Just a few weeks ago, we held our fabulous white Burgundy tasting, which was hosted by wine writer Robert Joseph. Following on the success of that event, Robert returned to AWC Wine Academy last week with a selection of fine red Burgundies to tantalise our taste buds.

As experienced aficionados know, Burgundy can be one of the most complex and often frustrating wine regions in the world. When it hits the heights there’s nothing to match it. However, you do have to kiss a few frogs before you find your princes (or princesses as the case may be).

Above: As with all of our tasting events we enjoyed some lovely canapes and champagne beforehand.

Robert was quick to point out that, should any question or comment come to mind during the tasting, attendees should feel free to shout it out – particularly if they found any of the wines lacking for any reason. With an invitation to openly heckle, who knew what the evening would bring? Fortunately, the enthusiastic and knowledgeable group of Antique Wine Company clients were able to enjoy an impressive, 100% success rate, thanks to Robert’s sublime and varied selections.

Above: Robert Joseph (l) and AWC Wine Academy Director John Stimpfig discuss the wines.

The evening started off with 2007 Corton Clos du Roi by Domaine de Montille. Today this biodynamic property is run by Etienne de Montille who took over operations from his famous father Hubert in the late 1990s. What has now emerged is a more open and silky style of red Burgundy than in previous generations. However, the wines have retained both their purity and their ability to age. This is a difficult task to pull off, but Etienne has managed it with aplomb and skill. The professionalism in production certainly shined through in this utterly delightful Grand Cru Corton.

A perfume of violets, wild raspberries and cherry compote rises from the glass. In the mouth, it displays exquisite balance, freshness and length. Above all, the wine had a brilliantly delicate touch, yet was significantly persistent on the palate – nearly always a hallmark of a great wine. This is what great Burgundy should be all about – the proverbial ‘iron fist in the velvet glove.’ Running £127 per bottle, I rated it an easy 96 points. What a superb start to the evening!

I was particularly pleased at how well this wine showed, as I had just bought the prestigious ‘Piece de la President’ lot at the Hospices de Beaune auction the weekend prior. Purchased for $150,000, the Piece was a 460L barrel of Corton Clos du Roi, Cuvée Baronne de Baÿ – a quite similar wine to the Montille.

As many of you will know, proceeds from the Hospices auction go to a number of extremely worthy charities. With the purchase of every lot, funds are raised to support extraordinary medical work. Some lots help save the lives of underprivileged children requiring emergency heart surgery, whilst others support important research into Alzheimer’s disease. As that is the case, I was extremely happy to pay the added premium for this particular lot. Moreover, if the 2011 Hospices Clos du Roi provides even half the pleasure of this Domaine de Montille I will be more than enthused.

Next up was another Burgundian legend – Domaine Armand Rousseau. Eric Rousseau, who now heads the domaine, produces nothing but Pinot Noir and is a master of the variety. Rousseau is unquestionably one of the Cote d’Or’s greatest and most sought-after growers. This evening’s wine was the 2006 Ruchottes-Chambertin, Clos des Ruchottes Grand Cru. While 2006 wasn’t the most homogenous year for red Burgundy, this was an absolute gem of a wine.

Another stunning aroma - both classical and bright. On the palate it had great attack and freshness. With an almost ethereal lightness, it still carried a touch more depth and weight than the Clos du Roi. The tannins were riper and the structure firmer, with darker fruits and a lovely mineral lift on the finish. Although this is drinking beautifully now, it will improve with age. Worth every penny of the £210 price tag. A sublime 97 points.

The third wine was from one of my favourite properties, Domaine Clos des Lambrays in Morey-Saint-Denis. Since Günther Freund bought the domaine about fifteen years ago, winemaker Thierry Brouin has managed to significantly elevate the quality of the wines. Given the warmth of the 2005 vintage though, we wondered what effect it would have on the style of this particular Clos des Lambray Grand Cru. Certainly this was bigger and broader than either of the previous wines, yet it was in no way over done or over-extracted. Once again, the truffle-like, red berry fruit flavours were beautifully delineated. What a pleasure to drink! Having said that, I would still keep this for a few more years, as I think it will benefit from a bit more time in the cellar. 94 Points.

