2010 WISH LIST TOP FIVE
(or click on the images above)
Sunday, 28 March 2010
Thursday, 25 March 2010
En Primeur - five questions to ask before you buy
What is En Primeur?
En Primeur is the art of buying wine when it is still in cask before it is bottled. There is usually a two year wait before it is finally delivered, which happens shortly after the wine is bottled and shipped. After vintage, wine merchants and writers visit the Estates, Domaines or Chateau to assess the quality for their customers. This is when the campaign begins.
In the United States, buying wine En Primeur is known as Wine Futures, which is slightly more demystifying; it clearly links the buying of unbottled wine in cask to the concept of buying futures on the stockmarket. It's the same level of reward. And risk.
For those who don’t know much about Bordeaux, En Primeur can be on the trickier end of wine buying. For those who do, it can be a way to buy wine at a relatively low price which returns decades of enjoyment.
However, unlike other forms of investment, it’s a speculation you can eventually enjoy drinking. And if you do it right, you’ll always have quality wine on hand at a fraction of the future shelf price.
Right now, wine merchants are coming back with their report on the 2009 vintage in Bordeaux. Each year there will is a lot of hype between the facts; so, what do you look for when buying wine two years before it is bottled, often without having the chance to taste it?
Despite the very top Chateau bought on allocation (which means, only people who have a track record of buying Chateau such as Mouton-Rothschild etc are considered), there are still plenty of excellent buys to be found in Bordeaux. The question is how to pick wines right for you.
Five Questions to Ask
- Are you buying from a reputable, solvent wine merchant who has a track history of delivering En Primeur?
- Does this wine have the ability to age for at least 10 years (especially, Bordeaux)?
- Is the base price reasonable enough to allow future growth in price?
- Is this a good property but undervalued with respect to quality?
- Is this one of the good to great vintages?
I remember one man at the Burgundy En Primeur in January wincing over an unbottled red, "At this stage," he said, "It's like children when they are young, you never really know how they will really turn out. And I've made some mistakes!" But he was still there again at the yearly tastings.
Apart from asking these 5 questions, I suggest starting with a Chateau you know and like, develop a relationship with your wine merchant over a period time and, most importantly, listen to your instincts!
Sunday, 21 March 2010
2010 Wish List #1: Essencia
If extreme desire is a pathology, Essencia ticks all the boxes for my diagnosis: spoken about in hushed tones, it is extremely rare (nearly disappearing altogether under Communism), a half bottle starts at least £300, and has more myths about it than even Champagne. Some bottles, nearly 400 years old, have been found in ancient cellars of lost Polish aristocrats and said to be still as fresh as if they had invented screwcap. Catherine the Great was one of its first investors and protected the vineyards with her own personal guards. Only produced in Hungary in random vintages, the last ones being 2000, 1999, 1993 and 1972. The 1972 vintage is only just drinking now. Older bottles look like gold treasure found at the bottom of the ocean. Some people don't even consider Essencia a wine at all because it is so sweet it is almost impossible to ferment. "So different from other wines," said one critic, "it's like seeing a new primary colour." It is off the sweet richter scale compared to the other wines of Tokaji surpassing even the 6 Puttynos Aszu. Below, you can almost feel how Wine & Spirits Magazine are struggling to capture their exhiliration. Too wonderful for words.
1999 Royal Tokaji Wine Company Essencia Review
"How can a wine score 100 points? When it leaves an entire panel of tasters speechless, struggling to find words to describe a wine that seems to defy possibility. Is it enough to say that it smells like a bergamot orange grove in full bloom? That it really, truly feels like satin, so slippery smooth that even professionals can't keep it from going down their throats? The flavors recall spice, smoke, flowers and tropical fruit, but like satin, the weave of this wine is so tight it's impossible to make out exact threads. It's so sweet and acidic it almost hurts-in a good way. I can't think of anything it lacks, or anything that might make it better. That's pretty much the definition of perfect-and thus, the score. And at 2.9 percent alcohol, 600 grams per liter of sugar, and 18 grams per liter of sugar (it's solely free-run juice captured from the aszú grapes), it will outlive us all. Stupendous."
