Once again, numerous of the world’s Masters of Wine have descended upon Bordeaux for a week of wine tastings, lunches and dinners, centred around a symposium to discuss the world wine industry and current changes in the international wine market.

I am writing this note having retired to my room at Chateau Marojallia in the sleepy hamlet of Margaux and there is a noticeable calm and tranquillity that’s fallen over this city, whilst my sales office in London (in common with most other wine merchants and negociants) is frantic with activity in selling the 2009 Bordeaux vintage.

This vintage is one that has been received with massive critical acclaim as to its quality, as this week we have seen eager anticipation turn to aghast and shock at the levels of the prices, which incidentally are completely in line with my original forecast set out earlier in this blog.

It seems that we wonder where the logic is in paying between eight and twelve thousand pounds for a case of first growth wine that is still going to be maturing in the barrel for the next two years when we can buy mature vintages, ready to drink today, at a fraction of the price. However, I thought the same during the en-primeur campaign of 2005, again in 2000, the same in 1995 and 1996 – and the same, in fact, in every great vintage when the wines seem to take a step-change to the next level. Despite that, in every example, five years later when the wines are in my cellar and it’s increased in value so much, I’ve not regretted my purchase but wish that I had bought a lot more! I am sure the same will be true of the 2009 vintage.

One of the main advantages of buying en primeur is the fact that this is the only time when you can secure a significant amount of the wines that one really wants. It is also an important time to secure the wine before the distribution fragments its availability around the world. For example, I know that every case of wine that I have bought en primeur, 20 years later when I come to enjoy it, hasn’t been shipped to the United States, Taiwan, back again to Europe and around the world another three or four times but has been under my control since its birth. The faultless provenance offered by en primeur is one of its most important and alluring features and guarantees the quality of what one enjoys in the future.

We have to remember, at the end of the day, it is not the producers that set the price, neither is it the merchants: it’s the market that sets the price. The producers are in a difficult position because the market price will prevail and, if the producer offers his wine to the market too low, then the merchants add on their margin and sell at the maximum the market will accept - therefore, the merchants make all the money. If it is the other way round and the Chateaux price the wines too high then the market will not buy it anyway and the negociants are stuck with the wine because they can’t lower the price. In this case it is just a matter of time before the wine eventually begins to sell but, sooner or later, all great vintages sell.

For me the real secret in all this is finding the value. As I am writing this blog, I have just heard that Chateau Leoville Las Cases has come out at a little more than Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou and considerably less than its neighbour, Chateau Latour, and this is an example of where the real value lies. This is a great wine and I take my hat off to them. I congratulate those at Chateau Leoville las Cases for getting it exactly right. The problem is we just can’t get enough of their wine because everyone wants it!

I am pleased to say that we will have an offering of mature vintages of Chateau Marojallia and Clos Margalaine, the best value Margaux, in a few days time.

Picture: Chateau Marojallia Proprietor Philippe Porcheron in his Margaux vineyard

Something happened this weekend here in Hong Kong that made me reflect upon the early days of my wine career, in the late 1980’s, when new customs regulations in England allowed travellers to hop over the channel to France, load up their car with wine, and bring it home to the UK, without any duty charges.

The “Grande Finale" to Vinexpo Asia in Hong Kong this week was two auctions conducted on Friday and Saturday, one by New York auctioneer Acker Merrill which raised some HK$152million (£13m/US$20m),  and running concurrently was Christies sale of their “liquid Gold” Chateau Yquem collection. As both of these sales contained items originally supplied by The Antique Wine Company, especially numerous older vintages in the Christies Yquem collection, it was very satisfying to see this lot achieve HK$8m. Following the sale, David Elswood informed me that it had become the firms “biggest wine lot ever lot sold”, falling only slightly short of that achieved by  The Antique Wine Company in 2007 when we supplied the unbroken line of Yquem vintages 1855-2005 to a French buyer for $1.5m. But what I find especially surprising is the fact that the Yquem sold last weekend was, according to Christies, purchased by a EUROPEAN PRIVATE BUYER!

With Europeans going to Hong Kong to buy wine, it seems that the former colony’s  desire to become the “Fine Wine Hub for Asia” is not only being achieved, but might well go beyond their dreams and aspirations to become the “Fine Wine Hub for The World”!

