Châteauneuf-du-Pape Masterclass – Monday, 18 April

A celebration of Châteauneuf-du-Pape!

Justerini & Brooks are excited to host a tasting featuring Châteauneuf-du-Pape in all its glory at the fabulous French restaurant, Boundary, in Shoreditch. On offer will be an exquisite range of wines from Château Mont Redon, Domaine Jean Paul Versino/ Bois du Boursan, Vieux Télégraphe and Château de Beaucastel. The tasting will explore the varying styles of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and will investigate the complexities of this historic appellation accross different vintages, all this around a selection of great Charcuteries and Canapés. Visit http://www.theboundary.co.uk/news/chateau-boundary/chateauneuf-du-pape-masterclass-monday-18-april-2011/index.php for further details and booking.

Voyager Estate - The Final Harvest Update April 2011

The final instalment of Voyager Estate’s harvest report.

"Similar to last year - we had just finished tipping our last bin of Cabernet Sauvignon into the de-stemmer and the rain started to fall. The harvest which commenced on the 9th of Feb and concluded on the 6th of April will be remembered for the warm and humid February and the perfect March weather which finished the reds off beautifully.

It was a season where patience was rewarded, as it was important to wait for the Cabernet Sauvignon and give it some hang time to ensure the tannins were fully ripe. Those who waited will make outstanding wines, with great concentration and fine, ripe, silky tannins.

The condition of the vine canopies at harvest was the best I have ever seen, with no sign of yellow leaves due to some timely midsummer rain. However, the fruit still showed evidence of the dry growing season, with small, deeply coloured berries and thick skins. Consequently the yields were quite low and came in just under our targeted range at around one and a half tonnes per acre.

The excellent quality of the grapes will see the fruit from most of our best vineyards spend a couple of weeks left on skins after fermentation which contributes great complexity and tannin structure to the wine.
Most of the Shiraz vineyards have completed fermentation and are looking fantastic with rich dark and red berry fruit and fine, complex layered tannins.

We have just started blending our Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon which looks great and the Chardonnay is potentially exceptional. The consistency of this region never ceases to amaze me and it really does fit the description as a "viticulturist’s paradise".

Cheers, Steve James"

Bordeaux 2010 - Video Interview with J-M Laporte, La Conseillante

As the debate rages as to whether 2010 is better than 2009 all we can say is that we would dearly love to have both in our cellar. Jean-Michel gives us a clue as to why that might be...

Bordeaux 2010 - Hew's Views, Pomerol

The inimitable Hew Blair on the highlights from Pomerol in this most extraordinary of vintages...

Bordeaux 2010 - Hew's Views, St Emilion

Bordeaux 2010 - Video Interview with Edouard Moueix

Edouard Moueix, one of Bordeaux's most charming characters, talks 2010, 2009, 1990, 1989....

Bordeaux UGC Week - Days Two & Three

There are some incredibly impressive wines this year. Embarrassingly impressive if you're Bordelais.

Our second day on the right bank gave us beauties such as Tertre Roteboeuf, Ausone, Cheval Blanc, Evangile, Gazin, Pavie Macquin, Troplong Mondot and Figeac. There were plenty of others, as there always are that side of the Gironde, too ripe, too extracted, too chewy, who shall remain nameless.

At the lower, shall we say more value end there are nevertheless some definite finds. Tour du Pin, Fleur de Bouard, Teyssier, La Chenade, Petite Eglise, Fonbel, Moulin St Georges and Valade all hit the spot and would be excellent additions to any cellar.

Heading west the highlights thus far have blown us away. The obvious stars of Lafite, Cos d'Estournel, Montrose, Las Cases, Ducru Beaucaillou, Pontet Canet, Lynch Bages and Pichon Lalande have all shone brightly, so brightly they will no doubt burn a hole in many a pocket. But for those with less firepower there are some supremely intense and precise wines that will provide serious enjoyment for many years to come. Both Grand Puy Lacoste and Haut Batailley took our collective breath away. Branaire-Ducru, Gruaud Larose, Haut Marbuzet, both Bartons and Sainte Pierre were all terrific. The best of these wines possess such enormous detail, freshness and refinement as to have left us at times rendered speechless. Could there be a better complimentary vintage to 2009?

