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Fine Wine is a post from: Fine Wine Journal

1270 and Esprit de Fleurs by Frapin
Since 1270, the Frapin family have produced Cognac on their domain in the Grand Champagne region in France. Since 2002 Frapin has also become known for their perfume. The 1270 Eau de Parfum bears its long past in its name with all that it implies: complexity, richness, depth and weight. Spraying a little on a handkerchief or on one’s skin offers different styles and evolutions. White cotton cloth gives off the fruity (candied orange), balsamic (cocoa, tonka), spicy and lovely floral (vine flowers, everlasting flowers, linden) tones of this perfume. Thus, the beautiful complexity strides in harmony. On the skin, however, it rather too quickly obtains the scent of tobacco and black coffee, which become darker as the middle notes of pepper and spice and base notes of wood appear to the surface.

Citrus green Esprit de Fleurs features a dry mix of bergamot, grapefruit and tangerine as top notes and very strong scent of jasmine followed by a slightly bitter basil and other middle notes of pepper and berries. The base notes are vanilla, cedar and vetiver. The citrus elements disappear in about thirty minutes leaving cedar.
Available at Les Senteurs, London. GBP90/100ml.

Sauvignonne, Le Boise and Botrytis by Ginestet
Ginestet, an historic company too, with more than one hundred years behind it, not only laid foundation to the Bordeaux Wine Council but now also to three fragrances that carry aromas of major wines in Bordeaux – a dry white wine, a Sauternes and a red wine. Can there be a wilder dream for a winemaker or a perfumier for that matter? As a result of an inspired meeting between the Managing Director of Ginestet and a perfumier of the Florescence perfume company in Grâce (France), a fresh Sauvignonne, sweet Botrytis and woody Le Boise were launched in 2002. Molecules that define the typical bouqets of Bordeaux wines were identified in a labaratory and transformed into eau de toilette.

Sauvignonne is an aromatic citrus fragrance for women. It features white peach, grapefruit and boxtree notes. It leaves a cool, somewhat masculine impression that would work perfectly well in a business meeting, but not on a first date. A scent that becomes cooler and pleasantly more intensive if it has been in contact with water.

Le Boise, for men, comes in a red wine bottle which is a lovely interior design detail to find in a bathroom or hallway. It has the equal power to attract and repell. Two drops would destroy your personal scent circle – a circle outside of which no one should be aware of your fragrance. According to the Fragrance Foundation it is at arm’s length from the body. Le Boise is powerful, masculine fragrance with strong sandalwood notes, which turn to wood underscored with spicy pepper and vanilla notes.

Botrytis is an oriental vanilla fragrance for women and has a golden colour. It immediately features sweet (honey) vanilla with a slight hint of fresh white flowers which after some 15 minutes turns into the scent of gingerbread topped with vanilla. Botrytis lasts several hours.
Ginestet perfums cost about 55€. For more information visit www.ginestet.fr.

Fleur de Vigne by Caudalie
Fleur de Vigne Fragrance by Caudalie is very fresh and energizing, whilst being feminine and sexy, yet discreet and pleasant – criteria which are rare to discover in just one fragrance. Their formula includes top notes of grape blossoms with a blend of citrus – lemon, grapefruit, mandarin, bergamot and orange. The scent of small fragile vine blossoms are skillfuly recreated from white rose, pink pepper and watermelon. Middle notes of blackcurrant buds and green maté which materialise in about 20 minutes after application and a base of sandalwood and cedar. The Fleur de Vigne line includes body lotion, shower gel and a soon-to-be-launched Gentle Conditioning Shampoo.
The fragrance is available at Space NK and Caudalie.com. £30.00 / 100ml and £21.00 / 50ml.