The next Grand Cru also came from quite a warm vintage and this was reflected in its colour, structure and rounder tannins. While the 2003 Échezeaux from Domaine Robert Arnoux in Vosne-Romanée was nearly a decade old, it was just beginning to move beyond its primary fruit characters and hint at the glorious tertiary flavours to come. I found a lovely complexity in this wine - sweet, red and black fruits (both cherry and cassis) and a few more ‘animal’ or gamey notes. At just £104 a bottle this rated a very creditable and impressive 94 points.

For many, the following wine - Lalou Bize-Leroy’s 2000 Les Boudots, 1er Cru from Nuits-Saint-Georges - was the top wine of the evening. Although 2000 was a legendary vintage in Bordeaux, it wasn’t the greatest in Burgundy. Nevertheless, Lalou made a spectacular wine. The result was a wonderfully complex and pleasurable red with layers of candied violet and black cherry fruit, overlaid with spice, smoke and minerals. This had immense structure and staying power; the tannins are beautifully ripe and the wine is just moving into a more evolved phase. With plenty of sap and dry extract, the length is magnificent, making this is a wine to either enjoy now or to keep with great confidence.

As Robert pointed out, the feisty and talented Lalou is just as well-known as her own wines. She certainly has quite a back story. Having begun her career in 1955, she co-ran DRC with Aubert de Villaine for many years before being controversially fired during a vote by DRC’s board in 1992 – with the deciding vote cast by her own sister! Oh, the family intrigue of Burgundy! However, by that point Lalou had already begun to create her own estate. Domaine Leroy now boasts 22 hectares, from no less than 26 appellations, which contain a total of nine Grand Crus. Today, these biodynamic beauties are made from extraordinarily low yields and are priced at the same level as those of DRC itself. This wine is available for £288 and I rated it 98 points.

How do you follow a wine like that? The answer is with one of Burgundy’s most ‘cult-ish’ wines – none other than Domaine Georges Roumier’s Clos de la Bussière 1er Cru from Morey-Saint-Denis.

The core of this domaine is 12 hectares of Chambolle-Musigny vines which were brought as a dowry by a local girl to Georges Roumier in 1924 and famously included Les Amoureuses and some Bonnes Mares. The domaine was added to with parcels of Clos de Vougeot and the whole of Clos de la Bussiere in 1953. That same year, Georges retired, leaving his son Jean-Marie in charge.

Ultimately, the domaine really rocketed into the Cote d’Or’s Hall of Fame after Jean-Marie’s son Christophe took over technical matters in 1982. In my mind, there is no question that Christophe deserves the title of winemaking genius for the balance and finesse which emerge from his terroir-driven wines.
Sixteen years on there are still masses of sweet, rich, black and red primary fruits in this wine, with just the start of spice, earth and truffle. The texture is stunning, thanks to the silky, velvet-like tannins. As ever, Christophe Roumier has managed exquisite sweetness, finesse and remarkable length. An extraordinary 1er Cru effort from Domaine Roumier which is a steal at £96. 97 Points.

At this point, one of The Antique Wine Company’s clients from Switzerland enquired about whether it was or was not appropriate to decant Burgundy. This started a lively debate on the pros and cons of decanting among the attendees. After much discussion and deliberation - and following several rounds of voting - it was decided that red Burgundy should really only be decanted when it is within the first decade of its life. Of course, there are no hard and fast rules here and personal discretion will always play a role. Robert commented that he actually decants most white Burgundy but hardly ever decants any red Burgundy, irrespective of age.

