St-Julien

St-Julien has the highest proportion of classed growths in the Medoc, but is also the smallest of the famous four communes. The gravel is not as deep as Pauillac, but almost all the area is wine-growing land. The area is divided into two groups, with the riverside estates including the Leovilles around the village of St-Julien, and the southern group centred on Beychevelle, with Ducru-Beaucaillou, Branaire-Ducru and further inland Gruaud Larose and Lagrange.

St-Julien is often regarded as the middle in style between Pauillac and Margaux, producing round and gentle wine after ageing. The principal glory of the commune is the vast estate of Leoville, once the biggest in the Medoc but now divided into three.

Chateau Leoville-Las-Cases has the most extensive vineyards with almost 100 hectares, producing dense, long-lived classic wine, owned by the Delon family. Leoville Barton belongs to the old Irish family of Barton, after moving to Bordeaux in the 18^th century, with Anthony Barton now living in Chateau Langoa Barton next door, making the two wines side by side. Langoa is usually regarded as the lesser wine, but both are of good value. Poyferre has been making good wines since 1980s.

To the south the ‘flagship’ is Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou, under Bruno Borie, but its neighbor Branaire-Ducru is not as well polished. Beychevelle and St-Pierre has finesse and elegance, while Gruaud Larose begins the inland section of St-Julien, producing reliable wines.

Talbot occupies the high ground, a little bit less fine, but is consistently dense, smooth and savory. Lagrange is also highly regarded for the rich, substantial wine, with Suntory of Japan purchasing it in 1984, locating near the border with St-Laurent.

Three other classed growths are located in St-Laurent, which are under the Haut-Medoc appellation, at different stage of resurrection. La Tour Carnet is the most advanced, selling alluring wines. Camensac, now owned by the same family of Gruaud Larose, had the vineyards replanted, with the wine now gaining substance and recognition.

Belgrave has been restored by the Dourthe, but the terroir did not produce the quality of St-Julien. The commune is not a bourgeois country, with three estates ranked Crus Bourgeois Superieurs in 2003, including Chateau du Glana, Moulin de la Rose and Terrey-Gros-Cailloux.

I have tasted the following St-Julien wines so far:

Chateau Beychevelle	2002
Chateau Beychevelle	2004
Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou	2002
Chateau Gruaud Larose	2004
Chateau Saint-Pierre	2004
Chateau Talbot	2004
Croix de Beaucaillou	2005

Chateau Beychevelle

The estate is located at the south-eastern tip of St-Julien, close to the town of Beychevelle, neighboring Chateau St-Pierre and Gloria, and less than a mile from the Gironde to the east. The origin of the estate lies in the seigneurie of Lamarque, which was in the hands of the Grailly family in the early 15^th century.

Later it was passed to the Foix-Candale family in 1446, who also owned d’Issan. Under the tenure of this family the property was known as Chateau de Medoc. In 1587 the land and property came into the Duc d’Epernon, Jean-Louis Nogaret de la Valette, when he married the heiress of the estate Marguerite de Foix-Candale.

It was said that he was responsible to rename the property as Beychevelle. As the Governor of Guyenne, he was also an admiral of the French navy, and the ships sailing on the Gironde were required to lower their sails in respect when they passed in front of the estate.

The act, baisse voile in French, led to the name Beychevelle but there are doubts about its authenticity, as ships would lower the sails naturally when they approached the port. The title of the estate was later passed to the next generation, and his son Bernard left behind a big debt when he died, ending with the sales of the estate, to Duc de Rendan in 1642.

In turn it was passed to the Abbadie family, which under their direction the vineyard was established. When they sold the estate to Marquis Francois-Etienne de Brassier, the new owner built the chateau, completing it in 1757 and also reunited much of the estate which were sold off after Duc d’Epernon’s death, plus building a vat house.

