A visit to Château La Nerthe

A visit to Château La Nerthe, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

During our recent trip to Provence we visited Château La Nerthe, one of the oldest estates in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. This was a return visit to the estate that we visited during our first trip to the region back in 1998. We hold in our cellar or have consumed a dozen vintages of Château La Nerthe dating back to the eighties. We also visited the estate of Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe as the other highlight of our visit to the appellations Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

Sheri, Belle Silvie, Rick - La Nerthe 1998

Alec, Rick, La Nerthe 2019

The Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation is named in recognition of the Popes who reigned in the area in the fourteenth century. It actually means "New Castle of the Pope" referring to the time in the 14th century when the pope resided in Avignon, not in Rome. Historic documents noted grape vines covering the territory of Châteauneuf-du-Pape dating back as early as 1157. 

Geoffroy, the bishop of Avignon, had a vineyard within the territory of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Clement V, the first Avignon Pope recognized the special soils of Châteauneuf-du-Pape in 1314. His successor, John XXII, in 1316, established the summer residence of the papacy in the village of Avignon. He recognized the distinctive terroir of the region for growing wine grapes and granted the wine produced there the rank of "Vin du Pape". He regularly drank the wines from the vineyards ‘in the north’ and did much to improve viticulture practices there. 

Pope John XXII chose what he considered the ideal location for a residence and vineyard site, the hillock overlooking the Rhône Valley about halfway between Avignon and Orange –  Châteauneuf – and he took over the area and constructed the castle there, starting in 1317, and completing it in 1333. He planted grapevines and olive trees in the area.

According to the historic Apostolic Chamber archives, there were more than 3 million grapevines in Châteauneuf in 1334 covering more than 1500 acres.

Pope John XXII, promoted winemaking and production in the area and as a result, production increased to over three thousand liters per year. As the wines of Châteauneuf gained notoriety from being erved to ambassadors and representatives of foreign courts, they were shipped in barrels to Italy, Germany and Britain. 
 
From the eighteenth century, the visionary winemakers of Chateauneuf-du-Pape were shipping their wine in bottles instead of using barrels, an important new step obtaining brand awareness in other parts of the world.

Château La Nerthe was recorded to be shipping it's wines in bottles as early as 1776, the year of the American Revolution.  The popularity and notoriety of the wines of Châteauneuf-du-Pape continued to spread through the 19th century.
 
In 1929, the Syndicat of Châteauneuf-du-Pape winegrowers assigned three experts to establish “the conditions of territorial origin and faithful, constant, and local traditions concerning the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation”. They issued a report in 1929 after four years of deliberations, and it was ratified. As a result, the Châteauneuf-du-Pape winegrowers became the first in all of France to impose production parameters. Their example was soon followed by many other French vignerons, as more and more regions across France adopted their model, eventually resulting in a nationwide set of appellation regulations.

Under the leadership and legal expertise of Baron Le Roy, the Cour de Cassation (French court of last resort) defined appellation boundaries and production conditions in November 1933. After several years of proceedings, in May, 1936, the decree of the appellation was published and Châteauneuf-du-Pape become the first wine-making Appellation-Origin-Controllee, AOC of France.
 
The appellation rules remain in force today to protect and guarantee the quality of Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines. The regulated vineyards now cover over 7900 acres in the towns of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Bédarrides Courthézon, Orange and Sorgue.

In 1937, the union of the owners of the appellation of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, created an original bottle, the famous bottle with the embossed logo, the crest or crossed keys, that is emblematic of Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines. 

There is a notch in the bottom rim of the CDP glass bottle. I often have fun with this, handing the bottle to someone and challenging them to explain its purpose. Most often, the response is that it somehow relates to the 'racking' or turning of the bottles. Of course, that is not done with red wines, rather is a procedure related to producing and aging sparkling wine or Champagne. Since the bottles of Châteauneuf-du-Pape have the emblem embossed in the glass, it matters where the label is placed on the bottle. Hence, the notch in the bottle allows the bottling and labeling machine to align the label with the glass emblem!

The historic Château La Nerthe estate dates back to 1560. The historic Château was built in 1736. Château La Nerthe was one of the first estates to bottle their own wine beginning as early as 1784. Château La Nerthe was also one of the first, if not the first estate in Châteauneuf-du-Pape to export their wine outside of France. Another first for the estate was that Château La Nerthe began the practice of de-stemming 100% of their vines in the 1800’s. By this point in time, Château La Nerthe was the most expensive wine from the Southern Rhône.

Rick and Linda, Château La Nerthe

In 1870, the Tulle de Villefranche family sold the property to the Joseph Ducos family. The sale was necessary largely due to the devastation of the vineyards by Phylloxera, the louse that attacked the roots of the vines, forcing investing in replanting of the vineyards with new resistant root stock.