Here at The Antique Wine Company we are currently sitting on  an even larger collection of Chateau d’Yquem with various other documents and items from the bygone Lur Saluces era.  In the aftermath of the exciting auction I was asked “will you sell it in Asia?” I replied, “it might be best to keep it until the Chinese market really gets going”!

國語版本

Whilst here in Hong Kong anticipating the lines of Chinese visitors for tomorrow’s opening of Vinexpo Asia, I wonder who would have thought ten years ago that this Asian market would be the driving force behind the fine wine business as it is today? It’s an explosive phenomenon best illustrated by the rise in value of Lafite 1982. Three years go The Antique Wine Company was supplying this wine at £10,000 per case. We are now supplying the same wine for £40,000 per case and every case of Lafite, not only the 82 but even the shadow vintages of its second wine, goes to China and we still can't find enough. This is good news if you're a European client with an odd case or two in the cellar that you might wish to sell!

Two years ago, whilst at The Antique Wine Company's “Three Centuries of Lafite” event (co- hosted by Chateau Lafite and The Antique Wine Company) at Grand Hotel du Cap Ferrat in the South of France, I asked Lafite's winemaker Charles Chevallier, over a glass of their 1959 vintage, "what do you attribute the apparent popularity of Lafite in China to?” He answered, two reasons, the first being that "Lafite makes the best wine in Bordeaux" (an answer which the world’s most esteemed  winemaker is almost duty bound to give with hand on heart and one which is perhaps true), but the second reason was probably equally important; "Lafite is a name that is pronounceable in Mandarin, and there's also something special about the word "la feet" in the world's biggest, fastest growing economic force.

During this Vinexpo show, I'll be taking a massage of La Feet every day!

© 2010 Stephen Williams

 Pic; The Great Antique Lafite Collection 1787-2000 sold by The Antique Wine Company in 2007

 

I received a message from my client “Anton”, a leading sommelier and “Gastro-Entrepreneur” in Moscow, asking if I was familiar with a wine made at a Monastery on an Island off Cannes in the Mediterranean. He’d seen a news story on Decanter.com about their Pinot Noir recently beating several great burgundy wines in a blind tasting, including Domaine Anne Gros Richebourg and Denis Mortet’s Clos de Vougeot.

The tiny Isle St Honorat takes just twenty minutes by car and speed-boat from my summer home, so Anton decided to leave the extended Moscow winter, and take a trip to the French Riviera where together we went to make our own assessment of the vineyard, winery, and the now famous “divine" wine.

At first it felt rather strange to be accompanying my host, Cisterian Monk Frère Marie Pâques, who, dressed in his habit, walked me through a technical tour of their vineyard. Two things were very noticeable early on, first was the evident pleasure that Frère Marie Pâques and his brothers derive from their viticultural activities, and the second is the level of commercial acumen which they apply in interacting with the “outside” world. I never envisaged that my wine career would lead me to be wandering around a vineyard with a monk, interrupted by occasional calls on an iPhone.

This tiny island is approximately twelve hectares, of which eight hectares are planted with vines, up to sixty years old. The older vines are generally Clairette, accompanied by Chardonnay for the white wine, with Syrah and the more recent plantings of Pinot Noir. The entire island is owned by the Monastery, there are no more vehicles or roads, its heart is the abbey, and on the north side a small boat harbour and very good restaurant, a commercial enterprise of the monastery. Currently the sales of wine, made mainly to island visitors and a few wine shops and restaurants along the Cote d’Azur, represent approximately 25% of their commercial income, the remainder being derived from the restaurant and the eau de vie (fruit spirit) which they also produce very successfully. Clearly our hosts were enthusiastic to see what we as wine professionals thought of the wine, and the tasting from barrique in the chai situated within the cloisters was most interesting. All the wines go through some degree of barrel ageing.

The gentle introduction came through the Clairette, a pleasant slightly aromatic, lemon tinges in colour, and its freshness is appealing for afternoon enjoyment then followed by a more classical rich Chardonnay, with good weight and power, the wines here seem to be very alcoholic. It’s an interesting paradox to see modern style wines that Parker might well rate very highly, made in a vineyard and by an organisation that goes back to the 5th century!

