Dr Vino's wine blog

Pabst Still Coasting On 1893 Blue Ribbon Win
-The Onion

So what’s wrong with the 1855 classification of red wines from the Medoc? We can sum it up succinctly: the Pabst problem. It’s resting on its laurels.

The classification was a snapshot and not a moving picture. Several houses riding high in 1855 have since plummeted or been acquired by others. One chateau, Mouton-Rothschild, headed the other way and was promoted to first growth status as recently as 1973, the first and only change to the system cast on parchment.

But over on the Right Bank, they’ve got a moving picture. Granted, we’re talking one frame per decade but at least that’s more dynamic than over in the Medoc.

The wines of St. Emilion (see dark purple on map) were first classified only in 1954. Unlike the 1855 classification with 61 properties distributed over five “growths,” or classes, the St. Emilion classification divides 55 proprties into two categories of average and above average. Actually, that would be too humble: the two categories are mere “great growths” (42 chateaus) and “super great growths” (13).

Well, tomorrow is the big day for the announcement of the next revision. The big phenomenon in the region in the 1990s was the emergence of ultra-premium vins de garage that were not included in the last revision in 1996. More garagiste wine makers than you could shake a gigot d’agneau at have hit their stride since then. If the revision is truly dynamic, it should expand beyond the current 55 members and include some of the garagistes. Stay tuned for part deux tomorrow…

St. Emilion Classification, 1954 (1996 edition)

FIRST GREAT GROWTH CATEGORY A

* Château Ausone
* Château Cheval Blanc

FIRST GREAT GROWTH CATEGORY B

* Château Angélus
* Château Beau-Séjour Bécot
* Château Beauséjour (Duffau-Lagarosse)
* Château Belair
* Château Canon
* Château Figeac
* Château La Gaffeliere
* Château Magdelaine
* Château Pavie
* Château Trottevieille
* Clos Fourtet

GREAT GROWTHS

* Château Balestard La Tonelle
* Château Bellevue
* Château Bergat
* Château Berliquet
* Château Cadet Bon
* Château Cadet-Piola
* Château Canon La Gaffeliere
* Château Cap De Mourlin
* Château Chauvin
* Château Clos Des Jacobins
* Château Corbin
* Château Corbin-Michotte
* Château Curé Bon
* Château Dassault
* Château Faurie-De-Sauchard
* Château Fonplégade
* Château Fonroque
* Château Franc Mayne
* Château Grand Mayne
* Château Grand Pontet
* Château Guadet Saint-Julien
* Château Haut Corbin
* Château Haut Sarpe Saint-Christophe Des Bardes
* Château L’arrosée
* Château La Clotte
* Château La Clusiere
* Château La Couspaude
* Château La Dominique
* Château La Serre
* Château La Tour Du Pin-Figeac (Giraud-Belivier)
* Château La Tour Du Pin-Figeac (J.M. Moueix)
* Château La Tour Figeac
* Château Lamarzelle
* Château Laniote
* Château Larcis Ducasse Saint-Laurent Des Combes
* Château Larmande
* Château Laroque Saint-Christophe Des Bardes
* Château Laroze
* Château Le Prieuré
* Château Les Grandes Murailles
* Château Matras
* Château Moulin Du Cadet
* Château Pavie Decesse
* Château Pavie Macquin
* Château Petite Faurie De Soutard
* Château Ripeau
* Château Saint-George Cote Pavie
* Château Soutard
* Château Tertre Daugay
* Château Troplong-Mondot
* Château Villemaurine
* Château Yon-Figeac
* Clos De L’oratoire
* Clos Saint-Martin
* Couvent Des Jacobins

St. Emilion producers’ union web site

tags: wine | St. Emilion | St. Emilion classification

What’s the multi-millionaire to do when collecting wines isn’t enough? Why, collect wineries of course. Bernard Magrez made a fortune with the sale of his Bordeaux négociant house, William Pitters, and now has assembled a portfolio of 37 “micro-cuvees.” They come mostly from Bordeaux and include such big guns as Chateau Pape Clement but also from places as far flung as Tunisia and Uruguay.