The Ducos family maintained ownership of the property until 1941 when Château La Nerthe was bought at an auction by the Leclerc and Motte families. The estate was occupied by the invading German army during the war and the property was severely debilitated. The Germans used the elegant Chateau as a headquarters for the region and the wine cellars served as bomb shelters. 

By 1985, Château La Nerthe had become dilapidated and was put up for sale by the Dereumaux family. In 1986, the property was acquired by the Richard family in partnership with David and Foillard negociants. A complete renovation of the estate took place and much of the vineyards were replanted. The new owners changed the spelling back to what it was by adding back the “h” that had been dropped earlier. The new labels once again displayed the original spelling of Château La Nerthe.

In 1991, Château La Nerthe expanded their land holdings with the purchase of an additional 54 acres of vineyards, thereby creating one of the largest estates in the Southern Rhône with 222 acres under vine.

The vineyards and the château are located southeast of the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The vines are planted in La Crau, Les Escondudes, La Reves and the La Nerthe lieux-dits (localities). 

The La Nerthe estate has all the terroirs of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation within the property. The 222 acres of La Nerthe vineyards are located in two single blocks around the castle. 

The exceptional, sloped terroir is the classic legendary soil of the appellation, sandy-clay with the surface covered by a layer of the famous ‘galets roulés’, the large, round, well-worn stones that originated in the Alps and were carried down to the Rhône by the ice age glaciers. These large pebbles store the heat during the day and release it at night aiding the ripening of the grapes. The property also has a natural spring on the grounds, which can be beneficial to the vines during periods of drought which commonly affect the region.

The La Nerthe vineyards are comprised of two large blocks. There is 148 acres of vines adjacent to and in front of the chateau. There, the soil is largely sand and clay in the terroir. The remaining 74 acres are behind the château and abut the plateau of La Crau, which sits behind and above the Chateau, which has more rocks and the stones, known as galets in the region. 

Lane leading up to
Château La Nerthe estate.

Like some of the other legendary producers in the area such as Château Vieux Telegraph and Château Beaucastel, the vineyards of Château La Nerthe are planted with all 13 types of grapes allowed in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation. The average vine age is over 40 years old.  

 

While the property has plantings of all 13 of the appellation’s permitted varietals, Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah dominate the red blend. The estate has one of the highest proportions of white vines in the region and produces a special white cuvée – Clos de Beauvenir – sourced from grapes from the clos directly in front of the château.

All the viticulture in the Château La Nerthe vineyards is done using organic farming techniques. 

 
Starting with the 2015 vintage, Ralph Garcin, who previously worked for Jaboulet in Hermitage, was appointed general manager and winemaker, placed in charge of the estate and all its winemaking operations. He has set upon an ambitious program of process and technical improvements. He introduced vinification by plot and is investing in smaller fermentation tanks and larger ageing vessels to showcase the quality of the fruit in the cellar. He’s also been making improvements to their viticultural practices, such as introducing organic farming.

Château La Nerthe library collection

Our tour included the historic cellars that are underneath the château, the tank rooms, the barrel storage rooms, and the historic wine library storage cellars. We then were hosted in the hospitality center and served a flight of the recent vintage releases of the wines.  

The wine tasting flight:

We tasted the Château La Nerthe Cuvee-des-Cadettes Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2016. This could be considered their 'flagship' wine, it is the premium label, not made every year, rather, only in the finest vintages. Cuvee-des-Cadeetes is approximately one-third each Grenache, Syrah and Mourvdre. Eighty percent of the wine spends a year in new oak barrels.

The standard flagship label is Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape, 2015, 2016 and 2018, a red blend comprising as many as all thirteen varietals grown 100% on the estate property - 55% Grenache, 17% Syrah, 15% Mourvedre, 7% Cinsault, 3% Counoise and the remaining 3% is a blend of the other varietals planted in the vineyard.

La Nerthe oak barrel storage cellar

The wine is aged in variety of tanks and large barrels depending on the blend and the characteristics of the vintage, typically for 12 to 18 months in tanks, about twenty percent new French Oak barrels, and used French oak barrels. 

Typically it is best consumed after 5 to 8 years of aging, it can easily be held for several decades depending on the vintage, and in top years can hold its prime drinking window for 25 to 35 years. 

Approximately 15,000 cases are produced each year.

La Nerthe Les Cassagnes Cote du Rhone Villages, 2015, a white wine blend comprised of Grenache Blanc / Garnacha Blanca (25%) Roussanne (25%),and the remaining 50% Viognier.

Chateau La Nerthe Clos de Beauvenir 2014, a blend of 60% Roussanne and 40% Clairette. Like Cuvee-des-Cadettes, Clos de Beauvenir is only produced in select vintages. The production is small, fewer than 250 cases of the special white wine in a release year.

