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Wine Thoughts

My thoughts vary from well-focussed to rambling. Perhaps more of the latter than the former! Whether or not this is true, I write them here.

Another Sponsor, Another Week Gone By

Ditton Wine TradersAnother new sponsor, Ditton Wine Traders, has joined the team this week; with a very select list of top names their website is well worth a visit. There are lots of high-scoring wines - Larcis-Ducasse 2005 for instance - as well as other "wines of the moment", such as Pedesclaux 2005, which made the news recently when it lucked out at a Decanter panel tasting, and a good number of prestige cuvée Champagnes. I receive no commission on sales, I stress, but Ditton Wine Traders have undertaken to support this free source of information, and so simply by visiting their website you are supporting The Winedoctor.

This week I have been working very much in a hand-to-mouth fashion; I have lots of material to write up, including the notes from the 2008 Champagne tasting mentioned below, as well as lots of new Bordeaux notes from my recent visit there for the 2007 primeurs - as I mentioned in my write up I tasted a lot of 2006s, but also some other vintages. I need to get these written up as soon as possible. Earlier this week, however, I found myself at the Wines of South Africa Tasting in Edinburgh, and so I have yet more material piling up. There's plenty to write about - just not the requisite amount of time.

The South African tasting was enjoyable, and there was some refreshing honesty from one or two characters there when talking about their wines. When you come from the highly polished presentation of Bordeaux , it can come as a culture shock. For example, a question posed in Bordeaux:

Q: "So which of the most recent vintages do you prefer?"

A: "Well, it is so hard to choose, naturally all wines express our terroir, we work hard to maximise the finesse, balance of structure and fruit expression within the context of the vintage. So all the wines have some merit, blah, blah, blah..." and so on.

When image is all, some people just can't drop their guard. A question posed at the South African tasting, however, was as follows:

Q: "So tell me about this wine."

A: "Well, after we made our blends for the year, we had some press wines and various other lots left over, Pinotage, Syrah, Merlot, etc. We were intending to sell it off at the equivalent of 2 Rand per bottle for distillation. But our cellar master blended it - well, actually, it would be more correct to say he just mixed it all up - and we ended up with a decent wine which we can sell for 6 Rand per bottle".

I tasted the wine in question. It was very pleasant, and certainly very drinkable. Just as refreshing as the honesty of the man behind the stand, as it happens.

On a final note, this "Wine Thoughts" feature is a monologue, nothing more. I would be interested in more interaction, but am uncertain as to whether a blog would really work. It was something I discussed briefly when I was in Bordeaux with my tasting companions. I'm not in the wine trade, so I don't have a lot of insider secrets to divulge. And although I have a huge amount of material, this doesn't really translate into frequent Wine Thoughts updates - the last post was a month ago! But maybe it would work. Do let me know if you have an opinion. (25/4/08)

A Busy Week

I have had a few busy days recently, as I travelled down to London to attend a couple of tastings. For the first time I tried to continue with my daily updates despite being away from home, and I think it has gone well. I uploaded my Pascal Jolivet profile the night before I left, but was able to correct a couple of grammatical and spelling mistakes on the train on the morning of my journey. My Guiraud and Fonroque updates were made from my hotel room, using the wi-fi provision within the hotel. There were a few minor although rather aggravating issues here, mainly due to my firewall I think, but otherwise this too went well. It is something I will be trying again in the future I think, as I have a lot of travelling lined up. My next trip is to the primeurs in Bordeaux in a week or two, however, and I am not so confident that I will be able to establish a connection during this event. We shall see.

The two tastings I attended were the annual Champagne tasting, followed by France Under One Roof. Both were very useful and I have already started transcribing my notes for publication as soon as possible. Naturally my focus was on the wines, but the tastings were just as successful when reflecting on who I met. At the Champagne tasting I chatted over lunch with Neal Martin, once of Wine Journal but now one of the Wine Advocate team. He is a good guy who is clearly enjoying his new role writing for what is perhaps the world's most successful wine publication, but he has also certainly kept his feet on the ground. We had a fairly candid talk about the internet as a medium for wine writing, and how independently published sites mirror Robert Parker's independent release of the Wine Advocate when he was a young jobbing lawyer. It is his analogy, not mine, as it is not how I have ever regarded the Winedoctor! But I find the thought interesting, and I wonder what Parker himself would think of this analogy.

Next up was a brief chat with Simon Woods during the afternoon. I have never met Simon before, and he was good enough to introduce himself to me. He is clearly a charming, affable, approachable guy who even paid this site a compliment. Naturally I was delighted. Both Simon and Neal are two of the friendlier faces that you see at the UK tastings and I hope to bump into them both again.

At the France tasting another permanently friendly face I spotted was Jamie Goode of Wine Anorak fame. Jamie has just gone full time (he has many more strings to his bow than just Wine Anorak now) and I wish him every success. He has built a career out of a self-published website and he is now reaping the rewards with a national column, a huge number of articles under his belt in a number of publications including the quality World of Fine Wine, as well as several books to his name. He has worked hard, and he certainly deserves success.

Naturally all these successes always force me to reflect on this site. I don't think I could leave medicine behind just yet; there is so much to achieve there, and I still enjoy it (sometimes!). And the security of the monthly salary is not, I am informed, so omnipresent with wine writing as a sole source of income. But I hope this continued fusion of two careers does not cause people to disregard this site. It is still quite possible that some in the business do; in fact, there are some writers and editors who still disregard the whole internet, I think, although the successes of people like Neal and Jamie really should cause these individuals to shake themselves free of this illusion. And the addition of a Best Online Writer category to the annual Roederer wine writing awards is another nod towards the significance of the internet. With regard to this site specifically, I attend these tastings to broaden my knowledge and my tasting experience; I take detailed notes, and write up my notes for due publication. There is quite some work involved, and I hope my opinions - which I always publish without reviewing what others who attended the same event have also written about the wines - are taken seriously for that, if nothing else.