The red wines are indeed something special, comprising Syrah that will stand up against most wines grown south of the 45 parallel, and then the Pinot Noir, Cuvee St Salonius. Again it is power rather than elegance that is the order of the day.

It doesn’t come as a surprise to me, that when set against a background of fine burgundy, this wine will have attack! But frankly I don’t think for me it is what I expect from fine Pinot. I struggle to find complexity or elegance, but it is good.

But if you're looking for a great Syrah, then the Cuvee St Sauveur does the trick. It is very well made from 19 year old vines, 12 months in oak barriques. The power of this wine is quite remarkable, with spicy liquorice and deep black fruit loaded on to a firm structure.

Surprise

The surprise was yet to come – the price! I’m afraid that at 190€ per bottle for the Pinot, it’s hard to see how the wine can compete in the competitive open international market. Whilst we might be willing to pay hundreds or even thousands per bottle for DRC and other fine burgundy, I think it’s a long time yet before anyone will see the value or "must have one" qualities of this wine beyond its novelty factor.

For me the Syrah, at around €40 per bottle, is well worth it, and especially with such a dinner party story about where the wine came from.

I had one final question to Dom Vladimir, the Abbot of St Honorat, who incidentally is of Russian decent and formerly an officer in the French diplomatic service, this helped enormously with my client "Anton”: from champagne, we’ve got Dom Perignon and Dom Ruinart, can we expect to see Dom Vladimir with bubbles? Who knows, with these Vintrepreneurs, and a little Divine Intervention, perhaps anything could be possible!

 

Fresh into the start of the Cannes International Film Festival, I cannot help but think of the various films over the years which have featured fine wines, some of which, even making wine their main plot.

In 2004, Sideways brought us into the American wine country, where we followed Miles, a divorcee wine aficionado, and Jack, his soon to be married best friend. Throughout their week-long trip, and their various perils, we especially got to see the Santa Ynez Valley wine country, and Miles gave us an insight into his favourite wines. The film's commercial success, and Miles’ high regard of Pinot Noir while denigrating Merlot, surprisingly affected the sales in the wine industry. That year, Merlot sales dropped by 2%, whereas the Pinot Noir sales increased by 16%, both in America and Britain. This just goes to show how deeply film culture is rooted in our society, probably even more than we would have thought!

As a high point of the movie, Miles is seen drinking a 1961 Cheval Blanc; an excellent wine, rich and lush with tobacco scents, but it is best drunk around now rather than keeping it in your cellar. I only hope Miles was still able to enjoy this fine wine out of his foam cup! Antique Wine Co has a few very nice bottles of this wine currently in stock with levels still in the very high shoulder.

Bottle Shock is another film worth mentioning. Napa Valley is at the heart of this stor y, where Stephen Spurrier travels to in order to find contestants for his Judgment of Paris taste test. It is there he discovers the Chateau Montelena Chardonnay 1973, which will be the first wine to beat French Chardonnays in the blind tasting test. Unfortunately, even though this incident forever changed the wine industry, and especially Napa Valley, it is almost impossible to find the Chateau Montelena Chardonnay of 1973, as well as the Stags Leap, which had also won at the same competition. A case was ultimately given to the Smithsonian Institute, but the Stags Leap of 2005 is an excellent example that Napa Valley is still a very strong contender.

Finally, even though it did not receive critical success, “A Good Year” directed by Ridley Scott brings us to the Provence region and to the joys of winemaking. Max Skinner (played by Russell Crowe) takes us on the journey from his high powered life as a London securities trader to finally inherit and enjoy from his uncle the finer things in life including the winery and chateau.

Over the years wine has also been featured in many famous movies. Humphrey Bogart enjoyed Veuve Cliquot 1926 vintage in Casablanca, Dom Perignon, Bollinger and more recently Chateau Angelus has been featured in the Bond movies, and my own role at The Antique Wine Company has continually brought me into close contact with the film industry. Two most memorable moments include the occasion when Paramount Pictures asked me to find several bottles of 1912 Top Bordeaux for producer James Cameron and his team including Leonardo di Caprio and Kate Winslet to celebrate their Oscars won for the movie “Titanic”; 1912 being the relevant year. Sony Pictures have also used Antique Wine Company’s vintage gift service on scores of occasions, and I also remember a few hours touring Chateau Latour with Stan Winston, still considered to be the most talented “special effects expert”, a man who certainly appreciates the explosion in every glass of exceptional wine!