Chateau La Nerthe Clos de Beauvenir is made from a blend of 60% Roussanne and 40% Clairette. Clos de Beauvenir is only produced in select vintages. The production is always quite small. The estate never makes over 250 cases of the special white wine.
Read more at:https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/rhone-wines-cote-rotie-hermitage-chateauneuf-du-pape/chateauneuf-du-pape-wine-producer-profiles/chateau-la-nerthe-chateauneuf-du-pape-rhone-wine/

 

Four days in Provence - Aix - Meyrargues

Four days in Provence - Aix-en-Provence - Meyrargues

We traveled to the South of France and stayed in the city of Aix-en-Provence in the Centre Ville as our base of operations. Aix-en-Prce' as it appears abbreviated on roadsigns is thirty miles north of the coastal port city of Marseille, the largest city in the region of Provence, which is the state in the southeastern corner of France from the Rhone River east to Italy along the Mediterranean coast. 

We stayed in an Air-BNB apartment with three bedrooms and three baths, living room and kitchen with a wonderful patio overlooking the rooftops with the hills in the background. 

Our apartment was a block walk to the main expansive plaza street Cours Mirabeau that extends from the Fontaine de la Rotonde circular at the bottom to the anciant historic Fontaine Moussue midway, up to Fontaine Du Roi René in the square at the top. The street is filled with shops, merchants, banks, cafes, restaurants and the marketplace of merchants that set up daily until evening along both sides of the expansive street. 

There is much to explore in the city centre, within a short walking distance of our apartment, scores of restaurants bars, bistro’s, pizza parlours, and dozens of sidewalk cafes. 

Most of the eateries are authentic French but there are restaurants serving and catering to wide range of international and ethnic cuisines – Thai, Japanese, Lebanese, Korean, English pubs, Indian, Italian, Mexican and American. There are several ‘specialty’ restaurants with their own focus menu such as ‘Croique Jacque’ that specializes in duck, duck and duck in several variations. 

For Dejeuner (breakfast) there are dozens of Patisserie Boulangerie and cafes that serve the traditional Petit Dejeuner (little breakfast of croissant and coffee). 

 

Many restaurants open only for dinner, many open for lunch, close up for the afternoon and reopen for dinner. 

There are but a few ‘fine dining’ establishments one finds or expects in the big cities of Paris, London, New York or Chicago which avoids the car payment costly meals with expensive wine lists. 

Wine selections are moderate and modest with focus on Southern French regional wines from Cotes de Provence, Luburon, Languedoc, the Rhone River valley regions, and a handful of offerings from Bordeaux and the Borgogne. 

During the day, the main Cours Mirabeau street is filled with a festive market with scores of merchants setting up pop-up stands selling sportwear, jewelry, art, leather goods, nougats, cheeses and regional fashions. 

Street musicians play to the crowd at all hours and at prime time a small band played to the crowd as couples danced nearby.

A highlight of our visit was an evening with our ‘host’ family, Jean Claude and Mireille, parents of Phillip who was an exchange student that lived with us on two different tours. His residency and friendship with our son Alec contributed to Alec’s fluency in French. Visiting the region to see Phillip and meet his family was one of the reasons for our trip, together with our son and Viv, his fiancée, to the south of France. 

On Saturday evening we journeyed northeast of town to the Village of Meyrargues where we were treated to a traditional Provencal dinner – beef in mushrooms, garlic and a red wine reduction, simmered for two days resulting in a rich thick stew. This was served over polenta.

We dined in the garden in a delightful setting in the back yard below the picturesque Meyrargues Chateau castle up on the hill above the house.  

Before dinner we enjoyed a couple of preparations of tapenade, made from olives and olive oil pressed from the trees on the property. We then enjoyed pate' foie gras, both served with baguettes and an assortment of breads. These were served with a wide assortment of juices, waters and wines starting with Veuve Virey Champagne Brut Rose, then Veuve Virey Champagne Brut.

Our dinner course was accompanied by a selection of wines from Jean Claude's personal wine cellar - Gevry-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes Bourgogne (Red Burgundy) followed by a 2007 Domaine de la Maurelle Gigondas Southern Rhone, leading to a Bordeaux, Bernard Magrez, Chateau Perenne Cote de Blaye Cru Borgeois 2004. 

Bernard Coillot Gevry-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes Bourgogne

Following the main course was the salad course – the freshest greens imaginable served in simple olive oil, with or without garlic.  This was accompanied by a Provencal Coteaux du Provence Rose, the traditional and signature wine of the Luberon. 

Bernard Magrez Chateau Perenne Cote de Blaye Cru Borgeois 2006

Domaine de la Maurelle Gigondas 2007 

Turning to the cheese course, we were served a selection of six French cheeses – Roquefort, a creamy Camembert, Goat Cheese, a cow’s milk cheese, an Ementhaler and a Brie. All were delicious and each was presented with a tutorial on its history, geography and preparation. 

