Voyager Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot

We've always said the wines from Voyager Estate were superb. Continued investment in time and energy by the dynamic winemaking team only means they are getting better and better. Old bottles seem to develop a Bordelais sense of gentle, handsome refinement, whilst in their youth the wines are crammed full of sensual fruit and well managed tannins.

And Neil Martin agrees with us. The following tasting notes, published on erobertparker.com, come from a Margaret River expo earlier in the year.

"2004 Voyager Estate Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot 92
This is a great wine. A lovely, well-defined, sensuous bouquet with black plum, black pepper and a touch of antique snuff box coming through. Then mulberry developing with aeration. Ripe blackberry and plum on the palate laced with dried herbs, very Bordeaux-like with admirable harmony and focus. Elegant finish. Superb. Drink now-2018. Tasted May 2009."

"2001 Voyager Estate Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot 92
Another great wine from Voyager. A ripe nose with mint and camphor, a touch of sous-bois and cigar box. Very Bordeaux-like once again. The palate is full-bodied, firm tannins, quite masculine and tannic with an austere, almost aloof finish that seems to laugh in your face that you remain so loyal to the Left Bank. Excellent. Drink now-2014. Tasted May 2009."

2008 Burgundy Part Deux - Day 3

The french love affair with bank holidays means that it is always a battle to make appointments in November, particularly on Armistice day, fortunately however there was minimal interruption today - our winegrowers are made of sterner stuff, their strong work ethic seems to apply even to the beloved "jours ferriers." As a result we get to swan around the finest Crus of Chambolle Morey and Gevrey with a little interlude to Jean Marc Millot in Nuits St Georges. Each terroir /wine is so clearly defined and identifiable in 2008, this was more evident in the cellars of the charming Ghislaine Barthod than anywhere else. The villages was enormously impressive, as for the crus normally the Fuees is the outsanding example for me and it is extremely good but it is a close run thing with Charmes this year, the warm microclimate of the lower Charmes must have been well suited to the cooler conditions of 2008. Louis Remy's wines were excellent too, my strict jesuit education normally means I have a preference for the austere but profound Latricieres,though I have to admit this year to being seduced by Clos de la Roche, another warm micro climate thas has performed particularly well in 2008. As for Bruno Clair at the end of the day, well his wines left us pretty speechless. Clos St Jacques tastes like a Grand Cru, Clos de Beze is totally seductive and Bonnes Mares is arguably the best yet has Bruno finds his feet in this vineyard since it came back into the fold in 2006, it has been very pretty these last few vintages but the 2008 has more strength and depth than its predecessors whilst retaining the purity and definition of the vintage. Bravo Bruno!

2008 Burgundy Part Deux - Day 2

The Remi Rollin 2008s performed admirably well at 8.30am in the morning, they have the mineral streak that are so beloved of Pernand's wines with a hint more generosity and exoticism than the 2007s. The Sous Fretille is one of Burgundy's best kept white secrets and the 08 version will not disappoint its loyal followers. On to Burgundy's holy grail, Vosne Romanee. It may have been a bleary-eyed start to the day, but one can hardly complain with the rest of the day's schedule that includes Lamarche, Comte Liger-Belair, Etienne Grivot and Meo Camuzet. In 2008 Lamarche have gone up another gear from their very promising 2007s, Nicole is clearly making great strides with the winemaking since taking over fully from her father in 2007. Richebourg from Grivot was a stand out wine, great energy and finesse for this vineyard which can so often be explosive but rather cumbersome in its youth, however the piece de resistance for me, unsurprisingly I guess, was La Romanee from Comte Liger Belair. Tasting in the cellars under the Chateau de Vosne Romanee is always a treat but this was something else. The 2008 La Romanee is more expressive and open than any other I can remember at this stage whilst retaining its classic subtley and guile. Fine, floral, juicy and sophisiticated with a breathakingly long finish. 08 has really started shaping up nicely, it says alot for the vintage that there have been little or no disappointments but many high points. As with any vintage troubled by awkward weather during the growing season this won't be a vintage to buy any old where, but importantly for Burgundy lovers the growers who usually make good wine have done sowith some style this year.

