Château La Dominique Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé with Beef Bourgogne

Château La Dominique Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé with Beef Bourgogne

For a hearty midweek dinner, Linda prepared her delicious beef bourgogne, so I pulled from our wine  cellar this Grand Cru Classé Right Bank Bordeaux for a fabulous food and wine pairing. Having a fine wine cellar is made for situations such as this.   

While some suggest Burgundy wines based on Pinot Noir for pairing with beef bourgogne, I prefer a moderate, complex, but expressive and soft Bordeaux such as Merlot based blends from the Right Bank, such as this.

Château La Dominique produces this Grand Cru Classé wine from their 71 acres of vineyards located in the northwest of Saint-Émilion, on the edge of the Pomerol appellation, adjoining some of the most famous vineyards of the region - Cheval Blanc, Figeac, La Conseillante, and L'Evangile.  It has been owned by the Fayat family since 1969.

From the Wine Cellar Insider, we learn that Chateau La Dominique dates back to the 1700s and is named for the island in the Caribbean where the original owner of the property earned his fortune.

The Fayat family purchased the estate in 1969 from the de Bailliencourt family, who had owned the vineyard since 1933 and also still own Chateau Gazin in Pomerol. The property had several ownership changes over the previous two decades before it was obtained by Clement Fayat.

Clement Fayat started out as a bricklayer and went on to found one of the largest construction companies in the world. In addition to La Dominique, he also owns Chateau Fayat in Pomerol and Clement Pichon in the Haut Medoc appellation. The Fayat family also recently purchased Vieux Fortin in St. Emilion which was incorporated into La Dominique.

The 71 acre Château La Dominique vineyard is planted to 81% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon. All the vineyards are classified as Grand Cru Classe. The best parcels in the La Dominique vineyard are located next to the legendary first growth estate Cheval Blanc, and not far from Chateau Figeac, one of our favorite Saint Emilion producers, and cellar holdings. Head north towards Pomerol the estate also bordered the premiere estates of Chateau Conseillante and LEvangile in Pomerol.

Chateau La Dominique underwent a major renovation of the entire estate in 2013 including the chateau, cellars, winemaking facilities, grape reception area, and a larger vat house, bringing in the most up-to-date, modern technology available. 

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate wrote of the 2012 vintage - "This 2012 is sensational and further evidence of the rebound of La Dominique after a few years of mediocrity." 

The estate produces 60,000 cases per year of the grand vin and slightly more than 7,000 cases per year of a second wine, Saint-Paul-de-Dominique. 

We have enjoyed tasting these wines and meeting the producer at the annual UGC Bordeaux' (Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB)) North American release tour (s) and appreciate their participation and visits to Chicago to show their wines.  See example postings of this event here - UGC Bordeaux 2013 Release Tour Chicago 2016, and Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux Chicago.

Château La Dominique Saint-Émilion Grand Cru (Grand Cru Classé) 2012

This wine was produced with the advisement of the legendary Merlot master, Michel Rolland and Jean-Philippe Fort as consulting winemakers. 

The 2012 is a blend of  95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. 

This release was rated 94 points by Vinous, 93 points by Wine Advocate, 92 by Wine Cellar Insider, and 89–91 by Roger Voss of Wine Enthusiast. 

At eleven years of age, the label, foil and most importantly the fill level and cork were ideal, likely at it's apex and may be there for perhaps close to a decade yet. 

This was double decanted and left to open for an hour before serving.

Dark garnet inky purple color, medium full bodied, elegant, bright vibrant expressive but soft ripe plum, cherry and blackberry fruits with floral, spice and earth notes, hints of lavender, black tea and licorice with a long smooth silky finish. 

60,000 bottles of this cuvée were produced

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1603259

https://www.chateau-ladominique.com/en/accueil/

https://twitter.com/chladominique

@chladominique

Château Larmande St Emilion Grand Cru Classé 2005

Château Larmande St Emilion Grand Cru Classé 2005

Mid-week casual sipping, I pulled this from the cellar to enjoy with artisan cheeses and biscuits. 

It's hard to believe its been five years since I last tasted this label when I wrote,' at eleven years of age, I sense this is approaching the end of its prime drinking window as the fruits seem to have given way slightly to the emergence of the non-fruit flavors based on earlier tasting notes from three and five years ago'.  

That note was probably insightful as the trend of diminution seems to have continued and as I (blindly) demoted my score for this label by a point. It was still enjoyable none-the-less.

That earlier tasting was from a 375 ml half bottle while tonight was standard size 750, and I wrote at that time. "Knowing the small format half bottle will age less gracefully than full size or larger bottles makes me wonder if that affected this tasting - will find out when I open a standard format bottle of this label." 

Alas, we found out and my prognosis may have been correct as this seems to have diminished further albeit ever so slightly. We still hold three bottles of the case we acquired upon release. We'll need to consume these in the intermediate term, but it still has several years to go, yet.  

My published tasting notes for this label show nine postings with one a year ago when my notes were consistent with earlier tastings and project life still left in this release.

Château Larmande lies north of the town of St. Emilion, close to Soutard and Cadet-Piola. It consists of 25 hectares of vineyards planted with Merlot (65%), Cabernet Franc (25%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (10%). Larmande was sold to the French insurance conglomerate, La Mondiale in 1991.

