A Bordeaux from St Emilion - Ch. La Fleur Cravignac

Having been in Italy, I thought I'd head north west and pay a visit to Bordeaux, more precisely St Emilion and have a look at Chateau La Fleur Cravignac.

St Emilion is situated on Bordeaux's right bank and has been for many years far less significant then the wines from the left bank. These wines tend be Merlot dominated which means they don't have the same tannic structure of the wines from the left bank which are Cabernet dominated, this results in wines that are much softer and mature much quicker.

This wine is as with all right bank wines predominantly Merlot, with some Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon blended in, this makes it much more approachable earlier in its life. It had a deep purple/red colour in the glass with a slightly garnet edge, you got aromas of dark fruit, Blackcurrant and Blackberries with some smoke and spice coming through from the background. These all came through on the palate beautifully with the fruit showing some maturity and fine, smooth tannins and a tiny amount of acidity but everything was all in balance with one another.

I have to say I was rather impressed with this wine, I'm not a huge fan of Bordeaux as they usually take so long before they become approachable and they command a high price, even more so with the interest from the Chinese market and the reputation they carry. However the wines from St Emilion mature quicker and are no where near the price of the wines from the left bank, such as those from the Medoc, Margaux, Pauillac, etc and this is one I would definitely say is worth giving a go.

A Legend Lives On

Earlier in the year I was invited to join in on a world wide toast to celebrate the birthday of the late, great Robert Mondavi, to help me celebrate I’d been sent a bottle of their 2006 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, lucky me.

One of the great American wine making pioneers, Robert Mondavi built his first winery in 1966, which was the first major winery in the Napa valley since prohibition had ended. He was a pioneer of putting the Varietal on the label, not naming them generically, he also turned the around the fortunes of the unpopular varietal, Sauvignon Blanc in the US by naming it Fume Blanc. Another one of his many accolades is that of creating one of America’s greatest wines, Opus One, a joint collaboration with Baron Phillipe de Rothschild which had begun as a chat, on Mondavi’s visit to his vineyards in Bordeaux during 1978.

Although it says it’s a Cabernet Sauvignon on the label, it is actually a blend consisting of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc, according to the tasting notes, the website says it is a much more eclectic mix of varietals. The wine is fermented in a combination of oak and stainless steel tanks, spending a maturation period of 14 months in oak, of which 20% are new oak.

In the glass you got an opaque inky purple colour, with very pronounced aromas of dark fruits, blackcurrant, plums and cherries with a tiny bit of sweet spice coming through from the background. On the palate you got all the aromas coming through in waves at you, combine this with a good amount of acidity and masses of fine silky tannins, and you got a pretty amazing wine, but that’s what you’d expect when you pay these sorts of prices.

This is a full bodied wine, that at this young stage drinks nicely now but can age for a good few years yet, but really, to get the best from it now, you should really drink it with food. This is a wine that’s definitely worth giving a go if you’re looking to spend a bit a more on nice bottle, but remember it will benefit greatly by being opened a good couple of hours before drinking, and if possible even decanting.

A Very Disappointing Bordeaux

I’ve not posted a wine from Bordeaux so far on the blog, so I thought it was about time that I rectified that, unfortunately it’s not as I would have liked it to be. A little while ago I managed to come across one in my local supermarkets fine wine selection, it had been reduced as they were a bin end, which I decided to take full advantage of and bought two bottles, with the view that if I liked it I’d go back and get some more, if they had any left. I have to admit it was a good reduction, they were originally £19.99 and had been reduced to just £4.99, bargain, or so I thought.

The bottles in question were a 2005 Medoc from Chateau Le Lescot, which is a Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot blend, which I looked forward to tasting. We had some friends round for dinner and I thought this was the ideal opportunity to bring it out.

In the glass it had a deep ruby/garnet colour, which is what I would have expected given its age, on the nose it had quite pronounced aromas of dark fruit, predominantly blackcurrants, so far so good, but that’s where it started to go downhill. On the palate you got the fruit and a good amount of ripe juicy tannins, but it had a searing acidity with it, which just did not go with the rest of the components of the wine, and made it for me an unbalanced wine and a disappointment. I thought it actually may have been slightly oxidised, so i opened the other bottle to see if that was any better, unfortunately it wasn’t. I may have been very unlucky and got two bad bottles, but I doubt it.

This unfortunately is not a wine that I would recommend, the later vintages may be better; I’d like to hope they are, but I certainly wouldn’t recommend or buy this wine myself again without tasting it first.

A Great Little Gem from Argentina

Having read and enjoyed The Winesleuth’s recent postings of her trip to Argentina, I realised that this is another wine producing country that I’d unintentionally ignored on the blog. With this is mind, I paid a visit to my local supermarket just before Christmas to see what they had in stock, and I found, what I hoped to be an interesting bottle. The wine in question was a Torrontes from Vinalba, I know I’ve tasted the Torrontes grape before, but I could not remember what flavours you got, so this seemed like a good place to start.

The Torrontes grape is indigenous to Argentina, and the grapes in question for this wine are grown in the Mendoza region, which is in the foothills on the eastern side of the Andes Mountains. The winemaker is a gentleman called Hervé J. Fabre, who was born in Bordeaux and was apparently one of the first foreigners to recognise the potential Argentina to produce great wine.

This wine is made from 100% Torrontes; it had a pale lemon/green colour with good aromas of tropical fruit, with a hint of citrus coming through in the background, which instantly started to make my mouth water. On the palate you got all the flavours to match the aromas plus you also got a touch of stone fruit thrown into the mix to add that little bit more complexity.