Tauleto Wine Fragrance by Cesari
Tauleto Wine Fragrance comes from the Umberto Cesari winery located near Bologna. Originally the vision of Guliana Cesari, who wanted to transform the aromatic bouquet of their Sangiovese Tauleto wine into perfume, has materialized into a fruity, flowery fragrance that despite it’ s complexity can be worn and reapplied all day and night without being obtrusive. Top notes of grape, orange and mandarin evaporate rapidly, leaving middle notes of magnolia, violet and a light touch of bulgarian rose on the base of liquorice, musk and humus. The scent lingers for about an hour. A matt glass rectangular bottle of Tauleto Wine Fragrance comes in a silky violet sack packed in a wood case. The Tauleto Wine Fragrance line includes shower gel, body lotion, massage oil.

Wine Fragrance costs 80€/100ml. For more information visit http://www.tauletowinefragrance.com

Divine Perfumes is a post from: Fine Wine Journal

A tasting at La Conseillante during the 'primeurs'

Wine tasting is an art not a science and as such the results will not have the same empirical support as, say, a chemical analysis of a wine’s constituents. Moreover, a truly great wine provides the taster with a profound emotional experience which is hard to quantify. But a cursory glance at wine magazines, wine assessment sites and merchants’ wine lists frequently reveals a two or three digit number (a score) which may push a prospective purchaser into buying a particular wine. Europeans tend to prefer scores based on a twenty-point scale, whereas their American counterparts prefer a hundred point system – why a country which still uses Fahrenheit, whose cars have milometers and where weight is determined in pounds, uses what is effectively a decimal system makes not a little sense. Most of these scores are taken at face value and widely promulgated as if they are the last word on a particular subject, the international standard which may be transported to any timezone and proudly affixed to a wine’s description as if it has the same value as the level of alcohol in the bottle. The small print which should accompany all such assessments is conveniently forgotten, as indeed are the actual notes which accompany the digits.

There are a few websites which delve into the statistical world of scores for wines and one, in particular, is worth a moment’s perusal in order to penetrate the sheer depth of information available. At its most basic level there are the lists of scores from a host of different critics organised on an historical basis from the 2003 vintage and onwards. These will be updated with the new flood of critics’ pronouncement for the latest vintage (2008) in due course, so you may wish to bookmark them for further review. Here one can see at one glance see all the ‘scores’ derived from the most celebrated wine commentators – perhaps your favourite is among them? The columns can be conveniently sorted in a myriad ways to extract the most useful information. An interesting trend is the disparity between the scores from the European and American critics whilst allowing for the problems of converting the various scales.

One of the most convenient sortings to perform is that of sorting by high score according to your favourite critic. One might observe that the highest scoring wines are not necessarily the most expensive, especially in difficult years. It is also interesting to observe the familiar names of châteaux which some critics may seem to champion. Use of these kinds of statistics can be helpful in making purchase choices if one is confused by the wines and at the prices at which they are offered.

Bertrand Le Guern’s website tracks critics scores as if he were compiling the statistics for the Baseball League. This is a very comprehensive presentation of critics’ scores and, to some extent, their underlying influence through the prices that are finally charged for the wine in question. A very interesting chart, for example, is the average price of wines compared to the score it received in the vintages 2003-2007. This makes it very clear that there is a very strong correlation between wines which scored over 90 in the various vintages and the prices that were charged. This was particularly true for the 2005 vintage, much less so for 2003 and 2004. The correlation is also high for 2007, a campaign which largely failed in Britain.

There are other fascinating charts such as his presentation of average prices for the different appellations in Bordeaux. Pomerol and Pauillac showing their relative strengths when compared to other regions, an indication perhaps where to buy from too. Mr Le Guern is particularly strong when it comes to analysing prices. He makes useful comparisons between the price of a wine and the score it has received from the critics in his database. From this one can determine whether a wine is good value or not. He provides tables which show an estimated price based on a complicated statistical formula with the actual price and the highs and lows for the wine. All of these tables, provide some useful checks to those prices you might see in the marketplace – assuming you have the time to look through all of them.

