Greybeard’s Corner – Winter 2010/11

Posted on January 16, 2011 by Karl Laczko

A warm welcome to 2011 and there’s a whole new year ahead but, as we move into a new decade, here’s one final look back to 2010 as Greybeard’s Corner reviews the run up to Christmas and New Year.

Winter hit the UK fast and hard, so much so that one of London’s bonded wine warehouses, London City Bond’s premises in Purfleet, had its roof collapse under the weight of snow resulting in significant loss of stock. Luckily no one was in the building at the time but 100,000 cases of wine were stored in the warehouse by several merchants and initial recovery efforts only amounted to 40%, with sub-zero temperatures a worry for those bottles not destroyed.
Staying in the UK and The Wine Gang, a collaboration of 5 wine writers and critics, reshuffled their line-up with the departure of arguably their most famous members, Tim Atkins and Olly Smith, to be replaced by David Williams and Jane Parkinson. It would seem that Tim and Olly had too many other projects vying for their attention to dedicate enough time to the Gang.
Atkin’s December article on The World Beyond Bordeaux is yet another argument that there is more to wine than the celebrity French region – unless of course you’re in China, where Bordeaux wine is the status symbol above all others. Château Mouton Rothschild nearly doubled in value after its new label, created by Chinese artist Xu Lei, was unveiled and then came the news that a Chinese billionaire had purchased Château Chenu Lafitte in the Côtes de Bourg.

Keeping the focus on Asia and Decanter magazine announced that Hong Kong based Jeannie Cho Lee MW would be a Contributing Editor for Asia. The wine business must be good in Hong Kong as it was Cho Lee who successfully bid for an enormous white truffle at a charity auction in Italy, sharing the news with the world on her twitter feed in November,
“Just became the owner of the lrgst wht truffle (900gm) for 105,000 Euros, shared among friends. We will have a wht truffle feast in 7 days”

However 2010 came to an end with a darker side of Chinese wine industry, as a counterfeit scandal surfaced. The fact that China produces fake wine shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, but that shouldn’t detract from the developing legitimate fine wine business in the country as I saw when I visited Château Bolongbao in November.

A couple of other stories kept my scientific curiosity piqued. Hot on the heels of upsetting Jamie Goode, Dr Pascal Chatonnet released more research into wine faults, this time with an alternative to TCA for tainted wine – MDMP. Interestingly this research points to oak chips and untreated cork as a source of the contaminants, as opposed to oak barrels that caused the previous controversy. Finally one of the original wine evils, Brett, got another review in Victoria Moore’s Brett, friend or foe? piece in the Telegraph.

Moving closer to home and the last NEWTS meeting I wrote about was in October when we had a wonderful Californian themed tasting which was going to be a hard act to follow, but I needn’t have worried as November’s meeting was equally enjoyable and somewhat educational as well.
The theme chosen by the presenter was “The Jefferson Tour”; wines from the regions Thomas Jefferson visited during his three month tour of the southern part of France and Northern Italy between February and June 1787.
Jefferson began in Burgundy travelling from Dijon down to Lyon, then through the Rhône to Orange and Nimes, east along the Cote d’Azur into Italy and Turin, Milan and Genoa, before backtracking to Monaco and Nice, down through the Languedoc to Toulouse, then to Bordeaux, up the coast into Brittany then back along the Loire Valley to Orleans before returning to Paris. During the 1200 mile tour he compared red and whites wines and wrote in his journal of the soils, cultivation and commercial aspects of the winemaking.

Our tasting homage to Jefferson began with a bottle of fizz, the Château Rives 2008 Blanquette de Limoux made from the local Mauzac grape with green apple, a little bitterness and a hint of oxidation. Burgundy was next with a textured white from Nuits Saint George, Jean Bourguignon’s 2007 Mersault. This was concentrated; a thick oily nose, perfumed with some banana, and very smooth and creamy with oak in the mid-palate going into a long finish, although the flavour drops off. The final white was from the Rhône, the E. Guigal 2007 Condrieu, a thick wine with an oily nose and taste. The flavour was intense, if a little one dimensional, with some zestiness and a floral, creamy nose which improved in the glass.
For the reds we mimicked Jefferson’s route, starting in Burgundy with the Pommard 1er cru Les Épenots 2001 from Francois Parent. It was brown in colour with a nose of slightly stewed fruits and had a lean taste, not too much fruit but good secondary flavours. It was well textured with subtle tannins, although lacking acidity and a touch dilute. I’d describe it as a “happy wine”, but it did elicit a heated discussion in the group, some arguing it was delicious, others that it was past its best.
For the Rhône a special Hermitage was poured, La Chapelle 1995 by Paul Jaboulet Aine. Also browning this had tar and liquorice on the nose with herbs and smoky meat. There was a herbal bitterness at the front which, once accustomed to, was very pleasant and the wine was dry with plenty of smooth tannins. This was a delicious wine with a lot of integrated complexity, flavours and textures and I managed to salvage the remnants of a bottle at the end of the tasting to enjoy at home.

Moving into Provence we tasted the Dalmasso 2004 Domaine de la Source from Bellet, one of the most unusual Appellations in France as it is completely surrounded by the city of Nice on the Côte d’Azur. The Domaine de la Source red was made from FolleNoir and Braquet grapes with some Grenache and had a smoky ash nose, sweet and a little vegetal but the finish dropped off disappointingly. There was a dry bitter undertone and not enough acid to carry the tannins through.

Then into Italy and the Giuseppe Mascarello 2003 Barolo Villero from Piedmont. This was an all round 4 star wine with an epoxy/enamel nose which developed into cherry menthol with a little tar. It was supremely balanced with sweet fruit throughout, smooth tannins starting in the mid-palate and remaining strong through the fruity finish, an elegant and savoury wine.

In Bordeaux Jefferson enjoyed Château Haut-Brion but unfortunately our tasting budget couldn’t run to that so we settled for the 2005 Château Larrivet Haut-Brion from Pessac Leognan instead. This 50/50 Cabernet and Merlot blend had a complex, smooth nose with mint and a balanced texture with tannins developing on the mid-palate. This wine was 4 star but still too young, its moderate acidity and strong tannins giving it great potential for further development.
The final wine was a Muscat de Frontignan from Château de la Peyrade, which was sweet, smooth and dangerously easy to drink, although not particularly complex. “Nice” was used as a criticism and bottles of this stuff could disappear quickly which, at 15% abv, is not always a good thing!.

