Chateau Laroze

Chateau Laroze was established by the great-grandmother of current owner Guy Meslin in 1882. The flowery name refers to the rose bushes planted at the end of the vine rows, also as a symbol of the wine’s fragrance.

The Meslins are direct descendants of the estate’s founders, the Gurchy family, who were producers in St-Emilion in a place called Mazerat as early as 1610. Two centuries later they had joined three small estates together to form a 27 hectare vineyard.

In 1885 they built a chateau, with the estate is located at the foot of the northwest hill of St-Emilion, with the vineyards surrounding the chateau. In 1990 Guy inherited the estate from his father and started to restructure the vineyard, the buildings and the equipment.

I have recently tasted the 2006 vintage and below is my tasting note:

Appearance

Bright and clear, it has deep ruby color, with garnet rims and legs.

Nose

Clean, with medium (+) intensity aromas, showing black fruit such as blackberry, dark plum, cassis and black cherries, oak notes of cedar, pungent spice of licorice, maturity notes of forest floor, animal notes of meaty. The wine is developing.

Palate

Dry with medium acidity, the wine has medium tannin of ripe and velvety texture. Medium alcohol, it has medium (+) body, and medium intensity flavors of black fruit of blackberry and plum, mineral notes of earth, herbal notes of black tea, herbaceous notes of blackcurrant leaf, oak notes of cedar. The wine has a medium finish.

Conclusion

Good quality St-Emilion with a nice, concentrated nose showing good complexity, the wine has a less elegant palate, however, with some unripe flavors. Decent on the intensity and length, it has nevertheless the necessary structure and balance, as well as typical Merlot characters. It is ready to drink now though can benefit from further ageing of another 2-3 years.

Cote d'Or: The Quality Factor

The Cote lies on a geological fault line, with the seabed deposits rich in calcium from defunct shellfish. Exposure has weathered rocks into soils of different ages and textures, and the varying degrees of slope have mixed them in different proportions. The altitude is roughly constant at 250 metres, with the higher the climate is harsher, thus grapes ripen later.

Lower down the soils are more alluvial, with valley mists and unseasonal frosts more common and full ripeness also difficult to achieve. The Cote faces east, with its lower part having a narrow outcrop of marlstone, making the best soils combining the limestone higher up. In Cote de Beaune the marly outcrop is wider and higher on the hill, so the vines can almost reach the peak in places.

On Corton the soils formed from the marlstone is the best part of the vineyard, close to the top of the hill, but in Meursault the limestone reappears below the marl which results in good soils for white. The vast changes of soil come with different drainage and temperature in the soil, among a wide range of factors affecting the vine.

Burgundy is one of the most northernmost areas to produce great red wine. The mesoclimate plays a critical effect, with the best sites facing due east, to get full exposure to morning sun to warm the soil gradually and retaining heat all day. The sites are also sheltered from the southwest, the rain-bearing wind but not so much as to become frost pockets at night.

Another quality factor is the choice of vines, with most choosing the suitable clones and not the over-productive, also paying attention to revitalize the soil. Organic and biodynamic viticulture are increasingly popular. It is the region where the wine quality has been studied the longest, since the 12^th century by the Cistercian and Benedictine monks.

The Haut-Cotes is a broken plateau dividing Cote de Beaune and Cote de Nuits, rising to 400 metres, with lower temperature. The best communes in Hautes-Cotes de Beaune include Nantoux, Echevronne, La Rochepot and Meloisey, while in Hautes-Cotes de Nuits it is Marey-les-Fussey, Magny-les-Villers, Villars-Fontaine and Bevy. At the southern tip of Cote de Beaune is Maranges, responsible for delicate reds.

Burgundy

Burgundy is a land of long meals, with the best materials, richest of the ancient duchies but of course most famous still for its wines. There are several districts and eminent wine regions, including Cote d’Or, the most famous and important, composed of Cote de Beaune to the south and Cote de Nuits to the north.

There is also the Chardonnay dominant Chablis, the red and white Cote Chalonnaise, and the whites of Maconnais. Immediately to the south of Maconnais is Beaujolais, which is quite different in terms of scale, style, soils and grape.

There is hardly a grand house in Burgundy, unlike the more elegant Medoc. Most of the few big holdings came from the church, and was broken up by Napoleon, resulting in one of the most fragmented wine-growing districts. Average holding is a mere 6 hectare, but already bigger than it used to be.

This fragmentation results in one of the drawbacks of the wine – the unpredictability, as even when pinning down a wine to a particular climat, a particular commune in one particular year, there could be in many cases six or seven people owning small parcels, with the wines coming from different cellars.

Monopoles are rare, and even small growers have parcels in two or three vineyards. Clos de Vougeot’s 50 ha vineyards are divided among more than 90 growers, for example.

