15th December 2007: ASC invited Pierre Lurton, General Manager of both St. Emilion's Château Cheval Blanc and Sauternes's Château Yquem to give a specialist tasting and dinner at the Shangri-La Hotel, Beijing.

Before his arrival, Bertrand Carles, Buying Manager and Director of Bordeaux negociant Ginestet, gave a short introduction to the two properties, speculating on their markets in China. Carles had been travelling with Lurton throughout their tour of the country and was optimistic about the wines’ reception (hardly surprising, given the prestige of these propertites and Chinese consumers’ receptivity to French wines in general). As Carles joked, his problem is not one of selling top wines, but one of securing allocations in the increasingly competitive Bordeaux market.

Pierre Lurton first spoke about the diversity of soil types that characterize Cheval Blanc’s terroir (a mixture of gravel, sand, and clay). About 60% of the vineyard is given over to Cabernet Franc with Merlot making up the remainder. Lurton explained that in cooler vintages the early-ripening Merlot takes centre stage, but in hotter years Cabernet Franc plays more of a role. As Lurton put it, in warmer years, ‘Cabernet Franc invites Merlot for the long trip’, helping to produce wines that should have great longevity.

Whatever the assemblage, Lurton is adamant that Cheval Blanc's terroir dictates the style of the wine and its overall expression. He referred to Cheval Blanc's often silky tannins (or ‘cashmere’ tannins as Lurton put it); although this quality is presumably also achieved by care in the vineyard and limited extraction in the cellar. Cheval Blanc itself is made up from 25 different plots, all of which are vinified separately and then blended according to the nature of the year. Regular racking and fining are practised and the wine is unfiltered.

Here are our notes on the Cheval Blanc wines first. The notes on the 2004 and 1998 Château Yquem follow.

2004 Le Petit Cheval, St. Emilion

Appearance: medium purple-red, clear rim.

Nose: light red and black fruits (mix of plum and blackberry), fair bit of oak here, leather.

Palate: medium-bodied at most, good acidity, soft on tannins but these are definitely there. Not bad length.

Conclusion: 53% Merlot, 47% Cabernet Franc, this wine has some of the delicacy of the 2004 vintage. Although it could be approached now, it would be better to wait five years.

Rating: 17/20

2001 Le Petit Cheval, St. Emilion

Appearance: medium purple-red, orange rim.

Nose: shows much more tobacco on the nose than the 2004 Le Petit Cheval with similar fruit underneath (blackberry, plum etc.). Oak is less prevalent, but this is because it has settled down; plus the tobacco and leathery smell is traceable to the use of oak here anyway. Complex.

Palate: more structure and tannic backbone here than on the 2004 Le Petit Cheval and better length too; also features good acidity and impressive fruit.

Conclusion: 53% Merlot, 47% Cabernet Franc, this wine was more impressive than the 2004 Le Petit Cheval and should age for much longer.

Rating: 17.5/20

2004 Château Cheval Blanc, 1er Grand Cru Classé A, St. Emilion

Appearance: medium to deep purple-red, clear rim.

Nose: crushed berry fruits (red and black), very perfumed with some fragrant green pepper notes from the Cabernet Franc. Oak comes in later.

Palate: strong fruit, ripe coating tannins – smooth in texture, not chewy – lovely acidity with good length. Slightly tight and clearly very young at present.

Conclusion: 55% Cabernet Franc, 45% Merlot, this wine needs time. It is clearly sophisticated St. Emilion.

Rating: 18/20

2001 Château Cheval Blanc, 1er Grand Cru Classé A, St. Emilion

Appearance: deep purple-red, slight orange rim.

Nose: metallic first nose (iron, sanguineous kind of smell) followed by strong red and black fruits (chiefly plum and blackberry) along with integrated oak and considerable complexity.

Palate: ripe, silky and fully integrated tannins with excellent fruit, considerable length and fine acidity.

Conclusion: 60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc, according to Robert Parker (but we’ve seen all sorts of different percentages for the assemblage on the same vintages of Cheval Blanc wines on the web!). This is clearly very fine St. Emilion which still has a long way to go to reach maturity.

