Special aviation wines for the Blue Angels Air Show

Earlier this month, we were invited to a wine tasting party while watching the Blue Angels Air Show, a spectacular aerial show and a tradition in San Francisco since 1981. We were asked to bring a bottle of wine that had some connection with aviation, which was a fun exercise because in addition to tasting the wines, this theme prompted discussion about how the wines were related to planes and pilots.



We started with the 2004 Goldeneye Pinot Noir Anderson Valley. That one was easy: everybody remembered how in Goldeneye, James Bond escapes Soviet guards with a free fall jump off a cliff into an unmanned plane, miraculously gaining control of it and avoiding a crash into the nearby mountain.

The Goldeneye Winery is owned by Duckhorn Vineyard and has been producing Pinot Noir from the Anderson Valley AVA since 1997. The wine is a blend of grapes from four estate vineyards, covering a wide range of microclimates with more than 20 distinctive clones. The wine had a big California style, lush on the palate with ripe berry flavors and hints of pumpkin pie spice on the finish.

Then we tasted the 2004 Château Malescot Saint-Exupéry, a Third Growth in the Margaux Appellation. Château Malescot Saint-Exupéry got its first name from Simon Malescot, King's Counsel to Louis XIV at the Parliament of Bordeaux, who bought the estate in 1697. Then later in 1827, it was acquired by Comte Jean-Baptiste Saint Exupéry, who renamed the property Malescot Saint-Exupéry. So what's the wine's connection with aviation? Antoine de Saint Exupéry, pioneer aviator and famous writer, was actually the grandson of Jean-Baptiste.

The wine is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot. It had a dense, blackberry nose with some coffee notes, quite chewy on the palate with a well-balanced finish. A promising wine but much too young to be drunk now.

Our third wine was the 2005 Silverado Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Solo Stags Leap District. First, we thought of solo flight, but after some discussions, we found that Solo had even more connections to flying, including Han Solo, famous captain of the Millennium Falcon.

Silverado Vineyards was established in 1981 by the Miller family. They named the winery Silverado, after the abandoned mining camp in the Mayacamas Mountains, where Robert Louis Stevenson spent his honeymoon in the early summer of 1880.

The Solo Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100% Cabernet grapes grown in the estate Stags Leap Vineyard, surrounding the winery. It was a powerful wine with aromas of blackberries and oak and a big finish.

We ended the tasting with a vertical tasting of ZD Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon: 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003.



Nobody knew that ZD stands for the initials of the names of the founders Gino Zepponi and Norman deLeuze, two former aerospace engineers. It also stands for Zero Defects, a quality control program that originated in the aerospace industry.

The ZD Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of several Napa Valley lots, with ZD's organically farmed Rutherford Estate used as the backbone. The 2000 was the first vintage to open up, with an expansive nose and ripe fruit aromas. The 2001 was tighter and more subdued at the beginning but it eventually surpassed the 2000 with aromas of blackberries, moka, and licorice, a firm, well-balanced backbone, and a full-flavored finish. It ended up being my favorite. The 2002 was not as good and a bit off balanced. The 2003 was young, bright, and fruity but without the complexity of the 2001.

And above our heads, the Blue Angels were flying.



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Bordeaux tasting from the Right Bank and a couple of dry whites

The terms Left Bank and Right Bank refer to the banks of the Gironde river that flows through Bordeaux into the Atlantic Ocean. The Left Bank includes the Médoc appellation and its sub-appellations (Pauillac, Saint Estèphe, Saint Julien, Margaux etc.). On the Right Bank, we have Pomerol and Saint Emilion surrounded by their lesser-known (and generally less expensive) satellite appellations such as Lussac-Saint-Émilion, Lalande de Pomerol, Fronsac, and Côtes-de-Castillon.


Bordeaux Wine Region

The left and right banks are quite different in terms of terroir. On the left side of the river, the soil is mostly composed of alluvial gravel deposits. It is well drained and holds the heat well, which makes it ideal for Cabernet Sauvignon. On the right side, the soil contains clay enriched with iron, limestone and sandy gravels, which suits Merlot particularly well. Therefore, Right Bank wines have a much higher percentage of Merlot in their blend, which makes them more fruit forward with less tannins. They are also more approachable when young.