After the superb excesses of November December’s meeting was an informal pre-Christmas tasting of a range of wines provided by the committee, three of which stood out – although one for the wrong reasons. We started with a bottle of sparkling served blind and various suggestions came to the fore but the truth was stranger than fiction with the English Ridgeview Bloomsbury 2007 revealed, an award winning wine in 2010 but a disappointment to many in the room. It was very frothy and a touch simplistic with citrus acidity, lime and apple fruit – maybe a year or so of bottle age would improve it (I hope so as I have a bottle myself!).
The most interesting red of the night was the Bodegas Ochoa 2002 Reserva from Navarra; an oaky, spicy nose with some liquorice, very smooth on the palate with a mixture of flavours including black olives, cherries and plums.
Finally the Royal Oporto 1977 Vintage Port was something special; a delicious raisin and alcohol nose which suggested it had some “bite” to it, while in the mouth it was a smooth, rich mix of fruit and tannins surrounded by the alcohol spice. This was the oldest Port I’ve tried and I found it truly exceptional, but some of the more experienced members confirmed that this would improve further with more age, taming the alcohol that was still pronounced on the palate – I only hope I’ll have a chance to try more mature Ports in the future.

Two local retailers also make it into my last report for 2010. PortoVino hosted a tasting of new Portuguese table wines, Ports and Madeira looking to make it onto their retail lists. All the Madeira’s were from Pereira D’Oliveira (Vinhos) and I found their style very dry across the range. I wasn’t overly impressed with their younger wines, all from the Tinta Negro Mole variety, as they were too dry for my palate, but some of the older ones were delicious, especially an unusual Terrantez from, I think, the ‘70s. Unfortunately I managed to leave my notes on a ‘plane during my Chinese trip so I can’t recall any specifics of the wines that night.

In the middle of 2009 I wrote of the Wine on the Tyne tasting in Newcastle where newcomers Carruthers & Kent exhibited for the first time. Although taking on-line orders they were expecting to open up a shop in Newcastle’s Gosforth area in November ’09, but, due to a range of factors, this had been delayed by a year and so it was only in November 2010 that the doors finally opened. Their Facebook page contains plenty of photos of the shop and they have a great range of wines including the excellent Patricius Dry Furmint from Hungary. I intend to buy a selection from them over the coming months, I’ve already started with the new 2009 Boekenhoutskloof The Chocolate Block which they had in just before Christmas.

And so we come to a close with my usual ramblings of what I’ve been buying and drinking at home.
A much appreciated Christmas present from my parents was the Krohn 1978 Colheita Port while another 2009 Beaujolais joined the collection with Louis Latour’s Brouilly from my local Costco. More from 2009 around the world were Ata Rangi’s Crimson Martinborough Pinot Noir, Pieropan’s Soave and Saladini Pilastri’s Falerio dei Colli Ascolani (yes, I’m still buying Italian whites!).
On the drinking front there were some seriously good wines opened, not that surprising as this covered the Christmas and New Year break.
The Dr. Wagner Saarburg 2007 Riesling and Cossetti 2008 Roero Arneis fought it out for best white; one a classic, deliciously sweet and oily Riesling, the other floral with lemon biscuit and honey.
For red it was a Chilean stand-off with the dense, extracted Terrunyo 2006 Carmenere from Concha y Toro and the elegant menthol and blackcurrant Miguel Torres 2001 Manso de Velasco Viejas Vinas.

Cheese and desserts were accompanied by a trio from California, Australia and Portugal; the Suncé 2008 Sweet Zora Cabernet Franc was in a rustic sherry style with sweet and salty flavours, Pertaringa Vineyards Full Fronti 20 year old Frontignac had a dark nose of cinder toffee and sweet raisins with nuts and toffee on the palate, while the Quinta do Infantado 2004 LBV Port was a balanced and complex with maybe a touch too much alcohol burn in what was otherwise a stunning Port.

So, the decade has ended and after finally shaking off the bout of ‘flu I picked up over the holidays I finally got round to finishing this piece and can start to look forward to what 2011 has to bring.

Slainte!

Greybeard

Originally published January 16th, 2011 on Reign of Terroir

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Fabrique En Chine – Château Bolongbao

Posted on December 17, 2010 by Karl Laczko

Vincent Debien is a long way from home, although that’s nothing new for this young Bordelais. At 26 he already has vintages from Lebanon, Corsica, Bordeaux, Australia, New Zealand and Switzerland under his belt (including such names as Smith Haut Lafitte, Haut Brion, Chandon Australia and Cloudy Bay), but for 2010 Debien is helping with the slow realisation of a new major player on the world wine scene at Château Bolongbao, southwest of Beijing, in the Peoples Republic of China.

China is all the rage in the wine world at the moment; from Bordeaux First Growths putting Chinese characters on their bottles or commissioning Chinese artists to design their labels, to record breaking auction prices in Hong Kong. But while Asian wine appreciation may not be a new phenomenon – UK Fine Wine magazine Decanter has been doing a Traditional Chinese edition aimed at Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore etc. for more than 5 years – the idea of fine wine actually made in China is still taking hold in the West even though there is a winemaking history dating back thousands of years although it has only been in the last few decades that have seen a revival).
The facts put things into perspective: 2008 figures show China was the world’s seventh largest wine producer – (it was briefly 6th in 2007 after Australian production dipped dramatically) – and based on the trends it’s probably 5th by now with only Italy, France, Spain and the US making more wine by volume. True, most of that volume wouldn’t be appreciated by the average wine drinker in Europe or the US, but quality levels are rising fast.

But let me rewind back to Château Bolongbao. I was in Beijing on business and when my hosts heard about my wine obsession they kindly suggested taking me to a winery near the city. On arriving we were welcomed by a young staff member, Dingshichao, and given a guided tour of the buildings and cellar. He was happy to answer all of my questions in broken English, sometimes looking to my colleagues for a translation when he seemed to struggle for the best words, although I think even if I’d been there without friends I wouldn’t have had any problems speaking with him.
The winery was started in 2000 with French investment, which seems to be a consistent theme in Chinese winemaking. New vine plantings in 1999 meant the first vintage wasn’t until 2003 with their prestigious Grand Vin from that favourable vintage labelled as Chateau Philippe, but the 2004 and subsequent vintages have all been labelled as Chateau Bolongbao.

