It has been six years since I have traveled to Bordeaux and in that time I have developed an affinity for these sweet wines.   As is the case for many wine drinkers, these wines are either a love or hate kind of thing.  Not that I like to use the word hate, but you either really love these wines or you can be quite content with never drinking them again.  I used to be in the later camp, now I am defiantly a member of the former.   More on Sauternes later.

We were in Bordeaux towards the end of flowering, where the flowers fall and grape set begins.

Our first stop was at Domaine de Chevalier at 9:ooam, one of the few estates in Bordeaux equally regarded for its red and white wines.  We were greeted by Remi Edange, Assistant Manager, for the estate and he immediately dove into his philosophies regarding grape growing and wine making.  Remi has a big personality and we are not the first to hear him lecture on the balance between man and nature.  How the vines must co-exist with not only those that wish to harvest its fruit but with all other things that live in and around the vineyards.  The vines are merely one element in a micro-climate of all sorts of organic and inorganic matter, which in turn is merely one part of a larger macro-climate.  It’s a bit of biodynamics and Rudolf Steiner mixed with a little new-age openness, all grounded in the time tested fundamentals of how to grow things: a healthy and balanced environment is good for all things growing and living in it.  Man should interfere as little as possible and focus equally on both how to cultivate a crop and cultivate an overall healthy climate, what man takes from the environment and what he gives back should be in balance.  Of course, the wines tasted really good, too.

The group with Aline Baly of Chateau Coutet

From Chevalier, we headed to Sauternes.  Our first appointment was at Chateau Coutet, a property located in the sub-appellation of Barsac and with a history that dates back to 1643.  Aline Baly and her uncle run the estate now.  Over lunch (all paired with wines the estate produces, a dry white and two sweet wines) she told us her story, being raised in Boston and working in pharmaceuticals until finally deciding that she would move back to France and co-manage the estate with her uncle, who had been at Coutet his whole life.  With multiple degrees in business and management, Aline brought very modern ideas to a property that had been doing things in a pretty consistent manner for centuries.  It was a great story of persistence and the underlying loyalty between family members.  Not to say that is wasn’t still a lot of hard work but Aline is a very smart and energetic business woman with a true passion for making beautiful wines.  I really loved our lunch and the new ways of looking at how to pair sweet wines and food.

In the vineyards at Chateau de Fargues

Our next stop was at Chateau de Farques.  Owned by one of the great Bordeaux wine families, the Lur Suluces (they also owned Y’quem), Chateau de Farques has been in the family since 1472.  In addition to vineyards, the property has over 100 hectares of pine forest, 25 hectares of cereal crops, and a herd of prized Bazas cattle.  Philippe de Lur Suluce provided us with an in depth yet unintimidating lesson on the production of Sauternes and complicated and subtle dance they do every year with a fungus known as Botrytis cinerea which turns the juice from these grapes into a wine that both sweet and earthy, bright and fresh, and totally unctuous wine of monumental goodness.  Of course, chillin’ in the remains of a 14^th century  fortress does add a little something to the ambience.

Our day ended with dinner in one of the two restaurants in the village of Sauternes, Auberge les Vignes (delicious by the way, good wine list) before a relaxing hour drive back to the hotel.

Oyster Beds in Arcachon.

Friday was out day at the beach.  As we had done on our previous tour of Bordeaux, we spent our final day touring the Bay of Arcachon.  The bay is one of France’s most prized locations to harvest oysters.  We were approaching the end of the season, so everyone was in a frenzy to consume as many as possible.  I will admit that I did my part to make sure there were no leftovers; eating several dozen of these sweet, plump, and briny jewels over the week.  After a boat tour of the bay we visited a oyster producer for a tasting and then on to the village of Cap Feret for lunch.  Sitting outside, overlooking the water with a platter of oysters, bulot (sea-snails) and fresh shrimp, and a bottle of white Bordeaux with these folks that are not just clients but now friends, I was certain to give thanks for the fact that this counts as work for me.  Not a bad gig.

