Wein-News SigiHiss

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.’

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 – 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 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”

by Beverley Blanning MW – Organics and screwcaps could be the way forward for Chateau Margaux, according to new research by the Bordeaux first growth.

Margaux also unveiled its experiments with alternative wine closures on the estate’s second wine, Pavillon Rouge. ‘We’ve all been disappointed and frustrated by corked bottles. Another closure would be welcome if it is better,’ he said. While trials on synthetic corks were ‘absolutely catastrophic,’ screwcaps fared better.

A 2003 red wine sealed with an impermeable screwcap closure was preferred to the same wine sealed with a cork or a permeable screwcap at yesterday’s event. Pontallier revealed that this was consistent with tests at the estate. ‘If we have consistent proof that it works better, I don’t see how we could resist,’ said Pontallier on moving to screwcaps.

The same test on a 2004 white wine from the property drew a less conclusive result from both the audience and Pontallier, who preferred natural cork. ‘It’s very difficult to draw conclusions and every time we do these experiments, we don’t agree. Or if we agree it’s on things we don’t expect to agree on,’ he added.

Between December and February reigns over the technical team of Château Palmer a studious atmosphere conducive to making an exceptional vintage. The tasting sessions to prepare the final blend take place during this period.  Magical moments, with measured gestures and refined palates, which allow us to imagine the final structure of Château Palmer and Alter Ego 2011.

 A play in several acts

 In order to maintain a certain distance and allow the different batches to continue ageing, the blend tastings take place in several steps.

The first act is to blind-taste all of the batches. Very useful, this tasting session allows our tasters to identify the characteristics of the different parcels and their expressions in a specific vintage without knowing their origin. A way of leveling the playing field that can lead to some nice surprises. Continue reading “Chateau Palmer: Blending notes, 2011 vintage”

A new estate joins the Domaine Clarence Dillon family of wines. Last summer the family company announced the acquisition of a beautiful estate in Saint-Emilion.
An exceptional terroir that has been recognised as such for centuries. The estate naturally wraps around a high promontory which represents the end of the plateau of Saint-Emilion. The vineyard benefits from a majestic panorama extending towards the neighbouring village and across the entire Dordogne valley. It is in this place that, for time immemorial, a watch tower has stood to ensure the defence of the village of Saint-Emilion.

The originality of this extraordinary terroir lies in its diversity of soils, slopes and orientations. It is therefore hardly surprising that this wine was featured between 1844 and 1848 among the 14 most sought after and most expensive wines of Saint-Emilion. For close to a century the great reference book Cocks and Feret “Bordeaux et ses Vins” will consistently mention the property as a First Growth of Saint-Emilion. The vineyard was also one of the prominent Saint-Emilion estates to receive a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle de Paris in 1867. Continue reading “Château Tertre Daugay becomes: Château QVINTVS”

The rare and exceptional nature of Palmer has led us to tighten the authentication and protection procedures for our wines.
That is why we decided to use the Prooftag system from now on for all bottles of our wine.

Starting with the 2009 vintage, every bottle of Château Palmer and Alter Ego will have an authentication seal affixed by the estate before shipment. This seal includes all information pertaining to the bottle in question, which is now registered in a database accessible to consumers. Continue reading “Château Palmer – AUTHENTICITY”

by Jane Anson in Bordeaux – The wine school of Chateau La Tour Blanche in Sauternes has gone into partnership with a school in Beijing to teach oenology students from China.

Students at La Tour Blanche

The students will first spend six months in Beijing, training in the basics of wine, as well as learning French and English.

After first stage exams, they will then spend a year at the Sauternes estate, learning wine-tasting techniques, wine service and wine culture. Continue reading “decanter.com: Bordeaux chateau in Beijing school deal”

by Richard Woodard – A 200-year-old bottle of Château d’Yquem has been sold for £75,000, becoming the most expensive bottle of white wine in the world.

French collector and restaurateur Christian Vanneque bought the record-breaking 1811 Sauternes from The Antique Wine Company at London’s Ritz Hotel and will put it on display – behind bullet-proof glass – at his new restaurant, Sip Sunset Grill, in Bali, Indonesia.

The former head sommelier at La Tour d’Argent in Paris said he fully intended to open and drink the wine, telling BBC News: ‘I call it my “petite folie”. Petite folie is a little craziness, something you buy furtively like this, which is expensive of course, but you buy it for you.’

