42-label Sine Qua Non tasting: The white wines

Manfred Krankl of Sine Qua Non (SQN) introduced his winemaking style and variety preferences in a 1994 4.5 barrel offering and, since that initial vintage, his wines have become some of the most sought after in the trade with managed access to limited production (approximately 3500 cases annually) and sky-high auction prices being the order of the day. Manfred's recent accident, and no definitive information as to his prognosis, has filled the wine world with a sense of dread and is further fueling the upward price pressure.  To honor the potency of the legacy that he and his wife Elaine have created, and to show solidarity with Manfred and his family during these trying times, wineontheway.com organized and hosted a tasting of 42 SQN wines at Luma in Winter Park on January 31, 2015. The wines included in the tasting are shown below. In this post I will cover the white wines tasted.

Whites	Reds	Sweets
2008 Kolibri	2004 Poker Face Syrah	2006 Noble Man Chardonnay
2009 On the Lam	2004 Into the Dark Grenache	2006 The Strawman Roussanne
2010 The Monkey	2004 Ode to E Syrah	2007 To the Rescue Grenache
2011 The Moment	2004 Ode to E Grenache	2008 Jinete Bajo Roussanne
2012 In the Abstract	2005 Atlantis Fe 203 1A Syrah
2012 Pearl Clutcher	2005 Atlantis Fe 203 2A Grenache
	2005 11th Nail in my Cranium Syrah
	2005 The Naked Truth Grenache
	2006 Raven Series Syrah
	2006 Raven Series Grenache
	2006 A Shot in the Dark Syrah
	2006 In the Crosshairs Grenache
	2007 Labels Syrah
	2007 Pictures Grenache
	2007 Dangerous Birds Syrah
	2007 Dangerous Birds Grenache
	2008 B-20 Syrah
	2008 The Line Grenache
	2008 The Duel Syrah
	2008 The Duel Grenache
	2009 Upside Down Grenache
	2009 The Thrill of Stamp Collecting Syrah
	2009 This is NOT an Exit Grenache
	2009 This is NOT an Exit Syrah
	2010 Five Shooter Grenache
	2010 Five Shooter Syrah
	2010 Stockholm Syndrome Grenache
	2010 Stockholm Syndrome Syrah
	2011 Dark Blossom Grenache
	2011 Dark Blossom Syrah
	2001 Midnight Oil Syrah
	2002 Just for the Love of it Syrah

Early SQN wines were produced from grapes sourced from Alban, Stolpman, Babcock, and Bien Nacido Vineyards, among others, but, as shown in the table below, with the passage of time, Krankl has developed his own fruit sources. Syrah and Chardonnay were still being sourced from White Hawk and Bien Nacido Vineyards with the latter also being the home to laboratory blocks of the main Rhone varieties.

	11 Conf.	Cumulus	The Third               Twin	Molly Aida
Status	Owned	Owned	Owned	Owned
Size	22 acres	6 acres
Location	Santa Rita  Hills AVA	Oak View  (Ventura)	Santa Ynez  AVA	Tepusquet Canyon
Planted	2001	2004, 2008	2010
Climate	Cool	Warm	Moderate
Soils		Sandy	Sandy
Varieties	Syrah (10  acres) Grenache  (8 acres) Roussanne  (3 acres) Viognier  (1 acre)	Syrah  (2.5 acres) Grenache  (2.5 acres) Roussanne  (1 acre) Petite Manseng Touriga Nacional Mourvedre Petit Sirah	Syrah Petit Sirah	Mourvedre
Planting  Density	2420  vines /acre	4350 vines/acre
Yield	1.5 tons /acre
Roots	N/A	Own-rooted	Own-rooted

We arrived at the tasting as scheduled and stood in awe of the number of wines arrayed before us on the tasting table. A total of 18 persons were participating with the whites and dessert wines set up more informally but the full range of reds had been poured for each position. There was a lot of work ahead. A lot of work had been ongoing since pouring began at 2:30 pm. It was now 6:00 pm.

The white wines were stationed on a table to the back and side of the main table and participants were poured the five wines sequentially.