So for Bernard Magrez, the question becomes, what do you do when collecting wineries isn’t enough? Since collecting cars doesn’t always work (he had to return his Hummer when it didn’t fit in his driveway in Bordeaux), the answer for him is to open wine shops.

His new Paris shop opened in July and another for Bordeaux is slated for the fall. The shops sell only wines bearing the Magrez signature—and they do almost all have his name on the label. Although there are 37 wines, the brand is clearly Magrez. The unseen signature in the bottle, however, is Michel Rolland, the renowned and controversial “flying winemaker” known for favoring big reds.

I dropped by the handsome Paris boutique a few weeks ago. In the high-rent district a stone’s throw from the Opéra, the black exterior gives way to a mostly black interior complete with two chandeliers of black Baccarat crystal. Georges Bentet, the shop manager who has been a sommelier in both France and the US, greeted me and I asked him a bit about what’s going on. He offers hour-and-a-half classes on wine appreciation complete with tastings from about five Magrez offerings. How are they going? So far, no takers.

The friendly Georges says that the wines are, surprisingly, more expensive at the shop than in supermarkets. Wait–supermarkets?!? Yes, some of these wines indeed appear in supermarkets. But what the shop offers, he says, is depth and breadth of the Margrez line. Want an older vintage of Pape Clement? Or a large format Fombrauge? This is where you can find them.

If you can’t make it to this location, rumor has it that Magrez will be opening similar boutiques in other cities around the world.

Bernard Magrez, the boutique
36 rue St. Augustin, 75002 Paris
01.49.24.03.11

tags: wine | wine stores | Paris | Bernard Magrez

One case (12 bottles) of Chateau Petrus 2005 futures (wine arrives in 2008): $24,000 at Morrell’s Wine in NYC (currently sold out)

2006 VW Jetta: $23,790 sticker price (available now, any color).

See some of my other posts on the insanity and the misery of Bordeaux 2005

tags: wine | Bordeaux 2005

“France is the crossroads of Europe.” This used to be a common refrain in France before Europe shifted east. Nonetheless, the Medoc might become a pit stop between Paris and Madrid.

The Ministry of Transportation in conjunction with the regional planning authority wants to build a new road axis running from Spain to Northern Europe. Three of the five proposals in the Bordeaux region would run over or around Margaux and other growing areas of Bordeaux. They would connect to a new bridge spanning the Gironde estuary.

Since planning for the new highway is still in the early stages, the growers syndicate of Margaux has put up an online petition to collect signatures against the proposal. I was signature 5,414.

Although prime vineyards can survive when surrounded by the city, as a satellite image of Chateau Haut Brion in Pessac-Leognan shows, and Bordeaux has a surplus of wine anyway, I signed for two reasons. First, why there? These vineyards are an international treasure and if it’s possible to re-route the autoroute, so much the better.

Second, making information available on the internet in France has been excruciatingly slow. In fact the wine trade in general has confronted the internet with unease and confusion. This sort of activism is a perfect fit to harness the power of the internet. I applaud that effort.

If you want to sign, click here
See the regional authority’s site for the proposal
And a close-up of proposed routes in Margaux (pdf)

tags: wine | Bordeaux | development | internet activism

Does Vijay Mallya like champagne? Apparently so since he offered $750 million for Taittinger, the sixth biggest house in Champagne. However, like his fellow Indian businessman Laksmhi Mittal who has also been recently outbid while trying to buy a French (steel) company, Mallya, who heads United Breweries of Bangalore, withdrew his bid. Credit Agricole, a French bank working with some members of the Taittinger family, sealed the deal by offering $850 million. The Economist reports that reaction in Champagne was not hostile to Mallya since locals saw India as an excellent market for growth and actually were more afraid that the house ending up in the hands of Bernard Arnault of LVMH. In the end, Starwood, the seller, benefits the most from the higher selling price. (background)

The Economist’s summer “Intelligent Life” issue is out now with an article on “bubbles and bling” tracking who, over time, has been able to afford the most expensive cuvees from Champagne. Check out my pink picks.

