BORDEAUX 2013 – 2014 – 2015 2/2

At a rather disappointing tasting in Brussels where the millésime 2013 was presented, an event organized every year by the Union des Grands Crus Classés de Bordeaux, I found my taste not agreeing with the title of Grand Cru Classé. Numerous properties didn’t have the quality to deserve that title and should have considered disqualifying their wines, to put them in bulk wine. But there is of course the subject of money, and having lost already some of it in the previous year(s) makes this hard.

The part here above is a repeat from the first alinea, from the first part of our Bordeaux visit. Entire part 1 can be found here.

 Our third day and third region, Graves, Pessac-Leognan.

 Our first appointment of the day, at Domaine de Chevalier was with assistant director Remi Edange, a straight man we have known for many years as well.

 The first time I visited Domaine de Chevalier it was still owned by the family Ricard, and managed by Claude Ricard for 35 years, and who made Domaine de Chevalier a name to remember.

 In 1983 the estate came in the hands of the Bernard family, and Olivier Bernard learned the skills and the secrets of the vines, and the land of Claude Ricard. Since then this has been a stop-over for many years.

 He could tell us that for this year, 2016, at least one part of the vineyard was affected and lost due to the frost half April.

Here you can see a new barrel design and Remi taking a wine-sample (white) from barrel.

Time to taste:

• Domaine de Chevalier 2015, red: taken from the barrel. Great colour and great wine, dark red fruit, soft tannins, spicy, velvety with a long aftertaste, a great wine to be.

• Domaine de Chevalier 2014, red: taken from the steel tank, ready to be bottled in June. Dark ruby red colour, lots of fruit in the nose, very nice attack with great tannins and body, typical style of the millésime, a great wine.

• Domaine de Chevalier 2013, red: a beautifully made wine, one of the exceptions to call as a great wine, wine with character.

• Domaine de Chevalier 2015, white: Semillon from barrel, good presentation, very pale in colour, a bit exotic in the mouth, did not yet show its potential.

• Domaine de Chevalier 2015, white: Sauvignon from barrel, nice pale yellow colour, typical balanced Sauvignon nose, good taste with a lot of freshness.

• Domaine de Chevalier 2015, white: first assembly taken from barrel, we already see the complexity of a great wine, a very nice straw yellow colour and great taste, a super white wine to be.

• Domaine de Chevalier 2011, red: even in this not straight forward millésime, for me a great wine with still enough potential, beautiful.

• Domaine de Chevalier 2010 red: still very young wine with great taste and content, a marvelous wine with years left to enjoy.

 After this great tasting we went to lunch together in the Château Leognan, restaurant Le manège, with a bottle of the great new wine Clos de Lune Argent 2014.

 This was the first time I had the chance to taste this wine coming from the Sauternes region but made in dry, beautiful wine.

 The red wine for lunch was a Domaine de Chevalier 2005, what a great wine, still young but with a beautiful evolution, years enough left to enjoy.

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After lunch we had an appointment at Château Malartic Lagravière, Pessac-Leognan.

 Located on the oldest part of wine producing terroir, the Château came in the hands of the Belgian family Bonnie in 1996. This Château is one of the only six Châteaux in this region that are producing both red and white wine.

 The Belgian couple started to make changes in the cellars and château in 1997. Their objective was to install quality and care in making wine. The cellars were reformed with the latest techniques and a superb team, to make wine using the system of gravity and in a controlled environment.

This resulted in the ability of making great wines, both red and white.

Two types of fermentation tanks:

 In 2005 they acquired Château Gazin Roquencourt and worked with the same passion on these wines as they did in Malartic. The wines have grown since their arrival.

 Also in 2005 they arrived in Argentina, within the Clos de Los Seitos, where they created the Bodega DiamAndes. An interesting wine choice for this type of wine-lovers.

Too bad nobody of the families was available, but we did have a nice tasting.

We tasted:

• Malartic Lagravière 2015, red: great dark red colour, very ripe fruit, nice soft attack with smooth tannins, nice content and easy on the pallet, enough content?

• Gazin Roquencourt 2015, red: evenly matches the Malartic wine, a little more balanced and more content, a beautiful wine.

