Chateau Lafon-Rochet

The history of Chateau Lafon-Rochet dated back to the 16^th century, when it was under the ownership of Janot Bernard de Leyssac, a wealthy merchant. Janot later bequeathed the estate to his daughter Francoise, who in turn passed to her children, with one part referred to as Rochet because of the rocky soils. This was passed to her daughter Adrianne de Lahaye.

 

Adrianne was later married to Charles de Guillamotes, and this portion of the estate was passed to Etienne de Lafon, who married Charles’ daughter Antoninette, forming the current name Lafon-Rochet.

When Antonine died, a legal dispute on the land ensued, ending with Etienne getting a plot which is the Lafon-Rochet of today. Etienne then appointed a manager named Pierre Delage to run the estate while he resided in Bordeaux.

Etienne re-married again and his son Pierre inherited the property in 1720, and subsequently passed to his son Jean. Jean’s brothers decided to divide the estate later. The major part where the chateau and outbuildings were located, came to Joseph and Arnaud, with Arnaud ceding his part to Joseph later, who became the owner of Lafon-Rochet during the early 19^th century.

Joseph passed the estate to his wife Anne Paignon, who later passed her entire estates, including Lafon-Rochet, to her children, with the vineyard of Lafon-Rochet going to Louis Arnaud. Louis Arnaud reestablished the vineyards and was so successful in the marketplace that the property earned the fourth growth status in the 1855 classification. The estate was later passed to his son Pierre Alcide.

Because Pierre Alcide got no interest in wine, his mother then bequeathed the estate to her granddaughter Lucie, who brought the estate to even higher level but unfortunately the phylloxera and oidium problems forced her to sell the property in 1895.

The new owner was Frederic Audon, who later sold the property to Marcel Richard and his wife Catherine Marguerite Eyssand, before again selling to Elie and Berthe Nafrechoux, and two years later to Charles Louis Duquenoy-Legry. With the wars and economic depression the estate fell into hard times, without any investment, until the estate was purchased by the current owner the Tesseron family, who specialized in the production and selling of cognac.

Guy Tesseron decided to move to wine business after some setback in the cognac industry, and his marriage to Nicole Cruse, prompted him to acquire Lafon-Rochet. Guy decided to tear down the buildings to re-construct a new one under the 18^th-century style.

In 1975 Guy acquired Pontet-Canet, and both estates then passed to the next generation, to Michel Tesseron, who had worked in other chateaux before returning to the family business in 1987. Michel decided to paint the buildings in yellow in 2000, and now it is in charge by his son Basile, taking over in the difficult time right after the 2007 harvest.

The vineyard is now three times the size, with 45 hectares of vines, of which 40 ha is surrounding the chateau, and the remaining in a plot to the north. The vineyard around the chateau is shared with the vines of Cos d’Estournel and Cos Labory, with average age of vine being 40 years, planting on gravel soils with a mix of quartz, flint, volcanic lydianite, sand and clay over a calcareous bedrock, as well as another plot of gravel over clay.

The vines are 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, planted at 9200 vines per hectare, and using double Guyot pruning. Harvest by hand, with two sorting before fermentation in stainless steel vats with temperature control, and pumping over is practiced.

The wine is macerated for up to two weeks, before putting into oak barrels for malolactic, before ageing in 50% new oak for up to 20 months. The wine is fined using light filtration, with the grand vin Chateau Lafon-Rochet taking 60-70% of the production. A second wine known as Pelerins de Lafon-Rochet is produced, mainly from grapes of the lower slopes and the 5 ha plot in the north. A little known rose named Roset is made by pressurage direct rather than the saignee method. It offers good value for money, a firm style typical of St-Estephe.

I have recently tasted the 2004 vintage and below is my tasting note:

Appearance
Bright and clear, it is of deep intensity ruby color, with legs.

Nose

Clean, with medium (+) intensity aromas showing ripe black fruit of blackcurrants and blackberry, maturity notes of savory, sweet tobacco, oak notes of smoke and cedar, pungent spice of liquorice, sweet spice of cinnamon, kernel notes of chocolate. The wine is developing.

Palate

Dry with medium acidity, medium (+) tannin of ripe but a bit grippy on texture, the wine is of medium alcohol, with a medium (+) body, and showing medium intensity flavors of black fruit such as blackcurrant and blackberry, herbaceous notes of blackcurrant leaf, pungent spice of liquorice, oak notes of toast. The wine has a medium finish.