Our latest tasting included Right Bank wines from Lalande de Pomerol, Côtes de Castillon, Fronsac, and Saint Emilion. We also tasted two dry whites. Dry whites from Bordeaux are not as well known as their red counterparts and the region produces only a small quantity of dry whites from blends of Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle. Graves is the most well-known region for producing dry whites and the only one that includes them in its classification.

Here are the wines that we tasted:

• 2006 Château Carbonnieux Blanc: Located just ten miles from Bordeaux along the Garonne river, Château Carbonnieux was built in the late 14th Century by the Benedictine monks. It is a Grand Cru Classé in the Pessac-Léognan appellation producing both red and white wines. The planting is 65% Sauvignon Blanc, 34% Sémillon and 1% Muscadelle for the whites and 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 1% Malbec and 1% Petit Verdot for the reds. My notes: light golden color, nose of lemon and grapefruit, fresh and crisp on the palate, getting more complex with more time in the glass. A big favorite of the evening.

• 2005 Blanc de Lynch-Bages: Château Lynch-Bages was founded in the late 17th century by Irishman John Lynch. The estate is ranked a fifth grown in the 1855 classification but this only applies to the reds. It is located near the village of Bages, just southwest of Pauillac. The production is mostly red with a planting of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. There is also a 4.5 hectare plot planted with white varieties (40% Sémillon, 40% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Muscadelle) that has been producing a white wine since 1990. My notes: unfortunately, I found one of the bottles oxydized. Light yellow color, stone fruits and honey on the nose, some thickness on the palate but not as good as the Carbonnieux.

• 2005 Château La Fleur de Boüard: Château La Fleur de Boüard was founded in 1998 by Hubert de Boüard, co-owner of Château Angélus, 1er Grand Cru Classé of Saint-Emilion. It is located in the Lalande de Pomerol appellation near the town of Néac, just at the border of the Pomerol appellation. The wine is a blend of 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. It was aged 18 to 24 months in oak barrels, 75% new. My notes: dark color, quite closed on the nose, medium bodied, tannic on the palate, cocoa flavors on the finish. This was our first red and I realized too late that I should have decanted it. I decanted the 4 remaining reds afterwards.

• 2005 Château de la Dauphine: the Dauphine is Marie-Josèphe de Saxe, daughter of King Augustus III of Poland and wife of dauphin Louis, son of Louis XV. She was also the mother of the last three kings of France, Louis XVI, Louis XVII, and Charles X. She lived in the Chateau around 1750. The estate has 31 producing hectares in the Fronsac appellation. The wine is a blend of 90 % Merlot and 10 % Cabernet Franc. My notes: dark color, nose of berries and tart cherries, medium bodied, well balanced, pleasant finish.

• 2005 Château Plaisance Cuvée Alix: Château Plaisance is an estate of around 40 hectares that has been run by Philippe Magrez of Grand Cru Classé Château Pape Clément since 2005. The vineyard is planted on a very steep south-facing hillside in the Premières Côtes de Bordeaux appellation. The soils are made up of white gravel at the top of the hill and red clay and limestone halfway down the slope. The blend is 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc. My notes: dark red color, gamey nose, round, spicy and meaty on the palate, mineral finish.

• 2005 Château Ferrand Lartigue: Château Ferrand Lartigue was founded in 1993 by Pierre and Michelle Ferrand. It is a 5 hectare estate classified Grand Cru in the Saint Emilion appellation. The wine is a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc. My notes: aromatic nose, earthy and smoky flavors on the palate, firm tannins, tasty.

• 2003 Château d'Aiguilhe: Stephan von Neipperg of Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé Château Canon La Gaffelière acquired Château d'Aiguilhe in 1998. The estate is located on hills overlooking the Right Bank of the Dordogne River, on the border between the Côtes de Castillon and Saint-Emilion appellations. The south-facing vineyard lies on the upper part of the hills and has excellent drainage. The blend is 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. My notes: deep brick-tinged red color, assertive nose of raspberries and blackberries, still tight on the palate, full-bodied with multi-layered flavors, long finish. The big winner of the evening.

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What we drank for Thanksgiving

In November, it's funny how so many newspapers publish the requisite Thanksgiving wine column, in order to help us find the ideal wine that can work with turkey, stuffing, gravy, casseroles, cranberry sauce, and pies, thanks to a list of smart pairing tips.


What should we drink with this turkey?

For my part, I think it's quite easy to decide what to drink for Thanksgiving: just open a good bottle and enjoy it with your family and friends.

