The Chateau Beaulieu
Comptes de Tastes Label

They’re here. The 2009 Bordeaux are just starting to arrive.

Most of the top Bordeaux 2009s are sold-out last year when they were first offered as futures and this would have been also except I just never got around to offering in the flood of releases last summer. Grab a case while we still have this available.

The 2009 Bordeaux vintage Wine Spectator rates a 95-98 for the Right Bank and describes as, “rich and powerful yet round and friendly, with velvety texture and loads of fruit,”

This is the vintage we have been clearing space in the cellar for,. The vintage Robert Parker started a fire storm of demand for when he wrote, “some of the greatest wines I have tasted in 32 years,” one of the greatest vintages of our lifetimes – it’s here.

Kick it off right with Beaulieu Comtes de Tastes 2009.

Robert Parker raves about this Right Bank estate:

“This is one of Bordeaux’s finest run over-achievers.”

Wine Spectator bestows a whopper of a rating: 88-91, reviewing this gem as, “A minerally and fruity wine, but subdued and balanced. Medium-bodied, with fine tannins and a long finish. Score range: 88-91 -JS” – Wine Spectator

Parker liked this Bordeaux Superieur wine so much that he selected it for inclusion in his book Robert Parker’s Wine Bargains: The World’s Best Wine Values Under $25. “…this sensational wine exhibits excellent texture, medium body, and soft tannins and is a beauty to enjoy over 5-6 years.”

This is the wine that everyone is looking for – a 2009 Bordeaux with incredible taste and quality for a price you can pull the cork on everyday.

Chateau Beaulieu is a Bordeaux Superieur with a “try-harder” attitude. To be a Bordeaux Superieur requires conforming to stricter rules of vinification, but Chateau Beaulieu goes way farther than that and turns out a wine that is just as good as many of the much more expensive Classified Growths.

The estate is owned by Guillaume de Tastes. It comprises 25 acres of vineyards in the Entre-de-Mer which is the large region between the Dordogne and Garonne Rivers. The terroir is the ideal combination of limestone and clay with south-facing sloping exposure.

Guillaume invests a lot of money in his property, using new oak (very expensive), green harvesting (passing extra times through the vineyard to cut off grapes to increase the concentration of the remaining grapes and lower the yield), with the hope that his quality would be recognized and over time it would pay off.

Well, when Parker gives you the coveted 90 or over, you know it will pay off and we know that we had better stock up (most wines in this range are twice as expensive) before Guillaume starts collecting on his investment. Maybe two cases?

As talented as Guillaume may be, when Stephane Derenoncourt gets involved in a project, the outcome is certain to be very positive. You’ve heard me talk about Stephane often. He is one of Bordeaux’s finest consultants. He works at Pavie Macquin, and Larcis Ducasse, and Prieure Lichine to name just a handful of estates that have been on fire since his involvement.

I don’t ever hesitate to buy from an estate when I know Stephane has been tending the grapes. He doesn’t try to put his signature on the wine, but instead works hard to understand the style of the terroir.

Beaulieu is not a wine that tries to imitate the old guard Medoc wines with their formidable tannins and wood, but a wine that revels in its silky and fleshy fruitiness. 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Cabernet Franc. 100% GREAT! Cynthia Hurley

 The Golden St Marc
Sauternes bottle

Everyone likes a glass of Sauternes – but how often do you actually have one? Not often enough, probably. A sip in a restaurant. A glass at a friend’s who is having a very pleasant dinner party. We all need some Sauternes at home to make this very pleasurable wine experience more available.

Sauternes is wonderful before dinner. Of course we know after dinner it adds a rich touch to (or in place of) dessert. But it is also a very delicious and appetizing apéritif.

This time of year I serve it with a slice of fresh peach in the glass or pour some into the bowl of a cut melon as a starter course. Sauternes is no one-trick pony.

That’s right, Sauternes are not always patient enough to wait until the end of the meal. Sauternes is a versatile little beauty that will stimulate your senses just about any time.

The Sauternes wine-growing area is about 45 minutes south of Bordeaux. There are only five communes whose grapes can be bottled with Sauternes on the label: Fargues, Preignac, Bommes, Sauternes, and Barsac. Barsac, which lies to the north of the other villages, has its own appellation and can put Barsac or Sauternes on the label. Chateau St Marc is a Barsac.

