A visit to Chateau Margaux and Chateau Pontet Canet

April 6th, 2012

Some photos from Chateau Margaux!

Tasting Margaux

Corinne Mentzelopoulos’ beagles, with a neighboring dog on the steps of Margaux

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With some of the lowest yields ever, very small berries and tannin levels subsequently higher than 2010 and at an all time high.  Petit Verdot ripened well so there is actually 2% in Chateau Margaux and 8% in Pavillon Rouge.  The wines are caressing but powerful, with silkiness and finesse.  A lot below the surface.  Pavillon Blanc is the best we’ve ever tasted, made in a very fresh style, only 13.4% alcohol.

 

 

Photos from Chateau Pontet Canet!

 

Pontet Canet Cellars

Pontet Canet Horse - big boy!

 

 

Pontet Canet Vines

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What Alfred Tesseron has done transforming Pontet Canet to a biodynamic estate, farmed almost half by horse today (step by step going to fully farmed by horse) is quite extraordinary.  He’s spent thirty years slowly rebuilding this estate, acting thoughtfully and prudently.  The emphasis is on doing things by hand, in a way that forces you to interact with the environment.  For example, he built concrete tank fermenters in 2005, but there is no temperature setting: hot and cold valves are turned by hand, and temperature has to be taken manually.  The 2011 is one of the best wines of the vintage, floral with complex, spicy red fruits, totally complete and very long.  Attached you can find shots of Michael with the horse in training – they have 5 working full time and this one is in training for 1 year before he will be used full time.  They will eventually have 12 horses to cover the whole vineyard, which you can also see in a photo, more rolling hills than flatland.

 

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Chateau Margaux 2010 – The Barrel Scores are In!

May 9th, 2011

Tasted in barrel, Chateau Margaux 2010  received a range of impressive scores from several leading critics. See what they had to say:

“A phenomenal nose of roses, violets, and other flowers. Subtle yet rich raspberries and currants. It is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon. The is a curious wine, almost ethereal. It is all in the front of the palate with ultra-fine tannins. It is full and very, very rich but it is forever balanced and in harmony What a wine. It is a pinpointed wine. So cerebral. It sends shivers down my spine. Incredible.” – 100 points, James Suckling

“Superfocused and superracy, with torrents of cherry, raspberry and plum fruit. Offering terrific mouthfeel, this glides by effortlessly, with a fantastic perfume developing on the finish. Long and iron-tinged. Really, really fine-grained. Other than 2006, this is the only vintage since 2000 with as much Cabernet Sauvignon (90 percent).” – 96-99 points, the Wine Spectator

“Paul Pontallier was rattling off some interesting statistics about Chateau Margaux. The 2000 (a great, great wine) was 13.1% natural alcohol, the 2005 13.1%, the 2009 13.2%, and the 2010, the highest ever measured, 13.5%. That is still nearly one degree less than the Pauillac first-growth of Chateau Latour at 14.4%. This blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc (representing only 38% of the total production) has the classic, quintessential Margaux character of spring flowers, almost cool-climate precision, medium body, and a seamless integration of tannin, wood and alcohol. The blue and black fruit characteristics are present, and the wine restrained. The most measured and polished of all the first growths I tasted, it is also less concentrated than any of the other first growths, but the elegance is classic. The harvest finished on October 15, which was not their latest by any means. This is one of the few first growths of 2010 where the tannins are remarkably delicate and sweet, and the softness of this wine will provide magical drinking at a relatively early age, yet its balance and concentration will carry it for 20 or more years. – 96-98 points, Robert Parker

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Tanzer’s IWC on Bordeaux 2009

June 2nd, 2010

“Rarely has a young Bordeaux vintage been so much fun to taste as 2009.” So says Ian D’Agata, Stephen Tanzer’s man in Bordeaux and the director of the International Wine Academy of Rome, in the latest International Wine Cellar.

“If anything, the best wines of 2009 have a vaguely Burgundian quality to them, as difficult as that may be for the Bordelais to stomach! In my experience, this Burgundy quality is only to be found in great vintages. While it’s not too difficult to get powerful, balanced wines from cabernet and merlot in good vintages, it is a much rarer thing to unite the brute force those varieties are capable of achieving with the dainty, almost ethereal aromatics and gentle tannic architecture of 2009. And the best Bordeaux of 2009 are indeed wines of uncommon power, charm and perfume.”