During this week I will be continuing my Riviera Radio broadcasts on wine from the Cannes Film Festival, and these are available for download here and best played on our I-phone app downloadable here.

 

 

Last night Robert Parker published his report on the 2009 vintage in Bordeaux, endorsing what those of us privileged to have experienced first-hand last month no doubt already concluded.

In fact, the vintage is so good that in some cases, the quality level is so high that Parker has needed to go beyond 100 points. Certain chateaux who have produced wines with “the finest potential of all the offerings I had ever tasted from that estate in nearly 32 years of barrel tasting samples in Bordeaux”  are rated by the addition of an asterisk on top of their 100 points.

We have published the Parker scores on the 2009 Allocation Request page of our website.

As we move into the campaign proper, the real problem is clearly going to be all about how much wine we can get hold of.  Inevitably prices will be at similar levels to 2005, but I expect the proportion of wine to be sold en-primeur to be considerably less, with the chateaux tending to release more later when the market has inevitably risen further. This vintage also has the characteristic as being one that is likely to become drinkable quite early in its life (5 years or so), and whilst it is still likely to produce wines of longevity, this will mean consumption demand might well provide an earlier return to speculators than 2005.

However, for those of us who enjoy to drink wine rather than speculate in it, the good news is that the quality of some lesser classified growths and even petite chateaux is equally outstanding.  We are going to be offering some of these wines over the coming weeks, and I can tell you, that my own cellar is going to contain a lot of them.

Clients who have registered interest by filing a  2009 Allocation Request will be given priority over our forthcoming offerings so please register now.

 

 

An afternoon with Jacques Thienpont, Proprietor, Le Pin.

Listen to the PODCAST

It’s a lovely sunny day in downtown Pomerol, I’m standing in the shade of two pine trees, in front of a modest, slightly dilapidated house, which can’t really be described as a chateau, as Jacques Thienpont arrives on his bicyclette to allow me to taste his 2009 Le Pin.

This is my first meeting with JT, a man who not only has been very successful but clearly has a sense of humour. He speaks about his plans to demolish the modest little house beside the two Pine Trees, and build a swimming pool and tennis court. Its only when he mentions that from here he intends to host the Pomerol International Tennis Masters that I realise the truth is intermingled with humour!

We step into the chais of the winery containing 29 barrels of what is no doubt the most valuable 2009 merlot on the planet and he assembles a special Antique Wine Company blend. Sadly only three glasses of this cuvee will ever be available, one for me, one for my colleague Julien, and one for himself, and we are going to drink it now. “I purchased a spitune but after a few days I left it at home because no-one used it” said Jacques! M Thienpont emphasises the contrast between different barrels, remarking upon the almost daily changes at this stage of the wines life, comparing this to that of the female temperament, although he consistently complements his wife Fiona’s winemaking abilities and enthusiasm for the management of Le Pin.

At Le Pin fermentation is carried out in small stainless steel tanks with the malolactic fermatation in barrique. Historically the 225 ltr new barriques have been supplied by Seguin Moreau, but in 2009 for the first time the boss at Taransaud has convinced them to experiment with one of their barells. This tonellerie based in Cognac is very popular in burgundy, but seen less in Bordeaux. JT comments that he expects the effect of their oak to be more but still refined, whereas his Seguin M barrels tend to become almost completely diffused after their first 6 months.

The first vintage of Le Pin was 1979, it was the debut of the “garage wines” followed by Valandraud. Initially the vineyard was only 1 hectare and subsequently expanded to its current 2ha20. I asked Jacques how Le Pin has managed to succeed in being recognised as similar in status to the Medoc 1st growths, he interrupted me to point out “ it’s not gone to my head – it’s the result of constant uninterrupted quality that has been recognised by the market”. JT insists he doesn’t interfere with the market, but keeps wine making simple, no cooling or heating system in the winery and just lets the wine do its own thing.

In 2009 the harvest took place on two days, 22nd and 25th September (after the rain). The wine has a surprisingly low level of alcohol at 13.5%, especially in comparison with other Merlot wines in this vintage. According to Thienpont this is entirely the result of terroir and the earths gravel content, on the gentle slope that provides drainage.

