Wein-News SigiHiss

by Jane Anson in Bordeaux – After a temporary pause for the first of the many May bank holidays in France, the en primeur campaign is expected to recommence with a flurry of releases today. By the end of the week, most observers believe, the 2011 campaign will have either sunk without a trace, or found its feet, all depending on whether chateaux take seriously the need to drop prices. Continue reading “decanter.com: Bordeaux 2011 – Releases rush expected after quiet start”

by Panos Kakaviatos, and Jane Anson in Bordeaux – Chateau Montus, one of the leading chateaux in the Madiran appellation, was severely struck by hail on Sunday evening – while Bordeaux suffered rainfall two-and-a-half times the average. Hailstones of up to 1.5 centimeters in diameter pelted the communes of Castelnau-Rivière-Basse and Madiran, ‘destroying a large part of vines,’ local newspaper SudOuest reported.

At least 50% of vines at the 85ha property were hit, owner and winemaker Alain Brumont said, with some plots losing up to 95% of their early-season shoots and buds, causing around €3m damage. In total, around 200 hectares of AOC Madiran were affected, with around 70ha almost destroyed. Further serious hail was reported in the AOC Côtes de Gascogne.

The 2012 vintage is expected to be reduced by at least 30% across both Montus and Brumont’s other wine, Torus. Prices, Brumont said, can be expected to rise for Montus up to around €400 per bottle.

The hail was part of a stormy weekend that shook the southern half of France. On Saturday 28 April the French weather station Météo France placed nine departments on alert for high winds in a zone stretching from the Alps in the Massif Central.

Eastern Bordeaux, particularly Castillon and parts of Saint Emilion, saw widespread flooding, after one of the wettest and coldest Aprils on record.

In total, rainfall during the last 24 days of the month was 178.8mm, 223% above the average of 80mm, while total sunshine hours were 32% below average, with 120 hours compared to the usual 177 hours. Local expert John Salvi MW told Decanter.com, ‘This is unheard of, and slowed down vine growth almost completely.’

Part of the concern is that the – brief – return to sunshine this week will put further pressure on the vineyards. Benoit de Guigne, director of Chateau Lagarosse in AOC Cadillac Cotes de Bordeaux, said, ‘While the rain was desperately needed after such a dry start to the year, the vineyards are now so muddy that it is impossible to get spraying machines into them to protect the vines. If the weather turns humid this week, we are going to start worrying about mildew.’

Auf der VieVinum 2012 zählt das neu konzipierte Rahmenprogramm zu den Highlights der diesjährigen Ausgabe. Wer sich vorab dafür anmeldet, erhält den vergünstigen Eintritt um nur € 29,- statt regulär € 40,- .

Thematisch feinste Auslese

Das neue Konzept des Rahmenprogramms gleicht einer gelungenen Cuvée. Es vereint innovative Darbietungen namhafter Winzergruppen und traditionelle Verkostungen, wie jene des Instituts of Masters of Wine (IMW) oder des Fachmagazins Vinum. Von gebietsübergreifenden Sortencharakteristika über aktuelle Trends in der Weinstilistik bis zur Bedeutung von Signaturweinen reicht der thematische Spannungsbogen. Continue reading “www.vievienum.at – Das neue Rahmenprogramm – frisch und gehaltvoll”

by James Lawrence – Californian grape prices are expected to rise significantly this year as demand continues to exceed supply, although talk of a crisis is overstated, say industry insiders. A surge in demand for grapes and wine in Californian’s North Coast region has led many wineries to enter long-term contracts with growers, to ensure a stable supply of fruit for the next several years.

Grape prices have risen as much as 30% in some vineyards and appellations during the past six months, John Wilkinson, a member of the board of directors for Napa Valley Grapegrowers and owner of Wilkinson Family Vineyards, told Decanter.com. Continue reading “decanter.com: California grape prices rise”

by Adam Lechmere – A number of London wine merchants are reportedly furious with Bordeaux negociants for forcing them to buy another chateau’s wines along with their allocations of Lafite 2011.Rieussec: bundled in?

In a practice known as ‘bundling in’, Bordeaux – according to the wine merchants Decanter.com has spoken to – demands that a merchant take a certain amount of cases of Chateau Rieussec in Sauternes at what merchants claim is an unrealistic price, or their allocation of Lafite and its second wine Carruades de Lafite, and sister wine Duhart-Milon will be compromised.

Merchants say they are now having to sell Rieussec – a Sauternes first growth – at a loss. It was released by negociants at €48 a bottle, which at standard margins would sell in London for over £500 a case.

This is far beyond the ‘real value’ of Rieussec, merchants say. It is on the market now for between £350 and £375 a case, meaning merchants make no money on it. ‘The situation is farcical,’ Farr Vintners director Oliver East told Decanter.com. ‘We are always annoyed by it but this year we have vented our annoyance.’ He said he had written to negociants but with no response. Continue reading “decanter.com: Bordeaux 2011 – Merchants selling Rieussec at a loss, blaming negociant ‘bundling’”

by Giles Fallowfield – Up to a third of some Champagne vineyards have been affected by heavy frosts earlier this month.

Temperatures dropped to – 3°C in the Côte des Blancs with villages like Avize, Cramant and Chouilly the worst hit, while there was more widespread damage in the Côte des Bar as temperatures there fell to – 5°C.

Low-lying areas in the Côte des Blancs and the Côte des Bar have been particularly badly affected.

Chardonnay in the Côte des Blancs and the Grande Vallée de la Marne was the most vulnerable: it was more advanced with two or three leaves already growing in some well-exposed vineyards.

There has been widespread damage in the vineyards around Aÿ, Mareuil-sur-Aÿ and Avenay. The relatively forward Chardonnay in the low-lying areas close to the Marne River, and also some Pinot Noir parcels, have been affected.

Moët & Chandon winemaker Benoît Gouez said that between 7% and 8% of this year’s crop had potentially been lost, with the worst damage in the grands crus of Avize and Aÿ, where up to 18% has been damaged. Continue reading “decanter.com: Champagne crop badly damaged by frost”

Sigi Hiss -das 1. Spätburgunder Symposium war ein voller Erfolg! Sie konnten nicht dabei sein? Sie waren dabei und erinnern sich gerne an diesen gelungenen Rahmen? Das Jahr findet im IWI seine Fortsetzung mit weiteren News: zum Beispiel wird erstmals eine Fortbildung zum IHK geprüften Sommelier angeboten. Außerdem finden Sie in diesem Newsletter detaillierte Informationen zum Wettbewerb “Die besten Spätburgunder des Ahrtals”. Hier die Details!

Brandneu – Elite-Sommelier-Ausbildung mit IHK Abschluss am IWI Continue reading “Das IWI auf neuen Wegen”

Im Rahmen der Weinbörse verlieh der VDP den Ehrenpreis für publizistisch herausragende Leistungen an Weinkritiker Gerhard Eichelmann – Die Laudatio übernahm VDP-Vizepräsident Armin Diel.

Bei der Eröffnung der 39. Mainzer Weinbörse der Prädikatsweingüter in Mainz am vergangenen Wochenende stand die Verleihung der VDP Trophy Herkunft Deutschland an Gerhard Eichelmann, den Herausgeber des seit 2000 jährlich erscheinenden Weinführers „Deutschlands Weine“ im Mittelpunkt. Seit 2001 verleiht der VDP die VDP Trophy an herausragende Publizisten, die sich durch ihre Arbeit um den deutschen Wein verdient gemacht haben. In seiner Laudatio für den 8. Preisträger skizzierte VDP-Vizepräsident und vormaliger Herausgeber des Gault Millau, Armin Diel den bemerkenswerten und ungewöhnlichen Weg Eichelmann‘s in die Welt der besten Weine, und lobte dessen „schnörkellose Offenheit“, mit der er sich Anerkennung unter Weinliebhabern und Winzer gleichermaßen erworben habe. „Der Eichelmann“ zählt heute mit einer Auflage (2011) von über 25.000 Exemplaren, in denen über 800 Winzer und 8000 Weine kritisiert werden, zu den Standardwerken des deutschen Weines. Continue reading “VDP: Trophy “Herkunft Deutschland” an Gerd Eichelmann”

by Jane Anson in Bordeaux – A handful of releases this week all show price drops, of up to a third less than last year, but still merchants are reporting a sluggish campaign with little interest in anything except Lafite. Lafite: pointing the way to healthy 2011 sales? Since the dramatic announcement of Chateau Latour‘s withdrawal from the en primeur system, and Chateau Lafite Rothschild‘s price release at €420, not much has moved.

This week there have been a few key releases, including Hubert de Bouard’s Carillon d’Angelusand Chateau Bellevue, both at €35 ex-Bordeaux, a 30% and 21.35% drop respectively on their 2010 prices, and Chateau Suduiraut, from the AXA Millesimes stable, at €45 ex-Bordeaux, a drop of 7.22% from 2010.

Other releases include Chateau Haut Marbuzet, in Saint Estephe, at €21.60 a drop of 18%, andChateau Sociando Mallet at €20.40, a drop of 8.11%. Continue reading “decanter.com: Bordeaux 2011 – New releases but Lafite dominating early sales, say merchants”

by Adam Lechmere, and David Furer – Wine critic James Suckling has confirmed that any monies he received from the Quebec alcohol board were for videos not for tasting.

It was suggested last week by bloggers and on social media that the former Wine Spectator staffer had been paid around CAN$24,000 for tasting sessions at Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) – after both he and SAQ had explicitly denied he had any financial relationship with the state-controlled alcohol distributor.

Suckling now says he was indeed paid CAN$18,000 and his business received a further CAN$5,950 in subscriptions to his website – but this was payment for videos which he made for the SAQ.

On his blog Suckling had written ‘there is no financial relationship’, but he says that was an entry from February 2011, before he had any agreement to supply videos to SAQ. The videos were shot in December 2011, under a different deal, he says. His contract with the SAQ will end in November 2013.

‘I was not paid for any tastings or promotions,’ he told Decanter.com. ‘I was paid for videos. I am a film-maker as well as a wine journalist.’ He added, ‘I am not a charity,’ insisting there was no impropriety in the SAQ paying him for his work. Continue reading “decanter.com: James Suckling: Quebec payments were ‘not for tastings’”

by Decanter.com staff – Decanter.com has embarked on its biggest-ever survey of en primeur buying habits – with the chance to win a magnum of Louis Roederer Brut Premier Champagne. Decanter.com’s regular users are being asked to answer a series of questions about en primeur: what you buy and when, how long you’ve been doing it and how much you spend.

We want to know if you just buy Bordeaux en primeur, or other regions such as Burgundy, Tuscany and Rhône. Do you follow the critics’ ratings, and if so, who is your favourite? Do you buy from one particular wine merchant to whom you stay loyal, or do you pick and choose between several different merchants? Do you track fine wine market prices, and if so, how?

Answer these and other questions and you could win a magnum of Louis Roederer Brut Premier Champagne. Key findings will be announced at a Decanter seminar at Vinexpo Hong Kong in May. Take the survey

by Adam Lechmere, and Jane Anson in Bordeaux – Cos d’Estournel has released its 2011 today at €108 per bottle ex-negociant, 45% less than last year but still 40% more than other vintages.UK merchants are selling the wine at £1200 a case. The second wine, Pagodes de Cos, comes out at €30, down 25% on last year.

A third release comes from Pomerol’s Chateau Gazin, at €42, down 12.5% on last year.

Cos d’Estournel has for several years been one of the most renowned – or notorious – wines of the Medoc. Managing director Jean-Guillaume Prats tripled the price in 2009: the 2008 and 2007 vintages were released at €65 a bottle, while 2009 was released at €210. The 2010 was released at €198.

