the new bordeaux

Second day of the en primeurs (as usual at this stage, it feels like they have been going on forever, and there are still three days left...)

Started yesterday morning on the Right Bank with the St Emilion Grand Cru Classes (they had no choice, incidentally, but to have all the wines on show from the 1996 classification, so also the 'excluded chateaux', and the promoted properties were also there as 'special invitees'). Then went on to the Thunevin tasting at Chateau La Dominique, which was very quiet compared to a normal year, then on to Moueix in Pomerol.

In the afternoon it was over to Yquem, then up to press dinner at Chateau Pontet Canet in Pauillac. That is always a fun evening, although I thought Sylvie Cazes, the new president of the UGC, must have been very nervous about the week ahead, as her speech was a bit stilted, and she asked the journalists present to help get the campaign going. 'I must have been out when the paycheque from the UGC arrived,' said one of my neighbouring journalists!

Then this morning it was over to the Left Bank, starting at Mouton at 9.30 (with the now legendary golf buggies taking us to the tasting room, in case our legs were too weak to carry us the 100 metres distance), then to Lafite (where I met up with, among others, Richard Bampfield, Charles Metcalfe, Derek Smedley, Hugo Rose, Chris Kissack aka the Wine Doctor) and on to Latour. From Latour we went just next door to Pichon Comtesse, then I left them to go to Chateau Poujeaux for the UGC Moulis-Margaux-Listrac tastings.

I am currently writing up my notes (have started with UGC Moulis, Listrac and Margaux that I did this afternoon) and hope to get them up on www.newbordeaux.com tonight.

But just briefly - my wines of the two days so far have been Chateau La Serre, Petit Mouton (and Mouton of course), Latour, Comtesse Lalande and (I know this sounds ridiculous, but taking price out of the equation) Cantenac Brown. Another traditionally not-so-interesting wine that I really liked was Dauzac. Biggest disappointment has been Pape Clement, but I reserve judgement on that until I retaste it (blind) at the UGC Pessac Leognan tasting on Thursday - prepared to give it the benefit of the doubt for now...

Pauillac, Saint Estephe and Saint Julien tomorrow, and I hope to get to Dauzac for the Sauternes, as I missed those on Monday due to general tardiness.

I will put my first en primeur notes up tonight, but in the meantime thought this was an interesting press release that I received last night... that DBR (Lafite)are planting a vineyard in China in association with the national Chinese group CITIC. This vineyard will be located in Penglai, in Shangdong.

'Having visited many regions in China, the technicians of DBR (Lafite)
finally chose this peninsula as it proved to be the most promising area to produce a great wine, in terms of both its climatic and geological conditions. The top quality land which was chosen will enable DBR (Lafite), in the first instance, to plant just over 25 hectares of vines.

Commenting on this partnership, the Baron Eric de Rothschild said: « I am very pleased to develop a vineyard in a country where the interest in fine wines is increasing every year. It is particularly exciting to participate in the creation of an exceptional Chinese “grand cru” ».

Other non-Bordeaux properties owned by the group: Château d’Aussières in the Languedoc, Viña Los Vascos in Chile, Bodegas Caro in Argentina.

I finally put up the profile of Jean Charles Cazes, son of Jean Michel Cazes at Chateau Lynch Bages, up onto my website today. I interviewed him around three weeks ago, but have only just finished writing it up - trying to get everything finished before beginning tasting at the Grand Cru Classes in Saint Emilion tomorrow morning.

http://www.newbordeaux.com/documents/jeancharlescazes.html

An extract:
‘I always knew I would come back to working in wine. I remember my parents working and meeting with interesting bon vivants from around the world, and always thought it was a joyful business to be in.’ His first job back in Bordeaux was for JM Cazes Selections, the branded wines production and distribution company of the family business. He was Export Manager (mainly for Western Europe, America and the UK), and did the DUAD tasting degree at the Insitute of Oenology in 2004.

Two years later, in November 2006, he took over from his father’s position in charge of the family estates of Chateau Lynch Bages, Chateau Ormes de Pez and Villa Bel-Air. His responsibilities also extended to the Michel Lynch brand of Bordeaux varietals; L’Ostal Cazes and the Circus line of wines from the Languedoc (although these are no longer in production); the distribution company, JM Cazes-Selection; Xisto, a joint venture with the Roquette family in Portugal’s Douro Valley; and Tapanappa, a joint venture in South Australia undertaken with the Bollinger family of Champagne fame and pioneering Australian winemaker, Brian Croser. The extensive tourism and hospitality side would not be in his remit, remaining instead with his father, aunt Sylvie Cazes-Regimbeau and other members of the board.

