La Tour du Rhône - Day 4

Thursday 1st October - More Hermitage, Crozes and Côte Rôtie.

Today the 2008s of Domaine du Colombier and Bernard Faurie particularly surprised me, they were much more complex, intense and riper than I was expecting.

After a tasting of 2008s with Marc Sorrel, who looks like he will put all of the "Greal" components into the one standard Hermitage cuvee , we head for Domaine du Colombier. Here a garrulous Florent Viale greeted us, we joked about the disproportionate amount of hairdressers operating in Tain, 12 on the last count, and then moved onto the serious business of tasting. Whilst 2009 was a "hands in pockets" vintage, he proclaimed, 2008 was a lot harder. He employed 30 pickers as opposed to the 18 he normally uses. "Conditions were not favourable in 2008 but the results are honourable," was his summary. The reds are good, the white Hermitage is outstanding and nudges the Chave version very closely for top wine so far this trip. I enjoy Faurie's red Hermitage blend every bit as much as Colombier's, if anything it has a shade more vitality aligned to the ripe fruit that both display. Crozes will be one of the patchier areas in 2008 I suspect, particular where vines are grown on moist clay soils. Pochon has made some lovely whites and improved the potential of his standard wine by adding the old vines Curson into the blend.

In Côte Rôtie it looks as if Clusel Roch will keep the 2008 Les Grandes Places as a separate wine, though the final decision has not been made. I think its good enough to stand alone but if they do blend it in, the straight Côte Rôtie could make for a good buy. The 2008s of Bernard Burgaud seems to be up there with those of his rivals, he put it down to "hard work, good weather in September and a bit of luck." Fresh and elegant but with enough body and fruit maturity, an excellent effort. Whilst at Rostaing the distance between Côte Blonde and the rest of the wines is clearer than ever before. The La Landonne was its usual surly, backward self, but there is good power and complexity there.

As for 2009 its obviously early days, but the growers I saw today seem as happy with the quality of their 2009s as those in the southern Rhône. The only difference is that the size of the crop in the North is thankfully quite good, whereas in the South it will be a small vintage.

Tomorrow St Joseph, Condrieu and Lyon St Exupery!

La Tour du Rhône - Day 3

Wednesday 30th September. Cornas and Hermitage.

It is becoming clear that 2008 is a "granite year". The well drained granite slopes of Cornas and the heavily granitic parts of Hermitage have produced the vintage's top performers so far.

At our first visit Jean Louis Chave discusses with us the paradox of the hot sunny vintages that produce big alcoholic, critically acclaimed wines and the cooler, sometimes more difficult vintages that produce lower alcohol wines that are the ones you actually want to drink. 2008 whites here are stunning, the most magical we have tasted yet, his reds are pretty smart too. All purity and vivacity, no big blockbusters.

Up the treacherous Cornas slopes to Allemand's cellars . As Thierry puts it " Cornas is great in a little vintage". A heavy selection has been made in 2008 resulting in yields of 20 hl / ha, about 9 hl / ha less than usual. All cuvees will be blended into one wine. It was typically inky in colour but more generous and smoother than usual, and very sensual. It does however still show a good bit of backbone and mineral intensity. Bravo!

At Chapoutier the stand out wine is l'Ermite white, which further confirms how extremely good some of the whites are in this vintage. The red l'Ermite is quite useful too - it is certainly the pick of their reds.

We leave plenty of time for our last visit - the excitable Mathieu Barret of Domaine du Coulet can talk the hind leg off a donkey. We taste whilst admiring his new cement eggs, ala Pontet Canet - fermentation vessels that make very precise wines. "Ah we are in Burgundy" he says of the first 08 barrel. Certainly true aromatically but there is more grip here than you would find further north. There will be only one Cornas bottling this year. It is impressive and certainly surpasses the general quality of this vintage. As successful as Allemand, perhaps a shade better. We re-taste his 07s which are even more stunning than from barrel. This domaine goes from strength to strength, and it will soon be considered one of the greats of the Rhone, not just of Cornas.

Tomorrow more Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, then onto Cote Rotie.

La Tour du Rhône - Day 2

This morning we headed into the wild hills of the north sector of the Cotes du Rhone to Mondragon, hunting an elusive Chateaunneuf called Bois Pointu made by Charles Blagden and Eric Michel of Cros de la Mure. Last year was an excellent debut vintage - beginners luck? how would they cope with the more challenging conditions of 2008? Exceptionally well is the answer. Being biodynamic did not make life easy because of early season disease, however the benefits are that later in the season the grapes ripen much more quickly. A sensual fragrant and really quite intense wine, very long flavours, in a light to medium bodied style. Seductive Grenache rather like its close neighnour Rayas. Absolutely loved this. Stardorm awaits this small Chateauneuf producer.