2008 Kolibri, 2009 On the Lam, 2010 The Monkey, 2011 The
Moment, 2012 In the Abstract, and 2012 Pearl Clutcher (L to R)

Adam Chilvers of wineontheway.com pouring one of the whites

Bev, Parlo, and Gigi Chilvers

Usual suspects

The fruit sources, blend components, and aging regimes for the whites tasted are illustrated in the chart below.

	2008 Kolibri	2009 On  the Lam	2010 The Monkey	2011 The Moment	2012 In the Abstract	2012 Pearl Clutcher
Fruit Source Estate Bought	82% 18% (Bien Nacido)	11 Conf Bien Nacido			11 C + Cum  Bien Nacido	- Bien Nacido
Varieties Roussanne Viognier Chardonnay Petit Manseng	69% - 31%	48% 18% 34%		57% 7% 17% 19%	31% 16% 37% 16%	- 100%
Aging Regime New French Used Concrete eggs Stainless steel	25% 75% X			X X X X	27% 48% 25%	92% 8%
Aging Period					19 months	19 months

Conf = Confessions; Cum = Cumulus

Before turning to the tasting notes, let's examine some of the considerations associated with the wines. According to http://www.winelit.slsa.sa.gov.au/grapeswines.htm, the characteristics of the indicated varietals are as follows:

• Marsanne
• Distinguished by its high alcohol level and deep color
• Light, dry short-living varietal produced in France; more body and character in new world settings
• Does not usually age well
• Addition of juice from Roussanne results in a more aromatic, delicate, and interesting wine
• Viognier
• Adds full body, spiciness, peach, apricot, honeysuckle
• Chardonnay
• Fruity bouquet of peaches and melon from warmer regions with more acidity and freshness on its fruit palate
• Petit Manseng (Appellation America and vindefrance-cepage.org)
• Best known for the production of sweet wines in its native France
• Aromatic, with peach, citrus, cinnamon, and tropical fruit notes most notable
• Great acid retention

And now on to the notes. It should be noted that these wines did not get the exposure to oxygen that the red wines did (and in many cases it seemed as though that would have helped).

2008 Kolibri -- Pungency on the nose along with coconut, marmalade, walnuts, roasted nuts, and almonds. Oily texture, weighty on the palate. Big. Rich. Heat. Spicy.

2009 On the Lam -- Aromatic. Sweet white flowers, nutty, herbs, thyme, and parsley. Weighty on the palate with hint of petrol. Spicy red pepper.

2010 The Monkey -- Nuts, spice, white flowers on the nose. Rich and oily on the palate. Slight phenolic note and saline character. Hearty savoriness.

2011 The Moment -- Juicy fruit, aromatic nose. On the palate burnt orange, rich, thick. A little more acid than I have encountered to date. Smoke and pepper.

2012 In the Abstract -- Tropical fruits, orange, creme brulee, walnut, pine, beer, green bark. Almost Burgundian on the nose. On the palate spice, nut, oily. Great texture. Long, oily finish.

2012 Pearl Clutcher -- Vanilla, spice, oiliness, smoke, pepper. On the palate smooth, velvet texture but with weight. Tobacco and nutty flavors on palate. Hurrah for acidity.

In all honesty I prefer my white wines light on their feet and with near-searing acidity. I like Assyrtiko and Roulot Meursault. These were not those wines but I would have liked to have revisited them two days later. I just thought I would throw that out there.

Next up? The reds of course.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Iconic Swiss Varietals tasting with Paolo Basso: St-Jodern Kellerei Visperterminen Veritas Heida 2012 AOC Valais

One of the highlights of the 2014 DWCC Conference was a tasting of Iconic Swiss Varietals with noted sommelier Paolo Basso. I reported on the background of the tasting and the first wine tasted in a prior post and will cover the environment around the second wine and the tasting notes in this post. The second wine tasted was the St-Jodern Kellerei Visperterminen Veritas Heida 2012 from the Valais AOC.

Valais AOC is the largest Swiss wine region, stretching 120 m along the right bank of the Rhone river and encompassing a surface area of 5259 ha. Fully half of the country's wine is produced therein.

Source: swisscellars.com

The climate is continental with cold winters, hot summers, and an autumn warmth which -- in combination with the Foehn wind -- favors the maturation of late-ripening varieties. The region is one of the driest in Switzerland with annual rainfall averaging 600 mm.

