those where not up to the superb stories and banter…a very memorable afternoon. At this stage, I will comment on the Léoville and Langoa in 2010; both are very good indeed. I sometimes struggle with the fruit character of Langoa but this classical vintage seems to have played to its strengths; wines to watch out for.

Next stop was Pontet-Canet to see Alfred “the Great” (Anthony Barton’s phrase!) Tesseron and his daughter Mélanie. 2010 is the first vintage in which Pontet-Canet is fully biodynamic; a quest they have been on for some time. The wine was muscular and masculine but impressively balanced too. Little needs to be said about this Château’s rise.. it is impressive indeed.

The heat was really up by now and as we made the longish drive back to base there was on stop of to make at the Moulis, Listrac and Haut-Médoc UGC tasting. May be it was the heat or possibly the lunch but this was a tasting at which there seemed to be a few OTT wines; over-extraction appeared to be a bit of a danger. We were delighted, however, to taste with Pierre-Gilles Grommand d’Evry (for more info see blog on the teams visit http://www.candbscene.co.uk/bordeaux/a-medieval-tasting-at-chateau-lamarque) of Lamarque whose wine plays to the vintages strengths and will offer classical, medoc style Claret with a good price tag, that you can age.

This being day three the banter levels were rising in the ‘van’ with particularly strong views, noisily put, coming from the back seat.

The evening was a mellow one for Alison, Bryce and I as we had a very good dinner at Gravelier; a decent wine list, short menu and simple, well done food. Adam and Paul both had a big dinner and Claire was of to an Yquem tasting (lucky thing).  

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Next stop was Château Lafite Rothschild, which we managed to get into a little early. We tasted three wines (picture left), Carruades, Duhart Milon and Lafite itself. I thought Duhart had a little more about it than the Carruades at this stage but, without a doubt, the Grand Vin was on fine form with a notably savoury edge and a long future ahead of it.

We made the small trip from Lafite to Cos d’Estournal (picture right) where the line-up is also three wines with the Goulée first; it was impressive, a wine hitting its stride after first being made in 2003. The Pagodes (second wine) and Cos d’Estournel were both impressive and started to make me think that in 2010 there are several second growths who have made very fine wine indeed (this impression got stronger throughout the week)… I will be intrigued to see how Cos’ Topiary elephants come alone, the cages are there they just need them to grow.

From one top Saint-Estèphe to another, as we got to Montrose. This met will universal approval but especially from Mr. Marus who declared it a return to the “real” Montrose. One more stop before Lunch was at Lafon Rochet, a wine we have had a soft spot for (picture left). A new tasting room at the back of the Chais is a great addition and having tasted the rosé (called Rosette,) we were impressed by the masculine but potentially very good value 2010. A taste of the 2008 was also encouraging for those that have that wine in the cellar. En Route to lunch at La Salamandre in Pauillac, we collected Adam to take the C & B team to five.

Post lunch, Adam was straight in at the deep end as we arrived at Branaire Ducru for the UGC tasting of Saint-Julien, Pauillac & Saint-Estèphe. Once we managed to resist the urge to slump in to one the deck chairs (picture right) we got into the, rather warm, tasting room and got cracking. In several cases this was re-taste time. The standard was high with lots of structure as reported elsewhere but the amount of fruit and acidity was largely in balance. This was not, for me, quite the case at the Margaux UGC down the road at Lascombes; the standard was high but I found the balance a little less obvious. There were strong performances from the Rauzan’s and some others but fewer wines really shone that at the Saint-Julien, Pauillac & Saint-Estèphe UGC.

Claire Bailey joined us at Lascombes before disappearing with Mr. Marus to a Négociant dinner in the evening. Alison, Adam, Bryce and I got back in the trusty wagon and headed to Ducru Beaucaillou where the reception is always a welcoming one with the knee-high riding boots getting their usual approving glance from the visitors. From the tasting, it was interesting to note that from 2005 onwards, the Croix de Beaucaillou has been made from a single vineyard within the Estate. The wines, along with Lalande Borie (totally separate estate,) were good and you could see a common theme. I rated the Ducru as being up there with Montrose and Cos, amongst others.

 Our last tasting of the day was at Angludet (the d’ has gone now) and the wine showed well; better in fact than earlier that day at the UGC. It is structured and big but with good fruit to balance it out. Dinner at Malaki Café was good with Pouilly-Fumé Ladoucette 08 and Rauzan-Gassies 2004…

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It was one first growth to another as we headed off to Château Mouton Rothschild. As there are works underway at the moment, you get driven in a golf cart to the tasting room where the line-up was Le Petit Mouton, d’Armailhac, Clerc Milon and Mouton Rothschild itself.  The Mouton stable were all big in red fruit with impressive freshness.

From here it was off to Château Léoville Poyferré and their excellent tasting room . Poyferré itself was a wine that we were impressed with every time we tasted it, the Château has been “on the charge” for the last few years and this continues that good work. A pre-fermentation cold soak was a new initiative this vintage.

Ch. Rauzan Gassies sold well in  2009 that was our next stop. It is a massively undervalued 2nd growth property that is making good wine now. The 2010 tasted very well and whilst we were there, we sampled the 2010 Croizet-Bages that is under the same ownership.

Having not tasted a first growth for nearly two hours, we thought it best to get to Château Margaux where Paul Pontallier was in fine form (as ever.) I thought the balance at Margaux was very good, the Pavillon Rouge though was a  touch subdued on the nose. Pavillon Blanc was very graceful and a good indication of some encouraging dry white performances to come. In discussing the comparison between 2009/2010 and 1989/1990, it was commented that the amount of selection that goes on now is significantly higher. 

Having already started to get a picture of the vintage on the left bank, we went to a tasting at one of the Négociants (Photo of table with loads of bottles, left) where you can taste a wide range of wines in quick succession; a real help in gauging things. We rounded off this tasting with some lunch and a small glass of Rauzan Segla ’98; soft supple and lovely now, Canon 00; really textured but also starting to drink well and a thimble of Suduiraut 2002.  I expected very little and got a very pleasant surprise; I am starting to love “off” vintages of Sauternes.

So having been refreshed by some lunch, we went to Château Palmer for a very good tasting of Alter Ego and the Grand Vin. As impressive as I can ever remember, 50% of the crop made it into Palmer, 45% Alter Ego & 5% rejected.

The visits followed hard and fast after this with Kirwan (impressive 2009 as well as 2010) then Saint-Pierre and Gloria (both very good and the first time I got the feeling that St-Julien really could be one of “the” communes for 2010.)  We then moved onto the Pichons; Lalande slightly losing out to Baron but both were of high quality. In tasting at Baron, we also tasted the Petit Village and Suduiraut (same ownership). Petit Village is enjoying a lot of investment at the moment and with its great terroir, it could be a property to watch. It was then time for the last visit of the day at Lynch-Bages. Ormes de Pez, Echo de Lynch, Blanc de Lynch and The Grand Vin. It was a very precise line up of wines. Lynch is without doubt a very fine wine this year and I found the Blancs very refreshing.

And so the day was done…Bryce (Fraser) arrived in Bordeaux just in time for Dinner at Quaizaco…a lot of miles done on day 1 but excitement levels high…

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