And now for something completely different...

It wasn’t all work work work yesterday. We enjoyed a splendid lunch as Chateau Conseillante where we were lucky enough to taste some magnificent back vintages including a magnum of the '45. Most of us assumed that this would be the oldest wine of the day or even the week, but the accolade didn’t last long...

In the evening we had dinner with the superstar winemaker, negociant and general human dynamo, Denis Durantou. Denis is always extraordinarily generous, but last night’s feast was something to behold. Between cabaret from the eccentric but charming Rene Gabriel we enjoyed a fabulous vertical of Eglise Clinet. We started with the '29 (which we are quite confident will be the oldest wine we taste this week and for many weeks...). This was still brimming with life, a wonderfully vibrant example and one with a lovely story as this was the wine that inspired a young (9yo) Denis to become a winemaker; the rest as they say is history. Then followed the '54, '64, '55 and '85. It is hard to pick one vintage out as all were thrilling, however, perhaps particular mention should go to the '55, which was the baby of the flight and received 20/20 from this humble writer. Many thanks Denis for a splendid evening and congratulations on an outstanding 2010.

Bordeaux UGC Week - Day one

The question on everyone's lips this year is, can 2010 be better than 2009? Whilst it is almost certainly too early to say with any real conviction (though many seem convinced otherwise), our first day here on the right bank has thrown up some very interesting comparisons. At La Conseillante we were treated to a wonderful vertical that began with the 2010 and 2009 side by side. If the 2009, having taken on plenty of weight over the past 12 months, is gorgeous in its exuberance, the 2010 is a model of muscled, polished intensity.

At Tertre Roteboeuf we were again allowed to taste these two twin vintages side by side and the comparison split the group over its preference. Both were magnificent, opulent and hedonistic. Could one be called better than the other? Very hard to say...

At Eglise Clinet we tasted a 2010 that might well have had the edge over 2009, at Ausone we almost certainly did, and at Clos l'Eglise I think we were almost unanimous. But at our other appointments it was perhaps just too close to call.

2010 is undoubtedly a firmer more powerful vintage than 2009. The wines we have tasted do not have the opulence, voluptuousness or succulence of their 2009 siblings but they do have increased acidity and with it freshness, more prominent tannic spines, and in some cases increased aromatics. These huge raw materials have created in the right hands, wines of real significance and importance.

Some of yesterdays most exciting wines:

Lafleur

Eglise Clinet

Providence

VCC

Conseillante

Clos l'Eglise

Angelus

Le Pin

Ausone

Tertre Rotebeuf

And for value:

Ch la Grande Maye

Ch Valade, St Emilion

Ch La Chenade

Ch Fonbel

Bordeaux 2010 UGC week

It’s very nearly that time of year again – this weekend we’ll be packing our cords and Sensodyne and heading south to taste the latest barrel samples from Bordeaux. There are a few changes to the program: sadly, our annual cricket match against the Bordeaux XI has been cancelled, and following a request/demand from our Chairman – we will be turning our schedule on its head. We will be taking on the Right Bank first, followed by the Medoc. Hopefully the rest of the trade will stick to the conventional slog through the Left Bank on Monday and Tuesday and leave us to taste Pomerol and St Emilion in relative tranquillity...

We will cover more than 200 samples and visiting almost 50 Chateaux over the five days. @Justerinis and @BordeauxBuyer will both be blogging from the Espace (but not whilst at the wheel), and when the tastings have finished, we’ll be spending our evenings blogging and facebooking. So, whatever your choice of social media, you’ll be able to keep up to date with our progress and discover the highs and lows of this fascinating vintage.