• Malartic Lagravière 2014, red: very nice colour, great nose of ripe fruit and spices, very powerful body content without being aggressive, great tannins and aftertaste, wine to my heart, a great wine, for me a winner over the 2015.

• Gazin Roquencourt 2014, red: very nice wine, almost matches the Malartic wine, a little less body and finesse but also a great wine. Sadly the first bottle we opened, barely bottled and corked, was infected with cork.

• Malartic Lagravière 2015, white: very nice, a little bit exotic, a nice wine.

• Gazin Roquencourt 2015, white: 100 % Sauvignon, great wine for Sauvignon lovers.

• Malartic Lagravière 2014, white: ripe fruit and good citrus acidity with great length, a little bit of wood. A superb wine.

• Gazin Roquencourt 2014, white: intense and ripe fruit, good acidity and very elegant refreshing wine with enough content. A great wine.

We also tasted the 2013 version, the wines were good enough, but as I already said, not great.

 A beautiful end to a beautiful day.

Time for dinner at La Table de Catusseau at Catusseau – Pomerol.

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Day 4.

 Early rise for another trip to the Medoc region and time to conquer the Rocade in Bordeaux, and we were going today from husband to wife!

 Normally we had an appointment at Château Giscours with Mr Alexander Van Beek, General Director, but this time we met with wine-maker Dominique Genot, a very capable man. He takes care of the wines of Caiarossa,  Tuscany - Italy, which is in the same hands as Château Giscours.

Château Giscours and Dominique Genot.

I also know this property since the early years of 1980, at that time in the hands of Mr. Tari.

 In 1995 Eric Albada Jelgersma took over the exploitation and began a complete renovation of the original vineyards, the buildings and the castle, to reconstitute the noblesse of this 3ième Grand Cru Classé of 1855.

Now you can even enjoy bed and breakfast in the castle.

 Also in the hands of Mr Jelgersma since 1997 is the Château Du Tertre, Grand Cru Classé Margaux. Here as well he invested in the renovation of the land and the buildings. With a new, young and dynamic team he is making this property important in the world for good quality wines.

Here as well you can enjoy bed and breakfast.

We tasted the wines of Château Giscours and Château du Tertre.

• Château du Tertre 2014: very nice clear colour, expressive both in the nose as in the mouth, soft attack, round but with enough tannins. A good wine

• Château Giscours 2014: intense dark cherry red colour, clear, very nice ripe fruit, intense, tasty wood with nice toasting, full body content and length, a great wine.

• Château du Tertre 2015: dark cherry red, intense ripe black fruit, soft and velvety with good content, a charming wine.

• Château Le Sirene de Giscours 2015: 2^nd wine of Château Giscours, nice light cherry red colour, very quick and fine legs, soft fruity attack, comes in different fazes in the mouth. Nutty butters and a little bit drying, good aftertaste, a nice wine.

• Château Giscours 2015: Very dark and intense, a basket full of ripe fruit, complex and already balance, great wine to be.

Then it was time to go to another dimension to the slopes of the quiet and green Cecina hills in Tuscany, Italy.

The story began in 1998, with the principal as a guide to cultivate the vineyards using the discipline of “Feng Shui” and making wines the bio-dynamic way.

The property was acquired by Mr Jelgersma in 2004 who tries to make quality wines with the years of experience at Château Giscours and Château du Tertre in Margaux, France

We Tasted:

• Pergolaia 2011: Sangiovese 87 %, Cabernet Franc 10 %, Merlot 3 %. Light ruby red colour with nice glycerine legs, good ripe red fruit such as cherries and blackberries, a little evolution, nice balance between mature tannins, acidity and length, a nice wine.

• Aria di Caiarossa 2011: a blend from Caiarossa with 40 % Cabernet Franc, 25 % Syrah, 25 % Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon 10 %. Nice ruby red, complex nose and spicy, elegant and good content, a little bit drying, good length.

• Caiarossa 2010: the top wine of this property with a special blend of 7 types of grapes, Merlot 25 %, Cabernet Franc 25 %, Cabernet Sauvignon 15 %, Syrah 12 %, Sangiovese 10 %, Petit Verdot and Grenache. Dark ruby red, complex nose with ripe black fruit and spices, little bit vegetal and balsamic, full complex attack with great balance, great tannins and long aftertaste. A great wine.