Another particularly interesting table is where he lists the scores given to wines by critics from particular countries. Sorting the scores by country shows just how highly the US critics score the wines compared to their European counterparts and how much lower, in general, UK critics score the wines, with some notable exceptions where certain wines obviously appeal more to the British palate. Perhaps most useful to the consumer are Le Guern’s comparisons to the issue price of the wines at the time of the ‘primeurs’ (prix de sortie) and those which can be found in the supermarkets in France during their annual wine promotion festival in the autumn. Helpful, because he also gives the name of the supermarket when the wine could be bought. As if this wasn’t already enough he produces charts for all the wines showing their price evolution over a number of years, as many as ten years in some cases. If you’re concerned about whether some critics may prefer some wines over others than the website produces another set of tables which calculates the coeffficients of preference. An interesting, but not particularly scientific excursion. The rationale behind this ‘coefficient’ was to demonstrate one way or another whether there was a case to answer against an American critic that he ‘preferred’ the wines of a well-known consultant in Bordeaux. This provided some proof that he didn’t. On the contrary, a French wine commentator was amused to see how he himself apparently rated the wines of Michel Rolland higher and higher each year. Something he had not realised until now.

The comparisons of wines through scores are really only valid on the specific occasions when the wines are tasted. It’s therefore no good taking the score of a particular wine for 2008, say, and comparing it to the 2007, or even 2005. The prices of the wine will have a greater propensity to reflect the truth of the matter. Frequently scores are taken out of context and their use can be very misleading.

Scores are helpful because they provide some assessment of the quality of the wines during, for example, a primeur campaign, but they shouldn’t be taken on their own and should always be used in conjunction with the note which describes the wine. After all, no one is buying a score, but they are buying the estate, varietal, style, taste and even colour of the wine. As obvious as this may seem it is largely forgotten There are also other factors to consider which include a domain’s reputation and the general views on the vintage.

Statistics and scores taken from http://bleguern.fr (note: no www.)

Scores – sense or nonsense? is a post from: Fine Wine Journal

Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman examine a bottle of Pommard.

For the majority of cinema goers, the most famous bottle of wine in the history of cinema is without doubt that of a Pommard used in the film Notorious by Alfred Hitchcock. The bottle, discovered by Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman, has had the wine drained away to be replaced by powdered uranium, giving the intrigue. This was, in reality, a personal eulogy to the wines of Burgundy

After a career of 67 years and 53 films, Alfred Hitchcock was one of the greatest promoters of Burgundian wines, handing down to posterity unforgettable images, very French in their nature evoking the wines he loved. Conscious of this surprising notoriety, the Confrérie des chevaliers du Tastevin thanked him by inviting him to join their society in a ceremony which took place at the château du Clos Vougeot in 1960. Hitchcock was deeply honoured. It was one of the few occasions when he smiled. The main difference with someone like Spielberg, whose celebrity is today quite similar, and who acknowledges that he only drinks Coca-Cola, is that ‘Hitch’ boasted, in typical British style, that he possessed the most beautiful bottles in all of Hollywood. Proud of his professional and social success, the director took an almost malicious pleasure in taking people down to his cellar during one of his many famous lunches which he organised at his home in the fashionable suburb of Bel-Air, near, as he liked to mock, the 18th hole of the famous Los Angeles golf club. But woe betide anyone who tried to touch a flask of his precious wine without his permission. He or she would be forever banned from his presence. The screenwriter Evan Hunter discovered this to his cost when his wife did not behave herself to the liking of Hitchcock. But in truth, what were the most favoured bottles of this Ali-Baba of the cinema? Patricia, the only child of Sir Alfred, looks back with nostalgia to the family lunches and the preferred wines of her father, among which featured Mouton-Rothschild, Cheval Blanc and Montrachet, and including any number of Champagnes, single malt whiskies and legendary Cognacs.

Sir Alfred liked to drink as much as he liked to eat. His meals were legendary for their great quality. Despite living most of the time in North America, he ate mainly European style food, ordering direct his Dover soles from England, Scottish smoked salmon from the Highlands and capons from France. When he returned to Europe it was always with the intention of eating at the tables of the greatest chefs. Grace Kelly always liked to tell the story of how Alfred Hitchcock, before shooting the film To Catch a Thief (1956) had lost 5 kilos in order, specifically, to enjoy his food more when he arrived in France “when he did arrive, he took three days to travel down from Paris to Cannes, stopping in all the great restaurants.”

