UGCB 2022 Vintage Release Tour 2025 Comes to Chicago

Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB) North American 2022 Vintage Release Tour Chicago Preview Tasting 2025  

Once again, the UGC Bordeaux (Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB)), annual release tour visited Chicago this week unveiling/showcasing their 2022 vintage release wines. This was the same event we attended and featured last year in these pages in this post - UGCB 2021 Vintage Release Tour 2024 Comes to Chicago, excerpted below.. 

The Union is the association of 132 members of the top premier wine producer estates from the most prestigious Bordeaux appellations. In cooperation with distributors, brokers and merchants they host over 80 events in fifteen countries visiting 65 cities to present their wines to some 50,000 or so professionals and wine lovers each year around the world.

Their events go beyond France, taking them throughout Europe (Germany, UK, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Netherlands, Russia), to this tour of North America (US and Canada) , and to Asia (China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore). 

This year's UGCB US TOUR - 2025 started in Miami at The Hangar, then to the fabulous Cipriani on 42nd Street in New York, prior to coming to The Drake Hotel in Chicago, then heading on to San Francisco City View @ Metreon, and finishing at Vibiana in Los Angeles. Previous years have also included stops in Toronto and/or  Montréal.

'Pour Boys' Tom C, me, Ernie and Lyle with 
UGCB Ambassadors Chloe Morvan and
Marie Damouseau, from 2020.

As in previous years, members of our 'Pour Boys' wine group helped conduct the event in Chicago, one of the highlight of my wine exploits throughout the year.

As in years past, except the Covid disrupted alternate site two years ago, at Chicago Union Station Grand Hall, which actually was delayed to June, the gala event was held in the Drake Hotel in the magnificent grand Gold Coast Ballroom (shown below).

The Pour Boys serve as volunteers, working with the host organizers Mike Wangbickler, Kat Stark and the Balzac Communications team, and the UGCB Bordeaux events team.

According to the routine, we help prepare 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.

We start early in the day unpacking and preparing the wines, carefully setting up each wine station for the arrival of the producers' and their representatives for presenting and pouring the wine during the afternoon session.  

Often over the years, some 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'. This was our sixteenth year working this gala annual event.

Pour Boys Rick and Lyle

As usual, close to a hundred producers were represented at the event that was attended by over five hundred members of the trade, merchants, hospitality and media.

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 oenophiles the chance to meet the Bordeaux principles, winemakers, ambassadors and commercial directors.

As always, we appreciate the investment in time and effort expended by the producers and their representatives coming to visit Chicago. It provides a wonderful opportunity to meet them firsthand and hearing their perspectives on their brand, approach to crafting their vintage release, their history, businesses, and their past vintages and of course, the current release.

As collectors and holders of not-insignificant collections of Bordeaux wines dating back four decades, we Pour Boys hold as many as several dozen or more vintages of some of these labels. Meeting the owners, family members, producer / winemaker / representatives of these great Chateaux 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.

Despite the extreme inclement weather this day in Chicago, this years event was well attended to a full house.

After working to set up the event, register attendees and fill in for late arriving producers' due to travel delays, we’re able to partake of the release tasting.

The 2022 vintage is a blockbuster, possibly the best in a decade, on par with the recent stellar 2009 and likely to be heralded with legendary vintages such as 1982 and others.

The 2022 year was one of the hottest and driest growing seasons in the history of the region. The early heat in the spring set up the vines for the brutally hot and dry summer growing season, which also included some critical rains in June and a few storms in August. Producers learned from the continuous hot and dry vintages of 2018, 2019 and 2020 how to moderate or cope with the intense sun, such as leaving fuller canopies of leaves to shade grapes. 

Despite the rather extreme weather conditions, the vintage produced dark dense fruit resulting in opulent and structured wines, beautifully balanced, smooth, supple, polished and elegant, bursting with fresh ripe fruit flavors that were approachable, even when young, upon release. 

It was reported that all the Bordeaux varietal grapes — Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, faired well. Berries were small, skins were healthy and the juice was concentrated. While acidities are on the lower side, the wines show remarkable freshness and purity, aromatics are right and vibrant and textures are smooth and polished. 

As is the case as I have written before, in such great vintages, ‘all boats rise with the tide”, so that there should be many stunning wines available, even at the more modest price points as the gap between grand vin and second wines may be narrower in 2022

As usual, we focused on the producers that we own and collect, with particular interest in those that we visited during our last trip to Bordeaux, as well as those we are targeting for our next or futures visits to the region. 

