Chateau Caillou

Chateau Caillou has a good history and was once regarded highly but in the 1855 classification it was slipped to the second growth status. The estate was under the Sarraute family in the late 19^th century, and was acquired by Joseph Ballan in 1909. Joseph passed to his daughter Reine Ballan and to her husband Joseph Bravo in 1943.

It was under the Bravo family until now, passing to their children Jean-Bernard and Marie-Jose, who are not on good terms. Marie-Jose and her husband Michel Pierre are now running the estate, and passing on the management to their son Jean-Noel Pierre.

The vineyards are at the southern Haut-Barsac plain, close to the edge of the appellation. Although located in Barsac, the wine is classified under the Sauternes appellation. To the north-east is Chateau Cantegril and Chateau de Myrat, while to the south-east is the famous Chateau Climens.

There are about 15 hectares of vines in a single block behind the chateau. The soils are the classic sandy-red clay, but with some high gravel contents, on a limestone bedrock. In French the word caillou means pebbles.

The vineyards are planted with 90% Semillon and 10% Sauvignon Blanc, there is no Muscadelle. With planting density of 5500 vines per hectare, the vines are averaging 40 years old. There is a dry white Bordeaux produced, with 90% Sauvignon Blanc and 10% Semillon, as well as some Merlot for a Bordeaux Superieur.

The fruit is hand-picked, with several tries through the course of the harvest. After going through a horizontal press, the must goes into wood for fermentation. The ageing is done in new oak barrels for 24-30 months with the grapes sorted for second wine going into stainless steel for fermentation, then to older oak for a shorter period of 12 months.

The grand vin is Chateau Caillou with the second wine Les Erables de Caillou, with a super-cuvee called Crème de Tete before it was rebranded Private Cuvee, created from the best lots in the cellar based on tasting. Production of the grand vin is about 3000 cases, with about 500 cases of the special cuvee. The dry white is called Caillou Sec, with the red Cru du Clocher in very limited volumes.

I have recently tasted the 2005 vintage and below is my tasting note:

Appearance

Bright and clear, this wine is of pale gold color, with legs.

Nose

Clean, the nose shows pronounced intensity aromas of ripe citrus fruit such as orange peel and orange marmalade, floral notes of honeysuckle, dried fruit of fig, stone fruit of apricot, maturity notes of honey, oak notes of butterscotch. The wine is developing.

Palate

Sweet with medium acidity, the wine has medium alcohol and a full body, showing pronounced intensity on flavors, including ripe citrus fruit of lemon peel and marmalade, maturity notes of honey, stone fruit of apricot, dried fruit of fig and oak notes of vanilla. The wine has a medium (+) finish. 

Conclusion

Good quality Sauternes with a strongly intense nose showing ample of complexity and characters, the wine has a nice acidity to balance the sweetness, though with even slightly higher acidity it would be even more refreshing. The palate has concentrated flavors with similar characters, and finishing with a fairly long length. It is ready to drink now though can benefit from further ageing of another 7-10 years.

Chateau La Conseillante

The history of Chateau La Conseillante started with Catherine Conseillan, a metal dealer based in Libourne. In the mid-18^th century Catherine established a vineyard between the communes of Pomerol and St-Emilion, evolving into the Conseillante estate today. Started off as a share-cropping project, by 1756 there were already wines produced and christened La Conseillante, and Catherine taking full control.

In the 1840s it was in the hands of Leperche-Princeteau family, and in 1871 it was sold to Louis Nicolas. The next generation, also of the same name, took the battle against phylloxera. He also established the Syndicat Viticole de Pomerol in 1900. Two generations succeeded before the estate came into the ownership of Bernard Nicolas, who ran the business with his brother Francis.

Bernard extensively refurbished the chai, engaging the services of Professor Emile Peynaud, replacing the ancient wooden vats with stainless steel. Today it is under the next generation, Bertrand Nicolas, who joined Marie-France Nicolas d’Arfeuille in running the estate, assisted by manager Jean-Michel Laporte.

The vineyard lies on the boundary between Pomerol and St-Emilion, and one of its neighbours is Cheval Blanc. The soils are a mix of clay (eastern section) and sandy gravel (western section). There are 12 hectares of vines, 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, planted at a desnity of 6000 vines per hectare, at average age of 32 years.