I hope to have my Champagne notes online in the next couple of weeks. The rest of my France notes will follow thereafter. (21/3/08)

Welcome to my Newest Sponsor: Cadman Fine Wines

Cadman Fine WinesThis week has seen another merchant come on board as a Winedoctor sponsor, the merchant in question being none other than Cadman Fine Wines, and they kick off with a half-price offer open to all new customers which is well worth a look.

Established by Giles Cadman and staffed solely by wine enthusiasts - so the company blurb goes - the Cadman philosophy is a worthy one; his aim is to provide high quality wines at reasonable prices. Another admirable feature is the single bottle ordering policy - single bottles of even the most exalted wines can be added to the basket, so if you fancy just a couple of bottles of Cheval-Blanc 2001 rather than the case, perhaps this is the place to shop.

Beyond famous names and fair prices, however, there is more to Cadman; perhaps this is best communicated by this short missive from their website:

Great wines are made in the vineyard, not in the cellar. The consultant winemaker has become an integral part of the winemaking process in Italy, and increasingly so in France and Spain and the New World. These highly-skilled individuals embrace specific and appropriate vineyard management as the 'building blocks' for great wines. If you get it wrong in the vineyard, no dazzling display of cellar wizardry will save the winemaker's efforts.

Wise words indeed. (7/3/08)

Loire News

There have been some newsworthy stories relating to the Loire recently, two of which I think are worth bringing to light here. Both came to my attention when I look a quick peak at Jacqueline Friedrich's site.

Jacqueline is American by birth, but has been resident in the Loire for many years, and is perhaps best known as the author of what is surely the best (but sadly outdated) guide to the region in print, as I have discussed here. She also spends a lot of time in Paris, but as you may see from her site she tastes and travels across France and Italy. It is not an intuitive site from the users point of view - I am consistently confused by the navigation - but it is a valuable source of information from the shop floor, so to speak. Her comments on the weather, the prevalence of mildew and rot in the vineyards and her harvest news provide some welcome sanity when juxtaposed with the unfailingly optimistic opinions of at least one enthusiastic importer of Loire wines who insists on sending me, unsolicited, his latest opinions (in truth I enjoy reading his version of events too - but as he has a long list of wines to sell I view his words with appropriate caution).

First off, Jacqueline alerts us to a recent Decanter tasting featuring the red wines of the 2005 vintage in the Loire. I find myself, for the first time in many years, wishing I had a subscription so I could read this; I will have to see if I can pick one up at the Decanter Bordeaux tasting this weekend. It isn't available on the Decanter site yet, but the panel tasting has, allegedly, written off the wines of Loire stalwarts such as Baudry, Alliet and Amirault, rating one Alliet Chinon 12 out of 20, a score I would normally associate with a thin and insipid effort. That is my polite way of saying a score of 12 suggests a pretty crap wine. My experience tasting the 2005 vintage would suggest this is very unlikely - having visited both Baudry and Amirault in 2007, the 2005 cuvées were fabulous, and Baudry rates it as the greatest vintage he has ever experienced. The wines are certainly some of the best I have ever tasted from the Loire. On Jacqueline's site there are responses from David Schildknecht (this is the first time I have been sufficiently brave to spell David's surname without checking - hope I get it right) and from Jim Budd, both of which are well worth reading, but in particular David's. He suggests that on seeing the results of the tasting the whole lot should have been binned and the process started over again. I don't agree with that 'solution' at all. Although my bias, like David's perhaps, leads me to believe the tasting panel have something very wrong here, to disregard their opinions would be equally as wrong. Some counterbalancing views published with the tasting would have made for a more interesting and certainly a more ethically sound approach. Then let the reader decide just how badly the tasting panel fluffed it!

As a second note, Jacqueline also reports that due to financial difficulties one of the leading Loire domaines, that of Jo Pithon, may be in serious trouble. Pithon may indeed have lost control of his domaine. I will have to investigate further but if true this is an absolute tragedy for lovers of the wines of Anjou. (22/2/08)

Discovering your Palate

I believe this has to be the most important event for any individual who truly enjoys drinking wine.

This is not a profound or original statement, of course; I have heard it widely stated by many, for as long as I have been interested in wine. It is sound advice; your own enjoyment of wine is acutely personal, a complex interaction between liquid and palate, as well as extraneous factors such as mood, setting, ambience, food, company and so on. But although I have been aware of this for a long time, I have still, I think, held a loosely formed belief that quality can be rated above subjective enjoyment.

What I mean by this is that if one critic rates a wine as excellent, shall we say 90 points, the likelihood is that it is a good wine. After all, they are a reputed critic with strong opinions (and perhaps an even stronger ego) rooted in experience. And 95 points is obviously even better. Sure, there may be issues of style that we can bicker about - perhaps the critic favours low acid, hedonistic flavours more than I do - but surely the wines will still have intrinsic quality, and this will appeal to many. Another critic might rate the wine differently, but they are unlikely to ascribe scores suggesting the wine is either perfect or totally abysmal. The quality will be just as apparent to critic number two, it is just that he or she may prefer more acid, or more flavour, or more length. Perhaps they will score the wine 88 points, or maybe 86 points. Just not 60 points or 99 points (I am sorry to mention the word points so many times).

These are the thoughts that I have been tossing around this week, having spent the last few days tasting through a selection of wines from the 1998 vintage, all of which were born in the southern vineyards of the Rhône Valley. It was a great, lauded vintage. The summer was hot, the fruit was harvested without fuss, and the wines were well received by many. There was a real buzz about the vintage. At the time I was a research fellow, on a very reduced salary for two years, and I was a little annoyed, to say the least, not to be able to afford to buy any of the wines. What I have purchased, I have picked up in the years that have since passed. I thought it would be appropriate, as the wines are now careering towards their tenth birthdays, to take a look at them.

And having now tasted all of them, I can see the wines - OK, some of the wines - for the shockers that they are.

