Tag Archives: Angelus

Top Instagram Accounts to Follow for Bordeaux En Primeur

Amber LeBeau in Bordeaux, General, Wine critics

Published on April 3, 2019

The 2018 Bordeaux en primeur tastings are going on right now. The event brings hundreds of journalists, critics and buyers to the Bordeaux region to taste barrel samples of the nascent vintage. The reviews and assessments written during this period help set the tone of the 2018 futures campaign that will be kicking off in the next few weeks.

My all-time favorite Bordeaux futures score.

As anyone that follows this blog knows, I’m an avid buyer of futures each year. I’ve been keeping tabs on the en primeur posts from several of my favorite writers on Twitter and Instagram. But this year I’ve discovered a few new accounts worth following as well.

Below I’ve created a list of the best accounts that I’ve enjoyed following during en primeur so far.

My criteria

What I look for in an Instagram account worth following is content beyond just bottle porn. I want to learn something about the estates, people and vintage that I can’t easily get from a wine book or magazine.

Yes, tasting note and impressions of a wine can be compelling but these wines are going to change dramatically by the time I can get a chance to try them. Beyond just someone’s tasting notes, I want to get a feel of the place and these spectacular events they’re attending.

Artistic picture quality can help. There are a few of the “new discoveries” that made this list on the merits of having some eye-catching photography. But, mostly, I compiled this list based on the content of the posts and how much edification I get from following them.

Old Favorites

Jane Anson (jane.anson)

Anson is the chief Bordeaux critic for Decanter and, in my opinion, is one of the best in the business. Her reviews are must-reads for anyone looking to purchase Bordeaux futures. They give you so much more than just a tasting note and score–often painting a bigger picture of the year and the estate’s efforts. She is also one of my top Women in Wine Twitter accounts to follow.

My favorite En Primeur insta so far: This photo of a swag gift of vine prunings from Ch. Phélan Ségur. Bonus points for the cat.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown (lisapbmw)

A Master of Wine, Perrotti-Brown is the editor-in-chief of Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate and it’s head Bordeaux critic. She is most certainly one of the tastemakers of Bordeaux but what I really respect is how down to earth her posts feel. Like Anson, she is one of my top Women in Wine Twitter accounts to follow.

My favorite En Primeur insta so far: This photo of some of the strangest amphorae that I’ve ever seen at Ch. Les Carmes Haut-Brion.

Jeff Leve (jeff_leve)

Screen shot of Jeff Leve’s Instagram page.

Whether you are Bordeaux newbie or a connoisseur, Jeff Leve’s The Wine Cellar Insider should absolutely be one of your bookmarks. The amount of free content and details about nearly every single Bordeaux estate that is on that site is superb. I don’t think a single one of my 2017 Bordeaux futures posts last year failed to include some great insight or quote from Leve.

My favorite En Primeur insta so far: This photo from Ch. Latour Martillac that follows Leve’s style of giving compelling background on an estate’s effort in 2018 along with his tasting notes. Bonus points for the expression on the chocolate lab’s face.

Chris Kissack (chris_kissack)

Kissack is a longtime fixture on the blogosphere who first launched his Wine Doctor site back in 2000. Back in my early Wikipedia wine writing days, his site was one of my favorite resources to check facts on. But, admittedly, I haven’t been following him much outside of social media since he took his site behind a paywall.

My favorite En Primeur insta so far: This photo of some of the frost prevention equipment used in Bordeaux vineyards.

New Discoveries

Will Lyons (mrwill_lyons)

Lyons writes for The Sunday Times and has been previously featured in the Wall Street Journal.

My favorite En Primeur insta so far: This photo from La Conseillante of winemaker Marielle Cazaux next to one of the estate’s amphorae–which is apparently the en vogue thing right now in Bordeaux.

Magnus Ericsson (ericssonmagnus)

Ericsson is an editor and writer for the Swedish wine website Winefinder.
.
My favorite En Primeur insta so far: This photo and background tidbits about the Vignobles Comtes von Neipperg’s wine Le Blanc d’Aiguilhe. Very intriguing!

Magnus Olsson (bythebotti)

Olsson is a winebuyer for Winefinder.

My favorite En Primeur insta so far: This collage of some his favorite right bank estates in 2018 and the intriguing tidbit about the role that Cabernet Franc is playing in this year’s wines. Given my great love for Cab Franc (especially on the Right Bank at places like Angelus), that news made my heart soar.

Dunell’s Wines (dunellswines)

Screenshot of Dunell’s Wines’ Instagram page.

Dunell’s is a family-run wine merchant in Jersey.

My favorite En Primeur insta so far: This photo of bud break in Sauternes and the charming comparison of Ch. Sigalas-Rabaud’s Le 5 to Lillet Blanc.

Wine Owners (wineowners1)

Wine Owners is a management and trading platform for wine collectors that features over 16,000 users in 19 countries.

My favorite En Primeur insta so far: The horses of Ch. Pontet-Canet and some interesting commentary on the potential motivation of PC’s glowing review of the vintage.

Courtier du Vin (courtierduvin)

Courtier du Vin is a private wine management firm based in France. While there is some interesting content here, their inclusion was mainly driven by some of the lovely and artistic photos on their feed.

My favorite En Primeur insta so far: The perspective and lighting in this pic of the flowers at Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou brightened my entire IG feed and has been my absolute favorite of the week so far.

Any Favorites That I Missed?

Post them down in the comments below. I’m always looking for great content and accounts to follow.

Subscribe to Spitbucket

Geek Notes — Grape Radio Episode 391 Interview with Hubert de Boüard of Ch. Angélus

Amber LeBeau in Bordeaux, Geek Notes

Published on October 10, 2018

I’m getting ready to teach a class on Bordeaux so I’ve been getting my geek on with Bordeaux-themed podcasts. I found lots of great material from this 2015 episode of Grape Radio (44:43) featuring interviews with Hubert de Boüard of Château Angélus in Saint-Emilion and Angus Smith, Grand Maitre of the US chapter of the Commanderie de Bordeaux.

I don’t know when I’ll get a chance to do Geek Notes write up on them but Levi Dalton’s I’ll Drink To That! had two more great Bordeaux episodes that I really enjoyed. Check them out!

Episode 388 with Decanter’s Jane Anson. REALLY good stuff that’s worth listening to two or three times because of all the great info. Anson is one of my favorite wine writers and her writings are worth the subscription to Decanter’s premium content alone.

Episode 350 with Alexandre Thienpont of Vieux Château Certan and François Thienpont of Le Pin in Pomerol. The difference in their approach is fascinating. Also Erin Scala gives a great overview of the lasting impact of the 1956 frost in St. Emilion.

Some Background

Angélus is my absolute favorite Bordeaux estate. While I obviously can’t afford to drink it everyday, I do make sure that I nab at least one bottle as a future each year to enjoy at a special dinner down the road. Even though vintages average around $300-400, I actually think Angélus is relatively undervalued compared to other top growths in Bordeaux like the First Growths of the Medoc, Cheval Blanc and Petrus.

While I enjoyed my evening with Petrus, I would take 6 to 7 bottles of Angélus over a second bottle in a heart beat.

I haven’t done a full geek-out post on Angélus yet (oh but its coming) so I will direct folks to Jeff Leve’s awesome write up of the property on his The Wine Cellar Insider site as well as this geeky little blurb from the Grape Radio episode page:

The estate has been owned by the Boüard de Laforest family since the Domaine de Mazaret was bequeathed to Comte Maurice de Boüard de Laforest in 1909, and expanded by the acquisition of Clos de L’Angélus in 1926 and a plot from Château Beau-Séjour Bécot in 1969. The name refers to the three Angelus bells audible from the vineyards. — Grape Radio, June 9th 2015

While the terroir is top notch, I do think a lot of Angélus success is because of Hubert de Boüard’s viticulture and winemaking style. Which means if you are looking for better price points, some of his other properties like Château La Fleur de Boüard in Lalande de Pomerol (Ave $35), Chateau Bellevue in Saint Emilion (Ave $56), Chateau de Francs in Cotes de Bordeaux (Ave $14) and consulting clients are good places to look.

Among his consulting clients, a few of my favorites are:

I would put the quality of Ch. Lanessan on par with many 4th and 5th growths.

Ch. Grand Corbin in St. Emilion (Ave $33)
Ch. de Ferrand in St. Emilion (Ave $45)
Ch. Vieux Château Palon in Montagne-Saint-Emilion (Ave $30)
Ch. La Pointe in Pomerol (Ave $47)
Ch. de Chantegrive in Graves (Ave $28)
Ch. Fieuzal in Pessac-Léognan (Ave $48)
Ch. Grand Puy Ducasse in Pauillac (Ave $51)
Ch. Lanessan in Haut-Medoc (Ave $24)

The 2015 vintages for several of these (the Vieux Château Palon, Chategrive and Lanessan in particular) are exceptional values for the money and well worth stocking up on.

There is also a second and third wine for Angélus, Le Carillon de l’Angelus (Ave $103) and Number 3 d’Angelus (Ave $52), but I haven’t had an opportunity to try either.

Some Fun Things I Learned From This Podcast

(2:11) Hubert de Boüard talks the signature role that Cabernet Franc plays in the wines of Angélus. While the estate has less Cab Franc than Cheval Blanc, it still accounts for 47% of plantings. In most years the grape makes up around 40-50% of the blend. Side note: Really interesting to compare de Boüard’s view of Cab Franc to the Thienponts who don’t seem as enthralled with the variety.

(2:55) He goes further into how this high proportion of Cab Franc differentiates Angélus from other Merlot-dominant St. Emilion wines. While it also plays a prominent role in Cheval Blanc, the sandy gravel soils of that property give it a different personality than the clay-limestone soils of Angélus.

(6:00) The second wine, Le Carillon, is made from both dedicated blocks and declassified Angélus fruit.

(7:26) Brian Clark asks how the style of Angélus has evolved over the years. Hubert de Boüard talks about the influence of his university studies and Émile Peynaud on adding a more scientific approach to winemaking.

It often seems like Cabernet Franc is the forgotten “third wheel” of the Bordeaux blend behind Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Even Petit Verdot is starting to get more attention.

