10 Years on Tasting Highlights Peculiarity of Bordeaux 2003 Jean
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JULY - AUGUST 2013 IN THIS ISSUE : French Wine and Food Regions . Wine-Making Takes A Plunge . Ronnie Gonzalez’s Wine Story 10 Years on Tasting Highlights Jean Claude Berrouet Consulting at Peculiarity of Bordeaux 2003 Lafon Rochet by Patrick Schmitt by Panos Kakaviatos A tasting organised by fine wine merchant stressed that 2003 was a “much better Bordeaux Index at its London offices on vintage” than 2002, which was described 21 March, comprised almost every major by him after last year’s “10 Years On” cru classé château from the left and right claret tasting as “quite difficult to enjoy”. bank, including all five first growths. Indeed, he expressed surprise at “how nicely so many of the left banks had Designed to assess the quality and mellowed… I’d be happy to drink almost character of Bordeaux’s finest wines 10 any of the firsts.” years after the harvest, such an extensive tasting was first conducted by Bordeaux He admitted that such rapid development Index four years ago with the 1999 among Bordeaux’s top tier was atypical, vintage, and first reported on by DB after and meant that many of the region’s the 2000 tasting. most famous labels weren’t capable of the extended ageing expected of a great Speaking to the Drinks Business after this vintage. year’s tasting, Bordeaux authority Michael ‘Precision’... Berrouet Schuster, who runs the wine school at the However, with 10 year’s development, the Photo source: article.joinsmsn.com merchant, said the 2003 vintage was far best of the 2003s he added had “wonderful from typical, while also noting that many bouquets”, and Margaux and Lafite he Jean Claude Berrouet – best known for his The chateau, a Saint Estephe fourth of the wines were ready to drink now – said offered the drinker “tremendous 44 years as director of Petrus in Pomerol growth, has increased percentages of somewhat prematurely for classed growth pleasure already”. – has been consulting at Chateau Lafon Cabernet Sauvignon in recent years; Bordeaux. Rochet since the 2012 vintage, but the Berrouet said that is largely due to On the other hand, drawbacks highlighted chateau made no announcement until now. climactic changes over the last 20 years. “I think it is a long way from the great by Schuster after the tasting included the vintages of the past decade – 2005, 2009 uneven quality of the wines, with, in some For Berrouet, who is so closely associated ‘Cabernet Sauvignon handles dry and hot and 2010 – and it’s clearly not a classic cases, an absence of Bordeaux’s prized with the Right Bank, to work at a Left Bank weather conditions better than Merlot,’ he vintage either, it is not like 2001, 2004 or freshness, combined with a soft, rather classified growth may seem surprising,said. ‘The trend has been towards warmer 2008,” he commented. delicate fruit core – a result of the rapid Basil Tesseron, co-owner of Chateau Lafon and dryer weather, even though there are rise in grape sugars and equally swift drop Rochet, told Decanter.com. exceptions – like 2013 so far.’ In fact, he declared the 2003 vintage “a in acidity due to the extended heat wave complete oddball” but with “some very from June to August in Bordeaux (and ‘But 50% of our soils are made up of clays Berrouet told Decanter.com that he is attractive wines” – and consequently across France) in 2003. similar to those in Pomerol,’ he said. ‘very motivated’ to work for a Left Bank château and explained that ‘working Also, Schuster identified tough tannins in Tesseron praised Berrouet – who started parcel by parcel, understanding the certain wines, which he ascribed to fruit work at Lafon Rochet with the 2012 microclimates within the vineyard as well sugars rising ahead of phenolic maturity vintage – as a ‘living encyclopedia’ and for as the percentage of grapes used’ will be – meaning some producers picked grapes his understanding of precise blending. factors for him. with sweet fruit but slightly astringent tannins. He also blamed extraction ‘We tasted the wines from vat and from Berrouet, along with his son Jean-Francois, regimes in the winery which may have barrel far more often [with Berrouet], also has consultancies in Israel, Argentina, been too brutal for the soft fruit, as well as before deciding on the final blend, and China and California, where he consults too much new oak. blending as a result is more precise; we no on Merlot production at Twomey Cellars. longer calculate in terms of 2% to 5% of Continuation on page 2... one cuvee or one grape, but more in terms of 0.1% or 0.3%.’ Source: decanter.com Editorial Staff Directory Our Vision Directory To inspire a new generation of wine lovers. Shangri-La Plaza Mall, 633-3556 Christian Tan president EDSA Mandaluyong City We digest it for wine lovers… The Wine Story Gossips tracks all relevant wine information from key websites, magazines, Romy Sia publisher journals, wine research and studies and other credible resources. Then we summarize what is essential, for you to become a Eunice de Belen editor-in-chief more passionate and knowledgeable wine enthusiast. Serendra, Bonifacio High Street, Jesse Keisha Wenceslao production assistant 846-6310 Taguig City The Wine Story Gossips is a monthly publication of the Healthy Options Group of Companies with corporate offices located at #3 Economia Street corner Calle Patrisha Sofia Delgado layout & design Industria, Barangay Bagumbayan, Libis, Quezon City, 1110 and trunk line of (632)637-8888. For subscription inquiries, visit any of our stores. Wine Story is a Sky Printing printer One Rockwell West, 869-0932 trademark registered at the Philippine Patent Office. ENTERED AS THIRD CLASS (PM) POSTAGE PAID AT QUEZON CITY CPO Under Permit No. NCR-05-07-201 valid until December 31, 2013. Subject for Postal Inspection. Makati City 1 Issue No. 7 www.winestory.com.ph In particular, wines made using Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon from lighter sandy soils had the least ripe tannins, while cooler clay soils, with a better water holding capacity, Who Invented Wine? gave more balanced results as the soil type allowed grapes to mature more evenly and slowly. by Sue Lynn Carty However, the earlier ripening Merlot seems to have faired less Since wine goes back thousands of years, it’s really well in this early vintage, producing wines with high levels of impossible to pin point who invented wine. You can, sugar but not always full phenolic maturity. however, isolate various stories about the origins of wine. Here are a few of the key points in wine’s long Meanwhile, Cabernet Sauvignon from the northern Medoc, history: particularly Pauillac, produced the majority of the more attractive wines in this vintage – despite the free-draining The first written tale of wine is said to be in the gravel soils found in this commune. Old Testament of the Christian Bible. Hence, Schuster said his top three wines from 2003 were Latour, Margaux and Lafite, with Pessac’s La Mission Haut Apparently, Noah planted vines and made wine. Brion and the Right Bank’s Ausone completing his top five wines of the vintage. Scientists have dated fossilized grape vines at 60 Photo source: biblicalgenealogy.kavonrueter.com million years old. Speaking to DB more generally about the merit of tasting Bordeaux 10 years on, he noted that it was a particularly The Haji Firuz Tepe wine jar, found in modern day Iran, is the oldest archaeological evidence of good time to assess the wines. winemaking. The Haji Firuz Tepe wine jar, along with a wine press, known to be a wine press due to its tartaric crystal and tannin residue, was dated to 6000 B.C. “After 10 years, many of the wines are just beginning to drink really nicely… and the market wants to know what the wines There were no written records about viticulture or winemaking for nearly 5,000 years. The craft of are like at this stage, because they want to buy something making wine was passed down for generations through families and apprenticeships. ready to drink.” Historians believe that Phoenicians were the ones who spread their winemaking knowledge to DB also took part in the tasting, and similarly rated the ancient Greece and Christian monks are credited with France’s reputation as one of the best wine first growths highly, particularly Lafite and Margaux, while making countries in the world. It was their meticulous records about grape varietals, terroir and Latour appeared the most youthful of the firsts, with dense growing methods that allowed France to perfect and develop its wine making skills. dark fruit and a tight tannin structure still evident. Source: wine.lovetoknow.com Of the right bank wines, Ausone showed immensely generous, Some Bordeaux blends, such as those from the Médoc, Pair these recipes with Bordeaux: ripe, sweet fruit, although in DB’s view Cheval Blanc showed use more Cabernet; some, like those of St-Émilion, superior structure and elegance, with chalky tannins as well as use more Merlot. The white wines are made with a cooler note perhaps from the high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc tempered with Semillon grapes. Franc. Typically, you won’t find the grape varieties listed on the labels of Bordeaux wines: look for place names and Some of the better value wines from the vintage included the names of the producers. La Gomerie 2003 the perfumed Margaux second growth Château Brane- Cantenac; Saint-Julien’s Château Talbot and Léoville-Barton, Steamed Mussels and Pauillac’s Château Pontet-Canet . Cognac Shrimp Wine Sauce for Seafood Schuster rated Château Haut-Batailley, Grand Puy Lacoste, Sun Dried Tomato and Pine Nut Stuffed Beef St Pierre, Langoa-Barton and St Emilion’s Belair for value.