Two years ago, in a London restaurant, I had my first encounter with Sarget de Gruaud-Larose which is the second wine of Château Gruaud-Larose in Saint-Julien. It was a 1997, so not a spectacular vintage and already more than 10 years old and still, I was more than impressed by its quality. It felt like the perfectly aged bottle of Bordeaux with perfect balance and so much elegance: fruit, coconut, chocolate, melted tannins, good weight. Of course I first have to credit the sommelier for pulling out such a wonderful bottle. That’s what sommeliers are for you will tell me, but such things still happen on too few occasions in my opinion.
But the second thought that crossed my mind was that these second wines are much better than their reputation. And if such a wine from a weaker vintage impresses me so much, there must be tons of hidden treasures out there. So many Crus and Châteaux’ in Bordeaux, so many second wines! And what about the second wines of great vintages? They must be freaking awesome!
I carried these thoughts in my mind for quite some time and finally, for last year’s holiday season, I decided to buy a few “Seconds” from the succesful vintages 2000 and 2005. Here now the first 2 bottles, from the 2000 vintage, which we drunk over some medium-raw steaks with sauce Béarnaise and green beans. Read the rest of this entry »
For our Christmas dinner I wanted to open a special bottle of red wine and after some research and thinking I bought this bottle of 1996 Léoville Poyferré. Why this pick? I wanted something big that pairs well with beef and something worthy, something from a great vintage. I assumed that while 2005 and 2000 would still be way too young, 1996 might start to open up and bring genuine high-end Bordeaux drinking pleasure. And I picked this Château because I absolutely wanted to have some Saint-Julien instead of Pauillac this time, a little less austere and with spice I presumed, and also an estate I never tried beforehand. Read the rest of this entry »
Léoville Barton. What a melodic name! It just screams out Grand Cru Classé, as much as Lynch Bages or Cantenac Brown… so aristocratic. Interesting how an English name in a French wine can create such an instant brand recognition. But anyways, that’s not the topic here. Read the rest of this entry »
This is my first taste of this Château and at a very young stage of its development. Indeed, the 2008 Bordeaux’ just came into stores with the so-called “arrivage” during springtime of this year. Langoa-Barton is the sister-estate of Léoville-Barton which represents certainly the more glamorous name of the 2 and both are logically owned by the Barton family. Read the rest of this entry »
After the party comes the afterparty, and after the food and wine presentations at OFF comes the wine degustation at home, between chefs, food lovers and bloggers.
And since our thirst had grown during the day, it was good that there were a few bottles standing around. Of course, my deed was to bring some Rieslings from Germany and represent to a certain extent my country, also knowing that these wines are basically unavailable in France.
We started off with some Ulysse Colin Champagne. Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut is dry to the bone, but still with a delicious fresh minerality: what a nice way to rehydrate your body. Then as a contrast, a Riesling from Read the rest of this entry »
1990. Ein Weinjahr das mystisch in unseren Ohren klingt. Zusammen mit 1989 auch als Jahrhundert-Pärchen bekannt. ’89 ist das bessere Jahr sagen viele. ’90 war in den jungen Jahren besser als ’89 wird uns gleichfalls übermittelt. Nach ein paar Jahren dann soll ’89 wieder Gas gegeben haben. Nun heißt es, der Long-Runner 1988 überholt bald beide Jahrgänge! (Wineterminators Bericht zum Jahr ’90)Wie dem auch sei, heute hab ich ein 1990er Château Saint Pierre im Glas, ein kleiner Grand Cru aus Saint-Julien. Und ich glaube für mich die erste Begegnung mit 1990 auf diesem Blog. Read the rest of this entry »