‘I had worked at Lynch Bages every summer over university, racking barrels, doing the harvest, helping with the winemaking. I wasn’t overly nervous at the time of taking over – ironically I realise more and more every day now that the challenges and responsibility are huge, especially with a team of over 100 people – but at the time it was more business as usual. And I have the great luck to get on very well with my father. People said he would never retire, but in fact, when he did, he did. He really took a back seat, not looking over my shoulder or suggesting things I should be doing – rather he was just there if I needed to go to him, and we still discuss important things such as pricing.’

With two days to go before the first UGC press tastings (some others begin tomorrow), I enjoyed reading Majestic's blog this morning about their trip.

http://blog.majestic.co.uk/2009/03/28/back-to-bordeaux/

A good extract:
'It’s easy to see why the UK trade in particular is concerned about the market for en primeur. To illustrate, cast your mind back to the spring of 2006 when the 2005s flooded on to the market:

The western world was buzzing with prosperity
Newly affluent markets in emerging economies had a voracious appetite for fine wine, especially claret
£1 bought €1.45
Bordeaux had just produced the best vintage in, well… ever.

Compare and contrast the situation three years later:

The western world is in recession
The emerging markets are also in recession
£1 buys €1.08
Bordeaux has produced the 2008 vintage. Quality TBC

Have had a great day today with a group of WSET Diploma Students at the Bordeaux Wine School. Looked at red wine developments in Bordeaux over last 20 years, then took them to Grand Corbagne Despagne to meet with Francois Despagne (and tasted his 08, which was great). He told us that he is carrying out tests on an 80,000 euros sorting table that uses lasers to measure phenolics, acidity and sugar levels!

But must write up the Laville Haut Brion vertical from Tuesday, or I will never get round to it...

The first vintage of this white wine was 1931, and today it produces just 500 cases per year(absolute maximum in some years that may go up to 800 or 900 - but basically tiny). In the vineyard it is 80% semillon and 20% sauvignon, and this is reflected in the wine most years, although there is a move to reduce this slightly to around 70% semillon. Haut Brion Blanc, in contrast, is closer to 50/50 sauvignon semillon, with small amounts of muscadelle. Made by the same team as the red wine. The Laville vineyard abuts that of La Mission-Haut-Brion, a 3.5 hectare plot of gravelly clay soils laying over a bedrock of chalky sand.

2007 - So full of flavour, and yet very delicate, a gorgeous wine. Subtle, fresh white flowers and honeysuckle on the nose. Still very young, and fairly closed. 13.6%, 77% semillon, 23% sauvignon. 95.

2006 - Very delicate at first impression, but underneath there are rich and powerful flavours. Its heels kick joyfully up at the end though, giving a real lift to the end of palate. The oak is slightly more evident in this one. 93.

2005 - This has more of the straw/grass sauvignon quality than the first two. Beautifully silky on the palate, so light and deft on the finish. Such minerality that it dances off to the finish line. 13.6%. 94.

2004 - The tertiary aromas are starting to come through, and as the semillon ages it is more Burgundian and slightly more buttery, creamy and 'fat' on the palate. But love the aromatic purity of this one, and the white flowers, particularly white pear that is coming through, undercut with sour lemons that gives it real backbone and definition. Like this a lot. 95

2003 - Clearly see the colours evolving on this very hot vintage. But here they starting picking on August 13, enlisting the help of office staff and anyone who was around as most of the official pickers were still on holiday! Does have less acidity than the others, and is quite different, more citrus and candy than the others, lemon sherbets and some honey. Very attractive complexity though, and they still managed to keep it to only 13.15%. Semillon 88%, sauvigon 12%. 90.

In my continued quest for Bordeaux's best white wines, I had the enormous pleasure yesterday to follow a vertical of Pavillon Blanc at Chateau Margaux with a vertical of Laville Haut Brion at La Mission Haut Brion... not, unfortunately, my average working day.

To make it just a little more decadent, Paul Pontallier kindly invited me for a 'light lunch' to follow the tasting, and to match Pavillon Blanc with all courses of lunch (it worked with three out of four; minty chocolate and raspberry mousse proved a little too much for it... but the roasted chicken was perfect).

Chateau Margaux has been producing white wine since the 17th century, and Pavillon Blanc was officially stared in 1920, just over a decade later than Pavillon Rouge (and has caused some confusion, because it sounds like the second wine, as the red is, when in fact it is the only white wine Margaux produces - something they are currently considering changing I believe).

The wine itself is 100% sauvignon blanc, which made it an interesting contrast with Laville Haut Brion afterwards, as that is 80% semillon. The vines at Margaux are an average of 35 years old, and planted about 3km to the west of the main chateau, in a gravelly/clay terroir that used to be planted with Margaux red, but fell just outside of the Margaux appellation when it was redrawn in the 1950s. Today there are 15,000 bottles of Pavillon Blanc produced each year (they have plantings for 30,000, but never put it all into the final blend, so can vary between 10,000 and 20,000 bottles depending on vintage). Integral vinification in barrel, but under natural conditions (no temperature control unless absolutely necessary).