In D’Agata’s telling, Châteaux Pétrus and Margaux come in for particular praise, and he calls Pavillon Rouge “my candidate for the best second wine of the year.” Full reviews are below the jump.

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Decanter on Bordeaux 2009

June 1st, 2010

“The best vintage of my lifetime.” That’s how Decanter’s Steven Spurrier describes the 2009 vintage in Bordeaux. Spurrier and colleagues James Lawther, MW, and Michel Bettane, have high praise across all appellations. Most astounding is a perfect score, 20 out of 20 points, awarded to Château Margaux, the highest rated wine of the vintage! Full reviews are below, and you can track Decanter’s coverage here.

Pomerol

Château Pétrus 2009, Pomerol
“A powerful tannic frame provides the structure, length and classicism of a grand Bordeaux but there’s also a modern purity and freshness of fruit. Winemaker Olivier Berrouet harvested slightly later, at the beginning of October, to guarantee maturity. Dense, complex and profound.” 19/20 Decanter

Château La Fleur-Pétrus 2009, Pomerol
“Fine, fragrant. Seduces by its elegance. Silky, smooth tannins provide length and persistence. Ripe and warm but balanced.” 17.5/20 Decanter

Margaux

Château Margaux 2009. Margaux
“Fine black red, quite magical bouquet, pure quality of cashmere silkiness on the palate with a touch of fragrance from Cabernet Franc, blending softness of attack with pure density. A wine of stunning fragrance and purity, the most perfect expression imaginable of the greatest of Margaux vineyards.” 20/20 Decanter

Pavillion Rouge 2009, Margaux
“Fine deep colour, great purity of Cabernet on the nose, a really beautiful wine, pure Margaux, perfect balance and unexpected length.” 18/20 Decanter

Pavillon Blanc 2009, Margaux
“Lemon pale, fresh and floral, much lighter in alcohol than in recent years and what it has lost in richness it has gained in minerality, both floral and steely and will age well.” 18/20 Decanter

Saint Estèphe

Chateau Cos d’Estournel 2009, Saint-Estèphe
“Superb black red, very full and spicy, very broadly structured, really quite massive and will take years to pick up finesse, a ‘baroque’ almost Porty wine, explosively rich and definitely impressive if not a typical Saint-Estèphe.” 18.5/20 Decanter

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Robert Parker on 2009 Bordeaux

April 28th, 2010

“2009 may turn out to be the finest vintage I have tasted in 32 years of covering Bordeaux.” That’s quite a statement coming from Robert Parker, but it solidifies the general consensus that is brewing among the wine press and trade. The 2009 Bordeaux vintage was one of the greatest on record, and gave many properties their best wines ever (these wines are denoted with an asterisk, “*”). Among the standouts were, of course, Châteaux Pétrus, Margaux, and Cos d’Estournel, but also Château La Fleur-Pétrus, a VINTUS exclusive, “a mind-boggling effort.” Full reviews are below the jump.

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Tim Atkin, MW, on Bordeaux 2009

April 21st, 2010

Tim Atkin, MW, has posted his take on the 2009 vintage, with Château Margaux, Pétrus, and La Fleur-Pétrus coming in for particular praise. And, in “the year of the second wine,” Pavillon Rouge and Pavillon Blanc are standouts. Tim’s full report is here.

Pomerol

Château Pétrus 2009, Pomerol
“Rain in the middle of September was the key to the success of the 2009 Pétrus, according to Jean-Claude Berrouet, enabling the Château to avoid water stress in the vineyard. The resulting wine is delicious, showing great finesse, though not quite as good as 2005. The oak is quite prominent at the moment, but this will age well, thanks to its acidity and underlying structure.” 97 Tim Atkin, MW

Château La Fleur-Pétrus 2009, Pomerol
“One of a number of very good to outstanding wines chez JP Moueix in 2009, this is a very impressive La Fleur. Deeply coloured, aromatic and slightly spicy, with great texture, integrated tannins, fresh acidity and considerable length. A wine that gets better and better in the glass and doesn’t rely on over-extraction or alcohol for effect.” 96 Tim Atkin, MW