The seventh wine was certainly one my top two wines of the night and proved just how well great Burgundies can go the distance. The nearly 30 year old, 1983 Clos de Vougeot from Domaine René Engel was absolutely wonderful. Today, this 7.5 hectare domaine - with plots in Échezeaux, Grands-Échezeaux and Clos de Vougeot - is owned by Château Latour’s tycoon proprietor Francois Pinault, who bought it in 2006. Since that time, Pinault has installed his trusty lieutenant from Latour, Frédéric Engerer, to be in charge of winemaking.

However, in the 1980s - when this particular wine was produced - the estate was run by Philippe Engel. Philippe’s tenure lasted many years and he is often credited with having pushed the domaine into the upper echelon of Vosne-Romanée producers. According to Robert, Engel’s Clos de Vougeot is probably the domaine’s finest wine due to a combination of very old vines and the fact that they are situated at the top of the Clos, adjacent to the château itself.

1983 was another warm vintage in Burgundy and this wine still had some sweet, primary fruit characteristics to it. It had also developed quite a few of the tertiary, gamey, sous-bois notes which are so beloved by Burgundy enthusiasts. Backed by elements of soy and mushroom, this beautiful wine is now fully mature and the gentle tannins make it a real pleasure to drink. Not only was this the most valuable wine of the night at £300 a bottle, it was also the finest and the most popular (as voted by the attendees). I gave it 98 points.

Perhaps because the Clos de Vougeot was such a stunning wine, it did slightly overshadow the 1978 Volnay Champans 1er Cru which followed it. From Domaine Camille Giroud, compared to the 1983 Engel, this was even further evolved. Fully mature, it was quite firmly in the ‘old wine’ category which meant that it wasn’t to everyone’s taste. Yet it was still very much alive and kicking – though not quite as energetically as the Clos de Vougeot. Available for £186, I rated it 91 points.

At the end of this remarkable evening we took a vote on which were the top wines of the night. Here are the results: [Please note that all of these wines are available on request from The Antique Wine Company]

Tied for 1st Place -

1983 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru - Domaine René Engel - £3,600/case of 12

2000 Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Boudots, 1er Cru, Domaine Leroy - £3,456/case of 12

2nd Place -

2007 Corton Clos du Roi, Grand Cru, Domaine de Montille - £1,524/case of 12

3rd Place -

2003 Échézeaux Grand Cru, Domaine Robert Arnoux  - £1,248/case of 12

Tied for 4th Place -

2006 Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru, Clos des Ruchottes, Domaine Armand Rousseau  - £2,520/case of 12

1995 Morey-Saint-Denis Clos de la Bussière 1er Cru, Domaine Georges Roumier - £1,152/case of 12

We look forward to welcoming you into the Wine Academy in the coming months, whether for another Red Burgundy tasting, for your own private tasting or for one of the other exciting events we have planned.

To join us for a tasting or to reserve the Wine Academy for yourself, please visit - http://www.awcwineacademy.com - or contact Deborah Ives on +44 (0) 20 3219 5560.

To purchase any of the wines which were covered in this particular tasting, please contact one of our staff wine experts.

After the rigours of the Vinexpo Trade Fair and the 2010 Bordeaux En Primeur campaign, it was a welcome contrast to travel to Burgundy recently with some VIP clients. In particular, these individuals wanted to visit and taste at the incomparable Domaine de la Romanée-Conti.

One of the great advantages of working with The Antique Wine Company is our ability to arrange this sort of exclusive visit. These special audiences are not simply ‘tasting trips’, but are instead personally guided pilgrimages to gain insight on (and pay homage to) the greatest wines on the planet.

Above: Driving through the vineyards on our way to DRC - Looking down on Morey-St-Denis

We were met on a shimmering, blazingly hot day in Vosne-Romanée by none other than Aubert de Villaine, owner, guardian and custodian of the mythic Domaine. In 2010, Aubert was named Decanter Magazine’s ‘Man of the Year’, making him the only Burgundian to have received this extraordinary accolade.