The cheese course was accompanied by one’s choice of the selection of wines and of course champagnes. 

The final course included a selection of no less than six flavors of Artisan Glacier en Provence - ice cream – Sorbet Citron with Basil, Coconut with Chocolate, Melon, Lavender with Honey, Peach sorbet, one with a touch of chocolate, and one with herbs de Provence.

The lavender and honey was an incredibly unique signature offering from the Luberon - a fascinating experience – a cross between a culinary sensual overload 
and perfume! 

Check out unwindwine.blogspot.com for more postings on following days in St Tropez and Chateauneuf-du-Pape, and our follow on trip to Bordeaux.

Beringer Private Reserve Napa Chardonnay 2014

Beringer Private Reserve Napa Valley Chardonnay 2014 BYOB at Chinn's Lisle

This outstanding release of this label is widely available at deeply discounted prices around Chicagoland merchants offering a substantial QPR - Quality Price Ratio in this highly rated release. We took this BYOB to Chinn's 34th Street Fishery in Lisle (IL) and it was spectacular with the Chargrilled Hawaiian Monchong and the Grouper. 

The fruit for this label is primarily sourced from their Gamble Ranch property in the Oakville AVA of Napa Valley. Only the finest lots were then selected for inclusion in this Private Reserve bottling. Each lot was kept separate from harvest all the way through the winemaking process. The wine was aged for 9 months in predominately new French oak with full malolactic fermentation, and the lees were stirred weekly to enrich the texture and profile. 


Beringer Private Reserve Napa Valley Chardonnay 2014

I picked up a few bottles, then picked up a few more. I should've grabbed more but I waited till I actually tried it to come to this conclusion, not based on the review. 

This got ratings for 95 points from Decanter and James Suckling, 92 points from Wine Spectator and 91 points from Vinous.


The Winemaker's tasting notes: "A richly layered wine with aromas of crème brulee and rich citrus and fruit flavors."   

This was butter colored, medium full bodied with bright lively buttery creamy notes of crème brulée, notes of caramel and hazelnut with apple and citrus fruits accented by spice and toasty oak with hints of vanilla apple and peach on the long nicely balanced finish. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2256991


https://www.beringer.com/

http://www.chinnsfishery.com/ 

Kenwood Jack London Sonoma Cabernet 2014

Kenwood Vineyards Jack London Vineyard Sonoma Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2014

One of the not-so-local wineshops picked up an allotment of this label and are offering it at extraordinary discounts so I picked up a six pack for everyday drinking. Some Cellartracker members cite obtaining this from as low as $10 but I picked this up at just less than $15 which represents a good value for every day drinking.

This fits the popular wine collector strategy of keeping on hand a selection of every day wines, weekend wines, once a month wines, once a year wines, and very special occasion wines in the mix for a broad cellar selection. We have known this wine going back to the eighties and hold a bottle of this label in our cellar going back to son Alec's birth year 1990.

Kenwood Vineyards Jack London Vineyard Sonoma Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2014

Kenwood Vineyards is one of the historic Sonoma Valley producers with its winery tasting facility on the main Sonoma Highway running up the eastern edge of the valley just past Kunde and below the iconic Chateau St Jean.

Kenwood are the sole producer of wines from the historic lava-terraced vineyards of the famous Jack London Ranch on the western slope of the central Sonoma Valley in Glen Ellen. It is named for Jack London who was a pioneer farmer grower in Sonoma over 100 years ago. The unique red-lava soil vineyards produce Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Merlot and Syrah varietal grapes.

Kenwood has been sourcing grapes from the Jack London Ranch since 1976. Located midway up the Eastern foothills of the Sonoma Mountain appellation, it has a long mild growing season that creates fruit with complexity and balance. The influence of the vineyard’s red volcanic soil and the fruity characteristics of the grapes combine to produce a quality, distinctive Cabernet Sauvignon which tends to provide reliable good QPR - quality price ratio wines in typical vintages

The composition of this label varies by vintage from 100% Cabernet to a blend that might be composed of around 89% Cabernet Sauvignon and the remaining 11% Merlot.

Dark garnet colored and medium full bodied this presents bright tangy black cherry fruits accented by a predominant layer of smoke with hints of menthol, tar, pepper and cedar on a tangy tongue puckering straight tannin finish.

RM 87 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/barcode.asp?iWine=2752075

https://kenwoodvineyards.com/shop/cabernet-sauvignon 

La Nerthe Côtes du Rhône Les Cassagnes Rose

Château La Nerthe Côtes du Rhône Villages Les Cassagnes Rose 2018 

We just confirmed our reservation for our visit to Château La Nerthe in Châteauneuf-du-Pape during our trip to the Southern Rhône the end of this month. We're excited to return to the Château that was one of the highlights to our trip to Châteauneuf-du-Pape back in 1998.