Margaux

Château Margaux 2009. Margaux
“Paul Pontallier calls this one of the “densest wines, but also the sweetest” he has ever made. Very aromatic and alluring, this has cherry and redcurrant fruit, a touch of bramble, well-integrated oak, assertive tannins and lively, refreshing, palate- cleansing acidity.” 98 Tim Atkin, MW

Pavillion Rouge 2009, Margaux
“Paul Pontallier is considering the possibility of a third wine in 2009, such (in his view) is the quality of his second wine, Pavillon Rouge. This has a delightful elegance to it: silky and fresh, with red and black fruits intermingled on the palate and grainy tannins. The 60% new barrels are a little too prominent at the moment, but should fade into the background with time.” 93 Tim Atkin, MW

Pavillon Blanc 2009, Margaux
“This pure, barrel-fermented Sauvignon Blanc is one of the great dry whites of the vintage. It may be a varietal wine on paper, but it transcends its grape to produce something that is all its own: creamy, aniseedy and lightly toasty, with lovely “leesy” fatness and a grapefruity tang.” 93 Tim Atkin, MW

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To the left bank!

April 19th, 2010

On the left bank,  Cabernet was clearly king, reaching perfect ripeness, with some Merlot getting a bit too ripe for use (or if included, taste).  There were many, many great wines across two let’s call them two “categories”; we’ll call the first category “reserved” and the second “full-throttle”.  ”Reserved” in this vintage means there is still more fruit and everything else than any vintage we’ve tasted, it’s simply a differentiation from the style of the larger wines.

For us, there were two wines that epitomized this “reserved” style, and had the special character of truly great wines;  like Pétrus on the right bank, you immediately knew you were tasting a wine where everything was already together and in harmony, and it was a special moment even in the midst of rushing from property to property.  For us, these wines were Margaux and Lafite.   Pitch-perfect balance, finishes that went on and on, nose and body changing every time you came back to the glass.  Incredible.
There were plenty of other spectacular wines, however, and these included in the “reserved” category:
  • Rounding out the first-growth wine pornography: Haut-Brion was more tannic than many Medoc wines, and had more structure.  It has everything right now and we’re reading that you can mark it down at the level of Lafite and Margaux and don’t doubt it [it's important to realize that evaluating wine six months after the grapes were crushed is a bit crazyy], but everything just seemed to be coming together already for those two wines.  Mouton we only tasted once, and while the nose was exotic and expressive, the palate was not giving much; there was a lot there, but it wasn’t budging, and unfortunately we did not taste it a second time.
  • Montrose: being called one of the wines of the vintage, and we think that’s right.  Powerful but it falls in the “reserved” category because it has a lot of structure, feels effortless, has a sense of restraint, and the fruit profile is transparent – earthy, spicy notes, beautiful fruit, it all unfolds more note-by-note than with larger wines.
  • Grand Puy-Lacoste: one of our favorite wines; this one does not try and burn out or cover up the herbal character of Cabernet, and those notes work so well with the fruit and spice here, and very long.  Really showing how the properties that emphasized fresh Cabernet did better.  Lacoste-Borie was solid for those looking for value.
  • Pichon Baron: powerful but structured, fantastic fruit and concentration.  We think that this will open up beautifully over time and will be a great Pichon.
  • Pichon Lalande: wonderfully complex, long and graceful, really stunning.
  • Léoville-Poyferré: Another one of our favorites from the UGC St. Estpehe/Pauillac/St. Julien tasting (along with Pichon Baron, Pichon Lalande and Lynch Bages), this wine had tremendous complexity and structure, one of our very top St. Juliens.
  • Lynch Bages: rounding out our top five for the UGC tasting, an unexpected surprise – it wasn’t just good, it was really, really good.  Wonderful balance of red and black fruits, spices, earthiness and herbs, nothing sticking out, all working seamlessly, and a long finish.
  • Léoville Barton: pretty open considering the property, you could almost call it supple up front, then powerful and structured through the mid-palate and to the finish.
  • Palmer: so much poise, very balanced red fruits that are so fresh, vibrant and well-defined.  Fantastic, really precise despite being so powerful.  This wine was so impressive while being seductive as well.
  • Malescot: impeccable balance, beautiful, giving everything it has.  Many people argued that one commune or another on the left bank had the best 2009, but at the top level you could find in each commune four or five wines that were truly great.  Tasting Château Margaux, Palmer and Malescot back-to-back-to-back left us incredibly impressed.
  • Many, many more really good wines.  We realize that this very brief overview focuses on some of the larger names, and while we’re hoping that this is a full-on campaign with interest at every level, and we do feel there is great value to be had, as we stated at the start it’s our sense that the top wines will drive this campaign.
On the lusher, more powerful end of the spectrum were the following left-bank wines:
  • Cos d’Estournel: many have pinned it as a wine of controversy due to the incredible concentration and high alcohol level, but we spent a half hour with the wine and will disagree.  It is nearly black, and very concentrated and powerful, but unbelievably complex; if you sit with it  you can’t stop yourself from coming back again and again.  The fruit does not taste over-ripe, and there is no roasted character.  Ultimately it is so complex and there is plenty of structure and enough acidity to build on; as we view it, Cos is a monumental wine in 2009, and we feel that ten years down the road its detractors will come around.
  • Ducru-Beaucaillou: undeniably ripe, but it is so balanced it doesn’t feel weighty.  You could almost put this in the “reserved” category given some of the wines we’ve put there, but it has a lushness that places it in the “full-throttle” category.   Really silky and sensual, very seductive, clearly one of the top Saint-Juliens, and one of the top wines we tasted, impressive given it was literally the first wine we tasted in Bordeaux.  Whether you like tasting in what feels like a night-club is more up for debate!
  • Pontet Canet: supple, lots of red fruits on the nose, goes all over the palate, very concentrated red fruits.  Was more convinced tasting it a second time a few days later, when it showed more freshness.  It fills every crevice in your mouth and is tremendously long.
Some photos and commentary:
Château Margaux
Not only was Château Margaux incredible, but both the Pavillon Rouge and Pavillon Blanc were the best we’ve ever tasted.  All the Margaux wines exhibited the same character; they were not about obvious power, you searched for their best qualities at first, got a hint, and then as you came back again and again it dawned on you how great the wines really are – they simply don’t stop changing or growing, and they are the epitome of a phrase we hate to use but will put out there, “iron fist in a velvet glove.”