This interest found an early home in his cinematographic career. His second film, produced in 1928 in Great Britain, was entitled ‘Champagne’. The French title was, alas, rather more prosaic and less evocative: ‘ l’Americaine’. This light comedy was based in the world of a Champagne producer. The film was preserved thanks to the patronage of the Maisons de Champagne and the British Film Institute. In fact, nearly all of Hitchcock’s films possess a moment or two when its protagonists are drinking wine or alcohol of some kind. Vertigo, Marnie, North by Northwest, Topaz, Dial M for Murder or The Man Who Knew Too Much, all his great works are witness to it. In Rear Window, doesn’t the future Princess of Monaco seduce the unlucky James Stewart with a glass of Cognac in her hand?

In 1979, after receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute, Hitchcock retired. In the last years of his life, Sir Alfred particularly loved a Mimosa (Champagne and orange juice). This sometimes made him a bit licentious. Alfred Hitchcock died the 19 April, 1980 at 09.17… After so many crimes and murders, did he remember at this last moment, the place where Norman Bates, the assassin in Psycho, had hidden his dead mother?… It was in the cellar….!

Premier Grand Cru classé de Saint-Emilion 1947, Château Cheval blanc

A wine remembered
The candles along the side of the road threw a strange phantom light of barrels on the white walls. The evening dresses brought colour to the sombre dinner suits. A hundred invitees, no more, no less, from society: great men and women of the arts, from politics and wine enthusiasts, took their places at tables sumptuously adorned with Baroque candelabra, magisterial bouquets of flowers and red velvet tapestries from Château Talbot, Grand Cru classé Médoc. At the roll of a drum the cup bearers dressed in black aprons brought out the bottles which were put on the tables for the first service: d’Yquem, followed by Mouton-Rothschild, Labour, Haut-Brion, Ausone… A plump silhouette danced amidst the ballet of the waiters. Only a few attentive guests noticed, before it disappeared. Now, it is the moment to serve the mythical Château Cheval Blanc 47… Everyone waits with bated breath, impatient to taste the wine of the century… The wait continues, signs of impatience, whispers, anxiety grows and then a rumour starts, interrupting all discussions. There will be no ’47. The bottles have disappeared, vanished into thin air…. Stolen! The word is unleashed… The unthinkable has happened. The burglar is amongst the company, it could be anyone, the deception, palpable agony, terrible!

Towards midday the next day, the sun penetrates the living room of a house in the heart of the Entre-deux-mers, on the pedestal table the newspaper Sud-Ouest writ across the front page: “Cheval Blanc, le hold up”. On the table of the dining room, the sun’s rays highlight a bottle, on the white napkin some red powder, the bottle is half empty, and from which emanates scents of leather and truffle. The king of suspense, in raptures, savours in silence his pleasure. On the label of the bottle, next to the young woman who has accompanied him, is inscribed:  Cheval Blanc, 1947.
With kind permission from Les Idées Claires
from the book Grands Palais: 2500 Ans de Passion du Vin
By Corinne Lefort and Karine Valentin
Published by Les Idées Claires
www.lesideesclaires.net

Hitchcock and wine is a post from: Fine Wine Journal

Wine at Auction is a post from: Fine Wine Journal

Sold: £196,318/$302,526/€233,618 | Lots Sold: 505 | Lots Offered: 762 | Sold by Lot: 66% | Sold by £: 68% [Exchange Rate£:= $1.541/ € 1.190]

Lot | Description | Estimate (£) | Purchase Price | Buyer

229 | Château Mouton-Rothschild–Vintage 2003. Pauillac, 1er cru classé | 12 bottles | 2,000-2,500 |
£2,070/$3,190/€2,463 | UK Private

