Sitt 2011 Tasting Notes and UK observations.

Sitt is the Specialist Importers Trade Tasting and it takes place every February in Manchester and London. I have just finished showing a selection of wines at the London tasting yesterday. It was a fun event and it is always great to see so many trade buyers and journalists. As I spend so much time travelling in Bordeaux and Languedoc it is a rare occasion to see some people! It is an opportunity to re acquaint as well as meet new people.

The UK wine trade has always been a dynamic market place and trading post for all sorts of wines. This specialist trade tasting mainly caters for artisan producers and importers rather than the big corporate companies. The UK economy is not in the best of shape at the moment with various tax rises and impending job cuts. There is a sense of uncertainty and it is a time to be stoic and work hard and clearly focus on the core values of your business. There will be companies merging and undoubtedly companies going to the wall in the next couple of years. But this also leads to a great opportunity to build loyalty and strengthen. If you can survive the hard times......then the good times will be great.
This year I was showing a range of wines from Bordeaux, the Rhone and Languedoc. It was the first time that I was not showing Australian wines at this event. The Australian wines are becoming extremely expensive in the UK due to the exchange rate. Fundamentally Australia is still producing some exceptional wines, however they have various issues to deal with domestically regarding drought and basic vineyard economics. At the moment Australian wines are rapidly becoming less popular in the UK market. I am sure that they will 'come back' but it might take a few years.
This is what I was showing....
From Bordeaux:
Chateau de la Riviere Rose 2010 £9.49 (recommended approximate retail price in the UK.)
A lighter style of Rose from 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. With a screwcap closure this is an elegant fresh crisp wine for Spring/Summer.
Chateau du Pin 2009 £7.99
It is sometimes difficult to find decent reliable consistent claret under £10. This is a lovely fresh juicy style of mainly merlot red. The 2009 was a great year at the top end for Bordeaux, but also at the lower scale there are some delicious wines produced. Elegant, ripe and tasty.
Chateau Bois Noir 2008 £11.99
This is a really beefy style of Bordeaux. The wine is made by Cyril Gregoire and is classified Bordeaux Superieur. It is deep dark and has a roasted mocha character nose. Excellent serious concentrated style.
Chateau de la Riviere 2006, Fronsac £19.99
This Chateau continues to produce excellent quality and value wines. This mature Bordeaux has an intensity of merlot dominant fruit with poise and balance from good oak ageing. This wine is approachable now, but will benefit from further cellaring.
Chateau de la Riviere 2007, Fronsac £19.99
Ironically the 2007 Riviere is developing quicker than the 2006. This wine has a savoury texture and has a brooding bramble and damson cream character. Delicious.