Harvest is manual, with the fruit sorted and machine-destemmed prior to cold maceration and fermentation in stainless steel tanks. The malolactic fermentation begins in vat prior to running off, with gentle pressing before the wine is finished off in barrels between 80-100% new. The wine is rested for up to 18 months with a racking every three month, fined with egg white prior to bottling without filtration.

Selection and blending is done while the wine is still in barrel, with the best lots going to the grand vin Chateau La Conseillante. The lesser go to the second wine Duo de Conseillante, which sees only 12 months in ageing in wood using older barrels. Total production amounts to 4500 cases with the second wine accounting for a small proportion.

I have recently tasted the 2007 vintage and below is my tasting note:

Appearance

Bright and clear, this wine is of deep ruby color, with legs and a thin garnet rim.

Nose

Clean, the nose shows medium (+) intensity aromas of ripe black fruit such as blackberry, pungent spice of liquorice, oak notes of cedar, some under-ripeness notes of capsicum, kernel notes of chocolate, mineral notes of graphite, maturity notes of savory. The wine is developing.

Palate

Dry with medium acidity, medium (+) tannin of ripe and a bit gripping in texture, the wine has medium alcohol and a medium (+) body, showing medium (+) intensity on flavors, including black fruit of blackberry, oak notes of cedar and vanilla, sweet spice of cloves. The wine has a medium finish.  

Conclusion

Good quality Pomerol with good concentration and complexity on the nose, though showing a bit of under-ripeness, the wine has a firm structure and fairly robust tannin, but with slightly gripping texture. On the palate the flavors are reasonably intense and fair on the length. Ready to drink now, the wine can benefit from further ageing of another 2-3 years.

Chateau de Fieuzal

In the early part of the century the estate appeared to be under the de Fieuzal family, the obvious source of its modern name, with the family also owning Chateau Haut-Gardere. The last descendant of the family, Lovely Fieuzal, died in 1851 and the estates were sold to the Griffon family.

One of the Griffon brothers was Consul to Pope Leon XIII in Bordeaux, and in 1892 the estate was sold to Abel Ricard, who also owned Domaine de Chevalier and Chateau Malartic-Lagraviere. The vineyards went into decline because of phylloxera, oidium, world war and depression, and after Abel’s death during WWII, the estate was passed to his daughter Odette and her husband Eric Bocke.

They rebuilt the chateau and replanted the vineyards, predominantly with red varieties with also with a few rows of white. In the 1959 Graves classification the red was ranked a classed growth, but not the white because of its minuscule quantity to be sent for assessment.

After the death of Odette, and three years later Eric, the estate was sold to a pharmacist named Georges Negrevergne, who sold it later to Banques Populaires, with Georges’ son-in-law Gerard Gribelin remained at the helm. He acquired the Haut-Gardere vineyards and incorporated into the Fieuzal estate, increasing the size to 30 hectares.

The cellar was later refurbished, installing 11 stainless steel vats. In 2001 it changed hands again, to the new Irish owner Lochlann Quinn, who contributed greatly to the development of the estate and improving the quality of the wine. His technical director Stephen Carrier, coming from Chateau Lynch-Bages, revitalized also the cellar and vineyards.

The estate lies on the southern periphery of the Pessac-Leognan appellation, to the west is the Chevalier estate, to the east the town of Martillac, and to the south the forests. The vineyard today covers around 75 hectares, of which 65 hectares are dedicated to red, with the remaining to white.

Cabernet Sauvignon dominates for the red, accounting for 50%, with Merlot 40%, Cabernet Franc 6% and Petit Verdot 4%. The whites has 70% Sauvignon Blanc combining with 30% Semillon. The soil has a Quaternary gravelly-sandy character, with the vines averaging 30 years.

The vines are trained in Double Guyot system, at a density of 8300 vines per ha. The fruit is harvested and sorted by hand, before temperature-controlled fermentation. There are a total of 63 fermentation vats, varying in sizes and materials, with ten wooden, 16 cement and the remaining stainless steel, allowing a plot-by-plot vinification.