If you’re looking for bargain bubbly, I recently was amazed to see 1999 Moet on sale at Garnet Liquor in Manhattan for $33–less than the nonvintage right next to it! But then I found it online at PJ’s for $29.97. Wow. I’m going to party like it’s 1999. (click here for store info)

Greenpeace says that radioactive waste from a nearby power plant is a “threat” to the Champagne region. Um, cheers!?!? [Decanter]

Christian Delpeuch announced that he won’t serve an extra third year as head of the Bordeaux wine trade council. He arrived two years ago in the rotating presidency with a reform agenda and has been frustrated in his efforts to implement it. [Sudouest]

Finally, are you wondering how best to deploy your cash into Bordeaux 2005 futures? A wine enthusiast in Amsterdam has compiled a lot of info on Bordeaux into a single, neat and tidy web page. Functionality includes the ability to sort by various categories, including price, critic, and even winemaker. BordOverview.com

tags: wine | wine news | France | Champagne

Wine, it’s all about the provenance. Or at least Diageo thinks so. The FT reports today that Diageo (NYSE: DEO) has filed a formal objection to Oregon winemaker Tim Ramey’s application to trademark the term “Belle Provenance Vineyard” calling it “confusingly similar” to their own “Provenance” brand. “There isn’Â’t a wine lover on earth that would think anyone could claim exclusivity for the word ‘‘provenance’Â’ any more than they could for words like ‘vintage’Â’ or ‘‘vineyard,'” he says. “We will fight Diageo to protect our name.” Hmm, it does seem a little ironic that the provenance of a Napa Cab could be confused with Oregon Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris.
* * *
Do you ever crave exotic indigenous grape varieties in a world of similar tasting wines? Such a craving sent Bruce Schoenfeld to Hungary to explore the local wines:

Weeks later, when I think back on my visit to Lake Balaton, these are the wines I will remember. A transcendent Juhfark, bold and peppery. A Budai Zöld with the bite of a Granny Smith apple. A sharply acidic Furmint from 1995…

Wine’s next frontier, an excellent piece, highly recommended!
* * *
Robert Parker has weighed in on the 2005 Bordeaux vintage and he can hardly control his “jubulation/excitement.” He awards 100 point scores to Haut-Brion, Margaux and Latour, Pavie, Petrus, Ausone, Pavie Decesse and Pape Clement. Mouton and Lafite rolled in with scores of 96…Consulting wine maker Stephane Derenoncourt will get to bask in the limelight usually reserved exclusively for the wines of Michel Rolland since Derenoncourt’s Larcisse Ducasse received 95-98 points, “one of the monuments of the vintage.” [Decanter]
* * *
The NYT obituary of witty wine writer Alex Bespaloff contained this mention of his hilarious outgoing voicemail message: “I cannot take your call right now, but if it’s an emergency, white with fish and red with meat.”

tags: wine | wine travel | USPTO | wine news

Opinions on the 2005 Bordeaux vintage are starting to roll in…Jancis Robinson gives it a thumbs up, writing “there are more very good to great wines than I can remember in any other vintage.” James Suckling got in early this year with his opinion saying the wines of the vintage represented “some of the best I have tasted in my career…” Robert Parker’s comments will come in the next couple of weeks…Now consumers await the prices from the chateaus, which will undoubtedly be as high as–or higher than–the praise.

After being spurned last year, the acquisitive Constellation has finally been successful in its attempt to take over Vincor, Canada’s largest producer. Vincor’s management spent months battling a $33 a share takeover attempt but now has acquiesced to this offer at $36.50 valuing the company at C$1.5bln. What I’m wondering is when Constellation will make a bid for a producer in Argentina?

Russia has banned the import of wines from Georgia and Moldova citing pesticide use. Some call it “pure politics” with Putin punishing the two republics for pro-Western stands. Georgia has grappled with rampant fraud in Georgia (that I mentioned in October “Georgia on my mind“) so this latest blow will no doubt send the industry reeling.

“If I were your accountant, I would have to advise against investing in a restaurant,” Charles Grodin’s character quipped to Robert DeNiro’s in the 1988 movie Midnight Run (ironically De Niro has invested in many restaurants quite successfully through the Myriad Group). Paul Sullivan writes in Saturday’s Financial Times that “If you can stand the heat, buy the kitchen” when it comes to investing in a restaurant.