Conclusion

Good quality St-Estephe with a fairly intense nose of good complexity, the wine has a good structure though the tannin is a bit grippy for my liking. The palate is reasonably concentrated and complex, though there is a clear herbaceous notes which is not apparent on the nose. With a reasonable finish, it is ready to drink now but can benefit from further ageing of another 2-3 years.

Aligote

Aligote is Burgundy’s second white grape variety, but is much less than Chardonnay in plantings. A natural progeny of Pinot and Gouais Blanc, it is believed to originate in Burgundy, and was once interplanted with Chardonnay for its high acidity. The grape is now mainly planted in areas not suitable for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, confined mostly to hilltop vineyards and the plain.

Vigorous and early budding, Aligote is quite susceptible to spring frost and grey rot. Traditionally it is mixed with cassis to make kir. An aperitif that is not so common outside France.

There are two main appellations in Burgundy: Bourgogne Aligote and Aligote Bouzeron. Bouzeron is a commune in Cote Chalonnaise, and the wine provides fresh buttermilk flavors. Some can age well but generally it is for drinking young and are not taking well to oak ageing. Aligote can also be included in the blend of Cremant de Bourgogne.

In Eastern Europe it is widely planted in Romania, Bulgaria, Russia and other CIS countries, but the high yield affects the overall quality. It is also planted in Chile and California. Best producers include d’Auvenay, M. Bouzereau, Coche-Dury, Jayer-Gilles, A&P de Villaine, Michael Lafarge and Ponsot.

I have recently tasted a Bourgogne Aligote from Anne Boisson, and below is my tasting note:

Appearance

Bright and clear, it is of light intensity lemon color, with legs.

Nose

Clean, with medium intensity aromas showing green fruit of green apple, citrus fruit of lemon, herbaceous notes of grass, kernel notes of hazelnut, dairy notes of cream and butter, oak notes of smoke. The wine is youthful.

Palate

Dry with medium (+) acidity, the wine is of medium alcohol, with a medium (-) body, and showing medium intensity flavors of green fruit such as green apple, citrus notes of lemon, mineral notes of stony, dairy notes of yoghurt, herbaceous notes of grass. The wine has a medium finish.

Conclusion

Good quality Bourgogne Aligote with a reasonably intense nose showing fairly good complexity, the wine has exhibited typical Aligote characters with a good structure, balancing well the fruit and oak, plus having refreshing crispiness with good acidity. The palate is also reasonably concentrated but a bit more simple, though overall still a good wine with reasonable finish. Ready to drink now and not intend for further ageing, but can keep for another 1-2 years.

Chateau de Rayne Vigneau

Neighboring d’Yquem, located atop a gravel croupe, Chateau de Rayne-Vigneau is second only to its neighbor in terms of volume and grandeur. Historically it ranked third of all the premiers crus in the 1855 classification of Sauternes and Barsac, behind only La Tour Blanche and Lafaurie-Peyraguey.

In 1635 the estate was the property of Gabriel de Vignau, who later passed to his son Etienne in 1681. Etienne was married with Jeanne Sauvage, a daughter of the family that owned Ch. d’Yquem, and it was later sold by Jeanne’s nephew Hyacinthe in 1742 to a local merchant Jean Duffour, who bequeathed to his son Bruno in 1774.

Bruno fortunately held onto the estate during the French Revolution. But it was later acquired by Catherine Marie de Rayne, the widow of Baron de Rayne, in 1843. Catherine was originally a Pontac from the family owning Haut-Brion, and the estate was referred as Cru de Vigneau or Vigneau-Pontac.

Under the tenure of the Rayne-Pontac family, the estate was successful and got good ranking in the 1855 classification, being third overall among all premiers crus, behind only La Tour Blanche and Lafaurie-Peyraguey. With her death the estate was bequeathed to her brother Vicomte Gabriel de Pontac, who built the chateau in the 1870s.

It was subsequently passed to Gabriel’s son Albert, who named the estate Rayne-Vigneau to honor his ancestors. Albert managed the estate until his death in the 1920s, and it was passed to his son-in-law Vicomte de Roton, who had been also the Major of Bommes and Vice-President of local Syndicat Viticole.

The property was then passed to his son Vicomte Francois, who had to sell in 1961 after difficult times, with the new owner Georges Raoux only taking the vineyard and cellar, still leaving the chateau to the Vicomte. Unfortunately the investment did not come and the estate further deteriorated, until it was sold to Mestrezat in 1971.