This vintage release was a blend of Merlot (65%), Cabernet Franc (30%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (5%).

Dark garnet colored, medium bodied, aromatic blackberry and black cherry fruits accented by tones of tar, smoke, earthy leather, hints of cedar and spice, (earlier reports of mocha were not apparent), on a firm lingering tongue puckering tannin finish - fruits slightly diminished from earlier tastings with seemingly increased acidity.

RM 88 points.*

*PS. A postscript on this tasting, after a couple days open in the bottle, chilled, this wine returned to its earlier elegance, structured balance and fruit, regaining earlier rating of 89 points. Once again, I shouldn't P-n-P, pop and pour these complex aged wines, rather, give them respect, open them and allow them to breathe at least a couple hours before diving in!

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=351693 

http://www.chateau-soutard.com/chateau-larmande-.aspx

 

UGCB 2017 Release Tour Chicago

UGCB North American 2017 Vintage Release Tour Chicago

The UGC Bordeaux (Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB)), annual release tour visited Chicago this week unveiling/showcasing their 2017 vintage release wines. The Union is the association of 134 of the top premier estates from the most prestigious Bordeaux appellations. This year's North American tour visited Toronto, New York, Washington DC, Chicago, LA and San Francisco.

Pour Boys, Ernie, Lyle, Dan, Rick
Sans Bill

As in previous years, our 'Pour Boys' wine group (left) helped conduct the event in Chicago. 

Once again it was held at the Drake Hotel in the magnificent grand ballroom (shown below). 

We work with the UGCB Events Manager, Olivier Crombez, host Mike Wangbickler and his Balzac Communications team preparing the room and the wines, checking in trade registrants, and standing in for producers who faced travel or other disruptions, presenting and pouring their wines. 

Several times over the years, several producers or their representatives were delayed in travel or had other disruptions and we were called in to service to pour their wines, hence we earned our moniker, the 'Pour Boys'.

Close to a hundred producers were represented at the event that was attended by over five hundred members of the trade, media and industry.

Francois-Xavier-Maroteaux
Owner Château Branaire-Ducru

As is their custom in the third week of January, this annual roadshow is a marathon trek across North America by the producers and their representatives offering wine professionals and eonphiles the chance to meet the Bordeaux principles, winemakers and commercial directors.

As I've written in previous years, we appreciate the investment in time and effort expended by the producers and and their brand ambassadors to visit Chicago. It provides a wonderful opportunity to meet them firsthand and discuss their perspectives on their brand, approach to crafting their style, their history, businesses, and their vintages including, of course, the current release.


As a collector and holder of a significant collection of Bordeaux wines dating back four decades, I hold as many as a dozen or more vintages of some of these labels. Meeting the owners, family members, producer / winemaker / representative is a great privilege and offers a collector the chance to learn more about their  investment and wines. As such, I tend to focus on and taste those wines that I know well and hold verticals (multiple vintages of the same label), of which my wine buddies and I have holdings.

Lilian Barton-Sartorius - Châteaux
Leoville and Langoa Barton

This was the tenth Bordeaux release event that I and my 'Pour Boy' wine buddies assisted the team at Balzac Communications to work the event, helping with set up, logistics, checking in the attendees, and standing in to pour wine for any featured producers that were not able to attend in person. 

Earlier UGCB and related events are featured in earlier unwindwine blogposts.

This year was especially exciting since we visited Bordeaux this past year and we got to visit with several of the producers' and brand ambassadors whose Chateau's or vineyards we visited on our trip. 

As usual, we focused on the Left Bank producers that we own and collect, but this year particularly, we focused on  those that we visited this year, as well as those we are targeting for our next visit to the Medoc.

Karine Barbier - Château Lascombes

The 2017 vintage was a bit challenging interrupting the streak of great harvests 2015 through 2019, primarily due to a frost that hit the region early in the season. 

The wine team of K&L Wines in the San Francisco Bay Area, Clyde Beffa and Ralph Sands, issued their 2017 Bordeaux vintage report following their tour to the region. 

2017 Bordeaux will be remembered as the year of the great frost that struck just after the tastings, April 27 and 28, with temperatures as low as -4 Celsius on both nights. But due to climate changes and increased knowledge on how to combat impending frost, the vintage is not the disaster that estates withstood in 1991.
Read more at:https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/2018/04/2017-bordeaux-vintage-and-harvest-report/

2017 Bordeaux will be remembered as the year of the great frost that struck just after the tastings, April 27 and 28, with temperatures as low as -4 Celsius on both nights. But due to climate changes and increased knowledge on how to combat impending frost, the vintage is not the disaster that estates withstood in 1991.
Read more at:https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/2018/04/2017-bordeaux-vintage-and-harvest-report/

The 2017 vintage year will be remembered as the year of the frost, but it’s also a vintage in which many of the top châteaux produced some very good wines. It was a year when location really mattered, the terroir really made a difference as those vineyards with proximity to the moderating effects of the Gironde estuary were less affected by the frost. And those with the rocky well drained soils recovered from the rains.

2017 was atypical with its early growing season, with early and successful flowering in late May, sunshine, then heavy rain in June, followed by a dry and cool summer, then late August heat, and many damp days just before the red harvest in September.