From the Languedoc:
Domaine La Prade Mari Viognier 2010 £7.99 (tank sample showed)
Excellent fresh crisp white with a hint of white peach blossom and apricots. A refreshing white from a small block (1.2 hectare) of vines.
Domaine La Prade Mari Roussanne 2010 £14.50 (barrel sample showed)
We aged this wine in 4 new oak barriques (225 litres). The grapes are from a very young plot (4 years old), which produces a rich nutty character on the wine. The integration of fruit and oak gives a beautiful balance and richness. The vanilla texture from the oak stands up to the quality of the fruit. Very small quantities available. (we only produced 2300 bottles!)
Domaine La Prade Mari 'Rubis des Garrigues' 2010 £9.99 (barrel sample showed)
The first Rose wine produced by Eric Mari. Equal parts Syrah/Grenache/Carignan and Mourvedre harvested by some extremely able pickers (Max and Jasper Wakes-Miller aged 6 and 8). We fermented this wine in stainless steel tanks and then put it in to older oak barrels for 4 months just to add a richness to the wine. The wine is showing very well now. It has a deeper pink/red hue and a nose of summer pudding and strawberries. This will be delicious this Summer as a Rose to be served outdoors with food when Summer arrives.
Domaine La Prade Mari Vieilles Vignes Carignan 2009 £6.50
This wine surely has to be one of the best quality /value wines available. The vines are 80 years old and they contribute to the beautiful elegant rounded ripe juicy style of red wine. Dark cherry characters on the nose and clean balanced palate. The wine has very light tannins from the fruit rather than oak ageing. It is also refreshing at 12.5 degrees alcohol. An absolute bargain.
Domaine La Prade Mari 'Secret de Fontanilles' 2008 £8.50
The word 'garrigue' is hard to directly translate from French. It is essentially the wild shrubby hedgerow that surrounds the vineyards in the south of France. The 'garrigue' has incredible mixture of flora and fauna with thyme, rosemary, fennel, wild garlic, wild onions, sage, gorse and rocket. All these herby aromatic characters are hinted in this delicious deep red.
Domaine La Prade Mari 'Chant de l'Olivier' 2007 £10.99
50:50 Syrah and Grenache aged in 2 and 3 yr old barrels. This has depth, richness and outstanding quality fruit. An international winemaker chose this as one of his favourite wines at the tasting.
Domaine La Prade Mari 'Conte des Garrigues' 2007 £12.99
Same % grapes as the Chant de l'Olivier above, however this wine has newer oak barrels. The influence of the newer oak gives the wine a slightly tighter structure. Very classy deep, dark garrigue characters and ideal with roast beef or roast sanglier.
Domaine La Prade Mari 'Gourmandises des Bois' 2007 £25.00
80% Syrah: 20% Grenache Very pure elegant Syrah. I have always thought that this wine would show comparatively well in a blind tasting of top quality northern Rhone wines.

Domaine Moulin Gimie Merlot 2008 £7.50
Merlot can be overcropped and jammy in the Languedoc but this example is pure class. It has won Gold medals in Paris (for what it is worth) and has a light menthol structure balanced with dark damson and blackcurrant fruits. An excellent everyday drinking red.
Domaine Moulin Gimie 'Les Fossiles' 2008 £10.99
The first showing in the UK for this unusual blend of Merlot, Syrah and Mourvedre. A delicious savoury slight milk chocolate character (probably from the mourvedre) balanced with intense red summer fruits.

From the Rhone:
Kreydenweiss 'Perrieres' 2008 Costieres de Nimes £12.50
Marc Kreydenweiss(16th generation winemaker from Alsace) bought this 19 hectare property in the southern Rhone in 1999. This wine is a beautiful example of Syrah/Grenache/Carignan and Mourvedre which thrive on the iron rich soils. An incredible depth of dark fruits wrapped in a sling of top quality oak. This wine also has a freshness which presumably comes from the biodynamic treatments in the vineyards and cellar.
Kreydenweiss 'Ansata' 2007 Vin de pays de Coteaux de Flaviens £15.00
100% Syrah therefore this wine has to have the rather unusual Vin de Pays classification. However this does not diminish the pure quality.
Kreydenweiss Chateauneuf du Pape 2007
Marc Kreydenweiss works 2 hectares of vines in the famous appellation Chateauneuf du Pape. These 2 hectares are mainly on sandy soils, which have never been sprayed with pesticides (the land was previously worked organically). Now Marc has converted the land to biodynamic principles and produces a sublime quality red wine. This wine packs a punch with 15 degrees alcohol, but it is in perfect balance with layers of elegant ripe cherry and herbal fruit characters. Truly a wine to savour.

These are background notes and observations on the wines rather than specific tasting notes. I am happy to quote ex cellar prices for UK trade buyers.

UK Wine Tax Calculator New App

An interesting new free App available from Itunes. Quite shocking to see exactly how much duty and taxation is cleared off from a £5 retail bottle of wine in the UK.