627 | Quinta de Serrado Bual–Vintage 1827 (2),Blandy’s Malmsey Solera–Vintage 1863 (1), Cossart Gordon Bual–Vintage 1920 (1), Leacock’s Sercial–Vintage 1940 (3), Cossart Gordon Bastardo–Vintage 1969 (2), Cossart Gordon Verdelho-Vintage 1972 (3) | 12 bottles per lot | 1,400-1,800 | £1,610/$2,481/€1,916 | UK Trade

562 | Salon le Mesnil–Vintage 1988 | 6 bottles | 1,000-1,400 | £1,495/$2,304/€1779 | European Private

Comment: Carolyn Holmes, Senior Specialist, London Wine Department said: “There was a packed saleroom for the South Kensington Wine sale, although it was canny telephone bidders who bagged the top lots; A case of Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2003 going at a respectable £2070, 12 festive mixed Madeiras at £1610 and fine Champagne, Salon Le Mesnil at £1495 for 6 bottles. A strong end to the year for South Kensington Wine sales.”

Christie’s | Monday 1 December 2008 is a post from: Fine Wine Journal

Total:	€ 3.075.481	£2.244.422	$ 3.898.516
Lots vendus: 547	Nombre de lots: 547	% par lot: 100%	% en valeur: 100%
Taux de change: € = 0.8599 £ /1.2677 $

- The sold total stands at Euros 3,075,481 / £2,644,422/ $3,898,516 (including premium, excluding VAT) for a reduced quantity of 544 barrels offered for sale – 450 barrels of red wine and 94 barrels of white wine totalled Euros 3,024,676* (including premium, excluding VAT, without the spirits and the President’s Barrel)

- The Special President’s Barrel benefiting two charitable organizations sold for Euros 50,000

The Traditional Sale of Wine in Barrel
In 2008, the Domaine des Hospices de Beaune offered a smaller amount of wine for sale: 544 barrels, compared to 607 last year (-10,4%), 680 in 2006 and 789 in 2005. This is the smallest number of barrels to have been offered for 21 years. There were several reasons for this: a difficult flowering of the vines, unfavourable weather during the summer and a rigorous sorting of the grapes at harvest time.

The new Cuvée being offered this year, Pommard-Epenots Premier Cru, Cuvée Dom Goblet was welcomed with enthusiasm, selling for the highest average price of any Pommard in the auction: €5.750 per barrel. In total there were 31 Cuvées of red wine, and 12 of white.

For the fourth year in a row, private individuals were able to participate and buy a single or several barrels of the different cuvées. Under the hammer of François Curiel, Chairman of Christie’ Europe and Emmanuelle Vidal-Delagneau, Christie’s France Business Development, the sale totaled Euros 3,075,481.

“At a time of economic uncertainty and after a summer which saw grape production cut by half for some of the best appellations of the Hospices (like Mazis-Chambertin and Corton-Charlemagne Dumay) in the end the results are better than we dared to anticipate. Wine lovers from around the world were present, despite the difficult financial context. The production of the Domaine des Hospices de Beaune was 100% sold this Sunday for dispersal to the four corners of the globe, ” said Anthony Hanson, Master of Wine, International
Consultant of Christie’s and Emmanuelle Vidal-Delagneau, Business Director and auctioneer in charge of the sale.

About 20 barrels found virtual bidders.
Once again, the participation of online bidders via Christie’s Live required a simplification of the bidding process. Any buyer was able to purchase a single barrel or several from each parcel offered in the sale. This new system seemed to be appreciated by everyone, including the traditional Burgundian négociants-éleveurs.

The President’s Barrel Euros 50.000
Since 1945, each year the Hospices de Beaune gives its support to one or several charities by donating the profit from one barrel: the President’s Barrel. This year, it was a Pommard Premier cru, Cuvée Dames de la Charité. French actors Jean-Pierre Marielle and Michel Blanc were the presidents of the 148th Hospices de Beaune Wine Auction. They supported the Comité de Côte d’Or de la Ligue contre le Cancer and the Association Enfants d’Asie. At their side, Sophie Vouzelaud also supported the League Against Cancer.

All the funds raised at the sale will go towards the modernization and extension of the Nicolas Rolin center and hospital.