The quality of 2017 is much better than most people might expect. While it’s not in the same league as the outstanding 2016 and 2015 vintages, it not near the largely disappointing 2013.

The challenging year all round still produced some well proportioned red Bordeaux – and some excellent whites too, both dry and sweet. While not big, full and structured, many of the 2017 reds are approachable upon release and should provide early gratification in their youth.

Anne-Francoise Quie
Château Rauzan-Gassies

The whites showed especially well and the top Sauternes and a number of dry whites could definitely be on par with the efforts in 2015 and 2016.

2017 Bordeaux is a stylistic choice, you are going to like the character, which can be bright, focusing on red fruits or not. Generally, the wines are; medium bodied, fresh, aromatic and lighter in alcohol than sunnier vintages. The tannins are soft. The fruits are sweet and the majority of the wines will be enjoyable early in life.
Read more at:https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/2018/04/2017-bordeaux-vintage-and-harvest-repor

Marie Helene-Dussech
Château Brane-Cantenac

 
The challenging vintages such as 2017, following some outstanding years, often offer opportunities for collectors to find some values to stock their cellars with wines that should provide enjoyable drinking soon, not requiring several years of cellaring to mature and reach their optimal drinking window.

Lise Latrille - Château Prieure Lichine

The event is sponsored by the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux, (UGCB) and is hosted and orchestrated by Balzac Communications, boutique wine marketing and communications consultancy firm in Napa, under the leadership of Mike Wangbickler, President. 

Attending again this year too was Paul Wagner, founder and Chairman Emeritus of Balzac. Paul is a founding member of the Academy of Wine Communications and a leading member of the American Wine Society. As with last year, again, it was great to see Paul enjoying his passion and remaining engaged whilst in retirement.

The afternoon session is for the benefit of the press and trade and wine professionals. Again this year, the evening session in Chicago was hosted trade merchant partner Binny's Beverage Depot, the Chicagoland wine superstore, offering tickets to the evening session to their valued customers and the public. This year, over four hundred collectors and vinophiles registered for the even. 

Setting up in the venue with care.

Château Larmande 2005

Château Larmande St Emilion Grand Cru Classé 2005 

Following our recent trip to Bordeaux, I am still in the groove enjoying fine Bordeaux wines. Tonight, I pulled from the cellar this Right Bank Grand Cru Classé to enjoy with grilled beef steak and mashed potatoes.

Like several of the Left Bank producers that we visited last month, the wines of Saint-Émilion in the wine-growing region of Bordeaux were classified in 1855. However, unlike the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 covering wines from the Left Bank Médoc and Graves regions, the Saint-Émilion list is updated every 10 years or so. Following the initial classification, the list was updated in 1969, 1986, 1996 and most recently in 2006.

According to my Cellartracker cellar records for this label, we hold six bottle remaining from two cases purchased on release a dozen years ago. Having purchased two cases at the time, it is clear that I enjoyed this wine and thought it was a great value.

My tasting note records indicated I last tasted this label three years ago in June, 2016.

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2016/06/chateau-larmande-st-emilion-grand-cru.html


Château Larmande St Emilion Grand Cru Classé 2005

A Right Bank Bordeaux means the estate from where the grapes are sourced, sits on the east and north side of the diagonal flowing Gironde River that bisects the Bordeaux wine region, surrounding and named for the city of Bordeaux in southeast France. 

Wines from the Right Bank are predominantly Merlot in the Blend of Bordeaux sanctioned varietal gapes. 

Alternatively, wines produced in the Médoc, on the the Left Bank, that lies on the western and southern side of the river, are predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend.

Both Left and Right Bank Bordeaux wines are based on Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon respectively, with the percentages flipped, accented by small amounts of Cabernet Franc and perhaps Petit Verdot.

Château Larmande lies north of the town of St. Emilion, close to Soutard and Cadet-Piola. It consists of 60 acres of vineyards planted with Merlot (65%), Cabernet Franc (25%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (10%).

Château Larmande was sold to the French insurance conglomerate, La Mondiale in 1991.

Tonight, this 2005 release was a nice, pleasant, easy drinking, yet sophisticated, polished and nicely integrated and balanced wine, dark garnet colored, medium bodied, aromatic blackberry and black cherry fruits accented by tones of tar, smoke, earthy leather, hints of cedar, spice and a whisper of mocha on a firm lingering tongue puckering tannin finish.

At fourteen years of age, this is showing no signs of diminution from aging and probably can be held for another decade or more for prime drinking.

My recent blogpost, from the week before last, speaks to, "the adventure, joy, and perils of holding vintage wine for a couple decades or more ...". This continues to be a pleasant, easy drinking yet sophisticated wine and I fear as I consume the last bottles of my collection, I'll regret having drunk many of them too early! 

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=351693 

http://www.chateau-soutard.com/chateau-larmande-.aspx

Murrays Cheese Wine Dinner

Cheese Murray's Cheese ! Wine Dinner

During our NYC getaway weekend, we dined on Saturday night at one of son Alec's favorite eateries Murray's Cheese Bar on Bleaker Street down in Greenwich Village.