We started the evening with a bottle of 2008 Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve Riesling that our friend Christophe had brought. Kendall-Jackson Vineyard Estates was founded by San Francisco based attorney Jess Jackson in 1982. It is one of the few remaining family wine businesses of this size in the country. Since 1982, the winery has acquired many vineyards and it is now totally estate-based, maintaining 11,000 acres of vines. It also owns 17 additional brands, including La Crema, Pepi, Camelot, Cardinale and Cambria. As of 2010 Kendall-Jackson was the top-selling U.S. brand for wines over $15 a bottle.

The wines under the Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve label come from cool vineyards in coastal regions including Monterey County, Lake County, Mendocino County, Santa Barbara County, and Sonoma County. They are all managed by the Kendall-Jackson viticultural team. The Riesling is a blend of 83% Riesling, 12% Gewürztraminer, 2% Muscat Canelli, 2% Chardonnay, and 1% Viognier. According to the winemaking notes, “87% of the Riesling comes from Monterey County where the growing season is long and cool adding apricot, almond and honeysuckle flavors. The Gewürztraminer adds orange blossom and spice. Muscat Canelli brings tangerine and mango tones. Chardonnay adds tropical lushness to the palate. Viognier for hints of floral on the nose”.

The wine had a fragrant nose of pear, apple and stone fruit and was moderately sweet on the palate with enough acidity to keep it clean and fresh. It was good with the smoked salmon and a natural accompaniment to our Sweet Potato Casserole (that we made with yams).

After the Riesling we opened a 1999 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou. This was a gift from Christophe and his wife Virginie and I was waiting for a good occasion to share the bottle with them. Château Ducru-Beaucaillou is a second growth Bordeaux in the Saint-Julien appellation. The estate sits between the village of Beychevelle and the Gironde estuary, farming 50 hectares of vineyard. The soil is characterized by well drained gravel and large stones up to 2.5 inches in diameter, which gave the estate its name (Beaucaillou means beautiful stones). The vines are 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot. Grapes are harvested and sorted manually. The Grand Vin is aged 18 and 20 months in 50-80% new oak.

The wine had a distinctive nose of spices, blackcurrants, and berries. On the palate, it was medium-bodied, well-balanced with smooth tannins and more elegance in the finish than power. I enjoyed it a lot and thought it worked perfectly well with the turkey, the stuffing, the gravy, the casseroles, the cranberry sauce, the pies, and my friends and family.

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The 2000 Château Sociando-Mallet is ready to drink and wonderfully seductive

The other day, our friend Marcus invited us for dinner. He asked me to come early because I had to choose the wine and then we needed some time for the wine to breathe. The thing is that Marcus had built quite a large room underneath his house to store his wines, and I was quite excited to have a look at his collection. I wanted to choose a bottle that would work best with the meal. There were thick fillet steaks waiting to be grilled on the barbecue and a swiss chard gratin baking in the oven.

Down in the cellar, as I concentrated my attention mostly on the Bordeaux and California Cabernets area, I found a bottle of 2000 Château Sociando-Mallet. With little hesitation, that's the one I brought back to the kitchen.

The 2000 vintage is considered one of the finest in Bordeaux, although the year didn't start very well. Winter was warm and spring was wet. July was cool and overcast. But then suddenly, the weather changed. August was unusually dry and above all, the weather was warm and dry during the entire harvest, allowing Cabernet Sauvignon, the primary grape variety of the Médoc, to ripen beautifully.

The Sociando-Mallet estate is located to the north of the Saint-Estèphe appellation, on a gravel outcrop, right on the Gironde river. The vineyard is planted to 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, with the remaining 5% divided between Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

Sociando-Mallet was classified as a Cru Bourgeois in 1932 but nowadays, it is considered as good as most Médoc Cru Classés Châteaux. The harvest is done manualy and fermentation occurs in both concrete and stainless-steel vats. After fermentation, the wine is aged in oak (100% for the grand vin) and then bottled without fining or filtration.

The wine didn't disappoint at all. The color was deep garnet and the nose really attractive with fragrant aromas of blackcurrant and eucalyptus. While the palate was rich in flavors, it displayed classy finesse and elegance. The wine had aged well and was succulent, like the tenter and juicy meat, and the creamy gratin.

