Chateau Lynch-Moussas

Chateau Lynch-Moussas was started by the Lynch family, descendant of an Irish soldier named John Lynch who settled in France in 1691, establishing himself as a trader of textiles, wool and leather in the port of Bordeaux. He married a local girl called Guillemette Constant, and together they had two children.

His son Thomas was active in vinous circles and made the acquisition in the two estates that bear the name today, Lynch-Bages and Lynch-Moussas in Pauillac, but also Dauzac in Margaux. Moussas was referred to the small village of the same name next to the vineyards.

In the 1855 classification the estate was ranked a cinquieme cru, with the size of the estate was about 150 hectares then, already considerable, but only a proportion was planted to vines. Phylloxera, the economic depression and the wars had done the damages to this estate similar to others, and the estate was sold to Jean Casteja in 1919.

Until Emile Casteja took control in 1969, it was in a state of disrepair, with the vineyards contracted to just a few hectares, the buildings and cellar in poor shape. The first few vintages under Emile was actually made at the nearby Batailley until the repair of the estate was completed.

Under Emile the vineyards began replanting, and the chai and chateau also renovated. Now it is the home of Emile’s son Philippe, who looks after the estate. He also runs the family negociant firm Borie-Manoux and is the president of the Conseils de Grands Crus Classes en 1855.

The vineyards now amount to 60 hectares, some adjacent to Batailley and Grand-Puy-Lacoste, and others near Moussas and Duhart-Milon. Predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon at 70% of the plantings, the remaining is Merlot, growing on the Gunzian gravel soils that are typical in the region.

The fruit is manually harvested, before fermentation in temperature controlled stainless steel vats with malolactic fermentation in the same vessel, before ending in 60% new oak barrels. The wine is fined using egg white but not filtered before bottling, with the grand vin of annual production about 20,000 cases. There is a second wine called Les Hauts de Lynch Moussas.

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

Appearance

Clear, with deep ruby color core, a garnet rim, and legs.

Nose

Clean, the nose shows medium (+) intensity aromas of ripe black fruit of blackberry, plum, maturity notes of savory, sweet spice of cloves, mineral notes of pencil shavings, animal notes of meaty and farmyard, oak notes of cedar and some vanilla. The wine is developing. 

Palate

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

Conclusion

Good quality Pauillac with a fairly intense nose, showing good complexity, particularly some strong maturity characters, the wine has an easy-to-recognized typicity on the pencil shavings note, and the palate is balanced with a smooth tannin supporting the flavors of reasonable concentration and finish. It is ready to drink now and can maintain for another 2-3 years.

Chateau Grand-Pontet

Standing only 700m from the St-Emilion collegiate church, Chateau Grand-Pontet now belongs to the family-owned company, and managed by Sylvie Pourquet Becot. The chateau is neighbor to Chateau Beau-Sejour Becot, managed by her brothers. There is constant investment for a quarter of a century.

The vineyard has 14 hectares on the west plateau, in a single block. Planted with 70% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, the vines average 35 years and planted at a density of 7000 vines per hectare.

The grapes are sorted in vineyard and cellar, the whole bunch is fermented without adding any yeast. The must will stay on skin for 3-5 weeks in stainless steel temperature controlled vats, before carrying out malolactic fermentation in 60-80% new oak.

The wine will age for 14-18 months before release, of annual production of 55,000 bottles. There is a second wine called Dauphin de Grand Pontet.

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 ripe black fruit of black cherries and dark plum, oak notes of cedar, sweet spice of cloves, pungent spice of liquorice, mineral notes of earth, maturity notes of savory. The wine is developing.

Palate

Dry with medium acidity, the wine has a medium (+) tannin, still a bit dusty. Medium (+) in alcohol, it has medium (+) body and medium (+) intensity flavors of black fruit such as black cherries and plum, sweet spice of cloves, pungent spice of liquorice, oak notes of cedar, and some maturity notes of tobacco. The wine has a medium (+) finish.