Château La Nerthe is one of the oldest estates in Châteauneuf-du-Pape which dates back to 1560. The historic Château (right) was built in 1736.

Château La Nerthe was one of the first estates to bottle their own wine starting in 1784. Château La Nerthe was also one of the first estates in Châteauneuf-du-Pape to export their wine outside of France. When they pioneered the practice of de-stemming 100% of their vines in the 1800’s, Château La Nerthe was the most expensive wine from the Southern Rhône.

The estate boasts an exceptional, sloped terroir with soils of sandy-clay and a layer of large, round, well-worn galet stones which are renowned in the region. All the terroirs of Châteauneuf-du-Pape (CDP) exist at the estate and all 13 of the CDP AOC (Appellation Original Controllee) permitted primary varietals are planted. The average vine age is 40+ years old. All of the grapes are handpicked and all of the wines are estate bottled.

The property atrophied and fell into some disrepair before the Richard family in a partnership with David and Foillard negociants purchased the historic La Nerthe in 1986 with a vision and mission to restore it to its earlier eminence. They invested in the property and conducted a complete renovation of the estate and much of the vineyards were replanted. In 1991, Château La Nerthe expanded their holdings with the purchase of 54 acres of vineyards creating one of the largest estates in the Southern Rhône with 222 acres under vine.

Starting with the 2015 vintage, Ralph Garcin was placed in charge of the estate and its winemaking.

A native of Provence, he grew up in a wine family with vineyards. He earned a degree in winemaking and agricultural engineering in Montpellier. He started his career in the Northern Rhône as assistant winemaker and buyer at M.Chapoutier. He spent time exploring new world international winemaking abroad in both Australia and Oregon. Returning to France, he became Technical Director and Head Winemaker for the Southern Rhône operations at the Burgundy-based company Boisset. After five years he joined Paul Jaboulet Ainé as Winemaker and Buyer. From there he joined Château La Nerthe as Managing Director and Winemaker.

In preparation for our visit, we're revisiting several of their labels that we hold in our cellar or, in this case, have picked up their current releases of labels we have not experienced before.

Château La Nerthe Côtes du Rhône Villages Les Cassagnes Rose 2018

We have just this summer started exploring rose wines and were delighted to find this Les Cassagnes Rose label from Château La Nerthe. This is sourced and produced in the Côtes du Rhône Villages appellation which is adjacent to Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

This Rose wine is a blend of Châteauneuf-du-Pape varietals with 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 10% Cinsault, 5% Mourvedre, and 5% Carignan. 

The fruits for this label are sourced from Côtes du Rhône Villages, the region and districts on the slopes and foothills above the Southern Rhône Valley beyond Châteauneuf-du-Pape where rosé wine varietals  are produced. 

This Cotes-du-Rhone rosé is crafted from 30+ year old vineyards planted in soils rich with calcareous sandstone and positioned on gently undulating slopes for optimal sun exposure.

The Côtes du Rhône Villages AOC rules for the proportion of the primary, supplemental and accessory grape varieties in the blend for AOC authorized wines are:

• White wines: a minimum of 80% of the main grape varieties.
• Red and rosé wines:
  • The main grape variety (Grenache noir) must make up at least 50%.
  • The supplementary grape varieties Syrah and Mourvèdre together must make up at least 20% of the blend.
  • The main and supplementary grape varieties must together make up at least 80% of the blend.
  • The accessory grape varieties are restricted to a maximum of 20% of the blend.

Winemaker Notes for this wine: "The color is rust orange pale pink fuchsia, very bright. The nose is frank, lively, expressive, on white flowers and citrus fruits (pink grapefruit). The palate is fresh and the gooseberry meets again the grapefruit. A wine of great freshness and easy pleasure!"

This is an easy drinking refreshing wine for the hot days of mid-summer. It shows bright pink fuscia color, medium body, expressive forward flavors of pear and peach are accented by floral and citrus notes and hints of gooseberry and spices on the full flavorful finish. 

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3256518

http://www.chateaulanerthe.fr/

Château Ducru Beaucaillou 1985

Château Ducru Beaucaillou St Julien Bordeaux 1985

Leading up to our visit to Bordeaux and Château Ducru Beaucaillou, we opened a special birth year bottle of the top ranked Second Growth St Julien from our cellar. We selected a bottle from son Sean's birth year vintage of which we hold a case as part of a horizontal collection of different producer's release from the vintage to commemorate his birth year vintage.

Our visit to the historic Château was one of the highlights of our trip to the St Julien Appellation. We hold more than a dozen vintages of this label and consider it one of the stalwarts of our cellar, designated as one of the 'signature' wines that we collect for a vertical collection of our kids' birth year vintages. As such we're still holding bottles from the 1981, 1982, 1985 and 1990 vintages, and several in between and many since. We also hold some large format bottles in magnums and 3.0 liter double magnums of the label that should provide for longer term aging.

