Chateau Talbot

Chateau Talbot was supposedly named after a man who never owned the property. John Talbot was the Early of Shrewsbury, and he was a soldier sent by King Henry VI to sort out the rebellious French during the English rule in Aquitaine. There was the rumour that in Castillon John went into battle unarmed, having sworn never to bear arms against the French after they had released him from a previous captivity. In the end, John was defeated and met his death, and the English army eventually retreated and Bordeaux was French once more.

In the 18^th century the property came into the hands of Henri Raymond d’Aux de Lescout, who later acquired the title of Marquis d’Aux-Lally. The estate continued to be under the family throughout the 19^th century, and it was known as Talbot d’Aux, with the wine ranked as a fourth growth in the 1855 classification.

It was sold to Claverie in 1899, and then to Desire Cordier in 1917, with the Cordier family also owning Lafaurie-Peyraguey and part of Gruaud-Larose. The estate was passed to his son Georges, then to grandson Jean, before ending in the current owners, Jean’s daughters Lorraine and Nancy Bignon-Cordier. Lorraine passed away in 2001, and Nancy and her husband Jean-Paul Bignon are now running the estate.

The vineyards of Chateau Talbot dominate St-Julien, with an impressive 107 hectares. The soils are typically gravels, and about 102 hectares are planted with red varieties, mostly of Cabernet Sauvignon (66%), followed by Merlot (26%), Cabernet Franc (5%) and Petit Verdot (3%). There are also 5 hectares of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon.

The vine density is 7700 vines per ha, Guyot-trained, and averaging 35 years. Hand harvested, the final yield is about 45 hl/ha. The fruit goes over a sorting table before through a ventilated tunnel to dry the fruit, which is seldomly done in Bordeaux. It is then fermented by plot, using wooden vats or stainless steel, with temperature control.

The Cordier family invested in constructing a new, modern barrel cellar. The oak used for elevage is 50-60% new, with the grand vin bottled under Chateau Talbot, accounting for 50-60% of production, equivalent to 30000 cases. The second wine is Connetable Talbot, which was introduced in 1960s but many claimed 1979 was the first vintage. There is also a white wine, one of the few whites of the Medoc, known as Caillou Blanc.

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 legs.

Nose
Clean, the nose shows medium (+) intensity aromas of black fruit such as blackcurrant, blackberry and black cherries, pungent spice of liquorice, oak notes of cedar and toast, maturity notes of cigar box, kernel notes of dark chocolate. The wine is developing.

Palate
Dry with medium acidity, medium (+) tannin of ripe and well integrated texture, the wine has medium alcohol and is of medium (+) body with medium (+) intensity flavors of black fruit such as blackcurrant, blackberry and dark cherries, oak notes of vanilla, pungent spice of liquorice, kernel notes of chocolate, maturity notes of tobacco. The wine has a medium finish.

Conclusion
Very good quality St-Julien with an intense and complex nose, showing good development but still balancing well with good fruit and oak characters, the wine has also a nice palate, with a balanced profile of good concentration and reasonable complexity. The length however is a bit too mediocre, but overall still a very nice wine which is ready to drink now but can benefit from further ageing of another 3-5 years.

Wineshark Cooking - Grilled Fish Steak with Pepperonata

Grilled fish steak

Ingredients:

• Sea salt - 1 tbsp
• Thyme - 1 tsp
• Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
• Olive oil - 3 tbsp
• Fish steak - 4 pcs

Procedures:

1. Mix all seasonings and then put fish steak to marinate for a hour.

Pepperonata

Ingredients:

• Olive oil - 5 tbsp
• Anchovy fillet - 2 pcs
• Garlic finely - 3 tsp
• Onion finely - 4 oz
• Red bell pepper - 4 oz
• Yellow bell pepper - 4 oz
• Tomato - 8 oz
• Green beans - 2 oz
• Small eggplant - 4 oz
• Sliced zucchini - 4 oz
• Capers - 1 tbsp
• Chives finely - 2 tbsp
• Water - 10 oz
• Salt - 1 tsp
• White pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
• Sugar - 1/2 tsp
• Parsley finely - 2 tbsp

Procedures:

1. Sautee garlic with 2 tbsp olive oil, then add anchovy and onion till its goldens.
2. Add 3 tbsp olive oil and the bell peppers to cook for about 10 min, then add the tomato and eggplant to cook for 5 min.
3. Add green beans, zucchini, capers and slowly cook for about 10 min, then add seasonings.
4. Serve as side dish for the fish steak.