Highlights of wines that stood out were the usual suspects from my perennial favorites - Pichon Baron, Lynch Bages, then Pichon Lalande, in Paulliac, in order of more structured and concentrated to less so. 

Pauline Gibert Pichon Baron

In St Julien, Gruaud Larose, then Leoville Barton followed by Leoville Poyferre, and finally Beychevelle, which showed particularly well with extraordinary bouquet and polished ripe fruit. 

As is customary, the Barton wines were represented by Managing Director Lilian Barton Sartorius who represents the 9th generation of the Barton family. These days the property is managed by Lilian assisted by her husband, Michel Sartorius, and their grown children, Damien and Melanie, of the 10th generation, who are taking on increasing responsibility in the business. Here she is shown with Sara Lecompte-Cuvelier of Leoville Poyferre.

The Branaire Ducru was the finest I’ve ever experienced in memory, perhaps reflecting, in addition to the vintage, this being the first vintage produced in the completely renovated production facilities, with double the number of vats, with which to be more discriminating and granularly focused in the production and ultimate blending.  

Francois-Xavier-Maroteaux
Owner Château Branaire-Ducru

Pomerol showed well with Clinet being a standout. I regret I didn’t get to taste two favorites, Chateaux Canon and Canon-Le-Gaffeliere, as they were gone by the time I got  to their table, late in the day. 

The ever dapper Stephan von Neipperg,
(Château Canon-La-Gaffelière) 

Domaine Chevalier showed well from Pessac-Leognan, presenting a new label/branding for the historic anniversary vintage.

Hugo Bernard - Domaine Chevalier

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

Most recently .. 

UGCB 2020 Vintage Release Tour Chicago 2023

Grand Cru Bordeaux 2019 Vintage Release Tour Chicago

 UGCB 2017 Release Tour Chicago 

https://twitter.com/ugcbwines 

OTBN 2014

OTBN - Open That Bottle Night 2014

This night's tasting featured a varied selection of wines following a couple themes. One  commemorating this year being the 4th decade for Linda and me featured the four decade anniversary vintages of '74, '84, '94 and '04. The others reflected the spirit of OTBN, to bring whatever label was desired for drinking that night. As is always the case, the occasion produced a great tasting event of fabulous and interesting wines, great wine and food pairings, fellowship, friendship and fun.

Bill and Beth hosted and prepared a great wine friendly dinner of beef tenderloin, duck breast, scalloped potatoes, haricot verts, green salad, caprese salad and a desert course. Before dinner there was a selection of artisan cheeses, and shrimp cocktail.  A mixed green salad was accompanied by a cold tomato based soup.

The 'line-up'.

The OTBN (Open That Bottle Night) tradition calls for the event to occur the last Saturday night in February. This year's event was postponed twice, initially due to an outbreak of the flu and then for another conflict. So we declared tonight's tasting to effectively became our fourth OTBN in this column. See our 2011, 2012 and 2013 OTBN reports.

As written in this blog to explain previous OTBN's, here's the story. Credit (or blame) for this annual wine bachanalia goes to Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher, wine columnists for the Wall Street Journal. OTBN - Open That Bottle Night, was conceived for those that have a special bottle of wine or champagne hidden away being saved for a special occasion that for whatever reason hasn't happened.  

Every year since 2000, on the last Saturday night in February, Open That Bottle Night (OTBN) has been celebrated - the time to uncork and enjoy that cherished but here-to-for elusive bottle. OTBN was conceived by Gaiter and Brecher to say, what the heck, go for it, Open That Bottle (to)Night. They realized they weren't alone - having that special bottle set aside for an occasion that just never happens. On this night, you don't need an excuse or a reason - just do it! Take advantage of OTBN to open that bottle and enjoy it! Enjoy it by yourself, or better yet, enjoy it with someone special, or even better, with a group of special friends. Have everyone bring such a bottle and let the story telling begin, because amazingly, every OTBN bottle has a story or some meaning, or not. What the heck, Open That Bottle (To) Night!. Let the fun begin.   

The ritual for all our tasting events starts with the 'lineup', the exercise of lining up the bottles in the planned order of tasting. This is a fun debate that by default conforms to the prescribed tasting conventions - starting with the lighter and simpler wines first since a heavier or heartier wine will overpower lesser wines and you'll lose all sense of discrimination or calibration for them.