Legendary Murrays Cheese Shop has been at the same site on Bleecker Street since 1940. The Cheese Bar opened in 2012 to feature their selection of fine cheeses selected and arranged by expert Cheesemongers, or cooked into heir imaginative dishes by a team of seasoned chefs.

As usual, Murray's was packed, lively, bordering on boisterous, serving up imaginative cheese centered combination plates and dishes.

We chose wines from Murray's simple but succinct winelist, with its carefully selected cross section of wines to accompany the range of menu options. This time, they did not offer any New York or Long Island wines which we customarily would order for the occasion. 

We started with a Proseco Sparkling wine to sip with Murray's Kale Ceasar salad with Parmigiana-Reggiano, Radish, Anchovy and Crutons. 

Transitioning to the main courses we had Brussel Sprouts with Lardons, Pomegranate Molasses, and Smoky Bleu (cheese), and Mussels and Fries with Coconut Red Curry in a Lemonbroth sauce. 

With these courses we had a Merlot based St Emilion Grand Cru Bordeaux from Clos de la Cure.

We then dined on Murray's Lamb Meatballs with Spiced Tomato Sauce, Fennel, and Sheep Feta (cheese) (shown left).

With these hearty courses, we drank a 2013 Perbacco Vietti Nebbiolo from Langhe Piedmonte, Italy.

As is customary, we let the Murray's Cheesemonger prepare for us a selection of cheese and meats, each accompanied by a complementing fruit, puree, sauce or jam. This went well with the Nebbiolo, and from there we moved on to a Jam Jar Australian Shiraz 2016.

Larcis Ducasse highlights Sunday Brunch

Larcis Ducasse St Emilion Bordeaux highlights Sunday Brunch

For Sunday brunch after church Linda prepared French crepes with strawberries with grilled tenderloin steak and spinach. With about a foot of fresh snow on the ground, we considered going out to lunch after church and chose to come home instead. I am so glad we did as it provided the chance for a wonderful brunch with a spectacular wine pairing!

To accompany grilled steak and strawberry crepes for Sunday Brunch, I pulled from the cellar this twelve year old St Emilion Grand Cru Classe Larcis Ducasse. The pairing and delight of the overall experience was spectacular! Simple pleasures of a wine (jerk) geek (oenophile)!

I went down to the cellar looking for this precise profile of a wine, without knowing in advance what label or producer I was looking for. In the end, this was perfect, not too young, not too old, Right Bank Merlot based flavor profile .. an ideal complement to our food. I don't know what was better, the pairing with the char-grilled tenderloin steak, the raspberry crepe, the dark chocolates afterwards, or by itself! All were delightful!

Larcis Ducasse have a total of 27 acres, 24 in production, located on one of Bordeaux's finest areas of terroir, the Cote Pavie in St Emilion, adjacent to the 1er Grand Cru Classé Ch. Pavie estate.

The property was purchased by Henri Raba in 1893 and has been family-owned ever since with the current generation of Jacques Gratiot in in ownership since 1990.

The wine has been made by Nicolas Thienpont along with his chief winemaker David Suire since 2002. Over the following ten years, they improved the quality significantly as recognized by the château being upgraded in 2012 to Premier Grand Cru Classé St.-Emilion classification as testament to its burgeoning quality and reputation.

In addition to replanting the vineyards to a greater density to produce more concentrated fruits, another key change under Thienpont's direction was the removal of Cabernet Sauvignon from the blend which had typically totaled about 5 percent, with the wine now a more classic 80/20 Merlot and Cabernet Franc blend.

The more recent vintages clearly benefit from more precise viticulture and winemaking techniques, featuring brighter, denser fruit, but are showing to age extremely well, as the structure is even more intense while remaining well-embedded.

While 3,300 cases were produced of the 2004 Larcis Ducasse, which is 78% Merlot with the rest Cabernet Franc and a touch of Cabernet Sauvignon, under the new plantings, production has averaged only about 2,500 cases annually.

While prices have started to creep up as the quality and reputation increased, Larcis Ducasse represents a relative high QPR (quality price ratio) bargain for extremely ageworthy Bordeaux. The 2009 can be found for about $75 per bottle, the '10 for $85. The 2004 proved to be a great value as a sleeper of a vintage in Bordeaux that is drinking wonderfully now with online search showing availability for an average of around $65 for the 2004.

The 2014 got a Wine Spectator rating of 93 points, 92 from Parker, 96 from James Suckling and 95 from Vinous and is readily available for about $55.  The 2015 got ratings from 94 to 99 points and is commanding from $75 to $109 on release.

Château Larcis Ducasse St Emilion Grand Cru Classe 2004

This was dark garnet colored, with a slight brown/orange rim starting to set in, medium-full bodied, smooth polished with delightful complex aromas and flavors of plum, black currant and blackberry fruits with tones of earthy leather, black tea, cigar box and spice with hints of truffle, cedar and cassis on the smooth polished tannin finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=95970

http://www.larcis-ducasse.com/en/saint-emilion/actualites/

http://www.larcis-ducasse.com/larcis-ducasse/

After Dinner Trio - El Nido Jumilla Clio 2010 Warres Filhot

Bodegas El Nido Jumilla Clio 2010 stands up to after dinner wine flight medley that includes a Warre's Vintage Port and a Chateau Filhot Vintage Sauterne Dessert Wine  

Following our Chicago Restaurant Week dinner at Vie Restaurant in Western Springs we came home and had some chocolates, fruits and cheeses with a trio of after dinner wines - a Warre's vintage port, a Chateau Filhot Sauterne dessert wine and Bodegas El Nido Jumilla Clio 2010.  

