Masterclasses
CHATEAU COS D'ESTOURNEL and CHATEAU ANGELUS
with Jean-Guillaume Prats and Hubert de Boüard
Wines tasted:
Château de Marbuzet, Les Pagodes de Cos 1996
Carrillon de L'Angelus 1999
La Fleau de Boüard 2000
Château Cos d'Estournel 1996
Château Angélus 1998
Château Cos d'Estournel 1989
Château Angélus 1993
Château Cos d'Estournel 1993
Château Angelus 1996
Château Cos d'Estournel 2000
Château Angelus 2000
A lively double act from this Bordeaux pair, agreeing and disagreeing over the pros and cons of the Right and Left Bank. One of the most salient points was the incredible difference a few geographical miles and a different blend of the same grapes can make to a wine. As de Boüard said, 'you can have great wines, but with very different styles, specific to the region, and the terroir. If Bordeaux lost these differences, then it would be in danger.'
As specific character goes, Prats highlighted 'an indian spice, a very exotic nose' on Cos's second wine Les Pagodes de Cos 1996 - 'helpful if you are trying to pick up Cos in a blind tasting'. This exotic spice, with a cedar tobacco edge came through also on the nose and palate of the wonderful Château Cos d'Estournel 1989.
De Boüard chose Château Angelus 1998 as one of his favourite vintages – 'perfect ripeness, perfect balance, lots of colour and tannins, but also an elegance, resulting from the unusually large percentage of Cabernet Franc in the wines'. Prats agreed, if somewhat cheekily: 'it is extremely rare that the Right Bank produces a wine better than the Left Bank, but in 1998, I have to admit that it did happen.'
Prats touched on the sometime controversial subject of reverse osmosis, saying it was very useful in 1993 and 1999. 'It is a technique, yet an extremely natural one. I would rather remove water, than add sugar,' he said.
The 2000s really showed the difference in styles between the two wines. Prats said: 'Cos 2000 is closed, tight backbone, very Cabernet Sauvignon, more masculine, while Angelus 2000 is a huge wine of seduction, more feminine.' De Boüard called 2000 'the best expression of great Bordeaux – a great harmony'.
And the future? '2002 is an exceptional wine – down to vineyard management, and that alone' said de Boüard, while Prats added: 'I have never seen such a naturally reduced yield. We have 60% less than in some years. The problem was a lack of rain, and a lack of sunshine, stressing the vine, and resulting in high level of alcohol and tannins in the wine.' Catharine Lowe
SENSATIONAL SYRAH
with Jasper Morris MW
Wines tasted:
Domaine du Silène des Peyrals, Coteaux du Languedoc 2000
Domaine Borie de Maurel, Minervois Cuvée Sylla 2000
Voyager Estate Shiraz 2000
Qupé Winery, Bien Nacido Hillside Estate Syrah 2000
Montes Folly 2000
St Hallett Old Block Shiraz 1999
Vins Jean-Luc Colombo, Cornas Les Ruchets 1999
M Chapoutier, Hermitage Monier de la Sizeranne 1999
Delas Frères, Hermitage Marquise de la Tourette 1998
Paul Jaboulet Aîné, Crozes Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert 1990
Syrah is the only grape that works in hot and cool climates,' began Jasper Morris. 'The idea is to look at the various different aspects that this grape can achieve within different climates.'
To show its various expressions, the tasting started in the Languedoc, moved through California, Chile, Western and Southern Australia and finished in, what many consider its pinnacle, the northern Rhône.
The Minervois was unoaked and showed the pure black and white pepper that is such a signature of this grape, while the St Hallett was redolent in all its sweet American coconutty oak and luscious plummy chocolatey fruit. The two Californian wines - Qupé and Joseph Phelps - are from different climates, with the former showing rounder riper fruit to the latter's more peppery character. A show of hands for a favourite was inconclusive, showing merely that people like different things in wines.
The tasting finished on Paul Jaboulet Aîné 1990, of which Jasper said: 'this wine is, I think, completely perfect! A legendary vintage. There are so many different flavour profiles, so many layers. It will keep much longer, but you may have to drink it through need.' Catharine Lowe
CHATEAU PALMER
with directors Bernard de Laage de Meux and Philippe Delfaut
Wines tasted:
Alter Ego de Palmer 2000
Alter Ego de Palmer 1998
Château Palmer 2000
Château Palmer 1999
Château Palmer 1997
Château Palmer 1996
Château Palmer 1994
Château Palmer 1989
Château Palmer 1983
Château Palmer 1978
The essential thing about Château Palmer is that the wines are allowed to age, Bernard de Laage de Meux told this Sunday morning Masterclass. We were about to work our way through an exceptional flight of 10 Palmers, starting with the second wine of the property, Alter Ego de Palmer.