2008 Burgundy Part Deux - Day 1

The balmy 19 degrees of two weeks ago seem like a long time ago. Burgundy is firmly back in line with the seasons, its cold, wet and windy. The weather does not stop this place being beautiful, though, its still a real treat to be here. Before decamping to the Cotes de Nuits we finish off the remaining Cotes de Beaune cellars that we did not manage to visit last time round. The day started with Follin and some thoroughly attractive 2008s, Romanee St Vivant was a real stand out and promises much for our visit to Vosne Romanee tomorrow. His even more seductive 07s followed, topped off by an excellent 2006 Chapitre (a vintage Frank considers to be up there with his best,surpassing 2005.)Frank has really proved himself an enormously consistent and talented winemaker over the last 5-10 years. We then briefly switched Cotes to Flagey-Echezeaux and Emmanuel Rouget, who for once had remembered his appointment and was at home rather than in a field somewhere shooting game as is so often his want. Some 2008 wines of great potential here, however the Cros Parantoux had barely started malo and was difficult to see into. The 2007s eclipsed the 08s, though. It reminded me what a great success Emannuel's wines were in 07, definitely up there among the vintage's creme de la creme. Some good wines have been made chez the short-clad Eric de Suremain, Rully Preaux was a beauty and the Clou de Chene would not look out of place in a flight of top Volnays, and ditto some excellent whites at Martelet de Cherisey, but Vincent Dancer (pictured) was the showpiece of the day for both Hew and I, even at villages level the wines have a depth, intensity and above all finesse that I think will be hard to rival. Vosne here we come.

Rhone 2007

The interest in Rhone 2007 shows no sign of abating. Our most recent offering of Vieux Donjon 2007 sold out within the day. Indeed, such as been the level of interest we have decided to re-offer many 2007's with our 2008 Rhone release on the 16th November. If you haven't already signed up to receive our mailers, you can do it now here, it takes a matter moments and is a sure fire way to ensure you receive all our emailed updates and releases.

More signs of recovery

One of the key barometers for the health of the wine market is the strength of auction sales. We have become accustomed to lofty figures being returned from the auction rooms in Hong Kong, however, New York and London results over the past twelve months have not provided a great deal of cheer.

However, yesterday’s sale at Christie's posted some very respectable figures. The total value of the sale exceeded £600,000, with almost 92% of lots sold. Highlights included an exceptionally rare case of Henri Jayer’s Vosne Romanee Cros Parantoux 1978, which achieved £36,800 and a case of Latour 1961, which reached £21,850. Both items sold to UK trade. A case of 1982 Lafite Rothschild topped £20,000 and unsurprisingly went to and Asian client. How many of these wines will actually be consumed in the UK, well, we can only guess. Many of the lots will inevitably end up with Asian collectors, but we should not make pejorative comments about the state of our own market – things are looking up!

Up up and away

The Liv-ex 100 recorded its seventh consecutive monthly rise, leaving the index at 234.25, up 1.9% for the month and 14.3% up for the year. Lafite continues to lead the way, but there seems to be renewed interest in Mouton. Could it be the Rothschild link? Who knows, but rumours that this is the new brand to follow in the influential Chinese market are rife. There also seems to be strong demand for La Mission Haut Brion 2005 after its 100 point showing at the Executive Wine Seminars blind tasting in New York.

