Better Late than Never: 2015 Bordeaux Fete in San Francisco

On August 3, 2015August 3, 2015 By Bob WattIn FranceLeave a comment

It has been a busy year! We are so far behind in our blog, but have every intention of making up for lost time.

To start, here’s the recap we have to add from last January’s (gasp!) Annual Bordeaux Fete. We need to get this down for the record before next year rolls around in a few short months!

Bob Watt, Christina Watt, Jean-Charles Cazes from Lynch Bages and Nancy Rugas from Chateau Suduiraut.

I was very happy to be able to go this year, as I missed last year. This year, Christina and I attended the one put on by K & L Wine Merchants and the participating Chateaux in San Francisco, since we had just moved to the Bay area. The Bordeaux Fete was at One Market Restaurant and we tasted the new 2012 releases from:

Ch. Langoa Barton, St. Julien

Ch. Leoville Barton, St. Julien

Ch. Ormes de Pez, St. Estephe

Ch. Lynch Bages, Pauillac

Petit Figeac, St. Emilion

Ch. Figeac, St. Emilion

The 2012’s while not in the same league (or price) as the 2009’s or 2010’s, they are good in their own right. The 2012’s are medium bodied with good fruit/acid/structure and will be good to drink while you are waiting for your 2010’s to mature in your cellar. These wines will be a pleasure to drink in the near-mid term, particularly with food.

This is always a fun event to taste the new wines and talk with the Chateaux proprietors that we have gotten to know over the years. This year in addition to Jean-Charles Cazes from Ch. Lynch Bages and Lilian Barton-Sartorius from Ch. Leoville Barton, the event included Chateau Figeac, with proprietor Hortense Odoine Manoncourt. We had spent some time with Hortense at Chateau Figeac on our trip to Bordeaux and it was great to see her again.

The tasting format in San Francisco is a little different than what they do in Seattle. In San Francisco, they set up three tables with all of the new release wines being poured by the proprietors and you get to taste them over an hour time period. After tasting the new releases, we were given a glass of non-vintage Thienot Brut Champagne as we made our way to the dinner tables. Once at the dinner tables, the older wines were poured to enjoy with the food courses. Here are the other wines that we tasted with the meal:

2013 Blanc de Lynch Bages – Tangerine, lemon mineral nose. Very nice bright clean lemony white fruit, with a little stone mixed in. Lively acidity, smooth mouth feel, medium-light body. Nice long lemony energetic fruit finish. This is a very nice white Bordeaux wine that is only produced in smaller quantities, so it may not be easy to find, but is worth the effort. I will have to track some down for the cellar. 93 pts.

2009 Figeac – Ripe black/red berry fruit nose. This wine is lush with sweet black/red fruit, some spice and a little forest floor. There is good acidity to the wine, medium-full bodied with lots of very fine ripe tannins (iron fist in velvet glove). It is nice to taste a right bank right wine if a field of left banks, just for comparison. This is a very nice wine from a great vintage. 93 pts.

2005 Langoa Barton – Subtle nose of red / black fruit. In the mouth crunchy dark red and black berries, hints of forest floor and tobacco, with bright acidity. Nice medium – long dark fruit finish. 91 pts.

2005 Lynch Bages – This wine has a suave nose of spicy dark cherry fruit. In the mouth, the rich sweet dark black/red cherry fruit combines with baking spices and just a hint of leather. The wine has very nice acidity and very fine ripe tannins. The wine has great balance to it and a very long sweet spicy dark fruit finish. This wine is still very young, but is just starting to show what it has in store for a very long future. The 2005 Lynch Bages can be enjoyed now with air time, but will reward further cellaring. It wine will gain even more complexity as it is still on the uphill climb to maturity. Drink now or over the next three decades. 95+ pts.

2003 Figeac – Very ripe red and black fruit nose. In the mouth, very ripe dark red bing cherry and black berries, decent acidity, with a very tannic fine grained structure. Medium – long very ripe dark fruit finish. Over the course of the evening, the wine seemed to lose some of it’s acidity that supported the very ripe fruit. I would drink the 2003 sooner rather than later, over the next 10 years or so. 91 pts.