Rating: 18.5/20

Pierre Lurton then talked in some detail about the production of Sauternes and the qualities of Château Yquem specifically. He described Yquem as ‘an icon of wine’, referring to the property as ‘the story of the Lur-Saluces family’ (rather than discussing the controversy of how Yquem ceased to be under Lur-Saluces control).

Like Cheval Blanc, Yquem is also typified by a varied terroir incorporating 130 hectares of gravel, sand, clay and chalk soils. These soils do not contribute directly to wine flavours (if at all), but do have different drainage and obviously different exposure in the vineyard itself.

Yquem is typically a blend of 80% Semillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc and Lurton explained the various risks inherent in Sauternes production, particularly given the need to wait for the right conditions over several trie (select harvests through the vineyard as noble rot develops). These separate pickings typically take place in the middle and end of September, the middle and end of October and conclude around the middle of November.

All in all, Lurton aims in Yquem to achieve a ‘clean, pure Sauternes with a good level of acidity’ to balance the natural residual sugar. It is certainly worth remembering that these are not particularly sweet wines (reaching about 130 g/l in sweeter years) - certainly alongside the likes of Ice Wine/Eiswein.

2004 Château Yquem, 1er Grand Cru Classé Exceptionnel, Sauternes

Appearance: medium-yellow gold.

Nose: very ‘fresh’ nose (with botrytis only suggested, really). Instead, there’s more evidence of fresh orange and other citrus aromas. Candied fruit with slight honey.

Palate: not super-concentrated. More of the delicate candied, citrus fruits with an excellent balance of medium residual sugar to high acidity. Good length.

Conclusion: a delicate vintage for Yquem (which is not a euphemism for ‘lacking concentration’ – this is just a different vintage). Will repay medium-term keeping.

Rating: 18/20

1998 Château Yquem, 1er Grand Cru Classé Exceptionnel, Sauternes

Appearance: distinct orange gold.

Nose: intense candied fruit, marked botrytis, spice and other complex aromas.

Palate: superb fruit, fantastic balance of robust residual sugar to delicate high acidity. The balance here really is very, very good! Excellent length.

Conclusion: this is a superb wine. Super-intense, but hardly cloying because of the fine acidity and amazing integration of the total wine. A brilliant Sauternes!

Rating: 19/20

There were limited opportunities for questions as Pierre Lurton and Bertrand Carles were coming to the end of a fairly arduous Chinese tour. But I did manage to ask Lurton if he uses different types of French oak when maturing Le Petit Cheval and Cheval Blanc respectively or whether the wines see similar oak treatment but for different periods. Lurton explained that he works with five different coopers, but didn’t divulge the types of oak used. Instead, he pointed out that Le Petit Cheval usually spends about 12 months in oak whereas Cheval Blanc would usually receive about 15-18 months.

Fongyee also managed to ask at what point the grapes for Yquem’s dry white (the ‘Y’) are generally picked each year. The blend for the ‘Y’ is quite different: 60% Sauvignon Blanc with 40% Semillon; and the grapes are usually harvested, we learnt, just before the end of the vintage.

Labels: 1998, 2001, 2004, ASC, Cabernet Franc, Cheval Blanc, Featured Tastings, Ginestet, Le Petit Cheval, Merlot, Pierre Lurton, Sauternes, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, St. Emilion, Yquem

The Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux held their annual grand tasting in Beijing, the last in a leg of an Asia-wide tour also comprising Tokyo (22nd Nov), Osaka (24th Nov), Seoul (26th Nov), Shanghai (28th Nov) and Guangzhou (29th Nov).

Many chateaux owners were then going on to Singapore and India, en route back to France. Several commented that the turn-out at Beijing’s Sofitel Hotel was better than in previous years; and were happy both with the volume here as well as in Shanghai and Guangzhou in particular. We spoke with several owners about their perceptions of the China and wider Asia markets and although no single property has obvious ‘brand’ recognition within China – apart, perhaps, from Château Lafite – they were cautiously optimistic about the future in Beijing and further a field.

This year the UGC showcased the 2004 vintage, still under-appreciated and under-valued, at least alongside 2000 and 2005. The hype surrounding 2003 may still exist, but most people should recognize the vintage had atypical weather conditions that resulted in some strange wines from some quarters as well as over-activity in the market. Recall 1997: different weather conditions, but similar hype. The 1997s drunk much sooner than some expected; clearly a different vintage from the likes of 1995 and 1996.

With so many wines to taste, the notes we offer here are condensed, beginning with dry whites (Part I), then the sweeter ones (Part II) - the Sauternes and Barsac wines were particularly strong - followed by reds from the various appellations (Part III).

Here are the notes for Part II: Sauternes and Barsac

2004 Château Climens, Barsac

Appearance: medium gold colour.

Nose: complex and restrained nose of light candied fruits, honey and a sensitive level of botrytis.
Palate: excellent acidity, medium body, good fruit, good botrytis and delicate all round. Only medium-sweet (it’s worth remembering that most Barsac and Sauternes wines are not actually that sweet relative to other ‘sweet wines’).

Conclusion: 100% Semillon, this shows the quality and finesse you would expect from Climens. Needs time, but is unlikely to be a vintage for the long, long haul. The quality is very high, however. Is exposed to 60% new oak, but you wouldn’t know it.

Rating: 18/20 [but should get better]

2004 Château Coutet, Barsac

Appearance: bright medium gold.

Nose: complex nose of dried fruits, honey and with excellent botrytis.

Palate: very good acidity, lovely concentration here and a great balance between residual sugar and acidity. Integrated.

Conclusion: 75% Semillon, 23% Sauvignon Blanc and 2% Muscadelle, a good showing from Coutet, even although many of the Sauternes and Barsac wines seemed to be showing better than many of the red Bordeaux. Should repay cellaring well. Sees 100% new oak, but we’re not sure for how long.

Rating: 18/20 [but may improve]

2004 Château Doisy Daëne, Barsac

Appearance: deepish orange gold.

Nose: very concentrated nose with lovely fruit, lots of botrytis (which is well-integrated) and some spicy notes.

Palate: rich, great acidity here, very good length and lovely fruit. There’s an excellent balance of residual sugar to acidity too.

Conclusion: we’re big fans of Doisy Daëne having enjoyed a number of different vintages (particularly the 1988 and 1990 wines). 80% Semillon and the remainder Sauvignon Blanc: this was very good and should age very well too. Spends 18 months in oak, of which one third is new. Our favourite of the Sauternes and Barsac wines represented at this tasting.

Rating: 18.5/20

2004 Château Guiraud, Sauternes

Appearance: deep gold.

Nose: slightly musty first nose, although this dissipates. Rich fruit that seems caramelized and with considerable botrytis.

Palate: large style, quite a bit of oak on this wine and somewhat closed at present.

Conclusion: hard to judge right now. Guiraud tends to produce wines in a fatter style and the relatively high amount of Sauvignon Blanc (35% to 65% Semillon) makes for a different expression too. Perhaps this particular bottle was not showing so well. Spends 18 months in 80% new oak.

Rating: 17/20

2004 Château La Tour Blanche, Sauternes

Appearance: medium gold.

Nose: delicately honeyed nose, integrated light botrytis.

Palate: beautiful balance of acidity to sugar here with good fruit, good length and in a more savoury style than some of the other Barsac and Sauternes wines.

Conclusion: this is 84% Semillon, 10% Sauvignon Blanc and 6% Muscadelle. The wine is exposed to 100% new oak, but we couldn’t find out for how long. Clearly very high quality. Along with the Doisy Daëne, one of the best wines here with the Lafaurie-Peyraguey also a strong contender.

Rating: 18.5/20

2004 Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey, Sauternes

Appearance: medium to deepish gold.

Nose: very honeyed and candied fruit with less overt botrytis than on some of the other wines.

Palate: well-balanced, lively acidity which is well-integrated with the residual sugar here. Good fruit and very good length.

Conclusion: this is 90% Semillon, 8% Sauvignon Blanc and 2% Muscadelle. 30% of the wine sees new oak. This is clearly one of the stronger wines of the vintage – at least those represented at this tasting.

Rating: 18/20 [but could be higher]

Labels: 2004, Climens, Coutet, Doisy Daene, Featured Tastings, Guiraud, La Tour Blanche, Lafaurie-Peyraguey, Lafite, Muscadelle, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, sweet white, Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux

The Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux held their annual grand tasting in Beijing, the last in a leg of an Asia-wide tour also comprising Tokyo (22nd Nov), Osaka (24th Nov), Seoul (26th Nov), Shanghai (28th Nov) and Guangzhou (29th Nov).

Many chateaux owners were then going on to Singapore and India, en route back to France. Several commented that the turn-out at Beijing’s Sofitel Hotel was better than in previous years; and were happy both with the volume here as well as in Shanghai and Guangzhou in particular. We spoke with several owners about their perceptions of the China and wider Asia markets and although no single property has obvious ‘brand’ recognition within China – apart, perhaps, from Château Lafite – they were cautiously optimistic about the future in Beijing and further a field.

This year the UGC showcased the 2004 vintage, still under-appreciated and under-valued, at least alongside 2000 and 2005. The hype surrounding 2003 may still exist, but most people should recognize the vintage had atypical weather conditions that resulted in some strange wines from some quarters as well as over-activity in the market. Recall 1997: different weather conditions, but similar hype. The 1997s drunk much sooner than some expected; clearly a different vintage from the likes of 1995 and 1996.

With so many wines to taste, the notes we offer here are condensed, beginning with dry whites (Part I), then the sweeter ones (Part II) - the Sauternes and Barsac wines were particularly strong - followed by reds from the various appellations (Part III).

2004 Domaine de Chevalier (Blanc), Péssac-Leognan

Appearance: medium green gold.

Nose: attractive nose with marked Sauvignon notes – here slightly aromatic and peachy (not the clone that is used in Sancerre or for other Sauvignons in the Loire Valley) – but with lemon and slight wax coming through from the Semillon. Good use of oak.

Palate: integrated fruit, fresh acidity, good length and pleasant oak. Not heavy. Elegant.

Conclusion: decent white Pessac, this wine is 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Semillon and spends 18 months in oak (a third of which is new). Very good.

Rating: 18.5/20

2004 Château La Louvière (Blanc), Pessac-Léognan

Appearance: medium green gold.

Nose: lovely oak which is currently predominant backed by citrus (the fruit should come out later).

Palate: very balanced, considerable toasty oak, but the fruit is there with very good acidity.

Conclusion: this wine is 85% Sauvignon Blanc and 15% Semillon and is a lovely example of dry white Bordeaux.

Rating: 18.5/20

2004 Château Malartic-Lagravière (Blanc), Pessac-Léognan

Appearance: lightish green-gold.

Nose: made in a light savoury style with some green notes but also peach from the Sauvignon Blanc. Oak is non-intrusive.

Palate: good acidity, with light apple and peach fruit. Quite good length.

Conclusion: a blend of 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Semillon, this much more of an aperitif dry white Bordeaux than a so-called ‘first course wine’, but some may like the light style and the fact the oaking is on the light side here too.

Rating: 17/20

2004 Château Olivier (Blanc), Pessac-Léognan

Appearance: medium green-gold.

Nose: nice intensity of lemon fruit here with good oak and even some minerality.

Palate: good fruit, nice acidity and good length. Oak is balanced.

Conclusion: this spends 10 months in oak (of which 20% is new) and is well put together. Should age well too.

Rating: 17.5/20

Labels: 2004, Bordeaux, Domaine de Chevalier, Featured Tastings, France, La Louviere, Malartic-Lagraviere, Olivier, Pessac-Leognan, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux, white

A tasting of the wines of Australian producer Brokenwood at Frank Siegel's Sanlintun Sequoia Café in conjunction with Jebsen wines. Geoff Krieger, one of the company’s twenty-five partners and General Manager, was on hand to answer questions and also gave a short introduction to the winery. Brokenwood, although based in the Hunter Valley since 1970, has become increasingly national in its grape-sourcing, although the majority of wines are vinified in the Hunter itself.

2006 Brokenwood Hunter Valley Semillon

Appearance: light green.

Nose: complex nose of lime and green apple, slight wax. Very young and green at present.

Palate: more lime and green apple fruit, wax, medium-high acidity, lean feel, obviously no oak in this classic Hunter Semillon style.

Conclusion: very good, a wine you can either drink now when it is fresh, green and light or ten years down the road when the wine will become nutty – even giving the illusory sense of being oaked – with complex savoury notes.

Rating: 18.5/20

2005 Brokenwood Cricket Pitch Sauvignon Semillon

Appearance: medium gold.

Nose: developed Semillon is dominant with lemon and nutty aromas – you might be forgiven for thinking this wine is oaked, but it is entirely unoaked. Any green notes from the Sauvignon have blended into the wine with slight age.

Palate: more nutty, lemon fruit with nice zip of acidity from the Sauvignon. Good length.

Conclusion: pleasant and a lovely example of an unoaked Sauvignon-Semillon blend (50% of each). The fruit is sourced from both New South Wales and South Australia but everything is vinified in the Hunter Valley itself.

Rating: 17.5/20

2003 Brokenwood Cricket Pitch Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot-Shiraz

Appearance: medium purple-red, slight orange rim.

Nose: attractive red and black fruit nose with slight spice and integrated oak.

Palate: medium-bodied, nice ripe chewy tannins, pleasant acidity and easy drinking, fruity red.

Conclusion: this is 37% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot and 25% Shiraz with fruit sourced from South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales. Easy drinking, but I think the Cricket Pitch white is more exciting.

Rating: 17/20

2004 Brokenwood Hunter Valley Shiraz

Appearance: medium purple-red, slight orange rim.

Nose: complex blackberry fruit with definite black pepper accompanied by sweet-smelling spices (cinnamon, cardamom). Good oak.

Palate: lovely fruit, good acidity, nicely integrated oak – which is actually American, hence the sweet nose here albeit mixed with savoury characteristics – medium chewy tannins, medium-bodied.

Conclusion: a lovely example of Hunter Shiraz, not too massive in style, elegant and very drinkable.

Rating: 18/20

Labels: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, Australia, Brokenwood, Cabernet Sauvignon, Featured Tastings, Hunter Valley, Jebsen, Merlot, New South Wales, red, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Shiraz, white

Trade tasting with Ben Glaetzer of Heartland winery (as well as the Glaetzer family label of Barossa) hosted by Palette Vino. Glaetzer himself was on hand to discuss the wines and explain something of his philosophy. Although he harvests grapes in a number of regions in South Australia, all of the wines are still made in the Barossa.

Ben explained that for many of his reds the Limestone Coast vineyards tend to provide aromatics, particularly eucalyptus in the hotter years, but also an herbaceous quality (basil, rosemary, green pepper etc.); whereas the reds from Langhorne Creek tend to give more structure and a chocolate quality. For this reason he often blends the fruit from both areas.

Also, when it’s hotter, if there are eucalyptus trees in the area, the oils from the eucalyptus become volatile and even settle on the grapes in a kind of resinous state. This is why certain Australian reds really do taste of eucalyptus, although Ben admitted there’s considerable research to be done in the area (clearly, some wines may yet smell of eucalyptus even if the vines have not been in close proximity to eucalyptus trees).

It’s just that Glaetzer himself has seen a eucalyptus mist envelope his vineyards in hotter years like 2003, conditions that simply did not occur in cooler vintages like 2002. Anyway, we had a great time tasting the wines and also enjoyed a very good chat, both with Ben and also Vicky Arnold, general manager.

Here are the wines. As mentioned, all are made in the Barossa. All are also typified by very clean wine-making, restraint, elegance and lovely ripe fruit:

2006 Heartland Stickleback White

Appearance: pleasant gold-green

Nose: lovely lemon fruit nose with some waxy notes.

Palate: pleasant fruit, good acidity and a touch of residual sugar on the palate, although this wine is essentially dry.

Conclusion: a really drinkable blend of 52% Chardonnay, 32% Verdelho, 16% Semillon (all of which are fermented separately in stainless steel then blended).Very good at its level and a great buy at 99RMB.

Rating: 16.5/20

2006 Heartland Viognier Pinot Gris

Appearance: medium gold.

Nose: complex nose with peach, apricot and pear fruit with some mineral notes and slight spice.

Palate: medium-bodied, glycerol, but also lifting acidity, lovely fruit and good length.

Conclusion: this wine is 68% Viognier and 32% Pinot Gris with most of the grapes coming from Langhorne Creek and the rest from Limestone Coast. The varieties are again vinified separately with the Pinot Gris being allowed some skin contact for a little bit of colour and structure to tame Viognier’s fattier ways. Lovely and pure.

Rating: 17.5/20

2005 Heartland Dolcetto Lagrein

Appearance: medium to dark purple-red, clear rim.

Nose: has a wonderfully spicy nose with black fruits (even dried cherries). Clove is predominant in terms of spice (comes from the oak here).

Palate: lovely fruit, chewy medium tannins, good oak, pleasant moderate acidity and impressive length.

Conclusion: this is 70% Dolcetto with the remaining 30% being made up of Lagrein. About 50% of the Dolcetto spent time in French oak, but the Lagrein only went near stainless steel. Very interesting and very well-made. Hurray for growing these grapes in Australia!

Rating: 17.5/20

2005 Heartland Shiraz

Appearance: dark purple-red, clear rim.

Nose: has a characteristic black cherry and slight blueberry nose, but not the masses of fruit that can blow some tasters out of the water. Elegant.

Palate: there are two things you wouldn’t notice about this wine: 1. it’s 14.5% alc., but without a ‘hot alcohol’ nose, 2. it’s been matured for 16 months in a mixture of light and heavy toast French oak. Both the alcohol and oak simply harmonize with the fruit. Tannins are moderate and chewy with just enough acidity to carry the fruit. Impressive length.

Conclusion: I loved this wine. It’s 100% Shiraz with 56% coming from Limestone Coast and the remaining 44% from Langhorne Creek. Very good.

Rating: 18.5/20

2005 Glaetzer Bishop Barossa Shiraz

Appearance: dark purple to black, clear rim.

Nose: sweet black cherry and blackberry fruits with mixture of savoury and sweet oak notes.

Palate: lovely fruit, large chunky tannins, good alcohol balance, pleasant medium acidity. Good length.

Conclusion: launched as a bench-mark Barossa Shiraz, this wine has all the elegance of the Heartland wines with a little bigger fruit. From 60 year-old vines, it has impressive structure and pure fruit. Vinified in a mixture of French and American oak, it has a slightly ‘sweeter’ nose than the Heartland Shiraz which is very appealing for the larger fruit here.

Rating: 18/20

2005 Glaetzer Wallace Barossa Shiraz Grenache

Appearance: dark purple-red, clear rim.

Nose: has an instantly appealing nose of ripe black and red fruits (more black on the account of the Shiraz fruit, at least in its Barossa expressions), some white pepper and other spices and appealing oak (French and American here again too).

Palate: refreshing acidity, chewy medium tannins (although these are slightly grainy too), strong fruit and good balance throughout. Good length.

Conclusion: this is 70% Shiraz and the remainder Grenache. Clean, pure and tantalizing, rather than being merely technically well-made.

Rating: 18/20

Labels: 2006, Barossa, Ben Glaetzer, Chardonnay, Dolcetto, Featured Tastings, Grenache, Heartland, Lagrein, Langhorne Creek, Limestone Coast, Palette Vino, Pinot Gris, Semillon, Shiraz, Verdelho, Viognier

The theme for this tasting held for the Oxford & Cambridge Club of Beijing and guests was 'Wines for Summer Drinking'. We actually gave the tasting to two different groups on consecutive nights (4th and 5th July 2007).

We have divided up our notes into a series of posts. Here's Part I.

2006 Neil Ellis Sauvignon Blanc, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Appearance: light green.

Nose: delicate gooseberry fruit, some minerality.

Palate: ripe gooseberry fruit, excellent high acidity and impressive length.

Conclusion: made from fruit sourced in the Jonkershoek Valley, Stellenbosch, this sophisticated Sauvignon Blanc showing all the delicacy of well-made Sancerre but with greater density of fruit. Well-priced for the Chinese market at 188 RMB from Jebsen.

Rating: 18/20

2006 Brokenwood Semillon, Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia

Appearance: light green.

Nose: delicate lemon and lime nose with slight chemical smell (wax) and some green notes reminiscent of Sauvignon Blanc but without the same aromatic quality.

Palate: tight-knit lemon and lime fruit, high balanced acidity and characteristic relatively low alcohol with great length.

Conclusion: very, very good Hunter Valley Semillon, but also very, very young. This wine will develop wonderfully in bottle turning deep yellow and showing complex lemon and even toasty notes (although there’s no oak here, this is a feature of aged Hunter Semillon). The wine is approximately 214RMB retail from Jebsen, but totally worth it.

Rating: 18.5/20

2004 Heartland Viognier Pinot Gris, Limestone Coast, Australia

Appearance: lovely golden colour.

Nose: complex nose showing peach and apricot from the Viognier and pear and slight spice from the Pinot Gris.

Palate: The palate has pleasant fruit, some minerality and also some of that glycerol fatness that Viognier offers; but the latter is moderated by the freshness of the Pinot Gris (which, although not a high-acidity grape, nevertheless lifts the whole). Good length too.

Conclusion: very well-made, very drinkable. A delight.

Rating: 17.5/20

Labels: 2004, 2006, Australia, Brokenwood, Featured Tastings, Heartland, Hunter Valley, Jebsen, Neil Ellis, New South Wales, OCCB, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, South Africa, Viognier, white

Château Loudenne Dinner at Le Bistrot Parisien, Beijing

ASC invited Florence Lafragette of Château Loudenne to present her wines accompanied by a decent menu from Beijing's Le Bistrot Parisien. We chatted with Ms Lafragette about Loudenne and our visit there in 2004 when taking part in the Vingt sur vin competition organized by Jean-Michel Cazes of Château Lynch-Bages. Like Cazes, she is a strong ambassador for the region.

It was a fun evening and the food was well-prepared and well-presented (it was certainly all a good deal at 200RMB per head as there was copious wine). The only thing that didn’t work was the first red with the bream (in fact, the Loudenne White would have been much better!). It's certainly worth experimenting with reds with various fish - particularly meatier types of fish - but red Bordeaux with a vanilla sauce (see below) is not to be recommended:

Tartare de Thon et de Concombre à la Crème Ciboulette

2003 Château Loudenne Blanc, Médoc

Appearance: pleasant gold yellow colour.

Nose: citrus fruit with marked oak and some waxy aromas. Complex.

Palate: strong fruit, good oak, some fresh acidity (the wine does not actually go through malolactic) and lovely length.

Conclusion: this is 75% Sauvignon Blanc and 25% Semillon and was really well put together despite the problems of the 2003 vintage. Impressive dry white Bordeaux and refreshing to find this kind of thing in the Medoc rather than just in Graves or Pessac-Leognan.

Rating: 18/20

Filet de Dorade Rose Rotie, Sauce Vanille, Julienne de Légumes Croquantes

2003 Pavillon de Loudenne (the 2nd wine)

Appearance: medium purple-red, clear rim.

Nose: we both picked up green tints and possibly unripe notes on more than one of the bottles which suggests that the grapes had to be picked with the highish sugar levels that the 2003 heat would have created but without their being physiologically/phenolically ripe (hence the unripe green nose).

Palate: more 'green' notes, but with some red and black fruits underneath. Tannins are not so unripe here, so maybe this wine has a better future than the nose suggests. Quite good length.

Conclusion: this wine is 76% Cabernet and 24% Merlot. You cannot, therefore, say the green notes are traceable to Cabernet Franc (which can show that green pepper nose). But they may not be unripe Cabernet Sauvignon either. Other bottles would have to be tried.

Rating: 17/20

Medaillon de Fillet de Boeuf, Sauce Porto, Pommes Forestieres

2002 Château Loudenne Rouge, Cru Bourgeois Supérieur

Appearance: purple-red, clear rim.

