Winemaker's Series: Voyager Estate

It's actually quite amazing when you think of the tightrope that viticulturists around the world have to tread. It's an extremely fine balancing act with Mother nature on one side and the techniques of the vine grower on the other. Green harvesting, leaf pruning, canopy management, debudding, vine density, not to mention the uncontrollables such as the weather. It's an extensive list. Get it right and you can start to change the fundamental building blocks of the grapes you crush; ripe phenolics, low sugars, and correspondingly low alcohols....get it wrong and the grapes natural development can become badly skewed with ripeness, sugar levels and flavour developments all arriving at different times....

Steve James gives us the third installment on their Margaret River harvest, where it would seem Voyager's building blocks are falling into place.

"Thursday 4th March 2010

A lot has happened in the past week - due mainly to the consistently warm to hot weather that the Margaret River region has experienced. Temperatures in the low thirty degrees Celsius with mild evenings has seen the grapes ripen very quickly. As mentioned in the last report, the flavours have been coming in at low sugar levels, so it has been critical to spend a lot of time in the vineyard tasting fruit and, not worrying too much about the technical analysis.

The past week has seen the completion of our Chardonnay intake and, most of our Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon harvested. Our final pick of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon is tomorrow night and, that signals the end of the whites except for a small volume of Chenin Blanc and an even smaller component of Viognier which will be harvested to co-ferment with our first block of Shiraz.

Overall quality looks outstanding, with pristine clean fruit and bright vibrant flavours in the profiles we look for. Chardonnay looks exceptionally good and the barrel fermentations are ticking along beautifully.

We are currently enjoying a cooler spell of weather , however with warming conditions forecast from the weekend on, the reds will not be far away. Early indications are for a potentially exceptional red year with, early flavour development and tannin ripeness looking very impressive. I expect by late next week we will be thinking about our first harvest of Shiraz for the vintage. Hopefully the season will allow us to harvest some reds at lower sugar levels with ripe flavours and tannins - a goal we have been working towards with our viticulture for a few years now.

At this stage it is looking like a very compressed vintage with parallels to the 2001 and 2007 seasons, where vintage was mostly completed by the end of March. "

Working lunch...

It’s not every day that you are invited to lunch with Bernard Magrez at Joël Robuchon’s London restaurant... Monsieur Magrez rather modestly admits to owning a mere 35 wine estates and Monsieur Robuchon is in possession of a staggering 25 Michelin stars! So it was some lunch. The pre-lunch tasting included a flight of Bernard’s flagship Chateau, Pape Clement. It was extraordinary to see the progress that he has achieved here; the recent vintages are staggeringly good!

1986
Plumy, with hints of leather, sweet berries and herbs. On the palate, this possesses ample sweet fruit; it is still quite robust with noticeable tannins. 15/20

1988
More attractive aromatically. Ripe berries, sandalwood, and a hint of tobacco. On the palate this is fresh, beautifully pure and structured. V good. 16/20

1995
Like many 1995s, this is a little closed on the nose, hints of high toned berries, liqueur, menthol and herbs. Beautifully pure fruit on the pate. Very sophisticated, long, refined fruit. Layer upon layer of complexity. V good indeed. 17/20

2004
Very modern, punchy, flashy nose. Flamboyant stuff, packed with brooding cassisy notes. Big fruit core, suave, packed with plumy, soft fruits, multi-layered. Very impressive. Focused, pure, complex and long. V good indeed. 17+/20

2005
Dark, brooding, massive nose. Enormous depth. Deep, savoury, meaty notes are interspersed with high toned hedgerow fruits, minerals and crushed rocks. The palate is even more sumptuous and impressive. Multidimensional; a veritable smorgasbord of flavours. Pure, refined and extremely long. 45+ second finish. Although a wine of massive proportions, it is wonderfully balanced, with sweet, rounded tannins. A wonderful wine. 19/20.