Cognac is not actually part of Bordeaux.  It is located about an hour or so north of Bordeaux and is technically a liquor not a wine.  But it is something that I have been drinking more of over the last couple of years and as I have a naturally inquisitive disposition (I don’t just crave knowledge, I yearn for it) I decided that a visit to Cognac would make a nice outing for the group.  So we boarded the bus at 8:00am and headed north to visit Hennessey.

One of Hennessey’s distillation facilities.

Hennessey is celebrating its 250^th Anniversary this year and it just so happened that our visit occurred right in the middle of their huge celebration in Cognac.  The previous night, they had hosted about 1500 of the growers and distillers that they work with, the day we were there they were expecting about 1200 importers and distributors from around the world, and the following night they would throw a party for all of the employees that work there, about 2000.  Amidst all of this chaos, we still had an absolutely amazing and educational visit.

Our guide (they call them Ambassadors) was Fabien.  He began by taking us one of their distilleries.  They own three of their own and work with another 560 distillers.  Hennessey accounts for 46% percent of all Cognac produced, however only owns enough vineyards to produce 1%.  They work with over 1500 growers to procure enough grapes to meet their production demands.  The process at Hennessey is really about collaboration with growers and distillers throuk8ghout the region, some of which they have been working with for over 200 years.  As we would later learn, the magic of Cognac lies in the blending and maturation of different lots to produce a product of complexity and finesse.  Buying grapes and distilled eau de vie (eau de vie is the distilled product.  It can’t be called Cognac until it has been blended and aged) is just the beginning of the process.  It is the blending team that really puts the Hennessey stamp on the cognac.

This is Old School

After a very informative lesson of the distillation process, we headed off to one of Hennessey’s multiple cellars.  As previously mentioned, the magic of Cognac is in the blending and maturation.  To achieve that, Hennessey has lots of eau de vie going back to before 1800.  One of the cellars we visited was the Founder’s Cellars.  Built in 1772, this cellar holds Hennessey’s oldest and most prized lots.  The fact that we were fortunate enough to visit (they don’t often extend the invitation) was not lost on us.  To be in a cellar that was older than our country and housed lots that were over 200 years old was truly one of the coolest experiences of my professional life.

Cognac Class

If the day hadn’t been amazing enough already, we headed back to the Hennessey offices for a tasting seminar.  In addition to being an incredible host and educator, Fabien came from a winemaking family and was uniquely qualified to lead our palates on a journey through the intricacies of Cognac.  It was amazing to see specific lots of different ages and how they would eventually be blended into what we buy.  It was one of the most educational tastings I have done.  Not only did I leave feeling that I had a much more in depth knowledge of Cognac but I learned how versatile Cognac is and how many drinks that we know today (such as Mint Julep and Old Fashioned) were originally made with Cognac.  In fact, Cognac and Ginger Ale with a lime wedge is incredibly delicious.

You would think at this point the story ends and we headed back to the bus to drive back to Bordeaux but no, that is not what we did.  We were invited to lunch by Maurice Hennessey, the head of the company to dine at Chateau de Bagnolet, their private estate in the village of Cognac.  The fact that this happened in the middle of the company hosting almost 5000 people in three days to celebrate their 250^th Anniversary was a truly humbling experience.  I could go on and on but it’s almost 5:00pm and I have a glass of Hennessey XO waiting.

Lunch with Maurice Hennessey

Whereas Monday we studied the Left Bank of the Medoc, today we headed to the Right Bank, where wines are made from more Merlot than Cabernet.  We started at Chateau La Dominique, in the appellation of Saint-Emilion, an estate that has seen a tremendous amount of investment in the last few years and a label that you will be hearing a lot more from in the years to come.

The View from the Vat Room at La Dominique

La Dominique sits in a very envious position, right on the border with the Pomerol appellation, and counts as its neighbors: Cheval Blanc (literally right next door) and L’Evangile.  Petrus (one of if not the most expensive wines produced today) is just a short walk away.  The wine making facilities were recently updated and include a new contemporary building designed by the famous French architect, Jean Nouvel.  The stainless steel tanks are housed in a room with one wall made completely of glass which looks out on the vineyards, a constant reminder that a great wine is made in the vineyards.