Barsac/Sauternes is a nectarous libation created by picking grapes that have been afflicted with the mold botrytis cinerea. The mold attacks each ripe grape, devouring the grape skin and causing the grape to become dehydrated and shrivel. This results in superconcentration of the grape’s juice and a high sugar content.

Sauternes is expensive to make because the pickers must pass through the vineyard several times to catch the grapes at their peak rotten moment. The most famous Sauternes cost $100 a bottle and way more than that if you’re talking about Chateau d’Yquem, where a full bottle will set you back about $500. Now, this is pretty hard to stomach if you’re as fuzzy over the peachy stuff as I am. But I knew that with a little persistence I could find an under-valued gem with a very sweet price tag.

Chateau Saint Marc has been owned by the Laulan family for four generations. The wine is elegant and at the same time powerful. The grapes are painstakingly selected during as many as five passes through the vineyard. Saint Marc is 85% Semillon which is the grape that provides solidity and makes the wine capable of ageing for a long time. There is 12% Sauvignon Blanc in the blend which provides the fragrance and vivacity and 3% Muscadelle which adds a certain floweriness to the wine. It is classic Sauternes: rich, peachy, and lingering.

All of this is making me want to head for the cellar and uncork a Sauternes. And, you know, you don’t have to have Roquefort or foie gras on hand to make a Sauternes soar.

And then there is the Sauternes sauce: melt a tablespoon of butter in a skillet. Add 2 minced shallots and cook for 2 minutes. Reduce a cup of Sauternes by half over moderate heat and add 2 cups of heavy cream that you have already reduced (start this early) and boil for 2 minutes longer. Whisk in 3 tablespoons of butter, dash of pepper, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, half teaspoon of curry powder. Strain through a sieve and serve over sea scallops. Toss on some fresh, minced chives and some coarsely chopped pistachio nuts. Thank you three-star Georges Blanc for this little beauty.

So there you have it. If you have never seriously thought about owning some Sauternes, you should. A good Sauternes makes you feel civilized. Never a bad thing. Cynthia Hurley

 The modern and distinctive Transhumance label
(label from last year)

It’s well established that Pierre Gaillard makes some of the world’s greatest wines in the Northern Rhone, so when he told me he was making a Faugeres from the Languedoc Roussillon I knew I wanted it in my glass.

And, of course, the first sip told me that Pierre Gaillard has packed all the expertise that he applies to his expensive and exclusive Cote Rotie and St Joseph wines into his stunning Faugeres. It is saturated with color and an amazing richness of red and black fruit flavors.

And there’s even more good news: this wine is from the Languedoc Roussillon and those prices have not nearly caught up with Cote Rotie and St Joseph even though the wine is way better than its peers including many wines asking twice the price.

If you don’t know the wines of Pierre Gaillard, you should.

The Faugeres wine region lies between the Cevennes mountain range and the Mediterranean Sea, near the villages of Beziers and Pezanas. There is a special connection between Pierre Gaillard and Faugeres. Faugeres is one big mountain of schist rock and Pierre Gaillard loves schist. He makes his famous Cote Rotie in the northern Rhone from schist-based soils. It’s a rocky, brittle soil he knows well.

The lovely thing about schist is it forces the vines to plunge their roots deep into the soil to search for moisture since schist drains well. These roots become very hardy and able to withstand those gale-force winds and long periods of drought which can challenge the Languedoc Roussillon growing season.

Of course this adds complexity and minerality – the elusive mark of great wines

But, the schist is good for something else as well – it retains the heat of the sun like flagstones on a hot day so the grapes can keep ripening far into the night. This creates a glass of wine that is concentrated, perfectly ripe and fully expressive.

Gaillard’s Faugeres is made from 50% Syrah (the grape of the legendary Hermitage and Cote Rotie made in the Northern Rhone Valley), 40% Grenache (the grape of the great Chateauneuf du Pape made in the Southern Rhone Valley), and 10% Mourvedre (the little darling that makes our Cotes du Rhone so darn delicious).

Pierre takes great care with his Faugeres. He vinifies parcel by parcel and grape type by grape type which allows him to meticulously allocate only the best parcels and the ripest grapes to the final wine. And, on top of all this, the juice is aged in oak for 16 months. He never filters.

All I can say is, I’ve been nosing around for a Faugeres for a long time and when I tasted this one, I called off the search. This wine is great stuff. Cynthia Hurley

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There is something you should know about the 2009 vintage in the Loire. Some people are saying it’s historic, and everybody is saying it is exceptional.