Chateau Fombrauge

The name Fombrauge came from the words fons brougiera, meaning source surrounded by heather and bushes. The first written record of Chateau Fombrauge dated back to 1453, when a squire named Jacques de Canolle acquired the property in 1466 proclaiming himself seigneur of Fombrauge.

It was under the Canolle family for several decades, then it was offered as dowry to Jacques Dumas in 1691. Dumas had been an active member of the ‘Pepiniere’, applying expertise on agriculture to the wine, improving the quality and achieving success. The property fell into public hands after French Revolution, and later returned to the Dumas descendants in 1808.

In 19^th century it changed hands to Ferdinand de Taffard, and was awarded gold medal in the 1867 World Fair in Paris. It was sold to a Dutch trading company in 1987, which sold the wine exclusively in the Scandinavian markets. Bernard Magrez acquired the property in 1999, returning the wine to the Bordeaux market, and was awarded GCC status in 2012 classification.

Nearly 60 ha, the property is on the plateau and slopes of St-Christophe-des-Bardes, and is the largest of the St-Emilion grands crus. With calcareous clay on limestone soil, it is planted with 77% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Cabernet Franc, with average vine age of 35 years.

Manually harvest, with sorting before and after destemming, the grapes are transferred into oak casks by gravity, with maceration and then manual hand plunging before putting into 50% new oak. Annual production is 170,000 bottles, with also a white wine produced. A tiny production of an intense, sweet garage wine Magrez Fombrauge is also made.

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

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

Nose
Clean, the nose shows medium intensity aromas of black fruit such as blackberry, dark plum and bilberry, pungent spice of liquorice, animal note of leather, kernel notes of mocha, oak notes of cedar, maturity notes of game. The wine is developing.

Palate
Dry with medium acidity, medium (+) tannin of ripe though a bit gripping on texture, the wine has medium (+) alcohol and is of medium body with medium (+) intensity flavors of black fruit such as blackberry and black cherry, oak notes of cedar and toast, kernel notes of coffee, sweet spice of cloves, MLF notes of cream. The wine has a medium (+) finish.

Conclusion
Good quality St-Emilion with a reasonably intense nose of fair complexity, the wine has a really wonderful palate, which is intense and offering good fruit and other characters, though the alcohol is a bit too warming especially in the first few sips. Another memorable note is the good long finish. Ready to drink now and it should benefit from further ageing of another 3-5 years.

Chateau Saint-Pierre

The origin of Chateau Saint-Pierre can be dated back to at least the 17^th century, or even earlier, when it was referred as Serancon under the ownership of the De Cheverry family. It got the current name when it was acquired by Baron de Saint-Pierre, during when viticulture was already taking place.

When the baron died in 1796 the estate was divided between his two daughters, Dubouilh and Bontemps-Dubarry, but was still run as a single entity. Dubouilh died in 1832, with her half bequeathed to her daughters. Nevertheless, the estate was able to be classified as a single entity in the 1855 classification and ranked as a fourth growth, the first in that ranking.

The Dobouilh portion was later put on sales and was mostly purchased by the Bontemps-Dubarry family, renaming the estate Saint-Pierre-Bontemps-Dubarry. Several small plots were purchased by others, with about one quarter to Bontemps-Dubarry’s daughter who married to Oscar de Leutken, owner of La Tour-Carnet.

Colonel Bontemps-Dubarry bequeathed the estate to his children, but it was his daughter who bought out her other siblings to keep the estate together. The portion under Oscar de Leutken was later sold to Leon Sevaistre. In 1923 the two portions were reunited by a Dutch firm Van den Bussche, changing the name to Saint-Pierre-Sevaistre.

In 1982 it was sold to Henri Martin, proprietor of Chateau Gloria, who in turn sold a small plot to Jean-Eugene Borie of Ducru-Beaucaillou, becoming Lalande-Borie. Henri then invested to restore the chateau, which is now under the management of her daughter Francoise and son-in-law Jean-Louis Triaud. Under the tenure of Martin and his heirs, the quality of the wines improved substantially.