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A tasting of affordable Bordeaux from the Planet Bordeaux Program

Before the summer, I received three samples of Bordeaux wines from Michael Wangbickler of Balzac Communications as part of a new marketing campaign called Planet Bordeaux. The goal of Planet Bordeaux is to promote wines from the Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur appellations, incite wine amateurs to look beyond the expensive classified growth and top rated wines and help them discover well-crafted wines at very reasonable prices.

The Bordeaux AOC is the most generic and the largest category within the Bordeaux region. It is used for red, white, and rosé wines produced outside the more specific appellations. Wines under that appellation vary greatly in style, price and quality but the best can be smooth, easy to drink, and affordable.

The Bordeaux Supérieur AOC covers the same geographic area as the Bordeaux AOC but has stricter production norms. The wines must be aged for at least twelve months before they can be sold. So it is usually used for more ambitious wines with a better aging potential, sourced from older vines in selected vineyards.

The first sample was the 2009 Château Ballan Larquette Rosé. Château Ballan Larquette is a 35 hectare property (86 acres) owned by the Chaigne family. It is located in the Entre-Deux-Mers region between the Garonne and the Dordogne rivers. The vines are on average 18 years old. The blend is mostly Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon with a small amount of Cabernet Franc. The Rosé is made by partial saignee (or bleeding off the juice) after a 24 hours contact with the skins to obtain a light cherry color. The wine had a fresh nose of red berries and citrus with some good acidity on the palate and notes of of sour cherry and mineral on the finish. Take the wine along on your next picnic or try it with Grilled Rosemary Lamb Chops.

The next wine was the 2008 Château Fontblanche. Château Fontblanche is owned by Elisabeth & Armand Schuster de Ballwil of Château Montlau. It is located between the hills and the banks of the Dordogne river. The wine is a blend of mostly Merlot with some Cabernet Franc and a dash of Malbec. It showed a medium ruby color and a mellow nose of fresh plum. On the palate, it was easy going with a dry and clean aftertaste. Try it with Pork Tenderloin and Grilled Vegetable Salad

The last sample was the 2007 Château de Bel La Capitane. After spending 10 years as a négociant in the wine business, Olivier Cazenave and his wife Anne bought the property in 2003, realising their dream of making their own wine from their own vines. Olivier's philosophy is to make wines that are immediately pleasurable, without being diluted or overextracted, and as such, works long hours in the vineyard. The Château is located along the bank of the Dordogne across the river from Saint-Emilion. It has 12 acres in production, mostly old vines of Merlot and some Cabernet Franc. The cuvée La Capitane is a Bordeaux Supérieur made from 100% Merlot vines averaging 30 years old. The wine has matured in 100% new American oak for 6 months. It had a deep garnet color and attractive notes of vanilla and fresh cherries on the nose. On the palate, it had a round, juicy mouthfeel with dried herbs and earthy tones on the finish. Try it with Grilled Pork Sausages with Spiced Figs.

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How we tried to rescue a corked 1st growth Bordeaux and failed!

The bottle was a 1995 Château Haut-Brion, stored in our friend's wine cabinet in Chicago, patiently waiting for our visit.

We arrived in Chicago on a Thursday night and it was decided that we would taste the wine the following evening. As the wine was from a great vintage and highly rated, we were expecting a memorable moment.

“This wine has been brilliant on every occasion I have tasted it”, said Parker on the 1995. “More accessible and forward than the 1996, it possesses a saturated ruby/purple color, as well as a beautiful, knock-out set of aromatics, consisting of black fruits, vanillin, spice, and wood-fire smoke. Multidimensional and rich, with layers of ripe fruit, and beautifully integrated tannin and acidity, this medium to full-bodied wine is a graceful, seamless, exceptional Haut-Brion that should drink surprisingly well young.”

But as soon as we popped the cork, the bad news jumped at our nose: the wine was corked! We took a small sip to confirm the verdict and it was unmistakably bad. Sad, sad, sad!

But then I remembered a New York Times article that suggested a way to rescue a corked wine:

Mr. Waterhouse said that the obnoxious, dank flavor of a “corked” wine, which usually renders it unusable even in cooking, can be removed by pouring the wine into a bowl with a sheet of plastic wrap.

“It's kind of messy, but very effective in just a few minutes,” he said. The culprit molecule in infected corks, 2,4,6-trichloroanisole, is chemically similar to polyethylene and sticks to the plastic.