Conclusion

Very good quality St-Emilion with an intense nose showing high complexity, though still fairly youthful and not having much development characters, the wine is equally intense on the palate, but the tannin is still strong and a bit dusty, requiring more time for it to mellow. The overall finish is fairly rounded and lengthy, and despite the high alcohol level it was not too warming on the swallow. Ready to drink now, it will benefit from further ageing of another 3-5 years.

Wineshark Cooking - Rack of Lamb with Mustard Basil Crust

Ingredients:

• Rack of lamb - 2 sticks per person
• Fresh basil leaf - 1 oz
• English mustard - 1 tsp
• Garlic finely - 1 tsp
• Soft butter - 3 oz
• Bread crumbs - 1.5 oz
• Tabasco sauce - 0.5 tsp
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Black pepper finely - 1/4 tsp
• Red wine - 2 oz
• Salt - 0.5 tsp

Procedures:

1. First clean the rack of lamb, and then marinate with black pepper and salt.
2. Pan fry the rack on both sides.
3. Use blender to mix well the other ingredients, to make the paste.
4. Cover the rack with the paste and put into oven, pre-heated at 220 degC.
5. Bake for 20 minutes.

Chateau La Lagune

Chateau La Lagune is one of the five GCC estates that is not located within the famous communes of St-Estephe, St-Julien, Pauillac and Margaux. It is the southernmost of all the classed growths in Medoc. Once known as Grand La Lagune, the history began in the 17^th century, with the origin of the name remained a mystery.

The earliest documented proprietor of the estate was the Seguineau family, which established the vineyards and constructed the chateau in 1715, from the same designer Victor Louis who later built the Grand Theatre de Bordeaux. Early viticulture and sales of wine was recorded as early as 1724.

The Seguineau family maintained control until the 18^th century, and later acquired by Jouffrey Piston in 1819, who established the reputation and was ranked a third growth in the 1855 classification. He was succeeded by his son and later sold the estate to Louis Seze in 1898, who passed to his son-in-law Galy in 1911.

However, the estate began a spiraling deterioration, but not an uncommon thing during that time in Bordeaux. At the turn of the century the vines accounted for 50 hectares but by 1954 it was dwindled to just 4 hectares. In 1958 it was acquired by Georges Brunet, an agricultural engineer, who expanded the estate by acquiring the neighboring Petit La Lagune, and together it took on its modern name La Lagune.

He undertook many re-development, replanting the entire vineyard and constructing a modern winery, turning out good quality wines after a few years. In 1961 however Brunet had to sell the estate to finance another purchase in Provence, to Rene Chayoux of Champagne Ayala.

Rene restored the chateau, developed further the chai, and installed 26 epoxy-lined stainless steel vats with a novel system of airtight pipes to transport the wine from vat to barrel to avoid any contact of the wine with oxygen. Today it is in the ownership of the Frey family, who acquired Champagne Ayala in 2000, with Caroline Frey as winemaker, continuing the tradition since 1964 with a female manager.

It is now overseen by Pierre Vital, with 80 hectares of vineyards under the Haut-Medoc appellation planted on Mindelian gravel, which is a sandy-gravel mix on top of Quaternary gravel similar to Graves. The vines are 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 10% Petit Verdot, unusually high for this variety, at 6500 vines per hectare.

The vines are trained higher to improve the foliage surface area, with the vineyard managed on sustainable manner. The grapes are harvested by hand, at a yield typically 40-45 hl per hectare. Caroline oversees the fermentation with consultation from Denis Dubourdieu.

An automatic sorting by vibrating table and manual sorting is done, with destemming and then a third sorting afterwards, the lightly pressed fruit is fed by gravity to 72 temperature-controlled steel vats, with maceration and then fermentation. There is a tasting and blending before the wines go into oak, traditionally with 100% new oak for the grand vin Chateau La Lagune, typically producing 33000 cases per annum.

Now the use of new oak is tuned down to about 55%, and the wine is aged for 18 months before release. The second wine is Moulin La Lagune at about 8000 cases per annum, with a higher Merlot proportion at 40%, and 12 months in oak of 30-40% new barrels. There is a third wine called Mademoiselle L starting 2004.

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 ripe black fruit of blackberry and dark cherries, pungent spice of liquorice, oak notes of cedar, kernel notes of chocolate, mineral notes of earth and graphite, maturity notes of forest floor. The wine is developing.

Palate

Dry with medium acidity, the wine has a medium (+) tannin yet it is smooth and velvety. Medium in alcohol, it has medium (+) body and medium intensity flavors of black fruit such as blackberry and plum, oak notes of cedar, kernel notes of cocoa, maturity notes of sweet tobacco. The wine has a medium (+) finish. 

Conclusion

Very good quality Haut-Medoc with an intense nose showing different characters, the wine is of good complexity, with a fairly high tannin level but very smooth and velvety. Overall it is of good balance and has a firm structure, providing a palate that is equally intense and complex, with also a fairly long finish. A wonderful wine that still has a lot to develop, it is ready to drink now but can benefit from further ageing of another 4-6 years.

Wineshark Cooking - Baked Mussels with Pineapple

Ingredients:

• Half shell mussels - 6
• Olive oil - 1 tsp
• Onion finely - 1.5 tsp
• Garlic finely - 1 tsp
• Diced pineapple - 1 slice
• Dry white wine - 1.5 tsp
• BBQ sauce - 4 oz
• Salt - 1/5 tsp
• White pepper powder - dashes

Procedures:

1. First wash the mussels, drip dry and then put on the oven plate.
2. Use oil to sautee onion, then add garlic till fragrant.
3. Add pineapple, white wine, BBQ sauce and seasonings.
4. Pour on top of the mussels and put into oven.

Pinot Meunier

Pinot Meunier is probably a mutation of Pinot Noir. The word Meunier means miller and refers to the downy on the underside of the leaves, with a floury appearance. In Germany it is known as Muller-Traube, in Australia as Miller’s Burgundy.

It is best known as a blending partner for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Champagne. The grape buds later than Pinot Noir and ripens earlier, so it is popular with growers in chilly Champagne, especially in frost-prone parts like Aube and Vallee de la Marne.

The grape favors rich clay soils but also suitable to calcareous soils. It provides softness, fatness and appealingly round fruit at early age, with high acidity but comparable sugar level.

France grew 11,088 hectares in 2009, the tenth most planted red grape, and the second most widely planted in Champagne behind Pinot Noir. Generally it is not for ageing, but Krug uses a fair proportion in their prestige champagne.

It is occasionally found in the Loire as well as a smoky pale pink Vin Gris near Orleans. In England it has 65 hectares, with an increasing interest coming from the sparkling wine.

There is much more grown in Germany, in Baden, Pflaz and Franken, known as Mullerrebe or Schwarzriesling, with 2,361 hectares. Color is usually light, even compared with Pinot Noir, often slightly higher in acidity and smoky in taste.

In California there is only 66 hectares which are used for sparkling. Also cultivated in small scale in Australia, the grape produces some aromatic reds that can age well, along with sparkling, with a total of 106 hectares.

Best producers include Best’s Great Western in Grampians, Seppelt, Tinhorn Creek, Nyetimber, Billecart-Salmon, Charles Heidsieck, Krug, Laurent Perrier and Roederer Estate.

I have recently tasted the 2010 vintage of the Best’s Great Western Old Vine Pinot Meunier and below is my tasting note:

Appearance

Bright and clear, pale intensity ruby in color, with legs.

Nose

Clean, with medium intensity of ripe red fruit such as red cherries, redcurrant and raspberry, oak notes of sappy, animal notes of meaty, floral notes of violet, maturity notes of forest floor, sweet spice of cloves. The wine is developing.

Palate

Dry, with medium (+) acidity, medium tannin of ripe and rounded texture, the wine has a medium alcohol and a medium (-) body, with medium intensity of red fruit such as red cherries and raspberry, oak notes of sappy, animal notes of meaty. The wine has a medium finish.

Conclusion

Good quality Australian Pinot Meunier showing a reasonably concentrated nose of good complexity, the wine is balanced, with nice acidity and elegant structure. On the palate it shows similar flavor profile, with fair intensity and length. It is ready to drink now though can benefit from further ageing of another 4-6 years.