Alter Ego (called Reserve General until 1998) spends around 17 months in oak, and is made from mostly younger vines. The 2000 and the 1998 are silky smooth, with good acidity and pleasant, grippy tannins.
Moving on to the first classified wine, we were told we should 'forget the 2000 for at least five years. 'The year 2000 was good just about everywhere,' Philippe Delfaut said. This wine was bottled last July and, Delfaut said with some understatement, 'we believe it will last for quite a while'.
The 1999 - the first year that more biodynamic winegrowing techniques, introduced in 1996, made themselves felt - was quite different. The 1997 was chunky and dry, the 96 – from a very ripe Merlot vintage – fragrant and deep, and the 94 lean.
Moving into the last leg, we were told the weather between 1978 and 1989 was very different in each year. 1983 was 'classic' weather, but it produced 'something exceptional'. The 89 has 'deep colour, it's elegant, full and long on the palate and with splendid length.'
We finished the Masterclass with some comments on the difference between good and great wine.
'Small details make that difference,' Laage de Meux said. 'The weather, the winemaking, the ageing – a tiny difference in each may make a wine great.' Adam Lechmere
GREAT CHAMPAGNES
with Serena Sutcliffe MW
Wines tasted:
Moët & Chandon Brut Imperial Rosé NV
Veuve Clicquot Rosé Réserve 1996
Bollinger Special Cuvée NV
Laurent Perrier Grand Siècle 'La Cuvée' NV
Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Nicolas-François Billecart 1997
Taittinger Brut 1996
Gosset Grand Millésime 1996
Jacquesson & Fils Grand Vin Signature 1988
Krug 1988
Pol Roger Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill 1988 (Jereboam)
'Stylistic differences are as great among Champagne marques as they are among Bordeaux châteaux,' stated Serena Sutcliffe MW at the start of a session that provided ample proof of her assertion.
The tasting kicked off with a pair of rosés: the Moët was described by Sutcliffe as an 'apéritif Champagne par excéllence', while she recommended duck rubbed in star anise as the perfect accompaniment to the Veuve Clicquot.
She moved on to a pair of non-vintage wines, contrasting the salty, brown bread flavours of the Bollinger with the fruit and floral aromas of the Laurent Perrier, then moved on to the Billecart-Salmon, which she described as 'very pure, very classic'.
Sutcliffe enthused about the quality of the 1996 vintage, explaining that the concentration of sugars and acidity in the must that year had not only been in perfect balance but had reached extraordinarily high concentrations, giving the wines incredible longevity. The Taittinger, she pointed out, was still very young, but had a beautiful, light palate full of dried apricots. She then speculated that the 'slight note of cardamom' she detected in the Gosset might make it a match for a lightly spiced curry.
The final trio of Champagnes, all from the 1988 vintage, demonstrated how gracefully great Champagne ages. The Jacquesson & Fils was idiosyncratic from the start, with zero dosage and a long fermentation in wood that resulted, 14 years down the line, in a wine that Sutcliffe described as tasting like 'lavender honey'. The Krug, made from the grapes of 21 different growths, was 'a wine to drink 30 years down the line' and the Pol Roger, still extremely youthful in Jereboam, was 'a tremendous Champagne with great keeping power'. Natasha Hughes
AMERICA'S CABERNET BLENDS
Chair: Steven Spurrier
Panel: Laura Catena (Catena Zapata), Eduardo Chadwick (Viña Errazuriz), Agustin Huneeus Sr (Quintessa), Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle (Casa Lapostolle), Aurelio Montes (Montes), Bernard Portet (Clos du Val), Rich Richardson (Justin Vineyards and Winery), Delia Viader (Viader Vineyards and Winery) and Warren Winiarski (Stag's Leap Wine Cellars)
Wines tasted:
Montes, Alpha M 2000
Catena Zapata, Nicholas Catena Zapata 1999
Viña Errazuriz, Don Maximiano Founder's Reserve 1998
Casa Lapostolle, Clos Apalta 1999
DeLille Cellars, Chaleur Estate Rouge 1999
L'Ecole No 41, Pepper Bridge Vineyard, Apogee 1999
Justin Vineyard and Winery, Isosceles 1999
Quintessa 1999
Viader Vineyards and Winery, Viader 1999
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, Cask 23 1999
Clos Du Val, Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 1997
Col Solare, Cabernet Sauvignon 1997)
Cabernet remains king for many red wine lovers, and this session offered readers a rare opportunity to taste a hand-picked selection of some of the premium blends from across the Americas - starting in Chile and Argentina, moving up to the Pacific North West and then down to the traditional heartland, California.