The experiment was worth trying, what could we lose? We took a large bowl, lined it with plastic wrap, and poured a small amount of the wine into the bowl. Then, after 5 minutes or so, we compared the wine from the bowl with the wine from the bottle. You could definitively detect some differences between the two. The bad chemical taste was somewhat smoothed out in the wine from the bowl, but sadly, it didn't make the wine more drinkable. Maybe the plastic wrap was able to catch some of the molecules but not all of them. And maybe we should try that experiment again but only with a wine that is marginally flawed.

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Finding treasures in a closet under the stairs

The late husband of our friend Simone was a wine lover. In particular, he liked collecting wines from Bordeaux, Burgundy and California that he would generously share with good friends. But this was in the 70s and 80s when he was still in good health. Now, my friend Simone has a whole collection of dusty old bottles that are resting in a dark closet under the stairs. So when she asked me to make an inventory of the wines, I told her that unfortunately, many may have gone past their prime. Some had an alarming very low fill level with some dark mold around the cork. How to find out which wines were still drinkable? The best way was to taste them.

And that's what we did the other day: we selected twenty bottles that looked most promising, opened them —which was by far the hardest task— and tried them. We were all hoping that some of the wines would still be good and I have to say that each bottle was opened religiously. But sadly, half of the wines were simply not drinkable and some others were drying out with light bodies and fading aromas. But miraculously, we also found a handful of treasures.



Here they are:

• 1979 Beaune-Grèves Château de Meursault: the Beaune-Grèves appellation is a Premier Cru located on a hillside facing the town of Beaune. Its name probably comes from the French word graviers (small pepples) due to the presence of small gravels and sand mixed with clay in the soil. The wines from Beaune-Grèves are known for their elegance and finesse. The estate of Château de Meursault comprises 60 hectares of vines, all situated in the Côte de Beaune, around the towns of Aloxe Corton, Savigny-les-Beaune, Beaune, Pommard, Volnay, Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet. The wine had an amber-brick color and a fragrant, slightly smoky nose of dried cherry. The palate was fresh and well-balanced with a light finish of dried herbs, truly delicious!

• 1986 Château Font Villac: the wine is a Grand Cru from the Saint Emilion appellation and most likely a Merlot-Cabernet Franc blend. The year 1986 was a great vintage in Bordeaux. While the weather was hot and dry during the summer, mid-September rains tempered the drought-like conditions and helped vines reach full maturity. The wine had a deep brick-orange color and a sweet nose of blackberries. The palate was not overly complex but smooth, round, and pleasant.

• 1980 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande: Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is a classified second-growth from Pauillac. The property uses a blend of 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 8% Petit Verdot, which has an unusually high proportion of Merlot for a Pauillac. Therefore, the wine tends to be more fleshy and softer than wines from the other Pauillac properties. The 1980 vintage was cool and wet in Bordeaux. Growers were able to delay their harvest until the weather began to improve at the end of September but rains returned in the middle of October during the harvest. Many wines from this vintage were light and diluted, the best results being from producers that made a strict grape selection and picked exceptionally late. The wine had a light-to-medium red color and a seductive nose of berries and flowers. On the palate, it was smooth and savory with an elegant and spicy finish.

• 1971 Château Lafite-Rothschild: Château Lafite-Rothschild is maybe the most famous property in Bordeaux and one of the four classified first growth wines. Located in Pauillac, the Lafite vineyard is one of the largest in the Médoc planted with 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. The 1971 vintage is characterized by a small crop size and forward and flattering wines upon release, thanks to a cold, damp spring followed by a warm and sunny summer. The wine had a light orange color, a subtle nose, and a light-bodied, lean palate with notes of buttermilk and earthy flavors on the finish.

• 1981 Château Lafite-Rothschild: the 1981 vintage produced wines of medium-weight, well-balanced and graceful. July was a cool month but August and September were hot and dry. It could have been an outstanding year had it not been for the heavy rains that fell just before the harvest. The wine had a light red color and a subtle nose of dried herbs. On the palate, it had more body and fruit than the 1971 with smoky spices on the finish.

So did you guess my favorite wines? Hint: I had two.

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Blind Tasting of Bordeaux Right Bank wines

Before the holidays, our wine tasting group gathered for a blind tasting of Bordeaux wines from the Right Bank.

