Bordeaux Tasting

Hey Everyone!

Long while since I posted to this or any blog but I'm happy to be doing so again! Today I'm writing about a wee tasting I put on for a few friends of mine as they prepare for a high profile tasting competition at the Residence de France in London a fortnight from now. The theme of the evening is Left Bank Bordeaux, including Médoc, Graves, Sauternes and Barsac. I took part in this tasting last year and despite doing somewhat poorly (then having my spirits lifted by a stunning meal and lovely wine) I feel that the exercise of analysing Bordeaux from a blind tasting perspective was very enlightening.

When training for blind tasting, you always look at the general styles of grapes and regions in the following manner: Syrah tastes of violets, but is fruiter in Australia and more briny in the Rhône and so on. Basically you paint a region with a broad brush and Bordeaux is the same. There is a character to Bordeaux that makes it unique from wine anywhere else in the world. I am fairly confident I could pick out a Pomerol in a line up of Merlots from the rest of the world, but when it comes to picking apart the differences between the various cabernet-based communes of the Left Bank things get a bit tricky. So today's tasting was aimed at four appellations and three vintages.

1. Chateau Le Pey 2010 Médoc- The nose was creamy, sweet salted caramel and milk chocolate followed by cherry and crème de cassis. The colour was youthfully red; no traces of ageing yet lighter than some of the older wines showing the wine to be less concentrated. The palate agreed with lighter tannins, less intense flavours and acidity. A pleasant wine, but not the product of great grapes.

2. Chateau de Cardaillan 2007 Graves- Deeper colour but with some brickish hues showing the affects of ageing. 2007 is an early drinking vintage so it follows that maturity was reached quickly in comparison with the older Fourcas-Dupré. The nose was marred by a slight cork-taint but the character showed through in a perfumed fruit nose

3. Chateau Fourcas-Dupré 2004 Listrac-Médoc- This one was difficult to describe. There was not a whole lot to distinguish it from general Bordeaux wine. It lacked the cocoa powder of St-Estephe, the perfume of Margaux or the woody cedar of Saint-Julien. It was a good wine, but there really wasn't a whole lot to tell us what exactly a Listrac-Médoc was like. That said, it was a lovely bottle of wine!

4. Chateau Martinens 2007 Margaux- Classic to Margaux, the nose showed plenty of floral aromatics, perfume (almost like Campari smelled from a distance) and something along the lines of kirsch liquer. The palate showed fine grained tannins and an elegant finish. A really great wine and amongst this line up, I think it showed as an amazing wine.

Overall, I find the concept of blind tasting a highly invigorating experience, especially when put into such a singular context as Left Bank Bordeaux. It also shows what a versatile region Bordeaux is for wine production. It's not a tired region only good for putting out overrated and expensive wines. Rather it does offer some good value and quality across the board. Especially in an age where so many new world wineries boast of their high altitude or extreme conditions, Bordeaux is temperate by comparison and never more than a few metres above sea level.

For whatever reason, wine from Bordeaux is often overlooked by the casual drinker, but it should not be. It offers good quality, easy drinking and food friendly wine at a reasonable price point. These four bottles showed particularly well, but there are countless others like them.

Much Love,

George

 

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End of the Road- de Trafford

Hey Everyone,

I capped off my week of winery visits with one that I am somewhat more familiar with. I had spent so many afternoons bouncing along the Blaauwklippen Road from Dornier to Keermont, that I figured it would make sense to finish off with the folks at the very end of the valley. Nestled up where the Helderberg and Stellenbosch Berg meet, de Trafford is the highly regarded operation by architect-turned-winemaker David Trafford and the source of several wines I am very fond of.

By now I've become accustomed to the bumpy improvised nature of this end of the Blaauwklippen Road where two vehicles coming in the opposite direction do well to be creative when it comes to getting past. Generally when I am traveling out this way, I will have one or two cars in front or behind, but by the time we reach Dornier they've turned off and certainly once I've passed Waterford I am alone on the road as I approach Keermont, the Mont Fleur conference centre and eventually de Trafford.

For my first visit to the winery, however there were a few surprises in store. I arrived at the quiet winery uring the very limited tasting times with the intention of introducing myself, maybe refreshing myself on a few of the wines I hadn't tasted in a while and maybe picking up a bottle of Chenin for my dinner. I saw a pair of visitors being served by a lone employee and joined them until they left. Hoping to chat a bit about the wines and maybe have a look around the cellars, but wave after crushing wave of visitors arrived, flooding the tasting room with at least twenty people at a time, all of them at a different point in the line-up of wines, some asking questions and others putting in order forms to buy wine direct. I have to say that the entire situation was handled with remarkable efficiency considering there was only one person on duty!

I can tell you that there is a reason for all this to-do about this winery. De Trafford's range rarely fails to be enjoyable and this visit to the winery was no different. My favourite of the range is still the Merlot for the combined style, quality and price. Sold for about £22 it has a big, tannic structure with plenty of bright fruit, but a balancing touch of spice, earth and wood, all while avoiding the overly sweet confected flavours that many full bodied Merlots develop.

I also liked the Chenin Blanc, for both the flavour and the use of Rita Trafford's artwork on the label, which changes from year to year. It's a barrel fermented Chenin that carries its oak delicately, while displaying big, full fruits and a bright acidity.

The other reds, including the estate Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and the Elevation were all superb renditions of style. The Syrah lead with its dark fruit, but subtle hints of peppery spice and violets show the layers of this tasty wine. The Cabernet is similarly faithful to it's varietal and I think it's one of my favourite South African Cabs. The Elevation, referring to David's architectural background was a marvellous red wine with nothing if not structure. A classy Bordeaux blend it is an elegant wine that certainly carries a lot of power behind its veil of polished tannins and acidity. I read an article in which four vintages of the Cabernet were tasted off against their counterparts from Chateau Latour, and by a narrow consensus view emerged triumphant.

Such blind tastings have their flaws but it shows that de Trafford wines can hold their own on the international stage when compared with the best of them. As new world wines generally fare better in taste offs I think that this tasting could be even more poignantly staged between de Trafford and a California great like Harlan or Screaming Eagle if we want to see where things stand and I personally wouldn't be too hesitant to put my money on de Trafford repeating its strong showing win or lose. Also, I would personally love to attend such a tasting if anyone with the resources decides to organise such an event!

While it did not take a tasting at the vineyard to say that de Trafford is a great winery, what it did show me is that even with its remote location and six hours each week of tasting time, the public recognise the quality inherent in this producer. Rightly so, in my book. I've not yet come across a wine from de Trafford I haven't thoroughly enjoyed. They make classy, poised wines that deserve all the positive press they can get. I'll be travelling next week to go out and have a look at their other operation out in Malgas; Sijnn. I've already done a post on the Sijnn wines based purely on tasting. I can't wait to go and have a look at the property itself, as it pioneers wine in the Malgas region.

This week I'll be heading to wineries Eikendal, Vergelegen and Reyneke so be sure to check in regularly for more details!

Much Love,

George

 

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