*Euros 2.826.800 without premium

The 148th Hospices de Beaune Wine Auction is a post from: Fine Wine Journal

Great wines will always make their own reputations but it can help to be part of an umbrella organisation or region which may promote all wines, such as in Champagne, for example. Distinctions on labels in the confusing world one inhabits may override other considerations when it comes to buying a bottle of wine, even price. Bordeaux, Champagne, DOC (denominazione d’origine controllata), DOCG (denominazione d’origine controllata e garantita), AOC (Appellation d’origine contrôlée) are all brands of one kind of another. Cru Bourgeois is another.

The Crus Bourgeois, were so called after the merchants of Bordeaux who acquired their properties as a result of their enrichment from the international trade which grew out of Bordeaux in the 15th and 16th centuries. The first organisation was created in 1932, and at the time it grouped more than 400 properties in the Médoc, although it had been a term applied to many château since the 19th century. In the 1990s these domains represented half the total production of the Médoc. As with all good ideas the group evolved and attempted to create two further classifications within the overall community — ‘Supérieur’ and ‘Exceptionnel’ highlighting wines which were of special interest. However, the words Cru Bourgeois were still not yet protected in their own right and there was nothing to stop other domains using the term if they wished without any legal recourse. At the start of the new millennium an attempt was made to organise domains using the designation Crus Bourgeois to be included on the basis of merit and which would be updated every twelve years.  This was limited to less than 250 properties and as a result a number who had previously been included challenged this process in Court and won. The distinction and the right to carry the words Cru Bourgeois was effectively removed last year. However, the will amongst its previous members to use the term remain and it is hoped that the new tests for calling oneself a Cru Bourgeois will meet with more widespread approval. An alliance is pushing for ‘Cru Bourgeois’ to receive formal legal protection based on standards which will benefit wine enthusiasts by including qualitative wine tests.

But what are the characteristics of these wines and does the distinction merit saving? First, all of these wines come from the left bank area of the Gironde estuary known as the Médoc — this is further sub-divided into a number of areas. Not all the wines possess the same characteristics — many reflect the particular area or terroir from whence they are made and some, the underlying techniques of wine making which are used. Most are made up of various blends of which Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon are the most prominent with some Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc used in much smaller amounts in the final blend. Cabernet Sauvignon would be the varietal of choice in this area of Bordeaux but many estates are harvesting later in the year already and its not surprising therefore to see so much Merlot being used (it ripens early). Merlot also brings alcohol and is less tannic and forceful than the other varietals. Cabernet Sauvignon is a late ripening grape which can bring problems if bad weather hits after the summer. Cabernet Franc really prefers the clay based type soils found in places such as St Emilion and Petit Verdot is a winemakers nightmare ripening last of all. At least by having a choice of varietals on which you can draw you can mitigate some of your losses due to climatic influences during the harvest period.

Some notes on the wine themselves
We tasted about 50 wines from the 2005 and 2006 vintages of the Crus Bourgeois over the summer and here is a summary of our findings along with some general comments on the characteristics of the wines. Once again it may be worth mentioning since the full name is so often left off in describing the designation that all these domains are to be found in the Médoc. Most of these wines need more ageing time in the bottle although some are ready for drinking now and they should be best from 2011– 2014 although the 2005, an exceptional year in Bordeaux, may well hold up well long after these dates.