As shown, the two dessert wines were from 375 ml half bottles. 

Bodegas El Nido Jumilla Clio 2010 

After tasting the Bodegas El Nido Jumilla Clio 2014 at the Corkscrew wine shop in Springfield last week, I was inquisitive to try another vintage so I pulled the oldest one from our cellar, the 2010. 

Amazingly this big bold red blend stood up to the trio of wines that included the Warres single vineyard vintage port and the Sauterne.

I thought the older Clio was even better and liked it even more than the '14, perhaps since it was four years older and more settled, but also, because I thought the 2010 was more complex with notes of ripe sweet blue fruit to complement the layer of concentrated full bodied black raspberry, and with a bit more sweetness which I also like. Still, like the 2014, it also had that dark chocolate, hint of vanilla, almost caramel like, finishing with smooth polished sweet tannins on the long smooth finish. A powerful, decadent but smooth approachable wine.

Like the '14, the 2010 Clio is also a blend of 70% old-vine Monastrell with 30% Cabernet Sauvignon.

RM 94 points. 

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar gave this 92 point, Wine Spectator 91 points, and Robert Parker Wine Advocate 90 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1467288

Next to the Clio we also had these two big forward dessert wines, both from half bottles.


Warres Porto Vintage Quinta da Cavadinha 1995


Consistent with earlier tasting notes. Dark coffee color - full bodied, a bit of an edge of sweet black fruits, layer of smokey creosote with hint of expresso, cedar and cassis and dark black cherry on the finish.

From a half bottle.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3721

Château Filhot Sauternes - 2ème Grand Cru Classé 1988

Trolling the cellar with Dr Dan looking for some after dinner wines, I found this perfectly suited vintage Sauterne that I must admit was not registered in my Cellartracker wine database inventory. I don't remember purchasing this wine or having had it previously. This should not be surprising with more than a thousand bottles in the cellar. Perhaps what is more surprising is how seldom this happens.

Château Filhot is a classic Sauterne Bordeaux, having been classified a 'second growth', a Grand Cru Classe', back in the original 1855 Bordeaux producer classification. The vineyards date back to the 1630's and the château was founded by Romain de Filhot in 1709. According to Wikipedia, after the French revolution, the estate was taken over by Romain-Bertrand de Lur-Saluces who added the estate of Pinaud du Rey and had the château redesigned to its English appearance in 1840.

Legend has it that Thomas Jefferson drank this wine and ranked it directly behind the legendary Chateau d'Yquem. During that time, Filhot enjoyed a greater reputation than today, and the two wines were comparably priced. This was during the time that Jefferson was American ambassador to France. He spent much time there and traveled the wine regions. He became a great admirer and oenphile of French wines. He actually brought back grape vines and labored unsuccessfully to grow them in Virginia at his Monticello estate.


In 1935, Comtesse Durieu de Lacarelle (the sister of the Marquis de Lur-Saluces, proprietor of Château d'Yquem) bought the estate, which was subsequently modernised by her son, Louis Durieu de Lacarelle, during the 1970s. The estate is currently run by the Vaucelles family.

Today Filhot vineyards cover 150 acres on the 700 acre estate with the grape varieties of 60% Sémillon, 36% Sauvignon blanc and 4% Muscadelle. Their annual production is an average of 6500 cases. They also produce a second label wine called Chateau Pineau du Rey.

For an almost thirty year old wine, the 1988 was still light golden honey colored. These wines start out straw colored and darken with age. I would have expected it to be weak tea colored at least, or even darker. It was medium-full bodied, crisp and clear with complex notes of honey and pineapple aromas with what Robert Parker called a "fine underlying acidity, an earthiness that added to the wine's complexity, and a clean, rich, crisp finish". This was more subdued and not as sweet or unctuous as a d'Yquem or other popular premium Sauterne. It was very pleasant and enjoyable none-the-less. It would be nice with soft moderate cheeses or even a salad course.

RM 88 points. Robert Parker also gave this 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=97425

Vin Chicago Saturday Tasting Features Big Red Diverse Styles

Vin Chicago Saturday Tasting Features Big Red Diverse Styles

I've written often in these pages about the Saturday afternoon wine tastings at Chicagoland wine merchant Vin Chicago. Today's flight featured a selection of Big Red's with diverse styles. Unlike the typical popular distributor tabletop tastings set up in local merchants, Vin Chicago features a selection from their inventory with highlights of quality and even premium labels, with serving duties shared by staff rotation. It's started to become routine to check out the Saturday Tasting lineup on their website blogpost each week. Today's flight featured four popular premium Reds with diverse styles, some premium champagnes, and a top flight Sauterne dessert label. 

The occasion for this special selection was the 30th Anniversary of the opening of their first flagship store on Elston Avenue in Chicago - the precursor to todays' Vin Chicago with four stores throughout Chicagoland including our hometown of Naperville. In addition to the premier tasting, they also offered over 100 wines at special anniversary discount pricing.