If you thought Thomas Jefferson was the most wine friendly of America’s founders, you’d be right. New evidence has revealed, however, that George Washington ordered a “box” of Muscat and claret while he was president. Only catch: he also ordered a keg of brandy and after leaving the presidency, he built one of the largest distilleries in Virginia. That ardent spirit…[MSNBC]

I’m not the only blogger on the move. The indefatigable Beau Jarvis at Basic Juice will be heading to Austria for a month in May. Alder Yarrow at Vinography just spent time poking around Mendoza too and has posted some of his thoughts and tasting notes. Taj continues her travels thorough America’s Western wine country and interviews many quirky producers, such as Casa Nuestra in Napa. Lenn Thompson won’t be traveling–he’ll be bringing the wines to him in his “50 wines 50 states 50 weeks” challenge on the group blog Wine Sediments. Whoa, I wonder what he’ll write up from Alaska?!?

tags: wine | wine news | Bordeaux 2005 | wine blogs | wine travel

Many journalists and wine retailers are descending on Bordeaux next week to taste the barrel samples of the supposedly superlative (and this time they mean it!) 2005 vintage. But last weekend I headed in the opposite direction to taste some excellent Bordeaux: I went to Chicago.

The wines that I tasted weren’t in the barrel. In fact, the 2002s that I tried have been available for a year or more. They have even been on retailers’ shelves for so long that I found a good one having a sale on 02 Bordeaux and couldn’t resist snapping up some bargains from what turned out to be an overlooked vintage.

The cause of the trip to Chicago was a class at the University of Chicago. The 30 attendees and I pondered the problems and potential in the two French regions of Bordeaux and Languedoc. It turns out that one of the participants has a blog of her own, so I’ll refer you to her for more detailed notes.

Here’s the lineup with little scribble on each. Overall head to the Medoc to scoop up the bargains that are 2002 Bordeaux.

Cinquante Cinq Viognier vin de pays d’oc $10 (find this wine)
Ho-hum, gets the job done. On the deck in the summer that is.

Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte, 2003 Pessac-Leognan ($30) (find this wine)
Crisp acidity but a surprising amount of oak. Give this to a New Zealander and she would never guess that it’s Sauvignon Blanc.

Domaine Des Schistes Cotes Du Roussillon Villages 2003 $12 (find this wine)
Balanced between acidity and tannin, taste the terroir! Easy drinking for Monday – Thursday.

Chateau D’Aussieres Corbieres 2003 $22 (find this wine)
I had to include this since it is a Lafite-owned project in the Corbieres–a synthesis of our two regions. Sadly, it was a tannic monster that I doubt will ever settle down.

Mas de Daumas Gassac, vdp d l’Herault 2003. $30 (find this wine)
When I poured it blind, the consensus was Bordeaux. Well, it is 80% Cab (and 20% of 10 other varieties) after all. It’s a serious wine from renegade winemaker Aime Guibert that has a long finish and would no doubt last decades in the cellar. This was the wine of the class for many people.

Chateau Gruaud Larose, 2002 Saint-Julien $38 (find this wine)
Approachable at this early age, balanced, mmm, delicious.

Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron – 2002 Pauillac $40 (find this wine)
Too young now for the Baron, but a serious wine that will be better in 3 years.

Chateau Cos D’Estournel – 2002 Saint-Estephe $65 (find this wine)
Excellent, dark, blackcurrant, tannins, slightly disappointing finish. But 50% more than the Baron? Bring me the Baron!

Chateau Suduiraut – 2002 Sauternes $22 375ml (find this wine)
Classic Suaternes at a very reasonable price. I bought more later.

Abbe Rous, Helyos, 2003, Banyuls, $40 (find this wine)
Very rich, but not unbalanced or over-the-top. One person ran out and got his wife a chocolate bar and she said it was a great pairing!

Separately I tasted the 2002 Lafon Rochet (find this wine). Approachable now but still could benefit from a year or two (or 10) in the cellar. This is the steal of the vintage at $20. I bought a case!

Note: I hope to see you for the Pinot Showdown, May 13, University of Chicago.

tags: wine | Bordeaux | Languedoc