The Right Bank is a large wine region that lies on the right side of the Dordogne river while facing the river downstream. It is made of 10 different appellations, including the prestigious appellations of Pomerol and Saint-Émilion. On the other hand, what we call the Left Bank is the region located on the left side of the Garonne river, north of Bordeaux. The Left Bank includes the Médoc and Graves districts.

The two banks differ mainly in soil composition. On the Left Bank, the soil is mostly gravels and wines are often dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon. On the Right Bank, the soil is made of clay, limestone and sand. Therefore, it is more suited to Merlot and to a lesser extent Cabernet Franc. Wines from the Right Bank tend to be fruit-forward with soft tannins and are more approachable than Left Bank wines when young.


Bordeaux Wine Region

We tasted six wines from the appellations of Saint-Emilion, Lalande de Pomerol, Fronsac, and Côtes de Castillon. Four of them were from the warm 2005 vintage. The others were from 2004 and 2006. Overall, we found the wines tasty and food friendly although still young.

The wines we tasted:

• 2006 Château La Chenade: this is a small property in the Lalande de Pomerol appellation, north of Pomerol. The wine is produced by Denis Durantou of renowned Château L'Eglise Clinet in Pomerol. The blend is Merlot 80%, Cabernet Franc 15%, Cabernet Sauvignon 5%. Our notes: subtle mineral nose with caramel notes, tight mid-palate, some acidity, earthy finish. Finished in fourth position.

• 2004 Château La Vieille Cure: from the Fronsac appellation, west of Pomerol. Americans Colin Ferenbach and Peter Sachs bought the property in 1986, bringing a fresh investment of funds to lower the yields, select better fruit at harvest time, and buy new oak barrels, and winemaking equipment. The château has 20 hectares planted predominantly with Merlot (75%), the remaining being Cabernet Franc (22%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (3%). Our notes: dark color, discreet earthy nose, wood and acidity on the palate, slightly unbalanced, not as good as the others with food. Finished last.

• 2005 Château de la Dauphine: from the Fronsac appellation, Château de la Dauphine has 37 producing hectares planted with 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. The average age for the vines is 33 years old. The wine is aged in oak barrels (of which 1/3 are new) for 12 months. The last few years have seen significant investment both in the building itself and the vinification areas. Our notes: dark color, attractive spicy berry nose, full-bodied, mint and vanilla on the finish. Finished in second position.

• 2005 Château Rocher Bellevue Figeac: a Grand Cru in the Saint Emilion appellation. The wine is a blend is 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc. it is aged 15-18 months in oak barrels, 40% of which are new. Our notes: peppery, smoky nose, full-bodied on the palate, a bit tannic but well rounded, long finish. Finished first, the wine was the clear winner of the tasting.

• 2005 Château Joanin-Bécot: from the Côtes de Castillon appellation, east of Saint Emilion and south of Fronsac. It is owned by the Bécot family of Château Beau-Séjour Bécot in Saint Emilion. The wine is a blend of 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc, aged in oak barrels 70% new. Our notes: forward nose with dairy and mineral aromas, young and tannic on the palate. Finished in third position.

• 2005 Clos Kalinda Saint Émilion: this is the first Bordeaux wine under the Kalinda label from K&L Wine Merchants. It is produced by Château Sansonnet in Saint Emilion. The property's second wine (in France, Lasalle) was used as a base for the wine with also some Sansonnet in the blend. Our notes: subtle vanilla nose with sweet fruit aromas, good mid-palate, shorter finish, good with food. Finished in fifth position.

Previous blind wine tastings:
•  Blind Tasting of Syrah
•  Blind Tasting of Cabernet Blends from Washington State
•  Blind Tasting of Pinot Noir from Los Carneros and Anderson Valley

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Magret de Canard and Côtes de Castillon on the Île de la Grande Jatte

While I was in Paris earlier this month, my father-in-law took me out to a nice lunch on the Île de la Grande Jatte.

The Île de la Grande Jatte is a 2 km long island just outside Paris. It has been made famous by the painting Un dimanche après-midi à l'Île de la Grande Jatte (A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte), by the French artist Georges Seurat. Seurat was not the only artist inspired by the island. Other painters, like Monet and van Gogh, also found their inspiration there. At the time, the island's grassy banks provided a popular getaway for Parisians.