Outside the Liv-ex 100, there has been some astonishing trading. One case of Clos des Papes 2007 sold for £1150, although whoever bought it must have felt pretty foolish as a case was offered soon after at £1000! Since Robert Parker's remarks about 2007 Southern Rhone, there has been a sharp upturn in demand. Well done to those who bought 2007s en primeur; wines from this red-hot vintage are becoming quite scarce and increasingly expensive to find…

Burgundy 2008 Tastings - Days 4 & 5

Our final taste of the Cote de Beaune, for this week at least, was with Patrick Javillier, Tollot Beaut and Drouhin. A pleasant end to the Cote, stand out wines were the Meursault Tete de Murger, Corton Bressandes from Tollot, and a beautiful flight of Chambolles from Joseph Drouhin. We leave Chorey Les Beaune for Chablis in the north where we visit Moreau Naudet, Vincent Dauvissat, Laurent Tribut and Brocard. The 2008s here are a little behind schedule, like those of the Cote de Beaune, because of slow malolactic fermentations, however they showed extremely well. It is quite simply an excellent Chablis vintage, they have a similar intensity, ripeness and exuberance to the 2008s further south but perhaps even greater concentration and certainly more finesse. Hew told Vincent Dauvissat he thought it was one of the best vintages he has tasted in his 25 years in buying Chablis, high praise indeed! Moreau Naudet has,thankfully, produced a Montee de Tonnerre this year and has produced a stunning range. Laurent Tribut has made his finest wines yet.

This year's Burgundy marathon is broken up by a week in the London office, next week Hew and I head back out to Burgundy, where we will be pitching our tents mainly in the Cote de Nuits.

Burgundy 2008 tastings- Day 3

Apparently down in Biarritz they were basking in sunshine and swimming in the sea yesterday, well its not quite as hot as that here but it has been another fine day in Burgundy, clear skies beautiful colours and a balmy 19 degrees. The picture shows the view through the gates of Bachelet-Monnot's fine Boutiere 1er Cru vineyard in Maranges.

It was a mammoth day that started at 8.45am and finished at 8pm, tough but then again tasting with coche dury into the night is not such a hardship.

We tasted mostly white wine, it is clear the vintage is a very good one for whites, riper and more exotic than 2007 though not always as fine but with similarly racy acidities.Quantities are much smaller however because of the north wind concentrating the grapes.

Difficult to pick a highlight as there were so many great whites, coche dury was excellent but to be expected, there were superb ranges from Sauzet and Pierre Morey too, but forced into a corner it was tasting with the bachelet monnot brothers, they are young but already making top flight wines, we expected good wine but nothing as great as their 2008s. The Batard was the best we tasted. Jobard was not far behind, Francois' son Antoine is making the wine here now and has clearly taken the wines to another level.

Burgundy 2008 tastings - Day 2

On the evidence of today these 2008 reds have really turned out rather well. Many have an exciting freshness that the best Pinots display with an acidity that is high but ripe, the tannins seem very fine too. Malolactic fermentations have been very slow in 2008, often this is a process done and dusted by the following year's harvest but many have still not finished and some have only just started,however this has made for some very pure, bright and deeply coloured wines. This was the case at our first tasting, the young Arnaud Mortet is further perfecting the fine style of Burgundy that differs so greatly from that of his father. Here many wines were still mid malo and backward but we did get a fair glimpse of what's to come, a very tasteable Gevrey 1er Cru and Gevrey Champeaux that had finished their second fermentation were totally seductive. The harvest will be a tiny one, though.

Contrary to Mortet, at Drouhin Laroze there is a relatively healthy size of crop, Philippe's vines were less affected by oidium that was so prevalent in some sectors of the Cote de Nuits. Some very drinkable, fine and really quite moreish wines here. Chambertin Clos de Beze, so often the surly one of Philippe's vast Grand Cru brood, was actually incredibly showy and had real "wow" factor. Next and we cruised gently up the hill to Rousseau. Eric Rousseau has been making less wine over the last 5 years but has raised the qualitative bar accross the whole portfolio of wines, Clos de la Roche impressed, Chambertin was majesterial. What a treat this tasting was.