His son Francois-Arnaud succeeded and his descendants continued to control the estate through the Revolution, but a large portion was cleaved off and purchased by Bergeron, who also owned Ducru-Beacaillou, with others absorbed into St-Pierre. Francois-Arnaud fleed the country when he killed a man in a duel, and what was left with the Brassier family came to his sister, before selling to Jacques Conte in 1800.

The estate was then sold to Pierre-Francois Guestier, mayor of St-Julien, in 1825, who also managed Langoa and Leoville-Barton, and got the estate ranked a fourth growth in the 1855 classification. He later sold the property to Armand Heine in 1874, then to the wealthy Achille-Fould family through the marriage of his daughter.

The next three generations did not bring dramatic improvement in quality of the wine, but in 1984 a large number of shares were sold to Grands Millesimes de France, the pension fund for the French civil servants. Later they bought all the remaining shares and then sold 40% to Japanese group Suntory, who also purchased Lagrange in 1983. The investment brought an improved quality as evident in recent vintages.

The deep Garonne gravel soils account for 90 hectares, planted with 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Average vine age is 25 years, with planting density of 10000 vines per hectare. Fermentation is temperature controlled, with ageing of 18 months in oak which is 50% new, with fining and no filtering.

The grand vin is Chateau Beychevelle with typical production of 25000 cases, and a second wine Admiral de Beychevelle of 12500 cases. There is a Haut-Medoc wine from plots bordering St-Julien, Brulieres de Beychevelle.

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

Appearance

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

Nose

Clean, with medium (+) intensity aromas of black fruit such as blackcurrant and black cherries, pungent spice of licorice, oak notes of toast, animal notes of farmyard, kernel notes of milk chocolate, mineral notes of graphite, hints of maturity notes like wet leaves. The wine is developing.

Palate

Dry with medium acidity, the wine has medium (+) tannin, ripe and silky in texture. Medium in alcohol but a bit warming, it has medium (+) body with medium intensity flavors of black fruit such as black cherries and blackcurrant, oak notes of cedar, kernel notes of chocolate, sweet spice of nutmeg. The wine has a medium finish.

Conclusion

Good quality St-Julien with an intense nose showing good complexity, the wine has an elegant harmony, with the different elements well-balancing each other to provide an enjoying taste on the palate, with reasonable concentration in the flavors and a fair length on the finish. Ready to drink now, the wine can further develop for another 2-3 years.

Rolf Binder Winery

In Veritas Winery, the crushing of grapes is designed to leave as many whole berries as possible in fermentation, inside 8-ton open fermenters. The old screw press has been used in the winery starting 1955, aiming not to press too hard in order to leave a few litres in the cake to avoid the hardness in wine.

Rolf Binder is the winemaker, aiming for the correct use of oak, with new oak used sparingly, and older re-shaven oak is used to import less aggression and more fine oak characters to the wine. The premium wines such as Hanisch and Heysen spend 22 months in oak.

After barrel selection and blending, the wine receives a light fining of egg white and a very gentle filtering. The winery was established in 1955 by Rolf Binder’s parents Rolf and Fransiska Binder, post-war immigrant from Europe. Rolf Sr. came to Australia without anything and started work as a court interpreter, when he met Chris Vohrer and Wilhelm Abel, who established the original winery in the Barossa Valley.

After working a decade in the winery, Rolf purchased the property and renamed it Veritas Winery. Initial production was of fortified wines, with a few reds, also doing ‘house deliveries’ which helped to spread the reputation. In the mid-1960s Rolf Sr. purchased some land that was partially planted with Shiraz and Mataro.

By 1972 the land was all planted with vines and he christened the Heysen and Hanisch vineyards. In early 1980s his daughter and son joined the business, with Rolf Jr. began working in the winery from 1982, and Christa went offsite and came back after 10 years to bring in skills for white winemaking.

Rolf Jr. stayed away from fortified and developed the red wine, which now compete with the famous wine of South Australia, the Penfolds Grange. In 2005, the winery was renamed Rolf Binder to honor Rolf Sr.