There is still about 65% of burgundy bought in barrel from grower when it is new by negociants, who blend them to make marketable quantities of standard wine, as a district wine.

Reputations of large negociants vary enormously, but Bouchard Pere et Fils, Joseph Drouhin, Faiveley, Louis Jadot, and Louis Latour are reliable, and they also own significant vineyards. There are some new negociants from the end of 20^th century, like Dominique Laurent and Verget.

Nearly 100 appellations are present in Burgundy, with a quality classification as well. Bourgogne can be applied to wine made from grapes grown in any part of Burgundy. Bourgogne Grand Ordinaire and Bourgogne Passetoutgrains are another two, with the former a mixture of local Burgundian grapes and the latter allowing Gamay with at least a third Pinot Noir.

Bourgogne Aligote is a relatively tart white wine made from Burgundy’s other white grape. There is the mini-appellation of Bourgogne Vezelay.

I have tasted the following Bourgogne AOC wines:

Bernard Dugat-Py, Bourgogne	2005
Bernard Dugat-Py, Bourgogne Cuvee Halinard	2007
Maison Leroy, Bourgogne	2001
Maison Leroy, Bourgogne	2003
Maison Leroy, Bourgogne Blanc	2000
Anne Boisson, Bourgogne Aligote	2009
Louis Jadot, Bourgogne Aligote	2008

 

Wineshark Recipe Card - Leek and Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

• Butter - 1 oz
• Leek sliced - 3 oz
• Celery - 2 sticks
• Bacon - 2 strips
• Red lentils - 8 oz
• Chicken stock - 2 lb 8 oz
• Whipping cream - 4 oz
• Salt - 1 tsp
• White pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
• Parsley finely - 1 tbsp

Procedures:

1. Stir fry leek with butter, then add celery and bacon, under small fire for about 10 min.
2. Add red lentils and then chicken stock and cook for 30 min.
3. Blend the soup.
4. Reheat the soup, add whipping cream, seasonings and parsley.

Domaine Marc Morey et Fils

Marc Morey’s vines were divided between his son Michel, who married Fabienne Coffinet and created Domaine Morey-Coffinet, and his daughter Marie-Joseph, who continued to use the name of her father’s domaine.

The wines today are made by Bernard Mollard, who married Marie-Joseph in 1974 and began working on the estate. Michel left in 1980 to look after the Coffinet vines and gradually Bernard took over.

Bernard started a negociant business in late 1980s to compensate for the grapes that were shared between Marc’s children, buying from other growers in Chassagne, Puligny and Rully. That business now accounts for about a third of the production.

Bernard and Marie-Joseph’s daughter Sabine has now worked in the domaine since 2003. The vineyards are ploughed with occasional weedkillers in difficult parcels, with the best quality vines mostly planted 20-30 years ago.

The red wine accounts for little more than 10% of the production, vinified with relatively short curvasions and little pigeage, not to extract too much tannin. The best red is Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot, a solid grippy wine with good body but often lacking generosity.

The whites are excellent and more famous, with the Chardonnay grapes hand-picked and pressed as quickly as possible in a modern, pneumatic press. No debourbage if the grapes are healthy, and fermentation is started in stainless steel vats using only natural indigenous yeast.

Once initial fermentation is over the wine is transferred to barrel to ferment the remaining sugars, allowing Bernard to keep the temperature a little lower to retain freshness and aromas. Afterwards the wine has batonnage for a week.

Larger oak casks since 2007 are used, about 25-35% are new each year, with the wine stays on the lees until July when they are racked, fined and filtered before being bottled at the end of August. The aim is to make fresh, aromatic wines attractive when young but with good grip and acidity.

The premiers crus are a fine range, with the most impressive is the quality from St-Aubin 1er Cru Charmois. Slightly richer includes Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Vergers, and Les Chenevottes has even fuller body, extra depth and length.

The two finest Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Crus are Les Caillerets and En Virondot, with the former a lovely elegant wine with freshness, power and length. The latter is essentially a monopole as the domaine is buying the fruit from other owners to complement its own 2 ha of vines.

The soils here are poorer and less deep, producing crisper wine and less fat but has intense flavor and great length. Bernard has just 0.2 ha of Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Pucelles, splitting between his brother-in-law Michel, and the wine is rick, silky, fresh and generous.

There is also a plot in Batard-Montrachet and in 2008 it is only of two barrels for the entire production, with rich and honeyed aromas, fine depth and length.

I have recently tasted the 2006 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru En Virondot and below is my tasting note:

Appearance

Bright and clear, it has medium lemon color, with legs.

Nose

Clean, with medium (+) intensity aromas dairy notes of cream and butter, green fruit of pear, citrus notes of lemon, kernel notes of walnut, maturity notes of hay, mineral notes of stony. The wine is developing.

