Full En Primeur Coverage from Wine Enthusiast and Decanter

Wine Enthusiast has all of their 2009 En Primeur coverage online. Decanter is slower but starting to get there as well. Jane Anson should also have her notes up in the next couple of days as well.

I'll hunt around for links to tasting notes from as many places as possible, I would like to include a wide variety of sources (Parker's aren't available yet, and Wine Spectator requires a subscription, so there is no point in linking them).

Stephane Derenoncourt Launches Napa Wines

Stephane Derenoncourt has launched his own Napa wines, appropriately called Derenoncourt California.

Deroncourt has experience in Napa already, having consulted for Francis Ford Coppola Winery and others.

The wines have generated a lot of buzz. As usual, Jane Anson, is all over the story:

This is the first time he has made his own wine in the United States.

'I held back the wines until I felt they were ready to be drunk,' Derenoncourt told decanter.com. 'The 2007s will be out next Autumn.''

The five wines come from 14 small-scale plots across Napa, chosen for their altitude, cool microclimates, and soil characteristics. They are made in custom crush facilities in Arkenstone in Howell Mountain.

More from The Examiner:

Derenoncourt's objective in making Napa Valley wines is to make "American wines with freshness" and distinct terroir, and so he sought out expressive single-vineyards at high elevations such as Stagecoach Vineyard or cool micro-climates such as Carneros – the cool temperatures helping to retain acidity in these full-bodied wines. Derenoncourt has other single-vineyard wines in development including one from Howell Mountain which is expected to be released with the 2007's; overall case production though is expected to remain low.

It appears that Derenoncourt favors Cabernet Franc (good man ;)). From the Decanter article:

Derenoncourt particularly favours Cabernet Franc, growing it on his biodynamic vineyard Domaine de l'A in Cotes de Bordeaux in Castillon.

And, from The Examiner, the description of his Cabernet Franc:

The 2006 Napa Valley Cabernet Franc ($140) from Caldwell Vineyard is a near perfect expression of the grape. Napa Valley does single varietal cabernet franc so well, yet few attempt it. This is not the dense, lush style of cabernet franc – it is fruit-driven with lifted black currant and chambord aromas and concentrated black berry fruit, but under Derenoncourt's gentle handling it is utterly transparent, with the minerality leaping out of the glass and lingering on the palate. The wine has very fine, ripe tannins, balanced acidity, integrated oak and long finish. 225 case production.

It would be really fun to a cross-vineyard tasting between his Bordeaux Cabernet Franc and his Napa Cabernet Franc.

Update on 2009 Bordeaux

There has been a lot of talk about how well the 2009 Bordeaux vintage is coming along. With the Primeurs just over three months away, I imagine there will be even more talk. Stephane Derenoncourt recently conducted an interview on the topic. Among other things he had this to say:

It’s undoubtedly a great vintage. Now that the fermentations have finished, we can observe very promising balances in the wines. They combine power with fresh fruit aroma, though without much exoticism. It’s always tricky to decide which vintage it resembles most, but the closest to me would be the 1989.

The interview is a quick read, and worth it.

Jane Anson also has some into this vintage. She and Derenoncourt both remind readers that 19.000 hectares of vines were lost to hail in May, which will mean less production than in previous years.

Anson also goes on to speculate about pricing for this vintage, especially if continues to develop as well as it has. Many argue that producers in Bordeaux were slow to drop their prices as the global economy collapsed, but 2007 to some extent, and most definitely 2008 have seen pricing more in line with the economy. The question becomes will producers continue to reduce their pricing, even if the vintage continues to surpass expectations?

I will keep you all posted on additional 2009 Bordeaux reports as I come across them.

The Drops of the Gods and Chateau Lynch-Bages

I have a confession to make. When I was younger I used to be an avid comic book reader and even now I like to sit down with a good Green Arrow occasionally.

So, I was surprised to find out that Japan has a wine graphic novel. The graphic novel is called The Drops of the Gods and it follows the adventures of a Japanese man who travels the world tasting different wines. The Drops of the Gods is extremely popular in Japan, China and South Korea, so popular that it can influence wine sales in the same way a good review from Robert Parker does.

Its influence is starting to spread, it is now available in French and it continues to expand (I'd love to get my hands on a French copy of this if anyone has any leads).

I mention this because this month the comic features Jean-Michel Cazes of Chateau Lynch-Bages. I had the honor of meeting Jean-Michel when I toured Lynch-Bages earlier this year, so it will be fun to see him in graphic novel form!

Cru Bourgeois Label In Bordeaux

Sometimes I feel like a broken record. All of my really good Bordeaux news entries basically start with "Jane Anson has a really good article...", well, this is no different. Jane Anson has a really good article in Decanter about the newly ratified (or is it re-re-ratified) Cru Bourgeois designation in Bordeaux.

The Wine Doctor has a great summation of the history of this designation, including the 2007 nullification. The approach to the classification is slightly different this time:

But this time it is an assurance of quality, rather than an actual classification.

Chateaux have to apply every year for the right to use the term, and will be checked by Bureau Veritas, an independent organisation.

Wines with the new designation could hit the shelves with the new designation as early as 2010. I think this is an excellent opportunity for Chateaux out of the existing classification system to get recognized, I just hope it goes smoother than the 2003 attempt.

The Pleasure of Bordeaux

I like the magazine feel of The Pleasure of Bordeaux website, I do wish the magazine was available in the United States, but it is interesting to contrast the Bordeaux marketing campaign in the UK versus the US.

The Wine Gallery

Jane has a great post about The Wine Gallery, a new wine bar in Bordeaux.

The Wine Gallery offers the chance to taste first and second growth wines without have to shell out hundreds of dollars for a bottle. Their current wine list includes: Latour 2006, Lafite Rothschild, Haut Bailly, Mouton Rothschild, Lynch Bages, Haut Brion, Palmer, and Margaux. That's an impressive by-the-glass list!

Located near the Grand Theatre in downtown Bordeaux this sounds like an excellent place for visitors to be able to try some of the best that Bordeaux has to offer. I am sure it will be my second home the next time I am in Bordeaux!

Sorting with Lasers

Jane Anson has a short piece in Decanter about the use of lasers in the sorting process during the most recent Bordeaux harvest. From the article:

New sorting machines, using laser optics, have been introduced at Chateau Pavie and Chateau Grand Corbin Despagne, and Chateau Margaux has an entirely new gravity-led reception system for the grapes, taking them first in small trays and then by a pulley system into the vats.

Bucher Vaslin makes one such machine. They have a pretty cool video demonstrating how the process works. Hopefully, I'll have more on this soon.

Bordeaux Weather

Some more information on the 2009 vintage. This is a continuation of my earlier post about the harvest.

Jane has an excellent article up about weather conditions for theBordeaux region during May, June, July and August. She demonstrates that the summer has been dryer, sunnier and warmer than average, which should translate to a very good vintage.

Bordeaux Wine Resources

I am going to Bordeaux the first week in September. I've decided to eschew the group tours in favor of making my own arrangements. This should give me more time to spend at each Chateau, enabling me to talk to the winemakers and hopefully getting a tour of each one I visit.

I've been looking around for Bordeaux travel resources and found a few that have been really helpful. I have really enjoyed the guides at Wine Travel Guides, the information at New Bordeaux has also been invaluable. Finally, I found a really good Bordeaux travel guide called CitySpots Bordeaux.

So, what do all of these things have in common? Jane Anson either wrote or contributed to them. That means Jane Anson is my favorite Bordeaux wine writer :).