Our tasting included both the 2012 Relais de La Dominique, their second wine, a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc and the 2011 Chateau La Dominique, a blend of 85% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon.  It was deep and concentrated with both red and black fruits, a touch of cedar and tobacco and a nice juicy finish.  Because La Dominique makes their wine with 20% juice that never sees oak, the wine maintains a brightness and freshness that is charming.  It was quite charming.

After our visit, we headed into the village of Saint-Emilion for lunch a bit of free time before heading to our next appointment at Chateau de Lescours.

Lescours is owned by our good friend, Pierre Chariol, and is one of the oldest chateaux on the Right Bank, dating back to 1341.  The vineyards are planted to 65% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, and contain vines that are over 130 years old which pre-date the phylloxera epidemic that devastated the vineyards of Bordeaux in the late 19^th century.

Winemaking Class with Pierre

We received quite a thorough lecture on the winemaking process from vineyard management and the growing cycle all the way through fermentation and aging.  As always, Pierre pulled no punches when it came to clarifying his position on the proper way to do everything (including an occasional jab at those Socialist bastards that wrote the AOC regulations he was forced to follow).   We tasted several vintages of Chateau de Lescours (honestly, I can’t remember because Pierre pours with a heavy hand) and relaxed for a bit before heading to dinner.

Grilled Duck Breast, Lescours Style!!

Dinner ended up being family style, outside, behind the chateau on the lawn.  Pierre’s wife, Annick, is one of the best cook’s I know and on this night she did not disappoint.  Homemade pork pâté, hard boiled eggs stuffed with tuna and fresh mayonnaise and beautiful melon to start.  For the Plat (entreé technically is the first course, your entry into the meal, the plat (plate) is the main course) Pierre grilled duck breast in the fireplace over shoots he had cut from the vines in January.  This was served with potatoes cooked in duck fat and then followed by a cheese course and a simple salad.  For dessert, Tarte aux Pommes, Tarte aux Citron avec Meringue, and a Genoise aux Citron.  Of course, during this parade of culinary excess we enjoyed no less than six additional vintages of Chateau de Lescours Saint-Emilion Grand Cru.  It was a spectacular evening that will remain in my memory forever.  The only unfortunate part of the evening was that it had to have an end.  So we climbed back on the bus and headed back to the hotel.

At dinner tonight we had a bit of difficulty counting all the wines we tasted on our first day in Bordeaux.  I had forgotten about the white Bordeaux that was served with dessert at Chateau Lafon-Rochet, Jennifer pointed out that our tasting at Pichon-Baron focused on the 2012 vintage but then our guide pulled out a 2002 at the very end of the tasting as a surprise.  In the end, we settled on 20 different wines on Day One of our tour of Bordeaux.

Monday focused on the Left Bank of Bordeaux.  Cabernet Sauvignon is king here and supplemented by Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and very small amounts of Malbec and Carmenere.  We began at 11:30am with a visit to Chateau Lafon-Rochet.  Owner Michele Tesseron showed us the new winemaking facilities being built here which will provide them with the most current and modern winemaking techniques.   It was my first time seeing new cement fermenters that have angled sides.  While they have the same capacity, some have side walls angled out and others have sides angled in.  On the fermenters with walls angled out, the cap (we refer to the solids of skins, flesh and seeds that float on top of the juice during maceration as the ‘cap’) the cap will be shallower and therefore will provide less extraction of tannins and color.  On the fermenters with the walls angled in, the cap will be deeper and therefore provide more extraction.  These new fermenters allow the winemaking team to customize the maceration and fermentation of each individual block of the vineyard giving them a level of control they didn’t have before.