The vines spread out over nearly 70ha of land surrounding the winery near the village of Bashimudi, just over an hour’s drive Southwest of Beijing, past Fangshan, and there’s a development plan to purchase and plant more land and expand to as much as 200ha.

Even without M. Debien the French influence is visible all around with the Tricoleur flying proudly alongside the Chinese flag outside, the Bordeaux Oak Barrels scattered in and around the buildings and the grapes themselves; Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay and, allegedly, a smattering of Petit Manseng (although this was not in evidence when I was there).
Production is limited to about 100,000 bottles a year although that has dropped to nearly 50,000 for the low yielding 2010 vintage, deemed already to be a very good year (potentially the best of the winery’s short life).
With such a limited production Bolongbao doesn’t sell in local stores; apart from visiting the winery itself, getting hold of a bottle requires you to be in their direct sales wine club, in the Duty Free area of the major Chinese airports or, strangely enough, in one of several Parisian Restaurants (again I’m guessing the French Connection at play here). This exclusivity and the winery’s organic status (they’re very proud of the Chinese, European and US organic certification which seems to set it apart from most of its Chinese counterparts ) probably helps explain the high prices of Bolongbao’s wine; their top wine, the 2003 Château Philippe was being sold at the winery for 1880RMB, approximately £200!

Debien happily brought me back to the tank room for a barrel tasting as he explained a little bit about himself and what he hopes for his time in China. He arrived in August to take over the winemaking duties (Bolongbao had a Chinese winemaker up until then) and was thrown straight into the 2010 harvest, which began at the beginning of September with the Estate Merlot, then the Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon throughout September. The summer seems to have been dry with a lot of sunshine, leading to some sunburn on the Chardonnay and uneven ripeness, however, the low yields for the red grapes promise excellent quality.

First up was the Rosé; 90% Cabernet and 10% Merlot expected to come in at 13.5% abv with about 1000 bottles planned. It was an elegant salmon pink in colour and, with a just-dry taste, this was drinking very well straight out of the tank. Onto the Chardonnay next with 3 barrels and a small tank – again about 1000 bottles expected. The cask sample had a smoky nose and good texture, overtly oaky as you’d expect but with a hint of banana on the finish, potentially a very pleasant wine. Vincent was worried about low acidity in a lot of the grapes but was hoping the final blending of the tank Chardonnay, which had higher acidity than the barrel lots, would provide enough to bolster the wine’s structure.

Then to the reds, all still in tanks – the transfer to barrels was expected in the next 10 days.
Merlot was first, about 120 hectolitres (hl), which was first racked after 10 days – sooner than typical as it had good structure. The colour was rich, although Debien admitted he’d needed to do a little Carbonic Maceration to pull extra colour out of the grapes. This was a lot more elegant and lean than I’d been expecting for a Merlot, the tannins weren’t overly harsh for its age and it had a good structure, although lacked body.

Cabernet Franc next, 10 hl in a small tank off to one side – again this was first racked after only 10 days as Debien had concerns about its development. Although the nose was wonderful – heady and vegetal with a touch of acetate – in the mouth the tannins were surprisingly harsh with an ashen aspect, although it had a depth of texture that showed potential. I agreed with Vincent that there was something concerning about where this “was” – should it come together it would make a good wine and great contributor to a blend, but for the moment it was to be kept alone and watched.

Finally the Cabernet Sauvignon which had taken 3 weeks before it was first racked. 240 hl sat in 4 large tanks and had caused some concern at harvest – Debien wanted to wait for full phenolic ripeness while the owners nervously looked skywards for signs of rain (Beijing weather is notoriously unpredictable) as the grapes hung on for much longer than usual. French patience won out but even these ripe grapes are barely expected to reach 14% abv, less than usual at the Château.
This had a closed nose which eventually opened up a little in the glass, with a good structure, firm but relatively fine tannins (compared to the Cabernet Franc) and balanced acidity and fruit.

I extend my thanks to Vincent for going above and beyond with his hospitality to me on that cool but sunny November day in China, and I wish him well for his first vintage in the year of the Tiger.
Before I left I had a short walk around the picturesque oriental gardens and vineyard, noticing how the all of the lower part of the vines had been covered with soil for protection against the harsh winters this region of China experiences. I returned to Beijing with several pages of notes, plenty of camera shots and a bottle of the 2004 品丽珠 (that’s Cabernet Franc in Chinese characters) for a mere £30 at the cellar door – almost definitely more expensive than the juice inside the bottle warrants but at least affordable compared to the 2003 Château Philippe!
At least one Chinese wine review suggests Bolongbao is overpriced for what it is, but then again, isn’t that the epitome of Bordeaux as well? I suspect an element of status envy is going on here as the wines are mainly red (seen as healthy by the Chinese), exclusive and organic, while the winery is run by the son of a former general (or high ranking politician, I wasn’t sure of the translation). Given the ridiculous prices that top Bordeaux go for in China then I guess it isn’t too surprising a Bordeaux styled Chinese winery can ask, and get, high prices for it’s wines from the notoriously overspending, status symbol seeking Beijing elite.

For further background reading on the new Chinese wine culture I recommend reading Adam Luck’s excellent piece on the Bordeaux Wine Exchange, while for general reference and the latest news from the region check out WineChina.com and the Grape Wall of China Blog, which also has an earlier visit to Château Bolongbao in their archives.

Gan Bei!

Greybeard

Originally published on Reign of Terroir, December 17th, 2010

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The Wines, They are a-changin’? New EU Regulations

Posted on June 21, 2009 by Karl Laczko

How familiar are you with the terms Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI)? These are two of the European Quality schemes for agricultural products and have been in common use since 1992 for food (primarily cheese), however get used to seeing them more often as, from 1st August 2009, they are label designations that will become a requirement on all wine made within the European Union (EU).