Un dimanche après-midi à l'Île de la Grande Jatte

Nowadays, the island of La Grande Jatte is a posh residential area but the Guinguette de Neuilly is still around with its pleasant riverside terrace (in the early 20th century, Guinguette was the name given to small restaurants by the river Seine where people were going on Sundays to have lunch and party in the afternoon).


La Guinguette de Neuilly

For lunch, I chose the duck breast accompanied by a 2005 Château de Clotte from the Côtes de Castillon appellation. Roughly a third Merlot, a third Cabernet Franc, and a third Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine had a dense garnet color and aromas of black cherry and cassis on the nose. It was still pretty young but had a good structure on the palate and a fruity finish. The duck was tender and tasty and worked quite well with the wine.





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1998 Château Cantemerle: so yummy!

I don't know if this happens to you sometimes but once in a while, I am just craving for a good bottle of Bordeaux, a steak on the rare side, and extra-crisp French fries. So I pay a visit to the older Bordeaux section of the cellar and check what I have. Last time, not looking for a blockbuster wine but just the right bottle for the occasion, I found a 1998 Château Cantemerle that seemed ready to drink.

Château Cantemerle is a classified fifth growth that has a long history in the Haut-Médoc. In the Middle Ages, the original Château was part of a defensive line on the the left side bank of the river Gironde. The oldest masnuscripts referring to the Lords of Cantemerle date from the twelfth century and the first traces of viticulture were found in 1354.

Today, the estate has 90 hectares of vines in the Haut-Médoc appellation, growing on silica and gravel soils. The grape varieties cultivated are 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot. The vines average 30 years of age. The wine is aged 12 months in French oak (50% new) then 4 months in vats after blending.

1998 was a great year for the Merlot-dominated wines of St-Emilion and Pomerol whereas the Médoc wines were initially underrated. That year, spring was cold and wet in Bordeaux, followed by some good weather in May and June. July and August were exceptionally hot and dry and many of the vines suffer from heat stress. In September, most of the Merlot grapes were harvested in fine condition but heavy rains towards the end of September affected the quality of the Cabernets. At Cantemerle, the 1998 vintage was made from 48 % Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Petit Verdot. 30% of the harvest, including all Cabernet Franc, were put aside for the second wine.

Now I have to tell you that this 1998 Cantemerle was amazingly good, showing a deep garnet color and a fragrant nose of cassis and licorice. But the best part was the mouthfeel on the palate: velvety, voluptuous, perfectly balanced, leaving a long, earthy aftertaste.

The other surprise is when I checked the price I paid for the wine: $19.95 in 1999, which seems unbelievably low today. As a point of comparison, the 2005 can be found at $40 and the 2007 (on futures) is at $29. I am glad I still have 4 bottles left of this delicious wine.

Technorati tags: wine food & drink

Celebrate the New Year with a Pauillac

The other day, we invited our good friends over for a holiday dinner that started with Champagne, oysters, and foie gras. For the occasion, our friend Rick had brought a bottle from his magnificent wine collection, a 1996 Château Pontet Canet that we opened with the main dish, a chicken roasted with chestnuts.

Château Pontet Canet is a Fifth Growth estate located in the northern end of the Pauillac commune, across the road from Château Mouton Rothschild. It has 80 hectares of vineyards, planted with 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. The average age of the vines is 35 years.

The wine was simply outstanding. It was medium red in color with a multi-layered nose of blackberry aromas and gamey notes. On the palate, it was intense and luscious with a long finish dominated by licorice. Purely enchanting.

I am afraid the magnum of 1998 Silverado Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District that I opened later didn't stand comparison with the Pauillac. But the company was merry and nobody cared.

Happy new year!

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And a Bordeaux at less than 5 Euros

Who said that Bordeaux had become far too expensive? In fact, many small properties in the generic Bordeaux appellation sell their wines for less than 5 Euros. Unfortunately, too many of these wines are mediocre and uninspiring, and the sad story is that these vignerons are struggling to survive. However, if you're lucky, you might discover a real winner at a bargain price.

One of these good values is the 2004 Château de Perière, another wine that my father-in-law found at his local Carrefour. The wine is medium-red in color with a subdued nose. The palate is clean, medium-bodied, and well-balanced with supple tannins. Overall, it's an agreeable wine that complements well my mother-in-law's roast with a purée de courgette.

Technorati tags: wine food & drink