The main portion of the vineyard is situated in the 50-km space between Mantigny and Sierre where elevations range between 450 and 800 m but, in the commune of Visperterminen, elevations can reach up to 1150 m, some of the highest vineyard elevations in Europe. The vineyards are owned by a total of 23,000 landholders and are located on a variety of soil types. The primary varieties in the region are Pinot Noir, Chasselas, and Gamay.

Located at the entrance to the Visper Valley, Visperterminen is home to some of the highest vineyards in Europe. The lowest vines are planted at 600 m on the banks of the Vispa from where the vineyard rises steeply -- defined by short terraces with dry stone walls -- to elevations in excess of 100m. The south-facing slopes cover 42 ha of limestone-infused clay and sand soils.

Vineyards of Visperterminen. Source: swissinfo.ch

Visperterminen is also famous for the Heida variety, a small. low-yielding grape that is also known as Paien in the region and Savagnin blanc and Traminer farther afield (Other synonyms includee Nature and Gelber Traminer). This ancient grape, whose origins lie in the sub-alpine regions of eastern France, is grown own-rooted or grafted in Visperterminen and its wines are sometimes referred to as the "pearl of the Alpine wines."

Now back to the wine. The Heida Veritas is produced by St. Jodern Kellerei, a coop established in 1980 to produce and market the wines of the growers in Visperterminen and Visperta. The coop has 500 members and produces 18 different wines in 400,000 bottles from 300,000 liters of wine.

The grapes for the wine are grown on a 0.4-ha plot on lightweight, dry moraine and slate soils. The 100-year-old, Gobelet-trained vines are planted at 9000 vines/ha and are farmed after an integrated production philosophy.

The grapes are destemmed and macerated for 8 hours prior to fermentation. Fermentation is conducted in concrete eggs using selected yeasts. After fermentation the wine is aged on the lees for 6 to 8 months with lees-stirring. The wines are gently filterd prior to bottling.

Notes: This wine exhibited ripe fruit on the nose with pineapple, lychee, overripe peaches, banana, and dried aporicot being the most notable. Rich and warm in the mouth with a savory palate. Round with a long finish. Elegant.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Lukacs to the defense of science in winemaking

In her opening remarks describing the objectives of her book, Isabelle Legeron MW states "This book is not meant to be an expose of the wine world. Rather, it is a tribute to those wines that are not only farmed well, but also fly in the face of modern winemaking practices, remaining natural against all odds."

But these high-minded ideals dissipate quickly as, in the Introduction, beginning on the following page, Ms. Legeron initiates a takedown of modernity with the following statement: "The 20th century changed the face of modern agriculture. It streamlined, mechanized, and 'simplified' farming in an attempt to increase yields and maximize short-term profits." Ms. Legeron continues in this vein for the rest of the Introduction eventually covering the slate of issues summarized in the below graphic. Further, on page 14, "And what is extraordinary is that most of the of this change has happened over the last 50-odd years.

So taking Ms. Legeron at her word, things were fine prior to 50 years ago when science reared its ugly head and began to spoil things for every one.

But, looking through the lens of history, Lukacs (Inventing Wine) paints a different picture of the roles of human control and science in the construction of the wine industry that we know today. According to Lukacs,

At the end of the Second World War, a veteran grape grower in virtually any European country could look back over a lifetime of long, hard toil and remember little more than trouble, years marked by deceased vineyards, financial collapse, commerce filled with fraud and horribly violent conflict.

Further, consumers were not drinking  wine any more because municipal water was now safe and clean and refrigeration allowed milk and other perishable beverages to be distributed widely. The social drink of choice was a cocktail. The wine industry, such as it was, needed to revitalize itself. And that it did. Again Lukacs:

From expressing terroir in the vineyard, to employing new technology in order to attain consistency in the winery and stability in the bottle, the potential intimated during wine's initial modernization began to be achieved on an astonishingly broad scale ... Starting slowly in the 1950s and 1960s, but then quickly gaining momentum in the following decades, the quality of not just exclusive, expensive cuvees but also widely available and moderately priced wines rose to previously unimagined heights.