After fermentation and maceration it was transported by gravity to the barrel cellar, excavated under the chai. The red wines will see about 12-16 months with 60% new barrel. The white is fermented in oak barriques, but spending less time in oak, around 8-12 months, with only 40% new wood.

Regular batonnage for the white, remaining on lees throughout the elevage, the wines are fined using egg white before bottling. Grand vin is Chateau de Fieuzal with a second wine L’Abeille de Fieuzal, with 45% of the harvest going to the first wine.  There are about 9500 cases of red and 1500 cases of white produced per year.

I have recently tasted the 2001 and 2003 vintage of the red, as well as the 2008 vintage of the white:

Appearance

Clear, deep intensity ruby color, the rims are turning to garnet, with legs.

Nose

Clean, with medium (+) intensity aromas of black fruit such as blackberry, dried fruit of prune, pungent spice of liquorice, maturity notes of cigar box, mineral notes of earth, some herbaceous notes of blackcurrant leaf. The wine is developing.

Palate

Dry, the wine has medium acidity and medium level tannin, ripe and silky in texture. It has medium level alcohol, medium (-) body, and medium intensity flavors of black fruit such as blackberry and dark plum, dried fruit of prune, oak notes of cedar, maturity notes of cigarette and savory. The finish is of medium length.

Conclusion

Good quality Pessac-Leognan with good concentration on the nose, showing good complexity but there are hints of herbaceous notes which probably reflected the less ripe vintage of 2001. On the palate it is balanced, with reasonable intensity but the body is a bit on the light side with a sense of ‘dilute’. The finish is of fair length, this wine is ready to drink now and not suitable for further ageing, can keep for 2-3 years.

Appearance

Bright and clear, this wine is of deep ruby color, with legs.

Nose

Clean, the nose shows medium (+) intensity aromas of ripe black fruit such as blackcurrant, blackberry and bilberry, dried fruit of fig, pungent spice of liquorice, animal notes of leather, oak notes of cedar and vanilla, maturity notes of savory. The wine is developing.

Palate

Dry with medium acidity, medium (+) tannin of ripe but a bit dusty in texture, the wine has medium alcohol and a medium (+) body, showing medium (+) intensity on flavors, including black fruit of blackberry and bilberry, oak notes of vanilla and cedar, some vegetal notes of black tea, MLF notes of cream. The wine has a medium (+) finish.

Conclusion

Good quality Pessac-Leognan with a good strong nose of high complexity, the palate is balanced, with a robust structure. The palate demonstrates plenty of ripe black fruit but also having other interesting flavors, with good concentration and finish. The only criticism I got is the tannin texture is a bit dusty, but overall still highly enjoyable and good value for money. Ready to drink now though can benefit from further ageing of another 3-5 years.

Appearance

Bright and clear, the wine has deep intensity lemon color, with legs.

Nose

Clean, it has medium (+) intensity aromas of green fruit such as quince, tropical fruit of pineapple, stone fruit of peach, floral notes of elderflower, oak notes of vanilla, mineral notes of waxy, maturity notes of hay. The wine is developing.

Palate

Dry, it has medium (+) acidity and medium level alcohol. Medium in body, with medium (+) intensity flavors of dairy notes of cream, green fruit such as pear and grapefruit, oak notes of toast, stone fruit of peach, floral notes of honeysuckle. The wine has a medium (+) finish.

Conclusion

Very good quality Pessac-Leognan white wine with good concentration on the nose and palate, showing plenty of complexity, it has a good acidity to provide a refreshing yet well-structured body, offering good range of flavors and a fairly long finish. The only criticism is the alcohol is a bit hot on the swallow. Ready to drink now, the wine can benefit from further ageing of another 4-6 years.

Wineshark Cooking - Mexican Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

• Vegetable oil - 2 oz
• Diced onion - 8 oz
• Sliced zucchini - 8 oz
• Sliced carrot - 6 oz
• Diced green pepper - 4 oz
• Diced skin tomato - 4 oz
• Chicken stock - 2 lb
• Tomato ketchup - 4 oz
• Salt - 1 tsp
• White pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
• Shredded cheddar cheese - 4 oz

Procedures:

1. Sautee the diced onion with oil till it smells good.
2. Add the other vegetable to sautee, then add stock and tomato ketchup to cook for 20-25 minutes.
3. Add seasonings, and put the shredded cheese on top.