Aubert was the epitome of warmth and humility upon welcoming us. However, he also had a long-standing prior engagement which he had to attend to. So, after a few minutes of chatting, Aubert introduced us to his trusted cellar-master Bernard, who conducted our private tour and tasting.

Our journey at the estate started in the cuverie where Romanée-Conti’s ultra-traditional winemaking process begins amidst its many oak foudres (large fermenting vats). From there, we descended into the cool, vaulted cellar to taste DRC’s liquid treasures from the 2010 vintage.

We began with the brand new Corton, made at the Domaine for the very first time in 2009. This new wine – at least the 2010 version - is absolutely breathtaking. This is definitely a wine which will be worth following upon release.

The Corton was an apt aperitif to the rest of the Domaine’s magnificent Pinot Noir portfolio. Comprised entirely of Grand Crus, this unequalled portfolio helps maintain the estate’s peerless reputation year after year. First up in this fabulous 2010 sneak preview (to be released in 2013) was the Échézeaux. Already, the wine is deliciously fresh, sweet and drinkable - resonating with raspberries and strawberry fruit.

We then graduated to the Grands-Échézeaux which, despite residing adjacent to Échézeaux, seemed to be a bit drier and a touch more concentrated, with substantially more smoke, structure and minerality. The Romanée-St-Vivant seemed lighter still, but equally more ethereal, with less toasty oak and a finer tannic backbone. The raspberry fruit and violet high notes in this were sublime.

The Richebourg was a further rung up the ladder, with a rich, sweet and creamy nose. Exquisitely delineated, the red and black fruits, toast, minerals, polished tannins and gorgeous acidity help create the ideal package. Everything was properly in place and perfectly presented.

Where do you go from there? To the epic La Tâche of course! Barely a hop, skip and a jump away, it is situated just to the south of Romanée-Conti and the 2010 version is already a wonderful work in progress – rich, spicy, deep, structured, complex and full. For fans of this great vineyard it will not disappoint.

Ditto the pièce de résistance, Romanée-Conti itself. Almost impossible to describe and certainly impossible to fault, this is the sine qua non of Burgundian refinement and class. The wine is another masterpiece in the making; already it is sweet, mineral-laden, juicy, deft, multi-faceted, elegant and extraordinarily long.

As if this wasn’t enough, Bernard next took us to the cave where the 2009s lie in preparation for shipment next year. Given how good the rest of Burgundy was in 2009, one can barely imagine what awaits those who were lucky enough to secure an allocation of DRC in this annus mirabilis.

However, one more treat awaited us as Bernard temporarily disappeared and then reappeared - holding an anonymous bottle. Our task was simple - guess the vintage. This game invariably sends shivers down my spine, but equally it is all part of the fun of being a wine merchant.

To be fair, Bernard gave us a slight clue to help us with our guesses. He informed us that the vintage was the third in a trio of great millesimes. However, we were told, the press were suspicious of the possibility of such beneficence and wrongly panned the vintage.

Four guesses ranged between us, from 1983 to 2002, with my opinion modestly shooting for 1987. In fact, the wine turned out to be a 1991 Grands-Échézeaux.

After thanking Bernard for the tour and tasting, we emerged blinking into the soaring heat of the afternoon and immediately made our way to where these wines are born – in DRC’s spectacular vineyards. It is only after you physically see the ideal slope, soil and aspect of Romanée-Conti that you come to appreciate what a perfect terroir this ancient vineyard really is – and just how small it is as well, producing a mere 450 cases per vintage. No wonder it is so sought after and so incredibly valuable.

The following day we headed north to Champagne for two more days of unique tastings. Check back shortly for accounts of our visits to Krug, Dom Pérignon, Bollinger and others...

Hong Kong

The Mandarin Oriental’s limousine is ready and awaiting my arrival in Hong Kong and I am immediately impressed with the efficient service that is the norm in this fast-paced city.

