The Southwold Tasting - Day 2 PM

Having tasted the best the left bank had to offer before lunch, it was the turn of the most celebrated names from Pomerol and St Emilion in the afternoon. The top eight wines all excelled. By a short head Ch Angelus (19/20) was my highest marked wine; it was not included in the earlier St Emilion flights, so this was its first outing. The ripe cabernet franc aromas seduced the taster with succulent yet aromatic wild fruits, silky texture and beautifully defined tannins. Ch Petrus had darker rich fruit and sweet oak aromas, enormous tannic structure, and great promise. Le Pin showed luscious, polished sweetness and the beautiful gravelly minerality contrasted the classy dark fruits and fabulous length of flavours. The terroir of Ausone really comes through in this 2006; exquisite harmony, cool, classy, silky textured, it possesses tremendous potential. Both L'Eglise Clinet and Vieux Chateaux Certan both scored 18/20 only half a mark behind the runners up, more perhaps because of their density and vast tannic structure, however, there is delicious underlying fruit.

Two flights of Margaux followed and were of a consistently high standard - all without fail having ripeness, which was not the always the case with the 2005s. Ch Palmer, which performed so well amongst the 1st growths was less expressive in the appellation flight; tight, firm, and brooding. Pavillon Rouge showed its pedigree; intense and all on finesse. Giscours; explosive ripe fruits and broad shoulders. Kirwan; big structure and plenty of substance. There were also impressive ‘06s from Malescot St Exupery, Lascombes and Rauzan Segla.

The Southwold Tasting - Day 2

Day two started at the northern end of the Medoc with the St Estephes. This flight did not include Cos d'Estournel, which was grouped with the `Firsts` and `Super Seconds`. It did however include Sociando Mallet (situated just north of the appellation); a beautifully balanced, natural wine, whose gravel terroir spoke through its silky texture and dark, sweet, fresh fruit core. Les Ormes de Pez, however, had just as much potential and pipped Sociando and Phelan Segur by half a point. It had a wonderful vibrant purple colour, layers of classic blackcurrant fruit and polished fine tannins. The Phelan Segur was beautifully crafted, with exquisite, bitter sweet fruit character and splendid length of flavour.

A flight of mixed Pauillac and St Julien followed including some second wines. This was a high quality field and gave a first sight of just how good these 2006 left bank wines are. Reserve de la Comtesse - aromas of cedar wood, tobacco leaf and blackberry were truly seductive; also confirmed on a classy palate. Haut Bages Liberal was another brilliant wine in a three way tie for first place in this flight. Bright purple in colour, wonderful dark, pure fruit that can only come from deep gravel soil; it is backward but has great potential. I have observed the progress of Ch Gloria since the 2004 vintage when it came good along with its stable mate Ch St Pierre. Stacked with clean, classy, juicy fruit, it becomes altogether more serious and structured on the palate, it will age gracefully.

The Pauillac flight that followed was truly consistent in quality, no dogs amongst the ten examples here. Dense, sweet, blackcurrant fruit, well defined tannins and structure could be found amongst the majority including: Duhart-Milon, Petit-Mouton and Clerc-Milon. Pontet Canet and Grand Puy Lacoste demonstrated even more depth and length. Les Forts de Latour and Pichon Baron were joint runners up. The Forts was a stylish, mineral effort, which delighted with an abundance of dark berry fruits. The Pichon Baron’s fruit was a little more confected; sweet briar, cigar leaf and explosive, ripe fruit tannins. Top of the flight was Pichon Lalande. It started firm with beautifully integrated oak and sensual blackcurrant fruits, and only slowly exposed its true glory after ten minutes in the glass. Layered sweet textured yet with enduring mineral complexity and fine tannic structure.

Equally impressive was the top notch flight of St Juliens. It may be that the wines of Pomerol and St Julien were not only the most exiting but also the most homogenous communes in 2006. Ch Leoville-Las-Cases was the clear winner of the flight and when tasted with the left bank firsts and super seconds it came out in joint first place with Mouton Rothschild and Haut Brion. It is a statuesque wine; rich yet firm, ripe yet complex, sumptuous yet persistent. Also very good was a stylish Branaire and an opulent Leoville Poyferre; these two just out scored more superb efforts from Leoville Barton and Ducru Beaucaillou and the fast improving St Pierre.