Tasting with Paul Pontallier and Aurélien Valance; they're looking pleased for good reason

Chateau Cos d’Estournel

Everything at Cos is epic: the cellars, the tasting room, the library of old vintages…and the 2009 wines.

The army of small, conical fermenters in Cos d'Estournel's new cellars is other-worldly

Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion

All four reds and three whites from these properties were tremendous.  It was one of the more impressive sittings we attended.

Unquestionably the best gift bag

Sauternes

The Sauternes (and whites for that matter) in 2009 are superb.  With the heat there was a lot of concentration, and in comparing 2007 many said that to have a truly great vintage in Sauternes you need the heat of a 2009.  2009 is also the vintage for sale, so you can take it with a grain of salt, but the wines had a lot of power and balance.
We spent a fascinating hour at Château Suduiraut on a rainy afternoon.  While Sauternes is the Rodney Dangerfield of Bordeaux, the more you understand the wines the more you pull for the wines, and hope that in a vintage where the reds will get a lot of attention there will be some looks at the sweet wines.


The courtyard at Suduiraut

The courtyard at Château Suduiraut

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Bordeaux 2009!

April 19th, 2010

We’re back!  Many things happening, including an update of our website, but we digress…this email is about Bordeaux 2009.  The first wines are being released, and we thought it would be a good time to send out a few thoughts on the vintage.

Many of you have heard the hum building around the 2009 vintage, but a lot of variables are still to fall in place – namely, pricing for the classified growths and the thoughts of Robert Parker.  Plenty of press and trade have made their pronouncements; we’ll try and stick to some nice stories and pictures, with softly worded opinions.

