Margaux

Posted on July 15, 2012 by thewineraconteur

Margaux is one of the famed Communes of the Haute Medoc.  It is on the Commune level that Bordeaux is famous.  Within in these Communes are the famous Chateaus that are associated with Bordeaux.

In 1855 there was a Classification for the Medoc, which has held up for the most part to this day, with very little tweaking, some grumbling and politics perhaps, but that is found everywhere, even in wines.  Please also note that Margaux is the only Commune that is represented in each of the Growth Classifications.

I started out talking about the more generic wines of Bordeaux and each day, I have brought you in one more step in.  When you are looking at a wine menu, if you have the where-with-all to buy the Premier Crus (First Growths) by all means enjoy them.  I find more adventure searching for another chateau in the communes that I have not tried, not to mention that they are not priced as dear as the First Growths.

So with out further ado, I am going to go down the list of the 1855 Classification for the Medoc as it pertains to the Commune of Margaux.

Premiers Cru (First Growths)

Chateau Margaux

  

Deuxiemes Crus (Second Growths)

Chateau Rausan-Segla

Chateau Rauzan-Gassies

Chateau Durfort-Vivens

Chateau Lascombes

     Chateau Brane-Cantenac

Troisiemes Crus (Third Growths)

Chateau Kirwan

Chateau d’ Issan

Chateau Giscours

Chateau Malescot-Saint-Exupery

Chateau Catenac-Brown

     Chateau Palmer

Chateau Desmirail

Chateau Ferriere

Chateau Marquis-d’Alesme-Becker

Chateau Boyd-Catenac

Quatriemes Crus (Forth Growths)

Chateau Pouget

Chateau Prieure-Lichie

     Chateau Marquis-de-Terme

Cinquiemes Crus (Fifth Growths)

Chateau Dauzac

Some non-classified chateaus, with some of them from adjoining Communes that are entitled to have joint classifications in the Appelation Controlee with Margaux such as Moulis, Catenac and Labarde.

      

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Haut-Medoc

Posted on July 14, 2012 by thewineraconteur

The upper levels of the terrain of Medoc, Haute- Medoc are where the majesty of Bordeaux wines is located.  The four great communes of Bordeaux are located in the Haute- Medoc (Pauillac, St. Estephe, St. Julien, and Margaux) and I will talk about each one as a separate entity.  With these four major communes in the Haute- Medoc is it any wonder that the other wineries would want to list themselves as belonging to this designation.  You may also see “crus exceptionels” and “crus bourgeois” which refer to wineries that have proved themselves over the years, but were not part of The Classification of 1855 for the Medoc.

Once again here is just a collection of labels showing this designation.

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Medoc

Posted on July 13, 2012 by thewineraconteur

This is the section that most people think of as Bordeaux.  This area extends about sixty miles from the city of Bordeaux.  It has only been about two hundred years of wine production for the Medoc.  Bordeaux wines were originally known from the commune of Graves which is adjacent to the city; these were the wines that were known as Claret in England.

The Medoc is divided into two parts.  Bas Medoc (Lower Medoc) and Haute Medoc (Upper Medoc) and this are based on the elevation of the terrain.   Those wineries located in the Bas Medoc usually use the designation of Medoc, so as not to sound inferior.  The wineries in the Haute Medoc capitalize on the designation.

Once again here is just a collection of labels showing this designation.

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Bordeaux Superior

Posted on July 12, 2012 by thewineraconteur

“Bordeaux Superior” is seen on labels and restaurant menu lists.  It has the “appellation Controlee” guarantee.  It sounds like it is a better (superior) Bordeaux wine. The “superior” that is guaranteed by law, is that the wine is one or two percent  higher in alcohol strength, than a regular Bordeaux wine.  Some wineries make use of this designation and some don’t bother.

 

Once again here is just a collection of labels showing this designation.

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Bordeaux Wines

Posted on July 11, 2012 by thewineraconteur

I am going to take you on a cursory route through Bordeaux.  Some may find it old hat, but some may after reading the next week of articles, will get a better idea of how to navigate a good wine list of Bordeaux wines.

 

Let us think of Bordeaux as one state or province.  Everything in this whole entity is entitled to be called a Bordeaux wine.  This whole area is covered by “appellation controlee” with the word Bordeaux in the middle of the two words.  The words mean “controlled place-name” from laws that were created in France in the 1930’s.  Those words are important when looking at a wine label.  Most individual wines of Bordeaux call themselves Chateau, Domaine or Clos, even if the only structure on the grounds may be a tractor shed.  “Mis(e) en bouteille(s) au chateau” means that the wine was bottled at the chateau.  “Grand Vin” is not an official designation.  Some of the blends of Bordeaux are produced by “negociants”  who attempt to create a similar taste year after year by buying production from many farms in Bordeaux.  Some of these “negociants” wines may even be more expensive than the some of the minor of “petite” chateaus.  Some of the wines will even proclaim that they are owned by “big players” in Bordeaux, trying to put on heirs of greater pedigree.

 

I am just showing some of the labels that I have had.  Use this as a rule, not as a firm guide to understanding the basic Bordeaux wine.

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Vin du Pays

Posted on July 10, 2012 by thewineraconteur

Vin du Pays actually means wine of the country.  It is usually used to describe wine from lesser known wine producing regions.  Vin Ordinaire can mean wines of anonymous origins.  Both of these terms are used to describe table wines.  Table wines are a great way to discover basic wines of a country.  I like to try to them occasionally because there is a great chance to discover a good wine for a very reasonable price, and we all like that concept.

I am just going to show a collection of labels to show the variety that can be encountered in this broad classification.  Most do not reveal much about the wine.  The good thing about these wines is that you don’t have to worry about vintage year ratings and the price should be good.  These are the wines that can be great with cheese and crackers and a good book.  Need I add more?

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A Celebration of the Women and Wine of 1961

Posted on July 9, 2012 by thewineraconteur

My Brother-in-law called us to invite us to a special birthday party with a request to bring all of my wine decanters.  His wife (my Bride’s sister) was having her fortieth birthday party and there would be a total of ten people to celebrate this event.  Since she was born in 1961, the third greatest vintage of the last century, he had been acquiring the proper wines for this dinner.  That is why he needed to extra decanters and he gave me the honor of decanting these forty year old classics.  There was no way we would miss this event.

He had hired a favorite chef of theirs to prepare the food at their house.  The chef brought with him a Sous-Chef de Cuisine, a waiter, and an extra kitchen aide.  While the food was being prepared, I was busy decanting the wines for this extraordinary birthday dinner.

I will go through the menu, as it was memorable and since I had to shrink it for space, it may not be totally readable.  We started off with “Passed Horses d’oeuvres” ((sic) which may have been homage to the horses of Louisville’s fame).  The waiter passed a fine assortment of appetizers and glasses of 1989 Krug Brut Champagne.  This happened to be one of the best tasting Champagnes that I had ever tried, with a luscious buttery flavor.

The next course of plates, and they were all full courses as compared to a tasting course ensued, with a wine properly paired.  We started with Sea Bass on Greens with Lemon White Wine Sauce.  This dish was paired with a 1977 Corton-Charlemagne Joseph Drouhin.  This is the only Grand Cru from Charlemagne.  There is just something about a classic White Burgundy that takes your breath away with its smooth and lush taste.

We then had a Coffee Marinated Duck with Sun-Dried Cherry Marsala Wine Sauce, and as I have stated many times already in these pages I enjoy any meal of that had duck in it.  Duck is such a rich dish and it was paired with the first of the 1961 vintage wines; a Chateau Mouton-Rothschild.  In 1961 Mouton was still upset from the 1855 Classification of the Medoc, when they were not included in the Premiers Crus (First Growths) but were listed as the first of the Deuxiemes Crus (Second Growths).  So as you look at the label, you will notice that there is no mention of the classification system on their label, where all of the other wineries proudly proclaim their designation.   Also every year Mouton commissions a different artist to create a special banner at the top of the label, in 1961 it was by Mathieu.  This wine was at its peak of perfection and everyone was talking about how flavorful it was and how it was perfectly paired with the duck.

We then had a Grilled Pork Tenderloin with a Blackberry Reduction, and this was paired with a 1961 Chateau Margaux, one of the Premiers Crus.  Chateau Margaux is the one win from this classification that I have tried more vintages of than any other and I have enjoyed them all.   This forty year old was perfection as well, and the talk around the table was how great it was, and to have two 1961 vintages that were at their prime.

A Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Green Peppercorn Marsala Wine Sauce followed and this was paired with a 1961 Chateau Latour.  This is also a Premiers Crus (unfortunately I have to show this hallowed wine with a different vintage label as my Brother-in-law wanted to keep this bottle as a memento of the evening).  Now this glass of wine was the show stopper.  To this day, I and I are sure everyone at the table was amazed that this wine was still feisty and proclaiming to the world that it had been opened too early.  The tannins had not mellowed after forty years, and what a discussion this created.  Everybody nursed this glass of wine and just kept enjoying the moment.  As a side note, my Brother-in-law took his wife out for her fiftieth birthday and had his other bottle of the 1961 Chateau Latour served.  He said that it had finally mellowed and was at its peak of perfection.  They both enthused on the quality and finesse of that wine.

We then were treated with a fine collection of artisan cheeses and this was accompanied with a 1961 Chateau d’Yquem.  This wine has been a favorite of wine lovers for centuries.  A couple of bottles were auctioned off about twenty years ago from Thomas Jefferson’s estate and the gentleman that won the auction, after paying for them proceeded to open one bottle immediately and announced that it was the Nectar of the Gods.  In the 1855 Classification for Sauternes and Barsac, Chateau d’Yquem was even then in a rank by itself with the designation of Grand Premier Cru (First Great Growth) and it has held that distinction ever since and deservedly so.  Its golden color had darkened to a wonderful deep dark amber shade and it had a nuance of sweetness (not cloying) that is not found in most dessert wines.  Another wine served that was a table pleaser among this group of ardent wine lovers.