(9:20) Jay Selman brings the topic back to Cabernet Franc and notes how some people love the variety and some hate it. (Put me on the love side) Hubert de Boüard highlights the importance of ripeness and good soil which allows the grape to show its spicy and velvet side.

(10:27) Cab Franc is not favored on the Left Bank because it tends to be more green when grown in their gravelly soils. It often ends up in the second labels of Medoc and Grave producers.

(10:54) Really fascinating description of the “crescent” (or croissant?) of ideal soils for Cabernet Franc that begin with Ch. Lafleur next to Petrus in Pomerol then Certan (Vieux Château Certan? Certan de May? Certan Giraud?) into St. Emilion with Cheval Blanc, Angélus and Ausone. The key is clay but too much is too much because the soils will be too cold. The clay needs to be balanced with a warmer top soil of limestone, gravel or sand. To de Boüard, Cabernet Franc is very Pinot noir-like in needing the right balance of conditions to shine.

(12:18) Cab Franc vines need at least 20 years of age and low crop yield to perform best.

(13:20) At Angélus around 17% of the Cabernet Franc vines are at least 70 years of age.

(14:30) Hubert de Boüard talks about the classification of St. Emilion which is VERY interesting to listen to in light of recent news. One interesting note he does make is the importance of evaluating the land in St. Emilion’s classification versus just the winery’s brand with the 1855 classification.

(18:50) Eric Anderson asks about what would happen if a winery gets demoted in the St. Emilion classification. Surprisingly, instead of answering “hire lawyers” de Boüard gives the example of Beau Séjour Bécot and how the Becot family responded to their 1986 demotion.

I know de Boüard thinks the 2001 is better but man was this 2000 Angélus a sexy, sexy wine.

(19:50) Brian Clark asks about top vintages in Bordeaux. I got a chuckle out of Hubert de Boüard’s response “The best one is the one we didn’t sell.” Wondering if he’s thinking about the Woeful ‘7s’? More seriously, de Boüard notes how the reputation of a vintage on the Left Bank sometimes overshadows how the year was on the Right Bank. He gives the example of the 2000 vintage which was great on the Left Bank but overshadows the more superior Right Bank vintage of 2001.

(21:30) It’s unfortunate that consumers get obsessed with the “expensive vintages” de Boüard says. He highlights years like 2001 and 2006 as years that consumers can get great value. With this interview taking place in mid-2015, I wonder if de Boüard would include years like 2012 & 2014 in those “great buy” vintages once they reach the age of 2001/2006.

Interview with Angus Smith of Commanderie de Bordeaux

(27:29) Here the interview switches to a description of the dinners of the Commanderie de Bordeaux and details about the organization. Essentially this is a not-so-secret society of wine lovers dedicated to advocating Bordeaux wines across the globe.

Historically, the Commanderie had been open to just men and their spouses. Thankfully, that looks to be changing with some chapters, like the Chicago chapter, opening up their membership to women. The DC chapter even had a women hold the title of chapter head, or Madame Le Maitre, with Bette A. Alberts.

When this episode first aired in 2015, I emailed the head of the Seattle chapter and got no response. So I don’t know if women are allowed in this chapter. Frankly, I think it is ridiculous to even let this be a chapter by chapter decision. I understand the nature of private clubs and the privilege they have in deciding their membership. But its 2018 and having gender-based restrictions on wine clubs is beyond silly.

(36:56) Jay Selman asks about decanting with a good discussion that follows. Smith and de Boüard seem to be fans of a few hours and double decanting. At Brian Clark’s chapter of the Commanderie they tend to do a blanket 3 hour decant on all wines–outside of very old vintages.

(39:43) Smith and de Boüard argue against putting the cork back into the bottle after double decanting. With this the cork is often put in upside down with the wine stained side facing out. This means that the side that was exposed to dirt and dust is now inside the bottle and potentially contaminating the wine. But beyond that, de Boüard sees little need to recork the wine at all after decanting.

(40:31) A shout-out to decanting white wines. This is something that I don’t do myself but I can see the benefit–especially with whites seals with screw-caps which can be very reductive on opening.

(40:56) A discussion about what is it about older wines that are appealing to wine drinkers. One good point I like from this discussion is how people’s definition of “older wines” varies from person to person.

Subscribe to Spitbucket

Why I Buy Bordeaux Futures

Amber LeBeau in Bordeaux, Shopping for Wine

Published on July 11, 2018

As folks who have been following my on-going series examining the offers from the 2017 Bordeaux Futures campaign have noticed, I enjoy playing the Futures Game.

But I understand that this is a game–one where I’m gambling money on today in hopes of future pleasure in the years to come.

Though while I have a gambler’s heart, just like when I’m playing the Somm Game in Vegas, I like to hedge my bets and get the cards stacked in my favor.

When it comes to buying Bordeaux Futures, I have one solid rule that I never waver from.

Buy for pleasure, not for investment.

Like the stock market, you can certainly “invest” in buying Bordeaux wines with the goal of selling or trading them at a higher value. Of course, there are some legal gray areas that are worth paying attention to and David Sokolin’s Investing in Liquid Assets is a great read for anyone interested in dipping their toes in that area.

But I’m not looking to make a profit. I just want to get a good deal on something that I will enjoy drinking at some point. If I lock in the price of a bottle as a future that ends up saving me $20 versus buying it later on a retail shelf, I’m a happy camper.

By not hoping for the price to skyrocket after purchasing it as a futures (and buying only 1 to 3 bottles for personal consumption), I’m able to keep my expectations grounded and realistic.

However, there are certainly times when Bordeaux’s notorious fickleness and pricing does end up giving me a really good deal that I kick myself for not buying more of.

Case in point-2015 Ch. Margaux.

I purchased a single bottle of this wine back in June 2016 for $519.97. I don’t have the wallet to often buy multiple bottles of First Growth Bordeaux or many other estates that regularly fetch $200+ a bottle but a bottle here and there when the vintage and price is right is something I can afford to do.

Lest anyone doubt the price I originally paid for the 2015 Margaux from Total Wine & More’s Concierge service.

I knew 2015 was a very solid year and one worth bulking up my cellar with from both the value end to some of the top crop. With Margaux being one of my favorite estates, it was worth buying at that price as well as a bottle of their second wine, Pavillon Rouge, for $134.97.

The wine had some nice barrel scores during the 2015 en primeur season like 95-98 points from Antonio Galloni of Vinous, 98-100 from Neal Martin (then of Wine Advocate) and 19/20 by Jancis Robinson.

While I don’t personally ascribe much weight to critic scores, I do read the tasting notes for tidbits about the vintage and general style of the year. But the numbers themselves are virtually meaningless to me. I’ve drank 100 point wine and I’ve drank 94 point wine and derived the same amount of pleasure–not to mention many excellent 88-92 point wines.

Then Came The Jump

But I’m very cognizant about the impact of critic scores on the pricing of Bordeaux so when I’m on the fence about a futures purchase, I do weigh how much the price could potentially jump once the bottle scores are released.

So while I certainly expected to see the price of the 2015 Margaux rise above $519.97 (like to maybe around the $994 ave of the 2005), I have to admit that I wasn’t quite expecting this.

100 points Jeb Dunnuck.
100 points Jane Anson of Decanter.
100 points James Suckling.
100 points Jeff Leve of The Wine Cellar Insider.
100 points Roger Voss of Wine Enthusiast.
99 points Lisa Perrotti-Brown of Wine Advocate.
99 points Antonio Galloni of Vinous.
99 points James Molesworth of Wine Spectator.

And now we have the 2015 Ch. Margaux averaging $1,643 a bottle–more than $1100 above what I originally paid for it as a 2015 Bordeaux Futures.

YIKES!

Yeah, I wish I had bought at least one more bottle.

Other Good Futures Deals I’ve Gotten

While I certainly don’t expect anything from the current 2017 campaign to jump as crazy high as the 2015 Margaux, I still think there is enough consistent savings and value that merit buying futures even in vintages like 2017. But as evident with my 2017 series of posts, I do a heck of a lot of research and decision making before putting my money down on the table.

It’s a lot of work, but to me it’s worth it to get solid deals like this:

2015 Pavillon Rouge — Futures price $134.97, now averaging $233
2015 Valandraud — Futures price $139.97, now averaging $186
2015 Pape Clement — Futures price $76.97, now averaging $120
2015 Malescot St. Exupery — Futures price $47.97, now average $74
2014 Mouton Rothschild — Futures price $299.97, now averaging $517
2014 Angelus — Futures price $219.97, now averaging $297
2014 Canon — Futures price $59.97, now averaging $92
2014 Prieure-Lichine — Futures price $29.97, now averaging $48
2013 Lascombes — Futures price $44.97, now averaging $74
2013 Rauzan-Segla — Futures price $49.97, now averaging $68
2012 Clos Fourtet — Futures price $76.49, now averaging $98

Subscribe to Spitbucket

Bordeaux Futures 2017 — Carruades de Lafite, Pedesclaux, Pichon Lalande, Reserve de la Comtesse de Lalande

Amber LeBeau in Bordeaux, Shopping for Wine

Published on July 6, 2018

We are heading back to Pauillac to look at the offers for Carruades de Lafite–the second wine of Ch. Lafite-Rothschild–the 5th Growth Ch. Pedesclaux, the 2nd Growth Ch. Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande and their wine second wine–Reserve de la Comtesse de Lalande.

In our previous forays to this highly regarded Left Bank commune we looked at the 2017 Bordeaux Futures offers for Lynch-Bages, d’Armailhac, Clerc-Milon and Duhart-Milon as well as that of the 5th Growth Ch. Haut-Batailley in the very first post of this continuing series covering the 2017 campaign.

You can check out the links at the bottom of the page to see more offers that we’ve explored.

Carruades de Lafite (Pauillac)

Some Geekery:

Carruades de Lafite is the second wine of the legendary First Growth, Ch. Lafite-Rothschild. First introduced in the 1850s during the period of “the Vandelberghe Mystery” ownership, Lafite helped pioneered the practice of producing a second cuvée to compliment the Grand Vin.

However, in practice the designation was used sparingly for the next 100 years till the Rothschild family reintroduced the wine in the 1960s as Moulin de Carruades–named after a parcel of vineyards on the Carruades plateau that was first acquired by the estate in 1845. Located near the chateau, most of the fruit from these prime plantings actually end up in the Grand Vin instead of their namesake wine.