I have recently tasted the 2006 Hanisch Shiraz and 2008 Heinrich SMG, below are my tasting notes:

Appearance

Clear, with deep ruby color core, and legs.

Nose

Clean, the nose shows pronounced intensity aromas of ripe black fruit such as blackberry and bilberry, pungent spice of black pepper, sweet spice of cloves, oak notes of toast and smoke, MLF notes of butter, animal notes of leather. The wine is still youthful.

Palate

Dry with medium acidity, the wine has medium tannin, smooth and has a velvety texture. Medium (+) in alcohol, it has full body and medium (+) intensity flavors of black fruit such as blackberry and bilberry, oak notes of toast and vanilla, pungent spice of black pepper. The wine has a medium (+) finish.

Conclusion

Very good quality Australia Shiraz with the typical spicy notes and ripe black fruit characters, the wine has a very intense nose showing good complexity on aromas, and the palate is also impressive with fairly strong flavors. The alcohol level is high as one would expect from such wine, with a fairly long finish. The wine is still quite youthful but ready to drink now, but can benefit from further ageing of another 4-6 years.

Appearance

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

Nose

Clean, with medium (+) intensity aromas of black fruit such as black cherries and dark plum, red fruit of redcurrant and candy, pungent spice of black pepper, oak notes of vanilla, sweet spice of cloves, maturity notes of savory. The wine is developing.

Palate

Dry with medium acidity, the wine has medium tannin, ripe and silky in texture. Medium (+) in alcohol, it has medium (+) body with medium (+) intensity flavors of black fruit such as black cherries and dark plum, pungent spice of black pepper, oak notes of vanilla, sweet spice of cloves. The wine has a medium finish.

Conclusion

Good quality Australian GSM with an intense nose showing good complexity of ripe fruit and spicy characters, clearly showing the higher proportion of Shiraz in the blend, the wine has a good structure, showing robust yet well-delineated harmony and good concentration. The finish is only on a reasonable length, however, otherwise this wine will be in the ‘very good’ camp. Ready to drink now, the wine can further develop for another 3-5 years.

Pauillac

Three out of the five 1855 classification first growths are located in Pauillac, with the wines having a combination of fruit, oak, cigar-box, with some sweetness and most importantly vigor. There are gravel mounds or croupes in the commune which are relatively high in the Medoc area, but in fact only reaching about 30 metres.

The town is the biggest in Medoc, but there are not that many activities. The vineyards are less divided compared with the other communes, with many estates owning a whole slope, mound or plateau. As a result there are more variations derived from terroir.

The three most famous wines are all quite different, with Lafite Rothschild and Latour on the opposite ends of the parish, the first almost in St-Estephe and the other almost in St-Julien. But their styles are quite on the opposite, with Lafite more on smoothness and finesse of a St-Julien, while Latour more the emphatic firmness of St-Estephe.

Lafite is also one of the biggest vineyards in the Medoc at 100 hectares, making about 700 barrels of its top wine, with even more of its second label Carruades being made.

Latour is firmer and more solid, with the merit of consistency even at poor vintage, with its second wine Les Forts de Latour considered and priced as a second growth. Mouton Rothschild is strong, dark, full of flavor of ripe blackcurrants, with the little museum of works of art connected with wine, making it the showpiece of the whole Medoc.

Cabernet Sauvignon has been the main variety grown in the area, but in fact it has a history of only 150 years, with even the first growths established with a mixture of other varieties before that, most notably Malbec. However, Cabernet Sauvignon is slow to mature, often taking 10 or even 20 years to reach the peak and perfection, but many were drunk too young.

The southern approach to Pauillac is flanked by two rival second growths of the historic Pichon estate, with Pichon-Lalande traditionally had the better reputation but now Pichon-Longueville is catching up. Lynch-Bages, even though ‘only’ a fifth growth, has been long-loved, particularly in Britain, for its richly spicy wine, similar to Mouton.