100 Points
Wine & Spirits
Sunday, 14 March 2010
2010 Wish List #2: Cheval des Andes, Argentina
When the great St-Emilon Chateau, Cheval Blanc makes a wine in Argentina, is it the vinous equivalent to buying a "Gucci handbag" in Shanghai?
Nothing fake (nor cheap) about Cheval des Andes.
Cheval des Andes is created from a strong partnership between Pierre Lurton (Cheval Blanc and Chateau d’Yquem) and Roberto de la Mota (Terrazas De Los Andes, Mendoza) combining Bordeaux expertise and the cool, elevated vineyards of Mendoza in Argentina.
Cheval Blanc partnering with a winery in Mendoza marks a turning point in the debate about New World vs Old World and the whole concept of terroir in wine winemaking. Cheval Blanc is not the only big-name from Bordeaux to lend its expertise in Argentina – there’s also the Rothschilds and flying visits from Michel Rolland – but Cheval Blanc, with its high price and exclusivity, is the one that really opens up the debate about terroir.
I can't help but wonder how much influence can Cheval Blanc have on the style of wine made in Argentina if it is not on its hallowed Saint-Emillion soil?
In one way, it can be argued this is more authentic Bordeaux than actual Bordeaux: you are tasting a style of Bordeaux that could still exist if it wasn't for Phylloxera devastating Europe's vineyards in the 1860s. Before 1860s, Malbec was part of the toolbox of grapes as much as any other of the noble varieties. But Malbec never recovered in Bordeaux after Phylloxera. In Mendoza, Malbec is again blended with Cabernet Sauvignon creating almost a glimpse of what may have been in Bordeaux.
Cheval des Andes has been an instant hit with serious wine buyers since it's first release in 2001. Is it a little bit of classic Bordeaux supercharged with Argentine horsepower? Cheval des Andes is firmly on my wish list for 2010.
Link: Visiting Mendoza from wineanorak.com
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
Vote for Champagne!
best wishes
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
2010 Wish List #3: Screaming Eagle
"How can I get onto your waiting list?
Production cannot nearly accommodate the demand evidenced by the existing waiting list, many of whom have been waiting patiently for many years. With a waiting list of this length it is unlikely that you will be able to purchase wine directly from the winery, and therefore we have stopped adding names to a waiting list. We thank you for your interest in the very small amount of wine that comes from this extremely special property." From www.screamingeagle.com
You might say I just want Screaming Eagle because it's on a waiting list. Correction: a waiting list for the waiting list for the waiting list. OK, yes, I admit it: this does make me want it more.
You got me.
The Eagle is an elusive thing. Like a dream. You look up in the sky and maybe you see it but it's so bright up there. You look into the sun. Those black dots are not birds, you are about to pass out. What is that? The world screaming for more.
It may be elusive to find, but once you do find it - you'll know it's there. It's presence is immediately felt. It's a big, blockbuster wine with the volume turned full blast. Or so I am told. It's on my wish list to taste in 2010.
"The Screaming Eagle seemed to be saying: you paid through the nose, now all I can do in return is offer olfactory and gustatory pleasure…which it did"(Neal Martin, "I love the smel of Screagle in the Morning" - erobertparker.com Mar 09)
Link: www.screamingeagle.com
Tuesday, 16 February 2010
2010 Wish List #4: Krug Rosé (half bottle)
Yes, it must be a half-bottle. Of course, it would be more practical, economical and sensible to buy a full bottle. But don't be ridiculous. This is my wish list, and it really is not the moment to consider such prosaic things.
It's the time to dream extravagantly. So it must be a half bottle of Krug Rose and it must be in its lavender box.
When it's a half bottle, Krug Rose becomes more than just Champagne. It joins the modern consumer pantheon: objects such as the smooth black packaging of an iPod or the pale blue egg-shell expectation of a Tiffany's box; things coveted for how they are presented as for much as what's inside.
Once you get past the pale lavender packaging - a colour that seems only to be found in very expensive cashmere - marveling how it is the same shape as the full-size version and squeal at how everything is so much smaller, you take the bottle out of its box, hold its swan-like neck and wonder: how is it possible to make this bottleneck even more slender? You want to hold it like a new-born animal.