Château Lafite-Rothschild

Instead, Carruades de Lafite (renamed in the 1980s) gets its fruit from selected parcels designated for Carruades as well as some younger vines from the 112 ha (277 acre) vineyards of Lafite since vines less than 20 years of age are never used for the Grand Vin of Lafite. All the vineyards of Lafite are farmed organically and sustainably with some parcels farmed biodynamically.

Since 2016, Eric Kohler has overseen the winemaking of Lafite and its second wine. Prior to taking over as technical director, Kohler was in charge of the Domaines Barons de Rothschild estate of Domaine d’Aussieres in Languedoc as well as their South American properties–Vina Los Vascos in Chile and Bodegas Caro, their joint-venture project with the Catena family in Argentina.

In 2017, Jean Guillaume Prats (of Cos d’Estournel and LVMH fame) was named president of Domaines Baron Rothschild with Saskia de Rothschild, daughter of Baron Eric de Rothschild, joining as chairwoman in 2018.

The 2017 vintage is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. Around 20,000 cases of the second wine are made each year.

Critic Scores:

92-93 James Suckling (JS), 91-93 Wine Enthusiast (WE), 90-93 Vinous Media (VM), 90-92 Wine Advocate (WA), 89-90 Jeff Leve (JL)

Sample Review:

The 2017 Carruades de Lafite is quite deep and fleshy at the outset. Black cherry, plum, lavender and rose petal are pushed forward in this dark, racy second wine from Lafite-Rothschild. Deep, textured and beautifully resonant, the 2017 has a lot to recommend it. This is a strong showing. Like many of his colleagues, Technical Director Eric Kolher opted for gentle extractions and incorporated a relatively high amount of press wine (14%) into the blend. — Antonio Galloni, Vinous

Offers:
Wine Searcher 2017 Average: $225
JJ Buckley: No offers yet.
Vinfolio: No offers yet.
Spectrum Wine Auctions: No offers yet.
Total Wine: $189.97 (no shipping with wines sent to local Total Wine store for pick up)
K&L: $229.99 + shipping (no shipping if picked up at 1 of 3 K & L locations in California)

Previous Vintages:
2016 Wine Searcher Ave: $275 Average Critic Score: 91 points
2015 Wine Searcher Ave: $323 Average Critic Score: 91
2014 Wine Searcher Ave: $329 Average Critic Score: 91
2013 Wine Searcher Ave: $322 Average Critic Score: 89

Buy or Pass?

The vineyards of Ch. Lafite circa 1900-1920.

Since I haven’t had the opportunity to taste any previous vintages of Carruades de Lafite or Lafite-Rothschild, my instinct in a vintage like 2017 is to pass in favor of buying wines that I have a personal track record with.

But damn is this 2017 offer tempting–especially with Total Wine’s offer that is more than $30 less than the Wine Searcher average and only requires a payment of 50% ($104.87) upfront. I had to triple check it just to make sure that I had the price right.

While I don’t personally buy Bordeaux futures as investments, there is no doubt that the price of this wine is going to continue to rise. Besides 2016, you have to go back to 1984 (WS Ave $243) to find a vintage of Carruades de Lafite that is averaging less than $300 a bottle with several vintages (2005, 1992, 1991) averaging over $400 a bottle.

This is another head vs heart battle except it’s my heart telling me to stick with the 2017 wines that I know I will personally enjoy drinking while my head is telling me to look at these hard numbers and go with what looks like a very solid buy. I’m going to have to ponder this a bit more but right now I’m leaning towards Buy for maybe a bottle or two.

Ch. Pedesclaux (Pauillac)

Some Geekery:

Ch. Pedesclaux is a relatively young estate that was founded in the early 19th century by Pierre Urbain Pedesclaux who purchased land near Ch. Grand-Puy-Lacoste and d’Armailhac.

A well-connected negociant family (Edmond Pedesclaux was one of the brokers who helped craft the original 1855 classification), the Pedesclauxs owned the estate until 1891 when it was sold to the Comte de Gastebois. The next several decades saw years of neglect until Lucien Jugla of Ch. Colombier-Monpelou purchased the property in 1950. Jugla and his heirs carried out extensive replanting in the vineyards and it was during this time that the vineyards of Pedesclaux became very Merlot-dominant.

In 2009, the Jugla family sold Pedesclaux to Jacky Lorenzetti who owned the St. Estephe Cru Bourgeois of Lillian Ladouys and in 2013 acquired a 50% interest in the Margaux 3rd Growth Ch. d’Issan.

In addition to his Bordeaux estates, Jacky Lorenzetti is also president of the Rugby club Racing Métro 92 based in the Paris suburb of Nanterre.

Under Lorenzetti, optical sorting was introduced and Vincent Bache-Gabrielsen was brought on to manage the property. The amount of Cabernet Sauvignon in the vineyards have steadily increased as additional parcels next to Ch. Lafite and Mouton-Rothschild have been acquired to go with other plots of enviable terroir close to Lynch-Bages

The estate still has significant amount of Merlot planted with 48 ha (119 acre) estate planted to 48% Merlot, 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc. However, most of the Merlot is used in the estate’s second wine, Fleur de Pedesclaux, with many vintages of that wine being 90% Merlot and the 2012 vintage being 100% Merlot.

The 2017 vintage of Ch. Pedesclaux is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. Around 9000 cases a year are produced.

Critic Scores:

93-95 WE, 93-94 JS, 90-92 VM, 89-91 WA, 88-91 Wine Spectator (WS), 90-92 JL

Sample Review:

The nose pops with black currant, tobacco leaf, licorice, cedar and forestry aromatics. On the palate, the wine displays freshness in the fruits and cream on the tannins. Medium/full bodied with a lot of black and red fruits, which carry through to the endnotes, this has both charm and age ability. The higher percentage of Cabernet adds complexity and character to the wine. — Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider

Offers:
Wine Searcher 2017 Average: $42
JJ Buckley: No offers yet.
Vinfolio: No offers yet.
Spectrum Wine Auctions: No offers yet.
Total Wine: $44.97
K&L: $41.99 + shipping

Previous Vintages:
2016 Wine Searcher Ave: $48 Average Critic Score: 92 points
2015 Wine Searcher Ave: $50 Average Critic Score: 91
2014 Wine Searcher Ave: $44 Average Critic Score: 90
2013 Wine Searcher Ave: $37 Average Critic Score: 89

Buy or Pass?

I’ve only had a couple opportunities to taste Pedesclaux–all from vintages during the Lorenzetti era–but I haven’t been terribly impressed. The wines weren’t offensive at all, but I was hard-pressed to justify their price versus the value being delivered by their sister estate of Lillian Ladouys from the same vintages in the $25-35 range.

The potential of the terroir is undoubted so this estate is certainly worth keeping an eye on and revisiting. But for the same price I’m more incline to revisit the 2014 and Pass on buying futures of the 2017. I will, however, likely pick up some bottles of the 2017 Lillian Ladouys (WS Ave $20) when they hit retail shelves in 2020.

Pichon Lalande (Pauillac)

Some Geekery:

What is now Ch. Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande and its neighboring estate, Ch. Pichon Longueville Baron, were first planted in the 1680s by Pierre de Mazure de Rauzan who also owned the large Rauzan estate in Margaux.

His daughter, Thérèse, married the Baron Pichon de Longueville in 1694 and received the property as part of her dowry. Clive Coates notes in Grand Vins that during the early 18th century, the quality of the Pichon Longueville estate was of high repute, second only to that of Latour in the commune.

Upon the death of Baron Joseph de Pichon Longueville in 1850, the property was divided between his 5 children with his two sons receiving the portion that would become Ch. Pichon Baron and his three daughters– including Virginie, the Comtesse de Lalande–inheriting what would become Ch. Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande.

Ch. Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

The property would stay in the hands of the sisters and their heirs until 1925 when it was sold to Edouard and Louis Miailhe. The Miailhe brothers expanded the vineyard holdings of the estate and planted significant acreage of Merlot. Edouard’s daughter, May-Eliane de Lencquesaing inherited the property in 1978 and would go on to take Pichon Lalande to high levels of success and recognition.

In 2007, she sold the property to the Rouzaud family of the Champagne house Louis Roederer where it is today part of a portfolio that includes the Bordeaux estates of Chateau de Pez and Ch. Haut Beausejour in St. Estephe as well as Chateau Reaut la Graviere in Lalande-de-Pomerol as well as managing interest in many other properties across the globe.

Since 2012, Nicolas Glumineau (formerly of Ch. Montrose) has been in charge of winemaking with Jacques Boissenot and Hubert de Boüard (of Ch. Angelus fame) as consultants.

Located on the Gironde side of the D2 highway, most of Pichon Lalande’s 89 ha (220 acres) are located next to Ch. Latour and Pichon Baron with some parcels close to Lynch-Bages. The estate also owns 11 ha of vineyard land in St. Julien that neighbor the vineyards of Léoville-Poyferré and Léoville-Las-Cases. Because these vines were historically used in the wines Ch. Pichon-Lalande before the 1855 classification, they are still permitted to be used in the Grand Vin or second wine of the estate.

All the vines are farmed sustainably with several hectares being farmed 100% organic. Since 2014, Pichon Lalande has been experimenting with biodynamics with Vincent Masson consulting.

The 2017 vintage is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. Around 15,000 cases a year are produced.