"Outstanding" wines from 2008 - The wines

Chevillon, Robert

Nuits St.-Georges “Les Chaignots”: from a 1.5 ha parcel that blends 40+ and 60+ year old vines

A spicy and wonderfully complex nose of red berry liqueur, violets and earth notes, the latter of which continues onto the pure, refined and poised middle weight flavors that possess outstanding balance and excellent length. This is really quite lovely if entirely serious and I admire how fine the tannins are. Note that this will require at least a decade to be at its best. 91/100, drink from 2018+

12 x 75cl - £365/case in bond

Clair, Bruno

Savigny-lès-Beaune “La Dominode: from vines planted in 1902

A ripe and dense nose of high-toned red pinot fruit cut with ample amounts of plum, violets and Savigny-style earth that are very much in keeping with the rich, full, delicious and serious medium weight flavors that finish with fine intensity and plenty of sappy extract. The old vines and low yields are very much in evidence because in addition to the impressive intensity and sap, there is very good phenolic ripeness. 91/100, drink from 2016+

12 x 75cl - £360/case in bond

Gevrey-Chambertin “Les Cazetiers”: from 40+ year old vines

A classic Gevrey nose of superb complexity displays distinctly sauvage notes on the intensely earthy and underbrush-suffused red berry fruit aromas that also show a hint of crushed leaf character merge seamlessly into very rich and full-bodied flavors where the tannic spine is prominent and firm on the strikingly long finish. Though patience will certainly be required, there is enough extract present that this should not be unduly austere once it begins to mature though note that it is very austere and backward at present. 92/100, drink from 2020+

12 x 75cl - £645/case in bond

Gevrey-Chambertin “Clos St. Jacques”: from a 1 ha parcel of 40+ year old vines

An ultra elegant, cool, refined and layered nose of stone-infused red pinot fruit from crushed leaf aromas complements to perfection the textured, gorgeously detailed and driving middle weight flavors where the wonderfully persistent though presently austere and linear finish seems to be constructed over a firm base of minerality. Terrific. 93/100, drink from 2020+

12 x 75cl - £785/case in bond 6 x 150cl - £810/case in bond

Chambertin – Clos de Bèze: two-thirds of the vines were planted in 1912 and the remainder in 1973

Discreet wood influence surrounds the intensely spicy and earthy nose that is at once elegant yet animale and this sauvage character extends to the very rich, powerful and well-muscled flavors that possess a seductively textured yet firm finish of imposing length. This is a big but focused Bèze that has already begun to shut down. Patience will be required. 94/100, drink from 2023+

12 x 75cl - £1095/case in bond 6 x 150cl - £1120/case in bond

Gouges, Henri

Nuits St.-Georges “Les St.-Georges”: 55+ year old vines

A more elegant but cool and reserved nose of exceptionally pure red berry and plum aromas also possesses notes of earth and underbrush that transfer seamlessly over to the rich, full and focused medium weight plus flavors that are actually quite supple and round but where this really distinguishes itself from the Vaucrains is the seriously impressive depth on the moderately austere and mildly herbal but hugely long finish. Like the Vaucrains, this will need plenty of time. 92/100, drink from 2018+

12 x 75cl - £695/case in bond 6 x 150cl - £710/case in bond

Grivot, Jean

Nuits St.-Georges “Les Boudots”: from 70+ year old vines

This is a classic Boudots with its half Vosne from half Nuits personality as the aromatic profile is both ripe and spicy, offering an herb-infused mix of red pinot and plum fruit notes that complement the rich, powerful and serious full-bodied flavors that possess solid dry extract level that confers a textured mouth feel by virtue of buffering the very firm and mouth coating tannins. This will require patience. 91/100, drink from 2018+

12 x 75cl - £625/case in bond 6 x 150cl - £645/case in bond

Clos de Vougeot: 50+ year old vines

A discreet touch of wood frames strikingly complex, ripe, fresh and quite densely fruited earth suffused red pinot aromas that lead to rich, full-bodied and textured flavors that exude an overt muscularity on the equally explosive finish where the integrated tannins confer a dusty mouth feel to the moderately austere finale. This is an extremely impressive effort but note that even more patience will be required. 94/100, drink from 2023+