The labelling of wine is just one of the changes in a massive overhaul of the EU wine regulations being overseen by the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Denmark’s Mariann Fischer Boel (who placed 3rd in Decanter’s 2009 Power List of the most influential people in the wine-world for specifically that reason). The changes are designed to improve the efficiency, quality and competitiveness of 21 winemaking nations in total holding >40% of the world’s vines and making 2/3 of its wine.

There’s been some comment of the changes already; Decanter.com seemed to be harbingers of doom with their 2008 story proclaiming “From August 2009, DOP and IGP will be only the appellations allowed in Europe under the new rules”, and earlier this year “no more DOC, no more DOCG… no more (AOC)” appeared in the magazine itself (page 23 of their Italian Wines 2009 supplement). The head of the German Wine Institute Monika Reule even stated in August 2008 that “The whole German wine sector is unanimous in the protest against the suggestions of the EU Commission”, but is this melodrama warranted?

The 129 Articles of Council Regulation 479/2008 have been in place since mid 2008 and were the result of years of work to try and correct some of the problems in wine production across Europe that have led to overplanting, overproduction, costly market intervention distillation schemes and a lack of competitiveness as the New World catches up (and in many cases overtakes) the Old.
The regulationscover;

  • Gradual removal of subsidies for distilling surplus or low quality production.
  • National support programs to improve vineyard & production quality and market competition.
  • “Grubbing up” to take out of production surplus, uncompetitive vines.
  • The end of current restrictive planting rights by 2016 (2018 for some countries)
  • Approval of Winemaking practices to be transferred the European Commission
  • Updated and simplified labelling with use of the PDO and PGI schemes
  • Restricted Chaptalisation

The process of change began in 2006 and, as to be expected with a Government covering 27 member states, the proposals initially put forward went through significant changes before final approval.
-French and Italian lobbying resulted in agreements for fewer vineyards to be grubbed up (175,000ha instead of 400,000ha) and the continuation (with gradual reduction) of surplus distillation schemes instead of its outright cessation.
-Germany, Austria and Hungary put pressure to ensure that the initial plan to completely outlaw chaptalisation was amended to take account of the cooler climate countries where sweetening is often needed or traditional to the wine style.
-Wines outside the PDO and PGI schemes are able to use variety and vintage on their labels.

However diluted the regulations were Fischer Boel still commented in December 2007 that “We didn’t get everything we wanted, but we have ended up with a well-balanced agreement.”

Although regulation of winemaking practices moves into the Euro Bureaucratic domain the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (IWO/OIV) will remain the premier body for winemaking techniques, with the EU carrying out assessment of OIV approved practices for inclusion into their lists.

However it is the labelling regulations that have caught the attention of most people so far, both consumers and producers alike. Exactly what do the PDO and PGI schemes mean for the wine designations we are all familiar with, and for the wine we will be drinking in the future?
Both have a concept of terroir – that there is a connection to where they are from at the various stages of production;

Designation of Origin is defined in article 34 of the regulations as “the name of a region, a specific place or, in exceptional cases, a country …that complies with the following requirements;
-its quality and characteristics are essentially or exclusively due to a particular geographical environment with its inherent natural and human factors
-the grapes from which it is produced come exclusively from this geographical area
-its production takes place in this geographical area
-it is obtained from vine varieties belonging to Vitis vinifera”

Each European country its own name for DOP, with the ones you’re most likely to come across being AOP in France (Appellation d’Origine Protégée), DOP in Spain (Denominación de Origen Protegida) and Italy (Denominazione d’Origine Protetta) and gU in Germany (geschützte Ursprungsbezeichnung). Apart from Germany the others are similar to the current AOC and DOC certifications.

Geographic Indication is defined as “referring to a region, a specific place or, in exceptional cases, a country …which complies with the following requirements;
-it possesses a specific quality, reputation or other characteristics attributable to that geographical origin
-at least 85 % of the grapes used for its production come exclusively from this geographical area
-its production takes place in this geographical area
-it is obtained from vine varieties belonging to Vitis vinifera or a cross between Vitis vinifera species and other species of the genus Vitis.”

IGP is used in France (Indication Géographique Protégée), Spain ( Indicatión Geográfica Protegida) & Italy (Indicazione Geografica Protetta) and Germany goes it alone again with gGA (geschützte Geografischa Angabe). It is effectively the same idea as the IGT currently used in Italy for regional wines.

It is likely that the PDOs will relate directly to the key AOCs, DOCs etc. and that many of the regional designations will stay the same as well, although sub-zones are not supported. Italy seems to have documented the changes it expects the most with its current 470 DOCGs, DOCs and IGTs being rationalised into 182 DOPs and IGPs, as reported in Decanter.

However the regulations also suggest the effects of these changes may not be as radical as some expect;
“Well-established traditional national quality-labelling schemes will be kept” and can be used on the label to indicate what the new DOP or IGP is replacing (don’t expect any of the old terminology to disappear from the bottle any time soon).
“In order to preserve the particular quality characteristics of wines …. member States should be allowed to apply more stringent rules in that respect”. The EU regulations are minimum requirements, with individual countries able to regulate over and above them to preserve their own quality traditions.

The regulations go on, and on, for some time, however I recommend you to browse the pages, especially towards the end, as there is a very comprehensive definition and terminology section covering most aspects of viticulture and vinification. I was also intrigued why the obscure grape varieties Noah, Othello, Isabelle, Jacquez, Clinton and Herbemont are specifically prohibited by the EU (apparently wine made from them is classed as toxic due to high levels of methanol).

Already some producers are embracing the new rules. WineAlley.com reported last November on the small Loire VDQS of Gros Plant du Pays Nantais, on the Bay of Biscay west of Muscadet, applying for IGP status because “This wine category offers flexibility that fits well with what the Gros Plant offers…” and “…we want to increase our grape varieties (and) this project has better chances within IGP (rather) than in the AOP category” according to Jean-Michel Morille, vice-president of the producer’s Union.

I asked Frédéric Chaudière of Château Pesquié in the Côtes du Ventoux on his opinion of the new regulations. He seemed comfortable with the changes, “it is coming soon but we have not had (much) information. (The) AOC will become AOP, focusing on the idea of a precisely delimited origin (apart from the change of letter we remain very close to AOC). …the real revolution is for what will replace Vin de Table, which we call “Vin sans IG” as it will now be “Vin de France” and (it is allowed) to put vintage and varietals when before it was impossible.”