While Pontet-Canet, the biggest cru classe of all, is located adjacent to Mouton but producing a different style of tannic and reserved. Duhart-Milon belongs also to Lafite Rothschild, with d’Armailhac and Clerc Milon to Mouton, with all three benefiting from the wealth and technical knowledge of their owners and managers.

Batailley and the finer Haut-Batailley lie back from the river in the fringe of the woods. Grand-Puy-Lacoste is recently renovated, producing dependable wine, and also managed by Francois-Xavier Borie, whose brother Bruno runs Ducru-Beaucaillou in St-Julien.

Grand-Puy-Ducasse produces a firm, energetic wine, but unlike Lacoste which is one continuous vineyard on high ground, Ducasse is scattered over three separate parcels to the north and west of Pauillac. Haut-Bages-Liberal is located in St-Lambert, now under a new lease of life.

Lynch-Moussas, in conjunction with Batailley, is selling consistently good wine at modest prices. Croizet-Bages and Pedesclaux are fifth growths having serious competitions from four of the 2003 Crus Bourgeois Superieurs, including Colombier-Monpelou, Fonbadet, Haut-Bages Monpelou and Pibran.

A local co-operative under the name La Rose-Pauillac, is also making creditable wine but in diminishing quantities. On the west is St-Sauveur with no outstanding quality wine but respectable and useful Crus Bourgeois, like Liversan, Peyrabon, Bernadotte and Ramage la Batisse.

I have tasted the following Pauillac wines so far:

Chateau Batailley	2004
Chateau Clerc Milon	2004
Chateau Clerc Milon	2004
Chateau Cos Labory	2005
Chateau Croizet-Bages	2004
Chateau Croizet-Bages	2005
Chateau d'Armailhac	2004
Chateau Duhart-Milon	2002
Chateau Duhart Milon	2003
Chateau Grand-Puy Ducasse	2003
Chateau Grand-Puy Ducasse	2006
Chateau Haut-Bages Averous	2005
Chateau Haut-Bages-Liberal	2004
Chateau Haut-Batailley	2004
Chateau Lynch Bages	2004
Chateau Lynch-Moussas	2004
Chateau Pedesclaux	2005
Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron	2004
Chateau Pichon-Longueville Comtessede Lalande	2002
Chateau Pichon-Longueville Comtessede Lalande	2003
Hauts de Pontet-Canet	2005
Moulin de Duhart	2007
Reserve de la Comtesse de Lalande	2006

 

Chateau Palmer

The origin of Chateau Palmer started with the Gascq family, who was an influential Bordeaux dynasty, with holdings spread over much of the Medoc. The story goes that General Charles Palmer, who served under Wellington in the British Army, was traveling by stagecoach on his way from the Battle of Toulouse in 1814, when he met Marie Brunet de Ferriere, the young widow of Blaise Jean Charles Alexandre de Gascq, who was selling her inherited estate.

Charles Palmer ended up purchased the Gascq estate in 1814. He entrusted the running of his property to a local wine merchant Paul Estenave and a manager Jean Lagunegrand, but he also authorized investment and expansion to acquire new land and plant more vines.  

Within two decades the estate expanded to 163 hectares, of which 82 hectares were planted to vines, in Issan, Cantenac and Margaux. Palmer also set about marketing his wine in London and was well received, known as Palmer’s Claret, even gracing the table of Prince Regent, future King George IV.

However, his fortunes deteriorated later and he had to sell off his assets, with Chateau Palmer being sold to Francoise-Marie Bergerac in 1843, but the property remained under his name to this day. It soon changed hands again, to Caisse Hypothecaire de Paris in 1844, before being purchased by the Pereire brothers, Emile and Issac, in 1853.

They were bankers who built their fortunes in France’s regeneration, including the development of Arcachon as a retreat close to Bordeaux. In the 1855 classification it was ranked a troisieme cru, only two years after their purchase, probably did not reflect the true potential of the property.

One explanation was that a key plot of the current Palmer, at the plateau behind the chateau, which was not part of the estate in 1855. The Pereire brothers made significant investments, constructing a chateau in 1856, similar in style with Pichon-Baron, that stands till today.