A ten wine flight of first growths and super seconds followed. They demonstrated just how successful the top Crus Classes were in 2006.

Ch Cos d 'Estournel 17/20 - Impressive structure but I considered this to be somewhat forced and the new oak not yet integrated. Needs time.
Ch Margaux 18/20 - All on finesse and elegance, beautifully crafted with silky tannins.
Ch Pichon Lalande 18/20 - As above, and in this flight even more depth of fruit.
Ch Palmer 18.5/20 - Ethereal, seductive sweet berry fruit aromas, powerful, layered fruit yet stylish persistent finish.
Ch Latour 18.5/20 - Dark and brooding, cedar, tobacco, sweet blackcurrant, sumptuous tannins.
La Mission Haut Brion 18.5/20 - Cigar leaf, chocolate, gravel, serious intensity, great length of flavour. Ranked very highly by all tasters.
Mouton Rothschild 19/20 – Sweet, succulent blackcurrant, massive concentration of fruit, big bold tannic structure.
Haut Brion 19/20 – Rich, ripe, dark forest fruits, sweet tobacco, layers of luscious yet stylish fruit. Great length and complexity.
Leoville Las Cases 19/20 - Tasted as above.

Look out for a special `Best of Bordeaux 2006` offer in the next few days.

The Southwold Tasting – Day 1

This year was the turn of the 2006 vintage. As usual samples were sourced direct from the Chateaux and tasted blind in commune sequence.

The general impression is that there are some serious wines from both left and right banks. Comparing prices with other vintages, in particular 2005, makes these somewhat forgotten 2006s look really interesting buys. Selection, however, is vitally important in a vintage that sorts the men from the boys.

First up was a flight of Medocs and Listrac/Moulis, including classed growths. The outstanding wine was Chateau Cantemerle, showing ripeness, depth of fruit and fine Bordeaux structure. Chateau Chasse Spleen and Tour Carnet are also worth seeking out for their balance and easy drinking style. Disappointments included Chateau La Lagune.

Several flights of St Emilions followed. The quality from this Appellation was as mixed as the multiple terroirs found in this commune. The most common faults being black coloured, over extracted wines with dry, hard, tannic structures. There were however a few exceptions that showed balance, natural ripe sweet fruit and fine tannins: Joanne Becot, Franc Mayne, L'Hermitage and amongst the premier Crus Classe: Beausejour Duffau, Canon La Gaffeliere, Chapelle d'Ausone and Pavie Macquin. The grand St Emilions were tasted with the elite Pomerols in a majestic right-bank shoot out on day two.

Next came two flights of Pomerol. Quality here is top notch and the wines are consistently ripe, deep of fruit and possess sweet tannic structures. The Moueix properties were uniformly delicious; Chateau La Fleur Petrus, Hosanna and Trotanoy were firing on all cylinders. However, Vieux Chateau Certan won by a short head; backward, brooding, with a wonderfully complex, dark, sweet fruit core. Evangile may well be the sleeper of the appellation, it appeared a touch closed but it reveals hints of greatness – purity, finesse and intensity.

http://www.justerinis.com/Cantemerle/Chateau_Cantemerle_5eme_Cru_Classe_Haut_Medoc_2006/7644/7334/WineDetails.aspx

2008s from Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair

At the beginning of this week we welcomed into our cellars Louis-Michel Vicomte Liger-Belair (pictured with his father) to present us with his fledgling 2008s. The tasting was a huge success and demonstrated just how great this Domaine has become. As Louis-Michel himself pointed out, it can take 5-6 years for work in the vineyard, particularly the soils, to have their full effect on the resultant wines. Over and above vintage style and variation, there is without question an additional qualtitative progression here right accross the range. I found the 2008s very much in keeping with Louis-Michel's pure, softly extracted yet very serious style - they were gentle but powerful, silky smooth yet racy, all in all they were impeccably balanced. This revering taster, at least, would place these in THE top echelon of Red Burgundy. Our customers seemed to agree, 6 of the 9 wines have already sold out!