Palate

Dry with medium (+) acidity, the wine has medium alcohol, medium body, and has medium intensity flavors of green fruit of pear and ripe apple, maturity notes of mushroom, citrus notes of lemon, kernel notes of walnut, dairy notes of bread. The wine has a medium finish.

Conclusion

Good quality Chassagne-Montrachet with a good intense nose, having also good complexity, the wine has a robust structure, with the acidity supporting well the body with the flavors clearly highlighting the elegance of the wine, with good bread and walnut notes of decent concentrated. The wine has a fair length on the finish, ready to drink and can benefit from further ageing of another 3-5 years.

Kistler Vineyards

In 1978 Steve Kistler and his family founded this small winery in the Mayacamas Mountains. The first vintage is 1979 with 3500 cases of Chardonnay. In 1992 a state-of-the-art winery was built on the Russian River, with current production at 20000 cases, with 15000 cases of Chardonnay and 5000 cases of Pinot Noir.

Since the beginning it is operated by the two principals, owner/winemaker Steve Kistler and his assistant Mark Bixler. Steve worked in Ridge for two years as an assistant winemaker before founding Kistler.

Dedicated to using single-vineyard sources to develop the classic flavors and aromas of Chardonnay, wines from Kistler Vineyards are modeled after the best Bourgogne. Examples include whole cluster pressing, 100% barrel fermentation in various percentages of new French oak.

In addition, indigenous yeast is used for the fermentation, with full malolactic fermentation in oak rather than tank. All Chardonnays would remain 12 months on lees in barrel, and bottled 6 months later unfined and unfiltered.

For Pinot Noir the fruit is destemmed but never crushed, in a 5 days or more maceration in open top fermenters with only indigenous yeast. After 3-4 weeks of cuvasion, malolactic fermentation occurs naturally in barrel, with about 85% new French oak used, with the wines spending 14-16 months in wood without any racking, also unfined and unfiltered.

I have recently tasted the 2002 vintage of the Kistler Vineyard Chardonnay and below is my tasting note:

Appearance

Bright and clear, it has deep lemon color, with legs.

Nose

Clean, with medium (+) intensity aromas green fruit of ripe pear, tropical fruit of sugarcane, citrus notes of lemon, oak notes of caramel and butterscotch, maturity notes of mushroom, dairy notes of butter and cream, kernel notes of chestnut. The wine is developing.

Palate

Dry with medium acidity, the wine has medium (+) alcohol, full body, and has medium (+) intensity flavors of green fruit of ripe pear, oak notes of caramel and butterscotch, maturity notes of cereal, tropical fruit of sugarcane, dairy notes of butter and cream, kernel notes of chestnut. The wine has a medium (+) finish.

Conclusion

Very good quality California Chardonnay with the signature ripeness and oaky characters on the nose, with plenty of concentration and good complexity, the wine also exhibits roundness and structure, showing good development yet still maintaining the fruit. On the palate it is equally nice with strong intensity and range of flavors, plus also a fairly long finish. A really nice wine of reasonable price, it is ready to drink now but can further develop for another 2-3 years.

Wineshark Recipe Card - Chicken & Bacon with Corn Sauce

Ingredients:

• Chicken fillet - 8 pcs
• Salt - 1 tsp
• White pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
• Cream corn - 8 oz
• Diced spring onion - 1 tbsp
• Bacon diced - 3 stripes
• Chicken stock - 2 oz
• Whipping cream - 2 tbsp
• French mustard - 1 tsp
• Parmesan cheese - 1 oz
• Parsley finely - 1 tbsp

Procedures:

1. Marinate chicken fillet with salt and white pepper powder.
2. Mix the cream corn with spring onion and bacon.
3. Place a layer of fillet on the baking tray.
4. Cover with the cream corn mix.
5. Then place the other layer of fillet on top.
6. Pour the chicken stock and put the tray into oven.
7. Blend the remaining of the cream corn with French mustard, whipping cream, and 1/2 tsp of salt.
8. When the fillet is nearly done, pour the sauce on top, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
9. Bake till the colour turns golden brown.
10. Sprinkle parsley finely on top when serve.

Chateau d'Arche

Chateau d’Arche is named after Comte Francois Antoine Pierre d’Arche, president of the Bordeaux parliament, who acquired the estate in 1727. Prior to his purchase it was known as Chateau Braneyre. After the Revolution it was sold in 1795 to a Monsieur Dublanc, and during which the estate had a break-up, including the Lafaurie, Comet, Dubourg and Pentalier families.

All four owners marketed their wines as that of Chateau d’Arche, with the proprietor on the suffix on the label. The two main sections are d’Arche-Lafaurie and d’Arche-Vimeney, which remained in the hands of the family to the latter part of the 19^th century.