One remark, one has to be a great wine lover for these sorts of wines. They certainly are incomparable to other Tuscan wines where Sangiovese is the king of grapes in the region.

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After this diversity in tasting it was time for lunch in the commune of Bages, a small community just behind Château Lynch Bages. At Café Lavinal, a good small table sort of Brasserie, with a good table and lots of wines at big prices today.

Luckily for us, we had invited Claire Thomas Chenard from Château de Camensac, who brought besides her charm also the wine.

We had a very nice lunch with a big surprise wine, Château de Camensac 2006. What a nice wine, still young and with enough potential left, a great wine with the lunch. I want more.

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Of course this made us late for our next appointment in Leognan, with Veronique Sanders at Château Haut Bailly, the wife of Alexander Van Beek, which I mentioned earlier.

This property as well we have known for a very long time, because we knew Jean Sanders, the grandfather of Veronique. A Belgian, born in Flanders, who flew regularly to Ostend with his plane, and visited us. And he never wanted to drink a glass of Château Haut Bailly, because he tasted it every day.

After the usual welcome we went to the tasting room and tasted:

• La Parde de Haut Bailly 2015: 2^nd wine of Château Haut Bally: Very nice colour, good fruit, round and savoury, a good wine.

• La Parde de Haut Bailly 2014: good nice colour, good fruity attack, great content and aftertaste, a wine to my likings.

• Château Haut Bailly 2015: dark red, basket full of very ripe fruit, good content and length, a very great wine.

• Château Haut Bailly 2014: great colour, very nice fruity nose, good tannins, savoury in the mouth with long aftertaste, every wine should be made like this one, great.

• Château Le Pape 2014: an attached Château with guest rooms and their own wine, a good round wine, restaurant quality.

• Château Haut Bailly 2013: only a small selection of the grapes were used for this wine, very nicely made, much better than most of 2013, a very good wine. No production of the 2^nd wine.

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So, here you have an overlook of 4 days intense tasting, of a selection of some of our favourite properties. I believe the 2014 is mostly misunderstood, as for me at this time, I prefer the 2014 over the 2015. The 2015 is so soft and ready drinkable, that I think it misses a lot of body content. 
I’m sure I’ll go back next year to re-taste them again, and maybe I’ll be mistaken, but I will let you know.

On Friday we had a day off, before we came back on Saturday. And what’s in the blood comes out and we went to St Emilion, where we tasted in the shop across the restaurant “L’Envers Du Decor”. A Brasserie owned by the Comte François de Ligneris, and tasted a number of very nice and great wines from 2014.

Bordeaux, we’ll meet you again in 2017.

BORDEAUX 2013 – 2014 – 2015 1/2

 At a rather disappointing tasting in Brussels where the millésime 2013 was presented, an event organized every year by the Union des Grands Crus Classés de Bordeaux, I found my taste not agreeing with the title of Grand Cru Classé. Numerous properties didn’t have the quality to deserve that title and should have considered disqualifying their wines or to put them in bulk wine. But there is of course the subject of money, and having lost already some of it in the previous year(s) makes this hard.

 Before this tasting I already had the possibility to taste the bottled second or third wines from some of these “big and famous” châteaux present at the tasting. Not to generalise, but if the decision had been up to me I would not have dared putting my name on those labels.

 At the tasting I did however taste some good to great wines (none exceptional) from different Châteaux and this was one of my reasons to go back to Bordeaux. After a long six years of absence from the French scene, and since everyone was talking of the remarkable quality of the millésime 2015 and also even a good 2014, it was time to return, together with my wife, who is also a great wine taster (and with an even better nose than mine).

I don't say the lesser quality "château-wines" are bad but as said for me not Grand Cru Classé quality and of course this means they will be ready to drink faster and at affordable price in restaurant.

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Here is an overview of the few days we spent in the Bordeaux region

 Our first visit was Château La Croix de Gay where we met with Chantal Lebreton-Raynaud, a friend of us for numerous years already, a friendship that started with her parents.

 The Château was already a small property and it has become even smaller now since both parents died, and half of the property was sold off by her brother Alain Raynaud.

