Friday, 9 April 2010

The Highs and Lows of Melbourne and Sydney trade tastings

Last month saw our bi-annual trade tastings in Sydney and Melbourne. This is where restaurateurs, sommeliers, restaurant staff, wine store people and other members of the wine trade come along and taste a range of my wines. I select what I think are interesting wines / good value / good examples of the various appellations.......and a few rather indulgent wines.

These tastings are when my wines are under the most intense examination that befalls them. The sommeliers are looiking for wines for their wine lists but can be quite hard to please. And I am standing there facing the music if they are not happy with any wines........but that is OK........I know the wines can do their own talking and invariable they do. I provide extensive notes and information on the wines but really at this stage, the wines are only as good as they taste.

What some may not realise is that with 12,000 Chateaux in Bordeaux and each making one or more wines each vintage, I have an extraordinary number of wines to choose from and every wine I have should be excellent or better. For a wine to make it onto my portfolio I reject thousands of wines at blind tastings for various reasons, so my final list is a function of the most rigorous selection process.

Please click on the bottle of any wine below for a full review with tasting notes.

HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE
	2008 CHATEAU DE FONTENILLE BLANC The bright Sauvignon nose is rather familiar, but it is on the palate where this wine shines. The other components in the blend being Semillon and Muscadelle are what gives this wine an extra touch and the lovely moore-ish texture. Superb sefood wine. This is very popular with a number of restaurateurs. Normal Retail $28 Your price $23 --------------------------------------------------------------------
	2008 CHATEAU SAINTE MARIE VIEILLES VIGNES BLANC Once again this wine took the attention of many. It is classic Bordeaux Blanc being fine and long and very European in style. An excellent scallops wine. You will see this offered by the glass at some very good restaurants. Normal Retail $33 Your price $26 --------------------------------------------------------------------
	2007 CLOS FLORIDENE BLANC, Graves Oh this is a dreamy wine. Elegant, fine, ethereal, this is real class. I could only get 20 cases of this as it is strictly allocated by the Chateau. But what a brilliant wine. It went onto some top wine-lists and will be sold out soon Normal retail $61 Your price $49 --------------------------------------------------------------------
	BURGUNDY ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	2002 DOMAINE FOREY MOREY SAINT DENIS This is the first of my new Burgundies on tasting. Very well received as it has some nice bottle age and has good fruit weight.....and as one friend said "it has that typical Morey Saint Denis earth stink". A touch graffic but yes it is classic Burgundy earth and undergrowth.......bravo! Normal retail $81 Your price $69 -------------------------------------------------------------------
	2005 DOMAINE PRINCE FLORENT DE MERODE 'CLOS DE LA PLATIERE' POMMARD A very pretty plummy Burgundy nose. This wine is very well received whenever I have it on tasting, is on some very good winelists, is bought by one leading wine show judge and is a favourite of some very good palates, but it is just not my favourite wine. I don't know, I guess there are just others that I prefer. Normal retail $94 Your price $75 --------------------------------------------------------------------
	2004 DOMAINE RENE MONNIER PREMIER CRU 'CLOS DES CHENES' VOLNAY This is a star and was again at the tastings. It is a wine that just does its own talking. Spicy engaging nose, great structure and length - were some of the comments. I love this style of wine where I just stand back and watch the smile grow as people taste it. This is pretty classy Burgundy from one of Volnay's top vineyards. Normal retail $111 Your price $88 --------------------------------------------------------------------
	2001 DOMAINE DES VAROILLES GEVREY CHAMBERTIN 'CLOS DU MEIX' A 9 year old Gevrey Chambertin for this price??.......many first wanted to know how I found it. That doesn't matter. It is a smart wine, has some interesting maturing characters yet is still fresh and bright. This was well ordered from the tasting. Normal retail $86 Your price $77 --------------------------------------------------------------------
	2000 DOMAINE DES VAROILLES GEVREY CHAMBERTIN PREMIER CRU 'CHAMPONNETS' This was well admired. The extra weight and structure as one should expect from a Premier Cru was very much liked and again the classic focus and structure of good Gevrey Chambertin. But naturally this comes at extra cost although that didn't stop sommeliers from ordering it. Normal retail $114 Your price $91 --------------------------------------------------------------------
	2002 DOMAINE DES VAROILLES GEVREY CHAMBERTIN PREMIER CRU 'LA ROMANEE' Ah this is the wine that a number loved. La Romanee style is supple elegance and it certainly showed in this wine. A great Burgundy vintage and a very engaging wine that had a few coming back for a second taste later. Normal retail $145 Your price $116 --------------------------------------------------------------------
	BORDEAUX --------------------------------------------------------------------
	2006 CHATEAU MARTINON, Bordeaux Whenever I show this wine it goes over very well for its price. Typical Medoc wine with good fruit definition and typical Bordeaux palate. It has been added to the wine list of some very good restaurants. Normal retail $27 Your price $21 --------------------------------------------------------------------
	2005 CHATEAU SAINT CHRISTOLY, Cru Bourgeois Medoc This is another of my gems that I just stand back and let the wine do its own talking. An excellent wine from the exceptional 2005 vintage. Many attending could see why Huon Hooke gave it such a good review in the Sydney Maorning Herald and 91 points. Normal price $42 Your price $33 --------------------------------------------------------------------
	2001 CHATEAU TOUR DU HAUT MOULIN, Cru Bourgeois, Haut Medoc This is one of the stars of every show it is in. Yes very much because it is such exceptional value. It is classic Bordeaux almost in a slightly old fashioned way which is something that appeals to many. A 9 year old classic Bordeaux that has been on many restaurant winelists for some time. Normal retail $48 Your price $39 --------------------------------------------------------------------
	2002 CHATEAU BOUTISSE, Grand Cru, Saint Emilion Many liked the etra richness of this plush St Emilion. It shows good fruit weight and some of that earthy St Emilion character. Again sommeliers like this as it is a good wine and a Grand Cru for this price is a good wine for them. Normal retail $58 Your price $46 --------------------------------------------------------------------
	2005 CHATEAU HAUT BATAILLEY, 5th growth Pauillac - sold out 2005 CLOS DU MARQUIS, 2nd wine of Chateau Leoville Las cases - sold out 2005 CHATEAU LAFON ROCHET, 4th growth Saint Estephe - temporarily sold out --------------------------------------------------------------------
	2001 PETRUS, Pomerol Yes I put this on as a treat for my good restaurant and retail customers. 2001 is a brilliant right bank vintage and Petrus is certainly the star of the Right Bank if not Bordeaux. I liked one sommeliers comment 'this wine is amazing, it is just so complete and faultless and bursting with character.' 90% of people attending had never tasted Petrus and all were very impressed and wonderfully appreciative. Don't look at the price. Normal retail $4,??? Your price $3,500 --------------------------------------------------------------------
	SAUTERNES --------------------------------------------------------------------
	2007 CHATEAU GRAVAS 375ml - Cru Bourgeois, Sauternes This is an easy wine for the sommeliers. From the high class 2007 Sauternes vintage and located between the superb Chateaux of Climens, Coutet and Doisy Daene yes it should be a good wine. A lovely fine Sauternes that is going very well in restaurants. Normal retail $43 Your price $35 --------------------------------------------------------------------
	2007 CHATEAU DE MYRAT 375ml, 2nd growth SauternesA A rich, much fuller style than the preceeding wine and again from the outstanding 2007 Sauternes vintage. Everyone loved the lushness of this wine yet it had good acidity and structure. Yes it is rich but not heavy and cloying. This wine will sell out quite soon Normal retail $64 Your price $52 --------------------------------------------------------------------
	1997 CHATEAU YQUEM 375ml, 1st growth Sauternes Yes this was put on as a treat but also because many retaurants had just bought some from me. I was offerd a special parcel of this great vintage of Yquem. Clive Coates MW said it is a 100 point wine and it is certainly one of the great Yquems of the past 40 years. Oh yes they liked it and it has sold very well following the tasting. Normal retail $480 Your price $310 --------------------------------------------------------------------

You might ask why all the wines showed so well. They have to as this is my most important tasting of the year when sommeliers select new wines for their lists.
If you would like more information on these wines please go to www.bordeauxshippers.com.au or feel free to call or email me.

There are certainly some delicious wines in these
Best regards
John

Oh yes the Bordeaux marketing machine is winding up. The hyperbole is coming through. I receive a lot of reports from various sources and have followed a number of campaigns, and it is often interesting how those who are selling En Primeur have a much higher opinion of the vintage those who are indepenently commenting on it.
The insider's tip in Bordeaux is that it is a very good vintage but with problems for many wines.
The prices will be high and the word is that as the spotlight goes on the 2009 vintage, buy the somewhat overlooked but superb 2005's as their prices are falling and the very good 2004's, 2002's and 2001's at prices cheaper that the 2009 En Primeur. Leave the 2003's to others.

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