Many people are saying something along the lines of, “while there are exceptional wines, they are not as consistent as 2005”; “some wines were too big”; etc.  Objectively, 2009 is a vintage marked by record or near-record levels of concentration, tannin and alcohol.  As stated previously, we’re not going to make overly authoritative statements, and have no desire to contribute in encouraging higher prices in a still very difficult environment.  After two weeks at home, however, and looking back at our notes, we think there are so many spectacular wines among the top hundred properties.  It will be hard not to view 2009 as a great vintage.   We’re happy at this point in time to lay out the same “ifs” and “buts” as everyone else, but the fruit in these wines is so pure, powerful, complex and long, it’s astounding.  And as everyone has been saying, the producers that made wines of freshness and balance made truly extraordinary wines.  That’s our generalization, take it as you will.

It may come as a surprise to some, but among the very first producers to commit to VINTUS back in 2004 were Christian Moueix, Chateau Margaux and Chateau Cos d’Estournel, and we have been heavily involved in Bordeaux with every vintage campaign since 2003.  Michael has spent a quarter century visiting Bordeaux, returning at least once a year for en-primeur and various other occasions.  We are the exclusive US importer for two of Christian Moueix’ jewels, Chateau La Fleur-Pétrus and Chateau Providence, and work with any number of classified growths as well as properties that offer great value.  In a great vintage, we’ll purchase on futures up to 100 of the properties we feel most confident about in terms of quality and trade and consumer interest.

In subsequent posts you’ll see some more specific commentary, as well as photos from our recent trip to Bordeaux.

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Château Margaux in Neal Martin’s Wine Journal

April 16th, 2010

The Wine Advocate‘s Neal Martin is on the ground in Bordeaux for En Primeur 2009, and has some high praise for Château Margaux. He also has a lengthy interview with Paul Pontellier. According to Pontellier:

“The 2009 is a special combination of power and softness, the most concentrated and densest Chateau Margaux that we have ever made…even more than 2005…much softer than 2005. There were no excesses in 2009, yes, a drought but not a severe one. The temperatures were average with just a couple of hot days and a couple of cool nights. The density of the 2009 reminds me of 2005, but the texture reminds me of something supple and sweeter. The best lots of Cabernet Sauvignon remind me of the 1990, but that wine does not have the same concentration. Perhaps one can think of the 2009 as having the density of 2005 with the softness of 1990?”

And the wines? At the top of their game, and the best from the appellation.

Château Margaux 2009
“A blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc, close to the average proportions of the last 10 years. The final alcohol comes in at 13.2-13.3%. An extremely alluring bouquet: blackberry, cassis and violets, your quintessential Margaux really, but cloaked in a sense of sensuality and sumptuousness that is rarely seen. Very fine definition with touches of cold limestone coming through. The palate is brilliantly poised with filigree tannins, breathtaking delineation and focus. There is immense intensity here, the energy of the channel with a crisp, taut finish. Wonderful length.” 96-98 Neal Martin, Wine Advocate

Pavillon Rouge de Château Margaux 2009
“This has a lucid purple colour. A plush, sensuous nose with black cherry, cassis and violets: very pure, in some ways reminding me of a combination of the 1996 and 2006 but with more panache and vigour. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannins, quite edgy on the entry, very good acidity here, a certain symmetry that perhaps has been missing in recent vintages. The finish is very natural, showing very fine minerality and poise. This is superb.” 92-94 Neal Martin, Wine Advocate

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Wine Enthusiast on Bordeaux 2009

April 12th, 2010

Wine Entusiast‘s Roger Voss was on the ground in Bordeaux for Primeur Week, and has posted his initial reviews of the vintage. The wines are excellent across the board, he reports, with some châteaux producing their finest efforts ever, at least in the initial tastes. As others have reported, this is a ripe year that has found impeccable balance, with rich flavors and smooth tannins. Says Voss:

Across the region, there are great wines. Comparisons are being made to 2005, 1982 and, even, for those with long-enough memories, to 1947. There are also some references made to records from the 1893 vintage. Although the summer was long and hot, the daytime temperatures never reached the excessive levels of 2003. Nor were summer nights as warm as those in 2003. That means that 2009 wines are balanced, even with all their richness.

Any way you slice it, 2009 was a great year, with many stellar wines. Roger’s reviews are below the jump. Enjoy!

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