Death by Chocolate Cake with Fig Ice Cream ended this birthday dinner with a rich coffee.  Of course it wouldn’t have been a birthday party with a cake.

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Dominus Estate

Posted on July 8, 2012 by thewineraconteur

This wine perhaps has the most magnificent nose that I have ever encountered.  When the goblet is first filled after decanting the wine and the aroma inhaled, it is almost a wine nirvana.  You wonder why all wines are not like this.  The color of the wine is deep; the nose is perfect leading towards an almost hedonistic pleasure just from sensory overload.   That first taste that is whistled in is hypnotic.  I realize that I am waxing poetic, but you will as well, after encountering this wine.

 

Dominus is Latin for “Lord of the Estate.”  I am sure that Christian Moueix knew that he would be pressed to live up to that title.  Christian Moueix comes from a famed wine family from Bordeaux, France and among the many wineries that they own is Chateau Petrus (which alas I have never had) and Chateau Trotanoy both from the Commune of Pomerol.  He acquired the old Napanook Vineyard in Napa Valley and has made it his own.

 

The first bottle I had was a 1994 vintage at Shariat Restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky.  The food was very artistic and creative, the menu eclectic and a wonderful dining experience.  Add to that mix a bottle of Dominus and the evening was complete and memorable.   My Brother-in-law is very partial to this wine, and I am so glad that he turned me on to it.

 

A couple of years later on one of his visits he brought a 1998 Dominus that we had for dinner, and it had all the characteristics of the 1994.  I believe that Dominus only had one year that they didn’t declare a vintage and that would have been for 1993.  That is what I call dedication and pride, and not wanted to alienate the loyal fans of this great wine.

 

My Bride says that she could just sit with a glass of this wine and breathe in that heavenly aroma or nose all evening and be happy.  For my Brother-in-law I have a 1997 vintage waiting to reciprocate one night for dinner.

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What’s New Pussycat?

Posted on July 7, 2012 by thewineraconteur

“Pussycat, pussycat, I love you” was sung to a clamorous ovation at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.  It was my first trip to Vegas. and I was watching women throw their undergarments onto the stage.  There was a major celebration in the auditorium.   The room got dark and what appeared to be a two story flight of stairs were illuminated and you heard being announced “This is Tom Jones.”

 

In such a glamorous night, at one of the newest hotels on the strip, what should be ordered to accompany the dinner preceding the show?  Champagne is the logical course when you are young and the air is electric.   A non-vintage bottle of G.H. Mumm & Co. was delivered and who was I to complain.  The dinner and the show was “comped” by a friend of the family.  The bottle of Champagne was as dependable as everything else that evening.  A good color, a continuous stream of bubbles rising up the full length of the crystal fluted glass; all indications that this was a bottle the Mumm house could be proud of and produce year after year, without ever worrying about declaring a vintage year.

 

It was the epitome of a night in Las Vegas.  Bright lights, a full orchestra playing and one of the hottest acts of the time was performing.  It is what legends to relate later in your life is all about.  This was classic Vegas, when everyone dressed up to go to the casinos, even into the wee small hours of the morning you would still see the gamblers in their finest.  A far cry from what is seen in the casinos of today.

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Fitou

Posted on July 6, 2012 by thewineraconteur

When I first delved into wines, I was trying to discover all sorts of unique locations and wines.  It was almost a game for me.  I found a lesser region which had its own “Apellation Controlee” which is what all wine districts in France aspire to.  The other designation VDQS is for areas that have distinguished themselves from just table wines, but not of a caliber to get an AC rating.  France takes its wines very seriously.

 

 

I was going to an informal dinner party and I went looking for a couple of bottles that I could expound on (especially if it was a hit) to a group of semi-curious wine drinkers.  This group was more into beer than wine, but it wine was available they would avail themselves of its virtues.

 

I found a couple of bottles from Fitou which is in the south of France east of the mouth of the Rhone River.  Further north of the Rhone River are several great areas of wine production, but that is for another day.  As I said I was still in a discovery mode.  The wine I found was a 1971 Chateau Viala.

 

Even as a novice I noticed that this wine was what I would even then call a table wine, as it was not as full bodied as even a basic Bordeaux wine.  The color was paler than even most of the reds that I had tried by that time and the nose was tame.  There was not a strong aftertaste but since it was a casual dinner, it more than sufficed.   In my days since then, I have not noticed another wine offering from Fitou, as I would have purchased it again, just to see if the wine makers had made any strives to improve on their wines in this global wine market.

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