I heard Madonna ordered all the Krug Rose available in London and New York for her 50th birthday at the Volstead Club in London two years ago. Every wine merchant on both sides of the Atlantic had emptied their stock for her party. It's quite obvious to see why Madonna would want it for her 50th.
This is all about power. It's a Rose Champagne, but in the Krug style. It blushes deeply in lavender, it is not fainting in pink. It looks bruised, almost shocking. This is not about giggly bubbles, this is serious fun. But, it wasn't Madonna drinking it that put this Champagne on my Wish List for 2010.
The wish was born from meeting a woman who bought cases of it once a week. To drink every day. From half bottles.
Every evening she opened a bottle with, or without, her husband, and found that a glass or two was just enough. At the time, I thought this must be the most decadent way to drink Champagne I have ever seen. Why not buy full bottles and use a stopper? You'd save and then you could....
Oh, silly girl.
It's supposed to be extravagant. And if this wish list is about dreams, then might as well dream extravagantly. That's why wish number 4 is: a half-bottle of Krug Rose, every day.
Wednesday, 27 January 2010
2010 Wish List #5: Inflorescence Champagne
Coming in at number five on my wish list of cool curiosities I'd love to try this year is Cedric Bouchard's Champagne, Inflorescence.
"The explosive, kaleidoscopic Champagnes of Cedric Bouchard are some of the most compelling wines coming out of the region today... Readers should do whatever they can to experience these magnificent wines." - Antonio Galloni, Wine Advocate
When I read this review in Wine Advocate last April, I immediately started to look for stockists. There's something appealing about a single-grower in Champagne in a place where every vineyard is held by multiple, usually corporate, interests. It's the heroic story of the little guy winning against the big guys. There's also hardly any of it around, and what was available had been snapped up, which, as you can imagine, drove me even more crazy...
Also, the word, Inflorescence - it sounds like it blossoms with marvelous bubbles. Does it live up to the name? I definitely want try a glass or two this year and find out whether it lives up to the hype.
Wednesday, 20 January 2010
Top 5 Favourite Wines of 2009
For me, 2009 was my Grand Tour of Italian wine. Amarone, Brunello di Montalino, Barolo and the white wines of Friuli and Sardinia. It was also a year where the 2007 vintage from Burgundy and Bordeaux did not produce a predictable line-up of star wines. A challenging vintage, perhaps, but also a good challenge. For isn't the process of sorting the wheat from the chaff half the fun?
Without further delay, here are my top 5 favourite wines from the year:
1. 2004 Poggio di Sotto Brunello di Montalcino
Even when it is woven in the palest of colours, the most expensive cashmere has an unusual depth of colour to its fibre. What is amazing about the Poggio di Sotto is its exquisite pale rose colour belies a depth of knitted-together, intense flavours. Like a favourite cashmere jumper, it may appear delicate at first but it soon tells its own story over time.
I don't think this is a social wine. Not that I mean it's anti-social and offensive. What I mean is that it is best to drink it with only one other person. Two, maximum.
I'm not being ungenerous! I'm just afraid of not giving the wine a chance to let the story in the bottle unfurl. Especially if it was downed at a dinner party of 4 to 6 people - that's only one glass per person.
This is a breathy, intimate wine with a story that feels like it is being told in whispers.
Previous post: Waiting for Brunello di Montalcino 2004
2. 2007 Climens
Sometimes, when I am confronted with something truly beautiful, my eyes well with tears. Luckily, I don't think anybody saw me tasting 2007 Climens right at the end of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux tasting in Convent Garden late last year. After tasting over 40 reds and whites before reaching the Sauternes, despite the palate fatigue, the Climens appeared as an angelic revelation.
Perfect weight and heavenly apricot, honey and thrilling citrus. It hardly came as a surprise to find out Robert Parker bestowed 100-points on it. He asked, is it the "wine of the vintage"? The resounding answer, yes.
Honorable mention to Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte, also at the same tasting. This wine cemented my belief: 2007 is the year for white wine in Bordeaux. What a shame not more people are aware of how great Graves wines can be.