More precision on tasting order is:

Dry before sweet: This is probably the most important of the following rules, so if in doubt - opt for the "dry before sweet" rule. Sweet wines typically carry a long finish - drinking a dry wine with a short finish following a sweet wine with a long finish will almost always leave the dry wine tasting sour.

Old before young: Mature wines tend to provide the most subtle, elegant, and finessed nuances and should be sipped first to honor the complexity of the flavors that aging provides. Younger wines bear more tannin and fruit and will often wipe out some of the subtle qualities of older wines if tasted first.

White usually before Red: White wines are usually more delicate than reds - which is why many presume that red should always follow white. However, in some cases (ex. light Pinot Noir vs. full-flavored Voigners) sweeter wines pack a longer finish than dry wines, so save your sweet syrupy whites to follow drier reds for optimum flavor.

Light-bodied before full-bodied: The delicate flavors and aromas found in light-bodied wines will be missed entirely if consumed following tannic, robust reds.

Once the initial tasting order is set, part of the fun is testing it to see if we got it right based on the actual tasting results. Most often we get it right with just a few tweeks along the way. Again on this night, this was the case. 

Before we ventured into the flight, Bill served a pair of chardonnays with the pre-meal shrimp and assorted cheeses - Sancerre 2012 and Chateau Montelena Napa Valley Chardonnay 2009.

We started the red wine flight with two 1984 California Cabernet Sauvignons - Guenoc Lake County, and Silver Oak Napa Valley.

Guenoc Lake County Cabernet Sauvignon 1984

The story behind this bottle goes back to a tasting that occurred in July 1998 when I served a large format six liter bottle of this wine to colleagues from around the world at a global country managers meeting. Colleague Pete F and I entertained the group and I hosted a special wine tasting featuring 16 different wines from their respective countries from my cellar. One of the highlights of the tasting culminated with the 6 liter bottle the label of which we all signed (left). 

My notes from that event - "What do you expect from a 14 year old Lake County Cab? What a pleasant surprise to find this one full of berry, plum, cherry and an earthy mocha chocolate. This was tasted from a six liter bottle which no doubt held the fruit." 

The story about tonight's bottle resulted from our visit to the winery in the early 90's seeking a bottle of 1984 from their library. They said there weren't any for sale. When I told them I was holding this 6 liter bottle in my cellar for a special occasion and I wanted some from that vintage to 'test' before serving, they kindly obliged with a couple bottles. This is the last remaining bottle from that purchase. Read more about large format bottles.

I was prepared to dump this and move on to the next bottle, expecting that I had held onto this thirty year old for too long. Not to be as we were pleasantly surprised to find it was still holding was eminently drinkable, albeit with diminished color, structure and fruit being whispers of what they once were as noted above. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=34985

Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1984

Notice (above) the Silver Oak '84 bears the old historic 'silver' label that today is used only for the Alexander Valley release while Napa Valley is now adorned by an upscale painted bottle branding and packaging.

As with the Guenoc above, this was still drinkable although it had diminished color and fruit. That Silver Oak signature oakiness still predominated and stood out over the subdued earthy berry and cedar leathery finish. 

RM 84 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/editnote.asp?iWine=22527


Leoville Barton St Julien Bordeaux 1994

From Bill's cellar. From a more modest Bordeaux vintage, this still showed classic left bank complexity of earthy leather and notes of cedar with smooth polished subdued blackberry fruit accent with a hint of anise on a nicely refined lingering tannin finish.

RM 89 points. 


https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1174





Château Malescot St. Exupéry Margaux Bordeaux 2004

Bill had open this magnum of this savory Bordeaux to start the evening. 

Dark garnet colored, medium bodied with huge floral perfume aromatics that typify the best of Margaux. They give way to pleasant, nicely balanced black raspberry and black currant fruits with tones of anise, expresso, and hints of spicy mocha on a leathery tobacco finish. 


RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=87208




La Rioja Alta Viña Ardanza Reserva 2004

Lyle brought this Tempranillo based Rioja Reserva.

Garnet colored, medium bodied, black fruits give way to earthy, tobacco, spice, smoke and leather with a long balanced finish.

RM 90

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=844857




Peter Michael Les Pavots Sonoma County Knights Valley Red Wine 2005

Ernie brought these two Peter Michael selections from his cellar.

Les Pavots is an estate bottled Bordeaux blend from the slopes of Mt Helena above the eastern Knights Valley in Sonoma County.