This landmark hotel is now managed by one of my very first Asian clients, Jonas Schurmann, who when I met him twenty years ago was the Food & Beverage Director at the legendary Oriental Bangkok.

Within two hours of my plane landing, I’ve checked into to my room, have showered fresh, and I am sitting at my desk in The Antique Wine Company’s Hong Kong offices enjoying the sunset view over Hong Kong’s exclusive residential district ‘The Peak.’

After taking care of a few administrative matters, my local director (Julien Froger) and I set off for dinner with ‘Mr. Pavie,’ one of Hong Kong’s numerous wine collectors. We dine at Cepage, a Michelin-starred restaurant owned by an Antique Wine Company client from Singapore, and take pleasure in a dinner that would knock the socks off many meals at notable European restaurants.

During the evening we compare the various virtues of La Mission Haut Brion versus Chateau Haut Brion from the now deliciously drinkable 1999 vintage. The La Mission is deep and powerful, with an austerity that will serve the wine well for a long life yet to come. The Haut Brion is more about elegance, finesse, and the classic minerality that for me is the hallmark of this great wine.

Afterwards it is back to the hotel for a mandatory nightcap and some time to play catch-up on the ever-growing email inbox because the European business day is still in full swing. I am finally ready for bed around 2:00AM, which I take as a good indication that my jet lag has reduced itself from seven to a mere three hours of discomfort.

The following two days are spent in client office meetings and hashing out deals over lunches and dinners. It is a very full agenda, but I also manage to sit for an interview with the Wall Street Journal about the phenomenon of the Hong Kong wine market. The interview includes making a visit to a private wine cellar at a spectacular home on Hong Kong's famous St. Andrews Golf Course, which is located about an hour drive away in the New Territories. Here we see another side of Hong Kong which reminds me of Gibraltar twenty years ago.

My final day in Hong Kong includes a visit to our logistics company. They provide us with a very secure and temperature-controlled storage facility in the Sha Tin District. The visit is followed by lunch with another one of our importers/exporters to mainland China. Over the best Dim Sum lunch I have ever tasted we talk about the Chinese market and how consumers are now developing interest in wines other than just Chateau Lafite.

While Lafite looks certain to remain the iconic wine for gift-giving, it seems there is a rapidly growing demand for many other Grand Crus and their second wines.

We spend some time studying the 1855 Classification in detail and interpreting the Chinese translation of each name. Leoville Las Cases, for example, means “Wine of the Lion.” Angelus is translated as “Golden Bell.” In China it is not only the taste of the wine but also its name, its meaning and its price that are important factors in the market.

I manage to get an hour in at the Mandarin Oriental's spa before my final dinner, a meal with one of Hong Kong's most prolific collectors, ‘JC.’ We meet at one of his buildings in the former manufacturing, but now choice residential, area of Kowloon.

It is a modest 50-storey affair, about the same size as London's Park Lane Hilton, and inside JC has installed two wine cellars.

One cellar houses about 10,000 bottles of his personal wine collection, and the other is divided into 100 smaller lockers which are rented out to fellow wine collectors for their own storage. "It’s just a hobby business," he tells me casually as we sip on Pol Roger's 1998 Cuvee Winston Churchill and tour his personal cellar - which seems to contain every great wine ever produced. We examine cases of DRC, Comte de Vogue, and Comtes Lafon going back to the 1950's, along with Petrus, Cheval Blanc and all the other First Growths.

Later, over a Japanese dinner in his boardroom, we share Louis Latour's 1989 Corton Charlemagne, Bouchard Pere et Fils Batard Montrachet 2000, Armand Rousseau's Gevrey Chambertin Clos St Jacques 2000, and Chateau Palmer 1983. It is a delightful finale to my three day visit to Hong Kong, and I am dropped back at my hotel with enough time to pack for my 5:00AM departure.