12 x 75cl - £750/case in bond 6 x 150cl - £770/case in bond

Clos des Lambrays

Clos des Lambrays: produced from two large parcels of differing vine age - one that is approximately two-thirds of the blend and is now 45 years of age and a second, smaller group of vines that is approximately 20+ years of age)

The deeply pitched nose evidences obvious earth and floral influences on the mostly ripe red pinot fruit aromas that complement the rich, pure and detailed medium weight flavors that culminate in a dusty and mouth coating finish where the supporting tannins display a clear stem influence. This is an excellent wine though it may not be to everyone’s taste due to the obvious stem character. 93/100, drink from 2020+

12 x 75cl - £770/case in bond

Mortet, Denis

Gevrey-Chambertin “Lavaut St. Jacques”

An expressive nose of herbal, plum and wet stone merges seamlessly into fresh and pure flavors that are really quite fine detailed and supported by equally fine tannins on the classy, tension-filled and moderately austere finish. I quite like this but there is enough austerity present that it won’t be for everyone. 91/100, drink from 2016+

12 x 75cl - £810/case in bond 6 x 150cl - £830/case in bond

Clos de Vougeot: from a .32 ha parcel of vines just below those of Château de la Tour in the lower middle of the slope

This is the ripest of this group of ‘08s with a very earthy nose of plum, cassis and mocha hints that lead to reserved big-bodied flavors that enjoy excellent mid-palate concentration as there is ample extract that buffers the firmly tannic spine on the powerful and long finish. 92/100, drink from 2018+

6 x 150cl - £1670/case in bond

Mugnier, Jacques Frederic

Nuits St. Georges “Clos de la Maréchale”

A distinctly earthy and anise-infused mix of sour cherry and blue berry fruit that displays whiffs of crushed herbs and pepper merges into detailed, pure and almost delicate middle weight flavors that possess a sophisticated mouth feel and fine length. I should point out though that while there is no rusticity present, the very firm tannins are not as refined as those of the Fuées. 90/100, drink from 2016+

12 x 75cl - £410/case in bond 6 x 150cl - £420/case in bond

All notes are taken from Burghound issue 41 (2011).

"Outstanding" wines from 2008 - The Allen Meadows verdict

Allen Meadows, aka the `Burghound` is celebrating 10 years of his online publication devoted to all things pinot, particularly, as the title suggests, Burgundy. Amongst the furore of the 2009s, it would have been easy to miss Monsieur Meadows' reassessment of the 2008s. He doesn't have the temerity to suggest that they usurp their more precocious siblings, but as we've said all along, there are some excellent 2008s out there that may well prove more appealing to Burgundy connoisseurs than said `09s.

` The best '08s are fresh, intense, bright, vibrant and very terroir driven - in short it's a classic Burgundian vintage. And as I noted in my vintage analysis last year, it is on the whole more interesting than either 2007 or 2006. And in a few cases, the wines are truly brilliant so don't overlook them`.

Much like Bordeaux, 2008 is something of a miraculous vintage in the Cote d'Or. Initially all interest focussed on the exceptional Chablis and white wines from the Cote de Beaune, however, tastings defy the meteorologists' findings. 2008 was another sad summer in Burgundy. September once again proved pivotal to the success of the vintage. As in 2002, a cool North wind blew and brought dry sunny conditions. This combination concentrated the grapes and averted the risk of rot. As is customary with this region, it was not a simple case of thanking Mother Nature, there was much work required if vignerons were to produce great wines. Canopy management was key to allowing aeration and exposure to light, whilst de-selection played a vital role for quality focussed domaines.