With just over a month to go before the full implementation of 479/2008, Mariann Fischer Boel’s brave new world for Old World wine, it seems that, for the moment at least, things will not be changing that much. I will be on the lookout for my first PDO or PGI labelled wine some time in 2010, possibly on a fresh Vinho Verde or other early drinking white, but I suspect the contents will taste no different for the name change. However the longer lasting effects of the regulations are intended to improve the competitiveness of winemakers in the EU, make it easier to understand what you’re buying and, hopefully, the quality of what goes in the bottle.

Originally published June 21st 2009 on Reign of Terroir

Comment after original posting;
I see that Decanter has published an article in September’s edition on the same news, by Victoria Daskal (who contributes to JancisRobinson.com). Although I prefer mine (I am biased) her compact piece has a different take on 2 areas;

  • that the 182 “new” Italian DOP & IGP designations is incorrect, although no additional information to clarify what is.
  • that new D.O. & G.I. designations can be ommitted from the label if an existing AOC, DOC etc. is in place (although again, no references, and I did not interperet that from my original read of the E.U. regulations).

Otherwise it’s a good article, as you’d generally expect from Decanter – even if it is a little late!

Also see separate Decanter 2009 piece by Rebecca Gibb

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Château Musar – Unique from Vine to Glass

Posted on December 8, 2008 by Karl Laczko

Château Musar is neither the Lebanon’s oldest or biggest winery – both those titles belongs to Château Ksara which was founded 1857 and contributes two thirds of the countries production – however, since it was exhibited at the 1979 Bristol Wine Fair (impressing Christies head of wine Michael Broadbent and journalist Roger Voss enough to regale it as the “discovery of the fair”) Musar has created an envious, some may say cult, international following. This is partly due to the charismatic and irrepressible force that is Serge Hochar, son of founder Gaston Hochar, and the unique characteristics of the Musar wines.

I do not intend to re-hash the entire Musar story as it has been told many times before and by better writers than me – Andrew Jefford’s two Decanter articles here & here are excellent pieces to delve into – however there is something special about this tale and since Château Musar (the ’99 Red to be precise) played a role in the beginning of my journey into wine it would be remiss not to cover the facts.

Gaston Hochar, son of wealthy Lebanese banking family, developed an enthusiasm for wine while in France in the late 1920s and set up his winery as a hobby in the cellars of the 17th Century Castle of Mzar in Ghazir, north of Beirut. His son Serge, born in 1939, initially studied Civil Engineering before completing his wine education in Bordeaux and bottling his first Musar vintage in 1959. Together with his younger brother Ronald, a lawyer, the two sons took over the running of the Château – Serge in control of the vineyards and cellar with Ronald managing the business side.
The 1970s saw major upheavals for the Château, with Gaston dying at 62 years of age and Lebanon plunging into a two decade long civil war. With his wife and young children quickly smuggled out of the country Serge continued to make wine, although the fighting in 1976 was so bad that no grapes could be picked in the vineyards 30 miles away to the east in the fertile Bekaa Valley. However with most of its wine sold locally Musar’s customer base disappeared, so the Hochar’s looked to Europe for new customers, specifically the expanding market in the U.K. which has always been more open to new ideas than its neighbours, not being a wine producing country itself.

The success at the 1979 Bristol Wine Fair led to international recognition and plaudits, with Serge being named as Decanter Magazine’s inaugural “Man of the Year” in 1984 (ironically another year when a Musar Vintage could not be produced). The baton has since been passed to the next generation, with Serge’s eldest son Gaston, now in his 40s, taking over the day to day running of the Château and winemaker Tarik Sakr working on the vintages since 1991, but Serge still plays a role in the tasting and blending of the wines and doing what he is famous for, promoting Musar and Lebanese wines around the world as head of the Union Viticole du Liban (LIVL). For a taste of his character listen to this 2006 interview on GrapeRadio.com whilst Elizabeth Gilbert’s excellent 2004 interview for GQ magazine can be downloaded from the Musar website.

The grapes come from over 180ha of vineyards, including the Château’s own 60ha near the village of Kefraya in the Bekaa (recently certified as organic). The vines range from 25-60 years old for the red varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsaut, Carignan, Grenache and Mourvedre), and 30-150 for the white (the indigenous Obaideh and Merwah, a small amount of Ugni Blanc and some test plantings of Chardonnay). The winemaking style is non-interventionist, with limited chemical use, the use of wild yeasts and no filtering.

Internationally there are 3 Musar labels, the Château (Gaston Hochar), the Hochar Père et Fils and the Cuvée Réservée, each with a white, a rosé and a red. A 4th label, Rubis, is a young wine for the Lebanese market only.
Serge has called the Cuvée a “simpler wine”, without oak aging and released early, and the Hochar Père et Fils “more serious”, aged in oak and released after 3-4 years, but it is the Château Red that is the benchmark, fermented in concrete, aged for 12-15 months in oak, bottled in its 3rd year and then laid down until release, 7 years after vintage.
This in itself is atypical; while most wineries are thinking of cash flow and try to get their wine sold as soon as possible the Hochars have millions of bottles ageing gracefully in the cellars of Mzar Castle in Ghazir, and not just the newer vintages, even on release the Château holds back a relatively high percentage of the 600,000-700,000 bottles for further development.

And so to my own limited experiences of Château Musar. In the last 3 years I have drank 4 different bottles – not exactly a large amount, but enough to have had a large impact on me.
The first was the 1999 Château red, a bottle I have fond memories of, as it, along with a Château Kefraya 2004 Les Bretèches, were the 2 wines that led me to Wine Library TV (Episode 115) and indirectly to my participation in the WLTV Forums where I “met” Ken and Donna and so to Reign of Terroir! I savoured its delights in June 2007 and the depth of flavour was immense for what I classed as a medium bodied wine.