This wine see’s no oak at all, and it doesn’t need it, it has a good level of acidity and a good length of flavour. Combining all these together you got an exceptionally well balanced wine that was extremely enjoyable and very refreshing. Would I recommend this, absolutely, would I buy an Argentinean Torrontes again, most definitely.

The Gaming Comunity Comes to the World Wine

First there was the Simms, then came Roller Coaster Tycoon and now we have Wine Tycoon!

According to Chris Scott on www.thirtyfifty.co.uk the new computer game is being launched in the US next month, and lets the players fight it out to become the next, as the title says, Wine Tycoon.

The game allows the players to create vineyards in 10 of the most prestigious regions in France such as Bordeaux and Burgundy. As part of the game you will have to build a winery, plant and maintain the vines, organise staff for the harvest and then produce your wine.

With the game you will also get a Wine Encyclopedia full of wine terms, grape varieties and regions to help you achieve your goal. The game is produced by Got Game Limited for the PC and will retail at $19.99. I do hope they bring it out on the PS3 as well.

En Primeur - The Conclusion

The en primeur process has been around for centuries; however, this does not necessarily mean that it is still a viable institution. Many commentators believe the process to be both flawed and outdated, yet despite widely publicised negativity, no one seems to offer anything to replace it which would benefit both consumers and producers.

The major issue is that many of the châteaux are not prepared to sell their own wine which is why they use negociants. However, if châteaux work on this issue, they could vastly improve their distribution channels. Many producers don’t even benefit from the high prices charged for their wines on the secondary markets, and have become aggrieved by the lost revenue.

En primeur has become an outdated system, one which has created an air of elitism around Bordeaux and one which has become a huge area for debate in the industry. With many people within the industry turning against the process and questioning its benefit for the consumer, it is hard to see a change not occurring. It has also become too overpriced to remain a viable option for investors, leaving a surplus to required wine. If this happens, producers will have no choice but to accept they need to find new methods of sale, one which gives them the continued capital they require, but offers the best deal for the end consumer.

One big problem with changing the process is that despite a constant stream of objections to the process, no one has been able to find a suitable replacement to the method, if indeed there is one at all. Without the producers improving their network of distribution and exploring new channels, such as the internet, while investing in marketing campaigns it is unlikely they will accept any push for a change.

En Primeur Part Two: The Pro's

Arguably, the advantages of buying en primeur are few and far between for the consumer. However for those looking to make an investment; the practice arguably holds great sway. For them, the ability to buy high quality wine from the most sought after regions, for a heavily discounted price makes it a worthwhile process.

As consumers and investors pay before wine is even bottled another advantage is the ability to choose the sizing of the bottle you require. The producer will present the wine however you want it, from a half to a magnum. Whilst this might not be important to some, for some wine enthusiasts the opportunity to buy wine in a magnum, which is a rarity, adds to the draw.

From a producers point of view, the advantages are numerous. Firstly, and for many châteaux’s, most importantly, is the fact that they do not have to wait three years to cash in on that years harvest. This means the chateaux itself has to invest less capital to sustain its business.

Secondly, en primeur wine creates a huge demand within the industry, due to the publicity it receives. The economic laws of supply and demand mean that when there is high demand for a product in low supply, prices will naturally be high if there is a market for them. With en primeur pricing being guided by commentators such as Robert Parker, and regarded as some of the best in the world, it is unsurprising that many producers are able to charge large amounts for wine which isn’t even matured.

Finally, selling wine en primeur reduces the châteaux’s own risk. By selling it before it is matured, producers do not have to concern themselves with the possibility of unsold wine not to the complexity of the original tasting. Again taking away the risk and ensuring a profit!

Tomorrow – the con’s!

En Primeur – An Introduction

En primeur roughly translates from the French as “first refusal” or “in early produce.”
In its pure form the method originated two centuries ago, when merchants selected barrels of wine which they would then bottle themselves. Today the bottling process has been taken over by the châteaux. Despite the changes, the principle remains the same, allowing producers to benefit greatly from the advance payment for their wine.

In its simplest terms en primeur is the practice of selling wine before it is ready for release, before it has even been bottled. These are unfinished wines, which are only half way through the maturation process. It will be months, even years, before these wines are ready for the bottling process, after which they will still require further maturation before they become approachable.

The method is traditionally practiced by the wines of outstanding quality from Bordeaux, Burgundy and The Rhone valley. Other regions such as Italy, California and Australia have recently begun to partake in this practice on an extremely limited scale.

En primeur purchasers fall in to two distinct categories: Wine lovers, who are unfazed by the prospect of waiting years before they can taste the final product; or investors, whose aim is to make a financial profit from leaving the wine to mature. The latter are the most predominant buyers.

The en primeur process is a complicated one, in which people purchase wines on others recommendation. Often, they will not have even tasted the wine for themselves, and are led simply by the profile and recommendation of wine commentators within the industry, such as Robert Parker, Clive Coates and James Suckling.

Barrel tasting for Bordeaux en primeur wines occur the spring after the harvest, which equates to a maturation of around six to eight months, leaving the raw wine still highly tannic and undeveloped. Tasting for en primeur wines of Burgundy and The Rhone regions occur another six months after that, leaving them in a similar condition to that of Bordeaux. The tasting allows producers of the wine to understand how the market will react, by the feedback of the wine connoisseurs. It also gives the negociants a chance to see how the finished article will develop, giving them an idea of the quality of the wine. This in turn allows them to determine the eventual price.