Organic, Biodynamic and Egyptian Wines

Last week I zoomed off to my first big wine tasting event of the year. It was an organic wine show in Montpellier, France called Bio Millesime. This annual event is a good starter for the year in January. The tables are completely mixed up between regions and countries, in order for people to browse and move around rather than just pinpoint certain areas. This gives the wine tasting an element of confusion, but also conviviality! IE Lots of people lost at the same time.
I have attended this wine show over the last few years and it has grown out of all proportion. This year it took up 3 halls at the exhibition centre. Organic wines are expanding rapidly.
I have been relatively ambivalent towards organic wines and organic viticulture. I have always tasted a wine and judged a wine for quality and price before categorizing whether it is organic or biodynamic. However one of the wineries that I work closely with (Domaine La Prade Mari) is converting to organic viticulture. The picture here is myself and Eric Mari the owner of Domaine La Prade Mari having a look at some very healthy grapes just before harvest last year.Sometimes organic can mean a price premium when I genuinely think that most people in a wine shop don't really care. They would rather have a delicious wine that fits their price or buying criteria. If it is organic then that is a bonus.
It is noticeable that the organic culture is very strong in the Languedoc Roussillon, as the warm Mediterranean climate and cleansing strong winds make viticulture slightly easier. However up in Bordeaux (which has a higher rainfall and higher humidity) it can be more difficult to be organic. However this is changing as two significant Bordeaux Chateaux have fully embraced biodynamics...Chateau Pontet Canet in Pauillac and Chateau Guiraud in Sauternes.
Here are some figures on organics(courtesy of Drinks Business):
Languedoc-Roussillon’s organic vineyard coverage increased by 51.9% from 2008 to 2009 , Rhône-Alpes by 50.8%, Aquitaine by 45.2%, Burgundy by 43.2% and Provence-Alpes-Côtes d’Azur by 34.6%.
The national growth was 38.9% to a total of 39,116 hectares. Growth is slowest in the North and West, where climate makes organic viticulture much more of a challenge. Organic vineyards in the Pays de la Loire grew by just 7.1% over the same period. Alsace also showed a relatively modest increase of 13.5%.



It is interesting to see how organic culture is increasing. I was truly amazed with the quality and improvement of many wines last week. I tasted over 300 wines and scribbled notes on which wines to follow up. One of the interesting stories was from a gentleman who is the viticulturist for a vineyard project in Egypt. As I had never tried Egyptian wine I was drawn to his wines out of interest. They were particularly good quality. The white was a blend of 90%Vermentino with 10% Chardonnay, whilst the Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah blend worked particularly well on the reds. The wines were called 'Jardin du Nil' and they will soon be appearing in global wine markets. The story about planting vineyards in deserts where the temperature is over 50 degrees in the Summer and there is virtually no rainfall was intriguing. It was also interesting to hear that the University of Montpellier are visiting Egypt to see how the Stem Potential Technique of using water for vines is effective. The principals used in Egypt could well be useful in the Mediterranean countries if global warming persists.
This afternoon I am traveling to the Rhone valley to taste one of the wines that I found at Bio Millesime. An absolutely gorgeous wine from just near Chateauneuf du Pape. I will reveal more later if I get the deal for distributing the wines.

Domaine de Chevalier

One of the highlights of visiting the various Chateaux with Bella Wine Tours is meeting some of the characters who make the wine. Some of the Chateaux owners live far away, some Chateaux are owned by large insurance companies or multinational cosmetics companies. But many of the Chateaux which we visit have a common theme. The people are truly passionate about wine. They adore their jobs and their knowledge, enthusiasm and passion is evident.
One of the highlights of last year was when I took a small group of UK clients on a Bordeaux Day trip as the clients were already on holiday staying nearby in the Dordogne.


The group wanted a relaxed day, without being too intense, too 'winey' and to include a couple of big names!
So we decided to explore the Graves and Sauternes area.
We visited Chateau La Louviere the stunning property owned by Andre Lurton and tasted the wines. Then we visited Domaine de Chevalier in the Pessac Leognan area. This immaculate property is owned by Olivier Bernard, the charismatic French man whose family bought the estate in 1983. The estate is not organic or biodynamic but they are very careful with spraying and vineyard treatments. They are in a very wooded area just to the south of Bordeaux, so they are more prone to disease and infection and frost.