Then earlier this year I took part in a 3-way international “simultasting” of the 2000 Château red with two friends from the Wine Library Forums, one in Kyoto, Japan, and the other in Philadelphia, USA. Trying to synchronise tasting across 3 diverse time zones was a fun experience in itself, as you can read about in the thread, and led to me opening my 3rd Musar, the 2001 Château white the same evening. It was this wine that eclipsed its older brother, at times reminding me of a red wine with light tannins, a sherry with subtle oxidation and a dry Hungarian Tokaji Szamorodne with a salty tang. This was a white wine like no other I had tried before, and I loved it (although I suspected at the time I would be in a minority!).

Finally, and most recently, I had the 2002 Hochar Père et Fils, which had a rich “beefy” nose, a little of the trademark V.A. and herbal aspects, while in the mouth it was well balanced with gentle tannins and a long berry finish.
Of the 4 wines the 2000 red was a worthy 3+/5, while the 2001 white and 2002 Hochar Père et Fils were both a delicious 4/5. The star was the 1999 red though, one of the most enjoyable wines I’ve had and a strong 4+/5.

As to how Musar is perceived elsewhere, there is no shortage of devotees. It would seem that that first exposure to Musar in 1979 had a lasting impact on Michael Broadbent as he is another self-confessed Musar fan, as is his son Bartholomew whose company, Broadbent Selections, imports and sells Musar in the U.S. You can see them on three early episodes of IntoWineTV tasting the 2004 Chateau Musar Cuvee Rosé, the 2006 Chateau Musar Hochar Pere et Fils, and the 2004 Chateau Musar Cuvee Rouge.

If you have an adventurous or romantic streak when it comes to wine drinking then it’s hard to imagine a better wine to try than Château Musar, and it is still affordable compared to other wines that have reached similar “cult” status yet in doing so have pushed themselves out of many people’s price range. In the U.K. a bottle of the current 2001 Château red can be found relatively easily (my local Waitrose has it in store, while Tesco has it on-line) for £14-18. For more tasting notes to whet your appetite then try these links to Decanter, The Wine Anorak, the excellent article by Lindsay Groves on Tony Aspler’s site, The Wine Doctor and Tom Cannavan’s wine-pages forum.

It is probably a combination of many factors that contribute to the wine styles that can so often polarise the opinions of those who drink them. The natural “management” style of winemaking means that each vintage is usually completely different to the previous, and for the red a high Volatile Acidity (V.A.) is typical with the wild yeasts used imparting an “animal” or “barnyard” characteristic. For the white there is an oxidative aspect and a texture and taste quite unlike most whites which makes it possibly the most intriguing of the range. These are all part of the Musar uniqueness but such is the trend nowadays to regard these simply as flaws or signs of poor winemaking that many can’t get beyond these to the quality that lies within. If you are in this camp then I can only accept that wine tasting is subjective, and give thanks that I am one that enjoys this type of offering!

Slainte!

(Originally published December 8th 2008 on Reign of Terroir)

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Wine buying in the U.K. (Chapter 3 – Specialist retailers)

Posted on February 9, 2008 by Karl Laczko

We’ve previously covered Supermarkets where wine is sold along with the weekly Grocery shop. This section covers the dedicated wine stores and on-line retailers whose livelihood is predominantly wine and spirits.

OddbinsOddbins has been around since the early ‘60s and is part of the French Castel group, who also own the Nicolas chain. They have over 100 outlets across the UK and I occasionally browse their Newcastle city centre store in search of something interesting, an unusual area or variety. Typically single bottle purchases can be more expensive than equivalents in the Supermarkets, but sometimes there are good deals to be had and you don’t have to wade through the hordes of cheap labels that you find in Tesco or Asda. Decanter gave them 4 Gold, 31 Silver and 49 Bronze.

ThreshersThe Thresher group has over 2000 stores around the U.K. including the The Local, Wine Rack and Haddows (in Scotland), although many of these are small town “bottle shops” rather than purveyors of fine-wine. For the last few years the group has had a permanent 3 for 2 promotion; buy any 3 bottles of wine or Champagne and get the cheapest free so, while single bottle prices are higher than most competitors, the promotion means some excellent bargains can be had and my visits to a nearby Wine Rack usually result in leaving with 3 or 6 of the more expensive bottles. Decanter awarded 1 Gold, 12 Silver and 29 Bronze last year.

Majestic logoMajestic is Britain’s by-the-case retailer, minimum purchase is a case (mixed or otherwise) of 12 bottles whether on-line or in their local warehouses. Unfortunately, while I appreciate this can let them offer good prices and an expansive range of wines, I am not at the stage where I wish to buy so much wine in one go (I prefer the chance encounter, the single impulse buy, which I am less likely to do if I’ve just stocked up on a case from Majestic, good or otherwise). So until my habits change I have to be neutral and move on, but their impressive Decanter list may give some idea on their quality, with 2 Trophies, 9 Gold, 38 Silver and 58 Bronze.

Like the Supermarkets all of the above offer a street presence plus an on-line store with delivery (Majestic offer free shipping on their cases). Some of the other key players in the U.K. are on-line only.

Wine SocietyThe Wine Society was founded in 1874 and is well regarded in fine-wine circles. For a single lifetime membership £40 you become a shareholder in this member orientated “club”, gaining access to little known boutique wineries, special bottlings and a wine list chosen with quality and a fair price in mind. The wine tasting group I go to regularly has Wine Society purchases on the table and they do tend to be something above the usual Supermarket offerings, and this shows in their Decanter WWA haul of 3 Trophies, 2 Gold, 12 Silver and 18 Bronze.

LaithwaitesLaithwaites is one of the larger internet Wine-Clubs and won Decanter magazine’s Independent Wine Merchant of the Year for 2007. Their WWA medals were modest, at 1 Silver and 12 Bronze, but they have a good reputation for service and consistency.

For the same reason that I avoid Majestic, I have no real experience of Laithwaites nor any of the other key Wine Clubs, such as Virgin Wine, The Sunday Times Wine Club etc. There was a fresh new kid on the block last year with Vinappris; internet and cable TV wine shopping. Selling wine on TV, with some interesting offers interspersed with live tastings and snips from the producers, caught my attention (I purchased some Swiss wines after watching one of the shows) but unfortunately the channel and web-site seem to have closed down and, while I hope it is a temporary measure, one feels that the financial demands a TV shopping channel may have claimed another victim.