3. 2004 Casanova di Neri - see Casanova di Neri 05/02/2009
4. 2002 Veuve Clicquot Rosé
After tasting this as a guest of Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin at the Manoir de Verzy in Champagne, I now long to have more vintage Rose Champagne in my life. Vintage Rose is not a summer frippery, it's more of a knife and fork wine. Not that Veuve Clicquot is meaty, as say, the Krug Rose, but it does have more weight and can stand up to even the bloodiest sirloin.
For many months after this trip, all I could think about is how Champagne is wasted as an aperitif. It's such an excellent food wine. It's a shame it's not available in the U.K.
Honorable mention: 1990 Ruinart Rose, the fading star. Another France-only release.
5. 2005 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon
It was a pleasure to meet Keith and Clare Mugford when they visited London. As Jancis Robinson has said, Moss Wood are the best example of "intelligent winemaking". She goes on to say, any knockers of Australian wine should be force-fed this wine, in particular.
I asked Keith, "What is your favourite vintage for the Cabernet Sauvignon? It's not hard to see why it was the 2005. Deep, seamless fruit that I would be happy to drink everyday (if money was no object). It reminds me of the refined elegance you find in the very modern architecture along the ocean front in Australia.
I don't know why, but that makes me feel proud and slightly homesick. If it has that effect, then certainly that knocks the "terroir debate" on the head when talking about Australia. I can taste it so what's wrong with you if you can't? Perhaps you haven't drunk enough.
Honorable mentions: 1934 Chateau Margaux; 1993 Brunello di Montalcino Valdicava; 2005 Firesteed Oregon Pinot Noir; 1996 Clos du Marquis; 2003 Leoville Poyferre; 2000 Langoa Barton; 2004 Montrose; 2007 Benefizio Pomino Bianco Reserva; 1998 Allegrini Amarone; 1997 Jacquesson Avize Grand Cru Blanc des Blancs.
Monday, 18 January 2010
Benefizio (or, is that the champagne talking?)
"I really love you," She said
"Is that the Champagne talking?" he asked.
"No," she laughed,
"That's me talking to the Champagne."
Another year, another birthday. Apart from the regulatory Champagne (Veuve Clicquot and Billecart Salmon Brut), the wine that astounded everyone who joined us for lunch was the Marchesi de' Frescobaldi 2006 Pomino Benefizio Reserva.
The Benefizio glitters and spins like one of those disco lights programmed to move to music. Thrilling pineapple character is mellowed by a sudden acacia and honey character. Depth and light at the same time. It charms but does not dominate.
It's a slight shock to learn this is a Chardonnay.
From the Pomino Valley in Tuscany, this area was already considered one of the four best wine-making areas in Tuscany during Medici times.
It helps to have brilliant food and company, too. Simple, good Italian food such as real pasta Carbonara (ie no cream, based on eggs). Perfect for long Sunday lunches, this is the ultimate dinner party wine.
Bravo.
Yes, that's me talking to the wine!
Link: Marchesi di Frescobaldi
Sunday, 10 January 2010
Prosecco cocktail, 'Sbagliato'
With no signs of the craze for Prosecco slowing down after New Years, here's a cocktail to soak up all the extra bottles you may (or may not) have leftover. Called a Sbagliato, or "mistake" in Italian, it's much more fun than tired old Bellini (Prosecco and white peach); basically, it's a Negroni with the Gin replaced by Prosecco.
SbagliatoTwo parts Prosecco to one part Campari and one part Martini Rosso (or sweet vermouth is also fine).Two drops of Angostura bitters, optional.Pour over ice and stir.Garnish with a slice of orange in a large wine glass.
Link: The Cocktail Renaissance
wine in capsules
"James Rothschild sent Rossini [composer of 'Barber of Seville', 'William Tell' etc] some splendid grapes from his hothouse. Rossini, in thanking him, wrote, “although your grapes are superb, I don’t like my wine in capsules.” Rothschild read this as an invitation to send him some of his celebrated Chateau-Lafite, which he proceeded to do." – Lillie de Hergermann-Lindencrone, “In the Courts of Memory”
Image: The Last Supper, Damian Hirst (1999)
Thursday, 7 January 2010
2007 Mouton Rothschild label features Sculptor, Bernar Venet
Even if you don't drink first-growth Claret everyday for breakfast, you'll soon be seeing a lot more of the sculptor Bernar Venet.