Catherine Faller discusses the 2008 vintage for Domaine Weinbach

Catherine Faller's wines always appear on the final table at our Burgundy tasting and invariably offer respite and refreshment to the weary taster after 150+ Burgundies. That some tasters simply run out of steam before reaching them is a crying shame as a trip to the Weinbach table is always a memorable one. From the Pinot Blanc to the Vendage Tardives the Weinbach range is consistently inbued with deep elegance and finesse. The 2008s, alive with the most wonderful acidity, were a joy to taste last week.

Will it be a Chinese artist?

There is much speculation and conjecture as to which artist will appear on the 2008 Mouton Rothschild label. Who will join the list of luminaries that includes Prince Charles, Lucien Freud, Francis Bacon, Keith Haring, Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Wassily Kandinsky, Marc Chagall and Salvador Dali? Mouton is keeping tight lipped; Hervé Berland told Decanter that ‘no decision has been made to date’. But investors have sniffed an opportunity. A Chinese artist and an eight in the vintage could make Mouton the new darling of the Orient. The official announcement won’t be made until later this year, but it looks very much like the cat is already out of the bag...

For interested parties, we have just received our 4th tranche allocation at more than double the price of our 1st release!

http://www.justerinis.com/Mouton_Rothschild/Chateau_Mouton_Rothschild_1er_Cru_Classe_Pauillac_2008/10694/0/WineDetails.aspx

Roy Richards on Burgundy 2008

Roy Richards, one half of importers Richards Walford, gives us a brief but illuminating interview about the 2008 vintage; the weather conditions, the resulting wines, and those vintages he thinks it compares to.

Chairman's Message

The start of a new decade and the beginning of our 261st year of trading is perhaps a timely moment to reflect on the state of the fine wine market.

It is unquestionably the case that this time last year we looked towards 2009 through an uncertain lens. The previous six months had proven to be tumultuous and there was no strong indication of how the market would proceed.

Our deep rooted belief in the merits of quality domaine bottled Burgundy was again shown to be shared by our customers, as was seen by the strength of the Burgundy 07 Primeur campaign launched last January.

The broking market also seemed to find its footing that month; we sold more Bordeaux in the first week of January than we did in the whole preceding month of December.

The general fine wine market continued to cautiously grow over the following months, and we were pleased to note that Justerini & Brooks grew market share, with sizeable and active private customers as well as top hotels and restaurants coming to us, driven perhaps by stability and our depth of stock.

It is also worth noting our customers' increasing interest in wines outside the classic French regions. We are seeing continued interest in top Spanish wines and in German Riesling, but it is in top Piemontese wines that we have seen the most dramatic rise. Despite 2008 being a record year for us in terms of Italian sales, this grew further through 2009.

Early 2010 will see us launch our new website; both the culmination of a two year project and an effective way to take Justerini & Brooks to even more like-minded customers. We are already operating in 23 countries.

Many of you have already discovered our Buyers' blog. My buying team are now using this to give you day by day reports as they taste new wines and new vintages in their continuous search for the best.

And there is good news for customers who store their wines with us through Cellarers (Wines) Ltd. The current storage rate of £11 per year inclusive of vat for a case will remain frozen come the start of the next storage year (1st July 2010), despite the rising costs of warehousing and insurance. However, delivery charges to mainland Great Britain will rise from £15 inclusive of vat to £15 exclusive of vat - a modest increase to cover costs. Purchases destined for mainland Great Britain not coming from Cellarers and over the value of £250 will continue to be exempt of delivery charge. Deliveries elsewhere will continue to be charged at the prevailing rate.