Critic Scores:

95-97 WE, 95-96 JS, 94-96 WA, 93-95 VM, 92-95 WS, 96-98 JL, 93-95 JD

Sample Review:

If you just taste the big name Pauillacs, you would be hard-pressed to understand that 2017 has been a challenging year. This is one of my wines of the vintage, no question. It’s from 21ha, biodynamically farmed, with Vincent Masson as consultant. Just a few plots further away from the river were affected by frost. The slight austerity of 2017 is evident, with a savoury quality to the fruit, but this is exceptionally good, with plenty of stunning fruit and well defined tannins. The aromatics are very refined, and the intense cassis fruit doesn’t sacrifice any intensity or power. It demonstrates the energy that Comtesse has displayed so consistently in recent vintages, with gorgeous finesse and structure to the tannins. The new cellar has raised the level of Cabernet from 65% to 70+%, with 12% press wine. This is going to age extremely well. (94 points) — Jane Anson, Decanter

Offers:
Wine Searcher 2017 Average: $125
JJ Buckley: $129.94 + shipping (no shipping if picked up at Oakland location)
Vinfolio: $129.00 + shipping
Spectrum Wine Auctions: $749.94 for minimum 6 bottles + shipping (no shipping if picked up at Tustin, CA location)
Total Wine: $124.97
K&L: $126.99 + shipping

Previous Vintages:
2016 Wine Searcher Ave: $189 Average Critic Score: 95 points
2015 Wine Searcher Ave: $172 Average Critic Score: 95
2014 Wine Searcher Ave: $119 Average Critic Score: 94
2013 Wine Searcher Ave: $114 Average Critic Score: 91

Buy or Pass?

Pichon Lalande is one of my favorite estates and virtually an automatic buy every year. While the prices have been steadily raising, I always believe that the quality and value they deliver out performs many “Super Seconds”.

Unquestionably age-worthy, I appreciate the versatility in the estate’s style to deliver approachable pleasure in its youth in both stellar (2005, 2010) and rougher vintages (2011, 2013). While I may end up keeping this bottle longer than my ideal “cellar defender” role of 5 to 7 years, I see little reason to not think that this consistency will continue.

With prices in line with the very delicious 2014, this is a definite Buy for me.

Reserve de la Comtesse de Lalande (Pauillac)

Some Geekery:

Château Pichon-Longueville-Lalande circa 1900-1920.

Ch. Pichon Lalande produced its first second wine to compliment their Grand Vin in 1874. However, like Lafite and their second wine, the designation was only used sparingly until Reserve de la Comtesse de Lalande was introduced for the 1973 vintage.

While it can include fruit from any of Pichon Lalande’s holdings (including their St. Julien vines), a consistent component of the Reserve de la Comtesse de Lalande has been parcels located in the commune of Ste. Anne near the 5th Growth Ch. Batailley.

The 2017 vintage is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Around 6,000 cases a year are produced.

Critic Scores:

92-93 JS, 90-92 VM, 88-90 WA, 89-91 JD, 89-91 JL

Sample Review:

The second wine of Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, the 2017 Réserve de la Comtesse is a final blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Still aging in roughly 40% new French oak, it has a medium-bodied, rounded, moderately concentrated profile to go with classic Pauillac lead pencil, tobacco leaf, and assorted earth dark fruits. It’s balanced, charming and already approachable. — Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com

Offers:
Wine Searcher 2017 Average: $42
JJ Buckley: No offers yet.
Vinfolio: No offers yet.
Spectrum Wine Auctions: $251.94 for minimum 6 bottles + shipping
Total Wine: $42.97
K&L: $42.99 + shipping

Previous Vintages:
2016 Wine Searcher Ave: $48 Average Critic Score: 90 points
2015 Wine Searcher Ave: $49 Average Critic Score: 91
2014 Wine Searcher Ave: $42 Average Critic Score: 89
2013 Wine Searcher Ave: $40 Average Critic Score: 88

Buy or Pass?

While I adore the Grand Vin of Pichon Lalande, and am usually quite pleased with the value of most seconds wines, I will confess that the Réserve de la Comtesse has never really wowed me. For whatever reason, this is one second wine that has always felt decidedly “second best”.

It’s likely that as Pichon Lalande has been steadily increasing the amount of Cabernet Sauvignon in their vineyard, the fruit of these young vines have been making their way to this second wine–and that may contribute to the harshness and hollowness that often characterize my notes of the Réserve de la Comtesse. There are plenty of other more compelling buys in the same price range that makes this a Pass for me.

More Posts About the 2017 Bordeaux Futures Campaign

Why I Buy Bordeaux Futures

*Bordeaux Futures 2017 — Langoa Barton, La Lagune, Barde-Haut, Branaire-Ducru

*Bordeaux Futures 2017 — Pape Clément, Ormes de Pez, Marquis d’Alesme, Malartic-Lagraviere

*Bordeaux Futures 2017 — Lynch-Bages, d’Armailhac, Clerc-Milon and Duhart-Milon

*Bordeaux Futures 2017 — Clos de l’Oratoire, Monbousquet, Quinault l’Enclos, Fonplegade

*Bordeaux Futures 2017 — Cos d’Estournel, Les Pagodes des Cos, Phélan Ségur, Calon-Segur

*Bordeaux Futures 2017 — Clinet, Clos L’Eglise, L’Evangile, Nenin

*Bordeaux Futures 2017 — Malescot-St.-Exupéry, Prieuré-Lichine, Lascombes, Cantenac-Brown

*Bordeaux Futures 2017 — Domaine de Chevalier, Larrivet Haut-Brion, Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Smith Haut Lafitte

*Bordeaux Futures 2017 — Beychevelle, Talbot, Clos du Marquis, Gloria

*Bordeaux Futures 2017 — Beau-Séjour Bécot, Canon-la-Gaffelière, Canon, La Dominique

*Bordeaux Futures 2017 — Vieux Chateau Certan, La Conseillante, La Violette, L’Eglise Clinet

*Bordeaux Futures 2017 — Montrose, La Dame de Montrose, Cantemerle, d’Aiguilhe

*Bordeaux Futures 2017 — Clos Fourtet, Larcis Ducasse, Pavie Macquin, Beauséjour Duffau-Lagarrosse

*Bordeaux Futures 2017 — Kirwan, d’Issan, Brane-Cantenac, Giscours

Subscribe to Spitbucket

Bordeaux Futures 2017 — Beau-Séjour Bécot, Canon-la-Gaffelière, Canon, La Dominique

Amber LeBeau in Bordeaux, Shopping for Wine

Published on July 1, 2018

After covering the 2017 Bordeaux futures offers of Clos de l’Oratoire, Ch. Monbousquet, Ch. Quinault l’Enclos and Ch. Fonplegade in our first visit to St. Emilion, we return now to look at the offers for the Premier Grand Cru Classé ‘B’ estates of Ch. Beau-Séjour Bécot, Ch. Canon-la-Gaffelière and Ch. Canon as well as the Grand Cru Classé estate of Ch. La Dominique.

While we are 10 entries deep into this series, first time visitors are always well-advised to check out the the first Bordeaux Futures 2017 post covering the offers of Palmer, Valandraud, Fombrauge and Haut-Batailley that gives an overview of what we are looking for here at SpitBucket in deciding on whether to Buy or Pass on these 2017 offers.

You can also check out the links at the bottom to see other offers that we have reviewed in this series.

Now onto the offers.

Ch. Beau-Séjour Bécot (St. Emilion)

Some Geekery:

The Ancient Romans were one of the first to cultivate vines in what is now Beau-Séjour Bécot more than 2000 years ago. During the Middle Ages the property came under the stewardship of the monks of Saint-Martin de Mazerat who also managed what is now Ch. Canon.

The exterior of Beau-Séjour Bécot.

Stephen Brook notes in The Complete Bordeaux that eventually the property came under the ownership of the Lord of Camarsacs. In 1722 when the daughter of one of the lords married into the Carles de Figeac family, the estate was given to the new couple as dowry.

One of their descendants, General Jacques de Carles renamed the property Beauséjour (meaning “good stay”) in 1787. By the early 1800s, Clive Coates describes in Grand Vins that the large estate was ranked highly in prestige in St. Emilion just behind Ch. Belair, Troplong-Mondot, Ch. Canon and Ausone.

In 1869, the estate was split between the heirs of Pierre-Paulin Ducarpe with his son getting the half that is today Beau-Séjour Bécot and his daughter, who married into the Duffau-Lagarosse family, inheriting the part that is now Ch. Beauséjour Duffau-Lagarrosse. In 1955 both estates were classified as Premier Grand Cru Classé ‘B’.

The Bécot family, who already owned Ch. La Carte, purchased Beau-Séjour in 1969–affixing their name and later expanding it with their holdings at La Carte and acquiring the nearby Trois Moulins vineyard. However, the use of these other vineyard plots in the Grand Vin of Beau-Séjour Bécot was not previously approved by the governing authority of the St. Emilion classification so in 1986 the estate was demoted to Grand Cru Classé.

With the aid of consultant Michel Rolland, the Bécots worked 10 years to improve the vineyard quality of the new parcels and agreed not to use any parcels deemed inferior by the authorities for the Grand Vin. When the 1996 classification was released, Ch. Beau-Séjour Bécot was restored to its Premier Grand Cru Classé ‘B’ ranking.

The author touring the estate with Caroline Bécot.

Today the property is still in the hands of the Bécot family with Juliette Bécot managing the estate alongside Julien Barthe. In 2018, Michel Rolland left as consultant and was replaced by Thomas Duclos.

The 2017 vintage is a blend of 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Around 6000 cases are produced each year.

Critic Scores:

93-96 Wine Spectator (WS), 93-95 Wine Enthusiast (WE), 93-94 James Suckling (JS), 92-94 Wine Advocate (WA), 91-93 Vinous Media (VM), 93-95 Jeff Leve (JL), 91-94 Jeb Dunnuck (JD)

Sample Review:

Coming from an incredible terroir located on the limestone plateau just outside the village, the 2017 Château Beau-Séjour Bécot is a medium-bodied, refined, incredibly elegant 2017 that offers awesome notes of crème de cassis, crushed violets, earth, and a saline-like minerality. Winemaker Thomas Duclos compares the 2017 to 2012, saying the wines will put on weight in barrel as well in bottle. Their 2017 is a fresh, vibrant wine and has tons of potential. The blend is 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon, with the Merlot brought in from the 14th to the 22nd of September, and the Cabernets on October 28 and 29. The wine will spend 16 months in 65% new French oak, with the balance in stainless steel, amphora, and larger oak. — Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com

Offers:
Wine Searcher 2017 Average: $58
JJ Buckley: $59.94 + shipping (no shipping if picked up at Oakland location)
Vinfolio: No offers yet.
Spectrum Wine Auctions: No offers yet.
Total Wine: $59.97 (no shipping with wines sent to local Total Wine store for pick up)
K&L: $59.99 + shipping (no shipping if picked up at 1 of 3 K & L locations in California)

Previous Vintages:
2016 Wine Searcher Ave: $74 Average Critic Score: 93 points
2015 Wine Searcher Ave: $77 Average Critic Score: 93
2014 Wine Searcher Ave: $59 Average Critic Score: 91
2013 Wine Searcher Ave: $57 Average Critic Score: 90

Buy or Pass?