1995 Lynch Bages – Rich dark cherry fruit nose. In the mouth, plush sweet dark red / black fruit combine with forest floor and baking spices. This wine has good acidity, soft mostly resolved tannins and a long beautiful dark spicy fruit finish. The wine is drinking really well now and will continue to do so over the next 10-15 years. If you have some of the ’95 in the cellar, open one now and enjoy it. 94+ pts.

1999 Leoville Barton – Black cherry fruit and spice nose. In the mouth, very concentrated dark black cherries, spices and a little forest floor. Nice acidity, with some very fine grained ripe tannins still present. The wine has a very nice sense of balance, with a very long dark sweet black fruit finish. This wine is drinking really well right now, but I think it will continue to improve. 94+ pts.

2004 Suduiraut – Orangey-yellow in color, nose of very ripe fruit and butterscotch. In the mouth, again very ripe tropical fruit, over ripe melon, honey and butterscotch. This wine is too ripe for my taste, it doesn’t have the acid to back up the sweetness, so it comes across as heavy. Medium length very sweet finish. 82 pts.

It just so happened that the same day as the dinner, the Seattle Seahawks made the finals for the SuperBowl. Since Seattle was the next stop on the tour for our winemaker friends, we zipped into the city early to buy them a little something so they could show their support at their next dinner.

Jean-Charles Cazes of Cht. Lynch Bages, Christina Watt, and Lilian Barton- — Jean-Charles Cazes of Ch. Lynch Bages, Christina Watt, and Lilian Barton-Sartorius from Ch. Leoville Barton. They were very good sports about showing their Seahawks support!

Too bad the Seahawks didn’t pull through this year – but perhaps those hats will come in handy again next year! It will certainly be here before we know it…

Fete du Bordeaux 2014 – Year Six

On February 8, 2014February 8, 2014 By Bob WattIn FranceLeave a comment

Authored by Christina

As previously noted, this was the first year I attended the annual Bordeaux dinner in Seattle alone, as my husband had to be out of town. Alas, I wasn’t entirely left to fend for myself, as good friend Bill Schallert from Young’s Market Company made a great stand-in date (thanks Bill!).

Bill Schallert from Young's Market Co., Nancy Rugus, representing Chateau Suidaraut, Jean-Charles Cazes from Chateau Lynch Bages, Christina Watt, and Damien Barton Sartorius with Chateau Leoville Barton. — Bill Schallert from Young’s Market Co., Nancy Rugus, representing Chateau Suduiraut, Jean-Charles Cazes from Chateau Lynch-Bages, Christina Watt, and Damien Barton Sartorius with Chateau Leoville-Barton.

One of the highlights of the evening is always hearing from the representatives from the various estates whose wines we’re tasting – we appreciate their efforts to be here. We were pleased to welcome Jean-Charles Cazes again from Chateau Lynch-Bages and Chateau Ormes de Pez, as well as Damien Barton Satorius, from Chateau Leoville-Baron and Chateau Langoa-Barton. The dinner was held on the day of the Seahawks Victory Parade that brought out over 700,000 fans into the streets of Seattle. Ever mischievous, Jean-Charles had a little fun with the theme, bringing Seahawks “Lynch: Beast Mode” jerseys to describe the Lynch-Bages wines.

Damien is the grandson of Anthony Barton, who has visited for dinners in the past. Damien’s mother Lillian has also joined us on a few occasions. Damien is currently finishing up his Masters Degree in International Business, and this was his first trip to the United States and second wine dinner in which he was asked to provide remarks on behalf of the estate, which he did very well. You can certainly see the resemblance to his very gracious grandfather, and we look forward to hearing more from Damien in the future.