We tasted the 2008, 2007 and 2006, then the 2003 both in magnum and bottle, and finally the 1993 and the 1983. My tasting notes:

2008 - Very pale, fine straw yellow, almost translucent in colour. On the nose, it has very clean, pure sauvignon aromas, with a real elegance. On the palate, a richness comes through that is not on the nose, and there is excellent length that rises upwards with great freshness and finesse. 14 degrees alcohol, which is slightly lower than in recent years. Only 45% of the 2008 white crop when into this (usual proportion would be 50%). 93-94

2007 - The natural acidity is beautiful, but the wine still feels very closed. Brioche aromas, and a slight 'anis' flavour for me. Really powerful, rich and round in the mouth that clearly comes from battonage (as does the brioche, that carries through to the palate).92-93.

2006 - Citrusy, grassy, really complex and open nose, with some ageing aromas becoming evident. Much sweeter natural fruit than the first two, and acidity has lowered. It is very sikly in the mouth, almost satin-smooth, with the round mouthfeel of a Burgundy. Very opulent. 92.

2003 - bottle - There is clear evolution in colour and on the nose here. It's terribly opulent in bottle, with toffee, caramel notes already, but a wonderufl backbone of lemons and pears to keep things fresh. Great lenth. 90
2003 - magnum - I prefer this one, as there is more freshness still, and it ends with a wonderful lilt. Very mouth-feeling, still as gourmet as the bottle version, but with a little more minerality. Incidentally, they have slightly upped the percentage of white wines bottled in magnums after a number of successful tastings. 91

1993 - The colour has evolved into a darker golden yellow, but it still looks very young for a 15 year old white wine. Tertiary aromas evident on the nose, the grass has flattened somewhat, and is replaced by wonderful exotic fruits, particularly mango for me. There is a lovely dryness to the finish, and a real subtlety. You want to spend serious time with this wine (and it was gorgeous when re-tasted with the food - this was the best roast chicken wine). 95-96

1983 - Still very much in play, with the nose particularly soft and delicious, and the wine itself subtly spicy. This was Pontallier's first vintage, and at the time there was no grape selection in the same way that there is today, but there is still great complexity evident here. 88.

Had a very enjoyable meeting with Nicolas Labenne of Chateau Lynch Bages yesterday, to discuss the white wines of the estate.

He kindly also brought along all of this year's primeur wines, reviews here (and on the site http://www.newbordeaux.com/documents/cazes_2008s.html ):

Lynch Bages Blanc 2008
The lees were still in suspension during the tasting, as this will not be bottled until June 2009. Good acidity and structure evident (I was told that they will keep this in barrel/vat for a little longer than the 2007, as it needs a bit longer to soften). 60% new barrels, 50% sauvignon blanc, up from 45% last year. A lovely roundness in the mouth, but subtle, fresh and delicate. Peach and white flowers coming in from the 5% muscadelle in the blend. Perhaps slightly short. 88-89

Les Ormes de Pez 2008
Beautifully purple colour, very vibrant and clearly high in phenolic compounds. Dense rich nose, full of vanilla pods and black cherries, both of which carry through to the palate. There are evident tannins, but not chewy. Very pure fruit flavours (51% cabernet sauvignon, 39% merlot, 8% cabbernet franc, 2% petit verdot), this is chirpy, jaunty and very enjoyable. 88-90

Haut Bages Averous 2008
This is due to be renamed Echo de Lynch Bages when the 2008 gets bottled and labelled - clearly a much better name for a second wine. This is less of a dancer than the Pez, more of a brooder. Cabernet sauvignon is nearly the same at 52%, but clearly the terroir at Lynch Bages brings out the tannins, which are more structured. Good length, but it lacks the vibrancy and immediacy of the fruit of both the first wine, and Pez. 87.

Lynch Bages 2008
A beautiful classic Pauillac colour, very intense, again with the evident phenolic richness that seems to mark the 2008s. This is right up to 78% cabernet sauvignon, with 13% merlot, 7% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot. They picked around 10 days later than in 2007, starting the merlot on September 29th, and the cabernet sauvignon on October 9th (finishing the day before the frost of October 19th and apparently avoiding harvesting during any rain at all). Pauillac generally had less trouble with yields than other parts of Bordeaux this year, and they brought in around 49 hl/h. The nose is gorgeous, rich, spicy with damson plums. Great length, with dashes of chocolate and menthol, but it is the purity of the fruit that I am enjoying. Powerful tannins, but not at all vegetal. 93-94

I have finally got round to updating www.newbordeaux.com - updating the Saint Emilion classification story, putting Clos Fourtet 1999 and my Wine of the Week putting up a new profile of Chateau Pavie, with the ten year vertical from Paris.