However, as I step into the hotel elevator, out walks ‘Charlie’ - one of our longest-standing clients from Bangkok. What a coincidence in this small world!  Charlie, who is now running JP Morgan's Hong Kong office, and I enjoy a nightcap at the bar together, a drink well worth it because I pick up an order for a few more cases of 1982 First Growths, including a case of Chateau Latour in superb condition that we acquired recently in a cellar purchase in Switzerland.

Thank goodness I am able to get some sleep on my Singapore Airlines flight back to Europe the following day. That is of course after the Krug, caviar, and roast lamb washed down with plenty of their standard Bordeaux - Chateau Cos d'Estournel 2004!
 
For The Antique Wine Company, Asia is currently the fastest growing sector of our customer base, but we still don’t know enough about our clients there. They remain a complex mix of wine traders, hoteliers, and private collectors. During the coming year my objective is to get to know them and their needs better.

Travel arrangements booked by Amex Platinum Travel Service.

Leaving Mexico city behind, I now find myself on the way to my client's ranch, where a traditional Mexican lunch is on the menu. Driving out of the city, you cannot help but stop to contemplate the surroundings. At 7000 feet above sea level,  Mexico city has 21 million inhabitants, one of the largest cities in the world. Maybe here more than anywhere else, I realize the surreality of the journey. Avoiding the potholes, and speeding through less than recommendable towns, I already anticipate the final destination, as I know from past experiences of this client, what awaits me will be a grand spectacle, worthy to be noted as one of the most beautiful places in the world. Yet again, this experience did not disappoint.

Seated by the lakeside in an english garden, while the family and I enjoy a bottle of 1990 Domaine de la Romanee Conti La Tache, I must admit I have one of the best jobs I could imagine. Aside from the gorgeous locations I am fortunate to visit, the fine wines I am obliged to enjoy, it really is the people I share my time with that make these moments special. Clients become friends, and just to be able to share a meal with such interesting men and women, makes my work a real pleasure. We enjoyed La Tache accompanied with tacos and guacamole, and even though the depth of the concentrated fruit was impressive, black cherries and black currant rather than red fruits, even the slightly spicy guacamole didn't overpower the taste of this great wine. The aroma was difficult to detect as it got lost with the scents of the garden, but the colour was a deep concentrated purple, a still solid colour for a 20 year old wine.

Moving on to lunch, one of my worst nightmares. My client hands me his cellar book and asks me to choose the wine for lunch, a traditional menu of steamed lamb, roast pork and fajitas. I always feel in a really difficult position wanting to remain polite and modest, but what exactly is modest for a client who drinks Chateau Petrus every day? My solution is usually to suggest a vintage and leave it to my host to choose the wine from that vintage. Having agreed on a 1990 Burgundy to start, I suggested that Pomerol from the 70's was especially delicious now, so my host decided on Chateau Petrus 1975 from Magnum. Served carefully but directly from the bottle without decanting, the tannins had incorporated themselves to form the skeleton of the wine, with prune sitting on the robust structure. I was pleasantly surprised, the colour was a deep mahogany having lost all purple traces, perfect balance in the mouth, a very long finish, and absolute purity. This Magnum of Chateau Petrus could have lasted another 20 years easily.

The lunch was served in the wine cellar, which can accommodate about 20 diners. I have worked with this client for the past 5 years, and first visited the ranch 3 years ago. At the time, the cellar was no bigger than 50 square meters, but now, we have expanded it to 250 square meters, a duplex cellar with one floor underground and the other at ground level. The main entrance is on the ground floor, but of course no daylight ever shines through the heavy door. The rustic stone and wrought iron racking create a truly authentic atmosphere, adapting to the beautiful mexican surroundings.

Sitting under a blue sky, no smog anywhere and 21 degrees in the early spring sunshine, a glass of Domaine de la Romanee Conti in my hand, I realize I really do have the best job in the world.