Chateau Lynch-Bages

Chateau Lynch-Bages is located just west of Bordeaux’s Route du Vin, it takes its name from the Lynch family who ran the property during the 17^th and 18^th centuries, with the other half of the name Bages refers to the plateau of Bages. The history started when John Lynch, an Irish trader, came to Bordeaux in 1691.

He later married a local girl, Guillemette Constant, in 1709, taking French citizenship in 1710. They had two children, Thomas-Michel and Jean-Arthur, with Thomas owning a number of estates during the 18^th century, including Lynch-Bages and Lynch-Moussas in Pauillac, as well as Dauzac in Margaux.

The Lynch-Bages property in fact came to Thomas through marriage, when he was wedded to Elizabeth Drouillard in 1740. Their second son Jean-Baptiste, received the estate as a present from his parents during his marriage. Jean-Baptiste made his fame and fortune through politics, and later became the Mayor of Bordeaux. During this time it was his brother Michel who tended the vineyards.

With both Jean-Baptiste and Michel without heir, the property was sold to Sebastien Jurine, a Swiss wine merchant, later on, during which the estate was ranked a cinquieme cru in the 1855 classification, under the name of Jurine-Bages. Upon his death the property was sold and acquired by the Cayrou brothers, Jerome-Maurine and Henri, both local negociants, who reverted the name to Lynch-Bages.

Jerome’s daughter inherited the property and then passed to General Felix de Vial, who leased the vineyards and subsequently sold the estate to Jean-Charles Cazes in 1939. Jean-Charles started as a baker, who moved to banking after the bakery was destroyed by fire in 1924. He developed a complex network of contacts including many vignerons through his works in bank, learning a lot about wine.

He acquired Les Ormes de Pez and soon after moved to Lynch-Bages as a tenant, making wines for General Felix de Vial, before buying the estate from his landlord. He replanted the vineyard and enhanced the reputation of the property through a number of excellent vintages in the 1950s, waiting longer to pick.

Jean-Charles continued to run until 1966 when his son Andre took control, who further expanded the vineyards, acquiring the neighboring Chateau Haut-Bages-Averous and Chateau Saussus, but he was busy also on his business as insurance broker and mayor of Pauillac.

In 1973 Jean-Michel, Andre’s son, took over from Andre, and in 1976 he hired Daniel Llose as director of the property, continuing to improve the quality of the wine. He installed 25 large stainless-steel vats in 1980, making the quality of the wines more consistent and improved. From 2006 it is under the newest generation, Jean-Charles, the great-grandson of his namesake.

The vineyards, now covering 100 hectares, are divided into three plots: the first two lie on the Bages plateau near the village, just southwest of Pauillac, with the remaining further south near the border of St-Julien. The soils have the typical Gunzian gravel over a layer of marl, chalk and sand.

Planted with 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot, averaging 30 years of age, the vines are planted at 9000 vines per hectare, with another 6 hectares of white grapes planted since 1990, comprising of 53% Sauvignon Blanc, 32% Semillon and 15% Muscadelle.

The general philosophy of winemaking remains traditional yet enlightened, with manual harvesting, destemming and crushing before fermentation, which takes place in 35 stainless-steel temperature-controlled vats. About 20 years ago the estate introduced an extraction method that involved frequent rack and return (delestage) during fermentation, which has now become standard in Bordeaux.

The wine is macerated in vat for a total of three weeks with malolactic fermentation for two-thirds of the harvest, with the remaining undergoing malolactic in barrels. Only a light filtering is done and the wine is aged for 12-15 months in oak, of which 70-80% are new, with regular racking.

Average annual production is 25000 cases, with a second wine called Haut-Bages Averous of 8000 cases, now renamed to Echo de Lynch-Bages since 2008. A white wine is also produced, Blanc de Lynch-Bages, of about 3000 cases yearly. Many regarded the wine to be of the same level as a deuxieme cru instead of the fifth growth of the 1855 classification.

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

Appearance
Clear with deep ruby color, the rims is starting to fade and turn garnet, with legs.