2008 is not a uniform vintage; consistent Burgundy vintages are about as rare as hen's teeth. This is a good old fashioned, labour intensive vintage, where the good and the great shine and the others are best forgotten about. We have selected a few of our favourites that have achieved the coveted `outstanding` rating (90-94 points, ` worth a special effort to purchase and cellar and will provide memorable drinking experiences` - AM). We agree, the charm, focus and poise of these wines, combined with the noble flavours and exquisite balance make these worthy additions to the cellar.

For those more au fait with the American critics who cover Bordeaux, it is worth pointing out that Mr Meadows is notoriously mean with his scores. Only a very select group of wines ever breach the 95 point mark: La Romanee, La Tache, Romanee Conti and the top wines from Leroy, Rousseau and de Vogue occasionally manage this feat...

Video interview: Chris Howell from Cain Cellars

Chris Howell was in town recently and came to see us in St James’s Street. He is one of Napa’s most thoughtful men, producing some of Napa’s most elegant wines, and what he has to say is invariably fascinating.

Voyager Estate - Harvest News March 2011

“This week has seen the completion of the Shiraz and Merlot fruit into the winery. The yields have been spot on our targets for these varieties at close to 2 tonnes per acre, and the fruit looks excellent with great colour and concentration.

The first picks of Cabernet Sauvignon have started to come in, and the early signs look very promising. The first Cabernet fruit we harvest is off a small block in the Wilyabrup sub region of Margaret River, which is located about 25 Kms north of our estate. It is slightly warmer and provides us with an exceptional batch of fruit we use in our Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot wine. The top fruit from this sub region is always characterised with lovely fresh Mulberry fruit and fine silky tannins whereas the fruit from our top Estate vineyard blocks displays dark cassis fruit with more structural tannins. The small portion of this Wilyabrup fruit adds some mid palate sweetness to the wine and is an important component of our style.

Next week is looking very busy with most of the Estate Cabernet being harvested. The weather is holding up beautifully with warm days and cool nights which are perfect for fully ripening the tannins and concentrating the flavours.

Cheers, Steve James”

Brunello - Beauty and the Beast

3 planes in 3 days. The jet set lifestyle is starting to feel like the jet lag lifestyle. But its been in a very worthy and enjoyable cause.. Hopefully by tasting and, eventually importing, some delightful wines with incredibly strong green credentials, I have been able to offset this rather nasty carbon footprint! One such wine is Etna rosso and its crus from the Terre Nere estate. A truely remarkable and marginal vineyard area of rugged beauty,rooted on the rocky, scorched soils of Etna's north facing slopes. Their 2008s, now in bottle, must be saught out, they are totally sublime, whilst the trickier 2009 vintage still yielded an unforgettable prephylloxera cuvee. It goes to show there is no substitute for good vines, planted in the right place and tended with care.

Anyway, onto Brunello di Montalcino. It is a wine of many sides, as indeed, is the vineyard area. Many people's preconceptions is of a wine that must be massive, heady and raisiny but this does not have to be the case.
It may never be a shrinking violet but I can say that over the last 2 days I have tasted pure, enormously drinkable expressions of Sangiovese. Le Ragnaie was one of them, at 550 metres the highest vineyard in Montalcino, as airy and beautiful as the vineyard from which it is made. Siro Pacenti was another, from vineyards on the north and south side of Montalcino, there is a very gentle modern sheen to this but its beauty, balance and depth is crystal clear. A real treat, too, was Soldera, as elegant and complete a Brunello as you will find. One cuvee is made, a riserva, produced from organically farmed vines, fermented with natural yeasts and aged in large oak vat for 5 years.

The Brunello vintage to be released this year will be 2006, a vintage that has produced some really complete and composed wines that mix structure, ripe elegant fruit and freshness. A very good year indeed that should prove most ageworthy.

Bordeaux 2010 - Twitter, Facebook, a Social Media Frenzy...