Compared to its peers in the Premier Grand Cru Classé tier, the wines of Beau-Séjour Bécot have always struck me as solid (if not slightly underrated) values.

The 2011 was very tight in 2016 and is still slowly starting to come out of its shell.
This makes me think that the 2017 is a wine that will probably need a good 10+ years itself.

My esteem for the estate rose even more during my 2016 visit to the region where I was also introduced to Juliette Bécot’s very delicious Joanin Bécot label from her Cotes de Castillon estate. Both the 2012 and 2015 of that label have been screaming good values under $30 that I eagerly seek out at retail stores and on restaurant wine lists.

While the 2017 will be a compelling buy for many Bordeaux fans, my only hitch is that my past experiences with the wines of Beau-Séjour Bécot have taught me that these wines need time in the cellar and rarely deliver much pleasure early in their life. While that is great for “cellar investment” years like 2015/2016, that is not my objective for futures buying with the 2017s.

So I will Pass on this offer even though it is a solid buy. However, I will certainly be buying some of the 2017 Joanin Bécot when it hits retail stores in 2019/2020.

Ch. Canon-la-Gaffelière (St. Emilion)

Some Geekery:

Canon-la-Gaffelière is a relatively young estate that was previously known as Canon Boitard (after an early 19th century owner) and La Gaffelière-Boitard with La Gaffelière coming from the medieval term for “lepers” and denoting the area’s previous history as part of manor grounds for a hospital that treated leprosy. Eventually the two names were combined in the 19th century to its current incarnation of Ch. Canon-la-Gaffelière.

The modern history of the estate began in 1971 when Count Joseph Hubert von Neipperg purchased the property from Pierre Meyrat, a former mayor of St. Emilion. In 2012, the estate was promoted to Premier Grand Cru Classé ‘B’.

Stéphane Derenoncourt, the consultant behind the von Neipperg wines, has a very distinctive style.

Today von Neipperg’s son, Stephan, manages the estate along with fellow Premier Grand Cru Classé ‘B’ La Mondotte as well as Clos de l’Oratoire, Ch. Peyreau, Ch. d’Aiguilhe in Cotes de Castillon, Clos Marsalette in Pessac-Léognan, the Sauternes Premier Cru Ch. Guiraud, Capaia in South Africa and Bessa Valley in Bulgaria.

Stéphane Derenoncourt is the longtime consultant who early on began Canon-la-Gaffelière’s conversion to organic viticulture with the estate being 100% certified organic in 2014.

The 2017 vintage is a blend of 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Around 5000 cases a year are produced.

Critic Scores:

94-95 JS, 91-93 WA, 90-93 WS, 92-95 VM, 93-95 JL, 92-94 JD

Sample Review:

The 2017 Canon La Gaffelière is superb. Compelling in its aromatics and overall balance, the 2017 has so much to offer. All the elements simply fall into place. As is the case with all of Stephan von Neipperg’s wines, the 2017 is wonderfully fresh and nuanced, with less muscle than in the past and noticeably more finesse. Bright floral and mocha notes add lift to the dark red stone fruits. What a gorgeous wine this is. Tasted two times. — Antonio Galloni, Vinous

Offers:
Wine Searcher 2017 Average: $75
JJ Buckley: $79.94 + shipping
Vinfolio: No offers yet.
Spectrum Wine Auctions: $467.94 for minimum 6 bottles + shipping (no shipping if picked up at Tustin, CA location)
Total Wine: $78.97
K&L: $79.99 + shipping

Previous Vintages:
2016 Wine Searcher Ave: $92 Average Critic Score: 93 points
2015 Wine Searcher Ave: $99 Average Critic Score: 94
2014 Wine Searcher Ave: $83 Average Critic Score: 92
2013 Wine Searcher Ave: $73 Average Critic Score: 91

Buy or Pass?

If you pay attention to Wine Spectator’s yearly Top 100 list, few names appear more frequently than Canon-la-Gaffelière which has been ranked #7 (2014 vintage, 2017 list), #2 (2010 vintage, 2013 list), #23 (2009 vintage, 2012 list) and #95 (2008 vintage, 2011 list) in the last 7 years. To say that Canon-la-Gaffelière has been on a roll lately is an understatement.

When you can buy 3 bottles of Canon-la-Gaffelière for the price of 1 bottle of Opus One and get something of very similar style and quality (if not better), it’s a no-brainer for me.

As I noted in my review of Clos de l’Oratoire’s 2017 futures offer, I find the style of Derenoncourt and von Neipperg to be very “New World-ish” so I always evaluate the pricing of their wines on the scale of equivalent priced Napa wines more so than other Bordeaux.

Compared to wines like Opus One, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Silver Oak, Duckhorn and Caymus, I find that there is virtually no contest in the value that Derenoncourt and von Neipperg’s Bordeaux wines provide in delivering lush, hedonistic power for much more compelling prices.

And the wines always seem to be reliably approachable for early consumption. While, on the flip side, I tend to avoid buying Canon-la-Gaffelière and Clos de l’Oratoire in stellar vintages where I’m looking for more classic and age-worthy Bordeaux, these wines fit the bill perfectly for the “cellar defender” role I’m seeking out of vintages like 2017. That makes them an easy Buy, especially when the prices are right.

Ch. Canon (St. Emilion)

Some Geekery:

This photo was taken in the limestone caves of Beau-Séjour Bécot but through here you can access the caves of Ch. Canon which is only separated by a gated door.

Like neighboring Beau-Séjour Bécot, Ch. Canon was once an ecclesiastical vineyard ran by the monks of Clos St. Martin in the 1700s. It was during this period that much of the extensive limestone caves that still connect Beau-Séjour Bécot, Ch. Canon and Clos Fourtet were quarried out with the limestone used to build many chateaux in the Libournais.

The estate was known as Domaine de Saint-Martin in 1760 when it was purchased by Jacques Kanon, a privateer from Dunkirk who served as a lieutenant in the Royal Marines during the Seven Years’ War and earned his fortune from looting and piracy. However, the name of the domaine did not change to Ch. Canon until 1853 when it was owned by the descendants of Raymond Fontemoing who purchased Domaine de Saint-Martin from Kanon in 1770.

The Fontemoing family already owned the famous Chateau Canon in the Canon-Fronsac area which Clive Coates notes in Grand Vins was fetching the highest wine of any Libournais wine in the late 18th century.

The Fontemoings wanted to avoid confusion between their two properties and kept them separate until the wines of St. Emilion began earning more prominence on the market. By the mid 1850s, the newly rechristened Ch. Canon was ranked among the top 4 estates of St. Emilion alongside Ausone, Belair and Magdelaine.

The modern history of Ch. Canon was kick started in 1996 when the estate was sold by the Fournier family to the Wertheimer brothers, Alan and Gerard, who owned the luxury brand Chanel. Today it is part of a portfolio that includes the Margaux 2nd Growth Rauzan-Ségla, Ch. Berliquet in St. Emilion and St. Supéry in Napa Valley as well as the negociant firm Ulysse Cazabonne.

Under the Chanel Group’s ownership, significant capital was invested into replanting the vineyards and renovating the cellars. John Kolasa was brought on to manage Ch. Canon (as well as the other Bordeaux estates) where he stayed till 2015 when he was succeeded by Nicolas Audebert who formerly managed the LVMH Argentine project of Cheval des Andes. Thomas Duclos was also brought on that year as a consultant.

The vineyards of Ch. Canon.

The vineyards of Ch. Canon are smack dab in the heart of St. Emilion’s famous limestone plateau with additional parcels on the slopes neighboring Angelus and Ch. Quintus. In recent years, the owners have acquired Chateau Matras and Chateau Cure Bon with the INAO permitting some of the hectares from Cure Bon to be used in the Grand Vin.

The 2017 vintage is a blend of 73% Merlot and 18% Cabernet Franc. Around 6,000 cases a year are produced.

Critic Scores:

94-96 WA, 93-96 WS, 94-95 JS, 93-95 WE, 92-94 VM, 94-97 JD, 94-96 JL

Sample Review:

Another successful year for Canon; not as voluptuous as in 2016 or 2015, but it has a wonderful salinity and a crisp, fresh curl to the fruit. They aim for crystalline flavours, vibrant fruit and a sense of forward motion, and for me it has that again this year. The flavours of blueberries, blackberries and soft, smoky almonds are drawn out through the palate, and by the time it has finished you are ready to go again. It has an austerity that is overridden by the juice, not quite overriding the vintage, but it’s a delicious wine that again showcases the beauty of limestone. 50% new oak. Thomas Duclos is consultant here, and it really is a great year for the estates that he works with. (94 points) — Jane Anson, Decanter

Offers:
Wine Searcher 2017 Average: $94
JJ Buckley: $95.94 + shipping
Vinfolio: $96.00 + shipping
Spectrum Wine Auctions: $581.94 for minimum 6 bottles + shipping
Total Wine: $94.97
K&L: $94.99 + shipping

Previous Vintages:
2016 Wine Searcher Ave: $153 Average Critic Score: 95 points
2015 Wine Searcher Ave: $271 Average Critic Score: 96
2014 Wine Searcher Ave: $91 Average Critic Score: 92
2013 Wine Searcher Ave: $66 Average Critic Score: 91

Buy or Pass?

I’ve never been very impressed with John Kolsa’s style at Ch. Canon (or Rauzan-Ségla for that matter) so this is an estate that is usually not on my radar. I will say that the 2014 Canon was intriguing at the 2017 UGC Bordeaux tasting though. Given that that year’s wine was finished and bottled by Audebert and Duclos, I may have reason to give Canon another look.

But 2017 is not a vintage I’m using for revisiting or taking flyers on new estates and winemaking teams. Looking at the price history of the last 4 vintages of Canon, I won’t deny that there is clearly value here in the 2017 pricing and I can see this being a very compelling offer for other Bordeaux fans. I’m just more incline to be cautious which is leading me to Pass on buying this as a future.