The flight included: 

• Caymus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 
• Silver Oak Cellars Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2012
• Chateau Troplong Mondot St. Emillion 2012
• Snowden "Brothers Vineyard" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
• Chateau Suduiraut Sauternes 2009

and a selection of quality Champagnes

• Etienne Doue "Cuvee Selection" Brut Champagne NV
• Billecart-Salmon "Brut Reserve" Champagne NV
• Vilmart "Grand Cellier" Brut Champagne NV

Ideally, I would've spent time sufficient to savor the entire selection but I focused solely on the Red's and the Sauterne. 

Caymus Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2014

Another blockbuster from this legendary producer that is known for silky smooth easy drinking quality Napa Cabernets that are approachable at an early age that still have the potential for aging. Caymus has held this price point of this premium label for several years such that this offers good QPR for a premium consistent, dependable label. 

For anyone bewildered by the abundance of labels and wines in their local wine shop that are not certain what to buy for a quality bottle to drink, share, gift or serve, you can't go wrong with this label for any occasion. This was Linda's favorite.

This resembles their classic 2012 40th anniversary label that got 96 points from leading reviewers. 

Dark garnet colored, full bodied, rich, silky smooth black berry and black raspberry fruits accented by tones of sweet oak, mocha and hints of clove spice on a soft elegant polished finish. 

RM 94 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2303395

Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 

Dark inky garnet colored, medium full bodied, classic Silver Oak signature profile - focused core (some might also translate this as single dimensional) of dark berry fruit with predominant mid-palate toasty oak that lingers on the finish. Minutes later hangs on the palate like a fine cigar. 

Silver Oak continues to enjoy an almost cult following. Unless you are just fixated and locked in to Silver Oak and that classic style, at $70 for the Alexander Valley label, and approaching $100 for the Napa Valley label, this price has crept up to a point that there are many producers that offer more for the money. 

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1932538




 
Château Troplong Mondot St Emilion Grand Cru Classe Bordeaux 2012

We tasted this wine on release at the UGC Bordeaux North American release tour tasting in Chicago a year before last where this was one of the standouts of the 2012 vintage release. 

While it makes for an interesting comparison, and rounds a nicely a red tasting flight, its not quite a fair fight standing this more sophisticated and complex Merlot based Bordeaux blend up against the three Big Red focused fruit forward Napa Cabernets. 

Dark garnet colored, medium-full bodied, complex more subdued black berry and black currant fruits with tones of charcoal, smoke, tobacco and tea with hints of anise turning to smooth gripping tannins on the polished lingering finish. This begs for a grilled steak to reveal the layers and complexity of the fruits from the blend.

Blend of 90% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc.

RM 92 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1603299

Snowden Brothers Vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
 

We've been fans of Snowden since their inaugural vintage release back in 1993. We still hold several bottles from those earliest 1994, 95 and 96 vintage releases that we acquired on release directly from the producer. We met and featured Randy Snowden at some of wine producer dinners during our Napa Valley excursions from that era. Those Estate Cabernets evolved into a lineup of a second label (Lost Vineyard of which we still hold a couple bottles of a case we acquired from the '97 vintage), the Estate label, and then a Reserve label. 

The flagship Reserve Cabernet is being replaced by series of single-vineyard designated wines from Snowden's estate vineyard which lies on the border of the St. Helena and Rutherford AVAs  adjacent to Hall's Sacrashe vineyard, which is just above their magnificent Rutherford winery, cave and tasting facility. They are also releasing small amounts of limited release bottling of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. This label is a blend of 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Petit Verdot which adds, body, structure and color.

Bright garnet colored, medium-full bodied, big bright vibrant full forward brash concentrated black berry and black currant fruits with tones of tangy clove spice, sweet oak, with hints of graphite and anise. It feels like this needs a couple years to settle. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2212462

Château Suduiraut Sauternes 2009

There is always room for 'stickies' ... sweet thick unctuous dessert wines - delicious and applicable to anti pasta pre-dinner course, with salads, with cheese, with dessert, or as a course by itself. This one is a classic - ready for drinking now, or aging for decades. At $48 for a 375 ml half bottle, its not for the average consumer every day sipping wine, rather for special occasions. Dessert wines can run from $4 to $400 - and every price point in between. I would say for the average palette, one won't find anything better and more enjoyable at any price, and you can find one for less. In any event, this one is delicious and enjoyable for many occasions. 

We tasted this wine at the UGC Bordeaux release tastings in Chicago.  

Light honey colored, full bodied, thick, tongue coating, chewy, almost syrupy, sweet honeyed fruit flavors of peach, mango, papaya, lychee, hints of apricots and sweet apples with tones of almond nut on a long mouth puckering lingering finish. Hold them for long term cellaring and watch them darken with age over the years or even decades.