Chateau Montrose was notably absent in representation again this year, citing ongoing construction work that kept them from attending. Here’s hoping they get that construction done soon – it’s always nice to hear from the Chateaux themselves at these events. Nancy Rugus did a nice job explaining their wines, however, and also those of the venerable Chateau Suduiraut, whom she represents and who makes exceptional Sauternes.

Just a few things to taste through... — Just a few glasses to taste through…

This was the year we tasted the 2011’s, coming off of the major hype of the ’09’s and 10’s, and even the very good year of the ’08’s.

Here was the line-up:

2012 Blanc de Lynch Bages
2011 Chateau Tronquoy Lalande
2011 Chateau Ormes de Pez
2011 Chateau Langoa-Barton
2011 Chateau Lynch-Bages
2011 Chateau Leoville-Barton
2011 Chateau Montrose
2000 Chateau Langoa-Barton
2005 Chateau Lynch-Bages
2005 Chateau Montrose
1990 Chateau Lynch-Bages
1990 Chateau Leoville-Barton
1998 Chateau Montrose
2003 Chateau Suduiraut

Now let me preface my remarks by saying that in general, my wine of the night has typically always been one of the older vintages, which makes perfect sense, right? Well, in 2010, I actually prefered the 2010 Chateau Montrose as my wine of the night – there was so much potential there, but you could still get an immediate sense of the power and complexity. (I tend to prefer the 10’s to the ’09’s, though I wouldn’t turn any of them down!)

Which is my long-winded way of saying that while the 2011’s are admittedly young, honestly, I struggled to differentiate between them in any meaningful way, and to my taste, they seem to be wines to drink sooner, rather than aging for later. This was the general opinion of my tablemates as well, though we all admitted to not having a crystal ball! At the end of the day, we decided it’s not a bad idea to have a few bottles of good Bordeaux to drink now rather than later anyway. I will say that the 2011 Chateau Lynch Bages had a nice earthy nose and seemed to have some good potential, and the 2011 Chateau Montrose, though very tight, had some of the characteristic earthiness and complexity I’ve come to associate with these wines – it would be interesting to come back and taste this wine again once it gets a little age on it, as it appears to have some good structure behind it.

1990 Chateau Leoville Barton. Was a crowd favorite.

To that end, I struggled a little with the older wines to pick a definitive wine of the night – there were some nice wines there. The 2000 Langoa-Barton particularly stood out, but perhaps especially because of the shift to a significantly older wine after the 11’s! It was a good, round, earthy wine with a great nose, and a nice pairing for the roasted loin of Ostrich we had for that course.

The final three wines of the night, the 1998 Montrose, 1990 Chateau Leoville-Barton and 1990 Chateau Lynch-Bages were all drinking well. The 1990 Lynch-Bages was probably my favorite of the evening – it was still a little tight, but the nose was dreamy – green bell pepper and barnyard – one of those that I could just sit and smell and not even drink and be happy! The 1990 Ch. Leoville-Barton was also very good – I heard several of my tablemates claim it as their favorite. Really, I wouldn’t turn any of those wines away.

The chef also did a masterful job of pairing the 2012 Blanc de Lynch Bages with a seared sea scallop dish – the wine and the briny flavors of the scallops worked really well together. Of course, I’m a huge fan of this white, and I know from this summer that it also pairs well with charcuterie and just about anything else you can think to nibble on. They’ve done a nice job with the consistency of the profile year over year, peachy, earthy, grassy – just green enough, but still a round, full wine with a crisp finish and good minerality – it’s one of my favorite whites these days. (That’s typically code for, okay, honey, you can buy more if you can find it!)

Which, at the end of the day, is always the fun of these dinners – tasting things you may have in your cellar to see how they are drinking now, and deciding what to add and age for later. Me? I’m happy that I usually have help making these decisions, but no matter, the discussion and company is always fun while you’re forming an opinion!