The general feeling in Bordeaux, one observer said, is that ‘Cos still hasn’t done enough after tripling the price in 2009, and there are lots of cheaper vintages out there.’ Those after bottled vintages of Cos from the less stellar vintages can choose from the 2001, 2004 or 2008 at around £850-900 a case.

The 2009 is now selling at around £2375, the 2010 just under £2000. After hail at the beginning of September wreaked havoc in the Cos vineyards – and those of its neighbours in St Estephe – the 2011 was subject to rigorous selection. Only 30% of the crop made it into the first wine, of which only 9,000 cases were made, compared with 21,000 last year. Continue reading “decanter.com: Bordeaux 2011 – Cos d’Estournel releases 45% down on 2010″

by Adam Lechmere – Chateau Lafite Rothschild has released its 2011 at €420 per bottle to the wine trade, a reduction of 30% on last year’s price of €600.

An email from Farr Vintners read, ‘Welcome news on the pricing and let’s hope that other chateaux follow this lead and allow us to sell at a lower price than we sell physical vintages.’

Both they and Berry Bros also said they were pleased there was no ‘tie-in’ with the Rothschild-owned Sauternes Chateau Rieussec, which last year merchants were obliged to buy along with their Lafite allocation. There is now a good deal of uncertainty about how the rest of the blue-chip properties will react to this price. Continue reading “decanter.com: Bordeaux 2011: Chateau Lafite Rothschild releases at €420 per bottle”

by Adam Lechmere – Fine wine investors have lost £100m over four years by entrusting their savings to failed wine companies, a senior accountant has estimated.  Nedim Ailyan, a director at insolvency firm Abbott Fielding, which is handling two high-profile wine investment company bankruptcies, told the BBC that some 50 such companies have failed in the last four years, costing investors up to £100m. Continue reading “decanter.com: Fine wine investors ‘have lost £100m’ from failed companies”

by Jane Anson in Bordeaux – Bernard Magrez, owner of Chateau Pape Clement and Chateau La Tour Carnet, has extended his portfolio of estates with the addition of three new Bordeaux names. These are the 15-hectare Chateau Malleprat in Pessac Leognan, the 10ha Chateau Moulin d’Ulysse in Listrac-Medoc and the 3.5ha Chateau Romer in Sauternes, the smallest classified property in the appellation.

According to French journal Revue du Vin de France, Magrez’s intention is not necessarily to bottle the wines under their existing names, but to use them to bolster production of his current estates. For example, he already owns the nearby Chateau Latrezotte in Barsac, where he produces a wine called La Sauternes de ma Fille, and he can now integrate its production with that of Chateau Romer.

In the Medoc, he will use his newly purchased vines to create a second wine for his neighbouring classified chateau, La Tour Carnet. Magrez is now owner of approximately 40 properties, in Bordeaux, Languedoc, Spain, Portugal, Napa, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Morocco and Japan.

2011 konsumierten die Schweizer Weinliebhaber 2,74 Millionen Hektoliter (hl) in- und ausländischen Wein. Das sind 62.806 hl oder 2,3 Prozent weniger als im Vorjahr. Gemäß dem Bericht «Das Weinjahr 2011», der gestern vom Bundesamt für Landwirtschaft publiziert wurde, ging der Gesamtweinkonsum beim Rotwein um 51.111 hl und beim Weißwein um 11.695 hl zurück. Diese Rückgänge sind unter anderem mit dem langjährigen Trend und der schwierigen Konjunkturlage in Verbindung zu bringen. Sie treffen hauptsächlich die Schweizer Weine mit einer Verminderung von 28.002 hl bei den Rotweinen und 20.145 hl bei den Weißweinen. Der Konsum an ausländischen Rotweinen ging ebenfalls zurück (-23.109 hl) während derjenige beim Weißwein um 8.450 hl zunahm. Continue reading “Schweizer trinken weniger Wein”

Heinrich at its Best! “elegy 2009” und “Cupido 2009” vom Weingut Heinrich aus Deutschkreutz: 2 Flaggschiffe – Noch mehr Trophäen