Dark ruby colored, elegant and polished, full bodied with full complex concentrated layers of blackberry, black raspberry and blackcurrant with tones of black tea, cigar box and hint of dark mocha and cedar on a silky smooth finish.

Blend: 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Cabernet Franc, 12% Merlot & 2% Petit Verdot

This got huge reviews and scores - 95 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator
and 93 points Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

RM 95 points.

 http://www.petermichaelwinery.com/

Peter Michael Esprit Des Pavots 2004

’Esprit des Pavots' literally means “The Spirit of the Poppies.” This wine is sourced from the original Les Pavots vineyard blocks recently replanted with the rarest and best clones of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

Dark ruby colored, full bodied, bright vibrant expressive full forward concentrated rich berry and plum fruits, smooth and polished despite complexity from hints of mocha, anise and black tea with full tannins on the lingering finish.

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=224266

Joseph Phelps Insignia Napa Valley Red Wine 2004

Dan brought this and the Dominus Estate from his cellar - two napa Valley Bordeaux Blends. This may have been my favorite of the evening although the Les Pavots was a close second.

A blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 12% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec

Another huge point scorer with  97 points from Wine Enthusiast, 94 from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator.

Dark ruby and inky purple color, full bodied, this required about an hour to open and reveal its true charachter and fruits - complex but elegant, balanced and polished, rich deep concentrated notes of blackberries, cassis, with hints of rich, crème caramel, sweet oak and cedar with smooth polished finely integrated tannins on the long finish.

RM 95 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/editnote.asp?iWine=165834


Dominus Estate Napa Valley Red Wine 2010 

While this got a 100 point rating from Robert Parker, the most noted major reviewers, like so many Dominus releases, it may take a decade or more for it to reveal its full potential.

While clearly a spectacular wine, at this young age, its a bit closed and tight suppressing its fruits and other nuances.

Blend of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot

Dark garnet colored, full bodied, firm, dense concentrated complex layers of black fruits, black tea, creosote and anise with hints cedar of spice and dark chocolate with firm tight but well integrated tannins on the finish.

RM 94 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1374630



d'Arenberg Dead Arm McLaren Vale Shiraz 2004

Ernie also brought this from his cellar. The '04 is as big and dense as Dead Arm gets but was not as sweet as some vintages.

Dark inky black purple color, full bodied, thick, dense, tongue-coating unctuous layer of ripe plum, black raspberry, ripe blueberry and a layer of anise and black cherry with a spicy long firm tannin lingering finish.

RM 92 points.

 https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=246254



Taylor (Fladgate) Vintage Port Quinta de Vargellas 1974

I acquired this bottle at the legendary British wine merchant Berry Bros. & Rudd at their shop at 3 St James's Street London back in the early eighties. Back then of course you carry it in your hand luggage on the airplane.


Single Quinta Vintage Port (SQVP) is a title given to Port wines produced from a single vineyard (quinta) and from in a single vintage.

This is regarded by many as the most exciting category of port wine, since it offers the winemaker the opportunity to explore a more terroir-driven approach to fortified winemaking. An emerging style, SQVP started to gain popularity after 1986 when transportation restrictions were raised and smaller estates started to enter the market.

Single-quinta, or single-vineyard, vintage Porto is produced only in exceptional years in which a general vintage is not declared. Quinta de Vargellas vineyard has been part of the Taylor Fladgate estate for more than a century. It is known as one of the top 100 vineyards in the world with the highest percentage of old vines of any quinta in the Douro, with 60% over 75 years old. 


The 1974 vintage was a moderate year that was not declared by the major port houses. Some excellent single harvest colheitas were produced. For the vintage ports, despite a huge crop, very few vintage port-wines were bottled from this year and the bottles are very rare.

Quinta de Vargellas is the flagship of Taylor Fladgate's declared vintage Portos. In the best undeclared years, Quinta de Vargellas is produced on its own as a single-quinta vintage Porto.

While top vintage Vintage Ports often age for several decades, these SQVP's tend to last a decade or two so at forty years of age, this was pushing the limits of its aging window. Furthermore, the bottle and cork showed some signs of seepage although I don't recall ever noticing this in the cellar. Lastly, upon decanting, there was no less than a half a cup of sediment resembling coffee grounds in the bottom of the bottle. 

This was a bit lean in body and the color was a bit opaque and showed tones of rust color with an orangish hue. It had a big aromatic nose and flavors of intense concentrated black berries, black raspberry, and anise, with tones of cloves, cedar and touch of smoke with a big strong layer of high alcohol. It open immediately and continued to soften throughout the evening. It was drinkable and a tribute to our 1974 anniversary celebration but clearly nearing its end of life.  