Just to step back a little into the history of wine, as the figures below show, it is not until the advent of the French AOC system in the early 1930s that the wine available to everyday individuals attained some modicum of quality. And then came the Second World War, and with it, a reversion to the past.

Lukacs points out that winemaking in the first half of the 20th century was a reprise of thousands of years past -- "a process of letting nature run its course." But beginning in the 1950s and 1960s grape growers and winemakers began to employ new tools to attain specific "stylistic and qualitative ends." On the technical side, the introduction of temperature control and regular chemical analysis allowed greater control over the fermentation and this gave greater impetus to the concept that humans "could and should assume control" of the winemaking process.

The concept of human control of the winemaking process was not new, according to Lukacs. It began with Enlightenment scientists such as Antoine Lavoisier and Jean-Antoine-Claude Chaptal in the 1700s, continued through Pasteur (with his discoveries of the role of yeasts and bacteria in fermentation and spoilage) and the work of Emile Peynaud, both in his lab and working with the Bordeaux Chateaus to convert his research to actionable inputs into the winemaking process. Peynaud's contribution included refrigeration, understanding the role of malolactic fermentation, and the need for rigorous selection in the vineyard. His efforts changed the stylistic and qualitative character of the Bordeaux wines such that the "whites became less tart and vegetal and the reds more supple and sensuous, fuller in flavor but less astringent."

"By the second half of the century, the basic idea of directing and mastering winemaking had become so commonplace as to be unquestioned." According to the Director (Pascal Ribereau-Gayon) of the Institute where Peynaud worked, "... great gifts are not just gifts of nature but 'the fruit of a discipline imposed by man upon nature.' "

When Peynaud began his work in the early 1950s, growers were harvesting early and,as a result, the wines were "excessively green or vegetal." He observed that there was a further striking uniformity about the wines: they were all oxidized. Is this the future that Ms. Legeron would prefer that we have? While I can agree with her on the need for better treatment of our soils, and the reduced usage of pesticides, herbicides and nutrients therein (primarily because of their externalities), a wholesale indictment of science in winemaking, and man's attempt to understand and control the relevant processes, is both shortsighted and ungrateful based on the lessons of history.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

What is a Natural Wine?

Isabelle Legeron MW has recently published a book titled Natural Wine: An Introduction to Organic and Biodynamic Wines Made Naturally. In the book she provides her thoughts on what constitutes a natural wine and I have attempted to capture the salient points in the below graphic.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Chef Hari Pulapaka's (Cress Restaurant, Deland) book launch and signing event at the Elusive Grape

Greater Orlando is blessed with a vibrant and growing foodie scene that is being fueled by innovative, young (and some not so young) chefs such as Kevin Fonzo (K Restaurant), Scott Hunnell (Victoria & Albert's), James Petrakis (Ravenous Pig), Norman Van Aken (Norman's), Brandon McGlamery (Luma on Park), Henry Salgado (Txokos Basque Kitchen), Hari Pulapaka (Cress Restaurant), and Dustin Haney (Scratch). These chefs understand their role in growing the culture in the city and work cooperatively in many areas to keep the ball moving forward.

I love the food that these gentlemen prepare and admire the effort that they are putting in. This admiration and, in the case of Chef Hari, friendship, prompted my attendance at the launch party and signing event for his first book.

In emails, and in person, Chef Hari frequently mentioned writing a book but I would smile and nod knowingly because this guy does not have time for any other activities. He is, as he says, "the hardest working man not in show business." He is a Math professor at Stetson University in Deland, a full-time chef, and he and his wife are continuously initiating and managing myriad charity events. Where would he find time to write a book? Smile and nod.

So I was pleasantly surprised when I received the announcement email regarding completion of the book and an upcoming signing ceremony to be held at the Elusive Grape. Cress would be closed for the evening to allow Hari to give his full attention to the persons who showed their support by purchasing the book.

Subsequent Hari emails notified recipients that the event was sold out. In order to gain a close-in parking, we arrived way before the scheduled start time and that strategy was rewarded with a spot just outside the Elusive Grape back door. We parked and walked through the establishment to the front where attendees were being registered. Names were checked off on a list after which you were presented with a copy of the book, a T-shirt, and a glass of wine.