'Cabernet-based wines should leave the palate fresh,' said Steven Spurrier, who was enthusiastic about the excellent wines being made in South America. Cabernet has long been Chile's most popular red grape with drinkers worldwide, and Eduardo Chadwick of Viña Errazuriz explained that in this viticultural paradise, producers have spent the last ten years mastering the conditions for making top-quality wines. 'Chile has huge potential,' added Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle, 'with old vines, brought many years ago from France.'
Argentina also has a long winemaking heritage, with vines planted since the 1500s. Laura Catena, from the Argentinian producer Catena Zapata, thanked Decanter for regarding Chile and Argentina as part of America – many people still see us as completely apart, she said.
The California tastings kicked off with Isosceles, a wine from the Paso Robles area. From a base of just 13 vineyards in 1981, the area is now home to 60 plus, with many producers attracted by the maritime-influenced climate. Several Californian producers agreed that the best Cabernet blends show elegance and finesse, as well as ripe fruit. 'The wine should seduce you,' said Delia Viader, 'and make you want to keep drinking.' Warren Winiarski added that the elements of the soil - fiery, spirited and concentrated - should be reflected in the wine, and described the effect as a 'velvet glove around a fist of iron'.
The wines of the Pacific Northwest - including Col Solare, the joint venture between Chateau Ste Michelle and Antinori - were introduced by Steven Spurrier, who contrasted the diverse styles of the wines from this large and exciting region. Amy Wislocki
NEW WORLD PINOT NOIR
with Anthony Hanson MW
Wines tasted:
Cono Sur, 20 Barrels Pinot Noir 2001
Michel Laroche - Jorge Coderch, 'Piedra Feliz' Pinot Noir 2001
Viña Leyda, Leyda Valley, Pinot Noir 2001
Wither Hills, Marlborough, Pinot Noir 2001
Felton Road, Central Otago, Pinot Noir 2001
Bicheno Winery, Apsley Gorge Vineyard Pinot Noir, Tasmania 2000
Coldstream Hills, Reserve Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley 2000
Hartford Family Wines, Hartford Court Arrendell Pinot Noir, Green Valley 2000
David Bruce Winery, Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains, 2000
Saintsbury Winery, Reserve Pinot Noir, Carneros 2000
Marimar Torres, Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley 1999
Stonier, Reserve Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula 1999
The final masterclass of the weekend was packed with readers eager to hear Anthony Hanson, one of the world's leading experts on Burgundy, talk through some of the New World's premium examples of Pinot Noir. Wines from as far apart as Chile, Australia, New Zealand and America were under the spotlight, and several winemakers were in the audience to add further insights.
Hanson began by saying that the first Chilean Pinot to catch his attention was Cono Sur's 20 Barrels, which he described as having evolved over the years from fruit-driven to more complex and structured. 'Chile has come a long way in the last ten years. Back then there were very few Pinots worthy of note.' He added that it's a prime region for good-value wines: 'Where else can you find good Pinot Noir at between £6 and £11?'
Another area making great strides with Pinot is Tasmania, he observed. 'The grape has come a long way here, and there are some 100 producers growing Pinot today, albeit mainly for sparkling wine.' He explained that the Bicheno Winery was founded by two divers who produce very small quanities of wine from a converted fish factory in an inland mountain pass. Real pioneering territory.
The two New Zealand Pinots showed their different terroirs. The Wither Hills (Marlborough) wine showed more freshness of fruit than the famous Felton Road (Central Otago) Pinot, and had slightly higher acidity. Aromatic, minerally and lean, as opposed to the more meaty and concentrated character of the Felton Road. 'Central Otago has lots of sunshine and heat, and long days,' explained Hanson. 'It's a special spot for ripening Pinot.'
Among the US Pinot Noirs, he described the Hartford Family Wines Pinot as being 'rich, complete and quite spectacular'. The David Bruce wine had a smoky and mineral leanness, while the Carneros Pinot by Saintsbury was more ripe fruit, with blueberries, plum and liquorice notes. Carneros wines don't always have the same individuality as those from Russian River Valley, he said, but show more roundness and richness. Amy Wislocki
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