21st December 2007

Another look at the wonderful wines of Ridge hosted by Frank Siegel of the Sequoia Café (wines imported by Summergate).

We first tasted some of Ridge’s exemplary wines, including the legendary Monte Bello (2004 vintage) in Hong Kong in November 2007 - see previous notes.

2005 Ridge Lytton Springs

Appearance: medium purple-red, pink rim.

Nose: crushed berry fruits, excellent oak. Complex.

Palate: grainy, slightly dusty tannins, strong fruit, considerable oak but this is well-integrated. Nice acidity and good length.

Conclusion: 77% Zinfandel, 17% Petite Syrah and 6% Carignan, this is very good and would benefit from mid-term ageing. Retail approx. 600RMB.

Rating: 18/20

2003 Ridge Geyersville

Appearance: medium purple-red, orange rim.

Nose: very fragrant clove, cinnamon and generally spicy nose with strong red and black fruits coming through.

Palate: chewy medium tannins, good acidity, dark savoury fruits (seems blacker on palate than nose at present). Integrated high alcohol.

Conclusion: 76% Zinfandel, 18% Carignan and 6% Petite Syrah, this is a complex wine that needs time, even although it is relatively approachable now. Drink now to 2013. Retail 576RMB.

Rating: 18/20

2004 Ridge Santa Cruz Mountains

Appearance: dark purple, clear rim.

Nose: sweet nose of blackcurrant and black plum, lovely fruit throughout, noticeable mix of American and French oak.

Palate: great fruit, lovely medium chewy tannins, excellent length.

Conclusion: a blend of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Merlot and 1% each of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, this is a lovely wine whose fruit is sourced from the same vineyard as the legendary Monte Bello. Drink now or up to 2012. Retail 660RMB.

Rating: 18.5/20

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

15th December 2007: ASC invited Pierre Lurton, GeneralManager 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.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

The following two wines will shortly be new additions to the Bacchus Wines range. Bacchus Wines already carries several of the wines of Domaine Lorentz Klipfel. These two were impressive and are very welcome newcomers to the Beijing market:

2005 Riesling Grand Cru Kirchberg, Klipfel

Appearance: medium green gold.

Nose: strong apple fruit, very ‘fresh’, mineral, no kerosene or other petroleum at this stage (it is still a young wine).

Palate: apple fruit, more mineral notes, lovely refreshing high acidity with moderate residual sugar (this is only just off-dry really). Good length.

Conclusion: a young wine from a good year. This Riesling is lovely to drink now, but will really repay cellaring. Stylish Alsatian Riesling all-round.

Rating: 18/20

2005 Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Kirchberg Vendange Tardive Clos Lisser, Klipfel

Appearance: beautiful deepish gold with green tints.

Nose: classically aromatic nose with lychee and rose petal, but also the gingerbread notes that are only really found in good Alsatian examples of the Gewurztraminer grape. Shows other spices too. Not too large a nose (something from which some Gewurtraminers can suffer).

Palate: great fruit, lovely balance of moderate residual sugar to acidity (impressive acidity here for Gewurz too). Lovely length and that extra richness from this being ‘Vendange Tardive’ (late harvest).

Conclusion: a very good example of a VT Gewurztraminer. Extremely good. Will drink now, but will also repay moderate keeping.

Rating: 18.5/20

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

Summergate arranged for a media tasting with Keith and Clare Mugford of Margaret River producer Moss Wood. Moss Wood is well known as one of the region’s top wineries, an obvious rival to the likes of Leeuwin Estate. The quality of the wines here (see tasting notes below) is very high and the wine making impeccable. Margaret River overall is known for a host of strong producers and some of Australia’s most elegant wines. But the purity of fruit achieved in the two different Moss Wood Cabernets we tasted was particularly impressive.

The Moss Wood vineyard in Wilyabrup is given over to various varieties including Cabernet Sauvignon (5.43 hectares), Semillon (1.83 hectares), Pinot Noir (1.55 hectares), Chardonnay (2.17 hectares), Cabernet Franc (0.29 hectares), Merlot (0.03 hectares) and Petit Verdot (0.48 hectares). But grapes are also sourced from the Ribbon Vale vineyard (acquired by Moss Wood in 2000) and the Glenmore, Montgomery, Lefroy Brook and Green Valley sites; which enable the Mugfords to acquire grapes from significantly different areas in the wider Margaret River region.

The Moss Wood vineyard itself provides the fruit for the range of the same name: which includes a Chardonnay, two Semillons (one unoaked, one oaked), two Cabernet Sauvignons (one of which is termed ‘Special Reserve’ and is only made in certain vintages), a Pinot Noir (which has quite a following – the Mugfords themselves being great lovers of this grape) and also a ‘Port style’ wine (labelled ‘Vintage Port’). This last wine cannot be released in the European Union because of the protection of the Portuguese Port; but China would be no problem! However, Keith Mugford is amusingly candid about not wanting to pursue life as a fortified winemaker.

The Glenmore and Montgomery sites provide the grapes for the Amy’s Cabernet Sauvignon (see below), whilst a different Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are made from Lefroy Brook fruit (Green Valley providing yet another terroir-driven Chardonnay). Other wines are also made from fruit sourced in Pemberton and Palandri.

On their first visit to Beijing (en route to Shanghai and Guangzhou), Keith and Clare Mugford spoke passionately about the Margaret River as well as the innovations they have overseen at Moss Wood. Keith Mugford was a fount of wisdom concerning the care and attention that goes into their work in both the vineyards and cellar. Both suggested that, although the Margaret River region may expand, quality should be maintained provided wineries keep up the hard work and dedication that began in the 1960s with pioneers like Dr Bill Pannell who identified Moss Wood’s location as being ideal for premium wine production.

We tasted:

2005 Moss Wood Amy’s Cabernet Sauvignon

Appearance: medium-purple red, clear rim.

Nose: very pure blackcurrant and slight blueberry fruit with some dark red fruits too. Delicate use of oak here.

Palate: lovely ripe fruit, but this is also restrained in style. Refreshing medium acidity, ripe slightly chewy medium tannins and impressive length. Alcohol is high, but fully integrated.

Conclusion: 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest 5% allocations of Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot, this is clearly a very good vintage. The wine experienced less skin-contact than the Moss Wood Cabernets (see below). The idea is to express fruit purity and display only moderate tannins. Spends 14 months in French oak, only 25% of which is new (which would explain why the oak is moderate here and a good savoury background to the strong fruit). Very good, even if it is intended as quasi-baby brother to the Moss Wood Cabernet.

Rating: 18/20

2004 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon

Appearance: deepish purple-red, clear rim.

Nose: very pure dark fruits (blackcurrant, black plum), restrained integrated oak, some spicy notes. Youthful, but approachable.

Palate: excellent ripe fruit, medium-high chewy tannins, integrated medium acidity and balanced high alcohol. Very good length.

Conclusion: not precisely sure of the blend here, but the wine is kept for over a year in barrel. Actually, the 2004 was kept in three separate samples under oak and then blended after 12 months before spending slightly longer in barrel (this gave the Mugfords time to see the evolution of the different samples). Spent up to 14 days on the skins after fermentation. Although a year in which temperatures rose steeply right before harvest, this wine had no cooked or over-ripe aromas. Very, very good.

Rating: 18.5/20

During the tasting, we spoke about the ‘discount-image’ Australia has until recently had, particularly in the UK (Australia’s largest market) where supermarkets have commanded bulk supply at reduced rates to producer and consumer. The Mugfords felt that the recent drought in Australia will mean that both water prices and the prices of grapes will shoot up and that Australia may well benefit from not being able to provide international markets with a surplus of wine.

Increasingly, of course, top Australian winemakers are stressing the uniqueness of their individual vineyard sites and the uniqueness of the wines they produce, re-dressing the French concept of terroir in Australian clothes. The Mugfords are unashamedly no exception and spoke in detail about their different vineyards as well as the complex effects of sea-breezes on much of Western Australia.

Theirs is essentially a Burgundian approach, at least for their Pinot Noir. Whilst their Cabernet-blends have the ripeness the Bordelais would die for, achieving phenolic ripeness in Australia always runs the risk of having too much natural sugar in your grapes (at least at too high sugar levels if you want to make wines of moderate alcohol). This doesn’t matter in the case of Moss Wood, however, because Keith Mugford - also a consultant winemaker to other properties - has found a way of producing 14.5% Cabernets that don’t knock your head off. These are fantastic wines.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.