The 2009 shows a dense purple colour, solid to the rim, tannins are so approachable, plenty of tannin but no aggression or masculinity. “Women love this wine, but personally I prefer wine that I have to flight with a little” remarks Thienpont. In the mouth the wine envelopes the palate with super-concentrated sweet black fruit, exotic, and leaving this rich coating around the mouth which seems to go on for ever.

Thienpont is also currently experimenting with three barrels of wine he has made on some nearby land. A few ares he purchased nearby but this won’t be included in Le Pin. He only sells this wine to some of his chums in Belgium as generic Pomerol.

I asked Thienpont how he felt about the fact that his wine sold for such astronomical amounts of money, in particular his 1982 vintage which the Antique Wine Company last sold a case of for £50,000. He compares his wine to artistic masterpieces, and although he finds it difficult to identify his favourite of the 29 vintages produced so far, (“if you have twelve children, then how can you say one is your favourite”? he remarks), and he goes on to say that his first three vintages, he regrettably sold in their youth to repay the money his bank loaned to him to buy the vineyard. “I wish I had kept the wine and the debt, and sold just a few cases to repay them years later”. It is certainly interesting how the appreciating value of this precious liquid has outpaced the cost of borrowed money so dramatically.

Talking further about how many of the older vintages might still be on the market, Jacques remarked that he only has one bottle of the 1982 in his cellar, I am still unsure if he was joking or serious! He does admit to having more bottles of his first 1979 vintage, although he suggests it was his “draft attempt” and might not be the best example of Le Pin to buy.

Le Pin received more visitors to taste its wine en-primeur this year than usual, especially from Asia and some from China. According to Jacques, the Chinese are becoming accustomed to giving Le Pin as gifts, especially at the highest political levels. The Chinese gift Lafite to one another regularly, but if it’s for an important politician or official, then apparently the equally pronounceable Le Pin is the wine to give.

We stepped outside onto the ploughed piece of land designated for ”proposed swimming pool and tennis court that is so close to Jacques heart ”. Jacques confirmed to me that he has purchased land in St Emilion, a rumour that I had heard recently. He said that he chose the site adjacent to Troplong Mondot, for two reasons; the first being because he thinks Cabernet Franc will be an increasingly important ingredient in overcoming the consequences of global warming, and secondly because he will be in good company! No doubt Christine Valette, proprietor of Troplong, will feel the same!

After a most interesting, informative and entertaining hour, Jacques set of on his journey home, in the same modest way in which he arrived, on his bicyclette!

For Decanter's follow-up on this story and the latest wine news, updated daily, go to decanter.com http://www.decanter.com/news/297422.html 

© Copyright 2010 Stephen Williams

 

Even to someone like myself, having been in the wine business for most of my adult years, it can be difficult to remember all of the best vintages and wines from around the world, their value, their ratings and tasting notes.  It’s information I often wish I had available when trying to spot the value hidden in a restaurant wine list so that I can work out the best wine to choose. 

It was with this dilemma in mind that I decided to develop and now launch The Antique Wine Company App, providing our clients using I-Phone with a wealth of information, available wherever they may be – in a restaurant, on a plane, at a dinner party or at a wine tasting. 

The App allows you to swiftly and discreetly access all of the wine facts you need to become an expert, ensuring that you will have those important gems of information to hand, whether entertaining friends or clients or just looking to choose a fine wine for a quiet moment. What’s more, when you have one of those magic bottles that’s so good you want another, you can just click and send an order, you may find that we can offer you a whole case for the same price you paid in the restaurant! 

Features of the App are:

- Prices, tasting notes and ratings for over 2000 wines. 

- Search for wines by region, vintage and price.

- View prices in multiple currencies, including sterling, US dollar and Euro.

- Available both on and off-line, so you are free to browse at all times.

- Series of informative and entertaining audio podcasts. 

- Links to the Antique Wine Company Website.

Click here to download our free application to your iPhone now at the iTunes store. 

At The Antique Wine Company, our business is all about supplying antique vintages, and young wines which will become the antiques of the future. But there’s nothing antique about the technology we’re using to provide our clients with the expertise and service they need to make their wine buying such a fun and enjoyable experience!