Ch. La Dominique (St. Emilion)

Some Geekery:

Ch. La Dominique

Ch. La Dominique is named after the Caribbean island of Dominica where the estate’s 18th century owners also had property.

The modern history of the estate began in 1933 when it was purchased by the de Bailliencourt family who own Ch. Gazin in Pomerol. The de Bailliencourts sold La Dominique in 1969 to billionaire Clément Fayat who made his fortune in the construction industry. Today it is part of a portfolio that includes Ch. Clément-Pichon in Haut-Médoc and Ch. Fayat in Pomerol.

In 2007, Fayat brought in Jean-Luc Thunevin (of Château Valandraud fame) to consult. He also purchased nearby Ch. Vieux Fortin, merging their 5 hectares of vines into La Dominique’s holding. The estate is experimenting with biodynamic viticulture.

Located in the western end of St. Emilion on the border with Pomerol, La Dominique has exceptional terroir neighboring Cheval Blanc and Ch. Figeac in St. Emilion as well as La Conseillante and L’Evangile across the way into Pomerol. From the rooftop of their restaurant, La Terrasse Rouge located among their vineyards, you can see the vineyards of Ch. Petrus as well.

The 2017 vintage is a blend of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Around 7000 cases a year are produced but with significant frost damage experienced in 2017, production this year is likely closer to 3500 cases.

Critic Scores:

92-94 WE, 92-93 JS, 90-93 WS, 89-91 VM, 91-93 JL

Sample Review:

70% frosted so they had more Cabernet Sauvignon (10%) and Cabernet Franc (20%) in 2017. This is 50% of production. Inky dark with purple rim. Dark, rocky/mineral fragrance. Juicy and scented on the palate, with some red as well as black fruit. Super-polished tannins that are a fine framework for the fruit. Refined, not over-oaked. Long. (17/20 points) — Julia Harding, JancisRobinson.com

Offers:
Wine Searcher 2017 Average: $57
JJ Buckley: No offers yet.
Vinfolio: No offers yet.
Spectrum Wine Auctions: No offers yet.
Total Wine: $59.97
K&L: No offers yet.

Previous Vintages:
2016 Wine Searcher Ave: $62 Average Critic Score: 92 points
2015 Wine Searcher Ave: $58 Average Critic Score: 92
2014 Wine Searcher Ave: $51 Average Critic Score: 91
2013 Wine Searcher Ave: $41 Average Critic Score: 89

Buy or Pass?

The restaurant also had a killer collection of vintage Armagnacs.

Visiting the vineyards of La Dominique and their La Terrasse Rouge restaurant was one of the highlights of my 2016 Bordeaux trip. This site truly has remarkable potential but not a single one of their wines really left any kind of impression.

While I adore Thunevin’s work at his own personal estate of Valandraud and his consulting work at Fleur Cardinale, I have a hankering suspicion that the business goals of La Dominique are more geared towards tourism than necessarily raising the quality of their wines above other Grand Cru Classé. And with pricing closer to 2015/2016 levels than 2014 this is an easy Pass for me.

More Posts About the 2017 Bordeaux Futures Campaign

Why I Buy Bordeaux Futures

*Bordeaux Futures 2017 — Langoa Barton, La Lagune, Barde-Haut, Branaire-Ducru

*Bordeaux Futures 2017 — Pape Clément, Ormes de Pez, Marquis d’Alesme, Malartic-Lagraviere

*Bordeaux Futures 2017 — Lynch-Bages, d’Armailhac, Clerc-Milon and Duhart-Milon

*Bordeaux Futures 2017 — Clos de l’Oratoire, Monbousquet, Quinault l’Enclos, Fonplegade

*Bordeaux Futures 2017 — Cos d’Estournel, Les Pagodes des Cos, Phélan Ségur, Calon-Segur

*Bordeaux Futures 2017 — Clinet, Clos L’Eglise, L’Evangile, Nenin

*Bordeaux Futures 2017 — Malescot-St.-Exupéry, Prieuré-Lichine, Lascombes, Cantenac-Brown

*Bordeaux Futures 2017 — Domaine de Chevalier, Larrivet Haut-Brion, Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Smith Haut Lafitte

*Bordeaux Futures 2017 — Beychevelle, Talbot, Clos du Marquis, Gloria

*Bordeaux Futures 2017 — Carruades de Lafite, Pedesclaux, Pichon Lalande, Reserve de la Comtesse de Lalande

*Bordeaux Futures 2017 — Vieux Chateau Certan, La Conseillante, La Violette, L’Eglise Clinet

*Bordeaux Futures 2017 — Montrose, La Dame de Montrose, Cantemerle, d’Aiguilhe

*Bordeaux Futures 2017 — Clos Fourtet, Larcis Ducasse, Pavie Macquin, Beauséjour Duffau-Lagarrosse

*Bordeaux Futures 2017 — Kirwan, d’Issan, Brane-Cantenac, Giscours

Subscribe to Spitbucket

Why I Don’t Use Scores

Amber LeBeau in Wine critics, Wine reviews

Published on April 4, 2018

My 60 Second Wine Reviews are a regular feature that gives me a chance to geek out about various wines. But while I deliver a “Verdict” at the end of each review, I also leave a glaring omission.

I don’t give a numerical score.

It’s not that I’m morally opposed to using the 100 point scale popularized by Robert Parker and Wine Spectator or the 20 point scale favored by Jancis Robinson and UC-Davis. I regularly look at scores by those publications and use them as tools in researching wines.

But I think they’re useless for me to give out.

A 7 Point Scale

When I first started using CellarTracker, I got into the habit of rating wines numerically but soon discovered a disturbing trend. While in theory, I had 100 points to divvy out, in truth, I was really only working on a scale of 87-94.

If the wine was well made but not my style, 90-91 points. If it had some issues then 87-89. For wines I liked it was 92-93. If it blew me away then a 94.

For some reason, I just couldn’t rate anything above 94. I always felt like there was the potential for something else to come along to raise the bar—even though I’ve enjoyed some fantastic wines over the years.

Trust me, I’m a professional drinker.

The 1996 Chateau Margaux? 94 points.
The 2010 Angelus? 94 points.
The 2005 Quilceda Creek? 94 points.
The 2012 Chappellet Pritchard Hill? 94 points.
The 1970 Taylor Vintage Port? 94 points.
The 1996 Champagne Salon? 94 points.

This is not a slight on any of those wines. They all deserved the much higher scores that they got from professional critics. But for me, even though I richly enjoyed them and felt that I got more than my money’s worth with each, there was still that mental and emotional barrier that didn’t want to go higher than 94 points.

It’s silly but isn’t trying to quantify all the nuances of wine a fool’s errand anyway?

And truthfully when it comes playing the fool (and doing it well), we can’t all be a Falstaff, Stanczyk, Claus Narr or James Suckling.

I Rate With My Wallet

And I believe that most wine drinkers do the same.

While we might sometimes indulge our inner Robert Parkers with scoring, I would wager that most of the time when we evaluate a wine, we judge it on if we got enough pleasure to merit the cost of what we paid. It’s human nature to expect more from a $100 bottle of wine than a $10 bottle and that is the approach I take with each wine I taste.

I view the cost of each bottle as a potential investment in pleasure and I seek a solid return on my investment.

94 points but well worth splurging on to try at least once in your life.

And it is my investment as my wife and I personally buy more than 90% of the wines (and whiskeys) that I review on this blog whether it be the 2006 Petrus, 20 year Pappy Van Winkle, Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Rosé or the Groth, Pegau CdP, etc. A few times even at restaurant markups!

Now some wines like the 2007 Poisot Romanée-Saint-Vivant and the wines featured in my Walla Walla Musings post, I do get to taste at tastings open to industry/media. I often get my tasting fees waived at wineries for being in the industry. But with each wine, I always default back to the question of “Would I pay $$ to purchase this wine?”

If I taste it blind and don’t know the cost, I ascribe a price point that I feel would be a good value if I was buying the wine.

But unlike Robert Parker, Jancis Robinson, James Suckling and the like, I’m not trying to be a professional wine critic or consumer advocate. I’m just a geek who likes to drink.

I rate wines on my personal scale of if I think they’re worth spending money on. I do that ultimately because that’s what I’m interested in. Do I want to buy this wine (again)? Just as other folks have their own tastes, people also have their own scale of value.

That’s perfectly fine and, frankly, is the reason why I put the “Verdict” section at the very bottom of each review. My opinion is just my opinion and, besides, it’s really the “Geekery” section where you’ll find the good stuff anyways.

Subscribe to Spitbucket

Petrus — The Super Bowl of Wine

Amber LeBeau in Bordeaux, Wine reviews

Published on March 11, 2018

I finally got a chance to try one of my bucket list wines–a bottle of 2006 Petrus from Pomerol. My wife and I originally bought it for our early December wedding anniversary, but then I got a cold, so we shelved that idea.

We were going to open it up for Christmas Eve, but another cold hit. So we decided to hold off till we both were 100% healthy and entirely on point with our tasting sensibilities before cracking into this baby. My tasting notes (and whether I think it is worth the cost) are below after a bit of geeking.

The Geekery

What makes Petrus, Petrus?

As Clive Coates notes in Grands Vins: The Finest Châteaux of Bordeaux and Their Wines, the phenomenon of Petrus as a cult wine for Bordeaux lovers is a relatively new creation. As recently as the post World War II years leading up to 1955, the wine merchant Avery’s of Bristol had exclusive rights to buy up virtually all available allocations of Petrus–which it usually did–but would struggle to find buyers.

While there is some evidence of winemaking at the estate dating back to the 1750s, the first recorded mention of Petrus can be found in the 1837 notebooks of the merchant house Tastet and Lawton. Here the estate was owned by the Arnaud family and considered the third best property in Pomerol behind Vieux Château Certan and Trotanoy. In pricing, it fetched far less than the top estates of the Medoc and only a third of the top estates of St. Emilion such as Ch. Belair. But its reputation for quality was soon to be discovered, as David Peppercorn noted in his work Bordeaux. At the 1878 Paris Exhibition Petrus won a gold medal–becoming the first wine from Pomerol to earn such an achievement.