On to Nuits St Georges and Robert Chevillon's uniformly delicious set of 2008s, Vaucrains was a highlight and on today's evidence just pips Les St Georges. Our new grower in Nuits as of last year is Gouges. With a brand new cellar and the accession of Christian's nephew, Gregory, to winemaking duties quality has improved greatly as of 2007, the style being much less tannic in its youth, more finesse. I was delighted to see 2007 was no fluke, Gregory's 2008s are even better, they were utterly spellbinding!

All in all a really good day, some surprisingly good Pinots. Burgundy owe the north wind that arrived in September 2008 alot of gratitude, this is when things turned for the better. "A miracle" as Eric Rousseau calls it "morale at the end of August was as low as my socks, but look how good the wines are now!!"

Burgundy 2008 tastings -Day 1

Standing in Jean-Noel Gagnard's cellars at 8.45am this morning seems like a long time ago. A long but rewarding day has passed.

Often intense but distinctly 'adolescent' when tasted from barrel, Caroline Lestime's white wines are serious, often backward and always take a couple of years in bottle to blossom. The 2008s, though, are a really impressive range that already show tremendously well, offering a great balance between "gras" and freshness, the Bâtard was sublime. A tour of the Marquis d'Angerville vineyards followed. Guillaume d'Angerville's commute to and from his vines is enviable, within minutes we were admiring the view from the sun-kissed Champans vineyard, followed shorty afterwards by a trip to the even higher, stonier Taillepieds, all the while the steep tilt of Clos des Ducs to the north stayed in sight. All were within minutes of each other yet so different, this is the essence of Burgundy. The difference between the terroirs was amplified further during our tasting of 2008s, each wine was very clearly defined. On the day Champans was the stand out, so seductively Volnay - Guillaume's accession to duties at Domaine the d'Angerville has definitely coincided with the big qualitative resurgence of this classic Volnay vineyard. Dominique Lafon was next and did not disappoint, he is such an enthusiast and perfectionist. 2008 is a small crop here for reds and whites alike (the smallest ever that Dominique can recall for his Volnay.) Exciting wines from top bottom, the Macons were quite possibly his best yet, the Meursaults and Montrachet were as smart as usual, the pick of the cellar,though, went to Perrières. Finally we braved the back streets of Beaune in search of the Hospices de Beaune cellars. Confronted by a vast chai like room of new wooden barrels of seriously embryonic wine, we picked our way through an interesting but not necessarily homogenous 2009 crop. The best red wines are powerful yet already highly flattering to taste at this very early stage. Tomorrow sees a change of Cotes as we head for Gevrey and Nuits.

The Mosel 2009: "Wonderfully Healthy and Golden Yellow in Colour"

We have been busy harvesting for two weeks now. Although we had a few rain showers last week, we are now experiencing a really golden October. It is quite frosty in the mornings but then wonderfully warm and sunny in the afternoons.

Thanks to a very selective harvest, we gain a fantastic quality every day, ranging from Qba through the finest Grand Crus to the Gold Capsule selection.

We have a little less quantity this year however qualitatively this harvest will turn out to be an excellent one.The grapes are wonderful healthy and golden yellow in colour.

We think that it will take us another week to finish a successful harvest.

Clos des Papes as popular as ever

Yesterdays offer of the 2006 vintage saw huge demand and we sold our entire parcel from this cult Chateauneuf domaine in a matter of hours. We apologise if you didn't manage to secure an allocation, and would urge you to sign up to our mailers at http://www.justerinis.com/ for instant notifications of future releases.

The Bordeaux circus rolls into town

Today, the Union des Grands Crus swapped their Chateaux for the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. This annual event has become an enlightening tasting as it often presents the first opportunity to taste a vintage from bottle. This year was the turn of the 2007s. Widely rubbished before the barrel tastings, some Chateaux defied the miserable conditions and with an extraordinary amount of hard work in the vineyard and no lack of skill in the winery, have produced some half decent wines - but how are they showing now?