Monty PythonAn appreciation of succulent, low acid wines is one thing I can understand. But I fail to see how these wines can have appeal, when the flavours suggest, in a number of cases, that the grapes were simply baked in the vineyard. To me this is almost a fault, rather than a characteristic. There were some great wines, of course; just one or two. Or maybe three. And I am sure there are others that I have never tasted, and never will taste, which are just fine. But among my representative sampling, a good number were awful. Not closed, or in a soon-to-be-resolved awkward phase, just awful. These are not characteristics which are going to disappear. On top of flavours of baked fruit and volatile aromas of Bovril and over-seasoned meat stock, these wines have sickly cough candy and confection to the fore. They are high in tannin and alcohol and low in acidity. They are profoundly disappointing. These are wines - as the Python team told us - not just to lay down, these are wines to lay down and avoid.

And they are wines that force you to accept that even the greatest and most authoritative critics have failings. And that the only palate you can trust is your own.

I will publish my notes in entirety next week. (15/2/08)

Bordeaux News

Well, it has been a long time coming, but at last the news recently broke. The long-awaited sale of the Moulis estate Poujeaux by the Theil family to Philippe Cuvelier, most renowned for his tenure at Clos Fourtet in St Emilion, has finally gone through.

PoujeauxThe deal has been on the cards for some time. Philippe Cuvelier, a Parisian businessman who made his money in office supplies, acquired his St Emilion estate in 2001 and has certainly made a success of it, no doubt ably assisted by winemaker Daniel Alard and consultation from Stéphane Derenoncourt. This latter chap, one of the current breed of Bordeaux consultants, is notable for having the most commonly misspelt surname in all the region (try Googling for Derenoncourt versus Derenencourt - you will find some otherwise respectable sites getting it wrong, and I have also seen it spelt incorrectly in at least one book), although rumour has it he makes some pretty good wines too.

It was he, in part at least, who was behind the turn-around at Chateau Brown, which I witnessed (and tasted) first-hand when I visited just over a year ago. He also has a part to play at many other Bordeaux estates, most notably Canon-la-Gaffelière, where he proved himself under the auspices of Stephan von Neipperg. His talents had been spotted by von Neipperg when he worked the 1993 vintage at Pavie-Macquin, producing a very good wine in a difficult vintage. But since then his influence has spread far, and his services are now employed by many proprietors. His techniques bring a certain style to the wine, a seamless definition, richness but with purity of fruit, characteristics which make the wine more enjoyable but without destroying all conveyance of the terroir. He does not indelibly imprint himself on the wine to the detriment of all other character, as some other consultants may do with their techniques, but taste the wines before and after his involvement and you can sense his mark.

Looking back at my experience of Poujeaux over the years, I don't think a new injection of enthusiasm and of course finance, and perhaps even advice from a certain well-known consultant, will do it any harm at all. It has been a source of some very good wines over the years, most curiously the 1997, of which I purchased half a case and then ended up wishing I had bought more. It was delicious. My only problem is, when you make one of your best wines in what was one of the worst Bordeaux vintages of the last fifteen, what went wrong when there were more favourable numbers printed on the label? The 1996 was very good, with lovely potential, but not streets ahead of the 1997 by any means. The 2006 was disappointing, the 2002 light with the vintage, the 2004 cheery and it will probably make attractive drinking one day. I haven't tasted the 2005, sadly. Nevertheless, all of these vintages were 'could do better' wines I think. Popular with many, and maybe good value at times, but nevertheless - despite the estate's superior ranking in the failed 2003 Cru Bourgeois classification - I think there was probably some room for improvement. I suspect that the arrival of Cuvelier will be tangible in the wines. I await the opportunity to taste the efforts of the new team with keen interest. (8/2/08)

Happy New Year

After my makeover of The Winedoctor I will be taking a break for a day or two, and will be back to continue expanding, increasing and improving content later in the week. More details on what is to come in the year ahead can be found in my review of 2007.

Whichever time-zone you inhabit, happy new year, and all the best for 2008!

 - your host, Chris Kissack. (1/1/08)

A Christmas Message

With Christmas fast approaching I thought it would be appropriate to outline plans for The Winedoctor over the next couple of weeks. I will hopefully continue to update the site as usual during the festive season, but will, as you no doubt expect, be taking a break from such updates on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Otherwise I will be here as always, writing about whichever wines have excited me or disappointed me, but obviously with a celebratory theme in view of the time of year. I feel next week's Wine of the Week may well be a vintage Port, to get us in the mood for Christmas, and perhaps the week after that some vintage fizz in anticipation of Hogmanay (that's New Year to those who aren't attempting Scottishification, as I am).

During the next week or two I will be adding my 2007 Review, a look back at the good wines, bad wines, bargains, disappointments and more from the year just past. I may even reflect, blowing my own trumpet for a change, on the massive updates I have made to the site over the last twelve months. Surely this has been my busiest year ever? It certainly feels that this is the case. At the start of the year I promised myself I would turn the site into a strong resource for Bordeaux and I feel I have done so (and continue to do so); I even have some evidence to back up that thought, in the shape of informed feedback! I suppose now I have declared that, I will have to include such evidence in my review...

Despite this push on content I have also felt for a little while that this glaring mix of greens, a mainstay of Winedoctor design since 2004, is beginning to look somewhat cold and flat. And so sometime over the next week or two (maybe January 1st, who knows?!) expect a moderate facelift for The Winedoctor. There will be no change in layout, as I think what I currently have works quite well, and change for the sake of it can be confusing, as anyone who has upgraded to Windows Vista or Office 2007 will know. But other things will change. And in the meantime, I will continue to reorganise my tasting notes pages, so that they favour vintage rather than date of tasting, hopefully making it easier to find any particular tasting note. This, however, will be a long and ongoing project which will carry on well into 2008. I hope to see you all then.

Best wishes for a peaceful and merry Christmas!

 - your host, Chris Kissack. (21/12/07)

More Days Away...Next Update October 22nd

I haven't really written anything of merit on this page for months, but I suppose in that respect it is similar to many wine blogs that can be found on the internet, so perhaps I shouldn't be too worried. Instead it seems to have become a notice-board to warn of forthcoming breaks, of which I have two coming up. Having just returned from the Czech Republic I am off yet again, this time for a whole week, as I am taking a break in the Scottish countryside to explore my new country of residence a little, as well as attending cookery school for a day, courtesy of TV chef Nick Nairn. That should be interesting!

When I return, the end of my Bordeaux push, perhaps before the end of the year, perhaps in early 2008, as I have lots of St Emilion and one or two Pomerol profiles lined up. Also coming soon, lots of notes from a recent Bordeaux CIVB tasting I attended in Edinburgh. Hopefully, especially with more Bordeaux tastings and another trip to the region next year, this should start to cement The Winedoctor's position as a valuable Bordeaux resource. I hope to keep it this way indefinitely, but perhaps relax and broaden my outlook a little more next year. We shall see. (12/10/07)

A Quick Note

The very frequent addition of new and revitalised Bordeaux profiles this year has left this part of the site rather sparsely updated. I'm not too worried though; the site is hopefully better as a result, with more genuine and contemporary wine information then ever before. I suppose I could have written something else here, but I wouldn't like to clog up this stream of infrequent and sporadic (as they were) thoughts with lots of non-wine related drivel just for the sake of adding something.

It has, however, been quite hard work, and I am now going to have a break. Three weeks off for me, drinking rather than tasting, no internet and no site updates. I leave you with a site that has seen a huge expansion over the last six months, the most recent addition being these notes of nine vintages of Beaucastel, spanning the decade from 1994 through to 2003 (with 2002 being the obvious absentee). When I return, probably some Loire updates, lots more on Sauternes and Graves, a little on the right bank too, possibly a new Bordeaux guide and who knows what else? À la prochaine fois! (30/6/07)

Days Away

Just a quick note to say that I won't be updating the site for the next couple of days, as I am off for a mini-adventure in Rioja today, hopefully returning in time to add an update for Friday. It looks like being a good trip! À la prochaine! (5/6/07)

March Update

Well, it is March and already I am reflecting on how quickly the year seems to be zipping by. There is plenty of vinous activity at Winedoctor towers, with a tasting trip (and no doubt some relaxation) planned for the Loire this summer, followed by a (tentative, at the moment) trip to Burgundy. And in the next couple of months, I'm looking forward to tasting the latest releases from Champagne, and also my first look at the 2006 vintage in Bordeaux. Speaking of Bordeaux, perhaps an update on my Bordeaux profiles might be in order?

When I committed myself to a massive expansion of my Bordeaux information (in the post below, as it happens) I knew it would be a monumental task, especially as I wanted to keep adding other information and new tasting notes, such as my recent tasting of Ridge (including four vintages of Monte Bello), Warre's, top Chinons from Joguet and more. As well as some of the other wine-related bits and pieces that add to the site, such as pertinent book and restaurant reviews. In order to keep the info flowing, I have been making a few weekend additions (such as this one) as well as my usual weekday ones. In themselves, meanwhile, the Bordeaux updates are progressing well; St Julien is now thoroughly covered, St Estèphe has improved somewhat, and I am currently attacking Pauillac. I hope that the quality of information is sufficient for those reading, but I am always happy for feedback from anyone with an opinion.

Meanwhile, The Winedoctor continues to garner support from businesses affiliated to wine, and I am delighted with the two latest additions to the sponsorship team. First came Wine Cave, a Burgundy specialist based in North Yorkshire, run by the very knowledgeable Pascal Watkins. Secondly came Champs-Elysées, the language specialists. I speak from personal experience when I say that these audio magazines can help you brush up on your French (and other foreign languages) immensely. These two now make for an even stronger team sponsoring The Winedoctor.

Sticking with Bordeaux, and with the French language, my recent perusal of some French newspapers alerted me to something of a crisis for fans of Bordeaux classifications (do such people exist?). The past few years have seen the announcement of two major new classifications, the 2006 St Emilion and the 2003 Cru Bourgeois. Both new systems, however, seem to have collapsed. A challenge to the Cru Bourgeois system was successful, and thus the 2003 list is now null and void. More recently, the same occurred in St Emilion, an important point of the case being that some proprietors seemed to be both jury and the judged, as some of the tasting committee were assessing their own wines for inclusion. If the French have their own Private Eye (I would love to be informed if they do) this would be perfect fodder. As a result, the 1932 and 1996 systems still stand. That's if you really care, that is.....let's face it, it is what is in the bottle that counts. Nevertheless, I will update my classification pages ASAP.

Lastly, I was very sorry to hear of the death of Roger Leech, of www.finewinelist.net, who died in January this year. Roger had been a staunch supporter of The Winedoctor for many years, and was one of my most long-standing sponsors. He had a wonderful brain for business, a courteous and professional manner, and undoubtedly a remarkable enthusiasm for wine. I will miss my occasional exchanges with him greatly, and those who have had the good fortune to have dealt with him over the years will no doubt miss him too. (17/3/07)

The Year of Bordeaux?

As I write I am also wondering what last-minute items I should thrust into my bag, before I head off for France once again. This time, however, it is not Bordeaux, but Paris. A weekend of relaxation, culture, fine food (some good restaurants are booked, including Le Table de Joel Robuchon, recently elevated to two Michelin stars) and hopefully some good wine.

Over the last couple of weeks I have been hammering away at The Winedoctor, and plan to significantly increase the coverage of Bordeaux on the site, hopefully to something approaching what can be regarded as comprehensive. Pomerol might be difficult - I have so little experience here - but otherwise I think I know enough to profile all but a few Médoc, St Emilion, Graves and Sauternes chateaux. My recent visit to Bordeaux convinced me this is the way forward for the Winedoctor, especially as the amount of high quality, freely information available on the internet, with regard to Bordeaux as well as many other regions, seems to be on the way down rather than up. Perhaps I am just a glass-half-empty person, but that's the way it seems to me.

To facilitate these developments I have recently adjusted the left-hand menu on all my Bordeaux pages (save one or two, for technical reasons...they will change next week) to provide links to my new profiles, and these are changes that will be rolled out across the site as a whole. I have started with Mouton-Rothschild, but new profiles coming up in the next few weeks include a revitalised Latour, Lafite, Margaux and Phélan-Ségur (four first growths and a Cru Bourgeois estate seems like a strange combination - perhaps I should have done Haut-Brion next!), as well as new pages on Dauzac, La Tour Blanche, Figeac, Pichon-Lalande, Montrose, Lascombes, Brown and many, many others. Those that prefer to drink outside Bordeaux will continue to have some entertainment, with new info and tasting notes on Domaines Schlumberger, Cloudy Bay and another carefully selected bunch from the Loire, and that's just for starters.

It should be a great year for The Winedoctor! (5/1/07)

Reverse Osmosis

Spotted in a Bordeaux chai in 2006...a reverse osmosis machine, just in case you ever wondered what one really looks like. The image is slightly fuzzy as the room was dark and it was difficult to focus correctly. This was a quick snap as we passed it by.

They do exist (of course they do), they are in use, and some properties are obviously more open about them than others. Nevertheless, I don't think I am at liberty to divulge the location of the machine. Please submit any guesses you may have on a plain postcard which I will file appropriately. (22/12/06)

 

Hello and Farewell

Please say hello to my newest sponsor, The Wine Club of Italy. The Wine Club is the perfect solution for those looking for less hassle, and more wine. It offers several shopping options, Basic, Standard and Premium; at each level a case (or a half-case at the basic level) of Italian wine is delivered to your door. The selection appears to include some good bottles too; the premium case includes Barolo from Brezza and Punset, as well as Chianti from Tenuta di Riseccoli. I expect the Wine Club will do well selling wines like these at what look like favourable prices.

Meanwhile, I am off on another trip, this time a trip to Bordeaux to visit a number of properties, as well as meeting some significant local vignerons such as the members of Bordeaux Oxygène. Next update likely to be Thursday I think.

Just before I go - I have suddenly remembered to update my cork count to include November. (15/12/06)

Sporadic December

Additions to the site will be faltering over the next couple of weeks. I'm leaving for Finland tomorrow (can't remember where exactly, somewhere very far north, well inside the Arctic Circle) and I won't return for a week. I don't expect to find many vines growing so far north, nor to I expect to be checking in on t'internet. I do expect, in that wintry wonderland, to meet a certain fat fellow dressed in coca-cola colours. Or at least that's what my kids are expecting.

The following week, off to Bordeaux, to visit Chateau Margaux and certain other nearby properties. If these trips become more frequent (I have also visited Germany and Spain in the last couple of months, and January doesn't see an end to it all) I will have to start updating The Winedoctor site from my hotel room. For the moment, however, I will remain incommunicado for a few days. Best wishes to all. À bientôt! (1/12/06)

DFWE

It is remarkable that the last note I wrote here was in mid-October....I would obviously be absolutely hopeless at writing a blog, where daily updates concerning my personal life and Winedoctor webstats would be de rigeur; I'm afraid I have far too much content to add to this site to be adding that sort of thing as well. Witness this week's new additions, a profile for Mark Angeli and new notes for Cheval Blanc. Not only is this site an obvious source of Loire information and opinion (with more Loire profiles expected), but I have plenty of regularly updated Bordeaux pages and profiles as well. A forthcoming trip to Bordeaux, including a visit to Chateau Margaux (I hope), should only strengthen the quality of the information I have to offer.

Never mind. I recently attended the Decanter Fine Wine Encounter. I'm afraid that the event gave me a sense of déjà vu, with many faces seeming somewhat over-familiar. The main attraction was a Chateau Margaux masterclass, but with an impending visit to the chateau itself I have to wonder whether the expenditure (rail fare, London hotel and a masterclass ticket) was really worth it. Perhaps it was. I need to reflect on the wines I tasted to see. A mini-vertical of Ridge Montebello and Gigondas from Les Pallières were both very informative, but tastings of Fonseca with Joanna Delaforce, and Bisol with the youngest Bisol generation to be involved in running the estate, were also superb, not least because the offers of trips to visit and taste were so forthcoming. I may take them up on their kind, diary/blog-worthy offers. Watch this space. (24/11/06)

I'm back

I returned from my conference in Barcelona on Wednesday, but was too tired to update the site yesterday. What a fabulous meeting. Normal service will resume sometime next week, but I'm going away for the weekend again (leaving later today - does it never end?) so things might be a bit delayed on Monday. In the meantime, I have added a few Spanish tasting notes and my recent reading, a book that I got stuck into during the quieter moments of my trip, of which there weren't many. (13/10/06)

Travel and Updates

I've been travelling quite a lot recently, starting with Frankfurt just a week or so ago - this was the reason for the recent omission of a Friday update (I'm hoping nobody noticed). Today I'm off to Barcelona. I won't be checking in on my site for a few days, nor will I be peppering online forums with all the intimate details of my trip, a tactic used by some amusing online personalities to heighten the perception of their own self-importance. How long will it be before psychiatrists latch onto this behaviour? My reason for informing you is to explain why The Winedoctor will go without my usually reliable daily updates for the first half of next week....I'll be switched off from wine analysis in sunny Spain, pretending to be normal for a few days.

I also attempted to switch off in Frankfurt, but without great success. I dined at the Signatures restaurant (winner of a few local awards, the merits of which I am uncertain, although the fact that they were honoured five years ago, with nothing since, probably tells us something). The food was abominable. Gritty salad, peppery soup, rubbery egg and weirdly concocted desserts. The wine was passable; a decent but rather soulless trocken Riesling from Robert Weil, and a rustic, dusty red from Alois Lageder. The first bottle of the latter was corked, but I managed to get it changed without a fuss ( I wasn't paying the bill), and even managed to have other affected glassfuls replaced without some diners even noticing. The second bottle was true to form, but the third bottle? Rancidly corked, and the aroma was sufficiently evolved to suggest this bottle had been open an hour or so. Yes, it was bottle number one, back on the table. No wonder those awards stopped coming in 2001.

With that in mind, it's time for me to update my Cork Count. (6/10/06)

New Loire Appellations

There has been a predominance of Chaume on the Winedoctor this week, with the 2003 Chaume Premier Cru des Coteaux du Layon appearing as my wine of the week, as well as in my newly updated Pierre-Bise profile. The Chaume appellation has seen several changes of name over the last few years, so I'm hoping that the most recent change, from September 7th this year, to simply Chaume, will be a permanent one. I've updated the appropriate part of my Loire Wine Guide.

In addition to the changes to Chaume, the Loire has yet more new appellations, in the Central Region near Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé (the 'central' refers to central France, not central Loire). These are Orleans and Orleans-Cléry. I would have though that the Loire has enough regional appellations, but perhaps this development is seen as one of great importance by local winemakers. Obviously I've not tasted any such wines, but again I have updated the appropriate part of my Loire Wine Guide. (28/9/06)

Farell's Faux Pas

Jamie Goode's site www.wineanorak.com has been online for longer than I can remember and has always been a particularly strong source for reasoned and balanced discourse on some of the more controversial aspects of wine, over the years including an examination of the science of terroir, the closure debate, biodynamics and more recently even touching on philosophy and the interaction between the mind and wine. Jamie has a background in science, having studied plant biology, has a PhD to wit and as well as maintaining his site and a national newspaper column, has also recently published a successful book Wine Science, which promptly walked off with the Best Drink Book category in the annual Glenfiddich Food and Drink Awards this year. All very admirable stuff, and yet I know from the odd occasion when our paths cross, Jamie still has his feet on the ground, always ready to stop and chat, never one to give over to pomposity, and he is also the sort of chap who would never allow a commercial interest to influence his writing.

All of which puts this stunning faux pas, from Patrick Farrell MW, a physician who also bears the mantle of President of Inventive Technologies, which I guess makes Farrell peddler-in-chief of the BevWizard wine enhancer, firmly into context. You have to read this, that's all I can say about it! (23/8/06)

DecanterDecanters

Having bid farewell to my new Riedel 'O' decanter, which I took delivery of in November and dispatched, in a multitude of pieces, in January, I've been on the look-out for a replacement ever since. Admittedly I haven't been very active, and have been happy to use a cheap-and-cheerful glass jug when I felt a wine needed decanting. The 'O' decanter was a personal treat, something which I appreciated for itself as well as its function; in reality, however, there is no need for beauty in the design of decanter, and no need to use lead crystal either. Any jug will do the job just admirably, the only difference is aesthetics.

Sauntering through a homewares store last week, however, on the lookout for dining room furniture of all things, I chanced upon these decanters from a German manufacturer, www.montana.de. From the Pure range of wine glasses and decanters comes this ship's decanter, a very classic, elegant and unfussy design, which I took to immediately. There were a couple of other types available, including a smaller, more rounded style, and one that very much resembled a claret jug, entirely in glass. Best of all, though, was the price - a ridiculously affordable £6.95. I bought a couple, at this price I'm surprised I didn't buy more! If you're in the east of Scotland, the big furniture-homewares-garden centre at Tillicoultry in Clackmannanshire is the place to pick these up. Otherwise the Montana website does have a contact page - I'm sure there must be other stockists in the UK. (11/8/06)

Germany vs France?

Now I like many wines from France. And of them all, I like Bordeaux the best. And of all the Bordeaux chateaux, Léoville-Barton has long been a favourite.

The problem is, at £540-ish (ex duty and VAT) per case for the 2005, that's just a bit too pricy for me. Sure, I hear the arguments in favour of purchasing. It's great wine....it's another 1961....you'll regret it....prices will only go up. My response to the first three statements is rather nonchalant. Fanatical as I am about wine and as much as I favour great claret, I still baulk at the thought of paying £60 (after duty and tax) per bottle. And let's face it...there's always another great wine and another great vintage around the corner. And I've never quite understood the fourth argument; if I don't want to pay £60, why should a price of £80 in the future somehow entice me to buy now?

So I take my money to somewhere where I don't feel like I'm being ripped off. Somewhere I can buy great wines at sensible prices (nay, nay, thrice nay...these are not sensible, these are bargains). Wines that won't hang around on the secondary market for ever, without the price shifting for at least a decade (true of most Bordeaux I'm afraid, especially at 2005 prices), so it makes sense to buy now. This isn't a hypothetical exercise; this is what I purchased from the 2005 vintage from one merchant.

Six of each of the following:

Three of each of the following:

No Bordeaux to be seen at all. And the total cost? These three and a half cases cost a few pennies over £524 (ex duty and VAT), the same (near as damn it) as twelve bottles of Barton (there's also a mixed case from French & Logan on the way, which I haven't included above, by the way). A good price for wines made from the often vertiginous vineyards of the Mosel and also, in Dönnhoff's case, the Nahe. Wines made with just as much thought, care and attention to detail as those from Bordeaux. And wine which will almost certainly be just as long-lived. This is not a bunch of cheap-and-cheerfuls, this is a selection of Spätleses from top top growers from a top vintage, along with a case of some of the best Ausleses and Goldkapsel Ausleses Germany has to offer.

Now look me in the eye and tell me the Bordelais aren't gouging you.

Of course, nothing is ever really that simple. The dramatic price rises for Bordeaux 2005 do mean that the chateaux owners benefit from the perceived market value, rather than those who would have undoubtedly traded the wine, perhaps up to a similar price. But I'm afraid the side effect is that some drinkers will turn aside from Bordeaux, and no matter how tempting it is to make short-term profit by selling to new money, alienating long-standing customers is rarely considered good business practice. Such people can be very difficult to entice back when times are tough. (28/7/06)

Trouble in Dunbar?

A Winedoctor reader contacted me earlier in the week requesting information on Dunbar Fine Wine. It seems that, despite having ordered (and paid for) 5 cases of wine, upon checking with his wine storage company there was only a single case there. Having failed to contact the proprietor, Soorat Singh, he contacted me.

I directed the person concerned to Jim Budd, an excellent writer who runs www.investdrinks.org, a website concerned solely with matters suspicious, or downright underhand, when it comes to wine investment. Unfortunately there is still quite a bit of dodgy dealing going on where wine investment is concerned. Jim reveals that he has been concerned about Dunbar Fine Wine since February, but, like Dunbar's clients, has been unable to get in touch.

Jim writes that Trading Standards in East Lothian have met with Soorat Singh who is apparently still trading (although seemingly not talking to anyone, which must make trading difficult). Tony McAuley, Trading Standards Manager for East Lothian, would like to hear from anyone with concerns about Dunbar Fine Wine. Contact him on tmcauley@eastlothian.gov.uk or 01620  827365.

Jim's site is an excellent read - I strongly recommend it. If clicking through, hit 'other news' to read about Dunbar, and just below that is Jim's opinion on the shocking shenanigans from Mayfair Cellars. (19/5/06)

The Rieussec League Table

There have been a few worthy releases as part of the Bordeaux 2005 en primeur campaign, although it is still very much in the warming up phase. Rieussec was one such recent release, with prices at about £400 per case, in bond, being typical. This works out at just over £40 per bottle after duty and VAT, not including delivery charges. At first glance this seems expensive. Where does it sit in the Rieussec UK trade league table?

Vintage

UK Bottle Price
(inc. taxes)

UK Case Price
(exc. taxes)

2001

 

£702

1983

 

£550

1997

£41.99

£420

1989

 

£419

2005

Approx £40.50

£395

1990

 

£395

1988

£39

 

1985

£35

2003

 

£295

2002

 

£265

1995

 

£250

2000

 

£240

1998

 

£240

1996

 

£240

2004

 

£230

1999

 

£220

1991

£20.15

 

Clearly the Parker effect is significant here, with the 100 point 2001 Rieussec streets ahead at over £700 per case, not including UK taxes. How ridiculous that one critic's taste should so transparently and directly dictate the market price. Otherwise, only the highly regarded 1997 vintage, and the mature/maturing 1983 and 1989 vintages keep the 2005 from the top of the league table here. With two of these wines, the 1997 and 1983, there is a price difference of a mere £1-2 per bottle, hardly a breath-taking, bank-balance-busting gap.

It seems to me as though Rieussec 2005 has a release price set too high.

Bear in mind that Sauternes may often be picked up at auction at a fair price. And that in the absence of an unlikely stratospheric elevation in Parker points, the opening price should not climb any further. With time it should decrease, in real terms if nothing else. Also note that there are always bargains; I have just found a reputable source of Rieussec 1997 in half bottles, for £12.99 each (including taxes, not including delivery). The merchant is not yet on Wine Searcher. Rest assured, when my bottles arrive, I'll be publicising this bargain deal. In the meantime, I will continue to watch the 2005 prices come out of Bordeaux with cynical interest. (3/5/06)

Brief Thoughts from Bordeaux 2005

Like many keen UK claret drinkers I attended Bibendum's excellent Bordeaux 2005 tasting this week. I said it several weeks ago, and now the event is passed I will say it again; this was the best opportunity to taste Bordeaux during the en primeur season ever, and the Bibendum team deserve credit for organising it, finding a super venue, pulling together an interesting array of chateaux, and restricting the numbers to a sensible level. Even at the midpoint, when the tasting was at its busiest, there was still plenty of room. This was an event worth supporting, and I look forward to next year's tasting.

Twenty-four hours on and I still haven't really had time to analyse my notes, but I do have some brief impressions. As has been said, 2005 offers plenty of rich wines, with many showing a core of ripe tannins completely covered with fruit and texture. This is a vintage that is pleasing to taste, and will be popular with claret drinkers for decades, I suspect. I cannot compare it to the great vintages of the 20th Century, such as 1945 or 1961, as I have no experience of those in their youth, although that doesn't stop Parker as always, who says of Haut Bailly "I suppose the 1900 or 1928 may have possessed similar qualities at the same age". I find such comments useless and faintly ridiculous. Nevertheless, I understand why such comparisons are being made; the wines seem to have every desirable component, sometimes positioned with impeccable balance.

The 2004 vintage, of which there were many wines up for tasting, has a much more classic style. The fruit and texture is leaner, and as a result the tannins are less well hidden. I felt this to be a vintage with very good potential, and I could see in one or two wines traces of mature character, provoking fleeting memories of appropriately aged wines tasted in years gone by. I think these 2004s will provide much pleasure for those with the good sense to buy them.

In addition, something clicked about Yquem at the tasting. There was no 2005, only (only?) the 2002 and 2001. I tasted both, and whereas the 2001 spoke to me in an insulting manner - "Why are you drinking me now?" - the 2002 was much more welcoming. Yquem stands apart from other wines of Sauternes and Barsac based on its elegance and balance and layered complexity. Yes, some wines impress with great sweetness and texture, botrytis flavour and the necessary acidity, but only Yquem can glide across the palate in that particular way I feel, fanning out to reveal nuances of flavour, wrapping itself around your palate in such a caressing fashion. I shall have to adjust my profile to take account of this appreciation.

But onto the 2005s. Full notes will appear this week, but some brief awards to be unceremoniously handed out include:

All notes online next week! (28/4/06)

Movin' it Around

I'm off for a weekend break with the kids today, and I'm taking a few bottles with me. Well, who wouldn't? This time, however, I was not to be defeated by buried bottles, as I was with Beaucastel 1998 on my belated birthday celebration. In the excavation necessary to pull out some d'Angludet (I must write a profile of this under-appreciated Cru Bourgeois property someday), I made it about half way down the pile of cases. Things I learnt from this experience:

Coming with me; one rather (over?-)mature village Meursault, one rather (over?-)mature Pessac-Léognan blanc, one Margaux (the d'Angludet), a Gigondas, one Coteaux du Layon, one NZ Pinot Noir. It's very unlikely that I will drink them all, but at least I will have a little choice. It should be a good, busy and yet relaxing weekend - parents should understand that paradox. Expect a delayed update on Monday.

Oh, by the way, I just haven't had time to write anything up for April 1st, although I did have some chuckle-worthy ideas. I think. I suppose I will just have to do what any good TV company would do, and recycle last year's effort. (31/3/06)

Sick as a Dog

I've been as sick as a dog this week, with one of those nasty winter viruses. Consequently, I haven't felt like writing much, but I did finally get around to entering my cellar data into www.cellartracker.com. Having registered some time ago, I hadn't been enthusiastic as I wasn't sure if the software would really do what I wanted it to do. But, having taken the plunge, I'm quite impressed; it takes a little while to get the data in (or you can use a bulk-import from a spreadsheet, although I'm not sure in my case this would have been any quicker), but once done the data can be interrogated with just a few mouse-clicks. It confirmed what I already knew, that I have a Bordeaux-heavy cellar, but other results were more surprising. I didn't think I had so many bottles from the Rhone, over half the number from Bordeaux, but with my penchant for Beaucastel perhaps I should have expected this. But the finding that over 20% of the bottles in my cellar are dessert wines was totally unexpected.

One of the appealing features of the software is that you have access to the tasting notes from other users, and the most recent notes that relate to wines in your cellar are flagged up on the homepage. This is great stuff, as it gives you a window on the opinions of others, and whereas the opinions are largely sensible (many people noting the poor quality of La Chapelle in recent vintages, for instance....I suppose we're all allowed to make a bum purchase now and again) there is some complete bollocks as well. Seeing one drinker had scored a wine low, a wine I thought great, I clicked through to see why, only to be informed that the wine had been corked! So why give a score?? And there were some pretty ridiculous opinions on the various cuvées of Savennières (Baumard, Domaine des Forges, Nicolas Joly, Clos de Coulaine/Pierre-Bise, etc) in my cellar, perhaps this is a wine some people find difficult to understand. "No fruit" was one reason for a low score; perhaps to some a wine's first requirement is to be fruity? (8/3/06)

Another Sponsor

Bordeaux Wine InvestmentsThe ever-growing team of Winedoctor sponsors gains another new member today, with the arrival of Bordeaux Wine Investments. Trading since 1998, Rob Lench has a fine list of Bordeaux, and much more besides, for sale. There are many other opportunities here though, including personal cellar management for private clients, with guidance on purchase and consumption. For those with an eye for investment, however, there is more detailed advice available on taxation, valuation, storage, insurance and eventual liquidation of the cellar. This will be an invaluable website to many, I am sure. (2/3/06)

Oops, Damn, Damn, Damn

I can assure you, 'oops' was the last thing I said.

Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn.

Bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger.

This is the polite version of my reaction.

It's not the best picture, but I think it's clear enough.

Damn the evil combination of gravity and a salt mill.

Yes, I've calmed down now, thank you dear. (25/1/06)

I lasted about six days

Six days without buying any wine, that is. On the seventh, I succumbed. But I didn't really think that counted, as I only bought a couple of bottles that turned up in my local Costco...it wasn't a financially significant purchase. It was yesterday evening, on the way home from delivering a lecture as an invited speaker, that I really crumbled.

I stopped off at Majestic, just on the off-chance that I might find something interesting. My first task was getting into the store, which was locked up; it turned out the salesperson had not long been robbed, and being alone in the store she was feeling rather vulnerable. She had obviously been shaken by the experience. Each person that came and went was personally admitted and discharged through this new, temporarily high security. Once in, I found a few treats, beginning with Pol Roger 1998; at £29.99 it's very likely that this can be found more cheaply elsewhere, but probably only in case quantities, not individual bottles. A bunch of mature Germans went into the trolley, as they come in very handy when certain family members visit; some 1991 Kabinett from Bert Simon and 1994 Spätlese from Michael Schäfer, the latter not an exemplary estate but I'm hoping these will at least be OK. Then a bottle of Klein Constantia Vin de Constance 2000; it's years since I first tried this wine, in the 1991 vintage, and thought in fabulous, so it will be delightful to have another sometime in the future. Then I found a 2003 Bourgueil from Pierre-Jacques Druet, a top grower, which will come in handy for my Reds of the Loire project. A bottle of Jamet VdP Colines des Rhodaniennes went in, as I recently enjoyed the 1995 Côte Rôtie in my 1995 Tasting (although it was still a baby), so I thought I would give this vin de pays a go. Some Hidalgo Amontillado, which I opened as soon as I arrived home, and a Lucien Barrot 2001 Chateauneuf, which no doubt will find itself in a 2001 Chateauneuf horizontal tasting many years in the future, alongside others from that vintage which I have in the cellar, such as Beaucastel, Vieux Télégraphe, Janasse Cuvée Chaupin, Bosquet des Papes Cuvée Chante le Merle, Font de Michelle Etienne Gonnet and so on. Should be a good tasting!

It's probably worth thinking about what I resisted putting into the trolley as much as what I bought. I like Coudoulet very much, and I have drunk the 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001 very recently, with pleasure, but the 2002, at about £12, was something I passed by. A wet vintage, and although the Perrins declassified and made no grand vin, my experience on the vintage (such as Telegramme) tells me to keep on walking...I'll wait for the 2003, which will be interesting to taste, although I would expect it would be rich in tannin! Suspicion of tannins also helped me pass by the Vins de Vienne Côte Rôtie 2003, although it may in fact be very good; but avoiding it helped keep costs down a little. There were a few interesting Rhônes; Pegovino, a 2004 Côtes du Rhône Villages from Laurence Feraud of Cailloux, which might be worth a punt, and also Plan de Pegau Vin de Table, L:2004 (guess the vintage, anyone?). Both are from a vintage that has received some praise.

After this lapse, I must regain control. The 2004 Rhône offers are out, but I don't know whether to buy. Prices seem to be moving upwards every year; I remember when the Rhône looked such better value. And then there is the 2005 Bordeaux campaign, which is just a few months away. The hype so far suggests this will a frenzied affair, with perhaps some of the highest prices we have seen thus far. Sigh. (18/1/06)

Happy New Year

Like much of the rest of the country, I've just enjoyed a few days at home, but must now drag myself back to work and start earning a living once more. Best wishes for a Happy New Year to all Winedoctor readers, many of whom I suppose are in the same situation. I'll get back into the swing of things tomorrow with my usual regular updates. (4/1/06)

Thoughts from 2005

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