The fortune (and pricing) of Petrus began to change in the 1920s when its owner, M. Sabin-Douarre, started selling shares of Petrus to the proprietor of his favorite restaurant in Libourne, l’Hotel Loubat. The restaurant’s owner, Madame Loubat, continued purchasing shares from Sabin-Douarre until she was the sole owner of Petrus.

The Loubat and Moueix Era

When my wife and I were in Bordeaux, we drove around for at least 40 minutes through Pomerol trying to find Petrus. We kept passing by the property. It was so unassuming and not what we expected.

Stephen Brook notes, in The Complete Bordeaux, that at this point Petrus was being priced on par with the Second Growths of the Medoc. However, Mme. Loubat wanted everyone to know the high quality of Petrus and began demanding higher prices.

In 1943, she hired Jean-Pierre Moueix as the sole agent in charge of not only distribution of her wine but also production. Soon Petrus was never priced below the acclaimed Premier Grand Cru Classé ‘A’ estate of Cheval Blanc. It was also beginning to rival the First Growths of the Medoc.

Moueix started out owning Ch. Fonroque in St. Emilion before beginning his négociant business–mostly to help sell his estate wine. When Mme. Loubat passed away in 1961, she bequeathed Moueix a single share of Petrus while splitting the rest between her niece and nephew. Over the next few years, Moueix gradually bought out Loubat’s heirs and assumed full ownership of Petrus by 1969.

Today the Moueix family owns several estates in Bordeaux including Trotanoy, La Fleur-Pétrus, Hosanna, Latour à Pomerol, La Grave, Lafleur-Gazin and Ch. Lagrange in Pomerol; Ch. Bélair-Monange and Clos La Madeleine in St. Emilion as well as Dominus, Napanook, Othello and Ulysses in Napa Valley.

The Blend (or lack thereof)

While historically Petrus has kept a small parcel of Cabernet Franc on the property, they have been gradually replacing them all with Merlot. The 2006 vintage I tasted was 100% Merlot.

Why So Expensive?

The grounds of Petrus with vineyards to the right. The weather was gorgeous the week we were there, with it only raining on our last night, so we didn’t get to experience the muddy clay sticking to our shoes.

Petrus certainly has distinctive and unique terroir. Wine writer Oz Clarke describes it in his work Bordeaux as “…one of the muddiest, most clay-clogged pieces of land my shoes have ever had the ill luck to slither through.”

Petrus sits on a “button-hole” of blue muddy clay which covers a subsoil of gravel that is followed underneath by a virtually impenetrable layer of hard iron-rich crasse de fer. The soil is around 40 million years old compared to the 1 million-year-old gravel soils surrounding the Pomerol plateau. The dense, hard smectite clay causes the vine to struggle as its roots cannot penetrate deep. However, the soil amply retains moisture. This trait becomes invaluable during warm years and dry summer months when the risk of hydraulic stress is high. As Jeff Leve of The Wine Cellar Insider notes, there is no other wine producing region in the world that has this soil structure.

There are about 50 acres of this unique soil in Pomerol.

While neighboring estates like Vieux Château Certan, La Fleur-Pétrus, La Conseillante and L’Evangile have some parcels featuring this terroir, Petrus is the only estate exclusively planted on this soil with 28+ ha. Additionally, Petrus is located on the top of this gently sloping button-hole which allows for better drainage during wetter years.

The vines of Petrus are relatively old with some parcels dating back to 1952. The root systems of other parcels are even older because of (interestingly enough) the 1956 frost that devastated the Right Bank. It killed nearly 2/3 of Petrus’ vines. However, Mme. Loubat refused to replant completely and instead attempted the untested technique of recépage. She ordered her workers to graft the new vines onto the established root-stock. The move was criticized by viticulturists and other estate owners who thought that these vines would only produce for a few vintages. However, decades later these vines are still viable.

High Priced and Labor Intensive Viticulture

I wasn’t brave enough to go up and touch the building.

The Moueix family spares no expense when it comes to tending the vines, with severe yield restrictions of 32 to a max of 45 hl/ha (3 tons an acre) with some years going as low as 17.5 hl/ha. In contrast, many well-regarded estates frequently harvest at 60-70 hl/ha.

If inopportune rains hit close to harvest, Moueix will rent a helicopter to hover over the vines and dry them off. In 1992, they covered the entire vineyard in plastic sheeting to avoid excess moisture seeping into the ground. They wanted to avoid any chance of the rain plumping up the berries and diluting flavors.

Like with top Sauternes, harvest is done at Petrus on a berry by berry basis with vineyard workers manually picking the individual grapes off the vines. These 100% de-stemmed berries are then hand sorted with an optical sorter joining the process only since the 2009 vintage.

Limited Supply and Very High Demand

After fermentation and malo, the wine is aged in 50% new French oak for 18-20 months before going through a rigorous selection process. During this time the winemakers narrow the barrels down to only the very best that will go into the final Grand Vin. Anything that doesn’t meet the grade is sold off as anonymous Pomerol. It’s every Bordeaux insider’s dream to figure out where these “discard barrels” of wine go.

Here is where we ultimately get down to the most significant cost driver. Each year, the estate produces only around 2,500 cases (30,000 bottles) of a single wine.

I honestly don’t think they will ever make gummy bears from Petrus like they do with the 5 million+ bottles of Dom Perignon.

Compare this to the 31,000+ cases of Ch. Latour, the 10,000+ cases of Opus One or even the 5 million+ bottles of Dom Perignon produced virtually every year. The scarcity and high demand mean that so few people will ever get a chance to try this wine. Those that do, unfortunately, have to pay dearly.

The Wine

So how was it? I knew that this was a wine that really should’ve been holding onto for at least 15-20 years and, even then, given a good several hours of decanting. But this was more about sharing a moment with my wife. So we popped it open when she got home and watched it evolve as we cooked and savored dinner.

Pop and pour

Medium intensity nose. Red fruits–plums, raspberry and a little earthy funk that is not defined but intriguing.

Palate has medium-plus acidity, very juicy and fresh, with medium tannins and medium-plus body. The red fruits carry through and then WHOA the mid-palate jumps with an assortment of spice that I will need some time to piece out. Minute and half long finish right now.

After an hour and a half in the decanter

Nose is now medium-plus intensity with the spice notes coming out more with a little herbal thyme. The fruit is also more rich deeper and dark–like Turkish fig and black currants.

The palate is still juicy with medium-plus acidity. The spices are getting a little more defined–making me think of Asian cuisine with tamarind fruit, star anise, coriander seed and pink peppercorn.

After 3 hours

Would St. Peter rob Paul to drink Petrus?

Still medium-plus intensity nose but a little tobacco spice has joined the party. Still has the mix of Asian spice with black currants and a smidgen of eucalyptus. Pretty remarkable how this keeps evolving. Truthfully, I can only imagine how much more evocative this would get if I had the patience and restraint to milk this out over several more hours.

The palate is still incredibly juicy with medium-plus acidity. The wine seems to works against any desire to ration and be restrained. The mouthwatering acidity makes you want to take another sip and then another. The tannins have gotten more velvety at this point. The finish has topped out at about 2 minutes with the cornucopia of spices being the last notes.

The Verdict

So is it worth $2600 (when I got it in November 2017) to now at $3000 a bottle?

Kinda.

It truly is a remarkable wine that enchants you as it continuously evolves in your glass. Not just hour by hour but sip by sip. It’s an experience that I’m quite pleased to have had but, at the same time, it is not necessarily an experience that I feel compelled to ever splurge on again.

As I mentioned in my reviews of the Samuel Adams’ Utopias and the Pappy Van Winkle 20 yr, a lot of the cost (and subsequent pleasure) for these Veblen goods often comes from the hunt to finally acquire them. For me, getting a chance to try a Petrus was a bucket list item–just as jumping out of an airplane and meeting Jancis Robinson is. It is always a thrill to check a bucket list item off.

I’ll also somewhat borrow an analogy from my Behind the Curtain post about wine pricing. In many ways, drinking a wine like Petrus is like attending the Super Bowl.

How much would you pay for one night of entertainment?

With only around 70,000 tickets for a single game each year, how many people in their lifetime get a chance to watch the game in person?

Ask yourself, how much of a premium would you pay for the privilege of attending a game that could very well suck (especially if your team loses)? And what are you really paying for but just a single night of an experience that is over after a few hours? How different is that from sharing a single bottle of wine?

My wife is a native Boston girl who was a Patriots season ticket holder during the crappy years. We finally went to Super Bowl in 2017 when the Pats played the Falcons.

Now compare that to how much you pay to attend a regular NFL playoff game, a regular season game, a college game or even your local Friday night high school game? Of course, you can argue about the potentially superior play of NFL players playing at the pinnacle of their profession but, likewise, you can debate the potentially superior terroir of Petrus, the craftsmanship of Pappy Van Winkle, the uniqueness of Utopias, etc.

The truth of the matter is–no one needs to attend the Super Bowl just like no one needs to try Petrus. There are a lot of great football games at all different levels. Likewise, there are lots of great wines at all different price points. Whether or not it is “worth it” is purely about how much the experience means to you.

For me, they were both worth it.

After attending the Super Bowl once and tasting Petrus once, I treasure both experiences. I am grateful that I had those opportunities.

But I don’t feel like I ever need to do either again. When I think of all the other things I could do for the same costs (travel, enjoy multiple bottles of Ch. Angelus, Ch. Palmer, etc.), I am content to happily check those things off the bucket list and move on to the next experience.

Subscribe to Spitbucket

Top Ten Wines from 2017 Wine Spectator Grand Tour

Amber LeBeau in Wine reviews, Wine Tasting

Published on May 18, 2017

As we wrap up Spitbucket’s 3 part series on the 2017 Wine Spectator Grand Tour in Las Vegas, we come to our grand finale–my Top Ten Wines of the event. Of course this list is entirely limited and subjective. As I mentioned in the first part of this series, it is virtually impossible to try all 244 wines available in just 3 hours. While I thoroughly enjoyed the 68 wines that I did get to try, I undoubtedly missed out on several gems that may have found their way to this list.