2006
Sweet, high toned nose of cassis, blackcurrant fruit pastels, minerals and herbs. The palate is very sexy, with an abundance of sweet ripe fruit. Beautifully pure, refined Pessac. A wine of real elegance and finesse. Whilst not as massive of impressive as the 2005, the 2006 is a worthy successor. 18/20

This flight is easily split in two. The '86, '88 and '95, which have a Cabernet dominance, and the '04, 05, 06, where plantings in the vineyards are close to 50:50 (Cabernet/Merlot). I don't think the change to the cepage is that relevant to the vast improvement in quality in the last decade. This is more attributable to improved wine-making techniques and the massive investment in the vineyard and the chai. The recent vintages of Pape Clement Rouge really are of top super second quality and even rival the wines of La Mission Haut Brion and Haut Brion as the most impressive of the appellation.

With lunch, Bernard generously served his 2005 Pape Clement Blanc (100% new oak), which was mighty impressive, although, it could do with a little more time. Then he treated us to magnums of Pape Clement Rouge 2000 and an imperial of Pape Clement Rouge 2003; both were delightful.

It would be extremely remiss not to mention the food. Joël Robuchon’s (multiple) dishes were all exquisite. The presentation, subtle flavours and wonderful textures were a real treat to the senses! It’s well worth a trip to West Street...

Winemaker's Series: Voyager Estate

Isn't it amazing how the weeks fly by? Below is another fascinating update from Steve James at Voyager Estate, seemingly enjoying fine harvest conditions, and the odd good supper too....


"Thursday 25th February 2010

Warm temperatures around 30 degrees celcius and mild nights have really sped up the ripening, and we are well into our Chardonnay harvest and just about to start on some Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. We have hand harvested approximately 70% of our Chardonnay fruit with the remainder coming in over the next few days. Flavours are developing at quite low sugar levels and 2010 is one of those years where it is very important to spend a lot of time tasting fruit in the vineyard and not worrying too much about technical analysis as the basis for harvest decisions.

We are very excited with the quality of fruit we have in so far, with fine elegant flavours in the fruit spectrums we look for. Several blocks of our Chardonnay have already gone to barrel and are fermenting nicely.

We will be machine harvesting our first pick of Sauvignon Blanc tonight and, we are very happy with the fruit flavours, intensity and balance that we are seeing on the vine. The first harvest of Semillon will be tomorrow night as we like to get an early pick of Semillon with some nice fresh grassy/lemon/lime notes in the fruit for our Sauvignon Blanc Semillon blend.

A few of us are having dinner at Voyager estate this evening with a travelling group of winemakers from Bordeaux - so it should be a great opportunity amongst the intensity of vintage to relax and drink a few fine wines with some great food and enjoy some friendly banter!"

Mosel Harvest 2009 "Filigree wines"

Mother Nature was on our side in 2009 and blessed us with a wonderful vintage.

After a very cold winter with temperatures as low as -18°C/-0.4°F, the warm and sunny weather of early spring was welcome. It encouraged vegetation and bode well for early blossoming. Although blossoming was actually delayed by cool, damp weather in late May/early June, and it proceeded somewhat slower and more unevenly than originally anticipated, the clusters that developed thereafter were fantastic: small, loose and intensely aromatic.

Summer remained very rainy until August, when friendlier skies reappeared.
In September, sunny and dry weather with cool nights and moderately warm days enabled the grapes to continue developing on the vine calmly and without complications.

Weather permitting, our grapes typically enjoy a very long ripening period – and so it was in 2009. We began harvesting on 13 October. The weather remained stable so that we could take our time to carefully select desirable bunches and bring in the crop in several stages.

Absolutely healthy grapes are essential for producing dry wines with outstanding potential. A selective harvest of ripe, healthy grapes/bunches attacked by noble rot yielded wonderfully fruity wines. In all, our vintage 2009 portfolio will include: juicy, racy “Gutsrieslinge” (our basic estate Rieslings); exceptionally compact Kabinett wines with a fine, fruity acidity; mineral-rich Spätlese and Auslese; and lusciously sweet Beeren- and Trockenbeerenauslese. All will offer great drinking pleasure and have great aging potential.

Once again, we have been able to put together a collection of filigree wines that unite the finest fruity aromas with the slaty mineral notes typical of Brauneberg.