We met Remi Edange, who is Olivier Bernard's right hand man at the estate. It was evident that Remi was completely obsessed and totally driven by the estate and viticulture. At the estate we had the astonishing good luck to taste some of the 2010 white wines that were just being gently pressed. We tasted some incredible free run Sauvignon Blanc juice from the press. What an experience.

We then had a quick look around the cellars, whilst trying to keep out of the way of the workers, before adjourning to taste some wines.

We tasted barrel samples of Domaine de Chevalier red and white from the excellent 2009 vintage. We also tasted Domaine de Chevalier 2005 red just for a bit of fun. (still very young but an amazing wine)
I firmly believe that Domaine de Chevalier wines are some of the best value wines in Bordeaux in context with what is happening with the price of the First Growths. These wines are for true wine drinkers, not necessarily for speculators.
After Remi's passionate explanations and history of the family, the property and his unbounded enthusiasm for life.....and after tasting the stunning wines.....we decided it was time for a decent lunch. So we went to the excellent restaurant Table du Lavoir at the 5 star Vinotherapy hotel Les Sources de Caudalie.
In the afternoon we were planning to visit Chateau d'Yquem!

Andrew Lloyd Webber Wine Sale-Result

Well the market in Hong Kong for fine wine certainly remains buoyant.
The sale of a large amount of Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber's wine cellar raised $HK43.3 million ($5.6 million or £3.5 million).
The highest prices were 12 bottles of Chateau Petrus 1982 ($HK 605,000 = £48,000), which was 26 per cent more than the high estimate. The second highest lot was 12 bottles of Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1982 ($HK459,800= £37,000)
“I hope the new owners enjoy my wines as much as I have and look forward to reacquainting myself with them in restaurants all over China when Cats starts its national tour in Mandarin,” Lloyd Webber, 62, said in a statement from Sothebys.

Andrew Lloyd Webber Hong Kong Wine Auction

Here is an interesting interview by Serena Sutcliffe MW with Lord Lloyd Webber. The interview is timed for the Sotheby's auction tomorrow (January 22nd) in Hong Kong of part of his wine cellar.
Lord Lloyd Webber has been a massive wine collector for many years.
It is interesting the link between fine art and wine collecting. His first love of Burgundy was inspired from the amazing architecture of the churches and the villages. I must say whenever I think Burgundy I think of the incredible mosaic of roof tiles and rolling hills with rooftops of hidden villages. However I am some way short of Lord L-W's cellar!!
Great to hear the gushing awe when Serena and Andrew talk about the legendary Chateau Palmer 1961. Like naughty school children. It will be interesting to see the prices achieved at this auction. The major auction houses have not been slow to develop links with the expanding Asian fine wine market.

Rugby, Horse racing and Wine!

Yes, you can combine my three favorite pastimes!
Fortunately the south of France has some of the best rugby clubs.....Toulouse, Perpignan, Montpellier, Narbonne and Beziers for starters. Most of these teams play in the European leagues..Heineken Cup. So if you want to follow your UK or Irish rugby club when they are playing the French side AND you want to combine a wine tasting/tour then drop me a line.
The Irish rugby team are also playing a warm up game against the French side in Bordeaux in August ahead of the Rugby World Cup.

The French love horse racing too. Many of the top tracks are in and around Paris, such as Chantilly, Longchamps or Maison Lafitte. However we have a few hidden gems in the south of France. Pau racetrack has a fantastic winter festival with great jump racing, whilst Le Bouscat in Bordeaux has year round flat, jump and trotters.

We can combine vineyard and Chateaux visits with many different sporting or cultural events. Or simply combine a wine trip with you holiday in the south of France!
hamish@bellawines.co.uk for more details.