Looking forward to next year…

Moment of Truth – Bordeaux Dinner

On February 6, 2014February 6, 2014 By Bob WattIn FranceLeave a comment

Authored by Christina

Tonight is the annual Fete du Bordeaux dinner and tasting in Seattle. This is the sixth time we’ve attended the dinner – but the first time I’ve had to go alone! I remember the first one we went to, actually, Bob had to talk me into going for some reason…but never again. It’s a great dinner and a great opportunity to try some very nice wines.

Alas, they moved the standing date this year, and Bob is out of town in Tucson for his annual gem show which is a bummer for both of us (diamonds or wine, diamonds or wine – such a dilemma!). I suspect he’d rather be at the dinner though. Frankly, I’d rather have him here!

While I certainly have my opinions about what wine I like, the reason we can write up such detailed reviews on this blog is all Bob – the most you’ll likely get from me is a vote about my wine of the night (and perhaps an amusing story or two). I guess we’ll see!

The amount of glassware is crazy - see? It's not just me - how do I socialize ANDtake notes on all of this! — The amount of glassware is crazy – see? It’s not just me – how do I take notes on all of this?

In the meantime – here are links to the line-ups from years past:

Fete du Bordeaux 2009

Fete du Bordeaux 2010

Fete du Bordeaux 2011

Fete du Bordeaux 2012

Fete du Bordeaux 2013

Tonight we’ll taste the 2011’s. It’ll be interesting to see how they compare to the 09 and 10’s that have gotten so much acclaim. Must’ve been a hard act to follow for the winemakers – though my guess is, the wine will be more than just fine.

jan 2012 001 — Blast from the past: Christina Watt and Nicolas Glumineau at the dinner in 2012. Nicolas was the former technical director of Chateau Montrose, and is now the head of Roederer’s Bordeaux properties, including Chateau Pichon Lalande. I believe that tonight we’ll taste the 2011’s made from just before he left.

More soon! Well, some pictures maybe – we’ll see what I can come up with…!

Day Two, First Stop: Chateau Leoville Barton

On October 26, 2013January 31, 2014 By Bob WattIn FranceLeave a comment

Chateau Leoville Barton is one of the Chateaux that really got me interested in Bordeaux wines more than 20 years ago. This was a time when I was drinking wines mainly from California, Washington and Australia. The Bordeaux wines were different than the new world wines – they were not so much about being bigger, stronger and in your face, as much as being more about refinement, complexity, minerality and in some cases, being truly delicate. I fell in love with the Bordeaux wines starting from the mid and late eighties and have been drinking them ever since.

In the tasting room - you can see the wooden vat room through the windows. Regretfully, we did not get a photo of their beautiful vat room. — In the tasting room – you can see the wooden vat room through the windows. Regretfully, we did not get a photo of their beautiful vat room.

Leoville Barton is a rarity in Bordeaux – it’s one of only two large Chateau that I know of (other than Ch. Lynch Bages), in which the family that owns the Chtateau actually lives in the Chateau. We have seen Anthony Barton the last several years in Seattle when he has come for the annual Bordeaux Fete (notes for these dinners are posted earlier in the blog). Anthony Barton is always the perfect gentleman and a great ambassador for Bordeaux, they also make some really good wines as well. Unfortunately, we were not able see Anthony on this trip and we hope he is doing well.

Christina and Bob Watt with Anthony Barton at the 2013 Fete du Bordeaux in Seattle at the Columbia Tower Club.

Chateau Leoville Barton, is a very traditionally run winery in both technique and methodology. The Chateau uses large 200,000 liter wooden vats, unlike the modern stainless steel vats that you see at a lot of the other Chateaux in Bordeaux. The wines that we tasted at the Chateaux were from the 2012 vintage, Ch. Langoa Barton and Ch. Leoville Barton. Langoa Barton is not the “second wine” of Leoville Barton, but is actually a totally separate wine produced by the Chateau from different vineyard plots.

2012 Chateau Langoa Barton (barrel sample) – Subtle red fruit on the nose and ruby red color. Medium bodied, good acid and slightly tart red pie cherry fruit coming through in the mouth, with the slightly dry coarse tannins kicking in on the medium-short finish.