We hope you will truly enjoy tasting the new wines of vintage 2009.

The Haag Family

Spain's greatest white?

First it's Voyager Shiraz beating Grange in the points rankings. Now it's another agency of ours, the much loved but little known Ossian (from one half of the team that make Aalto) making headlines. It's been given the lofty accolade of best white in Spain by the country's most popular wine website. The very best white wine in the whole country. And it's cheaper than most village level Burgundy....

And although we sold out long ago, the murmurs from the buying team seem to suggest we've managed to secure a secondary parcel....which doubtless won't last long.....

Winemaker's Series: Voyager Estate

Continuing our series of harvest reports from the new world comes news from the Margaret River. Steve James is the Goliath beating winemaker at Voyager Estate and has this on their 2010 harvest.

"Thursday 18th February

Our 2010 harvest will commence tomorrow morning with the first of our Chardonnay blocks. This is our Voyager Block 10 which is planted to Clone 95 Chardonnay and is traditionally our first harvest.

The Margaret River region is currently experiencing magnificent ripening conditions with warm temperatures averaging around 26 degrees Celsius, mild nights and no rainfall.
The early signs are very exciting with outstanding early flavour development and the Chardonnay is showing that lovely tight grapefruit and dried pear flavours we look for at low Baume's and with perfect levels of natural acidity.

Sauvignon Blanc is also developing flavour with great intensity and I expect we will begin harvesting this mid to late next week. Very happy at this stage and keeping our fingers crossed that this perfect weather continues...."

Winemaker's Series: The new world harvest

At this time of year, whilst the Northern hemisphere's vines sit dormant, enjoying their time off, in peaceful reflection prior to the verdant onset of spring, the action is all a-happening south of the equator. This is business time, a hive of activity, for the vast majority of our new world producers will be bringing in grapes right about now.

The first of our contributions comes from the highly talented Morne Vrey, winemaker at Delaire in South Africa's Stellenbosch. They have begun bringing in their Sauvignon Blanc already, a wine recently voted the number two example of its type in South Africa.

"Harvest started about a week ago. Our Sauvignon Blanc vineyards were revealing interesting ripe flavours, earlier than expected. Consequently we rushed to harvest the grapes that we source from the Stellenbosch region. Our Chardonnay too has been picked and is now in barrel, fermenting away.

Into our second week, things have slowed down due to some unseasonal rainy weather and the cool start to February which slowed the ripening of certain varietals. However we are awaiting a delivery of Sauvignon Blanc from the Walker Bay area later today-hopefully this will get the momentum up again."

David and Goliath...

Well not exactly.Voyager Estate's Shiraz 2007 didn't find itself pitted, one on one, slingshot in hand directly against the iconic Penfolds Grange, but it might as well have been. There has been much publicised in Australia about the little WA Shiraz that has scored higher than the most recent release of Australias "First Shiraz" the first growth priced Grange, but little over here.

The scores come from the highly respected Penguin 2010 Good Australian Wine Guide and see Voyager's 2007 Shiraz gleaning 96 points while 2004 Grange picks up 94. There has been such a clamour for it down under that it's no longer available from any merchant or the Voyager cellar door.

Fortuntately our shipment arrived today, and guess what, at £65 per six bottles ib, we won't be giving any back.

Professor Denis Dubourdieu - 2009 Bordeaux

Denis Dubourdieu is one of those rock 'n roll consultant oenologists who is behind many of the top wines in Bordeaux. He has kindly provided us with an in depth harvest report, but we have condensed the most salient points into the update below.

`The reputation of a new vintage in Bordeaux depends both on the potential quality of the wines and the market's expectations. There were no great expectations of the 2006, overshadowed by 2005, the 2007, made after a dismal summer, or the 2008, released in the midst of the global financial crisis. The 2009, arriving after a lovely summer and magnificent harvest, at a time when the international economy is convalescing, has attracted considerable interest.