There is much for us to look forward to over the coming 12 months. We are genuinely impressed by the quality of the 2008 Burgundies which we are about to launch . The rest of the coming year will be taken up with the release of the 2009 vintage from Bordeaux, Germany and the Rhone, and exciting releases from Champagne, Italy and Spain. To date I have tasted several superb 2009 Rhones, and a couple of days ago, whilst in a very snowy Bordeaux, I tasted a barrel sample of Cos d'Estournel 2009 which was deeply impressive. The style of 2009, if anything can be drawn from such a small selection, is deep concentration and texture combined with a fabulous fruit content. Alcohols are high, but certainly from the wines I have tasted they are exquisitely balanced by acidity. Our Buyers' blog will update you with our discoveries as they come.

In the meantime I wish you all a very happy New Year.

Hew Blair

Chairman, Justerini & Brooks

Cos d'Estournel 2009 - "Monumental"

A snow affected trip to Bordeaux during the early part of this week gave Hew and Chad a chance to taste a single 2009. A two hour trip from Bordeaux town along icy roads strewn with abandoned cars led them to the Medoc's northernmost village of St Estephe, and an estate at the very top of its game. Jean-Guillaume Prats had also braved the icy roads and was there to present Cos d'Estournel 2009.

"Monumental" was the word Hew put forward when asked to describe it in a single word.

When asked for more he said, "Well, to look at it, you might think you were looking at a young vintage port such is the depth and intensity of its colour and its sheer viscosity. It has an alcohol level of 14.2%, not in itself that usual for Cos given the high merlot content. It has a quite extraordinary tannin level of over 100 (versus ordinary levels of roughly 60), yet a texture that is ripe and silky. It has a massive concentration, glorious acidity and quite beautiful fruit. We are talking comparisons with 29 and 47. A month spent in new oak was unnoticable, and what we tasted was the final assemblage with press wine"

One wonders what would have been surmised had they had the chance to taste more than just Cos. Certainly it would seem 2009 might have highs on a par with 2005, perhaps even higher. Whether or not it has the consistency, endowed as it is with such extreme raw materials, remains to be seen.

Happy New Year

The J&B blog is back in business after the `holiday season`. Firstly, we’d like to wish all our readers a very happy New Year and secondly, a quick heads-up... our January bin end offer will be released tomorrow; so keep your eyes peeled for all those wonderful bargains...

It’s also worth mentioning our Burgundy 2008 tasting and offer. If you’ve been following Giles’ and Hew’s adventures in the Cote d’Or on our blog and want to taste/buy for yourself, we go-live next week.

Closed for Christmas

Thank you for visiting the Justerini & Brooks buyers’ blog. Unfortunately the blog is taking a break for Christmas until the 4th of January. We would like to wish all our readers a merry Christmas and happy New Year. We’ll be back with more news from the vineyard, first tastings from barrel, market movers, auction results and growers’ reports in 2010.

Quelle surprise

The 2009 `Liv-ex Fine Wine Power 100` poll is out, and no surprises for the winner, Chateau Lafite Rothschild. The only shock is that Lafite was only in sixth spot last year...

The results are compiled by the Liv-ex boffins, who analyse data including the volume of trades on the exchange, the average Parker scores, average prices, annual performance and a weighted production (average price multiplied by the total production).

There are some fascinating results. Lafite accounts for a staggering 23% of business on the exchange, with the other first growths taking the next four places. Taylors, way down in 48th position has the highest average Parker score (97.2 points!). Petrus, DRC and Le Pin have the highest average prices, all exceeding 10K per case. Price performance is probably the most important statistic used, and it is Carruades de Lafite, not Lafite that leads the way (up 55%), followed by Duhart (33%) and completing a 1-2-3 for Domaines Barons de Rothschild, the Grand Vin, Lafite (up 26%). The only other contender in this category is Beychevelle, with a very respectable 23% rise.

For the full report, please follow the link below.

http://liv-ex.typepad.com/.a/6a00e55150c0be8834012876528b9f970c-popup

Alsace 2009 : An in depth harvest report from Domaine Weinbach

On his recent visit, Giles kindly inquired about our 2009 harvest at Domaine Weinbach and I am happy to share our impressions with you.

