MASTER BLEND CLASSIFICATION MEDIA TOOL KIT 2012 MELBOURNE TORONTO LONDON www.masterblendclassification.comMASTER BLEND CLASSIFICATION | twitter.com/mbctasting | MEDIA TOOL KIT | 1 CONTENTS EVENT OVERVIEW Event Overview Ever since the official classification of Medoc and Graves in 1855, much debate and Wine Selection Criteria Wine Purchase discussion has been had about not only the classification results, but also the role that Tasting Protocol Cabernet Sauvignon based blends have in the world of wine. As a wine style, these 2013 Master Blend blends continue to play an important role in many of the world’s wine industries. Classification Melbourne 2012 Toronto 2012 Hosted by Wolf Blass Chief Winemaker, Chris Hatcher, the Master Blend Classification London 2012 The Results was a rare opportunity to “classify” some of the world’s finest and most famous Contact Details Cabernet Sauvignon blends from Bordeaux, Australia, Italy, South Africa, Chile and California – including some first growth producers. APPENDIX Media Bios To mark the first year of theMaster Blend Classification, events were held in Global Results Regional Results Melbourne, Toronto and London with a global guest list made up of wine experts from Australia, Asia, Canada, the US, UK and Europe. MASTER BLEND CLASSIFICATION | MEDIA TOOL KIT | 2 Select the leading WINE Selection WINE PUrcHase wines were Cabernet based blends CRITERIA from the 2008 vintage. Only after Cabernet based All wines were purchased either discussion, were the identities of The criteria for the selection directly from producers or from the wines revealed. Individual blends from of wines to be tasted in the reputable fine wine retailers in scores were revealed but not around the world inaugural Master Blend the United Kingdom, Australia, whose scores they were – each Classification was very simple – United States and Hong Kong. person only knew their own score. based on proven select the leading Cabernet based The lineup truly represented what reputation. blends from around the world wines the normal wine buyer 2013 Master BLEND based on proven reputation. With would be tasting/drinking, rather Classification the starting point as the 2008 than hand-selected bottles that vintage, wines were curated down had been stored at the respective The Master Blend Classification to the final list after much wineries. will return in 2013 with tastings discussion on the relative merits planned for Australia, the United of each wine. Since the Bordeaux States, Europe and Asia. Classification in 1855, the TastinG Protocol internationally recognised Attendees will “classify” Cabernet Bordeaux First Growth wines All wines were opened 60 minutes based blends from the exciting have been considered the before the commencement of 2009 vintage, and again the benchmark for this iconic wine the tasting. Wines were double respective scores from each tasting style. Therefore, each of the decanted into a decanter and will be compared. Bordeaux First Growth producers then back into original bottle were included, as were other very and were all poured in one flight. well regarded Bordeaux wines. Tasters were asked to score each Iconic wines from Italy, Australia, wine out of 100 points and scores South Africa, Chile and the United were then tallied at the end of States were also included. the tasting. Importantly, all wines were tasted ‘blind’ – participants had no idea what wine producers were represented – only that the MASTER BLEND CLASSIFICATION | MEDIA TOOL KIT | 3 MELBOURNE, AUstralia. TORONTO, CANADA. LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM. MASTER BLEND CLASSIFICATION | MEDIA TOOL KIT | 4 THE RESULTS 92 91 91 91 91 91 CHÂTEAU LYnch- CHÂTEAU CHÂTEAU LAFITE CHÂteAU LÉOVILLE- CHÂTEAU MontroSE VaSSE FELIX BAGES Ducru-BeaucaIllou RotHSCHILD LAS caSES St. Estephe HEYTESBURY Pauillac St. Julien Pauillac St. Julien Margaret River 91 90 90 90 90 90 WolF BlaSS blacK CHÂTEAU CHÂTEAU CHÂTEAU Latour CHÂTEAU MARGauX CHÂTEAU mouton label BEYCHEVELLE Haut-BRIon Pauillac Margaux RotHSCHILD South Australia St. Julien Pessac Pauillac 90 90 89 89 88 84 JOSEPH PHELPS OPUS one CHÂTEAU GISCOURS SASSICIAIA CHÂTEAU COS MOUNT MARY INSIGNIA Napa Valley Margaux Tuscany D’Estournel QUINTET Napa Valley St. Estephe Yarra Valley MASTER BLEND CLASSIFICATION | MEDIA TOOL KIT | 5 CONTACT DETAILS George Samios Event Director, Master Blend Classification [email protected] T:+61 (0)417 359 919 F:+61 (0)3 8533 3833 MASTER BLEND CLASSIFICATION | MEDIA TOOL KIT | 6 APPENDIX Melbourne, James Halliday the first western wine critic to Australia. Respected wine critic and vigneron create and publish a book in China THE James Halliday has a career that especially for the Chinese audience. Poh Tiong Chng spans over 40 years, but he is most JUDGES Poh Tiong is the publisher of The widely known for his witty and Nick Ryan Wine Review (South-East Asia’s informative writing about wine. Nick Ryan is a regular contributor oldest wine magazine, since 1991), to Men’s Style Australia and and the world’s first annual Guide James has contributed to more than Gourmet Traveller Wine and has to Bordeaux in Chinese. Poh Tiong’s 56 books on wine since he began judged in many Australian and articles have also appeared in several writing in 1979. His books have been international wine shows. He is magazines, including Harper’s, translated into Japanese, French, excited by wines that are just as Decanter of the UK and Silver Kris – German, Danish and Icelandic, interesting by the fourth glass as the magazine of Singapore Airlines. and have been published in the they are at the first. UK, the US and Australia. He is Jeannie Cho Lee also the author of James Halliday’s Ken Gargett Jeannie Cho Lee MW is Wine Atlas of Australia and The Ken Gargett is the wine writer Contributing Editor for Decanter Australian Wine Encyclopedia. for the Brisbane Courier Mail UK and weekly columnist for and the Courier Mail Weekend Hong Kong’s South China Morning Jeremy Oliver Magazine, and a regular contributor Post and mainland China’s Jeremy Oliver is one of Australia’s to Australian Gourmet Traveller China Business News. She writes foremost wine writers and Wine Magazine. Ken has numerous monthly columns for Noblesse presenters. He is a fully independent accolades under his belt, having China, Noblesse Korea and Australian wine commentator been a winner of the prestigious Vin Decanter Taiwan and is also a wine whose words are published in de Champagne Award in Australia, consultant for Singapore Airlines as several countries. In late 2005 recipient of a Len Evans scholarship well as for Galaxy Macau. Jeannie he was named the inaugural and judge at The Royal Sydney Wine is the author of the award-winning Wine Writer of the Year by the Show, Macedon Ranges Wine Show book, Asian Palate, and founded widely circulated Australian Wine and Top 100 Sydney International www.AsianPalate.com, a website Selector magazine. With the recent Wine Show. dedicated to Asian food and wine. publication of Enjoying Wine with Jeremy in Mandarin, Jeremy became MASTER BLEND CLASSIFICATION | MEDIA TOOL KIT | 7 APPENDIX Ray Jordan of Gourmet Traveller Wine, and Tim White Christopher Waters Ray Jordan has been writing about is the author, co-author or editor Tim writes about wine for Australia’s Christopher Waters is Sun Media’s wine for more than 30 years. Ray of 32 books including the Global leading business and finance national wine columnist and the currently writes two regular weekly Encyclopedia of Wine, Discover newspaper, the Australian Financial co-founder and editor of Vines. For columns in The West Australian Australia: Wineries, Margaret River Review. the past 11 years, he has worked and The West Australian Saturday and A Taste of the Margaret River. as a professional wine writer and Magazine, whilst also contributing educator. His column, Waters to other publications. In 2003 Ray Tyson Stelzer Toronto, & Wine, appears weekly in Sun released the first of his annual Tyson is a multi-award winning Canada. Media papers across the country. In guides to West Australian wines wine writer with an annual addition, Waters is head judge of the and has also co-authored a book readership of four million Geoff Last InterVin International Wine Awards. on Margaret River. He is a winner worldwide. He was named The Geoff has been a freelance wine of the WA Wine Press Club wine International Champagne Writer of columnist for the past 12 years, he Rod Phillips writing award and in 2006 was the Year 2011 in The Louis Roederer primarily writes for the Calgary Rod is a historian, writer and awarded the George Mulgrue Award International Wine Writers’ Awards. Herald and City Palate magazine. journalist living in Ottawa. for contribution to the WA wine Tyson is the author and publisher of His past contributions also include He writes a weekly wine column industry. thirteen wine books and a regular Vines, Wine Access and Gourmet for the Ottawa Citizen, he’s a contributor to thirteen magazines Magazine. To keep himself busy, contributing editor of NUVO, Peter Forrestal including Wine Spectator, Decanter, Geoff is also the General Manager Canada’s leading lifestyle Peter is a freelance wine writer who Qantas The Australian Way, at Bin 905, specialty wine boutique magazine, professor of history lives in Perth. In 2009 he received Australian Gourmet Traveller Wine, retailer. at Carleton University, writes his the WCA’s Wine Communicator James Halliday Wine Companion own books on wine and publishes of the Year award. He is wine Magazine, WBM, Selector, Style David Lawrason two free electronic newsletters: columnist for the Sunday Times Magazine, WINE100, Barossa Living David has been part of the Wine Winepointer and Worlds of Wine. Magazine and a regular contributor and Salt Magazine. Writers’ Circle of Canada for He also contributes and judges wine to Gourmet Traveller Wine, the the past 25 years.