Well, the pick of the reds are elegant and refined, with pure fruit cores; they will be attractive early drinkers. Those who extracted too much have made unbalanced wines with tough tannins, but in the main, winemakers have been gentle and have produced simple but charming wines. The stars of the show included, Pontet Canet, Pichon Lalande, Pichon Baron, Léoville Barton, Langoa Barton and Beychevelle. These were really well made wines that will reward medium term cellaring.

The real winners in 2007 though are the whites. The dry whites from Pessac-Léognan are aromatic, concentrated and possess lovely crisp acidities. Highlights included, Carbonnieux, Domaine de Chevalier, Smith Haut Lafite and Picque Caillou. The sweeties are quite exceptional too. There is ample botrytis, richness and complexity - all framed by delicious racy acidities. Suduiraut, Doisy Daene, Doisy Vedrines, de Fargues and Coutet all shone, but a particular attention should be drawn to Climens, who have made a blockbuster to rival Yquem. Berenice Lurton has made a wine of mammoth proportions; a truly exceptional Climens!

So, in summary, the best reds are charming, balanced wines with fine structures, which will reward early drinking. The whites are outstanding; if you haven’t already bought them for your cellar, then hurry…

Robert Parker: France 2009 and Rhone 2007

A recent news letter from Robert Parker extolling the potential of the French 2009 harvest, and the realised (and bottled) greatness from the 2007 Southern Rhone vintage. We will be re-offering a selection of 2007 Rhones with our 2008 Rhone release.

"2009 in France
Having been in France in late August and early September, this is going to be a potentially great vintage in virtually every wine region. In thirty years of visiting France in the fall, and seeing how vintages unfold, I don't remember a better set of climatic conditions than those that occurred in the critical months of August and September as well as the early part of October, 2009. Burgundy, Loire, Alsace, Bordeaux, the northern Rhône and probably the southern Rhône as well appear to have had phenomenal vintages, which is certainly good news. If there is going to be any weaknesses, it may be because of the severe drought France suffered, which was abated somewhat in certain areas by some late rain in September. That may have caused some hydric stress and tannin issues with some wines, but we won't know for sure until the wines are tasted in the spring of 2010.

You can't buy enough of the 2007 Southern Rhônes
As my report that will be coming out the end of October states, from top to bottom, this is the greatest vintage I have ever tasted in any viticultural area. Most consumers who have already tried some of the generic 2007 southern Rhônes have already seen what they are in store for given the fact that these wines are well above their humble pedigrees. At the top level are the great wines of the finest appellation of the southern Rhône, Châteauneuf du Pape, but Vacqueyras, Gigondas, and Rasteau are the real value picks as almost every domaine in Châteauneuf du Pape that has a noteworthy reputation is already sold out. The wines are just hitting the distribution channels in the United States and Europe, so move quickly. Despite the worldwide economic woes, these wines are disappearing at a rapid pace."

The smiles say it all...

Our recent sojourn in Bordeaux has been quite enlightening. Chateaux owners are positively beaming at the prospect of their 2009s. Our time in the Medoc included engagements with two of the most influential Chateau directors, Frederic Engerer and Paul Pontallier (right).

Chateau Margaux has enjoyed a wonderful summer, with hot, exceptionally dry conditions. The harvest was the longest on record, starting on the 8th of September for the Pavillon Blanc and finishing today! (15th Oct). Paul was deliberating over which vintages to pour at `la gerbaude`, the traditional end of harvest party. Sugar levels are historically high in 2009, with some parcels of Merlot hitting 15.5% and 16%. Cabernets are a more modest 13%. If there's one problem with the vintage, it's that the dry autumn has resulted in smaller yields than we had hoped for. 36-37hl/ha, slightly below 2008.

Frederic Engerer explains that 2009 is an 'extreme vintage' at Chateau Latour. It is undoubtedly a great harvest, but he expects a `tumultuous` time during vinification. 'Everything is so extreme - concentration, alcohol, even acidities'. Alcoholic fermentations will certainly be lengthy. Cabernets look 'fabulous', but alas the yields are low. Frederic recorded temperatures of 28 degrees on the 28th of September. This extreme heat in September has resulted in tiny, concentrated berries with very little juice - he expects a crop slightly smaller than 2008 (itself a very small harvest).