The vineyards covered 177 hectares then, of which 109 hectares were planted with vines. During the trouble period in the latter 19^th and the early 20^th century there was a downturn, finally ending with the brothers having to sell the property, initially small portions, but finally the remaining in 1938 to the syndicate of the Sichel, Ginestet, Mialhe and Mahler-Besse families.

These four famous families set to restore Palmer to greatness, but along the way the Ginestet and Mialhe families left the syndicate. At the same time, the Chandon family has helped maintain the vineyards for three generations, providing continuity, while Bertrand Bouteiller held the role of manager for 40 years before retiring in 2004.

Now the day-to-day affairs are run by Thomas Duroux, a local oenologist selected by the shareholders, who had spent time in Ornellaia. Now the vineyards cover 55 hectares, located in Margaux and Cantenac, situated on deep gravel soils over hard bedrock.

Planting density is high at 10,000 vines per hectare, with an unusually high proportion of Merlot at 47%, with 47% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Petit Verdot. Merlot accounts for 40% of the blend, and Petit Verdot is also a significant component, with the yield restricted to 35 hl/ha. There was once some Cabernet Franc but in 2004 they were all grubbed up.

The vines are averaging 38 years, with about one hectare of land cleared and replanted each year. The vineyards are not biodynamic but managed with attention, with biological pest management. The fruit is harvested by hand, with vinification in temperature controlled stainless steel vats, in varying capacity.

The wine is pumped over the skins, with maceration up to 20 days, and malolactic is encouraged before the wine goes into oak for up to 21 months. The wine is racked four times in the first year, after which blending is done. It is fined with egg white before bottle unfiltered, with the grand vin Chateau Palmer seeing 21 months in 45% new oak.

A second wine called Alter Ego de Palmer is made, seeing 17 months in oak which are 25-40% new. Also, there is a white starting in the 2007 vintage, in a miniscule quantity of only 75 cases. Another special wine is introduced in 2004, a blend called Historical XIX Century Wine, with a Hermitage wine of between 250 to 300 cases.

I have recently tasted the 2001 vintage of the grand vin and 2003 vintage of the second wine, and below are my tasting notes:

Appearance

Bright and clear, the wine has medium intensity ruby color, with legs.

Nose
Clean, it has medium intensity aromas of black fruit such as blackberry and dark plum, kernel notes of mocha, pungent spice of licorice, floral notes of violet, oak notes of cedar, hints of maturity notes of forest floor and savory. The wine is developing.

Palate

Dry, it has medium acidity, medium tannin of ripe and silky texture. Medium level in alcohol, it has medium body and medium intensity flavors of black fruit such as black cherry and plum, oak notes of cedar and some vanilla, some floral notes of violet. It has a medium (+) finish.

Conclusion

Very good Margaux with reasonable concentration on the nose, showing a wide range of characters in a subtle and elegant manner, the wine has a balanced and nice palate, demonstrating the elegance of the appellation with the typical floral notes and accompanying with a long finish. Ready to drink now, the wine can be further developed for another 2-3 years.

Appearance

Bright and clear, the wine has deep intensity ruby color, with rims turning to garnet, and legs.

Nose

Clean, it has medium intensity aromas of black fruit such as black cherry and dark plum, floral notes of violet, maturity notes of savory, herbaceous notes of mint and blackcurrant leaf and sweet spice of cinnamon. The wine is developing.

Palate
Dry, it has medium acidity, medium (+) tannin of ripe and velvety texture. Medium level in alcohol, it has medium body and medium intensity flavors of black fruit such as blackberry and plum, oak notes of cedar, some floral notes of violet. It has a medium finish.

Conclusion

Good quality Margaux, with a reasonably concentrated nose showing good complexity, the wine has a fine balance and an elegant style, with the floral notes typical of the Margaux appellation. The palate is equally refined with fair intensity and length. Ready to drink now and not intend for further ageing, but can keep for another 2-3 years.