I’m going to close this topic with a mention of local wine stores, the single independent shops, or one-off specialist that you are lucky enough to live near and benefit from. Living in the North-East of England there are 2 I have to recount – but each of you will have a similar story to tell.

Spanish SpiritFirst is Spanish Spirit, run by a friend of mine, Oliver Ojikutu. This should actually fall into the on-line category, as you can order Oliver’s wines for delivery anywhere in mainland U.K. through his web-site, but I am particularly fortunate of being practically neighbours to his wine warehouse which is open to the public for single-bottle purchases (he also organise good tasting sessions!). Spanish Spirit specialises in wines from Rueda and Ribera del Duero, plus a few of the other regions of central and north-western Spain and includes the excellent Tamaral, Montecastro, Torres de Anguix and Javier Sanz Bodegas. Thanks to this I have become a fan of the luscious Rueda Verdejo’s and rich Ribera del Dueros that show what Spain has to offer over and above the Rioja everyone knows.

FenwickFinally is Fenwick, which is one of the few surviving U.K. department stores (think Macy’s or Harrod’s). In Newcastle the Fenwick store has an excellent, quality orientated, little wine shop on the ground floor which has a delightful, if small and slightly expensive, selection of wine. I first noticed them by chance during a wine-tasting when 2 of the top 5 wines I tried that night were from their table, including a Julia’s Vineyard 2004 Pinot Noir from California and the stunning Cave de Turckheim 2003 Grand Cru Pinot Gris. Since then I’ve managed to find an elusive 1999 Château Musar (we’re already onto the 2000 elsewhere) and a low-production Cascina Fonda S. Nicolao 1999 Barbera d’Asti which guarantees I’ll be back, although for the sake of my bank balance maybe not too regularly!

Britain may not be the cheapest place to buy wine, but we are blessed with easy access to all the global producers. If you don’t live in the U.K. a lot of the specific wines discussed may still be accessible and the Decanter WWA links typically show U.S. as well as U.K. stocklists for the award winners.

Originally published on 9th February 2008 on Reign of Terroir.

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Wine buying in the U.K. (Chapter 2 – Other Supermarkets)

Posted on February 6, 2008 by Karl Laczko

As discussed previously Tesco, ASDA, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons are the big 4 in U.K. Supermarkets, and offer a good wine selection, but for some of the better wine ranges (in terms of variety and quality) then you need to look a little further down the pecking order.

SomerfieldSomerfield is (was) the 5th largest chain in Britain, but is not strong in the area I live and, while I read good things about its wine choices, I have no direct experience. Keeping to the Decanter 2007 World Wine Awards as a benchmark they were awarded 4 Silver and 7 Bronze.

COOPThe Co-operative Group (COOP) is a long-standing survivor of British store history. Their coverage is nationwide but their stores tend to be smaller and they concentrate on staple products as opposed to luxury items. The wine range is diverse though, and often includes some well known producers and some undiscovered gems. My current holdings include a Reichsgraf Von Kesselstatt 2004 Ockfener Bockstein Riesling Kabinett, a Louis Bernard 2004 Châteauneuf-du-Papes and a Château Roumieu 2005 Sauternes, each bought for about £7.50 ($15). Of the 18 COOP wines I’ve had over the last couple of years (all between £4 and £7) I’ve rated all in the mid-high 80s, which sums up their products – reliable, if a little boring, with the occasional good bargain. Their Decanter standing this time round was a modest 4 Silver and 9 Bronze. For me the COOP is probably over-represented compared to where it’s wines slot into overall quality and price because, of all the Supermarkets discussed above, this is the only one which has a store in my home-town, while each of the others is a 30 minutes drive in one of several directions. This means I am usually in the store three or four times a month and more subject to those impulsive buys as I walk past the wine shelves!

The next 2 stores have a best reputation for Quality food and drink products. Neither of these stock bulk or budget labels in anything they do, they focus on the best brands, luxury goods, the freshest produce and local, organic or sustainable productions – the same is true of their wine ranges, both of which I am happy to return to again and again. However be warned, neither make apologies for their prices – here you pay for what you get and real bargains are few & far between!

WaitroseWaitrose possess one of the smaller wine selections, but lack of quantity is more than made up for by unsurpassed quality – which is what they have nurtured as their general corporate ethic. As far as I am concerned this is the only retailer in the U.K. I would happily go into and choose a random bottle of wine off the shelves without worrying about whether it’s going to be good or not. An eclectic international choice also adds to their draw, including wines from Georgia, Moldova , Greek Assyrtyko from Santorini, Chateau Musar from Lebanon, a good British selection etc. This may explain why, with a much smaller choice, their Decanter awards better both Tesco and Sainsbury’s, netting 5 Trophies, 9 Gold, 28 Silver and 59 Bronze medals.

M&SMarks & Spencer is a British institution dating back to 1884, most famous for their clothing business, but in the last few years it’s food and wine sections have become synonymous with luxury. All of their wine is own-label, blended exclusively for them by local producers (Their Corte Ibla Single estate Nero d’Avola is delicious, but it’s not just small operators; dig deep and you’ll find their Twin Wells Hunter Valley Chardonnay is actually from the Tyrrells stable). Their Decanter haul this year initially seems lacking, with 1 Gold, 7 Silver and 34 Bronze, but when you realise that nearly every wine they entered won an award it shows that, like Waitrose, they concentrate on quality first.

To finish off the Supermarket sector we’ll visit the bulk-buy stores, which for most Brits means Costco or Makro. I’m happy to be within driving distance, and lucky that my partner Sarah is a member, of both.

MakroMakro is a European store that had a brief fling in North America. Unlike Costco, where atypical U.S. brands are much in evidence, Makro concentrates on the same labels you see in all Supermarkets, just in larger volumes and lower prices. It’s wine selection is unusual, a mix of well known producers (such as Tyrrell’s excellent Chardonnay and Pinot-Noir), a good mix of classic European types (I was tempted by an Aglianico del Vulture on my last trip, but as I’d already picked up a 1993 Tokaji Asu 6-Puttonyos I had to walk on by!) and some famous cult wines – the multiple Penfold’s Grange gathering dust in a side bin makes me wish for some special “clearance sale” that never seems to come!

CostcoCostco should need no introduction for readers in the U.S. except you may have not realised it is also popular in the U.K. as well. As well as having a large choice of “box” wine and 6-packs in the £2-4 per bottle range (Sutter Home White Zinfandel anyone?) they have an excellent by the bottle choice from all the main wine countries and classic regions.

Their Domaine De Torraccia 2001 (Corsica) is the oldest (purchased, as opposed to Vintage) wine in my cellar and the last bottle I opened from Costco was the Turkey Flat Vineyards 2006 Barossa Rosé which was well reviewed by Gary Vaynerchuk on WLTV last month. I was just in there last week and picked up a Kirkland Signature 2005 Columbia Valley Syrah and a Didier Pabiot 2006 Pouilly Fumé, although I was sorely tempted by some seriously bottle-aged Châteauneuf-du-Papes (1992 and 1995 Vintages) for £20 and may go back for some once I’ve done some background research.

OK, that’s enough for now, we’ve covered the Supermarkets in the last 2 Chapters, next time we’ll focus on the dedicated wine retailers, specialised or local wine stores and a few internet only options.

Originally published on 6th February 2008 on Reign of Terroir.

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Wine buying in the U.K. (Chapter 1 – Big Supermarkets)

Posted on February 2, 2008 by Karl Laczko

I’ve heard people say options for buying wine vary significantly between the U.S. and Europe, and from my excursions on U.S. dominated internet forums it is clear that inter-State shipping laws are, at best, chaotic and, at worst, woefully restrictive in what is meant to be a beacon of Democracy, freedom of choice and “free market” economics. My experience of buying wine in Europe is incomplete, and rather than generalize on the few countries I have picked up vino from, this post is on something I have significantly more familiarity with – buying a bottle in mainland U.K.

For the majority of the general public, myself included, the bulk of wine purchases are going to be obtained from the local Supermarket. While this may sound strange for some readers all Brits accept that the big Supermarkets are massive one-stop retail centers – along with the weekly groceries they offer (some say impose) clothes, electrical goods, medicines and entertainment media (books, games, DVDs etc.). In their quest for retail domination wine is no exception, and each of the key players caters for a range of palates and budgets.

Out in front are ASDA, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Tesco. These are the big players, literally – some of the Hypermarkets cover as much as 125,000 sq ft and most big towns have one, or more, within easy driving distance. With smaller stores, or less National coverage come Somerfield, Waitrose, the COOP and Marks & Spencer (Wikipedia has a good entry for the full background of UK stores). Whilst each offers something slightly different from the others, to some extent complementing the type of people who typically shop there, as befits my maverick nature I have no favourites and rotate my weekly shopping between most of the above, not least because I always want to check out if there are any new interesting wines on the shelves since I was last in!!

ASDAASDA, the U.K. arm of Wal-Mart, has a reputation for value and low prices and this theme continues into their wine list, which I rate poorly compared to the other big players – there isn’t even a dedicated wine section on their web-site as I type this. Typically the shelves are stocked with big brand favourites in the £3 – £6 range ($6 – $12), the Gallo’s & Hardy’s of the world offerings, and, for the last year or so, I’ve struggled to pick out anything unusual or interesting on my excursions. At the Decanter 2007 world wine awards ASDA representatives only managed 4 Silver and 4 Bronze medals, the lowest of the main supermarkets represented.
However, there are signs of change on the horizon. The resident Master of Wine, Philippa Carr, has been with the store since November 2005 (something of a record at ASDA) and has recently introduced “Mini-tasters”, 25cl versions of a selection of ASDA wines costing between £1 and £2. See Tim Atkin’s story on this. I’ve already had the own-label “Extra Special” Primitivo di Puglia (very good), the Claret and the Cotes du Rhone Villages (both so-so) and have their Medoc ready to try. They even include the Casillero del Diablo 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva in the range.

ASDA “Extra Special” brings us onto another British Supermarket peculiarity – the own-label ranges. Each of the main chains has one, wine produced specially for the store by local producers (often big-labels in their own right, sometimes boutique producers with a reputation for quality) which typically offers a classic introduction to the style or varietal at an affordable price. Tesco does their “Finest”, Sainsbury’s has “Taste the Difference”, Waitrose has “Waitrose” (simple and to the point!) while all of Marks and Spencer’s wine range is effectively own label.

Sainsbury'sSainsbury’s used to be U.K. market-leader but first Tesco, and then ASDA have pushed them into 3rd place. They promote themselves a little more towards the quality end of general grocery shopping, and have become well known for the use of popular TV Chef Jamie Oliver as their public face. As well as their in-store ranges they have an online Wine service and the quality is generally good – earning them 3 Decanter International Trophies, 6 Gold, 28 Silvers and 59 Bronze medals. Their “Taste the Difference” range is good and includes 2 of the 3 trophy winners (an Alsace Gewürztraminer and 12 year old Oloroso Sherry). I can heartily recommend the (Lustau) Oloroso and the (Cave de Turckheim) Gewürz is in the cellar ready to try!

TescoTesco is the behemoth of U.K. Supermarkets ( 3rd globally behind Wal-Mart and France’s Carrefour) and is fast gaining a reputation for uncompromising corporate mentality and empire building – upsetting large numbers of the public and critics alike in their rise to the top. Their large wine selection is mostly bulk labels sold at low prices, and not all reviews are complementary, but an expanding quality section and a “Finest” range including some great old world classics contributed to Decanter awards matching Sainsbury’s impressive haul, with 2 Trophies, 4 Gold, 25 Silver and 66 Bronze. Tesco bought wine makes up 12% of my current wine collection, in both the “everyday drinking” group (such as their “Finest” 2005 Nero d’Avola from Sicilia) and the long-term storage (with 3 of Tim Adam’s respected range).

MorrisonsMorrisons, who recently acquired Safeway, is strong in the North of England and Scotland, but has not yet got a defining reputation for wine. Decanter awards came in at 2 Silver and 9 Bronze. Since I only infrequently visit Morrisons I can’t give a fair review on this one, so on that note we’ll end this Chapter on the big boys.

Coming up in future posts will be the smaller level Supermarkets and the speciality wine retailers to complete your education on the UK wine buying scene.

Originally published on 2nd February 2008 on Reign of Terroir.

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