I also put up my first 2008 reviews, as Perse had brought all of his wines to Paris also. http://www.newbordeaux.com/documents/perse_2008s.html

Chateau Pavie 2008, Saint Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classe B – Of all the Perse 2008s, I found the Pavie by far the most enjoyable, which is not necessarily what I would have expected. Beautifully aromatic nose, and can clearly pick out the cabernet franc (this vintage has 70% merlot, 20% cabernet franc and 10% cabernet sauvignon). The tannins are still in hobnailed boots, but it has a real elegance to it, and once you’ve recovered from the initial punch, there is a velvety smooth finish. 94-95.

Chateau Bellevue Mondotte, Saint Emilion Grand Cru – You need a hacksaw to get through this, an ice pick to begin to claw your way up its sides. It has been cropped to 18 hl/h and you can tell! Probably a wine that Perse is very proud of, and it certainly packs a punch, but it is fierce and not for me, I’m afraid. 86

Chateau Pavie Decesse, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe – As with all of these, just stunningly deep and rich in colour, full intensity, almost Malbec black. This has a strong menthol palate that gives it almost an antiseptic edge, with enormous structure and confidence. The fruit is slightly dampened by the alcohol. But there is definite appeal. 90.

Chateau Monbousquet, Saint Emilion Grand Cru (was made classified in the defunct 2006 rankings) – Not a wine that I often enjoy because it can be just too ‘heavy’. And this certainly follows type – deep cocoa and bitter dark chocolate, to the point that you start to think ‘how the hell did he get those flavours out of a Saint Emilion?’ It’s a very good wine, but again, not for me. 86-88.

Chateau Les Lunelles, Cotes de Castillon – Chewy, rich and deep, with great lingering flavours. A lovely Cotes de Castillon (incidentally a recent purchase for Perse, on the highest point of the appellation on the Clos les Lunelles plateau). May take a long time to soften up, but feel sure that it will develop into a gorgeous wine. Impressive. 88-90.

Chateau Clos L’Eglise, Cotes de Castillon – Attractive wine, lovely chocolate and mocha aromas. Slightly chewy tannins and has nice firm fruit. Stops a bit short. 84-85.

Chateau Saint Colombe, Cotes de Castillon – Very soft and falls off fairly quickly at the end. There is a promising start, and a seemingly powerful mid-palate, but it seems to go nowhere fast. 82.

I put on my red shoes yesterday, which only get an outing about three times a year.

The reason was Hugh Johnson's 70th birthday party, and the Hotel Georges V in Paris. We got to eat a starter of plain-flaked crab and Dublin Bay prawns, followed by blue lobster with spiced salt, shoulder of Limousin lamb and finished off with a banana flavoured chocolate mousse on a peanut biscuit base (not sure if the picture will be big enough for you to read all of that).

This is the story that I wrote for decanter.com on the day, which will be up this morning, with a few videos also...

'Lunch was cooked by Eric Briffard, the chef des cuisines of the hotel’s celebrated Cinq restaurant, and Michel Roux Senior, Michelin-starred legend of the Waterside Inn at Bray and London’s Gavroche. Gerard Perse of Chateau Pavie, Premier Cru Classe of Saint Emilion hosted the lunch, and gave a vertical of ten years of Chateau Pavie (1998 to 2008) immediately beforehand. Monbusquet Blanc 2006, and the 1998 and 1999 Chateau Pavie also accompanied the food.

‘As I’m sure is true for many of us here, Hugh’s books have helped me learn about wine, and continue to do so today,’ Gerard Perse told the assembled diners over the lunch, which comprised two course cooked by Briffard, and two by Roux.

‘Gastronomy and wine have long enjoyed a successful partnership,’ said Michel Roux. ‘And my friend Hugh Johnson has illuminated both with both great insight, and great humility.’

Among the guests were French actresses Zoe Felix and Marisa Berenson, who starred in the Stanley Kubrick film Barry Lyndon, Agathe Godard of Paris Match, plus Serena Sutcliffe, director of Sotheby’s wine department, and leading UK wine writers Oz Clarke, Robert Joseph, Charles Metcalfe, David Peppercorn and Stephen Spurrier.

Hugh Johnson has sold over 15 million books, his works have been translated into 17 languages, and he is approaching 50 years of his wine career. Speaking of the day, he told decanter.com, ‘to be welcomed by the owner of a great Bordeaux chateau, and to be able to bring all my friends along, is pretty marvellous actually.’