RM 95 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=874037

http://vinchicago.com/

Château Larmande St Emilion Grand Cru Classé 2005

Château Larmande St Emilion Grand Cru Classé 2005

Tasted with a mid-week dinner of leftover grilled steak, baked potato, green beans, sweet corn and brussel sprouts. Tasted from a 375 ml half bottle. At eleven years of age, I sense this is approaching the end of its prime drinking window as the fruits seem to have given way slightly to the emergence of the non-fruit flavors based on earlier tasting notes from three and five years ago.  Knowing the small format half bottle will age less gracefully that full size or larger bottles makes me wonder if that affected this tasting - will find out when I open a standard format bottle of this label.

Château Larmande lies north of the town of St. Emilion, close to Soutard and Cadet-Piola. It consists of 25 hectares of vineyards planted with Merlot (65%), Cabernet Franc (25%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (10%). In 1991 Larmande was sold to the French insurance conglomerate, La Mondiale.

Dark garnet colored, medium bodied, aromatic blackberry and black cherry fruits accented by tones of tar, smoke, earthy leather, hints of cedar, spice and whisper of mocha on a firm lingering tongue puckering tannin finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=351693 

http://www.chateau-soutard.com/chateau-larmande-.aspx

Celebrate Grandson Birth with Vintage Birth Year Bordeaux

Celebrating Grandson's Birth with Vintage Birth Year Bordeaux

The Five Forts

Grandson Jesse Robert Fort was born on 17 November to daughter Erin and Son-in-law Johnny, new little brother to Lucy and Richie.

To celebrate this joyous occasion, we opened a bottle of Erin's birthyear Bordeaux at our celebration dinner.

I've written often in these pages about this practice of collecting special vintage wines for such occasions. Amazingly, while 1981 was not a highly rating vintage with prospects for longevity, we still hold about a case of such wines and they're still holding their own after 30 plus years.

Horizontal collection of 1981 Bordeaux

While we continue to be amazed, and pleased with the longevity and drinkability of these aged wines, I am diligently sorting through those remaining to consume those thought to be less age-worthy, such as tonight's Haut Medoc, Grand Cru Classé.

Several of those remaining bottles are higher end labels thought to be more ageworthy such as Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Château Leoville Las Cases, Château Gruaud Larose, Ducru Beaucaillou and the legendary Château Mouton Rothschild, as shown in the picture of our horizontal collection of 1981 Bordeaux from a few years ago (and look at the price tags showing on some - of course those were acquired in the mid-eighties!). I look forward to enjoying each one of these remaining bottles in our collection and intend do so soon as they're understandably reaching their end of life.

At a recent wine group tasting dinner, we opened several vintage bottles including Château Cos d' Estournel 1981 (as well as '88, '89 and '91) and Château Brane Cantenac 1970, 1982 and 2000. One of the diners, a newcomer to our group exclaimed how he could'nt believe we were still holding, and drinking such old wines. I responded that over almost forty years of collecting, I learned we drank many of our Bordeaux too early, especially bottles from classic vintages such as 1982, 1986, 1989 and 1990. Indeed, somewhere in between is the optimum - opening a bottle at the apex of its prime drinking window. We'll continue to enjoy these wines and the adventure and experience of opening an aged bottle of a special vintage for a special occasion.

Château La Lagune Grand Cru Classé Haut Medoc 1981

We opened this at daughter Erin's house, where we were staying with the grandkids whilst E and J were still at the hospital with the new baby. While the cork disintegrated when I tried to extract it, using a cork screw rather than my ahso (two pronged cork puller - which was at home) that I normally use for such situations, the wine was still holding its own.

Dark garnet colored with no evidence of brickish or rust aging signs, medium bodied, the black berry and cherry fruits were a bit muted, giving way to a layer of acidic musty, earthy leather, black olive tapenade, and tobacco leaf, all classic aged Bordeaux characteristics. Time to drink. This was our last bottle of this label, the others having been consumed long ago. Our cellartracker records indicated our remaining bottle (s) are from the more age-worthy 1982 vintage.

RM 86 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=139280

Pour Boys Serve Grands Crus Classes of St Emilion 2015 Chicago Tasting

Pour Boys Serve Grands Crus Classes of St Emilion 2015 Chicago Tasting Event

As with the last couple UGC Bordeaux US Release Tasting Events in Chicago, the 'Pour Boys (TM)' wine group served at the Grands Crus Classes of St Emilion 2015 Chicago Tasting. More than two dozen producers visited Chicago to showcase their 2010 and 2012 vintage releases to the wine community.

The 2010 vintage is a classic vintage - a benchmark vintage worthy for aging. Following the great 2009, it is resembling the 1989-1990 years.

The 2012 vintage was one of extreme conditions early in the year, very cold winter, hot dry March, cold wet April. Once ripening began, conditions resembled the classic 2000 vintage - rain then drought, and good weather through September and early October. From mid-month, heavy rains came, rewarding those that had picked early. It is said that 2012 illustrates the premise that good wine is made in good vineyards by good vignerons. (Whereas in 'ideal' years, all boats rise with the tide.)

Once again the event was organized by Napa based Balzac Communications. The venue for this years event was the spectacular VenueSix10 overlooking Chicago's lakefront and Grant Park.

The Association de Grands Crus Classes de Saint Emilion (AGCCSE) was formed in 1982 by Crus Classes growers to jointly promote their own wines and those of the region, and to collaborate to achieving ever higher quality. Saint Emilion is a medeivel town founded in the 8th century, 40 km northeast of Bordeaux, 8 km from Libourne. There are 13500 acres of vineyards (half the size of Napa Valley) in two appellations, St Emilion and St Emilion Grand Cru. 