We opened this bottle for a family dinner with Sean and son Ryan and the rest of the family over for a bar-b-que dinner.

Château Ducru Beaucaillou St Julien Bordeaux 1985

A testament to the longevity of this wine. It is still available at K&L Wineshop in the (SF) Bay Area (for $199), and as Clyde Beffa on staff there notes, "This 30 year old wine is less expensive than the 2009 or 2010 and you can enjoy it right now."

Indeed, this is drinking very nicely and doesn't come across as a 30+ year old in the least.

The capsule, label, and cork were all in perfect condition, like new. The fill was into the neck. No signs whatsoever of diminution from age. 

Dark garnet-colored, medium- to full-bodied, Parker describes it as "a wine of extraordinary charm and elegance", a floral, cedary nose with red and black currants, plum, notes of spice and cassis, firm tannins on a long, smooth silky finish. Still has some years left but assuredly not likely to improve with further aging.

RM 92 points.

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate gave this release a rating of 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=17635

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2019/08/ducru-beaucaillou.html

@DucruB

Marilyn Merlot 2016

Nova Wines "Marilyn Merlot" Napa Valley Merlot 2016

Wine geeks, oenophiles,  often take their passion for wine way too seriously, or certainly so to those not so compulsive or fixated, which is most folks. Its important to back it down and simply have fun with wine too.

This blog focuses on wine tasting and collecting. Another discussion thread is a study in wine branding and marketing. One unique approach is Marilyn Wines, of the entity Nova Wines, who have created an entire franchise on one celebrity identification theme based on a play on words - Marilyn Merlot featuring the iconic starlet Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn Wines holds an exclusive agreement with the estate of Marilyn Monroe for the use of the name and the images in their wine marketing and packaging.

The brand is the creation of Bob and Donna Holder of Rutherford in Napa Valley, who initially crafted a homemade Merlot back in 1983 using some purchased grapes and some grapes from the Holder property. They started selling their wine and created the brand.  In the early days, they purchased bulk wine, then, in 1997, they shifted from purchasing bulk wine to purchasing grapes. The wine is made at the Napa Wine Co. in Oakville, CA.

Marilyn Wines has extended the brand to a broad portfolio of labels based on Marilyn Monroe. In addition to Marilyn Merlot, they also produce Marilyn Meritage, Sauvignon Blond, Marilyn Cabernet and Norma Jean, a lesser label with 'younger' second label grapes. The brand has grown further with the release of Marilyn Merlot Rose and Marilyn Monroe Chardonnay.

Of course the most famous or notable iconic collector series is Mouton Rothschild. A study in wine branding and marketing at some point invites a discussion of art label series featuring original or reproductions of notable art or artists on the wine labels. No wine producer in the world captures the imagination or attention of wine collectors and wine art enthusiasts more than Mouton Rothschild with their annual artist series artist featured wine labels.

Each year a renowned artist is commissioned to do the artwork for that vintage. The featured artist is said to be paid ten cases of various vintages of the classic Chateau Mouton Rothschild for their work. Every collector dreams of collecting a 'vertical' collection (wines of multiple vintages of the same wine) of the classic premium First Growth Bordeaux to display the 'artwork' of Mouton.

My Winesite Label Library lists the Mouton Rothschild Label Library Series Artists and associated works by the artists for reference or to aid in further exploration or research of the library and its history.

As with Mouton Rothschild, I've assembled a portfolio of Marilyn labels in my label library on my winesite. 

The 2016 vintage release of Marilyn Merlot this annual feature label just appeared this week in stores in the Chicagoland market.  They also just released Norma Jeane, the 21st vintage of the Norma Jeane.

Playing on the name of the famous cinema starlet, Marilyn Monroe, the marketers at Nova Wines have  built the brand on an annual release of moderate priced Merlot varietal featuring an authentic Marilyn Monroe photo on the label. What might have started out as a whimsical or even corny idea has turned into a fun wine that has an almost cult following in some precincts of collectors.

The producer tries to maintain a delicate balance and moderate the hype of the collectability of the wine and the valuation of bottles over time versus the novelty and fun of the wine. It appears they've earnestly worked to improve the pedigree and quality of the product to produce a wine more worthy of and capable of long (er) term cellaring by sourcing from notable vineyard sources and producing a Red Bordeaux varietal blend. As such, the release price of the wine has crept up in recent years as well. This year's release price is $36 however the 'street price' still remains at the traditional price point in the $25 to $28 range.

The producer site says, "Each new vintage of Marilyn Monroe Merlot sells out quickly. While collectors have made Marilyn Monroe Merlot one of the fastest-appreciating wines on the market, it is wine enthusiasts with a sense of humor who have long enjoyed the playful spirit behind Marilyn Merlot wines that are now also seeking the Marilyn Monroe Merlot because of the emphasis on making a notable wine from prized Napa Valley grapes. While the concept and engaging label of these wines has given these bottles a degree of fame, it is the wine in the bottle that merits the enthusiasm of those who seek it out every year.'