Mestrezat has been under the direction of Jacques Merlaut, who had also acquired other Bordeaux properties. With the investment from Mestrezat and also Vignerons de Val d’Orbieu, a leading Languedoc co-operative, Rayne-Vigneau was revitalized. But in 2004 the co-operative decided to sell out.

Mestrezat then introduced Credit Agricole, which acquired more than 400 ha of vineyards, including Rayne-Vigneau, becoming its sole owner and now managing under Credit Agricole Grands Crus, by Thierry Budin.

The estate sits on a gravel ridge, with the vineyards running down the slopes away from the chateau. The soils are a mixture of sand and clay, with some precious and semi-precious stones including onyx, sapphire, amethyst and opal. The vineyards cover 84 ha and are dominated by 74% Semillon, 24% Sauvignon Blanc and 2% Muscadelle. The vines average about 30 years of age.

There are typically five passes through the vineyard during harvest, and the berries are sorted over a table before batch fermentation in oak barrels. The oak is between 40% to 50% new each year, and the whole process is under consultation of Denis Dubourdieu. The grand vin is Chateau de Rayne-Vigneau, with a second wine Madame de Rayne, in honor of Catherine Marie de Rayne. There is also a dry white produced back to at least 1980s, using just Sauvignon Blanc.

The investment from Mestrezat also brought about the technological advancement of cryo-extraction, which is used to deal with the swollen grapes and diluted juice in a wet harvest, when the botrytis potentially turning into the damaging grey rot. In 1982 the estate decided to undergo some trials of freezing the berries to remove water in the form of ice, leaving only the rich botrytised juice, allowing the concentration of the must.

However, the concentration in this fashion can accentuate the displeasing flavors of the rot, and many producers opt not to use this technique. Nevertheless it is still accepted by many others outside Rayne-Vigneau, but the trend seems to be declining.

I have recently tasted the 2001 vintage and below is my tasting note:

Appearance

Bright and clear, it is of medium intensity gold color, with legs.

Nose

Clean, with pronounced intensity aromas showing citrus fruit such as orange marmalade and lemon peel, stone fruit of apricot, tropical fruit of pineapple, maturity notes of honey, oak notes of butterscotch. The wine is developing.

Palate

Sweet with medium (+) acidity, the wine has medium alcohol a full body, with medium (+) intensity flavors of citrus fruit such as orange marmalade and lemon zest, stone fruit of peach and apricot, tropical fruit of melon, maturity notes of honey and oak notes of butterscotch. The wine has a medium (+) finish.

Conclusion

Good quality Sauternes with good concentration, showing a nose of good complexity, the wine has the right acidity to balance the sweetness and making it not too cloying despite its high sugar level, with still a refreshing sensation on the palate, of good intensity and reasonable complexity, plus a fairly long finish. It is ready to drink now though can benefit from further ageing of another 3-5 years.

Chateau Corbin Michotte

Chateau Corbin-Michotte is one of five St-Emilion estates with the name Corbin. The estate belongs to the Boidron family, who has been involving in wine since 1760.

The current owner is Jean-Noel Boidron who inherited the estate from his grandparents, making wine there since 1855. Jean-Noel has also been teaching oenology and wine-making in Bordeaux University, and in 1980 the vathouse and cellars were rebuilt in an effort to improve the quality.

Seven hectares in total, the vineyard lies in the gravelly zone of St-Emilion, bordering to Pomerol. A single parcel of vineyard, with gravel, iron, clay and sandy soils, it is panted with 65% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, with average vine age of 35 years.

The wine is matured in 70% new oak, with annual production around 3000 cases. A second wine called Chateau Les Abeilles is produced.

I have recently tasted the 2001 vintage and below is my tasting note:

Appearance:

Bright and clear, it is of deep intensity ruby color, with garnet rims and legs.

Nose:

Clean, with medium (+) intensity aromas showing black fruit of dark plum and black cherry, maturity notes of mushroom, animal notes of leather, plus dried fruit of prune. The wine is developing.

Palate:

Dry with medium (+) acidity, the wine has medium tannin of ripe and silky texture. Medium in alcohol and having medium body, it has medium intensity flavors of black fruit such as blackberry and dark plum, dried fruit of prune, oak notes of vanilla, herbal notes of black tea. The wine has a medium finish.

Conclusion:

Good quality St-Emilion with a fairly intense nose showing reasonable complexity and developing characters, the wine has a good structure with reasonable concentration and complexity, as well as a fair length on the finish. Overall not something providing any surprises, either good or bad, and is a wine that is ready to drink now and not intend for further ageing.