The vineyards are just outside of the town of Beychevelle, near the boundary of St-Julien, with plenty of old vines totaling about 17 hectares planted with 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, with a tiny amount of Petit Verdot.

The fruit is hand-harvested, then taken to the chai of Chateau Gloria to macerate in enamel vats for two to four weeks, before fermenting in a mix of oak foudres and stainless steel with temperature control. It then goes into oak with 40-50% new each year, with fining and filtration before bottling. The grand vin is Chateau St Pierre with about 5000 cases produced and the rejected is sold in bulk to local merchants. It is the smallest GCC properties in St-Julien.

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

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

Nose
Clean, the nose shows medium intensity aromas of black fruit such as blackcurrant and blackberry, dried fruit of prune, oak notes of toast, pungent spice of liquorice, mineral notes of earth, kernel notes of mocha, animal notes of leather. The wine is youthful.

Palate
Dry with medium acidity, medium (+) tannin of ripe of ripe and velvety texture, the wine has medium alcohol and is of medium (+) body with medium intensity flavors of black fruit such as blackberry and black cherry, oak notes of cedar, kernel notes of mocha, vegetal notes of black olive. The wine has a medium finish.

Conclusion
Very good quality St-Julien with a reasonably intense nose showing good complexity, the wine is subtle but elegant, but probably too early to drink now without the development of more aromas and flavors. On the palate it is in balance and provides good structure, with a fair finish accompanying. Ready to drink now, the wine can benefit from further ageing of another 4-6 years.

Hospices de Beaune

Hospices de Beaune is a charitable medical foundation, with holdings include the Hotel-Dieu; the Hospices de la Charite, a hospital founded by Rousseau-Deslandes family in 1645; the Centre Hospitalier, an intensive-care facility completed in 1971; and Centre Nicolas Rolin, a long- and medium-term care centre, opened in 1984.

The Hospices was commissioned on 1443 by Nicolas Rolin, chancellor to Philippe le Bon, Duke of Burgundy, completed in only eight years. The Hotel-Dieu has a fabulously patterned, multicoloured roof line, with a well-preserved Gothic architecture, it is one of the most popular tourist attractions.

The Hospices owns a number of vineyards, and the income derived from the wines help to provide the medical facilities to the local people. First donation of vines to the Hospices dated from 1457, when Jehan de Clomoux of Beaune bequeathed land in Corton.

For hundreds of years people continued to donate vines, which also appears on the labels of the cuvees still produced under their name. Currently Roland Masse and a team of 23 vignerons care for the more than 60 ha vines, adopting traditional viticulture and vinification, with around two weeks of maceration and fermentation in tanks, and occasional pigeage.

Most of the wines are cuvees instead of individual vineyards, with blends combining village plots with premiers crus. The wines are aged in new barrels because of the nature the wine is sold, so the style will be quite powerful, with 100% new oak, low yields and ripe grapes.

In 1859 the administrative commission decided to carry out the selling of the wines through auction, and the practice is carried on until today, except in 1956 and 1968 when the quality was deemed too low. Recently it was Christie’s which took up the auction.

I have recently tasted the following wines:

Beaune 1er Cru Cuvee Nicolas Rolin 2010

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

Nose
Clean, the nose shows medium (+) intensity aromas of maturity notes of savory, red fruit of cranberry and raspberry, floral notes of violet, kernel notes of chocolate. The wine is developing.

Palate
Dry with medium acidity, medium (-) tannin of ripe of smooth texture, the wine has medium alcohol though feeling a bit warming and is of medium (-) body with medium intensity (+) flavors of red fruit such as raspberry and red cherry, oak notes of vanilla, dairy notes of cream, kernel notes of popcorn, oak notes of toast. The wine has a medium finish.

Conclusion
Good quality Beaune premier cru with a good intense nose showing surprising development despite its young age. Not particularly complex but it did show a good glimpse of the different fruit, oak and maturity characters to make the wine interesting. On the palate it is a bit too warming despite the ‘normal’ alcohol level, with good concentration and complexity, plus a reasonable finish. It is ready to drink now though can benefit from further ageing of another 3-5 years.