Here is how the growers are describing their harvest: “the freshness of 2005, combined with the richness of 2003″, “some truly great wines (no exaggeration)”, “lovely fruit, wonderful concentration and balance – on a par with 1989 and 1997″.

Wine Spectator chimes in with “…best and most consistent harvest since 2005.”

This is the moment to uncork some Loire wines.

One wine writer out there is calling 2009 the “Smiley Vintage” and others have picked up on it. Why? Because the growers just can’t keep the smiles off their faces when they think about the 2009 harvest.

And, more than one Loire expert is comparing the 2009s to the 1989s. You have to understand something about the 1989s – that was and still is a revered vintage in the Touraine (the region of Saumur Champigny) sort of like the 1945 or 1982 in Bordeaux. You don’t make frivolous comparisons unless you are absolutely gaga over the harvest. So, the 2009 is a truly remarkable vintage that you cannot miss.

This Saumur Champigny from Domaine Lavigne is laden with fruit and has beautiful concentration and balance and is exquisitely ripe and delicious.

It was love at first glass for me with Saumur Champigny. It’s got the fruit, but also the structure. It’s not heavy. It’s great with food, but it’s also great before dinner. Because it’s made from 100% Cabernet Franc, it is very aromatic. There is no wood in the elevage of this wine; it is raised in stainless steel tanks which give it its backbone of acidity and freshness. There are lovely layers of black and red fruits and it is a smooth wine.

Domaine Lavigne is located in the commune of Varrains. There are only eight other communes (because of their superior terroir) who can put Saumur Champigny on their labels. Varrains is about five minutes south of the town of Saumur, which is stretched alongside the Loire River.

Domaine Lavigne is a family operation and the Lavignes and Verrons are very serious about their winemaking. They have a new chai replete with many gleaming stainless steel tanks. They have invested in all the high tech gadgetry that is necessary to stay on top of their game. They run a very pristine operation. I’ve tasted a lot of Saumur Champigny and I’ve never found a better one than this. Oh, and I think you’ll like the price, too. Cynthia Hurley

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 The Domaine du Rochouard Coteau label

I first heard of Domaine du Rochouard when it showed up in Decanter magazine a while back with five out of five stars (5****) for one of its wines.

I was on the phone with proprietor Dominique Duveau shortly after to request a rendezvous. He was reluctant since he is such a small producer, and fearful of getting his production gobbled up by some big importer who cares more about quantity than quality, but after I explained that small, high quality independent producers are the only growers we deal with, he loosened up.

The consensus is that the 2009 vintage is the best vintage the Loire has enjoyed since the remarkable 2005. This is a beautifully ripe vintage that will last and evolve but I prefer to drink them young when the fruit shows best and the vibrant acidiy makes them a great match with any full flavored foods (pizza anyone?).

You probably know by now that if you like to drink wine often, as I do, the Loire has some of the best wine values in France. Among the reds the top three appellations are Chinon (more stucture), Saumur Champigny (more fruit forward) and, a favorite of mine, Bourgeuil (maybe a combination of the two) which is a perennial Paris Bistro favorite. You will find it everywhere in the capital by the glass, by the caraffe, and the best ones from family domaines like Domaine du Rochouard by the bottle.

Bourgueil, which is not far from Chinon, is part of the Touraine. It’s north of the Loire River, west of Tours. The climate is mild and you will run into the odd palm tree. This delicious and aromatic red is 100% Cabernet Franc.

Here’s what Guide Hachette says about the wines of Domaine du Rochouard:

“One appreciates the almost violet robe of the wine, its nose expressive of red and black fruits, embellished with some licorice, but above all, the abundant material coming from a ripe harvest. The tannins put their two cents in, but not too strongly and the final taste returns to that licorice.” – Guide Hachette

It’s always a relief to show up at a new vineyard and see an impeccable operation. You could do open heart surgery in the vat room and that usually says something about the care taken with the wine – both in the vineyard and in the winemaking.

The Domaine was started in 1969, Dominique Duveau joined his father in 1995, and in 2007 Dominique’s brother joined him upon their father’s retirement.

Cuvée Coteau comes from a small special two-hectare plot of limestone, clay, and sandy soil. The grapes are macerated in the tank for about three weeks. Dominique does not age Coteau in wood. It is bottled after 12 months.

