Grand Vins Versus Second Labels

Second label wines from Bordeaux have gotten a lot of attention lately because of their relative value, especially in years like 2005. A second label wine is one that is made on an estate but from vines that are either younger, did not produce as much fruit as the winemaker would like, or a variety of other reasons.

The point being that for whatever reason, the fruit from these vines did not meet the high standards to make it into the first wine, but the fruit is still good enough to be used to make a quality of wine (don't get the impression that not good enough for the first wine means that the fruit is terrible, nothing could be further from the truth).

Second growths have benefitted from the improved quality and consistency of Bordeaux wines over the last few decades, to the point that many have become sought after in their own right.

The French Wine Society, here in DC, is doing a fun tasting on the 28th of January: Bordeaux: Grands Vins vs. Seconds Labels. Lisa Airey is leading the tasting and it includes the following grand vins and their second labels:

Grand Vin	Second Label
Chateau Cantemerle	Les Alles de Cantemerle
Clos du Marquis	Leoville Lascase
Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou	Croix de Beaucaillou
Cos d'Estournel	Les Pagodes de Cos
Chateau Montrose	La Dame de Montrose

It looks to be a fun night, and I can't wait to try some of these wines!

2009 Beaujolais Nouveau

The Beaujolais Nouveau celebration at the French Embassy is always a lot of fun. This year it was sponsored by the French American Chamber of Commerce of Washington DC and featured the wine of Georges Duboeuf.

My apologies for the poor pictures, the battery in my camera died so I had to use my cell phone. Tom Willcox has some great pictures of the event.

In addition to good wine, the night featured some great French cheeses, sausages, pates and fabulous desserts. The Maison Francaise was packed with people and everyone had a great time!

Do You Want to Become a Wine Critic?

I have to confess, this looks like a lot of fun and I am thinking about signing up for it. I know the basics of proper wine tasting and certainly have drunk enough wines to be able to distinguish certain flavors and aromas. But, it would be really cool to understand the structure behind the review process and figure out how to give more focused reviews.

Beaujolais Not-so-Nouveau

Speaking of Beaujolais Nouveau, the DC chapter of the French Wine Society is hosting a Beaujolais Not-so-Nouveau Festival Happy Hour tonight. It looks like fun, I won't be there, but if you go drink a glass for me!

Don't forget tomorrow is Beaujolais Nouveau! If you are in the DC area you can head out to the Park at 14th and celebrate with free wine. I'll be there as well...please feel free to look me up if you come out.

The Bordeaux Harvest Festival was the second wine festival put on by the French Wine Society I have attended. I have to congratulate them on knowing how to put on a festival. There was a good mix of both food and wine tables and the wine tables were spread out enough that the lines never got too long.

Overall, it was a good evening. Some of the highlights for me were the 2003 Chateau Magdelaine (I know it is not a Margaux, but it is still one of my favorites), and the 2003 Chateau Monbrison which is a very affordable Margaux.

The pourers were, for the most part, very knowledgeable and it made for an enjoyable evening.

Tomorrow the DC Chapter of the French Wine Society is holding their Bordeaux Harvest Festival tomorrow. You can get tickets up until 3:00PM. It looks like alot of fun!

This event looks like a lot of fun...I love sampling the same grape from different regions.