In fact, 2009 met, almost perfectly, the five conditions required for a great red Bordeaux vintage.
- (1) (2) Early flowering and fruit-set, at the beginning of June, in hot, sunny, and relatively dry weather,
- (3): Early colour change as well - starting in late July – although it followed a period that was not dry enough to stop the vines' vegetative growth in all areas,
- (4): full ripening, thanks to hot weather with variable rainfall in August and September and particularly dry weather in the Médoc,
- (5): finally, a "dream harvest" in late September and October, under unusually dry conditions...

Great sweet white wines are dependent on good conditions for noble rot. These were excellent in the Sauternes area in 2009, thanks to rain from 18 to 20 September, followed by a long period with morning fog and warm afternoons. This ideal climate caused rapid, widespread development of Botrytis cinerea on very ripe grapes and the highest concentrations ever measured in such a large harvest...

Certainly, the maximum temperatures in August were slightly too high for the Sauvignon Blanc to develop the same amazingly intense aromas as in 2007 and 2008. Wine tasters who find the exuberant character of this grape variety excessive in some cases will be pleased with the powerful, complex, flavourful Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc in 2009. This year, the Sémillon grown on limestone soils developed remarkable power and richness.

In early January, it is premature to attempt an accurate description of the red wines from the latest vintage, as fermentation has only just finished and they have spent hardly any time in barrel. However, the deep colour and stunning fruit, as well as the quality and smoothness of the tannins of the 2009s are immediately apparent, indicative of a very good, or even a great year, where the wine expresses the quality of the terroir with great clarity.

The great sweet white Sauternes and Barsac wines are impressively rich and powerful, with great purity and depth. They are, without any exaggeration, absolutely fantastic!`

Loire unveils 2009

The Angers wine fair drew to a close yesterday. An annual event to showcase the Loire's newly-released vintages, Angers comprises over 500 growers from the length and breadth of this huge river valley and as such provides an excellent stage to show off the region's great progress in quality and its thrilling diversity. The event reinforced how much more there is to the region than Sauvignon Blanc. At a table of over 100 of the Loire's top wines, including prestigious producers of Sancerre and Pouilly Fume, it was two Chenin Blancs that absolutely blew away the rest of the field, Remus from Domaine de la Taille aux Loups and the even more intense Anjou Les Treilles from Pithon-Paille. Those looking for the next big thing in the world of fine white wine, look no further than here.

The show's main event, however, was of course 2009, and yes they think its great. In Sancerre and Pouilly Fume they generally consider it to have the ripeness of 2003 with the freshness of 2006 and 2007. Also further west in the Touraine there are some glorious dry and off dry Chenins. The reds are perhaps even more impressive, summer heat and drought conditions were similiar to 1989. Growers talk of an "Outstanding" Cabernet Franc vintage, Jacky Blot of Domaine de la Butte in Bourgueil rates it more highly than 2005. I will be heading to the Loire again towards the end of April to taste more extensively and assess in more depth just how good these really are.

Off to a flyer...

2010 has started with a bang. The Liv-ex 100 has closed January 2.7% up at 243.59, that’s a 17.4% increase year-on-year. The Hong Kong market has also posted some positive results. Sotheby’s first Hong Kong sale of the year (23rd Jan) realised HKD52.9 million (USD6.78 million), their largest ever total for a one day wine sale. Highlights included an imperial of Lafite `82 (HKD363,000, USD46,526) and a case of Petrus 2000 that achieved HKD411,400 (USD52,730).

The Burghound sniffs out the best of 2008 Burgundy

For those in the know, Allen Meadows has become one of the most trusted and respected authorities on all things Pinot. He has been tasting from barrel in the Cote d’Or since 1978 (almost as long as our Chairman...). His publication, Burghound.com has become a bible for Burgundy enthusiasts throughout the world, offering straight talking, honest reporting and tasting notes. So, what does he make of the 2008s?

`At their best, the ‘08s Côte de Nuits reds are excellent wines with vibrant acidities that speak clearly and eloquently of their underlying terroirs. They are refreshing, energetic, balanced, fresh, intense, pure and racy middle weight wines that generally carry low alcoholic levels and display ample amounts of those ineffable qualities of tension and presence. In short, they’re classic burgundies of delicacy, finesse and grace. Moreover, they should prove to be worthy cellar candidates for aging over the medium-term`.