Cuvée Coteau is a full-bodied, rich wine with notes of dark currants and those uniquely expressive aromatics that come only from a wine that’s 100% Cabernet Franc. I tasted ripe, roasted cherries. Bourgueil! You will want this in your glass. Cynthia Hurley

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 The Domaine des Jougla Initiale Rosé

I’m picky about what goes in my glass. I’m not about to fall for something just because it’s pretty in pink.

But, I was willing to admit that, as the quality of French wine has gotten better and better, so has the Rosé. And, as I’m sure you know, the popularity of Rosé has gone through the roof.

So I went on a rotation throughout France and I drank every Rosé I could find – not the romp through the vineyards you’re undoubtedly envisioning since there are still a number of slackers out there passing off their leftovers as Rosé.

But with some perseverance, and over several years, I found a few. This was the very first one I imported. It’s not surprising that my first Rosé was right in my own backyard of existing growers. I like to work with the small “indy” growers who put quality ahead of practically everything. These are the fellows who are not about to short-change their Rosé. In fact they are devoted to their Rosé as much as any wine they produce from their vineyard.

This Rosé is from Domaine des Jougla. I discovered this estate several years back traveling around the Languedoc Roussillon which stretches all the way from where the Rhone empties into the Mediterranean, west along the rim of the sea to Spain. Domaine des Jougla is from the St Chinian wine appellation in the Languedoc – an area that is getting wonderful reviews and new attention.

A couple years back I was pleased to see that France’s equivalent to The Wine Advocate, La Revue du Vin de France, backed up my good feeling about Domaine des Jougla’s Rosé by naming it one of the Best Rosés in Southern France.

“A well-built personality around savory minerals, spicy fruit reminiscent of kumquats. A real mouthful!”

That’s impressive! These La Revue folks trekked through a lot of Rosé territory to pick their favorites.

Do you know how they make Rosé? The best Rosé is made by pressing the grapes, the way you normally would for any red wine. The juice is allowed to sit with the grape skins picking up color, but also tannins, pectins and proteins, which give the wine structure. Then the juice is drained off, put into another vat without the skins and the fermentation proceeds. This process is called saignée.

The Jougla Rosé has pure fruit flavors of raspberries and strawberries and, just as important, freshness. By freshness, I mean good, lively acidity. Rosé has to be perky and it’s the acidity that gives it that zing. This is a full-flavored Rosé made from Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvedre. The color has a brilliant salmon tint.

So, start the Rosé chilling. It’s great now and summer is here. Cynthia Hurley

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 The Local St Chinian Wine Fair:
Wonderful , undiscovered wines from local growers

This is one of my favorite inexpensive wines – and in a spectacular vintage. Domaine des Jougla is located in Prades-sur-Vernazobre, a village of 200 people. The famille Jougla who has worked their property for many generations, makes a red St Chinian cuvee Ancestrale from a vineyard that is very close to the Mediterranean Sea.

St Chinian was awarded its own appellation back in the early eighties because of its superior soil (schist, clay, and limestone) and the passion of the winemakers there. If you talk to anyone about Domaine des Jougla, they will tell you the wines are a reference for the area.

Here’s what Paul Strang (Languedoc Roussillon: The Wines and Winemakers) says:

“This is a typicité house, but by no means stick-in-the-mud; benchmark Saint Chinian, in fact. Spend a little time in the tasting room and you will find that most of the Jougla customers are relieved to find that Alain is not trying to achieve fifteen degrees of alcohol, that he is not over-oaking the wines, or aspiring to membership of the avant-garde. Rather, they have come to buy wines which flatter rather than kill food.”

This is a classic full flavored red wine that benefits from a high concentration of Mouverdre. The Mouverdre which takes great heat to ripen properly (so is very successful here) provides roundness and delightful deep red fruit flavors.

Here are some tasting notes from the domaine: “This wine is a classic of the appellation Saint-Chinian. The wine is a beautiful garnet red. The nose is marked by very ripe red fruit, licorice, and a hint of tobacco. The mouth is coated with slender but muscular tannins.

Cuvee Ancestrale comes from a vineyard that is very close to the Mediterranean Sea and right on the dividing line between the schist soils of the mountains and the limestone soil that was raised from the sea when the Pyrenees were forming.

This means the wines have the benefit of two soil types: the schist which produces wines with mineral notes, some coffee and smoky aromas and scents of the garrique (those rocky outcropping laced with lavender and herbs) and the calcaire (limestone) which makes a wine with bouquets of fresh black currants, raspberries, and cherries. The Jougla St Chinian Ancestrale is made from Mourvedre (40%), Grenache (30%), and Syrah (30%).