Volnay-Santenots 1er Cru Cuvee Gauvain 2010

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

Nose
Clean, the nose shows medium intensity aromas of some black fruit of blackberry, red fruit such as red cherry and raspberry, floral notes of iris, sweet spice of cumin, oak notes of cedar, mineral notes of earth. The wine is youthful.

Palate
Dry with medium acidity, medium (-) tannin of ripe of smooth texture, the wine has medium alcohol and is of medium body with medium intensity flavors of red fruit such as raspberry, red cherry and plum, oak notes of cedar, floral notes of iris, The wine has a medium finish.

Conclusion
Good quality Volnay with a reasonably intense nose, with a fair complexity the wine is subtle but elegant, and on the palate it shows also reasonable concentration, though a bit less complex. Having a fair length, this wine is too early to drink now and will need about another 2-3 years.

Wineshark Cooking - Unleavened Indian Flatbread

Ingredients:

• Plain flour - 1 lb
• Baking powder - 1/2 oz
• Butter melted - 1.5 oz
• Sugar - 1/2 oz
• Salt - 1/4 oz
• Water - 6 oz
• Egg - 1 pc

Procedures:

1. Make a hole on the pile of flour, then add the baking powder, butter, sugar, salt and egg.
2. Add water gradually and knead, then wrap it inside a wet towel to allow fermentation for an hour.
3. Cut it into individual balls and then knead into flat oval shape.
4. Pre-heat oven to 250 degC, brush the plate with butter and then the flatbread to bake for 4-5 minutes.

Wineshark Cooking - Curry Chicken Wings

Ingredients:

• Chicken wings - 2 lb
• Cooking oil - 1 tbsp
• Onion shredded - 1 pc
• Curry powder - 1 tsp
• Ground cumin - 1 tsp
• Ground Fenugreek - 1/3 tsp
• Chili powder - 1/3 tsp
• Saffron - small amount
• Garlic finely - 1 tsp
• Coconut milk - 1 can
• Corn starch - 1/2 tbsp
• Chicken stock - 10 oz
• Avoset - 3 oz
• Banana sliced - 2 pcs
• Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
• Salt - 1.5 tsp

Procedures:

1. Defrost the chicken wings and clean.
2. Marinate with salt and cooking oil.
3. Sautee onion, then add the spices and saffron.
4. Add chicken wings till turns slight golden, then add stock, coconut milk, avoset, corn starch (mixed with water), banana, lemon juice and seasonings.

Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

The early history of Pichon-Lalande matches with Pichon-Baron, also part of the same great Pichon estate which dated back to the time of Bernard de Longueville, son of Francois de Pichon. When Bernard married Anne Daffis de Longueville in 1646, the family assumed the barony of Longueville.

They had two sons, the elder Francois and the younger Jacques, with the latter marrying Therese de Rauzan, daughter of Pierre de Mazure de Rauzan. Pierre de Mazure de Rauzan had established a fine property in Margaux at the time, which formed the current Rauzan-Segla and Rauzan-Gassies.

Pierre branched out to Pauillac in 1689, buying several plots and later passing to Therese as dowry, thus bringing them to the Pichon-Longueville family, forming the foundation of the Pichon vineyards. Through the exchange of plots with neighboring Latour, the wines of Pichon quickly developed an excellent reputation and were second only to Latour in the commune.

Jacques died in 1731 and his son, also named Jacques, inherited and further passed the estate onto two generations, to Jean-Pierre and then Joseph. Joseph had five children, two sons and three daughters, and under the Napoleonic laws, the estate was passed to all the heirs when Joseph died.

Two shares were passed to Raoul, who was the only son still alive then, forming the current Pichon-Baron, while the remaining three shares were passed to the daughters, forming the current Pichon-Lalande. Upon the death of Raoul the two parts became more independent, with the daughters’ portion under direction of Marie-Laure-Virginie, the youngest daughter.

Marie-Laure was married to Comte Henri de Lalande in 1818, taking the title Comtesse de Lalande. The Lalande family built a chateau in 1840, and with the death of her two sisters, who were both childless, Marie-Laure gained exclusive tenure over the whole estate, with the property was ranked a deuxieme cru in the 1855 classification.

When Marie-Laure died in 1882, also without an heir, the estate was bequeathed to her niece Elizabeth de Narbonne-Pelet, who was wedded to Comte Charles de Lalande. Her two daughters Sophie and Henriette inherited the estate later, and subsequently passed to Sophie’s offspring, before it was sold to Louis and Edouard Miailhe.

The Miailhe family started as broker and negociant, and in the early 20^th century began to purchase properties, with Coufran, Siran, Verdignan, Citran and Soudars, before acquiring Pichon-Lalande. With the death of Edouard in 1959, the properties were distributed amongst his descendants, with Pichon-Lalande managed by William-Alain Miailhe, but he was resigned in 1972 after differences with other shareholders, passing the management to Michel Delon from 1975-1978.

In 1978 the estate was returned to Edouard’s youngest daughter May-Eliane, who was married to General Herve de Lencquesaing. May-Eliane acted quickly to buy out four of the other associates, enlarging her holding to 84%, also bringing a lot of new developments, with investment in cellar and a good team to manage the property.

During her tenure the quality of the wine rocketed, but due to her age and without heir, she decided to sell to the Rouzaud family of Roederer, the famous champagne house, in 2007. Frederic Rouzaud arrived and made some small-scale renovations, appointing Sylvie Cazes as director of the estate and Philippe Moreau to replace Thomas Do Chi Nam as technical director.

Sylvie resigned in 2012 and was replaced by Nicolas Glumineau, who had been technical director of Chateau Montrose.

The vineyards total 89 hectares, mostly in Pauillac but there are some in St-Julien. The major part of the vineyard is located to the west and south of Pichon-Baron, which includes 11 hectares within the St-Julien commune. The soil is typical Gunzian gravels over a deeper clay, with some very deep limestone and sandstone.

Planted with 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 8% Petit Verdot, but the wines in recent vintages all have a higher percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon. Manually harvested, and in difficult vintage like 2011 a triage was carried out to remove the rotten berries prior to harvest, which is rare in Medoc.

In the chai the fruit is destemmed and pressed, then fermented in temperature controlled stainless steel vats for cuvaison between 18-24 days, with pumping over.

The grand vin is Chateau Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, with a second wine Reserve de la Comtesse, about 20-50% of the entire production. The grand vin will go into 50% new French oak for a period up to 18 months, and the second wine will see 25% new oak. Racking is done every three months, with fining by egg white prior to bottling

I have recently tasted the 2002 vintage and below is my tasting note:

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

Nose
Clean, the nose shows medium (+) intensity aromas of ripe black fruit of blackcurrant, blackberry and brambles, vegetable notes of black olive, dried fruit of prune, oak notes of cedar, pungent spice of liquorice, kernel notes of cocoa, some mineral notes of pencil lead. The wine is developing.

Palate
Dry with medium (+) acidity, medium (+) tannin of ripe and silky texture, the wine has medium alcohol and is of medium (+) body with medium (+) intensity flavors of black fruit such as blackberry and blackcurrant, red fruit of plum, herbal notes of tea leaves, oak notes of vanilla and cedar. The wine has a long finish.

Conclusion
Very good quality Pauillac with an intense and complex nose, though there is a bit of green and vegetable characters which suggest coming from a more difficult vintage. The palate is very well structured and balanced, the robust concentration making the wine even better on the taste than aroma. With a very long finish, the wine is ready to drink now though can benefit from further ageing of another 3-5 years.

Chateau La Tour Haut-Brion

Chateau La Tour Haut-Brion is no longer in existence, with the last vintage produced in 2005. Its 5.05 hectare vineyards has been amalgamated with Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion.

During the Middle Ages till the French Revolution it was under the house of La Tour de Rostaing, or La Tour d’Esquivens, who were one of the first producers to make a quality wine. In 1540 Louis de Rostaing also owned parcels of vines that later modeled and became La Mission Haut-Brion.

In the mid-18^th century it was under the Saige family. Francois-Armand Saige was the major of Bordeaux from 1791 to 1793 before meeting his death from the guillotine. The two brothers of Jerome and Joseph Cayrou acquired the property in 1841 and probably was the brain behind appending the name Haut-Brion to that of La Tour.

Later both La Tour Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion were both under same ownership from Victor Coustau, who later sold to Frederic Woltner in 1919. In 1983 the properties were sold to the Dillon family, owners of Chateau Haut-Brion, also changing the style of the wine to more an approachable profile.

Under the new management it was no longer treated as a second wine of La Mission, with replanting continued in 2000 and 2002. Planted with 34% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, it is now totally absorbed into La Mission Haut-Brion.

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 legs.

Nose

Clean, the nose shows medium intensity aromas of black fruit such as blackberry dark plum and blueberry, pungent spice of liquorice, sweet spice of cloves, oak notes of smoke, kernel notes of coffee, mineral notes of graphite, maturity notes of tobacco. The wine is developing.

Palate
Dry, with medium (+) acidity, medium (+) tannin but still a bit grippy, it has medium alcohol, and is of medium (+) body with medium intensity flavors of black fruit such as blackberry and black cherry, oak notes of cedar, mineral notes of graphite, sweet spice of cloves. The wine has a medium finish.

Conclusion
Good quality Pessac-Leognan showing reasonable concentration and complexity, the wine has the signature characters of graphite but the ripeness is not that satisfactory, with a bit of cherry notes. The palate is in balance though not particularly interesting, with a reasonable finish. Ready to drink now, the wine can benefit from further ageing of another 1-2 years.

Chateau de Malle

The Malle family in the region could be traced to the 14^th century, with the first suggestion of a vineyard dating from the 15^th century, Chateau de Malle is a 17^th century monument, built by Jacques de Malle in 1650. His great-grandson Pierre de Malle was a counselor to Louis XIV, with his daughter Jeanne marrying to Alexandre-Eutrope de Lur-Saluces in 1702, passing the ownership of the estate to the powerful Sauternes family.

The Lur-Saluces family also owned Y’quem, Coutet and Filhot, with Alexandre Eutrope the one who commissioned the construction of the Italian gardens behind the chateau. However, with the acquisition of Y’quem, the family’s attention was more focused on that instead of de Malle.

After the French Revolution, the family retained ownership of the estate, and was subsequently bequeathed to Henri de Lur-Saluces. At that time, the wine was ranked a deuxieme cru in the 1855 classification. It was then inherited by Pierre de Lur-Saluces in 1885.

The property was uninhibited for much of the 20^th century, probably because of the expensive cost to maintain it. Unfortunately, the works in the vineyards also faltered and the cellars also fell into a state of disrepair. Luckily, by 1947 there was a revival, after the arrival of Pierre de Bournazel, who inherited the property from his uncle Pierre de Lur-Saluces.

Originally an electrical engineer, Pierre began to restore the chateau, also studying oenology and management in his spare time. He decided to replant the vineyards, majority of which were killed by the frost in 1956. Pierre later became president of the Crus Classes de Sauternes et Barsac, but he only moved to Chateau de Malle in 1981.

With his death in 1985 the estate was passed to his widow Nancy de Bournazel, who continued to do what her husband had been doing, namely the restoration of the chateau and gardens, and continue to do wine-making. The gardens today are one of 300 Jardins Remarguables by the French Ministry of Culture. Now she had passed on to her sons Paul-Henry, Antoine and Charles, with the former now continuing to run the property.

The vineyards extend across three communes, Toulenne, Preignac and Fargues, with the latter two qualify for Sauternes. There are 50 hectares of vines but of which 28 ha are within Sauternes, planted with 69% Semillon, 28% Sauvignon Blanc and 3% Muscadelle. The vines average 30-40 years, at a density of 6000 vines per ha. The soils are a mix of sand, clay and limestone.

Manually harvested, there are typically 3-5 tries to pick the botrytised berries, with a low yield of 12-15 hl/ha. The grapes are pressed in the cellar, allowing to settle overnight before vinify in oak, of which 33% are new each year. Using indigenous yeast, the wines are racked off the barrel into tank, either stainless steel or cement, before fining and filtered prior to bottling.

The grand vin is Chateau de Malle and the second is Sainte-Helene du Chateau de Malle, taking fruit from the younger vines, with total annual production around 40000 bottles. There is also a white produced, by the names M de Malle, and another red called Chateau de Cardeillan.

I have recently tasted the 2003 vintage and below is my tasting note:

Appearance
Bright and clear, this wine is of deep orange-gold color, with legs.

Nose
Clean, the nose shows pronounced intensity aromas of citrus fruit of orange marmalade and orange peel, maturity notes of honey and caramel, stone fruit of apricot, oak notes of butterscotch. The wine is developing.

Palate
Sweet, with medium (+) acidity and medium (+) alcohol, the wine is of full body with medium (+) intensity flavors of citrus fruit such as orange peel and marmalade, stone fruit of apricot, maturity notes of honey, kernel notes of walnut and oak notes of butterscotch. The wine has a medium (+) finish.

Conclusion
Very good quality Sauternes with a very intense nose showing good complexity, the palate is in good balance with the acidity and sweetness in harmony, on top of good intense flavors of good complexity. The finish is fairly long, and the only thing missing is that elegance which can render the wine to an even higher level. It is ready to drink now though can benefit from further ageing of another 8-10 years.

Wineshark Recipe - 73. Chicken with Avocado

Ingredients:

• Chicken leg - 4 pcs
• Ripe Avocado - 1 pc
• Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• White pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
• Cooking oil - 2 tbsp
• Ground hazelnut - 2 tbsp

First remove the bone from the chicken leg, then marinate. Pan-fry the chicken until the sides turn golden, and use the tissue paper to soak the oil on the chicken.

Take out the pulp of avocado and mash it, add lemon juice and salt, then cover the chicken. Sparkle with ground hazelnut and put into oven to cook for about 7-8 minutes.

For the side dish, boil some carrot and green pepper. 

The sauce is prepared from:

• Butter - 1.5 oz
• Cooking oil - 1 tbsp
• Carrot finely - 4 oz
• Onion finely - 4 oz
• Celery finely - 1 pc
• Thyme - 1/2 tsp
• Dry sherry - 2 tbsp
• Flour - 1 tbsp
• Chicken stock - 10 oz
• Tomato peeled - 1 pc
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• White pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
• Dry white wine - 4 oz
• Whipping cream - 4 oz

Cook the butter with cooking oil, then sauteed the vegetables. Add thyme, tomato, flour and stock to cook for about 20 minutes.

Blend and then use the sieve to take only the sauce, then add sherry, white wine, whipping cream and other seasonings.

Vermentino

Vermentino is found throughout Italy, from Liguria to Sardinia, totaling about 3000 ha. It was thought to be imported from Spain and a potential subvariety of Malvasia, but the variety was actually not found in Spain. There are as many as 40 versions that can be found in Italy.

The best can be found in Tuscany and Sardinia, with its own DOCG - Vermentino di Sardegna. It is mid ripening and seems to benefit from proximity to sea, with early budding and sensitive to spring frost. The signature characters are lemons, nuts and leaves, with racy acidity and robust structure.

In Italy the varietal wines are fragrant, sometimes more mineral than floral, fruity and gently spicy with moderate alcohol, suitable for early drinking. It is not for ageing.

Also grown in Languedoc-Roussillon, particularly Herault, Vermentino is regarded as the same as Rolle in Provence, amounting to 3453 ha, mostly in Var. It is blended with Roussanne and Carignan Blanc by Domaine du Pujol, producing an iconic wine.

Widely planted in Corsica, as Malvoisie de Corse, the grapes are harvested early to retain acidity. In California the varieties are produced by Tablas Creek in Paso Robles and Mahoney in Carneros. A little is grown in Australia, with the most notable being Yalumba and Brown Brothers. The best producers are Le Macchiole, Pedra Majore.

I have recently tasted Mitolo Jester Vermentino 2010 and below is my tasting note:

Appearance: Bright and clear, this wine is of pale lemon-green color, with legs.

Nose: Clean, the nose shows medium (-) intensity aromas of floral fruit such as lemon blossom, citrus fruit of lemon and grapefruit, green fruit such as green apple, sweet spice of ginger, herbaceous notes of straw, mineral notes of petrol. The wine is youthful.

Palate: Dry, it has medium (+) acidity and a low alcohol level, with a medium (-) body, showing medium (-) intensity flavors of citrus fruit such as lemon, floral notes of acacia, green fruit of apple, sweet spice of ginger. The wine has a medium (-) finish.

Conclusion: Acceptable quality Australian Vermentino, with fairly low concentration of reasonable complexity, the palate has a good acidity but quite light on the flavors and lacking complexity. Despite the low alcohol level it did feel quite warming on the contrary. The length is also quite short. Ready to drink now this wine is not suitable for ageing.