By the way, the vertical of Pavie was fascinating (I will be putting the notes up on www.newbordeaux.com ) - I found that it took about eight years for the tannins to really start to soften up, but from 2001 onwards the wines were not only delicious but really welcoming and supple, not something that I normally associate with Pavie. The only disappointment was 2003, which had been stripped of fruit and just left with alcohol. But the others were wonderful, particularly for me the 1998, 2001 and, yes, the 2005.

Buckle up, the Saint Emilion train has taken another turn... Yesterday in Paris, the appeal to have the cancellation of the Saint Emilion classification was over-turned. That is the definitive judgement on the 2006 classification, no more chances to get it re-established.

I interviewed Denis Dubourdieu last night (about cult Bordeaux whites for a Decanter article - on which more later, a great interview and tasting). He thinks the whole thing may just be finished now, because where can they go from here? His words were, 'In any future tasting, the last thing we will be allowed to do is actually taste the wine.' (ie because tasting is necessarily subjective, and there is nothing to stop a chateau complaining and running off to court if they don't get the result they want).

I will back up a little... a brief explanation - 2006 classification, as we know, was contested at the time by four properties who were declassified. What happened next is long and complicated, but basically the decision has been contested in several different ways, none of which seem to have achieved anything. An article that I wrote for Decanter's last issue can be seen in the archives of their site here, and is I hope useful background: http://www.decanter.com/archive/article.php?id=276152

What this means now is that the previous, 1996, classification currently stands - until the sale of the 2009 vintage. So effectively until the end of this year's harvest (although no doubt they will try to squeeze next year's harvest into that also). The declassified chateaux from 2006 get to keep their title, and those newly promoted in 2006 are still just Grand Crus.

They now have to make some difficult decisions about what to do next. Do they start all over again? And how on earth can anyone make a classification that promotes and demotes people without being open to similar accusations of being 'unfair' or biased?

Jean Francois Quenin, the president of the saint emilion wine board, said to the local paper, 'first of all, this is simply a definitive confirmation of what happened last year, so we have been prepared.', and 'the key problem that the judgement rested on was the tasting element. So how to we make that truly objective for the next time?'. He has told me on several occasions that he believes Saint Emilion needs a classification system, and how he belives in one that encourages excellence by being renewable. I have enormous sympathy for the winemakers in what is a wonderful appellation, but this certainly seems like an insurmountable problem.

I have really enjoyed, along with many other people, the brilliant Jon Stewart exposing how the financial journalists and tv channels sat by and acted almost as cheerleaders for the financial industry instead of doing some serious investigation into what was clearly an unsustainable situation (thereby missing the opportunity for one of the first truly Pulitzer Prize Winning exposes since Watergate).

A good overview of the exchanges can be read here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/15/usa-tv-jon-stewart-economy

And highlights of the original interview on the Daily Show can be seen here on You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwUXx4DR0wo

But it got me thinking - are we drinks writers guilty of exactly the same thing? There is a lot of talk today about the UK government thinking of setting minimum prices per unit of alcohol ( http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/4999971/Sir-Liam-Donaldson-unveils-alcohol-minimum-price-plan.html ).

We all quite rightly applauded the victory in the French courts last week for alcohol to be advertised and written about on the internet (see earlier posts on this blog). But maybe we are all so happy writing about wine that we don't think about whether there is a downside to it...

This, from the British Liver Trust:
http://www.britishlivertrust.org.uk/home/the-liver/liver-diseases/alcohol.aspx
'It is a mistake to think that you have to be a heavy drinker to run into problems. Although it can take as long as 10 to 20 years, drinking just a bit more than you should over time can seriously harm your liver. Not feeling any side effects from drinking does not mean that you are not risking chronic ill-health or lasting liver damage from alcohol-related liver disease. Vast numbers of us now fall into this category.'

There is a great argument that a small amount of alcohol makes us happy and better able to cope with the stresses of every day life, and another perfectly serviceable argument that wine is not in the same 'category' as beer and spirits. And yet another argument that if we are going to blame wine writers for alcoholism, then we may aswell blame Kirsty and Phil for the housing crisis... (hmmm)...

I certainly don't have any answers to this (and I love my job so can be hard to be objective), but it is an interesting thought that is worth taking a moment to consider. And maybe we should at least not be quite so quick to judge our colleagues over at CNBC...

Back from two very enjoyable days in Cahors (if you just didn't have to drive through the endless industrial estates on the outsirts of towns in the Lot to get there... and I speak as someone who spent nearly three years living in the southern tip of Entre deux Mers, not too far from Marmande, where industrial estates are the highlight of the landscape).

Anyway, Cahors itself is a very beautiful town, full of Roman remains, a gorgeous UNESCO-classified cathedral, and lots of tightly winding streets. I visited four estates (including du Cedre), had dinner with a group young winemakers, then did a blind tasting of 25 wines yesterday morning. All in all very interesting.