Piedmont 2009 : "Harvest is finally over"

We were very worrried about the rain we had in the middle of September, but we soon got happy again seeing as afterwards the sun started shining and we had warmer days. Even today, while I write this, I'm wearing a t-shirt sitting outside and it's 25°!

The last few grapes were picked by our crew without any hurry or overly stressful selection - the grapes were healthy and fully ripe.

It looks like this is going to be another (!!) great harvest for Barolo, perhaps with a little too much alcohol, but definitely with good acidities and balance.

The last tank of nebbiolo was pressed on Sunday. For the first time we fermented longer than usual, we left it for a week on the skins..."just a week" some might say, but for us it's a "record". We tried to keep the temperature lower than usual, about 28°, and for longer. We will see the results soon as the juice is almost dry now.

Luckily this year we haven't had any arrest of fermentation, all tanks are turning dry naturally and some have even started their malolactics already.

We never inoculate with powdered yeast, preferring to create a "mother yeast" that we carry on for the whole vintage. I think that is a very good natural way of working and of giving your wines a special "familiar" taste every year.

Now that the crazy action is over we start to realise just how much work we have done and how many hours we have worked. Sleeping till 7,30am now feels like a total luxury!

This morning we racked the Dolcetto from one tank to another. It has such a nice aroma of violets and cherry that you almost want to eat it!

Just a few more day of moving stuff around, racking, then putting the new wines in barrel, turning the heaters to help malolactic fermentation and.....finito!!!!!!!!

Wines in the Press: Mas Doix, Salanques 2005

It might not be outrageous to suggest that Spain, the country with more land under vine than any other, is also the country that is pushing winemaking boundaries faster than anywhere else. Whilst Rioja has its new wave of modernists , Toro, Rueda and Priorat have all seen considerable investment of late and are producing world class wines that don't necessarily cost the earth.

It is no coincidence that Spain happens to be one of the fastest growing areas on our list.

One such wine that has recently been featured in Decanter Magazine's in depth look Spanish wine's exciting new hotspots, is the Mas Doix, Salanques 2005.

Five Stars - 18.5/20

"This is a small, family winery harvesting individual plots at just 500-1000kg/ha (versus a legal maximum of 6000kg/ha). Salanques is made mainly from Garnacha and Cariñena with 15% Merlot, Cabernet and Syrah. It has lovely dark, concentrated fruit aromas, big (but not excessive) extraction and generous fruit and tanin balance, with a long, rich finish. Drink now-2015."

The Mosel - Fritz Haag's harvest is about to begin.

The grape harvest is now imminent.

The weather in September was very nice and a lot of sunlight made the grapes ripen perfectly.

Small berries, golden yellow coloured, promise to give an excellent vintage. Due to the rainfall during the last days, we have decided to start harvesting this weekend and are pretty excited how the wine will turn out.

Patrick Javillier gives us his thoughs on Meursault 2009

News from Meursault and it seems they too have harvested a very fine set of wines in 2009. Here's what Patrick Javillier had to say about the vintage:

"The weather conditions in spring and early summer were favorable to the occurrence of oidium and downy mildiou. Because of this we have had to be very vigilant in administering any interventions. Fortunately our vigilance paid off and we have harvested a very healthy set of grapes.

The summer has seen very hot days alternated with cooler days. A few periodical thunderstorms and cool nights have allowed the grapes to reach maturity with superb balance. The vines did not suffer from drought, even with the hot days, for every one to two weeks we have had stormy rains that have washed down the soil. The cool nights have allowed the crop to preserve it's fresh aromas.

The 2009 vintage wines in red and white harvested at 95 - 100 days to flower, should be free from over-maturity and should have a balance of sugar and acidity with remarkably fresh and elegant flavours .

The tasting in a few months should confirm that these rare qualities are present."