Stephen Williams, managing director of The Antique Wine Company, said the wine was part of a cellar bought from a European client four years ago, and was put on the market after being verified at Chateau d’Yquem.

Ten barrels of 1811 Yquem were made – about 3,000 bottles – most of it exported to Russia, he added, but there are now only 10 confirmed bottles left in existence.

‘I always have a tear in my eye when I sell a bottle like this,’ Williams said, ‘but it’s some consolation when you know it’s going to a good home.’

The 1811 vintage is renowned as the most famous of the ‘Comet vintages’ – years in which an astronomical event has happened before harvest, in this case the Great Comet of 1811.

Michael Broadbent, in his book Vintage Wine, said he last tasted the 1811 Yquem in 1998. ‘It reminded me of raspberries and cream. Considerable depth and length. Dry Finish.’

by Jane Anson in Bordeaux – Chateau Lascombes has been sold to French health insurance group MACSF for €200m.

The price for the 117-hectare Margaux second growth, which has been owned by American investment group Colony Capital since 2001, includes the chateau building, all land and equipment, and around €50,000 of stock.

The deal was signed over the weekend, ending months of speculation and a final bidding process that involved four interested parties. The current viticultural and winemaking team, led by Dominique Befve, will remain in place.

A rigorous study into the viability of the purchase and the future potential of the estate was carried out by MACSF along with various advisers: mergers and acquisitions specialists Wine Bankers, Bordeaux-based consultants Sogevignes, Ernst & Young Bordeaux, and law firm Fidal.

‘Part of the attraction for Colony Capital is the financial solidity of MACSF, and the ability to complete the transaction without any additional funding requirements,’ Jean-Luc Coupé of Wine Bankers told Decanter.com. Continue reading “decanter.com: Chateau Lascombes sold for €200m”

by Adam Lechmere, and Jane Anson in Bordeaux – Chateau Latour has finally released its 2010 in one allocation, according to reports.  The last of the first growths to release, Chateau Latour came out at €650 from the chateau, €780 per bottle from negociants.

This makes it the most expensive of the first growths, offering a very small amount of wine, 35% less than last year, and in one tranche only according to some sources in Bordeaux. Continue reading “decanter.com: Bordeaux 2010 – Chateau Latour, Yquem, Cheval release; Ausone tops €1k”

by Adam Lechmere – Chateau Pichon Lalande has confirmed it has appointed Philippe Moreau as its new technical director.

by Adam Lechmere, and Jane Anson in Bordeaux – Chateau Latour has broken ranks with the other first growths by releasing its second wine at a much higher price than its peers.
Forts de Latour is €162 per bottle ex-negociant, compared with €108 for the other second wines – Margaux’s Pavillon Rouge, Carruades de Lafite, Petit Mouton and Le Clarence de Haut Brion.

Merchants are still waiting for the release of Latour’s grand vin, the last of the first growths to declare. Continue reading “Decanter.com: Bordeaux 2010 – Chateau Haut-Brion releases, Forts de Latour breaks ranks”

by Adam Lechmere – Chateau Margaux 2010 has been released 9% up on 2009, it has been confirmed.

Despite early reports that some merchants had bought Chateau Margaux 2010 at a lower price than 2009, we can now confirm that Margaux is now being offered by negociants at €600, a 9% rise on the 2009 ex-negociant price of €550.

Margaux’s second wine, Pavillon Rouge, is almost double the price of the 2009 vintage: €108 ex-negociant, compared with €60 for the 2009. Continue reading “Decanter.com: Chateau Margaux release confirmed up on 2009, Cos down, l’Evangile flat”

by Jane Anson in Bordeaux – Domaine Clarence Dillon, owner of Chateau Haut-Brion, has bought Saint Emilion classified growth Chateau Tertre Daugay.
The 16ha estate, planted to 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, has been owned by Count Léo de Malet-Roquefort of Maison Malet Roquefort since 1978. In recent years, it has been run by his son Alexandre de Malet-Roquefort, with Stéphane Derenoncourt as a consultant. Continue reading “Decanter.com: Domaine Clarence Dillon buys Chateau Tertre Daugay”

Doctor Alain Raynaud and his wife Françoise have recently purchased Château du Parc a SaintEmilion Great Growth estate” With this new investment they are increasing their involvement in the wine producing world to which they have an especially strong attachment” President of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux from 1994 to 2000.
Alain Raynaud has now been at the head of the Cercle Rive Droite de Grands Vins de Bordeaux for the past ten years” He is also a consultant to numerous wine estates in France in Bordeaux and in Banyuls as well as overseas in the United States in California and in Argentina”. Working together Françoise and Alain Raynaud coordinated the management of Château La Croix de Gay a familyowned estate in Pomerol and Château Quinault in SaintEmilion”

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CHATEAU DU PARC
The 4″4 hectares of vines of Château du Parc lie upon sandygravelly soils to the south of the appellation and claylimestone soils to the north of the appellation” The vineyard is planted with 5,6 Merlot and +,6 Cabernet Franc8 the vines are cultivated traditionally and grasseddown with de budding green harvests and harvests all done manually” The harvested grapes are sorted before being destemmed” The wine is made in concrete tanks equipped with temperature control” Maturation is done is oak barrels 4,6 new and 4,6 having already contained one wine” “Petit Parc” is the second wine of this estate”
Alain and Françoise Raynaud  4 avenue Carnot  33200 Bordeaux

There are some exceptional wines in the world. Cheval Blanc is one of them.
Its unique and geologically complex terroir bears witness to a history that dates back to the beginning of the Quaternary Period and the sediments of the nearby river Isle. The patchwork terroir consists of clay, sand and gravel. The unusual proportion of Cabernet Franc, combined with Merlot, gives Cheval Blanc a unique and timeless identity, producing a wine which has the capacity to be good at any age. Continue reading “Inauguration of the winery at Château Cheval Blanc”

www.vitabella.fr – Jean Merlaut, Chateau Gruaud Larose : « I do not want this moment of pleasure to be overshadowed by the price. »

by Jane Anson in Bordeaux – Thomas Do-Chi-Nam, technical director of Chateau Pichon Comtesse de Lalande since 1992, has been announced as the replacement for Philippe Bascaules at Chateau Margaux.

Dô-Chi-Nam will take over Bascaules’ role as Directeur d’Exploitation – estate manager and technical director – at the end of this year, after he has completed the 2011 harvest with Chateau Pichon-Longueville-Comtesse de Lalande. Continue reading “Decanter: Chateau Margaux unveils Do-Chi-Nam as Bascaules replacement”

by Janice Fuhrman – Chateau Lafite Rothschild is reducing pesticide and fungicide use under a green charter to be implemented at all Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) properties. The sustainability charter is ‘a program to become cleaner and cleaner’ DBR managing director Christophe Salin said.

‘We have been working on it for many years. I hate to see it as a marketing tool: it’s something we do as farmers,’ he added. Continue reading “Decanter: Chateau Lafite Rothschild goes green”

Stuart Todd -  Bernard Magrez has acquired his 37th wine estate, taking control of the ten-hectare Château Lagueiranne in Le Luc in south eastern France. A spokesperson for Magrez confirmed the acquisition to just-drinks today (1 April). Financial details were not disclosed.

The latest addition to the Magrez wine empire reflects his ongoing strategy to acquire small vineyards with strong growth potential. Château Lagueiranne produces 60,000 bottles of AOC Côtes de Provence rosé anually and is the second Provence estate acquired by Magrez, following the purchase of the Clos des Muraires at the end of last year.

by Jane Anson in Bordeaux -  Chateau Guiraud in Sauternes is to open two storage cellars for its wines in Asia, one in Hong Kong and one in Shenzen, China. Continue reading “Decanter: Chateau Guiraud opens wine store”

by Jane Anson in Bordeaux – Chateau Margaux will launch a third wine this year, alongside Chateau Margaux and the second wine, Pavillon Rouge. The name of the wine has not yet been revealed but it is likely to be ‘simple and to the point’, Margaux managing director Paul Pontallier told Decanter.com.

‘We have been ever more severe with our selection for Pavillon Rouge, but the 2009 vintage was so good, and all barrels have aged so well, that we decided it was appropriate to create a third wine of the estate.’ Continue reading “Decanter: Chateau Margaux launches third wine”

by Jane Anson in Bordeau – French billionaire Francois Pinault, through his group Artemis, has bought Chateau Grillet, the monopole estate in the Rhone Valley that forms its own wine-growing AOC.

Pinault, who owns Chateau Latour in Pauillac and Domaine d’Eugenie in Burgundy, alongside auction house Christie’s and Rennes football club, bought the estate from Isabelle Baratin-Canet, whose family (originally Neyret-Gachet with name changes through marriage) has owned Chateau Grillet since 1830. Continue reading “Decanter: Francois Pinault buys Chateau Grillet”