The dust seems hardly to have settled on the 2009 Campaign and once again the team is joined together in collective fast as another week of Bordeaux En Primeur tasting looms. This annual marathon des calories is an epic of morning till night tasting interspersed liberally with plate upon plate of rich gallic cuisine that at times seems quite decadent and at other times downright unhealthy. It is not for the faint hearted but as per usual, in a little over a week, a full team of 8 will be intrepidly heading south, so that we might give as balanced and as in depth a view as is possible. If in the coming months one of us is advising you on what to buy in 2010 you can be sure we will have been there and tasted...

Throughout the week we will be supplying regular updates via a host of media. In a thoroughly modern embracing of the wonders of newfangled technologies the J&B team updates can now be found on Facebook (here) and Twitter (here and here) as well as our website and the blog. We will be posting and tweeting video interviews, tasting notes, very first impressions, daily updates and of course our hugely popular Hew's Views series so that you can have a first hand opinion of what the vintage holds in store.

Clos de Tart 2009 Releases

In a vintage like 2009, where the clamour for top end Red Burgundy has reached never before seen levels of fervour, the release of a monopole Grand Cru such as Clos de Tart is bound to cause something of a buzz.

Tim Atkin describes it as "potentially amazing," ; Michel Bettane thinks this wine could become a thing of legend; Allen Meadows, the Burghound, classes it as one of his "Don't miss" wines of the vintage; for our part we consider it to be one of their great vintages.

As exclusive agents in both Singapore and Indonesia we are delighted to announce its release in these countries.

Video: Teso La Monja - Otherworldly Tinta de Toro

Eduardo Eguren tells us about the new Eguren venture in Toro, Teso La Monja. Old vines, often ungrafted, planted at elevation: the wines are magical, super elegant examples of Tinta da Toro. As Eduardo says, they might be the same variety as found in Rioja, but they drink as if from another world.

Voyager Estate - Harvest News March 2011 (V)

Part five of Steve James’ Harvest Update as we follow the progress at Voyager Estate. The Shiraz is in, which leaves just Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot to be harvested...

"The warm tropical weather has finally subsided and we are now enjoying classic Margaret River autumn weather, comprising beautiful warm, sunny days with cool nights. Perfect conditions for finishing off the red grapes which we started harvesting on Tuesday 8th March. Most of the Shiraz has been harvested and is showing amazing depth of colour with great concentration of ripe fruit flavours and excellent tannin structure. Due to the kind weather conditions, we have been selectively harvesting small batches on most days, and will complete the Shiraz early next week.

The Merlot is nearly ready, and we expect to commence harvesting this early next week with the Cabernet Sauvignon not long after. Our final red grape harvested is Petit Verdot which we love to blend into our Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot for its violet like aromatics and structural contribution to the palate. The weather forecast for the next week or so is very good, so we will continue selective harvesting of small batches which enables us to harvest each small patch at optimum ripeness. The Chardonnay has nearly finished fermentation in barrel, and a tasting late last week showed our early excitement to be well justified. Hopefully the weather will hold out for another couple of weeks to give the Cabernet Sauvignon a bit more hang time to complete another outstanding vintage for the region.

Cheers, Steve James."

Market Update

Amid the general unease about the state of the global economy, we are frequently quizzed about the health of the wine market. The last data released by Liv-ex showed the Liv-ex 100 up 3.9% at 444.55; a year on year rise of just over 41%. This sustained rally has largely been due to the enormous demand for First Growths in the rapidly expanding Chinese market. New figures now confirm that the so called `Super Seconds` have been pitching in too. Brands such as Lynch Bages and Pontet Canet (both technically 5th growths...) along with the likes of Montrose, Cos d’Estournel, both the Pichons, Leoville Las Cases and Ducru Beaucaillou have enjoyed steady (if not spectacular) gains.

Of course, events in Japan, stratospheric prices for First Growths and the impending 2010 Bordeaux campaign have the potential to bring an abrupt end to the bull-run; but only time will tell. At present, Haut Brion and Mouton Rothschild are enjoying the top spot (in terms of demand if not price) and the `Super Seconds` still look attractive to those seeking First Growth quality without the price tag.