We found the following wines to be particularly good examples of the distinction and its worth mentioning that the Crus Bourgeois are generally noted for their attractive prices: Chateau Charmail (Haut-Médoc) is a rich deep ruby colour presenting dark fruits on the nose. This is a fat ripe wine, full-bodied with lovely underlying structure and tannins. Spicy, peppery and complex with a long finish. It is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot (mostly), Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. They have decided to remove the Cru Bourgeois Supérieur designation from their label for the 2006 vintage. Château Caronne-Sainte-Gemme (Haut-Médoc) has a dark almost opaque colour with luscious blackberries and black currants on the nose. Very smooth attack. Present tannins which are not astringent. Lovely wines which will age gracefully with all the characteristic of its strong Cabernet Sauvignon base; Chateau Dutroch Grand Poujeaux (Moulis-en-Médoc) has a rich deep colour and cherries and red fruits on the nose. Present but harmonious tannins. Good aging. Smooth and long. Chateau d’Agassac (Haut-Médoc) makes wines with a pronounced nose of black currants and particularly blackberries transporting one into the autumn and harvest time. Deep colour and some vanilla on the palate through which the fruit flows. There are tannins about but these will mellow in time. Power and elegance. Chateau Fontis has an immediately appealing nose out of a dark ruby colour. The wine is of medium build (except 2005 which is full-bodied with lots of fruit) with a lot of finesse. Smooth and very drinkable. It is blended from equal amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Chateau Barateau (Haut-Médoc), which despite its high levels of production have really succeeded with the 2005 where there are lovely dark fruits and oak on the nose. Has a fine structure and tannin extraction. Chateau de Braude (Haut-Médoc) displays a deep opaque colour with cassis and blackberries on the nose. Very smooth. Lovely mellow tannins. The wine has excellent structure. Corpulent. Once again it demonstrates that Cabernet Sauvignon is really the king in the Médoc with 70% going into the blend leaving Merlot to make up the remaining. Chateau de Gironville (Haut-Médoc) is a Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend with some Petit Verdot. It a concentrated wine with deep almost opaque colour and a luxurious nose of old leather and dark berries. It has a long finish and is full-bodied and should age well. The tannins will need time to unwind. Interestingly, only three of these wines were part of the higher echelon of what were known as the Crus Bourgeois Supérieur.
There are a surprising number of properties whose wines we tasted which feature a high proportion of Merlot. Merlot naturally gives a wine a much rounder flavour and slightly above average alcohol levels, nearer 13.5%.  Chateau Doyac (Haut-Médoc) with almost 70% Chateau Castéra (Médoc) 65%, Chateau Cambon de la Pelouse (Haut-Médoc) 60%, Chateau Cap Leon Veyrin (Listrac-Médoc) also 60%, Chateau Anthonic (Moulis-en-Médoc) with 58%, Chateau Loudenne (Médoc), 55%, Chateau Noiallac (Médoc) 55%, Chateau Petit Bocq (St Estèphe) 55%, and Chateau Dutroch Grand Poujeaux (Moulis-en-Médoc) with 53%. But it must be said, excluding the splendid 2005 vintage which saw excellent growing conditions, one might deduce that Merlot would not be the varietal of choice in this region.

Another interesting aspect is that those wines with the most Cabernet Franc were generally the least successful, especially in 2006 which might be expected because of the climatic conditions that year with the exceptions of Chateau Lamothe-Bergeron (Haut-Médoc) which showed some soft hints of vanilla and wood was delightfully smooth with strawberry flavours on the palate. Also, Chateau Le Crock, a luxurious red colour with soft and sweet notes on the nose, although the tannins will need time to mellow, and, of course, our ‘coup de coeur’ Chateau Charmail.

Other wines we liked included: Chateau Anthonic (Moulis-en-Médoc), Chateau Beaumont (Haut-Médoc) which had a very smooth texture was long with balanced tannins, Chateau Bibian (Listrac-Médoc) which should age well, Chateau l’Argentyre (Médoc ) whose tannins will need to mellow before truly enjoying this wine, Lilian Ladouys (St Estèphe) (2006) with its velvety tannins. The rather old-fashioned tasting Chateau Maucamps (Haut-Médoc); Chateau Meyney (St Estèphe) with its seductive nose albeit a little over-extracted. Chateau Petit Bocq (St Estèphe), also over extracted but gives the wine an enjoyable corpulence, Chateau Paloumey (Haut-Médoc) with its ripe fruits, Chateau Paveil de Luze’s (Margaux) elegance and subtle spices, Chateau Peyrat-Fourthon (Haut-Médoc) which is very pleasant already, Chateau Tour des Termes (St Estèphe) a medium bodied wine which needs some time before approaching, and the Chateau Vernous (Médoc) which surprises with its depth of colour and fruitiness.