Back south towards Vacqueyras and Gigondas, where the 09 harvest is still continuing particularly in Gigondas' high, late-ripening Dentelles to Montmirail hills. The new vintage sounds like a small one, 20hl/ha have been reported in parts. Clos des Cazaux and Cayron offered us good, fragrant 2008s, juicy and rewarding wines that will drink relatively early. The tranquility of Gigondas village centre is briefly interrupted by a grower on his tractor belting noisly past as he returns home from the vines, its midday and nothing gets between a frenchman and his lunch! That's our cue to leave.

Beaucastel is next, stunning whites particularly the regular Chateauneuf and the Roussanne Vieilles Vignes, they show a freshness and finesse you would not normally associate with the southern Rhone "meridional." Not much red has been made, yields of 10hl/ha versus the usual 25hl/ha. Beaucastel red took me by surprise totally - rich very nearly jammy and structured which is at total odds to the rest of the 2008s, a wine of broad shoulders that should impress tasters. Further South in Bedarrides Vieux Telegraphe finished the 2009 Chateauneuf harvest yesterday and they too verify it is very small, half a crop in parts. In 2008 they have made 30 percent less than usual due to a mixture of difficult flowering, a concentrating north wind in September and a severe selection in the vineyards and winery. The result is a classic mix of Vieux Telegraphe composure and complexity, its not flashy but it never is. It grows on you , very moreish, all red, sloe and bullace fruits no raisin or animal here. An accomplished effort, should be a good mid termer. Finally to Versino, no Felix here in 2008, all of the old vine juice went into the straight Chateauneuf and this has made it, for me, joint wine of the day with Bois Pointu. Complex, smooth, spicy and ripe, not big but far from weak, it should be good value too. Jean Paul thinks the wine is soft like 1996 but richer, similar in structure to 2004. End of the day. Up north here we come.

La Tour du Rhône - Day 1

Monday, 28th September

Don't let the title concern you, the J&B buying team haven't taken to the bicycle just yet, though that might have been preferable to the beaten up Mazda Hertz tried to force on us at Toulouse airport.

An early start this morning as we headed along the windy roads of the Rousillon hills. Our destination was Clos des Fées. The beautiful, tranquil almost otherworldly scenery surrounding their village, Vingrau, is truly something to behold. The difference between here and the low plains of the Roussillon is stark, not only in terms of beauty but also in temperature. A distinct chill in the air attested to this. 8.30 am and my mouth was awash with old vines carignan, grenache and syrah. The cellar/garage is tiny. How they produce 3000 cases here is a miracle. Vintages are pretty consistent up here, so not surprisingly 06, 07 and 08 were all impressive. 07 was the richest and silkiest, 06 much more serious and classic with 08 somewhere in between, and perhaps the most lifting of all. These wines really show what greatness the relatively unchartered waters of the Roussillon hills can achieve.

We leave uncharacteristically on time and bat east accross the Roussillon towards Pezenas - a quick pit stop to see our old friends at Domaine Montrose. Having seen the success of their flavoursome and elegant looking rosé magnums, they seem to have caught the large format bug. They now produce some quite stunning looking jeroboams - we'll be shipping these in as early as we can in 2010.

After a minor disagreement between myself, Hew and the rather authoritarian French lady on our navigating system that takes us through some less than salubrious parts of Montpellier, we end up at Mont-Redon in Châteauneuf-du-Pape a little late. We taste a fantastically fresh white 2008 Châteauneuf. The red is admirably complete with good body, fruit and freshness. It does not have the power of 07 but will prove to be a very good drinker. We revisited the red 2006 Châteauneuf, a vintage I adore, but this seems to be going through a closed phase and needs to age for a good two years or so. We also took a fresh look at the 2005, and how this has come on. Brooding and surly for years this is now sumptuously rich, velvety and starting to drink very well indeed.

Across the village to our next stop, Pierre Usseglio. There will just be one red Usseglio Châteauneuf in 08 - but what a beauty. Ripe, floral, teaming with lush opulent fruit. Once again there is not the density or raw power of some more recently celebrated vintages but you certainly wouldn't turn this back in a restaurant. And it's no weakling either showing a nice touch of stuffing that should see it through to the mid term.

Onto our final tasting at Pegau where there was a flurry of activity as usual. A throng of Far Eastern tourists, German private customers and two weary British merchants all waiting in anticipation. Laurence Ferraud eventually arrived, closely followed by a tractor with 09 grapes from one of the last parcels to be picked. It seems that most in Châteaneuf are finishing harvest today, in glorious baking-hot sunshine. We watched as the 09 Pegau grapes were transferred to vat, and when offered by Laurence a testube of free run 09 grape juice Hew accepted with remarkable alacrity. Luckily he left some for me - nectar. Juicy sweet and packed with fruit.

2008 followed and while there will be no Da Capo a decision is yet to be made on the Laurence. The regular cuvée will please Pegau followers enormously. Classic, not heavy with plenty of fruit and savoury character in equal measure. After dropping off our bags at the hotel we headed back to Mont Redon for dinner. We were greeted by 100 delirious, singing and dancing portuguese pickers who were celebrating the Féte de Vendange, the last day of harvest. We escaped before being caught up in an increasingly raucous congo. Over dinner we tried some excellent bottles with the Fabres and Abeilles, who run Mont-Redon, the highlights of which were an excellent red Châteauneuf 1998 that is really starting to open up beautifully after so many years in the doldrums and an incredibly rich and spritely 1967. Mont-Redon make honest pure wines, they aren't flashy and don't get big press but they are wines you get immense pleasure from drinking. And what more can you ask? Well, an early night for one thing... more Châteaneuf, Gigondas and Vacqueyras awaits tomorrow.

The rise and rise of Carruades

If you analyse the top investment wines over the last five years, there's no doubting that there have been some meteoric risers - none more so than Carruades de Lafite. To put it in context, Carruades has outperformed Gold and any of the major world indices over this time period. The Lafite brand is the darling of the newer and increasingly important parts of the Asian market and the insatiable demand has driven prices to extraordinary levels. Only a year or so ago we surmised that Carruades had hit the ceiling at £1000/case. How wrong we were; now most vintages trade at circa £2000/case.

So to be very tabloid and vulgar about it, what does £2000 buy you. Well it probably doesn't even fill the tank on the latest luxury yacht, or pay a premiership footballer's salary for a day, but it can buy you a case of Mouton Rothschild 2002 or 2004 and there'd still be change for dinner at one of London's Michelin starred restaurants. Alternatively, and rather extraordinarily, you could buy over seven cases of the wonderful 2008 Grand Puy Lacoste, one of our star Pauillac buys from the acclaimed 2008 vintage.

It has never been our position to dictate what represents value to our clients. After all, we are all individuals and we each assign a different worth to nearly everything we buy; we merely select and point out wines based on our tastings. But if you purchased Carruades with the intention of drinking, you might like, given the astronomical prices, to reconsider your position. If you are a stockholder or simply a follower of the fine wine market, you may be interested to see our purchase prices listed below:

Carruades de Lafite 1996 - 1800GBP/cs
Carruades de Lafite 1998 - 1620GBP/cs
Carruades de Lafite 1999 - 1620GBP/cs
Carruades de Lafite 2000 - 1890GBP/cs
Carruades de Lafite 2001 - 1710GBP/cs
Carruades de Lafite 2002 - 1620GBP/cs
Carruades de Lafite 2003 - 1620GBP/cs
Carruades de Lafite 2004 - 1755GBP/cs
Carruades de Lafite 2005 - 1485GBP/cs
Carruades de Lafite 2006 - 1350GBP/cs
Carruades de Lafite 2007 - 990GBP/cs

Carruades de Lafite 2008 - 1035GBP/cs

Should you wish to sell, please don't hesitate to contact our broking team on 020 7484 6408 or contact jacqueline.barfoot@justerinis.com

Bordeaux 2009: Further reports from the frontline

A couple of further reports that we received on Friday last week from two of Bordeaux's up-and-coming younger generation of winemakers. Published verbatim.

"The growing season was exactly what every winemaker would like to have every vintage, sunny, hot (but not too hot and dry ( with just a bit of rain at the beginning of August).

We started to pick our young merlots (situated on the foot of the slope) on Tuesday; we have just received our first analysis from the lab that shows very high degrees (between 14 and 15°) which is similar to 2005. The color index is also high, but what is interesting is that the level of acidity is also very good (not too low). These conditions show that this vintage looks really great.

We will finish picking the merlot (situated at the foot of the slope) tomorrow then we will start the merlot on the slope (limestone and clay) next week. The weather forecast is good until next Wednesday at least.

The quality of the grapes is very sound. The first juices taste very good (very fruity and intense), the color will come very quickly. The extraction will be sweet but long (time in tanks will be longer than usual).

We don’t expect to pick our cabernet franc and sauvignon before the 5th of October." Jean-Antoine Nony, Chateau Grande Mayne, St Emilion.


And from Jean-Jacques Bonnie at Malartic-Lagraviere in Pessac-Leognan:
"To start with, we had a rainy winter which enabled the water reserve to fill at the perfect moment for it. Then the spring was nice and dry when it was needed, to start the vegetative cycle of the plant in good conditions and more importantly to be fine when flowering. This made this flowering quick and therefore homogeneous. This homogeneity then lasted until now, the harvest period. The summer has been dry and the sun shining with no temperature excess and the cool nights that are good for balance. We had 40 mm of rain between the 16th and the 20th of September; just what the plant needed to keep accumulating aromas and tannins and taking them to ripeness. Since the 20th the weather has been sunny and will stay that way until at least 1st of October (as far as the weather forecast goes!).

For the whites, the aromas are very dense and pure and the acidities are present enough for the balance of the wines. For the reds, the grapes we taste are showing an amazing potential with a lot of taste. The little water we had for the plant to keep working and the very nice weather since then and for the next few days give us a very wide smile on our faces!! The wines will show density, ripeness and silky tannins: very pure and dense fruit with a brilliant balance.!