Among the highlights of the tasting:
Chateau Lagrezette (owned by Alain Dominique Perrin of the Richemont Group; got to love his personal website... www.alain-dominique-perrin.com/uk/passions/wine.php)
Dark, brooding colour. Slightly hot on the palate, but with wonderfully rich blackberries and cherries. This has layers vanilla, mocha and chocolate. Gourmet and commercially-minded. I like it. ***

Chateau du Cedre
Bruising purple in colour, slightly more muted nose. Well-made though, with lovely crisp, well-defined layers of ripe red fruit, that show good work in the vineyard. Good length, and real polish, which some in the tastig don’t have. Lovely clarity of expression. ****

The last estate I visited was also very interesting. Chateau Saint Didier Parnac (near to the Queen of Denmark's Cahors chateau!), and owned by Maison Rigal negociants. They are making an enormously consumer-friendly, well priced Malbec that was easily the most obvious commercial hit of the two days. Called Rigal, The Original Malbec.

In terms of planings, Argentina has almost 70% of the world's Malbec, but Cahors is second with 20%, and the two are working together on various research projects. Certainly a region that is looking outwards, something that is not always true in France.

At 6pm in Paris today, an amendment was passed that finally allowed the internet to join the Evin Law as an allowable medium for wine (alcohol) advertising.

The excellent blog from Damien Bonnabel at Findawine has this:
http://www.findawine.com/blog/2009/03/09/la-publicite-pour-lalcool-autorisee-sur-internet/#content

I have just spoken to Damien, and am writing a news story for Decanter, but basically the amendment (from Jacques Domergue of the UMP party) allows alcohol advertising online on all sites except those aimed at young people, in compliance with the existing Evin Law (which means that it can’t glamorise alcohol, or show it making you more attractive to potential conquests and so on).

It is of course an enormous relief after months of serious concern for the French wine industry, and most would say a return to reality. Damien told me, 'perhaps the financial crisis has helped to clarify the absurdity of the situation.'

James Miles, director of Liv-ex, gave me a very interesting interview today for Wine Business International. Liv-ex, a trading platform, has come under a lot of interest this week for its reimaging of the 1855 prices by ranking according to today's prices (a good overview here: www.wineanorak.com/blog/2009/03/new-1855-bordeaux-classification.html

A few choice words on the 2008 Bordkeaux campaign (and a good explanation of what Liv-ex exactly does...)
'The Place de Bdx is one of the most successful marketing machines in the wine trade, and there is no doubt that it will survive the downtown - it has survived many of them in the last two or three hundred years.'

'Liv-ex provides a complementary role to the Place. The Bordeaux trade often refer to us as an international courtier. We are a trade-only platform like the Place, but have no contact with the chateaux, unlike courtiers. But like the courties we are a facilitator. And our role is to make it easier and more efficient for the merchant community to buy and sell wine - basically we are a provider of information, again just as the courtier is.'

'People offer wonder what value courtiers add, but the reality is they add enormous value - the passing of information that makes it easier for the chtx and the negoces to do their job. But there are a few key differences wiht what with do. For a start, Liv-ex is an anonymous platform from beginning to end of the transaction - we deal with invoices and all stock transfer. On the Place, prices are published anonymously, until moment of sale, and then invoices are direct between negciant and chateaux, and the courtiers just invoice once a quarter to the negociants (for their 2% of each transaction). They deal largely with en primeur, while we are entirely secondary market.'

'Clearly the 2008 will be a very difficult campaign. It's not our business to taste the wines, but we know it was a difficult year, and the quality is not going to be exception. But even if it was, fine wine is very much a play on the wealthiest consumers, and they are the ones who have been hit hardest by the current crisis. The only way this campaign will sell is if it's cheap. And it's a question of whether the chateaux have the appetite to cut their prices (and sterling is 15% weaker than last year).'

'I would envisage that there will be very little secondary markets for the 2008, unless prices get absurdly cheap.'

Just got this press release, and thought I would share it as it potentially offers a really interesting opportunity for someone...

'Great Wine Capitals Global Network (GWC) is pleased to announce the launch of the first Great Wine Capitals International Student Grant program. The purpose of this educational grant is to promote excellence and innovation in academic research in areas related to wine tourism among the cities in the network. The grant consists of two scholarships valued at 4,500 Euros each (or the equivalent in local currency) for research projects that meet the standards of excellence that the GWC seeks to emphasize.

The objective of the program is to promote the GWC concept of its internationally renowned wine regions within the scientific, academic and educational communities and to cultivate research, development and education in area of oenotourism.