The Alliance des Crus Bourgeois du Médoc is in the process of establishing a legal framework from which a qualitative drive for fine wines will emerge. Certainly the wines of the Crus Bourgeois have never tasted better.

Traditionally the bourgeoisie elevated their status through public outings and promenades in the parks and squares. Emphasis was placed on strict etiquette in order to be compared favourably with the aristocracy. The word ‘etiquette’ in French also means ‘label’ which is just how the organisation hope to identify themselves as they have done in the past — continuing a long tradition of the Bourgeoisie. Look out for the Crus Bourgeois.

A Crucial alliance: the Bourgeois inheritance is a post from: Fine Wine Journal

FINEST AND RAREST WINES: Featuring Treasures from the Cellars of Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande and a Connoisseur’s Outstanding Private Collection | 12 November 2008

GRAND TOTAL: £1,005,50 | EXCH RATE: 1.55 | SOLD BY LOT: 77% LOTS OFFERED: 1000 | SOLD BY £: 73% | LOTS SOLD/UNSOLD: 777/223

LOT | PRICE | ESTIMATES | BUYER
765 | £25,300 | ($39,149) £24,000-32,000* | UK Trade | Château Pétrus 1982 (12 bts)
383 | £14,950 | ($23,134) £13,000-18,000 | Asian Trade | Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Assortment 1990 (12 bts)
674 | £11,500 ($17,795) | £6,000-8,000 | European Private | Château Latour 1961 (9 bts)
808 | £11,500 ($17,795) | £13,000-16,000 | UK Private | Château Pétrus 2000 (6 bts)
239 | £8,280 ($12,812) | £8,000-10,000 | UK Private | Château Lafleur 1990 (12 bts)
676 | £8,280 ($12,812) | £4,000-5,000 | European Private | Château Haut Brion 1961 (9 bts)
683 | £8,280 ($12,812) | £6,500-8,000 | UK Trade | Château Pétrus 1970 (9 bts)
506 | £8,050 ($12,457) | £8,000-10,000 | UK Private | Château Haut Brion 1989 (12 bts)
507 | £7,820 ($12,101) | £8,000-10,000 | UK Private | Château Haut Brion 1989 (12 bts)
508 | £7,820 ($12,101) | £8,000-10,000 | UK Private | Château Haut Brion 1989 (12 bts)

*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium

Discussing the Sale, Serena Sutcliffe, International Head of Wine at Sotheby’s said: “This was a solid result at a time when wine prices have been fluctuating, with the greatest adjustments being seen on those wines that have had the most meteoric increases over the last 2-3 years. There is certainly realignment in this category and buyers are finding more to tempt them if they missed out when the market was at its height. This sale demonstrated that older wines of perfect provenance are very much in demand as shown by the Treasures from the Cellars of Château Pichon Lalande which were 100% sold. Buyers were truly international in this sale.”

Sotheby’s Finest and Rarest Wines: featuring treasures from the Cellars of Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is a post from: Fine Wine Journal

Chris Munro, Head of London Wine Department said:
“Another good result for fine wine at King Street as global buyers competed for high quality lots with exceptional provenance. This sale brings the total wine sold this week in London to a very healthy £850,000 with 86% of lots being sold – a good result in any market. We were particular pleased with the result of the evening charity sale which was 100% sold and raised £69,000 for The Bahia Street Trust and The Cardinal Hume Centre.”

Lot	Description	Estimate (£)	Purchase Price	Buyer
293	Chateau Lafite Rothschild Vintage 1982 – 12 bottles	14,000 - 18,000	£14,375 $21,376 €16,819	Hong Kong Private
294	Chateau Lafite Rothschild Vintage 1982 – 12 bottles	14,000 - 18,000	£14,375 $21,376 €16,819	Hong Kong Private
3	Taylor Vintage 1945 – 12 bottles	5,000 - 7,000	£7,475 $11,115 €8,746	Russia Private

Christie’s Fine and Rare Wines: London – Thursday, 13 November 2008 is a post from: Fine Wine Journal