The 'Pour Boys' attending were me, Dr Dan, Ernie and Lyle, from our group of wine collectors who conduct regular wine dinners and special events, named such as a result of our service at these events. Other regulars, #1 Son Ryan, and Bill C were unable to participate.

These wine adventures are much of the basis and content of this unwindwine blog. As written in these pages, this started when East Coast winter snowstorms disrupted flight operations preventing more than a dozen producers from getting to the event a few years ago. The 'Pour Boys' were called in to service to stand in and pour those wines. Then, when it happened again the following year, this tradition was born.

Events such as this give us pedestrian wine collectors a chance to mix with the Producers and members of the wine trade, to learn, and share fine wine passion, experiences and adventures, and for them to talk with serious collectors/consumers. This week's event was fitting as Dr Dan and Lyle just returned from two weeks touring the French Rhone Valley.

What a privilege to meet the representatives from the producers of St Emilion. Kudos to them, Virginie Larramona, (below left) Executive Director, and Alain Moueix, President of the Association, and the Balzac team for orchestrating a wonderful event and an impressive turnout (left) of the member Chateaux.

Thank you all for coming to our fair City, Chicago.

With Virginie Larramona,
Exec Director AGCCSE

This event featuring the Grands Crus Classes of Saint-Emilion provided a  wonderful opportunity to explore and experience a comprehensive and in-depth exposition of the people and their wines across the appellation and the nuances and wonders of its different terroir - the southern slopes, the plateau, northern slopes, and the gravelly areas. This rare glimpse into the geography and distinctive terrior matched with representative wines showcased and highlighted their individual style and character of each area.

Some of the discoveries of this event were Château Jean Faure with its unique blends featuring 54% Cabernet Franc, the unique showing of Château Grand Corbin-Despagne, meeting Charles-Antoine Beyney and tasting their spectacular releases of Château Clos De Sarpe, meeting Guy Meslin owner of Château Laroze and learning of their heritage and legacy, and meeting Sylvie Cazes, the new owner of Château Chauvin, and serving Château Yon-Figeac.

Notable tastings of the day:

• Château Bellefont-Belcier 
• Château Chauvin
• Château Clos de Sarpe
• Château Corbin
• Château Cote De Baleau
• Château Les Grandes Murailles
• Clos Saint Martin
• Clos Des Jacobins
• Château La Commanderie
• Couvent Des Jacobins
• Château Dassault
• Château Faurie De Souchard
• Château De Ferrand
• Château De Pressac
• Château Frombrauge
• Château Fonplegade
• Château Fonroque
• Château Grand Cordin-Despagne
• Château Grand Pontet
• Château Guadet
• Château Jean Faure
• Château La Dominique
• Château La Marzelle
• Château Larose
• Château Yon Figeac

Guy Meslin of Château Laroze

The wonders of St Emilion are manifested in the rich wonderful heritage of the properties such as Château Laroze, where Guy Meslin of the Meslin family, are direct descendants of the founders, who are recorded as producing wine in St Emilion as far back as 1610. In 1882 ancestors of the family bought and combined 37 acres of three small vineyards, and founded the family estate of Laroze. They built the chateau with its cellars and vat house in 1885.

Successive generations lead to George Meslin who ran and developed the estate for 40 years, organising it under its current name, increased its size, and built its sales network and the quality of a Grand Cru Classé. Building upon the efforts and legacy of him and earlier generations, Château Laroze was awarded Grand Cru Classé status in the 1955 Saint-Emilion classification. On the retirement of his father, Guy Meslin took over the family estate in 1990. Under his leadship, they continued to modernize the estate and expand the facilities.

Today, eighty percent of production is Château Laroze exported as distribution is growing in the US. Watch for it.

Pour Boys at Chez Joel

Afterwards, we dined at Chez Joël Bistro Francais on Taylor Street, Chicago, one of our favorite regular spots, often pregame dining before Hawks' and Bulls' games.

We started with the Fromage de Brie Chaud, warm Brie Cheese with honey, apricot, garlic and almond, Salmon Fume, Scottish Smoked Salmon, capers, cream cheese, toast and Tobikko, and the Pâté de deux Sortes, Duck & Chicken Liver Pâté with traditional garnish & toast points.

For entrees, Dan and I had the Magret et Confit de Canard, Sauce à L’orange, Pan seared Duck Breast & Duck Leg Confit, Served with Wild Mushrooms Fricassée, Potato Galette and Cranberry Orange Sauce (bottom). Lyle and Ernie both had the crab cake special.

With dinner, celebrating the wines of St Emilion, we had Château Laroze Grand Cru Classé and Château Les Grandes Murailles Grand Cru Classé from Saint Emilion Grand Cru.

Charles-Antoine Beyne of
Chateau Clos De Sarpe

Sylvie Cazes, new principle
at Chateau Chauvin.

Pour Boys Dr Dan & Lyle w/ Chateau Jean Faure

Chez Joël Bistro Francais, Chicago

Chez Joel - Magret et Confit de Canard, Sauce à L’orange