After registration, I re-entered the building, found a nice spot, and settled in for the long haul. As I looked around the crowded room, filled with smiling well-wishers, each with one or more of Hari's books clutched tightly under their arms, I thought how fitting it was that this milestone in Hari's life was being celebrated here at the Elusive Grape. Because these two entrepreneurs, and their respective establishments, are the culturotainment lifeblood/infrastructure of the city. They have taught the residents what to expect and demand -- in terms of high-quality food, wine, and social atmosphere -- and they have ensured that they themselves deliver to this self-defined bar.

After a while I began thumbing through the book. It was titled Dreaming in Spice. I would later get to know that 200 copies had been printed on this first run. That it had been printed locally. That the design and layout were all done by Hari. And that all the pictures were taken by Jenneffer and two other individuals. The book was primarily intended to share Hari's recipes with readers but presents them within the context of his evolving life journey, a journey which began, as detailed in the book, in the city of Bombay (now Mumbai). The book also has a section on wines (written by Jenneffer) and many of the recipes are accompanied by a banner on the bottom with suggested wine pairings.

After Harry had made the initial rounds, and signed most of the books in the room, he welcomed the attendees and thanked them for their support. He encouraged us to socialize and to partake of the hor d'oeuvres which would be passed around, recipes for which could be found in the book.

Hari exhorting, Jenneffer adoring

And fun was being had by all

It had been cold in the greater Orlando area for a while and this was the first nice evening (by Orlando standards) in a long time. So they took the party outside. Because that's what it had now become. A party. A chance for Hari and Jenneffer to sit back and enjoy themselves without having to worry about whether this plate was hot enough or if that customer was still gluten-free, etc.

Hari and Dustin Haney (Scratch)

Bram and Geraldine Fowler (longtime Orlando Chefs)

Two of my favorite chefs in town

Sposa, Fred, and the boys from Scratch

As per usual, the 4 of us were the last to leave the building

A great night was had by all. Friendships restored and/or re-invigorated. The cameraderie of Deland residents was on full display as well as their responsiveness to, and support of, the Pulapakas. I plan on reviewing the book on this site sometime in the future.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Iconic Swiss Varietals tasting: Leyvraz St-Saphorin Grand Cru Les Blassinges 2012

Paolo Basso has consistently been one of the world's best sommeliers and has two World's Best Sommelier awards (2010 and 2013) as official recognition of that standing. I had never had the opportunity to meet him, or attend one of his tastings, so I jumped at the opportunity to register for a tasting titled Iconic Swiss Varietals that he would be hosting at the DWWC 2014 Conference in Montreux, Switzerland.

The tasting was scheduled for the final day and would be the last official event before the Grand Finale Dinner at the Montreux Casino. The high level of interest and participation in the Grand Tasting (hosted by Jancis Robinson and Dr. José Vouillamoz) and the subsequent Rare Swiss Varietals tasting (hosted by Dr. Vouillamoz) had pushed the Paolo Basso tasting way behind schedule and placed him in the position of being between attendees and their drinks. But when I got into the room, there he was sitting unfazed and calmly waiting for everyone to put in their appearance so he could get started. And that calmness and cool efficiency pervaded the entire tasting. It was truly a wonder to behold. One of the highlights of the conference for me.

Due to my lack of familiarity with the wines, producers, and regions from which the grapes are drawn, rather than provide the tasting notes en masse, I will cover each of the wines in a separate post and then provide the tasting notes at the conclusion of that treatment. The full complement of the wines tasted is shown in the picture below.

The first wine tasted was the Pierre-Luc Leyvraz St.-Saphorin Grand Cru Les Blassinges 2012, a white wine made from Chasselas grapes grown in the Blassinges plot of AOC Lavaux in the Vaud canton of Switzerland.

First the AOC. AOC Lavaux is an 800-ha vineyard stretching from Montreux to Lausanne -- the largest contiguous vineyard plot in Switzerland -- whose vertiginous vineyard terraces have merited inclusion (2007) on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Source: lake-geneva-region.ch/en/gastronomywine/

St-Saphorin is a section within the larger vineyard with calcareous loamy soil that rests on a base of chalky rock comprised of pebbles joined by sandstone cement. Pierre-Luc farms 3.5 ha of vines in St.-Saphorin, 2.8 ha of which is planted to Chasselas. The 3.5 ha is distributed between 10 non-contiguous plots, one of which is Les Blassanges.