New Fermenters at Lafon Rochet

The construction crew was busy preparing to pour a concrete floor in what will become the new barrel room, so we finished our tour and headed back to the tasting room.  We tasted five different wines including the 2009 and 2012 vintages.  Chateau Lafon-Rochet is located in the sub-region of Saint-Estephe at the northern end of the Haut-Medoc.  Although Saint-Estephe doesn’t boast the number of illustrious producers that Pauillac and Saint-Julien do, they have been receiving a lot of attention over the last 10 years or so with producers like Cos d’Estournel and Chateau Montrose reaching the highest echelon of prestige amongst Bordeaux wine producers.  In fact, Lafon-Rochet is located in an enviable location, being just down the street from Cos d’Estournel and right next door to First Growth Lafite-Rothschild.

The tasting showed the wines to have the structure and power that Saint-Estephe is known for with the acidity to keep them bright and fresh.  The 2008 and 2012 vintages were especially delightful with dark fruits of plum and cassis, subtle notes of mint and eucalyptus and dried herbs tied neatly into a silky finish.  I have been a fan of these wines for quite a while as I feel that the estate is one of the great values, selling for a mere fraction of their neighbors.

Lunch was served in the dining room of the main house and began with their rose wine and small bites including cherry tomatoes (OMG, so good!) and radishes from their garden.  The meal included some food and wine pairing revelations as we dined on fois gras paired with the rose and roasted chicken with two vintages of their red wine (yes, it worked wonderfully).  We finished with a 1986 Lafon-Rochet with cheese, even at 29 years old it was still fresh and vibrant.

From Lafon-Rochet, we headed to Chateau Pichon Baron, one of the most picturesque chateaux in the Medoc.  I have had the pleasure of visiting several times before but I always learn something new.  After touring the vineyards and cellar, we were treated to a tasting of four wines: the 2012 vintages of Chateau Pibran (another winery owned by the same group), Les Tourelles de Longeville (the second wine of Pichon Baron) and then the Pichon Baron.  I suggest you put the 2012 vintage of Pichon Baron on your radqar.  A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot, it was beautiful with dark fruits, mint and cedar followed by black cherry on a fresh and vibrant frame.  It will be fantastic in another 10 years or so.  We were treated to a 2002 Pichon Baron which was delightful and elegant with dark fruits and silky tannins.

Pichon Baron

From Pichon Baron we headed south to Margaux and Chateau Durfort-Vivens.  This was my first visit to this producer but I would go anywhere in the AOC of Margaux.  Whereas Saint-Estephe is known for more power and assertion and Pauillac has its minerality and cedar & graphite notes, Margaux is known for elegance, floral aromas, and seductive tannins.  The 2009 Durfort-Vivens was luscious and opulent with aromas of violets and roses, subtle cedar and sweet tobacco notes and just a hint of alcohol.  It was a very pretty wine.  We kept our visit short, as our guide, Technical Director, Leopold Valentin, was anxious to get back to the vineyards.  There was a specific plot in the vineyards that had a mold problem and all of his endeavors to eradicate it were as yet unsuccessful.

So we headed back to the village of Pauillac for a wonderful dinner and four more wines.  It’s a tough job but someone has to do it!

Join us on Tuesday, March 10th as we welcome 

Francesco Riviera with San Felice Agricola

 San Felice is an integral part of Tuscany.  Not only are they a major wine producer, producing wines in the Chianti, Montalcino, and Maremma districts, they also make olive oil, run an extensive Vitiarium in conjunction with the University of Florence, and restored an abandoned medieval village into a 5 Star Relais & Chateaux hotel.  They are a company committed to preserving the ideals and history of Tuscany.

In addition to several other wines, Francesco will be pouring the 2010 Il Grigio da San Felice Gran Selezione Chianti Classico.  Gran Selezione is a new classification for Chianti and the 2010 vintage is the first that wines from Chianti Classico can be labeled as such.  A Chianti Classico Gran Selezione goes beyond the concept of a Riserva.  It is the absolute best Chianti made from any producer.  Grapes must be grown on the producer’s property and sourced from their very best vineyards.  The wine must be aged for a minimum of 30 months (24 in wood and 6 in bottle).  The wine must then pass chemical testing (maintaining minimal alcohol levels, for instance) and a blind tasting panel.  Of the 55 wines that applied for the Gran Selezione classification for the 2010 vintage, only 33 passed. 

Wines to be Tasted