"This wine is every bit as special as its package," says Donna Holder, one of the owners of Marilyn Wines. "It is a must for collectors, but is also a Napa Valley Merlot that stands beautifully on its own."

The producer promotes highly escalated prices for vintage bottles of the label asking high prices that far exceed the pedigree of the wine, explicable only due to the marketing/branding of the label collection. I know of one reputable wine shop in a mid-size midwestern city that until recently held a 1985 Marilyn Merlot that they were offering at $3500.

I've assembled a portfolio of Marilyn labels in my label library on my winesite. And, I admit I've collected a 'vertical' collection of the wine and am still holding what now spans fifteen vintages. Indeed, we drank a dozen year old 2006 recently and it was drinking quite nicely. We do have fun gifting these wines to friends for suitable occasions, great for those not into the wine so much, but taken by the clever packaging. The Marilyn Merlot label is now in its 32nd year.

The 2016 vintage release is a blend of 91% Merlot and 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, all from Napa Valley. The Vineyard source for the fruit in the 2016 vintage release wine is primarily from grapes from Andy Beckstoffer’s Missouri Hopper vineyard near Oakville with a supporting cast of vineyard sources in Napa Valley including merlot from St. Helena and Cabernet Sauvignon from St. Helena and Oak Knoll appellations.


The iconic photograph adorning the label for this 2016 release was taken by photographer Milton Greene of Marilyn Monroe in September, 1953. It features a extraordinary close-up photo of Marilyn in a large green sweater.

The Winemaker's Notes for this vintage: The 2016 Marilyn Merlot is a rich scarlet hue with purple tones that immediately catch one’s eye as it is poured in the glass. The aromas exhibit a complexity of characters, including but not limited to, cherries, cinnamon, plums, juniper berries and hints of mocha. This merlot has wonderful structure and weight on the palate, is well balanced with suitable tannins for aging. The flavors amplify the aromas with added nuances of tart, rich, blackberries, and vanilla. Very enjoyable now but will improve with 4-7 years of aging.

Try it and enjoy the novelty as well as the grape juice. Have fun with wine. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2720220

https://www.marilynwines.com/

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Télégramme 2015

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Télégramme 2015

I picked up the latest available release of this label in preparation for our visit to the estate in our upcoming trip the end of this month. We visited Vieux Télégraphe during our trip to Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Southern Rhone River Valley back in 1998 and are eager and looking forward to return. We hold Vieux Télégraphe wines dating back to the early 1980's. 

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe has been run by the Brunier family for five generations dating back to 1891. The estate’s vineyards average 60 years of age on the Plateau of La Crau, a site known for growing Châteauneuf-du-Pape grape varietals.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC appellation rules allow a combination of thirteen different grape varietals to be included in the blend. CDP wines are also known for their famous 'crossed keys' in the bottle above the label as shown on the right.

The estate is named for the telegraph towers that sat on the site dating back to the early visual signal towers that were invented and deployed as far back as 1792. Lines of relay towers were built within line-of-sight of each other at distances of 5–20 miles. Tower operators would watch adjacent towers through a spyglass for signals produced by mechanical shutter arms and would pass the message on to the next tower. These early systems were faster and less expensive than horse drawn riders. These lines were a precursor of the electrical telegraph which would replace them half a century later.

At the end of the Second World War, fourth generation Henri Brunier revived the estate enlarging the Domaine to 136 acres, and developing the classic “Vieux Télégraphe” Châteauneuf-du-Pape brand and style of wine with its full dimension and minerality. His son's Frédéric and Daniel have been tending to the family business since the earlyl 1980's. They now farm 247 acres in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC area, and 49,5 acres of IGP Vaucluse and AOC Ventoux vines.

The estate wines are known for their distinctive terroir signature of predominant minerality from filtering through the thick layer of large pebbles left behind when the Alpine glaciers melted, long before the Rhône Valley formed.

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Télégramme 2015

This is the second label of Vieux Télégraphe. It is a blend of Chateauneuf varietals - 80% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 6% Mourvèdre, and 4% Cinsault, from vines that average 30 years of age.

Garnet colored, medium bodied, an interesting layer of smokey 'bourbon' tones accented by notes of clove spice, subtle hints of cassis, black peppar and metallic on a sharp moderate tannin finish.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2621304

http://www.vieux-telegraphe.fr/en/

Château Léoville Las Cases 1985

Château Léoville Las Cases 'Grand Vin de Leoville' Saint-Julien Bordeaux 1985

For a special milestone achievement event by son Sean, we pulled from the cellar a signature wine from his birthyear for a simple intimate family celebration.