2012 Chateau Leoville Barton (barrel sample) – Darker fruit on the nose and in color than the Langoa Barton. In the mouth, black berries combined with red pie cherries and more complexity. The wine is medium-full bodied, with very good acid and strong slightly dry tannins kicking in on the medium-long finish.

Both of these wines definitely show the characteristics and challenges of the 2012 vintage. I think the wines will show better given several years in the bottle, to help the tannins integrate and come into balance. I have tasted many vintages of both Leoville Barton and Langoa Barton and I can tell you that in general, the Langoa Barton wines will be ready to drink sooner than the bigger brother Leoville Barton. The wines of Leoville Barton will age very gracefully and for a long time. I have bottles of Leoville Barton in the cellar going back to the 1970 vintage. If you want to try a more recent vintage of Leoville Barton that is drinking well, look for the 2001 or 2004 vintages.

As the family lives on the property, we didn’t venture over to take pictures of the Chateau. However, our guide did show us the beautiful gardens, complete with wandering swans.

Christina and Bob in the gardens of Chateau Leoville Barton.

Quite a few chateaux had orangaries - we loved seeing the orange and lemon trees. — We were surprised to see that quite a few Chateaux had orangeries to store the trees in winter – we loved seeing the orange and lemon trees.

Next up Chateau Lascombes…

Bordeaux Bound

On September 15, 2013December 9, 2013 By Bob WattIn FranceLeave a comment

Next week, my wife and I head to Bordeaux, sans children – for a highly-anticipated trip of wine tasting (a big thank you to my in-laws for staying with our kids!).

Although those in the industry would call our tour a “death march,” we’re quite excited by the itinerary we have lined up. The extraordinary team at Bordeaux Saveurs has helped us put together this remarkable tour, complete with a few cooking classes on estates, as well as numerous great meals.

Over roughly two weeks, we will visit:

Chateau Phelan Segur
Chateau Cos d’Estournel
Chateau Pontet Canet
Chateau Leoville Barton
Chateau Lascombes
Chateau Mouton Rothschild
Chateau Lynch Bages
Chateau Haut Brion
Chateau Pape Clement
Domaine de Chevalier
Chateau Pichon Longueville Baron
Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
Chateau Palmer
Chateau Suduiraut
Chateau Y’Qeum
Chateau Guiraud
Chateau Haut Bailly
Chateau Smith Haut Lafite
Chateau Troplong Mondot
Chateau Angelus
Chateau Figeac
Chateau Soutard

We will stay at the Cordeillan Bages hotel for the first part of the trip, then in a private apartment in Bordeaux proper over the weekend, and finish out our stay at les Sources de Caudalie, which friends tell us is heavenly. A big thanks to dear friend and awesome travel agent Kelly Bonewitz at Woodside Travel for her assistance pulling things together – we can’t wait to give a full report on our adventure!

Speaking of which, we have never blogged remotely before, so we’ll have to see how it goes. Given how much we’ve packed in, the updates will probably happen once we return, jet-lagged and happy…and dreaming of our return!

Fete de Bordeaux 2013 – Year Five

On February 19, 2013February 6, 2014 By Bob WattIn FranceLeave a comment

This was the year to put the 2010’s to the test. 2009 vs. 2010 – the raging debate – the only thing standing between me and the final verdict was the fact that we couldn’t taste the vintages side by side.

The guests of honor this year were Jean-Charles Cazes of Chateaux Lynch-Bages and Ormes de Pez and Anthony Barton of Chateaux Leoville-Barton and Langoa Barton. We were sad to miss Nicolas Glumineau, who represented Chateau Montrose in years past, because he had moved on to a roll as head of Roederer’s Bordeaux Properties including Chateau Pichon LaLande. Herve Berland, now representing Chateau Montrose and Tronquoy Lalande had a last minute conflict and could not make the dinner, we hope to meet him next year.

The wines served were:

2011 Blanc de Lynch-Bages
2010 Chateau Tronquoy Lalande
2010 Chateau Ormes de Pez
2010 Chateau Langoa-Barton
2010 Chateau Lynch-Bages
2010 Chateau Leoville-Barton
2010 Chateau Montrose
2005 Chateau Langoa-Barton
2003 Chateau Lynch-Bages
2000 Chateau Montrose
1999 Chateau Leoville-Barton
1995 Chateau Lynch-Bages
1995 Chateau Montrose
1997 Chateau Suduiraut

So now, the big reveal. 2009, or 2010? Honestly, I have to be as cagey as the critics and say the proof is in the aging. I have happily begun putting down both vintages in the anticipation of a future vintage taste-off. My wife, however, is firmly in the 2010 camp, having declared the 2010 Montrose her Wine of the Night in an unusual twist (normally, the older the better as far as she is concerned). She described the 2010’s as more round and approachable and having darker fruit than the 2009’s, but to be clear, she’s not saying the ’09’s are any less complex than the ’10’s – it’s just a style she prefers. They say that the 2009’s are more of an American vintage with a little more plush fruit and the 2010’s are more of a European vintage, being slightly more tannic with blacker fruit. If that’s the case, I’m definitely okay with her assessment – but only time will tell.

I leaned towards the Montrose as my top pick of the 2010’s, followed closely by the Leoville-Barton and the Lynch-Bages. My Wine of the Night was the 2000 Montrose, though I have to agree with my wife – the 2010’s were very compelling that night.

The surprise of the night was the impressive 2011 Blanc de Lynch-Bages, with strong minerality and great acid energy. Jean-Charles said a customer once described it as a real “porch pounder.” (He was quite pleased with that description!) It’s not exactly how I would put it, but I admit, I’d happily drink more of it!

Fete de Bordeaux 2010 – Year Two

On February 19, 2013February 4, 2014 By Bob WattIn FranceLeave a comment

In 2010, the Fete dinner moved to the Rainier Club, where we tasted the new 2007 vintage releases. While I have the list of wines served thanks to our friend Bill Schallert, unfortunately, I do not have anything to actually jog my memory about the wines we drank that night.

I do recall though, that this was the year that Chateau Montrose was substituted for Cos d’Estournel on the tour, and Nicolas Glumineau joined the dinners from Chateau Montrose. It was the first time I’d literally ever heard anyone sing for his supper – his impromptu Opera singing was very impressive indeed.

In addition to Nicolas, we were joined by Jean-Charles Cazes of Chateau Lynch Bages and Ormes de Pez, as well as Anthony Barton of Chateau Leoville Barton and Langoa Barton. Here were the wines served:

Nicolas Feuillatte Brut en Magnum
2007 Blanc de Lynch Bages
2007 Chateau Tronquoy Lalande
2007 Ormes de Pez
2007 Chateau Langoa Barton
2007 Chateau Montrose
2000 Chateau Langoa Barton
2000 Chateau Lynch Bages
2000 Chateau Montrose
1990 Chateau Lynch Bages
1990 Leoville Barton
1975 Chateau Montrose
1999 Chateau Suduiraut

Fete de Bordeaux 2009 – Year One

On February 19, 2013February 4, 2014 By Bob WattIn FranceLeave a comment

In 2008, one of the members of my wine tasting group, Bill Schallert, a fine wine importer/distributor with Youngs Marketplace, alerted me to a new Bordeaux dinner that he was helping to host in Seattle. It didn’t take much arm twisting for us to join the dinner.

In the first year, January 19, 2009, the dinner was held at Seattle’s Columbia Tower Club, and the guests of honor were Jean Charles Cazes of Chateau Lynch Bages, and Lillian Barton of Chateau Leoville Barton and Langoa Barton.

The focus that year was the new release of the 2006 vintage. Unfortunately, my memory doesn’t serve well enough to recall my wine of the night or any specifics about the wines, but for the record, these were the wines that were served: