Lindsay du Vin

La Cave á Part's owner, Martin Puyoōu (left), with Côte Montpezat's winemaker, Jean-François Lalle (right)

There are tastings… and then there are tastings—as in the ones that open your eyes a bit, break down some prior misconceptions, and introduce you to a few new concepts. I enjoy just about any tasting where I get to try new wines. However, the one I attended this past weekend took things to a level beyond just learning a new flavor profile or checking off another grape variety.

It took place at this tucked away wine shop in Talence (a Bordeaux suburb) called La Cave á Part, which very loosely translates to “Not Your Average Cellar” (or less loosely, “the cellar a bit different”). I was the first to arrive that evening, which was quite fortunate because I had a chance to chat with the owner, Martin Puyoōu, who gave me a briefing on his store.

Right away you’ll notice this is not your typical Bordeaux wine shop. There’s almost none of the classified growths and there’s a fair amount of wine from other French regions (yes, finding non-Bordeaux in Bordeaux can be a bit of a challenge). Martin explains that not being a vrai Bordelais (he hails from Pays Basque), nor well-connected with one of Bordeaux’s esteemed merchant families, makes it nearly impossible for him to acquire the classified growths.

However, having spent many years in the restaurant business in Bordeaux, he’s come to know many of the region’s petit chateaux (name applied to Bordeaux’s non-classified growth producers), as well as other regions throughout France and abroad. Through these connections he has been able to source an eclectic selection of quality wine from Bordeaux and elsewhere that you likely won’t find in supermarkets, nor the shi shi shops adorning the downtown streets and other tourist hotspots.

The tasting we attended that evening featured a presentation by Jean-Francois Lalle, the winemaker of Château Côte Montpezat, which is located in the Bordeaux appellation of Côtes de Castillion. His presentation included a tasting of Côte Montpezat’s rosé, white and red wines, followed by a vertical of the wines of Château Haut-Bernat (located in the nearby appellation of Puisseguin Saint-Émilion). Both estates are owned by Dominique Bessineau and together form the company Les Vignobles Bessineau.

Overall, the wines were nice… but it was the knowledge that came with the presentation that made this tasting unique. Highlights include the following pieces of enlightenment:

• The magic that is decanting: I actually knew very little about the proper utilization of a decanter until this tasting. I understood it opened the wine, but never experienced the actual transformation. We wound up decanting both the ’08 Ch. Cote Montpezat blanc and the ‘99 Haut-Bernat. When first trying the white wine (prior to decanting) all I could taste was oak. Indeed half the wine had spent 4-6 months in oak, but it was so strong I couldn’t even detect any fruit. However, after less than 10 minutes of decanting the wine evolved into something very interesting. It became balanced with a nice mix of fruit, subtle oak and earthiness, plus an appealing white pepper finish. Though not as complex as the great white Bordeaux of Pessac-Leognan, it was for sure a fun wine to taste.

As for the second wine we decanted, the ’99 Haut-Bernat, my first impression was “flat, dead… with an old, stale stench”. I pretty much wrote this wine off as being past its prime and then some, much like Monty Python’s infamous dead parrot. However, after a mere ten minutes of decanting a miracle occurred. The wine bounced back to life—it became flavorful and spicy, yet so smooth and balanced. I had witnessed a resurrection.

• Not your average Bordeaux rosé: There are two aspects which make Ch. Côte Montpezat’s ’09 rosé, Le Canon de Côte Montpezat, a bit unusual: 1) Its fruit was intentionally picked unripe and 2) It’s not really all that pink.

In regards to the first aspect, Jean-François was intentionally going for a light, dry rosé with a low level of alcohol that could be consumed at lunch without making you woozy (yes, I guess you could say there’s such a thing as “lunch wines” in France). However, since the ’09 vintage featured a long growing season, the grapes also contained more sugar which translates to higher alcohol levels (assuming you’re aim is to obtain a fully-fermented dry wine). So, the grapes for Côte Montpezant’s ’09 rosé were intentionally harvested before they fully ripened so they would not contain as much sugar. Personally, I could immediately detect the unripeness in the wine. It wasn’t off-putting, but not something I gravitated towards either. However, the wine had a real nice body to it. Maybe it’s something I need to get accustomed to… or maybe it just needed some lunch.

As for the color, Jean-François explained he almost couldn’t get AOC Bordeaux Rosé status for his wine because it doesn’t look at all like a regional rosé. Its color is salmon, much like a Provence rosé. However, in Bordeaux, the rosé wines are much darker, often with magenta tones. Concerning “le Canon”, this 50:50 Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon blend spent all of six hours in contact with the grapes’ skins (whereas the typical Bordeaux rosé has 12 to 18 hours of skin contact).

• The flavor of terroir: Once you taste enough Bordeaux, you’ll start noticing that many of the red wines have a distinct black pepper aspect to them. I described the ’04 Haut-Bernat as being a “quintessential Bordeaux” in that it too featured the spicy, black pepper finish. Jean-François told me that it has to do with the terroir in that “clay gives the wine black pepper and limestone gives it minerality.” (Remember: for red Bordeaux, clay = black pepper; limestone = minerals).

Which leads me to my next point…

• Côtes de Castillon is Saint-Émilion’s kid brother: If you’ve heard of the appellation Côtes de Castillion before then you’re already ahead of the game. It is situated just to the east of St. Emilion and features the exact same clay and limestone soils—though as you can probably imagine, the wines here sell for a lot less than their westerly neighbors. So snatch up those CdC values while you can!

If you have the opportunity to visit Bordeaux, do try to visit La Cave á Part (the tram drops you off within a quick walk of the store) and say hello to Martin. Also, check his blog to see if there’s a tasting while you’re there… and oui, the tasting is in French, but you’ll get used to it!

I should be back in France, but because of the now infamous volcanic eruption in Iceland my return flight has been delayed a week, which means I am still in my home state of Rhode Island (if the volcano behaves, I’ll be flying back tomorrow…)

Since being back, I’ve been taking full-advantage of the great diversity of well… the non-French wines you can find in the area. Yes, you can certainly find wines from all over the world here (perhaps not in the same selection as in larger metropolitan areas, but enough to keep things interesting). However, there are two particular categories of wine which you can find in abundance in Rhode Island: Italian and Portuguese.

This has to do with our state’s cultural heritage: Rhode Island has both the highest percentage of Italian-Americans (19% – including yours truly!) and also Portuguese-Americans (9%) of all U.S. states. Both cultures are very fond of wine—in fact, many people here prefer to make their own wine rather than buy it from the store.

So, this leads me to a very interesting tasting I attended last night highlighting wines from Portugal. The tasting was held “just over the border” in Swansea, Massachusetts (incidently, the state with the 2nd highest percentage of Portuguese-Americans) at Chris Gasbarro’s Fine Wines & Spirits. There were about thirty different Portuguese wines available for sampling, ranging in all colors and almost all styles (I wouldn’t quite call Vinho Verde a sparkling wine, but it does offer a nice fizz) from a variety of appellations (Denominação de Origem) and regions (Vinho Regional = same concept as the Vin de Pays in France).

Here is a breakdown of the kinds of wine sampled at last night’s tasting (pardon my limited map—it’s missing Madeira and has no mention of Porto):

• Vinho Verde DOC – branco
• Alentejo DOC – branco, tinto, rosé
• Dão DOC – tinto
• Douro DOC – tinto
• Porto DOC – tinto
• Madeira DOC
• Terras do Saco VR – tinto (as of 2010 this VR is now referred to as Península de Setúbal)

Otherwise, below are a few take-away impressions I had from this tasting in regards to Portuguese wines (of course, I’m generalizing a bit—this is just to sum things up):

1. The reds are well-balanced and food-friendly, but also quite tasty on their own merit. I’m talking about the still red wines. These wines aren’t heavy at all, and there’s a good amount of acidity and spiciness which compliments well with food; yet at the same time, there’s a lot of subtle fruit flavor that makes them pleasant to drink on their own.
2. Adega de Borba from Alentejo is one fabulous producer to begin with. Its Reserve Red (a blend of 75% Aragonez - a synonym for Tempranillo – and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon) could rival any Cabernet-blend from Bordeaux or Tuscany within its price category (for that matter, at just $13.49/bottle, it could rival such blends selling for $30+). The Rosé (100% Aragonez) is also quite fabulous: bone dry, but full of fruit flavor rounded off with a very nice biscuit aspect on the finish (and retails for just $5.99).
3. The Portuguese know how to blend. In addition to the red example I gave above from Adega de Borba, I also tasted several white blends from the Alentejo region that were dry, with little to no fruit flavor, but a lot of minerality—for sure wines meant to be served with food. I was also impressed by several red wines from the Douro region that were made with the same grapes used for port, but produced as a still wine.
4. Nothing says refreshing like Vinho Verde. This is the ultimate “lounging by the pool on a hot summer day” wine. I like the Santola brand, which had some bright citrus notes and a smooth, integrated flavor with just the slightest fizz. However, I was also amused by the Gatao Vinho Verde, which literally had so much carbonation it was like drinking Sprite!
5. Port should not be synonymous with Portugal. Yes, Port is held dear by many wine lovers, but believe me—there is so much more to Portuguese wine than Port (in fact, there was only one at the tasting, which tells you something…)
6. At these prices, you can drink Portuguese every day! The value for money ratio is incredible regarding Portuguese wines.  Honestly, they are the only wines I know of that can sell for under $10 and still be decent. All the wines we tasted were under $20—in fact, most were under $15 and no less than 14 Portuguese wines (including all colors) were retailing for under $10!

One of the world’s most renowned wine tastings is the Bordeaux Primeurs. This event is not open to the general public, but organized specifically for the wine trade as a venue to gather professionals from around the world to taste the most recent vintage. Each spring, thousands of journalists, critics, importers, sommeliers, and other influential personalities descend upon Bordeaux to sample wines from the most recent vintage. [Read more]

Last week was my first Primeurs campaign. I’d call it a “whirlwind tour” of Bordeaux because it was amazing just how much ground we covered in a 24-hour period, hitting all appellations at every venue organized through the Union des Grands Crus (UGC). We began on Tuesday afternoon with the Left Bank, and then finished up with the Right Bank (along with Graves/Pessac-Leognan) on Wednesday morning.

However, aside from developing my own impressions of the wines sampled, there were two aspects about the UGC tastings that were quite apparent for this first-time attendee:

#1 – Not all chateaux were present. It’s quite obvious that the ϋber-prestigious chateaux (and those aspiring such status) intentionally separate themselves from the regular UGC tastings to convey more prestige and have full control over how their wines are presented (usual strategy for any luxury brand). Instead, these chateaux hold on-premise private tastings by appointment only.

One of the most notable departures this year was Pontet-Canet, who pulled out fairly last-minute (it was still listed in the tasting manual—what a tease!). However, I can understand Pontet-Canet’s strategy—this estate is really aiming high, particularly with its biodynamic story, and based on the publicity I keep seeing, it’s doing a great job.

However, I was content with attending just the UGC tastings. The Primeurs campaign is intense, and tasting wine en primeur requires a strong learning curve that takes time (and I imagine many successive campaigns) to become truly adept at evaluating these wines. Furthermore, I’m considering purchasing wine futures myself this year and know I could never afford any of the labels doing private sessions. So, I’d rather taste the wines within my price range.

The UGC Pomerol tasting at Château Gazin - It was lunchtime so the spittoon/person ratio was more favorable!

#2 – Purple Teeth and Bad Aim! Being a very hygienic person, this is still something I’m coming to terms with since working in the wine industry. I’m someone who always travels with toothbrush and toothpaste, mouthwash, and Trident White chewing gum—all serious palate killers when it comes to tasting wine.

So, here I am at Primeurs, with hundreds of wines to be sampled (mostly red), and everyone looks like they just ate Barney. After going through the Pauillac appellation I headed to the bathroom and literally gasped when I looked in the mirror: my God, not only were my teeth violet, but so were my lips—even my nose was a little stained from the rim of the glass. Of course, I could take comfort in knowing that I looked like everyone else, but still… yuck-o!

However, worse than purple teeth is the concept of spitting the wine back out—yes, it’s absolutely essential to spit, and honestly, I do have fun spitting. However, what is less appealing is the fact that the spit doesn’t always make it into the spittoon. At the UGC tastings, I estimated the spittoon per person ratio to be around 1:12, which means you often had to take turns spitting. Usually it’s a game of gestures with both people signaling the other to go first. Sometimes you manage, but other times you end up spitting simultaneously. When that happens, there’s excessive splatter and the wine bounces back. Obviously, not a pretty sight—I imagine it is this phenomenon that explains the numerous stained ties and blouses you’ll see at these tastings.

Rule of thumb: Dress in black!

Though I imagine most people nowadays are focused on Bordeaux’s 2009 En Primeur campaign (happening next week) the region’s 2008 wines are also still in the barrel. These wines have been aging since roughly November 2008 and will be bottled later this year for market release in late 2010/ early 2011.

Though I often tell people I’m studying for a “Wine MBA”, my program in fact is focused not just in the wine business, but also in spirits. During our curriculum we’ve had several classes on industry trends with a look at key players Diageo, Pernod Ricard, LVMH, and Barcardi. We had a case study on the re-positioning of Baileys, as well as analyzed the development of numerous spirits brands, from Johnny Walker to Absolut, Jack Daniels to J&B, Rémy Martin, Hennessy—even Jägermeister.

Yesterday was our final spirits class. To celebrate further enhance our knowledge on the subject, our professor conducted a tasting of no less than 13 spirits. We analyzed vodka, tequila, gin, rum, armagnac, cognac, and lastly, scotch whisky.

The tasting line-up---13 spirits total (and 40 bottles of Evian!)