Students at every level of undergraduate and graduate study are welcome to apply. A compulsory requirement to participate in the Great Wine Capitals International Student Grant is for the applicant to be enrolled in one of the education programs (e.g. BSc, MSc, MBA, Ph.D, or professional course) in a Great Wine Capitals region (see website), some schools are specifically defined by region. Applications will be judged based on a defined set of criteria including originality and innovation, significance/implication for theory and practice, conceptual rigor, appropriateness and application of methodology, quality of expression, and potential managerial impact.

Each Network city will nominate one student or research fellow from its applicants, who will compete globally with the candidates from the other cities. The international jury will elect the two best research projects, whose authors will present the results to the Assembly of the Great Wine Capitals Global Network during its Annual General Meeting in Bordeaux (France) on November 2, 2009. The home location of the winner will determine whether their presentation is in person or via videoconference.

For more information and to download the Rules and Application, please visit www.greatwinecapitals.com or email to education_research@greatwinecapitals.com

The brother of Michelin-starred chef Helene Darroze, Marc Darroze, has now been the owner of Chateau Haut Peyrose in Mazeres, in the Graves region, since June 2008, and has just put his first white wines onto the market.

Helene Darroze has her own restaurant in Paris, on rue d'Arras ( www.helenedarroze.com ), and is also head chef at the Connaught Hotel in London ( www.the-connaught.co.uk ). She trained under Alain Ducasse and is probably the most famous female chef in France. Her uncle still owns the Claude Darroze restaurant in Langon (a sleepy market town in Graves which is pretty much only famous for this restaurant, www.darroze.com ), while her father (also a former chef, along with her grandfather) produces a range of Armagnacs in the Landes (www.darroze-armagnacs.com)

While his sister has been busy making a name for herself as a chef, Marc has been training as an oenologist, and has worked in California and Hungary, and set up a negociant business with his father specialising in Bas Armagnac, before returning to Bordeaux and working for AXA Millesimes in Pauillac and Saint Estephe. Eight months ago he completed the purchase of his own property, and is setting about making his own gourmet range that will sit alongside the family armagnacs (and no doubt his sister's foods... I would look out for these wines on the Connaught list before too long).

He makes a selection of reds (all parcel-selection and integral vinification) that have their foodie associations right up there on the label. 'Chateau Haut Peyrous - Retour de Palombiere', and a second wine 'Haut Peyrous - Pelle porc & cochonnailles'

On the whites, there is 'Chateau Haut Peyrous - Peche au Carrelet', and a second wine 'Haut Peyrous - Cueillette du Bassin'

Interesting article on the family's armagnac in the New York Times last year.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/02/dining/02arma.html

Thankyou firstly to Fiona Beckett ( www.matchingfoodandwine.com ) for the idea for today's post.

We both read and commented via Twitter on this article in today's Guardian newspaper
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/mar/06/credit-crunch-lunch

An example paragraph or two...
'In New York, lunch is reportedly a dying institution. A recent article in the New York Times was headlined: "At the power lunch, the check is kryptonite". It reported that even press officers were declining to take out reporters for lunch. Something similar is happening over here, showing how crazy the credit crunch has become. Time was that a journalist was always a good bet for a free lunch, not least because newspaper ethics historically demanded that the journalist did more than just reach for the bill, for fear of being schmoozed. It isn't like that any more: the media, like everywhere else, is cutting back on expense-account lunches as advertising revenue plummets. Instead of lunch, with wine, business meetings are more likely now to be conducted over lattes or, once the weather warms up, sandwiches in the park.

"That shift is particularly noticeable in London and the large metropolitan cities," says Backman. "What is especially noticeable is that the era of the long, boozy lunch is over. Less wine is being ordered and customers are spending less long at table."

Fiona commented, entirely correctly, that I seem to have enjoyed one or two lunches this week, and that the French had obviously not got the note that the credit crunch spells the end of boozy lunch breaks.

I have lived in France for five years, and it is still perhaps the thing that annoys me the most - that from 12 til 2 everything stops for lunch. To the point where I have honestly been asked to leave a shop when I was standing at the till with a pair of jeans, and asked to come back and pay for them at 2 (and no, I didn't go back).

And of course I've read about Paris suffering just as much as London - and how all the Michelin restaurants there, as elsewhere, are now offering 'prix fixe' lunches where previously they would only have been a la carte.

But it has to be said that Bordeaux is proving more resistant than most places. And this week I have fully given in to it. Yesterday I found an excellent new place in Chartrons, the traditional wine district. Called Le Divan, it has exchanged hands in the past few months from being a rather dodgy bar to a chic little eatery, owned by a winemaker negociant from Chateau Haut Barrail and Vieux Chateau Landon, both in the Medoc. He also makes a special cuvee called Lyric, which is the house wine at Le Divan, and was excellent.