Chasselas is the most important, and most widely planted, variety in Switzerland where it yields a light-bodied wine with good acidity and aging potential. The wine tasted was a blend of several Les Blassinges parcels.

Notes:
Lees and licorice on the nose. Paolo thought that this was a typical expression of the grape and wine. A sense of RS. Weighty with slight salinity. Supple wine. Paolo though that the faint effervescence enhanced the acidity. Low-to-medium body. Round with licorice and citrus on palate. A pleasant wine with a medium to long finish.


©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Orlando installment of Bordeaux UGC 2015 Tasting Tour: 2012 vintage

The Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux, the organization representing the common interests of member producers, annually dispatches members to the major wine consuming regions of the world to display their latest releases for consumers and members of the trade. The 2015 US tour launched last week and, after an initial show in Houston, touched down in Orlando on Wednesday last. The Orlando event was hosted by ABC Fine Wine and Spirits and held at The Ballroom at Church Street. This was the third year in a row that I have attended the event (which was switched this year from the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel) and the disappointing attendance left me wondering whether this might have been the last hurrah.

One of the advantages of having a sparse crowd was that I got to spend much more time with the estate representatives. My strategy was to get the Rep's perspective on the vintage (2012 was on offer) and then to taste the estate's top wine to see how the vintage conditions were represented therein. My overall impression was that, while the white wines were exceptional, the reds were, in general, fruit-forward and not built for the long haul.  This was definitely not what comes to mind when I think of Bordeaux. Below I present summaries of selected conversations with Chateau representatives and impressions about the wines.

Chateau Clinet Pomerol 2012
The Chateau was represented at the event by Ronan Laborde, CEO. He said that the vintage, for his estate, was characterized by difficult flowering. The early stages of fruit development had been marred by rain and had not been too warm. This resulted in uneven flowering and inconsistent grape ripening in the vineyard. Pickers had to make three passes in order to harvest fully ripe grapes.

The resulting wine was fruit-forward (almost Napa-like), with vanilla and a hint of greenness on the palate. International in style without the associated power. Burning in throat and chest belied the nominal 13.5% abv.

Chateau La Croix St George Pomerol 2012
This Chateau and the following were represented by Jean-Philippe Janoueix. This 4.5 ha estate is situated on gravel soil which allows the grapes to ripen well in terms of both sugar and phenolics. Conditions for the 2012 vintage were not too hot and not too cold. The blend is 92% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc. The wine presented brooding, dark fruit with a slight greenness, chocolate, smooth tannins, a saline character, and an astringent, bitter finish.

Chateau La Confession St Emilion Grand Cru 2012
This estate is 6.5 ha in size and, according to Jean-Philippe, key words normally associated with its wines are balance and finesse. The 2012 blend is a mix of 1/3 Merlot and 2/3 Cabernet Franc which were subjected to: natural yeast vinification (6 to 9 days); cap management by pumping over and punching down, the latter with diminishing frequency the longer AF extended; 18 - 23 days post-AF maceration; malolactic fermentation, part in barrel, part in tank; and 14 - 19 months in oak. Jean-Philippe compares the 2012 vintage to 1986 which, he said, was panned initially but is still drinking well today. The wine was creamy and fruity on the nose with rich, dark fruit on the palate. Still waiting for the acidity.

Chateau Pavie Macquin St. Emilion Grand Cru 2012
According to the rep, this vintage (a blend of 84% Merlot and 14% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon) provides sensuality, less acid, smoothness, purity of fruit, and approachability. The vines are grown on a limestone plateau which is overlain with red clay. I saw the wine as presenting ripe, dark fruit, licorice, and spice, being acid deficient, and having a somewhat woody finish.