Among the wines that I regrettably missed out on:

Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona Brunello di Montalcino Pianrosso 2010 (94 pts. Wine Searcher average price $75)
Graham’s Vintage Port 2000 (98 pts. Wine Searcher average price $98)
Marques de Grinon Domino de Valdepusa Petit Verdot 2011 (93 pts. Wine Spectator list price $40)
Perrier-Jouet Belle Epoque 2007 (93 pts. Wine Searcher average price $143)
Recanti Judean Hills Wild Carignan Reserve 2014 (91 pts. Wine Searcher average price $48)
Anthonij Rupert Cabernet Franc 2009 (92 pts. Wine Searcher average price $77)
Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cask 23 2012 (93 pts. Wine Searcher average price $227)

Now as for my Top 10 list, as frequent readers know I do have a bit of bias towards Bordeaux wines. While the geek in me seeks out tasty treats from across the globe, Bordeaux will always be my most enduring love in the world of wine. So it should not be a surprised that Bordeaux wines account for almost a third of this list with many of the other wines capturing my attention for their “Bordeaux-like” elegance and qualities. Again, this list is completely subjective.

My Top 10 wines of the night:

Adobe Road 2013 Beckstoffer Vineyard Georges III A1-Block Cabernet Sauvignon (94 points. Wine Spectator list price $175)

Still the undoubted wine of the event. Even glancing over my list of missed opportunities, I don’t think any of them would have knocked this 228 case limited release from Adobe Road off the pedestal.

My top wine at the 2017 Wine Spectator Grand Tasting was this Adobe Road Cabernet Sauvignon from the Beckstoffer Vineyard Georges III in Rutherford.

As I described in part 2, this wine was classic Napa but what set it far above its peers that I tasted was the fresh, lively acidity that gave sparks to tongue while the velvety soft and rich fruit was wrapping it up in a kiss. When you are “power-tasting” through a lot of great wine, you find that they start to meld together, making it hard to stand out. Especially in Napa where the check-list seems to be [x] Ripe dark fruit [x] Full-bodied [x] Soft but noticeable tannins and [x] Noticeable oak. It’s easy to check all those boxes and make a wine that will give immense pleasure when being enjoyed by itself.

But for a wine to stand out when it is being tasted along such illustrious wines as the 2009 Caymus Special Selection, 2012 Diamond Creek Gravelly Meadow, 2013 Alpha Omega Era, 2013 Beringer Private Reserve, 2012 Chimney Rock Elevage, 2013 Vine Cliff 16 Rows Oakville, 2005 Heitz Martha’s Vineyard and 2013 Trinchero Mario’s Vineyard, it is going to be that freshness that hits you like a finger snap in front of your face, commanding your attention. None of the aforementioned wines were bad and, indeed, two of those wines also ended up making my Top 10 list. The 2013 Adobe Road Beckstoffer Vineyard Georges III A1-Block Cabernet Sauvignon was just better.

Altesino 2011 Brunello di Montalcino Montosoli (93 points. Wine Spectator list price $110)

Outside of Burgundy and the Mosel, we usually don’t talk about individual vineyards in Europe the same way we do with American wines. There are certainly legendary vineyards in Europe, and single bottlings from those vineyards, but the names don’t easily roll off our tongues quite like To Kalon, Ciel du Cheval, Shea, Monte Bello, Red Willow, Sangiacomo, etc. However, you can make a fair argument (as James Suckling does here [subscription]) that the Montosoli vineyard owned by Altesino is one of the top vineyards in all of Montalcino. In fact, it was the very first vineyard to be bottled as a single cru of Brunello di Montalcino.

Despite being a very young Brunello (even for a warm vintage), this wine lived up to its lofty pedigree with an intoxicating bouquet of tobacco spice, orange peel, black cherry and savory leather. It had me picturing myself drinking an old-fashioned at a Victorian Explorer’s Club gathering. The palate brought more richness to the cherry notes with enough acidity to keep it juicy without being “bitey”. The tannins are still quite firm, again confessing its youth, but a silkiness emerges as you roll the wine around your tongue that holds much promise.

Emilio Moro 2011 Malleolus de Valderramiro Ribera del Duero (90 points. Wine Searcher Average price $85)

I am still a bit dumbfounded how this wine only got a mere 90 points from Wine Spectator. (As I was with several wines like this that I reviewed in the first part of the series.) While I can appreciate the palates and scores of critics like Thomas Matthews, its always important to formulate our own opinions on wine. While I try to avoid using the 100 point scale myself, with pegging wines down to just a number, I will say that this delicious wine from Emilio Moro far surpassed many 93-94 rated wines.

Heitz 2005 Martha’s Vineyard Napa Cabernet Sauvignon (93 points. Wine Searcher average price $181)

Like the Adobe Road Beckstoffer Georges III, Martha’s Vineyard located in Oakville is a legendary site for Cabernet Sauvignon. My adoration of this wine will again reveal my “Bordeaux-bias” a it had, by far, the most Bordeaux-like nose of all the Napa Cabs. Lots of savory herbal elements of what I like to call the “Chicken herbs” used for roasting–sage, thyme and particularly rosemary. The classic Martha’s Vineyard eucalyptus was also there but I was surprised with how much St.-Julien like cedar box and tobacco spice was also present.

The mouthfeel though was tried and true Napa with rich, almost Port-like dark fruit and Belgium dark chocolate undertones. The medium-plus acidity added enough freshness to balance the weight. The tannins were mostly velvety but they had a firm grip along the edge which hinted at how much more time this already 12-year old wine could go. While some of the eucalyptus and tobacco spice carried through to the palate, most of the savory Bordeaux-like notes on the nose were gone. In many ways it felt like I was drinking two different wines and that kept my interest.

Ramos Pinto 30 year Tawny Port (95 points. Wine Searcher average price $85)

You can find my full review here. Again, simply a fabulous Port that is among the best I’ve ever had. If you can find it, its definitely worth grabbing and if you find it priced under a $100, grab two.

Ch. Pichon Longueville Lalande 2011 Pauillac (91 points. Wine Searcher average price $116)

You can’t sugar-coat over how rough of a vintage that 2011 was. Spring was too hot and fraught with drought while summer was too cold with rains happening at the most inopportune times (if they happened at at all). Still, the blessings of modern viticulture and winemaking knowledge means that even in the roughest of vintages, wineries still have the skills and the tools to produce delicious wine.

Does this 2011 Pichon Lalande stack up to the 2010, 2009 or even the absolutely scrumptious 2005 (one of my all-time favs among all wines)? No. But neither does the 2011’s price tag of around $116 stack up to the price tags of those vintages–Wine Searcher average of $229, $204 and $152, respectively. That is the landscape of Bordeaux with every bottle and every vintage needing to be evaluate both on a curve and within the big picture.

So judging this 2011 among its vintage-peers, I was exceedingly impressed with how well it was drinking this evening. With 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc, 8% Merlot and 2% Petite Verdot, this wine had far more Cab than typical Pichon Lalande and with the characteristics of the vintage, I was expecting something that needed far more time.

But this wine was ready to dance with a mix of black currant and red cherry fruit framed with the typical savory tobacco and cedar cigar box notes of a good Pauillac. The mouthfeel had a lot more noticeable vanilla oak notes than I would expect. Much as the vanilla works to coax early drinking approach-ability with New World wines, so here it was smoothing out the rough edges of youthful tannins. With a little dark chocolate and Christmas fruitcake spiciness on the finish, you end up with a delightful wine that has character and personality.

Marchesi Fumanelli 2009 Octavius Riserva Amarone (94 points. Wine Searcher average price $173)

Another wine that took me by surprised as I reviewed in part 2. This wine may be more difficult to find in the United States but it is well worth the hunt for any wine lover of bold, brooding reds with layers of complexity.

Diamond Creek 2012 Gravelly Meadow Cabernet Sauvignon (92 points. Wine Searcher average price $216)

This was only my second encounter with Diamond Creek after previously trying a 2009 Volcanic Hill. That one experience coupled with reading Cellar Tracker reviews of their wines helped form my expectation that this was going to be similar to other Diamond Mountain Cabernets that I’ve had in the past (Wallis Family, Lokoya, Martin Ray and Von Strasser)–powerful, rich but with a lot of structure and firm tannins that need time to mellow.

While this 2012 Diamond Creek Gravelly Meadow certainly had the power and richness, I was taken back by how soft the tannins where. In a blind tasting, I would be completely fooled that this wasn’t something from Rutherford or Oakville. It was downright velvety with the opulent black fruit. On the nose there was some earthiness, like dusty crushed rocks with a tinge of smokiness, but it was no where near as herbal as I would have expected. This was another wine that I found myself excited at the thought of what enjoyment savoring a full bottle of this wine would bring.

Ch. Calon Segur 2003 (95 points. Wine Searcher average price $117)

As I wrote in part 2, it is easy for Bordeaux lovers to dismiss the 2003 “heat wave” vintage (especially on the Left Bank) but wines like the 2003 Calon Segur shows that there were still many great wines made that year.

Ch. Lascombes 2010 Margaux (91 points. Wine Searcher average price $118)

Oh you didn’t think I could get through this list without slipping in a 2010 Bordeaux, did you? Of course not. I especially couldn’t pass up tasting again and falling back in love with this wine from the 2nd Growth estate in Margaux. Since Dominique Befve took over in the early 2000s (after stints at l’Evangile in Pomerol and 10 years as Technical Director of Chateau Lafite), Chateau Lascombes has been going from strength to strength.

Lascombes is a little unique in that the fair amount of clay in the soils of their vineyards around the communes of Cantenac, Soussans and Margaux, allows them to grow more Merlot than you would expect for a highly classified Medoc estate. In 2010 that translated to a blend that was dominated by Merlot with 55% followed by 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot. While many of its 2010 Cab-dominated Left Bank peers still need ample time in the cellar, this Lascombes is following the path of Angelus, Canon-La-Gaffelière, Pavie-Macquin and Le Dome in being one of the best drinking 2010s right now on the market.

The nose has swirls of black licorice spice with smokey espresso that give way to black currant and Turkish figs. The tannins on the mouthfeel are silky with the same black fruits on the nose being wrapped with even more smoke and now chocolate espresso flavors. The finish is long and lingering, giving ample pleasure but making you soon crave another sip. While most 2009/2010 prices are in the stratosphere, this is still an absolute steal for how much this wine over-delivers.