Two nights later this was smooth and nicely balanced and resembled a moderate cognac which we enjoyed with some caramel, chocolate and berries. 

RM 85 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=36107

Taylor Fladgate Vintage Porto Quinta de Vargellas 1995

Lyle is a big port enthusiast and he matched my Taylor Fladgate with this vintage selection. 

Dark ruby colored, medium bodied, intense berry, dried raisins, fig with layers of cedar and anise with a long fruity, alcohol laced finish. 

RM 88 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=19047




The OTBN crew and their wine contributions to the flight are pictured below.

The hosts - Bill and Beth. 

 The author/blogger of unwindwine blogspot.

Horizontal Tasting - 2004 Bordeaux Alongside Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Horizontal Tasting - 2004 Bordeaux Alongside Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon


Comparison tasting of 2004 'horizontal' - wines from the same vintage - Bordeaux and Silver Oak Alexander Valley reveals a study in terroir, styles and aging profiles. Wines tasted are below, shown in tasting order based on anticipated weight and complexity which proved to be appropriate:

• Chateau Giscours Grand Cru Classe Marqaux 2004
• Chateau Leoville Barton St Julien 2004
• Chateau Clerc Milon Pauillac 2004
• d'Armailhac Grand cru Classe Pauillac 2004 
• Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

The Giscours, Leoville Barton, and Silver Oak were poured from magnums and decanted three to fours hours earlier. 

The highlights of the evening for me were the Leoville Barton and the Silver Oak which were both bright, complex, smooth, polished and flavorful indicating peak readiness to drink in their seventh year despite very different styles and tasting profiles. Not surprising, contrasting the Leoville Barton was the Clerc Milon which while balanced and full was still a bit closed and tight revealing a longer aging profile needing more time to open and fully reveal itself. The Giscours was next in my rankings followed by the d'Armailhac.

Chateau Leoville Barton Cru Classe St Julien Bordeaux 2004

Consistent producer of high quality good value ageworthy Bordeaux.

Bright floral notes, nicely balanced layers of black raspberry, black cherry, hints of leather and touch of smoke. Full bodied intense flavors yet delicate, polished and a silky fine tannin finish.  
RM 91 points. 

Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 

Surprisingly complex but refined and polished with layers of black berry fruits accented by cola, almond, nutmeg, sweet soft oak with layers of spice and vanilla on a long aromatic silky tannnin finish.
RM 90 points.

Chateau Clerc Milon Pauillac 2004

Second label of revered first growth Chateau Mouton Rothschild. Complex, firm with rather subdued black fruit flavors of blackberry, black cherry, black currant with hint of cassis, touch of leather and earth. Still a bit closed suggesting need for more time to open and reveal itself.
RM 89 points.  

Chateau Giscours Grand Cru Classe Marqaux 2004

Medium-full bodied, complex, dark berry and black cherry fruits with tone of slightly tart cherry and hint of raspberry, cassis, spice, tones of leather and pencil lead on the medium finish.
RM 88 points.

d'Armailhac Grand Cru Classe Pauillac 2004 

Third label of esteemed Chateau Mouton Rothschild, behind second label Clerc Milon. Medium-full bodied, less complex and lacking the polish and integration of the others, a bit flabby but forward black berry and black cherry fruit flavors with a layer of  mocha, cedar, and hint of camphor on a slightly firm spicy and acidic finish.
RM 87 points. 


Tasted with medley of artisan cheeses and over dinner of mixed green salad, beef tenderloin, twice baked potatoes and green beans. Dinner hosted at Bill and Beth C's with Dan & Linda, Bob & Gloria, and L. Chocolate cake and berries to finish commemorating my birthday!


Terroir - from Wikipedia - Terroir comes from the word terre "land". It was originally a French term used to denote the special characteristics that the geography, geology and climate of a certain place bestowed upon particular varieties. Agricultural sites in the same region share similar soil, weather conditions, and farming techniques, which all contribute to the unique qualities of the crop. It can be very loosely translated as "a sense of place," which is embodied in certain characteristic qualities, the sum of the effects that the local environment has had on the production of the product. Terroir is often italicized in English writing to show that it is a French loanword. The concept of terroir is at the base of the French wine Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) system that has been the model for appellation and wine laws across the globe. At its core is the assumption that the land from which the grapes are grown imparts a unique quality that is specific to that region.