Chateau d’Arche-Lafaurie was ranked a deuxieme cru in the 1855 classification, and the Lafaurie family relinquished their hold in 1925, to Monsieur Saint-Jean. In the early 20^th century Armand Bastit Saint-Martin, who also owned Lamothe-Guignard, reunited the divided vineyards of d’Arche, buying out all the other proprietors.

In the 1970s, he was successful in reunifying d’Arche. With the death of Bastit Saint-Martin’s son in 1980, the agreement on the Arche-Vimeney vineyards was terminated, which was subsequently acquired by the Cordier family, and that was absorbed into Chateau Lafaurie-Peyraguey.

Armand chose to lease the remaining vineyards to Pierre Perromat, onetime president of INAO. The vineyards are some of the highest in the commune of Sauternes, surrounding the chateau and other buildings.

The estate is about 50 hectares, with vineyards accounting for 36 hectares, with the south-facing slope of gravel closest to the hill, clay and limestone down the slopes. At the foot of the slope is a band of silt. It is planted with 90% Semillon, 9% Sauvignon Blanc and 1% Muscadelle, with the average vine age of 45 years, at a density of 6600 vines per hectare.

Harvest is manual in 4-5 tries, with typically low yield of 17 hl/ha. After sorting and pressing the must undergoes debourbage to settle out impurities, the wine is transferred into oak barrel for fermentation. It is allowed to continue for a few weeks, brought to a halt to preserve the residual sugar and alcohol content through sulphur and chilling.

The wines then remain in barrel for 18 months, with weekly topping up and regular racking. The grand vin is selected through tasting during elevage, lasting a total of 18 months. The wines are made with technical advice from Henri Boyer, a popular oenologist in Sauternes and Barsac.

The grand vin is Chateau d’Arche, typically of 90% Semillon and 10% Sauvignon Blanc. The second wine is Prieure d’Arche, taking the fruit of the younger vines, as well as the fruit of the older Sauvignon Blanc, with fermentation in stainless steel vats instead of oak.

There is another wine called Chateau d’Arche-Lafaurie, a super-cuvee taking fruit from two hectares of old vines in excess of 60 years of age, at a low yield of just 10 hl/ha on average, in new oak for 24 months. A dry white called d’Arche Blanc is also made, using the fruit from the more silty-sandy terroir at the foot of the vineyards, with 20% new oak. Another red called d’Arche Rouge is made from 100% Merlot sold under the Graves appellation.

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

Appearance

Bright and clear, it has medium golden color, with legs.

Nose

Clean, with medium intensity aromas showing citrus fruit of lemon peel and orange marmalade, oak notes of cedar, stone fruit of apricot, floral notes of blossom, tropical fruit of pineapple, maturity notes of honey, dairy notes of cream. The wine is developing.

Palate

Sweet with high acidity, the wine has medium alcohol with full body, with medium intensity flavors of citrus fruit of lemon and orange peel, oak notes of cedar, maturity notes of honey, stone fruit of apricot, tropical fruit of pineapple. The wine has a medium (+) finish.

Conclusion

Very good quality Sauternes, it is a wine with a freshness that is particularly appealing. On the nose it does not have a very pronounced concentration as other Sauternes may have, but the complexity is still high, with plenty of fruit at this age. On the palate the acidity and body provides such an ethereal sensation that one cannot stop drinking, without any cloying and heaviness which a lot of Sauternes shows. Reasonable on the intensity and complexity, the finish is fairly long. Ready to drink now but the wine can further age for another 8-10 years.

Wineshark Recipe Card - Vichy Carrot

Ingredients:

• Sliced carrot - 12 oz
• Onion shredded - 8 oz
• Bacon shredded - 4 oz
• Butter - 1 tbsp
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• White pepper powder - 1/4 tsp

Procedures:

1. First slice the carrot into pieces and put in boiling water to cook till it softens.
2. Sautee onion and bacon, then add the carrot.
3. Season with salt and white pepper.

Wineshark Recipe Card - Pork Chop with Vegetable and Cumin Sauce

Ingredients:

• Pork Chop - 2 pcs
• Salt - dashes
• Black pepper finely - dashes

Procedures:

1. Marinate the pork chop with salt and black pepper finely.
2. Pan-fry pork chop, first with medium fire on both sides, then use small fire.

Ingredients for the vegetable and cumin sauce:

• Vegetable oil - 1 tbsp
• Onion finely - 5 oz
• Carrot finely - 4 oz
• Mushroom sliced - 6 oz
• Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
• Ginger finely - 1 tsp
• Garlic finely - 1/2 tsp
• Flour - 2 tsp
• Stock - 10 oz
• Red wine - 2 oz
• Rosemary - 2 tsp

Procedures:

1. Sautee onion finely with vegetable oil, then add carrot finely.
2. Add sliced mushroom.
3. Add cumin, ginger and garlic finely, and then flour.
4. Add stock and red wine to cook for a while till it thickens.
5. Add rosemary.