The potential of the new vintage is very high across our range of terroirs and grape varieties, with very healthy, beautifully ripe grapes and extremely pure aromas. The second half of August was hot and September was warm, both contributing to excellent maturities after the very mild weather conditions we had in April and May and despite a very damp July. August weather brought fears that total acidities would be too low but they are equivalent in most cases to the ones we experienced in 2005 and 2007 and the impression derived from the tastings is very fine. The maturities are optimal, both in sugar richness and in taste (phenolic) knowing that the grape skins were thicker than usual because of the lack of rain at the end of the season. In addition to their richness, the wines show freshness, juiciness and beautiful aromatic profiles. Because of the thick skins and dry conditions, botrytis (noble rot) was scarce and took time to develop in the most favorable terroirs. In return, it stayed incredibly pure and fresh. Due to its small proportion, ” tries ” (selections) needed to be extremely severe to produce tiny volumes of very high quality Sélections de Grains Nobles. Beautiful Vendanges Tardives, in of course much lesser quantities than 2005, were harvested showing great elegance of constitution.

The weather during harvest was a dream. We started on September 14 with our Pinot Noir: incredible colour, fruit and richness. We then paused for 10 days before picking Auxerrois and Pinot Blanc, Muscat, Pinot Gris and Sylvaner. On September 29, we harvested our first Riesling and Gewurztraminer (both Cuvée Théo). This started the “heart” of our harvest and until October 7, we picked all our remaining Pinot Gris (including Vendanges Tardives, Sélections de Grains Nobles and Quintessence de Grains Nobles), all our Rieslings (including a beautiful Sélection de Grains Nobles in the Schlossberg) except a plot in the Altenbourg and all our Gewurztraminer except Altenbourg, Grands Crus Furstentum and Mambourg. The night of October 7 saw the first (moderate: 7 mm) rain in almost two months. The temperatures all along harvest had stayed between 18°C and 27°C with not even a hint of morning dew which can sometimes have the same "diluting" effect as light rain. Then, a week and just a couple of more mm rain later, on October 14 and 15, Gewurztraminer Altenbourg (“regular” as well as Vendanges Tardives Trie Spéciale and Quintessence de Grains Nobles), Gewurztraminer Furstentum regular and Vendanges Tardives. On October 20, a rich Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Mambourg Vendanges Tardives and to conclude on October 28, a beautiful first Riesling Altenbourg Vendanges Tardives.

To conclude I would like to say that we have been blessed with a series of excellent vintages: our brand new 2009 but also 2007 and 2008.

Let us wish you and your families a Merry Christmas, a joyful holiday Season and all very good things in the New Year to come.

Laurence Faller,

Domaine Weinbach

J&B takes to the airwaves

We always said he had a perfect face for radio, and last night our very own Julian Campbell was the voice of authority, fount of all knowledge and general know it all on the Chris Evans Drive Time Show.

Chris wasn’t reviving `Freak or Unique` or `Fat lookalikes` as we had thought, he was having a very informed discussion about the merits of Cognac and Armagnac. If anyone would like to listen to the interview, please follow the link to the BBC iplayer. Julian’s slot starts about 1 hour, 12 minutes and 50 seconds into the show.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00p6tjx/Chris_Evans_08_12_2009/

Movers and Sheikhers

The Liv-ex 100 finished November up just 0.4% at 235.13; 14.7% up for the year. A modest gain after some really impressive months, but a gain none-the-less. So, what’s been trading at J&B in November? Well, we make no apologies; it’s been the usual suspects. Lafite and Carruades march on and Mouton continues to gather pace, but still remains several furlongs behind Lafite. There is still insatiable demand for 2007 Chateauneufs; whilst old and rare vintages from Burgundy get snapped up tout de suite.

The big question is - how will major economies respond to the Dubai crisis? Hopefully this won’t be the double-dip we all fear, but if it is, bargain-hunters will probably be disappointed; it’s unlikely that there will be a glut of distressed sellers emerging from the Middle East!

Familia Cassone Malbec moves to screwcaps

Lovers of Finca La Florencia Malbec, and there are a few of you out there, will be delighted to hear that the next shipment is arriving in January. Undoubtedly one of our very best value reds, now bottled entirely in screwcaps. Making life just that little bit easier!

The festivities are just around the corner.

Our Christmas list has hit doorsteps now so if you haven't received yours please feel free to call us on 0207 484 6467 and we will happily send you a copy. Proving particularly popular are a new addition to the list, our four mixed dozens, each comprising three bottles of some of our most popular current drinking gems.

Chateauneuf's overlooked vintages

Tasting with the affable Vincent Avril today was fascinating.

The final blend of 2008 Clos des Papes red looks very smart, silky pure and refreshing. He likens it to the 1999 which we tasted, too, this was drinking well - elegant moreish, and very fresh after 10 years so this bodes well for the 2008 which he thinks is better. The 04 Clos des Papes red is still very young but offers such vitality, ripeness and polish, a wonderful wine from this shamefully overlooked Chateauneuf vintage.

Julien Barrot at Barroche has made a lovely "signature" cuvee in 2008 rich velvety but fresh with almost Pinot like aromas, a real beauty. There will be no fiancee or pure in 2008 so all the goodness from those pure 100 year old grenache vines has gone into the signature blend, making it all the more special.

Barolo Vigna Giachini, Giovanni Corino 1998

Two bottles served with the most delicious oxtail stew demonstrated with considerable aplomb what fine Barolo Giovanni Corino makes, and how refined and rewarding Barolo from La Morra vineyards such as Giachini can become given patience. It was aromatic, hightoned and elegant with tannins that are just beginning to melt effortlessly into the hedgerow scented, bittersweet Nebbiolo fruit. Anyone with 98 Corinos in their cellar might like to consider having some out now. You won’t be disappointed.

Burgundy 2008 Part Deux - Days 4 & 5

Visits with Roumier and Mugnier reinforced the findings of our earlier tastings with Drouhin, Meo-Camuzet and Ghislaine Barthod, where we discovered many very fine Chambolles. Clos de Marechale deserves a mention, Mugnier's great vineyard work here(pictured) seems to get increasingly evident each year, the 2008 rivals Nuit's best. Musigny seems to be a Grand Cru that has excelled in 2008, examples from Roumier and Mugnier were glorious and that of Leroy outshone, on the day, their other vineyards Richebourg and Chambertin. Vosne, too, seems to have had its fair share of highs in 2008, Cathiard's wines were fabulous. His and Leroy's stunning Romanee St Vivants have mirrored the success of Frank Follin's earlier in the week. At Clos de Tart we had our usual, fascinating, tasting of the four components of the Clos de Tart blend. Embryonic they may have been, but the potential to be one of the vintage's most powerful wines is certainly there. Cecile Tremblay followed, a young grower who is already starting to excel. 2008 is clearly an excellent vintage for her and a step up from her 2007s. Chambolle Feusselottes and Chapelle really impressed but most surprising of all was, perhaps, the high quality of the two villages wines Nuits and Vosne. The final tasting of our two week long Burgundian visits was with Domaine d'Eugenie, and what a way to finish. Even more than Tremblay, this is a Domaine that has made enormous strides between the 2007 and 2008 vintages. With their brand new cuverie in place and the winemaking team finding their feet, they have managed to produce superb results, each wine/ terroir is very clearly defined and the expression of Pinot Noir bittersweetness comes through very strongly.

So the trip draws to a close. It has not been too tiring a journey, which says alot for the vintage. At their best the red wines are fresh and light in tannic structure rather like 2004 in their light tannic structure but much more elegant and with a totally different, considerably riper, fruit profile. The wines are not massive like 2006 or 2005, but they are so well balanced that they should age gracefully. Burgundy lovers will adore them for their purity and Pinot juiciness. The whites are flamboyant, exotic yet racy and will give great pleasure straightaway, Chablis, in particular, is a great success. It is a small vintage for red and white wine in terms of quantity, though there are one or two exceptions many Pinot producers made even less 2008 than the already rather small 2007 vintage.