Chateau Pichon-Longueville

While many people refer to Pichon-Baron, the full title of this wine is Chateau Longueville au Baron de Pichon-Longueville. The history started in the 17^th century, when Jacques de Pichon-Longueville married Theresa de Rauzan, daughter of Pierre des Mesures de Rauzan.

Jacques’ father Bernard was ennobled with the Barony of Longueville, when he married Anne Daffis de Longueville in 1646. The Rauzan family had vineyards in Margaux, but had purchased several plots further north in Pauillac, later forming the dowry for Theresa, which became the original Pichon vineyard.

The wines are of excellent reputation, second only to its neighbor like Latour. Jacques died in 1731 and passed the property to his son, also named Jacques, and subsequently to two more generations, to Joseph. Joseph held tenure during the French Revolution and was the last member of the Pichon family who held control over all the vines.

Upon his death the estate was divided among his five children, with the only remaining son Raoul assuming the title of Baron, and inherited two shares according to the Napoleonic laws, including the portion of his late brother Louis, thus forming Pichon-Baron. The remaining three shares were passed to the daughters forming the current Pichon-Lalande.

Raoul had the old manor house demolished, building a new chateau in 1851. The two portions were both recognized as second growth in the 1855 classification. Upon Raoul’s death in 1860, the separation was final with one of the sisters taking the helm at Lalande, while Pichon-Baron was passed to Raoul’s cousin, also called Raoul.

By 1933 the family ran out of potential heirs and sold the estate to the Bouteillier family, and despite the successive devastation of mildew, phylloxera, war and depression, continued to produce good wines. But when Jean Bouteillier died in 1961, the decline was started as his children were young and inexperienced.

Then AXA Millesimes and Jean-Michel Cazes became involved, purchasing the property in 1987, providing the much needed investment to change the fortune. The chai was completely rebuilt, and two new buildings were erected facing each other across the pool in front, yet not distracting the grand chateau.

Today it is managed by Christian Seely, adopting stricter selection at the 40 hectares vineyard at the heart of the estate, and using smaller fermentation vats to allow plot-by-plot vinification. Total vineyards now cover 73 hectares, with typical gravel planted with 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 35% Merlot, with the Cabernet Franc now totally taken out.

Harvesting is manual, with the fruit de-stemmed before fermenting in temperature controlled stainless steel vats. Malolactic fermentation occurs in the vat, after which the wine is transferred into French oak barrels to age for up to 18 months, using 80% new and 20% one-year old oak, with racking every three months.

The grand vin is Chateau Longueville au Baron de Pichon-Longueville, with typical production of 24000 cases. The second wine is Les Tourelles de Longueville, introduced since 1986, typically with 12000 cases produced.

A groundbreaking practice happened in 2007, with those second wines which were sold to trade, was bottled under a screwcap rather than the traditional cork, unheard of for a deuxieme cru. The wine is now more focused on Cabernet Sauvignon, usually more than 70% of the blend.

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

Appearance

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

Nose

Clean, with medium (+) intensity, showing black fruit such as blackcurrant, blackberry and dark cherry, maturity notes of savory and tobacco, oak notes of cedar and smoke, sweet spice of nutmeg, mineral notes of graphite, kernel notes of chocolate. The wine is developing.

Palate

Dry with medium acidity, the wine has medium (+) tannin but is ripe and smooth, with medium alcohol, medium (+) body and medium (+) intensity flavors of black fruit such as blackberry and plum, oak notes of vanilla and cedar, kernel notes of milk chocolate, mineral notes of earth. The wine has a long finish.

Conclusion

Very good quality Bordeaux with an intense nose, showing high complexity with a wide range of different characters, the wine has a well-defined structure, elegant and with expressive freshness. The palate is equally amazing with good concentration and an exceptional finish, this wine really demonstrates how a good Bordeaux can be, and why it mesmerizes so many drinkers. Ready to drink now, the wine can benefit from further ageing of another 5-7 years.