Saturday, January 26th, 2008
Globus Wines of Shanghai had winemaker extraordinaire Bertrand Sourdais up for a visit in Beijing on the back of a number of Shanghai events.
Sourdais, a former under-study at Château Mouton-Rothschild and Léoville-Las-Cases (who also gained hands-on experience with Chile’s Santa Rita and Priorat’s Álvaro Palacio), comes from a wine-making family in the Loire Valley and since 2003 has been responsible for the vintage at Domaine de Pallus, the family domaine in Chinon.
Sourdais sprung to fame, however, with his stunning Ribera del Duero wines, made at Dominio de Atauta in collaboration with Miguel Sanchez, a notable Madrid wine merchant and distributor who was instrumental in bringing the vineyards of the town of Atauta to public note.
Sanchez has 15 hectares of pre-phylloxera vines and sources fruit from some 600 further plots, many of which clearly contain the oldest vines in the region. Sourdais was explicit in insisting that the Tinto Fino is quite different in morphology and temperament from Tempranillo, at least as it is found in Rioja; and lamented the importation of Rioja Tempranillo into the Ribera region.
Accolades have justifiably followed the wines of Atauta. Nearly every major wine writer including not only Spanish critics but Robert Parker and Michel Bettane has hailed the quality here. But we found the Chinon to be among the best we have had too!
We’re very excited that these kind of wines are available in China and recommend checking out the Globus list. Along with Ruby Red Fine Wines in Shanghai, this is one of the more innovative and exciting companies; and it is no surprise that Globus recently teamed up with Bacchus Wines in Beijing to promote the wines of Alsatian producer Lorentz Klipfel (Bacchus is another supplier to watch).
2005 Les Pensées du Pallus, Chinon
Appearance: medium purple-red.
Nose: very bright red and black fruits (strawberry, blackberry, cherries) with distinctive green pepper and very slight oak.
Palate: excellent acidity here (what Loire Cabernet Franc should be like!), lovely structure with medium chewy tannins and very good length.
Conclusion: this is perhaps the best Chinon we’ve had, easily up there with the wines of Charles Joguet (perhaps even purer in expression). Certainly the best Cabernet Franc we’ve had to date and attractively priced at RMB188.
Rating: 18.5/20
2005 Atalayas de Golban, Ribera del Duero
Appearance: dark purple-red, pink rim.
Nose: very concentrated black fruits, with oak ‘just there’ (i.e. very well-integrated). The wine has a perfumed quality which is hard to describe – certainly not reminiscent of Nebbiolo or Pinot Noir. Complex.
Palate: marked acidity, very concentrated but elegant with superb fruit, ripe smooth medium tannins and lovely length.
Conclusion: an ‘atalaya’ is a watchtower and the Golban is a river in the Atauta valley. This is a separate project from the below Dominio de Atauta and the wine is intended for earlier drinking. Fermented in stainless steel with 80% of the wine then being aged in two to three year-old barrels (emanating from Château Haut-Brion), it is beautiful to drink now, but would also benefit from medium-term ageing if desired. Very, very good and quite a competitor to the below Dominio de Atauta, in fact. We prefer the Atalayas now, even although giving the Dominio de Atauta a higher overall rating. Retail RMB228.
Rating: 18.5/20
2005 Dominio de Atauta, Ribera del Duero
Appearance: very dark purple to black, pink rim.
Nose: beautiful dark fruits, even more concentrated than the Atalayas de Golban, more overt oak here too. Needs time to develop in the glass, but it is already fragrant.
Palate: marked acidity (the acidity on all of Sourdais’s wines is prominent but pure), integrated medium-high chewy tannins, lovely fruit and very good length.
Conclusion: a blend of Tinto Fino from significant plots with old vines such as La Mala, Punto Alta, Cuesta Moral, and La Solana, this is intense but sophisticated and really needs time right now. Usually aged in 100% new French oak, the fruit is certainly robust enough to warrant this treatment. Wait on this. It will be amazing to see how it ages. Retail RMB465.