The wine list is small but well chosen, with a large selection of overseas wines inclduing Villa Banfi from Tuscany, Twin Oaks Mondavi from Napa and Santadi (Terre Brunel) from Sardinia. Great music aswell, and I had a bavette for 8 euros... no one can complain at that...

67 cours de Verdun, Bordeaux (no website).

The health minister Roselyne Bachelot yesterday sent a message of reassurance to the French wine industry when she said that she, 'never intended to ban all free tastings, wine fairs, wine festivals or professional gatherings'.

This follows a tense few weeks while the new health laws have been debated in the general assembly in Paris - and the final vote is due on Monday. Bachelot yesterday said that she will include an amendment specifically allowing these professional wine tastings to any new laws that are drawn up.

'We are a wine producing country, and to ban wine in France is neither desirable nor possible.'

If you want to read a bit more about this in French, this is a good 'gossip' site that has more details:
http://www.buzz-actu.com/index.php?post/2009/03/04/Bachelot-ne-veut-pas-interdire-les-d%C3%A9gustations-de-vin

I wrote a story yesterday for Decanter about the possiblity of first growths releasing their prices straight after the en primeur campaign this year to send a shockwave through other chateaux and jumpstart the campaign. Although the article was posted yesterday, I spoke to Paul Pontallier, director of Chateau Margaux, this morning and thought I would share what he had to say on the subject.

http://www.decanter.com/news/277946.html

As with Charles Chevallier at Lafite, of course he was not willing to give anything away yet, but he certainly didn't deny that it was a possibility...

'I can give no confirmation yet about dates of the campaign, and of course not on prices. First we will concentrate on showing the wine to professionals, and then to proceed as carefully as usual with the timing and pricing of the release.'

And on the quality of the vintage?
'2008 is in many ways similar to 2004 and 2006. It was a fairly average summer, but with a wonderful late season. The grapes ripened very well - perhaps they did not reach the extraordinary ripeness of some years, but they showed extremely good concentration, more than in 04 although perhaps less than in 06. The wine itself has a tight texture, good length and while not perhaps the extra dimension of a truly great vintage, it is still an exceptionally good one.'

And finally on the idea that there may be less buyers and journalists making the trip to Bordeaux at the end of the month...
'In terms of numbers, we don't know yet. But most wine professionals will come to see the vintage, as they do eveyr year. Whatever the conditions, there is always a curiosity about the quality of the wine, and we are finding the usual number of appointments are being made.'

I am including myself in the general madness of the title, by the way. Since I started using Twitter about a month ago ( if you would like to follow me, I'm on www.twitter.com/newbordeaux ) I have discovered that just about every wine journalist/professional that I know is using it, including Jamie Goode, Dr Vino, Able Grape, Gary Vaynerchuk, even some forward-thinking chateaux such as Palmer, Sutter Home and St Supery (if you would like to follow them, it's the same protocol, so www.twitter.com/jamiegoode etc).

This is a highly useful blog, with a full list of who is twittering about wine... http://winetwitter.blogspot.com/

And if this means nothing to you, here is an interesting link to how and why the wine industry is using Twitter...
http://www.starksilvercreek.com/2009/02/list-wineries-twitter.html

This was the eminently sensible suggestion yesterday from Philippe Tapie, managing director of HMS Selections negociant company, talking to Cesar Compadre at the Sud Ouest newspaper.

'The top Bordeaux need to do back to consumption rather than speculation prices. This is the only solution to regain clients that we have alienated. The first growths are essential to this because they are the market drivers. They could shock the rest of the market into action by releasing their prices in early May, just after the en primeur tastings in April and before the critics publish their scores. It would be a sure signpost to other chateaux owners, and this early timing is essential to get the en primeur market going this year.'

I am just about to call him to write this up for Decanter, and shall let you know what the first growth owners say about this...

The most perfect spring day here on Saturday, and we took advantage of it by heading over to the '44 Hectares' as it is known around here - Cap Ferret, the chic corner of Arcachon Bay, where well-heeled Bordelais spend their summers.

As it was still February on Saturday, the crowds weren't too bad, at least in the morning when we arrived (heading back at 6pm, there were traffic jams, I imagine because the weather was so warm that everyone jumped in their cars at lunchtime to head to the beach).

We met up with some friends, shared 24 oysters and a glass of Chateau Maine Pascaud, a Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux from Rions. Over 60% of the oysters eaten in France are farmed here in Arcachon. The oyster hut that we ate at was right on the beach, near to the lovely Maison du Bassin hotel ( www.lamaisondubassin.com ) and had a water tank at the front where the oysters that had been brought in that morning were kept until ordering. They were then scooped out of the water, shucked, washed and put in front of us. Heaven.