Nose
Clean, with medium (+) intensity aromas, showing maturity notes of savory and mushroom, animal notes like leather, black fruit such as blackberry and bramble, mineral notes of earth, kernel notes of chocolate, oak notes of cedar and smoke, sweet spice of cloves. The wine is developing.

Palate
Dry with medium acidity, the wine has medium tannin which is ripe and silky. With medium alcohol level, it has medium (+) body, showing medium (+) intensity flavors of black fruit such as dark cherries and blackberry, oak notes of cedar, sweet spice of cloves. The wine has a long finish.

Conclusion
Very good quality Pauillac with good intensity on the nose, showing complex characters and good development, while still retaining good fruit notes. On the palate the wine is in good balance and having an elegant structure, with silky tannin accompanying good concentration in flavors. The finish is exceptionally long as well. Ready to drink now, the wine can further develop for another 3-5 years.

Chateau Batailley

Chateau Batailley, as its name suggests, has a military origin, with the location being the site of a skirmish near the end of the Hundred Years War. In the 18^th century there was a vineyard here named Batailley, giving rise to the Batailley and Haut-Batailley that exist today.

During that time it was owned by the Saint-Martin family, under three siblings. The two sisters Marianne and Marthe sold their portion to Jean-Guillaume Pecholier in 1791, who passed to his son Amiral de Bedout, and upon his death in 1816 the estate was sold by auction.

It was acquired by Daniel Guestier, who further purchased lands nearby, renovating the chateau and improving the winemaking facilities. In 1855 the estate was classified a cinquieme cru. The property was inherited by Guestier’s three children, and in 1866 the family decided to sell the estate, which was acquired by a Parisian banker named Constant Halphen.

The vineyards expanded to 55 hectares then, and the vineyards were tended by the brothers Francois and Marcel Borie. Upon Halphen’s death in 1932, the Borie brothers purchased the estate and by 1942 it was divided into the current Batailley and Haut-Batailley.

Francois, who also owned Ducru-Beaucaillou, kept the smaller part of the vineyard, and augmented some vines purchased from Duhart-Milon in 1951 to become Haut-Batailley. The larger part came to Marcel, keeping the original name, who continued to run the estate until his death in 1961, bequeathing it to his daughter Denise and her husband Emile Casteja. The Casteja family also owned Beau-Site, Trottevieille, and Lynch-Moussas. Today it is run by Philippe Casteja, Emile’s son.

The vineyards now comprise about 57 hectares, with the typical gravel for the region, with some elements of sand. The vines are planted at 8000 per hectare and averaging 40 years of age, dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon at 70%, with 25% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot.

Philippe installed new drainage in the field, as well as elevated trellising, at the same time starting more intensive green-harvesting and leaf-thinning in 2002. Manually harvested, the fruit is destemmed prior to cold maceration of up to 5 days, followed by a 15-20 days fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats, consulted by Denis Dubourdieu.

The chai was refurbished in 2006, with 60 individual vats allowing plot-by-plot fermentation, and a new grape reception facility. Malolactic fermentation happens in steel vat, with a portion going into oak, before all the wine is run into oak barrels for 16-18 months, with 55% new wood. The wine is fined with egg white and bottled without filtration. Grand vin is Chateau Batilley with typical production of 21000-25000 cases, without a second label.

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

Appearance

Bright and clear, this wine is of medium (+) ruby color, with garnet rims and legs.

Nose

Clean, the nose shows medium (+) intensity aromas of black fruit such as blackcurrant and blackberry, oak notes of vanilla and cedar, sweet spice of cloves and nutmeg, pungent spice of liquorice, animal notes of leather, maturity notes of savory. The wine is developing.

Palate

Dry with medium acidity, medium (+) tannin of ripe and silky texture, the wine has medium alcohol and a medium (+) body, showing medium intensity on flavors, including black fruit of blackcurrant and blackberry, oak notes of vanilla and cedar, sweet spice of cloves. The wine has a medium (+) finish.

Conclusion

Good quality Pauillac with an intense nose showing good complexity, the wine has a robust structure, balanced and having a palate equally concentrated and complex, with also good long finish. Overall a wine that you can enjoy with and without food, it is ready to drink now though can benefit from further ageing of another 3-5 years.