Rating: 19/20
Friday, January 25th, 2008
Featured Tasting: Jaboulet (including two vintages of La Chapelle)
Summergate hosted Christophe Brunet of famed producers Paul Jaboulet Aîné and Château La Lagune, now jointly owned and managed by the Frey family. Caroline Frey is winemaker at both properties (at La Lagune, Denis Dubourdieu, her former professor, is also a consultant). But this tasting focused solely on the Jaboulet wines – La Lagune having already been a presence at the Union des Grand Crus visit to Beijing in late November (see previous posts).
Christophe Brunet explained the current innovations the Frey family is instituting at Jaboulet. The main idea is to refine the quality of the Hermitage La Chapelle and limit its production. To put this in perspective, Brunet pointed out that in the 1990 vintage 100,000 bottles of red La Chapelle were made compared with some 30,000 bottles in 2005. A ‘second wine’, La Petite Chapelle, will shortly be released and may well represent good value, particularly as La Chapelle has now become a costly collectors’ item.
2006 also saw the re-launch of a white La Chapelle (Jaboulet had previously stopped making its top white Hermitage in 1961). This wine is a 100% Marsanne and, judging by how well the 2001 Chevalier de Sterimberg showed - see below - will be one to watch.
We tasted the following wines:
2004 Parallèle 45 Côtes du Rhône White, Jaboulet
Appearance: dark yellow green.
Nose: noticeable pear fruit with some waxy aromas.
Palate: strong pear fruit, more waxy flavours, nice acidity though too. Has kept quite well.
Conclusion: made from a blend of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne and Bourboulenc, this is impressive at its level and a nice expression of white Côtes du Rhône.
Rating: 16.5/20
2001 Le Chevalier de Sterimberg Hermitage (Blanc), Jaboulet
Appearance: dark yellow green.
Nose: complex pear fruit with nutty aromas, wax and butterscotch. Developed nose but will still probably age happily enough.
Palate: rich mouth-feel with mellowed pear fruit, toffee and butterscotch flavours and considerable length.
Conclusion: a wonderful example of aged white Hermitage, something of a rarity and thankfully relatively undiscovered in the wine world (it’s certainly not popular in fine wine markets). Still has some life ahead but drinking beautifully now.
Rating: 18.5/20
2005 Parallèle 45 Côtes du Rhône (Rouge), Jaboulet
Appearance: medium purple-red.
Nose: light red berry fruits, slight white pepper from the Grenache and some darker fruit coming through from the Syrah here. Attractive.
Palate: light chewy tannins, nice fruit, lively acidity; well put together with quite good length.
Conclusion: a decent wine at its level. Dependable stuff.
Rating: 16.5/20
2005 Les Cedres Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Jaboulet
Appearance: medium purple-red, slight orange rim.
Nose: mix of red and black fruits with some characteristic Châteauneuf spice (Grenache-dominated). Oak is non-intrusive.
Palate: chewy medium tannins, medium-high acidity and with good length, the wine does not show much oak and is largely fruit-driven.
Conclusion: a blend of Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Mourvèdre, this is a reliable Châteauneuf-du-Pape. It’s not going to excite in the same way that wines from single domaines in the region can, but it’s a decent expression.
Rating: 17.5/20
1988 Hermitage La Chapelle, Jaboulet
Appearance: medium purple-red, with very marked orange rim.
Nose: decaying black and red fruits with a distinct meaty nose that later shows leaves, mushrooms and other secondary aromas. Very complex.
Palate: lovely mature palate with mellowed fruit, meaty and mushroomy flavours, softened medium grainy tannins, good acidity and superb length. Unfiltered, its throws a sediment that we recommend eating! The flavours are heavenly and show what aged Syrah at this level is all about.
Conclusion: clearly a very fine wine. Collectors will debate whether the 1988 vintage is the best La Chapelle, but here’s a wine to enjoy now that seems to be at its peak and in fine condition.
Rating: 19/20
2001 Hermitage La Chapelle, Jaboulet
Appearance: darkish purple-red, already showing orange rim.
Nose: a bit closed at first, then showing complex dark fruits, corned beef, liquorice and some characteristic black pepper (a signature of cool-climate Syrah).
Palate: ripe medium-high chewy tannins, excellent acidity, integrated dark fruits, but a bit tight right now.
Conclusion: this will clearly be an excellent vintage of La Chapelle, but should be left alone at present. Very good, but try again in 2011 and thereafter.
Rating: 18.5/20 [but may be higher]