 The property itself is situated in the heart of Pomerol, and for their wine La Fleur de Gay, the vineyard is on the same level as, and touching, the vines of Château Petrus.

 The quality of the wines made by father Noël Raynaud was very good, even great, for both the La Croix de Gay and La Fleur de Gay, and at an affordable price. 

 Now Chantal is sole owner of the estate and she renewed both the buildings and all the equipment, such as the fermentation and barrel cellar with the system of gravity, to make good to great wines.

We tasted:

• Château La Croix de Gay 2013: even for friends like Chantal, I have to remain honest, as I already said this is not one of the greatest wines. I don't say the wine is bad but rather an easy to drink wine on restaurant at good price.

• Château La Croix de Gay 2015: nice presentation and colour, very fruity in the nose, good attack, soft tannins, also fruity in the mouth and enough body or content. A rather “easy” wine that’s best to drink sooner than later.

• Château La Fleur de Gay 2015: an even nicer wine, deeper in colour, a wine that offers so much more in every aspect, a very good wine.

 Sadly enough Chantal forgot to prepare us a sample of the year 2014, and since the wine was “worked”, she said it was impossible to taste it correctly.

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 Next stop: Clos Fourtet, Premier Grand Cru de St Emilion.

 This is one of my favourite St Emilion wines owned by the Belgian family Cuvelier, right in the centre of the medieval city of St Emilion.  

 Sadly enough winemaker Mr Tony Ballu had too much to do and didn’t have very much time for us, but we did meet him and were able to taste the 2014 and 2015.

 

Mr Tony Ballu, winemaker

We tasted:

• Clos Fourtet 2014: what a surprise, a great wine full of fruit and body, even when the wine was still a little bit closed. Good imbedded tannins, savoury and great aftertaste, a typical Bordeaux year that I like very much.

• Clos Fourtet 2015: great colour, a full basket of black fruit in the nose, a soft attack with smooth tannins, and the taste too is full and fruity, it feels like there is a pot of jam in there. I’m a little bit in doubt whether the wine will last like the 2010, I’m putting him a bit like the millésime 2000, which is not one of my favourites because it’s to sunny and soft. My favourite at this estate for now is the 2014.

 During the tasting of the Union Des Grands Crus Classés in Brussels, the wine of 2013 was one of my favourites, full of colour and very fruity with enough content.

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 A terrible lunch in St Emilion followed at restaurant “Le Bistro du Vignoble”, which has a good report at Trip Adviser, but I’d advise everyone not to enter there. Best to buy a sandwich, or even, if possible, don’t eat in St Emilion, or only at great tables.

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After lunch we had an appointment with Sylvie Pourquet-Becot, the sister of Beauséjour Becot, at Château Grand Pontet.

I have no idea how they manage the appointments, because even with a written confirmation nobody was present at the Château. One has to make their conclusions.

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 Next we went to Château Soutard owned by the group AG2R, that also manages the estates Château Larmande, previously owned by Mr Mèneret, a once famous name in the Bordeaux region, Château Cadet Piola, who I think goes in the Soutard wines, and Château Grand Faurie La Rose all on the right side of the bank, where we had an appointment, after a mix-up and misunderstanding with e-mails, with the new Brand manager Caroline Rihouet.

 We have already known Château Soutard for a very long time, first with the old comte De Ligneris, and later also with the son François De Ligneris. Later with the take-over by AG2R and managed by Mrs Claire Thomas-Chenard. 
 Today she is replaced, but she deserves to be mentioned for her great work at all the properties. She was the one who made these wines great, it’s a pity she is not mentioned on the website.

We tasted both Château Larmande and Château Soutard.

• Château Larmande 2015: beautiful colour and presentation, lots of fruit, a bit of jam and soft tannins, lacks a bit of body and content, but nonetheless a nice wine. Should be better.

• Château Soutard 2015: great colour and presentation, a full basket of black fruit, nice complex nose full attack of ripe fruit with soft velvety tannins and character, great wine. Thanks to the help of a lot of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.

• Château Larmande 2014: a nice wine, lacks a bit of content, but with a good presentation in the nose and the mouth. Good millésime.

• Château Soutard 2014: tasted from a sample taken from the steel tanks, ready to be bottled in June. Very nice colour, fruity in the nose, great taste, with a beautiful body and aftertaste, for me this is a great wine.

• Château Soutard 2013: tasted at the end in the wine shop and as tasted in Brussels, a very nice wine, a winner to have in a restaurant because of the lower price setting. Good wine but not great.

Afterwards we had a nice dinner at restaurant “Le Bord D’Eau” in Libourne/Fronsac. Recommended.

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 We had to leave the hotel early, after a rather short night, because of the traffic in and around Bordeaux and on the Rocade - to the left bank of the Gironde - the Medoc region.

 Our first stop was at Château Prieuré Lichine Grand Cru Classé with Lise Latrille, a good friend already for many years.

 Originally, in medieval times, it was a monastery until in 1951 it came into the hands of Alexis Lichine, then called the “pope of wine”. He was a great wine-maker and a pioneer in the region, but now it is owned by the group Ballande.

We tasted:

• Château Prieuré Lichine 2015: good deep red fruit, soft tannins and very smooth, good content and aftertaste. Very good wine.

• Château Prieuré Lichine 2014: nice ripe fruit, savoury and velvety in the mouth, good tannins and acidity, good content and length. Very good wine.

• We also tasted Confidences de Prieuré Lichine 2011, good, soft; Les Clochers de Prieuré Lichine and Le Blanc de Château Prieuré Lichine 2014: 60% Sauvignon blanc and 40% Semillon, very good white wine.

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 After lunch we had an appointment at Château Lagrange, St Julien Beychevelle, a winery since 1983 in the hands of the Suntory group.

The estate is the largest in the region in the hands of one tenant, and exist of a total of 157 Ha of which 118 Ha are planted with vines.

 We were happy to see Matthieu Bordes again, Director General and a good friend for many years. Before him we also knew the previous directors Marcel Ducasse and Mr Eynard.

It is a big winery but, for me, the wines still have a lot of personality with great flavors, things I like a lot in wines.

Here is a picture of the dirt, leaves or rotten grapes that are rejected by the sophisticated focal selection machine. Without this all this "dirt" goes into the fermentation tank together with the grapes and eventually into the wine... Yuck !

We tasted:

• Château Les Fiefs de Lagrange 2015: good starter with lots of fruit, good in taste and length, beautiful second wine.

• Château Lagrange 2015: great colour, very dark red mature fruit, soft attack with smooth tannins and a long aftertaste. A little concern with the content, is there enough? One should drink this already now.

• Château Lagrange 2014: beautiful colour, ripe fruit with lots of nice tannins, great body and content, savoury and long lasting aftertaste. A wine to my heart, typical Bordeaux style, I think this wine will last longer than the 2015.

• Château Lagrange 2008: a beautiful wine, still very young with great taste, a real typical “Bordeaux” St Julien style wine.

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 After this we went to visit a winery we never visited before, Château de Camensac in St Laurent de Medoc, in the Haut-Medoc region, but touching de boundaries of St Julien Beychevelle and the soil of Château Lagrange. 

It is a 5° cru Classé of Medoc in the Wine official Classification of 1855.

 The Château was bought in 2005, by Jean Merlaut - from Château Gruaud-Larose - and his niece Celine Villars-Foubet - owner of Château Chasse Spleen in Moulis.

 In 2014 Claire Thomas-Chenard joined the team as director of the estate. She’s well known for her work at Château Larmande and Château Soutard, which I mentioned earlier, and this was the reason we went. We know this lovely lady Claire since she joined Château Larmande in I believe 1998, and later Château Soutard, and we saw the wines she made growing.

We tasted:

• Château de Camensac 2015: beautiful dark red presentation, a lot of dark red fruit, such as blackberries, soft fruity attack and soft tannins, medium body structure with a good and soft aftertaste.

• Château de Camensac 2014: nice dark red colour, great nose, good fruity attack with very nice tannins, good body and length. A beautiful wine. I think this wine will survive the 2015, like the Lagrange 2014.

• Château de Camensac 2013: mediocre wine, good enough though.

A beautiful end to a nice day and an appointment to meet her (Claire) again on Thursday.

Time for dinner.

The second part of our Bordeaux report can be found here.