Nose: pleasant nose of blackcurrant fruit and French oak (although the fruit has the restraint of the 2002 vintage).

Palate: has refreshing medium acidity on the palate which makes it very drinkable at this stage, medium slightly chewy tannins (although not that pronounced) and agreeable fruit. Pretty balanced and with promising length.

Conclusion: 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 48% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 1% Malbec, this is a pleasant blend and was well assembled. We liked it, although the 2003 Château Loudenne Blanc carried the day.

Rating: 17.5/20

Labels: 2002, 2003, ASC, Bordeaux, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Featured Tastings, France, Jean-Michel Cazes, Loudenne, Malbec, Merlot, red, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Vingt sur vin, white

2005 Alkoomi Semillon Sauvignon, Frankland River, Western Australia

Appearance: medium green gold colour.

Nose: pleasant nose of lemon and slight gooseberry fruit (aromas showing Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc respectively). No discernible oak here, although it did have the slightly nutty and toasty aroma of ageing Semillon that can easily be confused with oak.

Palate: lovely fruit with good acidity and some nice length here.

Conclusion: Alkoomi is always a good thing, but this was a particularly pleasant bottle which stood up well over three days' sampling.

Rating: 17.5/20

Labels: 2005, Alkoomi, Frankland River, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Western Australia, white

1959 Sainte-Croix-du-Mont, A. Lahon

Appearance: deep orange-brown colour.

Nose: savoury, botrytis nose, some raisined fruit still there, quite honeyed, slightly oxidized.

Palate: very good palate with surprisingly supple acidity and good length. Still some raisined fruit there.

Conclusion: This wine has survived remarkably for its age and would go really well with cheese (rather than a dessert). There was just a whiff of oxidation reminiscent of Madeira. A. Lahon is probabaly a negociant as this does not appear to be a chateau or domaine bottling. It's probably made from Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc (as with Sauternes or Barsac), but it might be 100% Semillon (or could even include some Muscadelle). However, we cannot find any information on this wine for the moment. Fascinating.

Rating: 18.5/20

Labels: 1959, Bordeaux, France, Sainte-Croix-du-Mont, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, sweet white

1983 Château d’Yquem, Sauternes, Bordeaux

Appearance: deep orange gold.

Nose: very complex nose with honeyed orange and marmalade fruit, slight spice and overt but integrated botrytis.

Palate: incredibly harmonious blend of fine acidity, balanced residual sugar and great concentration of flavour (almost the intensity of Icewine without the high sugar). Superb length.

Conclusion: a privilege to taste. Whilst Yquem sets the bar very high in being set apart both in terms of price and classed category, this was undeniably very, very good. The best Sauternes we've drunk is probably 1967 Rieussec, but this was hardly far behind!

Rating: 19/20

Labels: 1983, Bordeaux, France, Sauternes, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, sweet white, Yquem

This wine was tasted at Château Lafite during the 2004 Vingt sur Vin competition, organized by Jean Michel-Cazes of Château Lynch-Bages and hosted by the Commanderie du Bontemps for the Medoc, Graves and Sauternes regions.

We are grateful to the Commanderie and to Jean Michel-Cazes, Baron Eric Rothschild and Francois Guillot de Suduiraut personally.

1967 Château Rieussec, Sauternes

Appearance: medium amber-gold.

Nose: beautiful nose of candied dried fruits (orange, peach, apricot) with great botrytis and some other savoury aromas that are hard to describe.

Palate: fantastic fruit, excellent balance of very fine high acidity and mellowed but marked residual sugar. Outstanding length.

Conclusion: we weren't really aware that Sauternes of this age, even from such great vintages, could possess such development and refreshing acidity (none of the ‘over-marmalade’ nose that some older wines can show). Served from magnums it had aged gracefully. Stupendous. The best Sauternes we've ever drunk and one of the greatest wines we've ever been fortunate to taste.

Rating: 19.5/20

Labels: 1967, Baron Eric Rothschild, Bordeaux, Commanderie du Bontemps, France, Francois Guillot de Suduiraut, Jean-Michel Cazes, Rieussec, Sauternes, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, sweet white, Vingt sur vin