Venet's sculpture in steel graces the latest release 2007 Chateau Mouton Rothschild label. This is the first time the artwork on the label has been a sculpture - and it has quite a serious tone, especially in comparison to previous vintages.
Apart from the eerie 1983 label, which is very bleak and existential, most previous labels seem to me to have something childishly gleeful about them: sheep doing handstands (1999, Raymond Savignac) or my favourite one of a sheep dancing in the sunlight (1982, John Huston).
Who wouldn't be ecstatic? The artist doesn't receive money but 10 cases of Mouton Rothschild for the commission. That's something to jump for joy about.
Perhaps a parallel can be made between the 1983 and the 2007 - both are not spectacular vintages for this generally spectacular wine (if it is not too incongruous to have "general" and "spectacular" together in the one sentence - after all, compared to other vintages of this wine, 2007 is "lower" 90-94 Robert Parker score)
But the sculpture, and choice of artist, does give pause for thought. Which is quite prescient for this vintage and year in history.
If I am lucky enough to open a bottle in the next twenty years, I'll look back on 2007 as a year when the economic crisis really began but the ramifications hadn't fully been realized yet (I'm sure we will still be dealing with consequences).
Since then there has been a shake-up in wine prices, with cellars being sold in bulk. An end of an era? I don't think so. Not for Mouton-Rothschild, at least.
As their motto neatly sums up: Premier je suis, Second je fus, Mouton ne change. Despite 2007 not being a great vintage and the subsequent economic crisis, Mouton-Rothschild will survive just as they have depressions, recessions, World Wars and oil crises before.
Personally, I look forward to the opportunity to taste it in 20 years come what may.
Link: Bernar Venet Studio
Previous WWS link: Chateau Mouton Rothschild label artists: Miro, Picasso, Francis Bacon
Tuesday, 5 January 2010
Were Dreams (now it is just wine!)
Has it really been November since I last posted?
No excuses, other than I was having too much fun over Christmas and New Year. Welcome 2010.
Let's start the new year with an Italian white wine from Friuli-Venezia that captures my heart: Jermann's Were Dreams, or the full title - Were Dreams (now it is just wine!).
I can hear the tut-tutting already. What a silly name for a wine! And yet, and yet... it's precisely the playful silliness that makes me love it even more. What does he mean? All those grapes were dreams and now it just wine... I once had high ideals and now it's all mundane reality? Or even... philosophize as much you like about the stuff, but it's meant to be drunk and enjoyed.
Whatever the name means, Jermann can afford to have the last laugh: he is one of the masters of the N-E Italian region. And it is his light-touch that give his white wines a depth of minerality and subtle sophistication to make a bottle the most entertaining dinner guest.
His Were Dreams is no exception. However, don't expect much small talk here. It's definitely for those who love big oak in their Chardonnay (and you know who you are!). After a few hours you will find a core of minerality - like his other famous wines, Vintage Tunina and Capo Martino - but it emerges from a dramatic flourish of oak, fruit and wildflower.
People will often complain about the price (it can sit at the £30-50 mark), so I will say this: compare quality to quality (which always seems to be conveniently forgotten when comparing two different regions with different currencies) and you'll find them very comparable to similarly-priced White Burgundy.
Aside from all the economic nonsense, this is one of the great white wines of the world. Precisely because it inspires dreams and a smile. And as I keep trying to remind myself at some more serious tastings recently: you've got to lighten up, now, it is just wine....!
Link: Jermann di Silvio Jermann website
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
Thursday, 20 August 2009
Beyond brand - the real revolution in perfume
Edmond Roudnitska in his garden
creator of perfumes for Dior, Rochas and Hermes
Come out from hiding behind those faceless multinationals!
Ever since Frederic Malle's Editions de Parfums (2000) there has been a profound new interest in the people behind the famous signature perfumes. For the first time the author of the perfume is promoted on the label just as an author on the cover of a book.