He does recommend caution too. He actually thinks that 2008 is less consistent than 2007, but that the best from 2008 far surpass anything 2007 can offer. As for the `Sweet Spot` and `Don’t Miss` selections; please find a list below:

`Sweet Spot`

2008 Chambolle-Musigny “Les Charmes” 1er Barthod-Noëllat (90-92)
2008 Chambolle-Musigny “Les Cras” 1er Barthod-Noëllat (91-93)
2008 Chambolle-Musigny “Les Fuées” 1er Barthod-Noëllat (91-93)
2008 Gevrey-Chambertin “Les Cazetiers” 1er Clair, Bruno (90-92)
2008 Gevrey-Chambertin “Clos St. Jacques” 1er Clair, Bruno (91-93)
2008 Gevrey-Chambertin “Lavaut St. Jacques” 1er Drouhin-Laroze (89-92)
2008 Gevrey-Chambertin “Petite Chapelle” 1er Clair, Bruno (89-92)
2008 Nuits St. Georges “Les Boudots” 1er Grivot, Jean (90-92)
2008 Nuits St. Georges “Les Cailles” 1er Chevillon, Robert (91-94)
2008 Nuits St. Georges “Les Chaignots” 1er Chevillon, Robert (90-92)
2008 Nuits St. Georges “Les Cras” 1er Liger-Belair (91-93)
2008 Nuits St. Georges “Les St. Georges” 1er Robert Chevillon (92-94)
2008 Nuits St. Georges “Les St. Georges” 1er Gouges, Henri (91-94)
2008 Nuits St. Georges “Murgers” 1er Cathiard, Sylvain (90-93)
2008 Nuits St. Georges “Les Perrières” 1er Chevillon, Robert (91-93)
2008 Nuits St. Georges “Les Pruliers” 1er Chevillon, Robert (91-93)
2008 Nuits St. Georges “Les Pruliers” 1er Gouges, Henri (90-92)
2008 Nuits St. Georges “Aux Thorey” 1er Cathiard, Sylvain (90-92)
2008 Nuits St. Georges “Les Vaucrains” 1er Robert Chevillon (92-93)
2008 Nuits St. Georges “Les Vaucrains” 1er Gouges, Henri (91-93)
2008 Vosne-Romanée “Les Beaux-Monts” 1er Grivot, Jean (90-92)
2008 Vosne-Romanée “Les Beaux-Monts” 1er Tremblay, Cécile (89-92)
2008 Vosne-Romanée “Les Brûlées” 1er Grivot, Jean (91-93)
2008 Vosne-Romanée “Malconsorts” 1er Cathiard, Sylvain (91-94)
2008 Vosne-Romanée “Suchots” 1er Grivot, Jean (91-93)

`Don’t Miss`

2008 Bonnes Mares Grand Cru Clair, Bruno (92-94)
2008 Bonnes Mares Grand Cru Drouhin-Laroze (91-94)
2008 Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru Clair, Bruno (92-94)
2008 Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru Drouhin-Laroze (92-94)
2008 Clos de Tart Grand Cru Clos de Tart (91-94)
2008 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru Eugénie (92-95)
2008 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru Grivot, Jean (92-94)
2008 Echézeaux Grand Cru Eugénie (91-94)
2008 Echézeaux Grand Cru Grivot, Jean (92-94)
2008 Grands Echézeaux Grand Cru Eugénie (92-94)
2008 Musigny Grand Cru Drouhin-Laroze (92-95)
2008 Richebourg Grand Cru Grivot, Jean (93-95)
2008 Richebourg Grand Cru Méo-Camuzet (93-96)
2008 La Romanée Comte Liger-Belair (93-96)
2008 Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru Cathiard, Sylvain (92-95)
2008 Vosne-Romanée “Les Brûlées” 1er Méo-Camuzet (92-94)
2008 Vosne-Romanée “Cros Parantoux” 1er Méo-Camuzet (92-95)
2008 Vosne-Romanée “Reignots” 1er Comte Liger-Belair (91-94)

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