Not only is this one of our perennial favorite revered labels from a Bordeaux 'super second' producer, but we're going to visit the Château during our upcoming trip to Bordeaux later this month.

In 1976, the 1971 vintage of Las Cases ranked number six among the ten French and California red wines in the historic "Judgment of Paris" wine competition.

According to our tasting notes, we last opened this vintage release just a couple weeks short of sixteen years ago. We also served this wine from large format six liter Imperial bottles from the 1981 birthyear vintage for our daughter Erin's wedding celebration a dozen years ago.

Château Léoville Las Cases 'Grand Vin de Leoville' Saint-Julien Bordeaux 1985

Amazing life left in this, considering the bottle showed minor seepage and a completely saturated cork reducing the fill level to mid-high shoulder. Even with a two pronged cork puller, the last 1/4 inch of the cork broke off. I could've saved it had I been more cautious and less deliberate in its removal.

This is a classic Bordeaux Blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot.

Deep garnet colored with a slight hint of orange bricking, medium-full bodied, elegant, complex but nicely integrated dark berry and black cherry fruits with notes of floral violets, tobacco, oak and hints of graphite, cigar box and leather on a tangy black cherry lingering finish of supple smooth, polished tannins. Over the course of the evening, it opened more and more to reveal layers of floral and fruits and accents.

This wine got 98 points from Wine Spectator who called it "A fabulous wine; one of the first great Las Cases.", 94 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, and 95 points Wine Advocate's Neal Martin.

RM 94 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4819

Hungry Blonde Chardonnay L'Ecole Semillon Fiora Geneva

Hungry Blonde Chardonnay and L'Ecolle Columbia Valley Semillon with Crabcakes and Scallops Al Fresco at Fiora Restaurant Geneva

We took a trip out to Geneva to visit friend Kay Z and had a delightful lunch at Fiora Restaurant in its rustic charming landmark building and al fresco patio setting.

Fiora was voted by patrons as the 'Best Restaurant' in the Fox River Valley.

Linda had the Seared Scallops and I ordered the Maryland Crabcakes.

Linda had the Seared Scallops with Chili Lime, smashed avocado and tropical corn salsa for her entree (below). From the BTG (By-The-Glass) winelist she had a glass of the Hungry Blonde Chardonnay.

Hungry Blonde Carneros Napa Valley Chardonnay 2015

Produced by iconic Cary Gott, the fruit for this captivating Chardonnay comes from the Poe Vineyard, which sits adjacent to the world renowned Hyde Vineyard in the Carneros appellation at the bottom of Napa Valley near San Pablo Bay. 

Wow, what a find in a BTG offering. Unapologetically bold, Hungry Blonde’s Napa Valley Chardonnay makes no excuses for being made in a rich and buttery style that defines classic California Chardonnay to the fullest. Jeb Dunnuck, former critic for Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate gave this 92 points and wrote, “the 2015 Chardonnay Hungry Blond offers a rock-star Chardonnay experience .... at 30 bucks it’s a killer value.”

Butter colored, full bodied, bold, bright delectable full forward flavors of buttered citrus, honeysuckle, peach, smoky sweet hazelnut and hints of caramel.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2926167

For my entree I had the Maryland Crab Cakes with remoulade sauce, served over sautéed spinach, with estate salad tossed in citrus vinaigrette dressing (below). To accompany this I ordered from the winelist, BTG L’ECole No. 41 Sémillon.

L’Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Sémillon 2017

We stopped by the L'Ecole Winery in Louden, WA during our Walla Walla AVA Wine Experience last fall. 

Three generations are involved in the winery managed by Marty Clubb, Managing Winemaker and Co-Owner with his wife, Megan, and children, Riley and Rebecca.  The family-owned artisan winery was founded by Megan’s parents, Jean and Baker Ferguson, in 1983.  

Marty, along with Norm McKibben (Pepper Bridge Winery) and Gary Figgins (Leonetti Cellar) were early viticulture pioneers in the Walla Walla Valley.  In 1997, they partnered to begin the 170 acre expansion of Seven Hills Vineyard.  In the mid-2000s, they partnered once again in the adjacent 1,800 acre vineyard development, SeVein, home to L’Ecole’s newest Estate Ferguson Vineyard. In addition to the Estate Ferguson and Estate Seven Hills Vineyards, Marty works with over 30 vineyards' growers throughout the Columbia Valley.  

This is a blend of 85% Sémillon and 15% Sauvignon Blanc. Fruit for this label is sourced from the Columbia Valley Klipsun, Rosebud, Stillwater Creek, Lodmell and Seven Hills vineyards.

Light straw colored, light medium bodied, bright vibrant melon, pear and citrus fruits with balanced acidity, layers of honeysuckle, honeydew melon, and lemongrass persist with a clean, crisp finish.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3006438

https://www.lecole.com/

https://twitter.com/lecole41

https://www.fioras.com/