So who are these artists behind the perfumes we wear and cherish?
In the spirit of celebrating the 'perfume authors,' Basenotes website interviewed 50 of the most famous Perfumers in the world today and asked them, who would they choose, "if they could travel back to the time of their choosing to meet, chat and co-create with a perfumer past?"
Like other arts, it shows how scent has the power to traverse space and time. This is a most fascinating collection of interviews, thanks to Marian Bendeth of Basenotes.
Link: Scent Treks through Time
Saturday, 15 August 2009
back to basics
3 types of French Lavender
Vouillez Patienter. That's the command from ATM machines and toll-gates in France. Oh, how I enjoyed the irony of a machine telling me to have patience.
Lately I have had a happy respite from machines, including computers; instead, I have been taking in the smells of the ocean road in France along the Basque country between Biarritz and San Sebastien.
There's something wild about this country, similar in many ways to the Australian coastline. Although the smells were different - not mint or menthol, instead, thyme and lavender. Both have the lovely fresh spray of the sea.
So thanks for being patient. For a while there, I only had the ability to smell disgusting things! Now I have refreshed the senses I am back to enjoying wine aromas with renewed awareness.
I hope you can join me for a glass or six.
P.S. If you are serious in fine-tuning your sense of smell then I recommend the Le Nez du Vin set of 54 wine aromas in phials. Just as you learn the piano from practicing scales, you learn scents from isolating smells to the nose. This is how I started out learning about wine tasting ten years ago and I highly recommend the investment.
Wednesday, 15 April 2009
Friday, 10 April 2009
subatomic
"These days the scientists are looking for quarks, strange subatomic entities, having qualities which they describe with such words as upness, downness, charm, strangeness, truth, beauty, colour, and flavor." - Mu Soeng Sunim
Link: whisky river
Wednesday, 18 March 2009
waiting for Brunello di Montalcino 2004
I've been in the lush waiting room for what seems like forever.
The agony and the ecstasy!
I'm talking about the forthcoming release of the 2004 Brunello di Montalcino.
If you love Brunelli, you'll know what I'm talking about.
The 2004 vintage.
And maybe you'll even agree with me when I say Riserva Brunello di Montalcino has a strong semblance to a premier cru Burgundy from the Cote d'Or (even though of course, Brunello is made from Sangiovese and Burgundy is made from Pinot). At nearly half to two-thirds the price.
The best of both wines from these regions have an ethereal quality, sometimes a lighter rose colour, layers of complexity and elegance.
Although, to my mind, Brunello has a "savoury" character rather than the classic Burgundy "barnyard".
To give you an idea of what to expect, here is my tasting notes for the 2003 Poggio di Sotto (£69 per bottle), which is a 'lesser vintage' than 2004 (!) -
Infinite jest. Light in colour, light-bodied but also complex like a gymnast with an intricate ribbon routine (erm, yes I did write that!). Licorice, red cherry, white pepper and smooth balsamic notes with a deliciously tannic finish that becomes more refined over time. Want more and more. Where does the story go...? A revelation.
Another good thing about Brunello di Montalcino, especially en primeur Brunello (and most will be sold this way due to the high demand and the small boutique nature of the producers in Tuscany) is you know what to expect when you put in an order.
This is because the a part of the Brunello wine can be put aside for the Rosso di Montalcino,which is released soon after the vintage (from a year to 18 months afterwards). I guess it's a way for everyone to have something to drink, and sell, while the Brunelli is holding in oak for five years.
Hence all this salivation in anticipation.
What do I want to taste?
I am looking forward to tasting Brunello di Montalcino Riserva from Poggio di Sotto, Tenuta il Poggione, Salvioni and Livio Sassetti's Pertimali (if I can find it).
Like the equally anticipated vintage release of 2005 Bordeaux, these will be good to drink now as well as have excellent cellaring potential.
And, similar to the 2005 Bordeaux vintage, these boutique wines will be expensive. There's no doubt about it. And I'm not even factoring in the current strong Euro against the pound.
Link: Brunello di Montalcino
Link: on WWS Casanova di Nieri
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