Chateau Leoville-Poyferre 2012
Estate represented at this event by Anne Cuvelier, co-owner. According to Anne, 2012 was a late vintage, the latest that they have started picking since 1983. They started late because they were waiting for phenolic ripeness. In this vintage they do not have the tannins they would normally have nor the yields (34 hl/ha versus a desired 45 hl/ha). In her view, the 2012 vintage was reminiscent of 2008.  They now have a reverse-osmosis machine and have been utilizing cold maceration since 2010. They had to use all of their techniques, technology, and knowhow to get the most out of this vintage. The blend was 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, and 6% Petit Verdot. The wine was juicy and fruity with notes of oak, leather, and coffee.  Dark fruits on palate with significant alcohol burn on the finish.

Chateau Pape Clement 2012
The estate experienced a nice summer and then a very bad period during harvest. Not a good situation for Cabernet Sauvignon as the rain diluted the concentration of the fruit. They picked a fair amount of water-logged grapes. They normally shoot for a 50/50 blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon but the 2012 vintage was 53% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 1 % Petit Verdot. According to the Rep, if you compare the 2011 and 2012 vintages, you will note that 2011 is structure-driven while the 2012 is Melot-driven and, as a result, is round, delicate, and drinking now. I found the wine to have rich black fruit, with a little green, and notes of turpentine and mahagony. Lacks concentration. Atypical Pape Clement nose. I am normally a big fan of this label but not so much for the 2012.

Chateau Lynch-Bages Blanc 2013
Malou Le Sommer represented the Lynch-Bages label at this event. The wine was a blend of Sauvignon Blanc (2/3) and Semillon (1/3) and was vinified 50% in tanks and 50% in oak. It was subsequently aged for 12 months in 50% new oak. The wine was very aromatic with guava, nesberry, lemom-lime and some tropical fruits on the nose. Bright, brambly with a long, dry finish. I liked this wine a lot and was amazed at the QPR. I bought a case.

Chateau Lynch-Bages Pauillac 2012
Malou indicated that the 2012 vintage had a very cool spring and hot August. The harvested fruit was mature but lacked concentration. In her view this a is a "charming vintage without power" and is made to be drunk; and soon. They had to handle every aspect of winemaking gently and tenderly in order to come out with the wine they eventually did. Everything was fragile.

The nose did not present the rich, coconut-oiliness that I have come to associate with Lynch-Bages. The wine presented big, thick, dark fruit, cassis, and licorice and was weighty on the palate. Lacking in acidity though.

Chateau Domaine de Chevalier Blanc 2012
The second of the three whites I tasted at the show. All three wines were very good but they all had distinctly different characters. While the Lynch Bages and this wine had the same blend (percentages and varieties), where the Lynch-Bages was bright and springy, this was a more muted wine; and weightier (It should be noted that the L-B is a younger wine). But excellent nonetheless. This wine was vinified (natural yeasts) and aged in 1/3 new oak barrels. Green papaya, lemons and gooseberry on the nose. Great weight on the palate. Length of finish. Has used its 1 year advantage over L-B well and, if a roadmap as to what I can expect from the L-B in a year, I have made an excellent purchase. This is annually one of the best Blancs in this price range coming out of Bordeaux. This vintage did not disappoint.

Chateau Smith Haut-Lafitte Blanc 2012
The estate was represented by its Sales Director, Ludovic Fradin. This wine is a blend of (90% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Sauvignon Gris and 5% Semillon. It shows herbs, spices, vanilla and citrus notes and is elegant, smooth, and refined on the palate. Balanced, with a long, fresh finish.

Chateau Brane-Cantenac 2012
This estate was represented by Marie-Hélène Dussech, Sales Director. Marie-Hélène indicated that they grow on 40% of the plateau and also have some vines on the slope. The plateau-grown grapes are the ones that make it into this wine. Thick, rich dark fruit on the nose with herbs, cassis, and a savoryness. Delicate, balanced, with a long, elegant, silky finish.

Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron 2012
The estate was represented by its Technical Director Jean-René Matignon. The wine is a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and the remainder Merlot. According to Jean-René, conditions were unstable during much of the growing season but stabilized towards the end. Yields were pretty low and they had to apply strict selection in order to come away with quality fruit.

The wine exhibited very ripe dark fruit with rich cassis. Levels of acidity which was rare for the wines on display tonight. Bordeaux on the palate but not as robust as I would have liked. Thin finish.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme