LEDOMDUVIN: SHARING KNOWLEDGE AND PASSION FOR WINE SINCE 1991 -
Tasting everything from everywhere, from the multimillion-dollar Chateaux to that small, unknown cellar ending a dirt path surrounded by vineyards... a wine blog to enjoy till the last drop!
Over these past 2 months, Fridays have become the Japanese restaurant night for me.
I select the wines based on the requested budget and the menu of the day, then serve them to the host and his guests.
These private dinners usually happen at our Japanese restaurant, Yakumo.
A small, dark, and fancy place comprising only an L-shaped counter and high stools for about 10 to 12 people maximum, surrounding an open kitchen, where our talented Chef and his team cautiously and meticulously prepare each dish with a precision only known to Master Japanese Chef.
This past Friday, I served what has become a staple of these Friday night private dinners, the sake from Juyondai Cho Tokusen Banshu Yamadanishiki Junmai Daiginjo.
Juyondai Cho Tokusen Banshu Yamadanishiki Junmai Daiginjo.
It is bold and flavorful, without being too heavy or too sweet, nice balance overall, and has a punchy finish (for my taste, and yet, I like it, but I prefer lighter and softer Sake).
It usually pairs really well with the flavors of most dishes, unfortunately, it is never easy to please everyone by pairing one Sake with a 10+ dishes menu. So, I also select some champagne, and white and red wines, just in case, and play it by ear.
This past Friday, besides the Sake, no champagne, nor wine, just a very pleasant red.
Robert Groffier Père et fils Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru "Les Amoureuses" 2018
Really attractive, fruity, friendly nose, ripe, bright red cherry fruits, and floral aromas mingling with earthy and mineral notes. The palate is fresh and zesty, sour, but a good sourness, not the puckering one. After 2 hours of opening, it was really delightful, showing elegance, freshness, and zesty characteristics, a gentle concentration of ripe red wild cherries in a bottle. Loved it.
I have been buying a lot of Burgundy lately, for various dinners. And, although I am a Bordeaux native, I'm a traitor to my region, as I think that I buy and drink more Burgundy than Bordeaux.
😅😁👍🍷🍷🍷
Here is a little selection that I will use for up and coming dinners:
Dugat-Py Mazis Chambertin Grand Cru 2016
Robert Groffier Père et fils Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru "Les Amoureusrs" 2018
Nice, bright red color. Fresh nose, with red and dark cherries aromas, flowers and earthy notes, and subtle, warm, oaky nuances at the opening. The first taste, right after opening, was very fresh and crisp, with lots of juicy red cherries flavors, yet, a little tight, very young, and very sour too. Fortunately, I opened it about 45 minutes prior to serving it, as the wine showed beautifully after, fuller, more ample, and more opened too, with ripe dark and red cherries, still very nice acidity, but the sourness had vanished, and overall the wine was more harmonious and balanced. It just needed some air to fully express itself. I loved it, yet, it deserves more time to reach its full potential. To revisit absolutely in a few years.
Château Haut-Bailly Grand Cru Classé Pessac-Léognan 2010
The last time I tasted it was this past July, and although, it tasted better this time, I will say that it is still young and in a closed phase now. A very solar wine, full, ripe, generous, ample, layered, earthy, with dark fruits and berries mingling with oak nuances, nice balance overall, and still a good grip of tannins, that could still use a few more years to round up. Still very young, and even a bit rough after 2 hours of decanting and cooling by leaving the decanter on ice for a short while to serve it at the right temperature. Quite a long finish. A touch of alcohol somehow. Enjoyable, yet too young in my opinion, and needs a bit of time to mellow some of the rough edges.
As you probably know by now, as a "Wine Quality Control Director" (for the Wine Division of the company I work for), an essential part of my daily job is to inspect (detailed examination and authentication too) all the bottles we buy, sale and/or store in our different warehouses in Hong Kong and China. (*)
The case scenario I will detail in this post today is a rare one that is quite unlikely to occur on regular basis, and so I thought it would be interesting to write about it (and, you never know, it might also interest you).
So, here is the situation:
Two days ago, on January 29th 2019, 6 bottles of Petrus 1966 (and a few more bottles including Chateau Haut-Brion 1989) were prepared at one of our warehouses in HK to be withdrawn then delivered.
One of the members of my QC Team, in position of QC Supervisor at this warehouse, quickly inspected the bottles and took some pictures (unfortunately in low light - see picture below), which, in turn, were sent to our internal WhatsApp group for the QC (myself) and the C&L (Cellars and Logistics) Senior Manager reviewal and approval, prior the bottles leave the warehouse.
My QC team member did not switch on the lights that normally should be ON to allow for the wine level and other details to be checked. Consequently, at first glance, looking on WhatsApp on my phone, and despite some of the levels being low, but nothing abnormal for the vintage, the bottles looked OK. Hence, I gave my approval. The bottles were released from the warehouse and delivered to our company's headquarter building in Kowloon Bay first.
Once in Kowloon bay, the bottles were put in the cellar of our company's French restaurant "Le Pan". Simpson, Wine Director, at Le Pan, took a picture of the bottles of Petrus 1966 (and the Chateau Haut-Brion 1989) when they arrived, and send it to the WhatsApp group.
The picture being clearer (with more light) than the picture taken at the warehouse, Samuel, our C&L Senior Manager, realized that something was wrong with one of the bottles. A broken piece of cork was floating in one of them.
So, I looked back, (a bit more closely this time), at the first picture sent from the warehouse prior the delivery, to check if the incident of the broken cork may have happened during the transportation between the warehouse and our headquarters building.
But no. Looking at it again (more closely this time), I realized that it was already like that at the warehouse (meaning that the broken part of the cork was already floating in the bottle), and that consequently my team member did not inspect the bottles properly and carefully enough prior the delivery.
I was really unhappy about him, as it is his primary role as QC Supervisor at the warehouse to do a quantitative and qualitative inspection (at good receiving and departing) and consequently to check that all bottles are in good (or at least acceptable) conditions prior the bottles can leave the warehouse and be delivered.
However, and fortunately, the bottle had been delivered to our headquarters first, meaning, prior going to its final destination. So, I had to take care of the situation and find a solution to replace the bottle with the defectuous broken cork, by a bottle with better condition to be delivered with the other bottles instead. Fortunately (again), we had a few more bottles of Petrus 1966 at the warehouse, so we had to quickly organize and make a new delivery from the warehouse to our headquarters building for the replacement bottle.
While waiting for the replacement bottle to arrive, I (assisted by my colleague Martin Li) inspected the bottle with the defectuous broken cork. I brought it down to our basement cellar to get a closer look at it.
The capsule was still tight, and did not present any sign of seepage or leakage. Yet, it looked like the piece of cork was quite big, but "how big"? (...that was the question...)
Looking even closer (like on the picture above), it almost seemed that the upper part of the cork was visible and did not seem to be loose. Therefore, I believe (at first) that the broken piece was only the bottom part of the cork and probably corresponded to only about ⅓ of the cork maximum.
But I had to be sure and it was important to know how much of the cork was remaining in the neck of the bottle to make a rough assessment on the wine condition and ensure the wine was still safe from harm. Therefore, I decided to cut open the capsule by making an incision right below the ring of the neck.
For record purposes, I asked my colleague, Martin Li, to assist me by also commenting (and holding the camera too) while making a little video of me cutting the capsule (of this Petrus 1966 with a floating cork inside), to check how much of the cork left within the neck.
(I definitely need a better camera man..... 😊)
LeDomduVin: Petrus 1966 with a broken cork inside the bottle (inspection) - Video 1/2
LeDomduVin: Petrus 1966 with a broken cork inside the bottle (inspection) - Video 2/2
So, when I cut open the capsule to check the remaining part of the cork, I realized that I was wrong, as, in fact, ¾ of the cork was broken and the remaining ¼ upper part of the cork was seemingly solid and still tight. Therefore, it is possible that the wine may not have been harmed or damaged by this rather peculiar cork condition. Yet, difficult to say.... unless we open the bottle.....
The broken part of the cork being so big, and therefore the level of the wine being difficult to estimate, it is also hard to tell if the wine suffered from air oxidation or if the wine has evaporated a little due to the cork condition.
Yet, as previously said, the capsule is tight and the remaining upper part of the cork is seemingly solid and tight against the inside of the neck, the capsule does not present any trace of seepage or leakage, so we can assume the wine could be OK, after all.
I sealed back the cut part of the capsule with tape, then laid down the bottle in the cellar for further examination by regular checking within the few hours that followed.
Conclusion
It is hard to determinate what exactly happened
for the bottom part of the cork to break within the bottle like this. It is a
rare case scenario that is unlikely to occur usually, unless the bottle previous handling and/or storage conditions led to the weakening and eventually cracking of the cork.
We can only speculate that this situation may have occurred, for example, if the bottle experienced or has been exposed to important and/or sudden variations and/or oscillations of the temperature and/or humidity levels (for a certain period of time and at a certain period of the bottle's life), altering and changing the shape of the cork in some ways, weakening it, while, at the same time, creating a pulling force, like a vacuum, sucking the cork within the bottle.
This situation usually happens when the temperatures are too cold, causing the cork to slightly shrink and get pulled into the neck of the bottle, which normally leads to a "depressed" cork....
However, as you can see in the video and in this screenshot of the video above, the usual sign of a depressed cork, which is normally characterized by a "dent" formed on the top of the capsule, giving a clear indication that the cork is either weak and/or has slightly been sucked in, is barely visible. But ,even if, a tiny, slightly bit depressed, it is nothing compared to bottles with serious depressed cork conditions I previously inspected. And therefore, once again, makes me think the wine might be OK. The color and overall condition of the wine seemed OK too when I checked it. So, let's cross fingers.
In any case, I put the bottle laying down in the cellar, and will keep it there for the next few days, to check if any seepage
or leakage occurs due to the defectuous/broken cork. If no seepage or leakage appear after a few days, the bottle is to be sent back to its original warehouse (for long term storage), with a
note to be written and taped on the bottle, saying "do not touch unless strictly necessary and/or to be handled with extreme care due to the broken cork".
My advice (first verbally formulated by my former CEO Bernard de Laage, when I showed him the pictures) is that this bottle should be opened and consumed as soon as possible, as the wine may deteriorate quickly (or not) with a cork in such conditions.
I will keep you inform of the status of this particular bottle.
That's all folks for today, stay tuned for more posts coming soon and meanwhile drink responsibly and give a closer look to the cork condition of your old bottles. You never know....
Nestled in the heart of Savigny-Lès-Beaune, a scenic village of the Côte de Beaune region (Côte-d'Or), a few kilometers north from the region's capital Beaune, Domaine de Vallemont (a.k.a. Henri de Villamont SAS) produces beautifully crafted red and white Burgundy wines from various appellations, aged in one of the most unique and most iconic cellars in the region.
Henri de Villamont Location - courtesy of Google Map
The Manor house of Henri de Villamont is probably the most picturesque building in the village, easily recognizable by its traditional colorful Burgundian facade and style...
...but more especially by its "Tour des Guettes" (In the Middle Ages, a "Guette" tower - a.k.a. watchtower - was one of the main towers of a castle, usually the one where the Sentinel was in charge of monitoring the countryside).
The humongous cellar (by Burgundy standards), extends over 4,000 square meters with a capacity of about the same amount of oak barrels (Burgundy 228L). It dates back from 1880, when the owner at the time, Léonce Bocquet, former owner of Clos de Vougeot, decided to embark on the construction of such a colossal cellar, it took about 8 years to be completed. (*)
Henri de Villamont - Tour des Guettes - courtesy of www.schenk-wine.com
"Schenk Wine", a family owned Swiss Wine group with holdings and properties all over Europe, bought the estate back in 1964 and renamed it "Henri de Villamont" after a crusader knight who inhabited the village of Savigny-Lès-Beaune during his old days. Schenk wines apparently added to their portfolio the wines from Doctor Barolet back in 1969. Doctor Barolet was a wine collector who bought Burgundies in cask and bottled them under his own label. As the bottle below is a 1934 vintage, I'm assuming that it has been obviously labeled after 1969, as it states both names "Collection du Docteur Barolet" and "Henri de Villamont".
Henri de Villamont produces a very large and wide range of wines, from Savigny-Lès-Beaune and the various surrounding appellations in Côte de Beaune, as well as from several other appellations in Burgundy, such as (just to cite a few among many others, thus the following list is non-exhaustive):
AOC Regional
Bourgogne Passe-Tout-Grains "Les Hobereaux"
Prestige Bourgogne Chardonnay
Prestige Bourgogne Pinot Noir
Cremant de Bourgogne Brut Blanc de Blancs
Cremant de Bourgogne Brut Rosé
Bourgogne Gamay
Chablis
Chablis
Chablis Grand Cru "Vaudesir"
Chablis 1er Cru "Montmains"
Côte de Beaune
Savigny-Lès-Beaune
Savigny-Lès-Beaune "Le Village"
Savigny-Lès-Beaune 1er Cru "Clos des Guettes"
Pommard
Pommard 1er Cru "Les Rugiens"
Pommard 1er Cru "Clos de Verger"
Volnay 1er Cru "Santenots"
Corton Renardes Grand Cru
Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru
Meursault
Meursault "Les Clous"
Meursault 1er Cru "Les Caillerets"
Meursault 1er Cru "Blagny"
Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru "Sous le Puits"
Chassagne-Montrachet
Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru "Morgeot"
Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru "Les Embrazées"
Saint-Aubin 1er Cru "Les Champlots"
Auxey-Duresses "Les Hautes"
Auxey-Duresses " La Canée"
Santenay "Les Champs Claude"
Volnay 1er Cru "Le Ronceret"
Côte de Nuits
Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru "Les Baudes"
Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru "Les Chatelots"
Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru "Les Feusselottes"
Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru "Les Groseilles"
Nuits-Saint-Georges
Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru "Aux Murgers"
Fixin 1er Cru "Le Clos du Chapitre"
Gevrey-Chambertin
Gevrey-Chambertin "Les Evocelles"
Mazis Chambertin Grand Cru
Grand Echezeaux Grand Cru
Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru
Côte Chalonnaise
Montagny 1er Cru
Rully
Mâconnais
Pouilly Fuissé "Grumes d'Or"
Mâcon-Mancey
Mâcon-Villages
Basically, they make so many wines, it will be difficult to list them all.
So now that we have learned a bit more about the winery, let's go back to the bottle of wine that inspired this post.
It is surely one of the rare few remaining bottles of its kind. To be honest, it was the first time I saw such an old bottle from Henri de Villamont. A real piece of history of a bottle (like I love them) and in front of which I always feel very humble and privileged.
It was presented to me while I was doing an inspection of other wines recently purchased. It was not part of the lots I was inspecting. Yet, the director of the auction house where I was inspecting the wines asked me: "What do you think? Do you think the wine is still good? I will have it tonight with a friend, but I would like your opinion on it."
It apparently belonged to a few owners previously then was stored in a warehouse in New York for a while before being moved to Hong Kong a few years ago.
As a Wine Quality Control Director, I'm suspicious by nature when inspecting an old and rare bottle, due to so many counterfeits and fakes on the markets and Hong Kong's proximity with China. So, I took the bottle in my hand and closely looked at it. Checking the capsule, which was slightly corroded and showed a slightly depressed cork (meaning that the cork has slid a little into the neck), which sometimes could either be the result of the corking process and may have been released as such by the winery or a sign of bad cellar conditions due to temperature level variations (e.g. heat may cause the cork to slide down the neck). I'm thinking about the later in that specific case. Moreover, and despite no sign on the capsule or the bottle, the low level obviously indicated that the slightly depressed cork may have caused some seepage to occur at some point in the bottle's history.
However, nothing surprising for such an old bottle, as this type of old and rare bottles sold in auctions have usually been the pride of several owners, and for some may have been around the world a few times via boats and/or planes. Temperature and humidity levels vary and oscillate a lot during transit and cellar conditions differ from one owner to the next. Furthermore, it is not rare that whoever bought the bottle from one auction house resells it via the same auction house or another auction house fairly shortly after. For example, a bottle sold by Acker Merrall & Condit might end up being sold at Christie's or Sotheby's or Zachy's a few years later (and vice versa).
All of these movements and handlings from one cellar to the next, one warehouse to the next, one truck to a boat or a plane, (etc...), made under various weather conditions, are really hazardous to preserve the quality of the wine, more especially for such an old one like this one.
Efforts have been made over the last ten to fifteen years to increase the security and quality of the wine's environment and conditions in freight forwarder's warehouses and more especially during transit with more adequate materials and technologies to preserve the wines at constant and consistent temperature (and humidity) levels. Although wine warehouses and most freight forwarder's wine containers are now well equipped with integrated temperature (and even humidity) control technologies (reefer container + T/H data recorder, etc...), temperature variations and oscillations may still occur depending on many (sometimes unavoidable or uncontrollable) factors at departure, during transit and/or at destination.
One example that comes to mind, once, one of our reefer containers full of expensive wines arrived at Guangzhou port customs (China), was put on the truck to depart from the customs zone but was stopped as some documents required more specific details as well as additional signatures in order for the container to be released from customs. The air was thick, polluted and hot that day. We thought (or were hoping should I say) that it will be a matter of 10-15 minutes maximum. Unfortunately, other trucks in front of ours were queueing too for similar reasons and thus blocking the exit gate, stuck under the sun. It took more than 45 minutes for the exit to clear and our truck to be able to leave the customs zone. During that time, the engine of the truck could not be left idling, and therefore the reefer container had no source of power and temperature started to rise inside as it was a particularly hot day. 10 minutes later the truck was at the unloading bay of our warehouse, was plugged immediately to cool it down during unloading and at door's opening, I checked the inside temperature with a Non-Contact IR Laser Temperature Infrared Digital Thermometer Sight Handheld Gun, which indicated a temperature inside of 19-21°C. We immediately unloaded the wines to receive and store them at ideal conditions in our temperature and humidity controlled warehouse.
45 minutes is not much to be unplugged from a reefer container which can sustain and maintain the temperature inside quite low for a while on cool and regular days, but that day, it was hot for some reasons, and it only took 45 minutes for the temperature inside to rise from the level set at departure of 13°C to 19-21°C. Imagine if the truck had been stuck for like 2 or 3 hours, the temperature will have risen even more and it will have definitely been harmful to the wines, which usually start to get damaged if left cooking under the sun with temperatures around 25°C and above for too long.
I continued scrutinizing the bottle, checking the cork which seemed genuine and in ok conditions despite being soaking wet. Then I checked the color which was really light. The picture above doesn't do it justice, as it looks cloudy/hazy, while actually, the wine was really clear.
Despite being really pale, the color looked ok (rather youthful somehow...) for the vintage and for a wine of such appellation. That said, the color is not so surprising as it is said that back in those days, some private collectors, merchants and negociants who bought wine in casks and bottled the wine themselves used to top up the bottles with wines from other grape varieties and other regions (like some Syrah or Grenache from the Rhone) or even add a touch of spirits or brandy, like Cognac, to make them stronger and fruitier (especially in lower quality and/or quantity vintages).
It is as true for Burgundy as it is for Bordeaux also where wines from the south of France, Spain and even Marocco were used to top up the bottles (in such vintages). Of course, it is off the record, as you won't find any official writings stating these kinds of practices occurred. But it was well-known locally at the time that some used to do it (I bet some might still do it nowadays despite the strict regulations of the AOC).
The punt was deep and the glass was thick and showed a certain inclination, which I found very interesting, as it demonstrated the imperfections usually found on hand blown bottles compared to manufactured bottles. To the feel of my fingers on the glass, the harshness of the bottle was a testimony of the past, an ancient time when quality craftsmanship was still a skill learned by experiences and the wisdom of the elders.
Then I put the bottle down to look at its overall condition, which was ok, but not great... ponder a few seconds and replied:
"As per its aspect, color, sediments and the genuine character of the bottle, it looks like that it is not a counterfeit or a fake wine. So, it should be ok. Now, due to the slightly depressed cork, the very pale color and the low level and thus the amount of air in the bottle, and despite the fact that the color is not showing any trace of it, it is probably the case that the wine might be oxidized and had "aged prematurely" (...I thought probably totally gone, but I kept it for myself...). I have never tried a Pommard that old, so I'm not so sure. But despite the fact that wines with low pH like Pinot Noir have a greater potential to age, this wine surely passed its peak long ago and may not show well in my opinion. Now, I do not want to be too pessimistic about it, and there is maybe a chance the wine is still "potable". You'll tell me after you'll taste it tonight with your friend."
It is only days later that I popped the question and it ended up that those who drank it had mixed opinions, some found it fantastic apparently, probably the nostalgia of it and the fact of being able to taste such an old vintage became a smoke-screen to their better judgement, as in fact, others found it rather dead. Who knows? I was not there to taste it so I cannot judge and wine tasting is so subjective... Yet, in my honest opinion, dead or alive, this is a wine that I would have loved to taste just for the interest it repsents and to assess its conditions with my own taste buds.
That's it for today folks!
Stay tuned for more posts with more wine stories and pictures.