It’s dinner time! Don’t forget the Jougla Ancestrale! Cynthia Hurley

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 Winemaker Jean-Luc Thunevin and Murielle
in their Saint-Emilion Garden

Presidial Bordeaux 2006 The last cases. Some people came back for thirds on this wine and now we are down to the end of my supply.

Save $20 per case. This is a close out price on this familiar red favorite:
But, it is here now and I’m ready to fill your glass. You will love it! It is all concentrated fruit and none of those vegetal, reedy flavors or rough tannins that often mar a lower priced Bordeaux that is not meticulously made. This Presidial 2006 is quite perfect and no surprise considering that Thunevin is the architect.

It doesn’t hurt that this Bordeaux has been the rave of the French press. It has been been called the “Best Value in Bordeaux”. More than once. Now that is tough to top.

You probably know who Jean-Luc Thunevin is by now. He “started” the whole “garage” movement back in 1989. Garage wines, as you probably know by now, are small production wines made from tiny parcels of vines that are tended as preciously as orchid gardens.

Jean Luc bought a tiny parcel, on the “wrong side of the tracks” in Saint-Emilion and proved to the venerable Saint-Emilion establishment in a few vintages that one could make a silk purse from a moose’s ear if you did things like de-stemming by hand and severe green harvesting and keeping the yields very, very low.

He called his wine Valandraud. It led the way in the quality revolution in Saint-Emilion that persists to this day. Now, even the old establishment types are copying his every move. We have Jean-Luc Thunevin to thank for a lot of the great wine coming out of Saint-Emilion because today he advises many, many chateau owners about their wines.

That is why when Jean-Luc gets a yearning to do something – like create a great, little generic Bordeaux that doesn’t cost an arm and leg – I want to get in on it. That’s the Presidial story. He took great parcels of terroir from around Liborne which is right next to Pomerol and Saint-Emilion and applied all of his demanding winemaking techniques et voila!

Some of you read my emails and proclaim, “What doesn’t she like?” Well, if you only knew how hard it is to find a really great little Bordeaux you wouldn’t be saying that. There are hundreds of wines that splash down my gullet and then right into the spittoon never to meet my taste buds again. This Presidial was a winner from the get-go.

I had it the other night and my first thoughts were about the fabulous, pure Merlot fruit that started out good and ended even better. It is really a charmer and at this price, you should think seriously about two cases. Cynthia Hurley

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 The Gaillard Cornas Label

“Without a misstep, Pierre Gaillard pursues a path of quality. He is dynamic and intelligent, for several years now his wines have been exciting and fascinating, winning and seductive in their youth, lacking nothing in complexity and potential. These wines are the surest values in the Rhone Valley.”

I’ve always loved the robust and rounded red wine from Cornas. And, when you match Pierre Gaillard’s winemaking prowess and intelligence with the Cornas terroir, the result is a beautiful glassful of red wine.

“Fruit and lots of it is the hallmark of the 2006 vintage in the Northern Rhone,” John Livingstone-Learmonth writes in Decanter magazine.

Cornas is like a little stocking foot on the bottom of the much larger wine commune, St Joseph. Cornas produces only red wines, made exclusively from the Syrah grape. It is a very small appellation with only about 90 hectares planted.

Cornas is a very big wine. Big, powerful, loaded with ripe black fruit. This results from the fact that Cornas sits in a big dish-like geologic amphitheatre that protects it from the cooling and brutal Mistral. The hot, nearly-baking Syrah grapes produce juice that is often described as: virile, robust, earthy, black, tannic, brooding, and massive with notes of raspberries, truffles, and cassis.

“Cornas has character, life, and energy.” -La Revue du Vin de France

I think, as the standards of winemaking improve and technology is able to extract more and more flavor from a grape, our yearning for big, expressive and rich wines has increased. This does not necessarily mean a wine that is ponderously alcoholic or over-oaked (Pierre Gaillard would throw himself in the Rhone River before that happened); it means more concentration and structure.

Pierre Gaillard only has one hectare to work with in Cornas. His yields are ruinously low at 35 hectoliters per hectare. His vines are a noble and aged 70 years. Pierre exercises severe sorting and harvests by hand. The wines rest 18 months in barrels, 50% of which are new.

Put a case of this in your cellar. You will love its rich intensity. Cynthia Hurley