Mitte April veröffentlichte das „A la Carte“, das Magazin für Ess- und Trinkkultur,  die Grand Cru Sieger in der Kategorie Premium Cuvées der Jahrgänge 2009 und 2010. Der „elegy 2009“, eine Cuvée aus Cabernet Sauvignon und Merlot, konnte mit herausragenden 95 Punkten den Grand Cru Sieg davontragen. Ein paar Wochen davor wurde das zweite Flaggschiff des Weingutes, der „Cupido 2009“, ein reinsortiger Blaufränkisch, vom österreichischen Wein- und Gourmetmagazin Falstaff zum Sortensieger und 2. Gesamtsieger gekürt. Ein weiteres Highlight in der Erfolgsgeschichte dieses vielfach ausgezeichneten Weines. Continue reading “Heinrich at its Best!”

Sigi Hiss – Wie sagte man mir auf Château Palmer im Rahmen der diesjährigen Primeurs: ” Die optische Sortiermaschine hat uns den Jahrgang gerettet“. Das Grundprinzip in einfachen Worten erklärt: Optische Sensoren erkennen Farbe, Größe & Form der Beeren. Unreife, also rosarote, nicht durchgefärbte oder gar grüne Beeren oder z.B. durch Hagel verletzte Beeren erkennt die Maschine & schießt sie mit einem gezielten Luftstrahl vom rasend schnell laufenden Sortierband. Ebenso werden Spinnen, Blätter oder einfach Teile des Rappens aussortiert. Das Resultat, so einhellig ca. 10 befragte Betriebe in Bordeaux, ist hervorragend. Besser & effektiver als von Menschenhand. Warum? Ganz einfach, der Mensch wird müde, die Maschine nicht. Besonders in 2011 war die optische Sortiermaschine eine große Hilfe, in Jahren wie 2009 war sie nicht nötig, da das Lesegut perfekt war. Das Video wurde mir freundlicherweise von Fabrice Bacquey, Önologe auf Château Phelan Segur zur Verfügung gestellt. Wichtig so Fabrice Bacquey, ist  ein schonendstes entrappen & die optimale Abstimmung der Entrappungs- mit der optischen Sortiereinheit.

Jim’s Loire: Robert Parker’s Campogate Report now out.

Chateau Mouton Rothschild group managing director Philippe Dhalluin talks to Decanter about the Bordeaux 2011 vintage, during the en primeur tasting week in Bordeaux.

Bordeaux 2011: Philippe Dhalluin of Chateau Mouton Rothschild | Bordeaux 2011 vintage en primeur videos | decanter.com.

by Adam Lechmere – Medoc cru bourgeois Chateau d’Angludet is the first Bordeaux 2011 to release – at £198 a case in bond from London merchants.Angludet is €16 a bottle direct from the chateau. The wine is not sold via negociants.

Commentators have been quick to point out this may be 20% less than 2010, but it is still £20 more than the 2008 vintage, which some are using as benchmark for 2011, both in terms of price and quality. The chateau has jumped in price in recent years, London merchant prices going from £150 on release in 2008 to £250 in 2010. The 2008 is currently selling for around £170 a case.

The 2011 from the Sichel-owned Margaux Cru Bourgeois, which was graded ‘Exceptionnel’ before the new Cru Bourgeois listing removed that higher category, has been praised by critics. Simon Staples at Berry Brothers called it ‘damn fine’. Stephen Browett at Farr Vintners in London told Decanter.com the release was ‘not significant’ as it was sold direct from the chateau and therefore not subject to the extra layer of negociant pricing. Other commentators have pointed out that the price of producing wine in Bordeaux made a reduction of more than 20% very difficult when a wine is below £300 a case in the first place.

Decanter’s full Bordeaux 2011 ratings and vintage report will be published at 9am on Monday 16 April.

by Richard Woodard – Neusiedlersee has been named as the latest DAC appellation in Austria – completing the family of DACs in Burgenland and the first to focus on the Zweigelt grape variety. From vintage 2011, wines can be released under the Neusiedlersee or Neusiedlersee Reserve DACs, alongside Burgenland’s existing DAC appellations: Mittelburgenland, Leithaberg and Eisenberg.

Straight Neusiedlersee wines should be ‘variety-typical, spicy and harmonious’, made up of 100% Zweigelt, matured in steel or oak and at least 12% abv. Meanwhile, Neusiedlersee Reserve wines can be pure Zweigelt or a blend consisting of at least 60% Zweigelt, with the remainder made up of indigenous varieties. The Reserve wines must be matured in traditional big wooden casks or in barriques, with a minimum abv of 13% stated on the label.

Zweigelt is Austria’s best-known red grape variety and the most widely planted grape in Burgenland, with 1,812ha under vine. ‘Through the new Neusiedlersee DAC, fruitiy and harmonious red wines marked by local climate and soil characteristics should be emphasised and their level of awareness raised,’ said Andreas Liegenfeld, head of Burgenland’s regional wine committee. Austria created the DAC (Districtus Austriae Controllatus) designation in 2003, with other DACs across the country including Weinviertel, Traisental, Kremstal and Kamptal.

by Adam Lechmere – As the UK wine trade makes its way back from Bordeaux they are more preoccupied with price than at any time since the 2008 vintage. At this stage of the week there are points on which most agree. Few would argue that the vintage is not ‘mixed, to say the least,’ as Neil Sommerfelt MW of Jeroboams said. But, he added, ‘when they are good they are very good.’

Decanter‘s consultant editor Steven Spurrier has his reservations about certain wines and communes but his overall summing up is that the left bank has produced ‘a classic claret. They are straightforward, very good wines, perfectly expressive of their chateau.’ Continue reading “decanter.com: Bordeaux 2011 – Price is ‘single factor’ of vintage, say merchants”

by Jane Anson in Bordeaux – Herve Berland, managing director of Mouton Rothschild since 2006, and with the Rothschild family since 1977, will be heading to Chateau Montrose after his retirement from the Pauillac First Growth.

Berland was at Mouton during the 2011 en primeur tastings, and Decanter.com understands he will be starting his new job today, Tuesday April 10. Berland’s decision to join Montrose, just a few kilometres away from Mouton in Saint Estèphe, will confirm the Second Growth’s habit of attracting former First Growth directors to its 94 hectares

Jean-Bernard Delmas, formerly director of Chateau Haut-Brion, has been in charge of the property since the Bouygues brothers, Martin and Olivier, bought it in 2006. Delmas retired last year.

Nicolas Glumineau, technical director of Montrose, told Decanter.com, ‘Montrose has the terroir of a First Growth, and we certainly look to challenge them each year. Mr Berland will provide the continuity in terms of our search for excellence, Continue reading “decanter.com: Herve Berland moves to Chateau Montrose”

Per Verordnung des österreichischen Landwirtschafts- und Umweltminister vom 28. März 2012 dürfen ab sofort bestimmte burgenländische regionaltypische Qualitätsweine beginnend mit dem Jahrgang 2011 unter der Bezeichnung Neusiedlersee DAC vermarktet werden. Mit dieser achten DAC-Herkunft in Österreich gibt es damit auch gleichzeitig das erste DAC-Gebiet, das sich auf die stärkste heimische Rebsorte, den Blauen Zweigelt, konzentriert. „Durch die neue Neusiedlersee DAC sollen die vom Klima und Boden geprägten fruchtigen, harmonischen Rotweine noch stärker hervorgehoben und deren Bekanntheitsgrad erhöht werden“, kommentiert Andreas Liegenfeld, Obmann des Regionalen Weinkomitees im Burgenland. „In Summe soll dadurch das Image des gesamten Weinbaugebietes gehoben werden.“ Mit der neuen Neusiedlersee DAC ist die burgenländische Herkunftsstrategie mit vier DAC-Gebieten nun abgeschlossen.