Fake and counterfeit wines - Investigation series: Chateau Barade

Fake and counterfeit wines 

Investigation series: Chateau Barade

As a Wine Quality Control Director, Sommelier and Wine Buyer, I feel that it is my job, my duty and my responsibility to denounce fake and counterfeit wines on the markets. As part of my job is to do the authentication of the bottles we buy for the company, I feel that it is also my job to point out fake and counterfeit wines present in the market, especially those you may not necessarily be aware of. 

So, for today's post, it all started last Sunday, when a friend of mine sent me a picture of a wine a friend of his just drank in the Canton province in China. 

Chateau Barade 2014 Bordeaux bottled at Saint-Etienne des Oullieres, Rhone-Alpes, France
©LeDomduVin 2018 (Label 1 - Fake Label)

At first glance, nothing major, it is a bottle of a generic Bordeaux AOP (Appellation d'Origine Protégée), 2014 vintage, Chateau Barade, "Vignésime" (an interesting marketing stunt with this French play-on-words of the 2 words "Vigne" (vine) and "Millésime" (vintage) mingled together), which (supposedly) is a "Cuvée Prestige" and apparently received a medal of some sort at a tasting somewhere (looking at it closely, the medal looks really weird, isn't it?). 

Yet, suddenly something caught my eyes, do you see it? yes? no? Well, let me give you a hint... 

The label states that this wine was bottled in Saint-Etienne des Oullieres, with 69460 for zip code.... .....still don't know what I'm trying to point at? Well, let me tell you, anyone who has no clue about France and its zip codes, may fall into the trap, but not a Bordeaux winemaker's grandson like me (in fact, most French people should notice this inaccuracy right away...I hope...)...

Still not sure what I'm trying to say? Well, let's look at a map, should we?

Bordeaux to Saint-Etienne des Oullieres Map - Courtesy of Google Map

Yes, you read this map well, "Saint-Etienne des Ouillieres" is a commune of the "Rhone-Alpes" region, located north of the city of Lyon, about 5 hours and 30 minutes driving and roughly 570 kilometers far from Bordeaux.... Where they produce?.... Do you know what they produce in this region? They produce BEAUJOLAIS..... nothing whatsoever to do with Bordeaux.

Unbelievable, isn't it?

How a Bordeaux wine can be bottled in the Beaujolais region? Impossible as per the French rules of the INAO (The "Institut National de l'Origine et de la Qualité", the French organization in charge of regulating French agricultural products with Protected Designations of Origin - AOC, AOP, IGP, STG, etc...).

Therefore, yes, it must be a fake bottle of Bordeaux AOP  sold in the Chinese market (and probably elsewhere)... another one... (sigh)... and once again, (like if the bottling location was not already a good indication that there is something fishy with this bottle), I will go further and put my authentication skills and knowledge to the test and prove it to you... (as I usually like to do 😊)

Time to investigate once again...

Time to investigate once again.... ©LeDomduVin 2018

So, taken aback by the discovery of this plain sight fake bottle of a supposedly Bordeaux wine bottled in the Beaujolais region, I decided to pursue my investigation a little further on this so-called "Chateau Barade"..... (which actually exist in Bordeaux by the way, therefore the one above can only be an imitation...)

And what I discovered, digging up info and pictures on the internet,  triggered my interested even more.... Where to start? How about starting with "what and where is Chateau Barade?"

First, I could not find a website for "Chateau Barade", which does not mean anything as many small producers are not necessarily interested, nor do not have the time or even the money, to invest in a proper website (even if nowadays you can create a really good looking website for free on a multitude of platforms on the internet). However, I still found a few websites with some info and pictures.

For example, if we go to "Monsieur Touton Selection" website (here), a very reputable wine importer and distributor established in the New York area for the past 30 years (from which I used to buy a lot of wines during my New York years as a Wine Buyer and Wine Boutique store manager between 2002-2011 in NYC - "Hello" to Maxime Touton, if you ever read this post), we can learn the following:

The Chateau Barade vineyard was created in 1956 by Mr. Caillard. It covered then a total area of about 2 hectares, located at Bossugan, a little village of the "Entre-Deux-Mers" region, south-east of Bordeaux (about 7.5 kilometers south of Castillon-la-Bataille). Philippe Dard took over the family property and created in 1992 the farming company with Laurent Dard to produce generic Bordeaux AOP wines. (*)

Nowadays, the vineyard encompasses about 23 hectares of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc planted on predominantly clay and gravel soils, with a density of 3300 vines per hectare. The age of the vines is about 25 years old. Harvest is mechanical. The wine undergoes a fermentation at low temperature to preserve the fruit, followed by a traditional wine-making process.  It has a preservation time of 5 years prior showing more maturity (meaning losing its freshness and reaching its peak basically). (*)

So far, no problem... but it gets interesting from that point on...

Mr. Touton Selection apparently only sells the 3L Box Wine (a.k.a. bag-in-box wine) version of Chateau Barade, boasting these 2 labels on the box

Chateau Barade 3L Box Wine (Label 2)

Chateau Barade 3L Box Wine Label (Label 2)

Now, I would like you to take a closer look at these 2 labels above (as they are supposed to be the real labels), more especially the house in the vineyard, and remember them well to then, in turn, compare them with the other labels of Chateau Barade a bit further down in this post.

It is very important as you can already clearly see the differences between these 2 labels (Label 2 is supposedly the real thing) and the label at the beginning of this post (Label 1 is clearly a very nicely counterfeited fake bottle with a huge mistake on the label), as:

• The overall drawing is different

• The house is different (very important point, as, how come two wines from the same estate can boast a different house on their label.... unless it is the same house from various angles, but I do not think so.... fishy, isn't it? )

• The vineyard is different (...unless here again, it is viewed from a different angle...)

• The label color, font and design is different 

• Basically, the overall presentation is different

But let's not jump to conclusion too hastily, and let's go to another website, like "MTVins - Bordeaux" (here) for example (a company that apparently was established in 1982, but that I had no idea it existed until today). 

MTVins is telling us that Château Barade belongs to Laurent Dard, and it has been in the family since 1956 when his grandfather bought the first vines. He started off with just 5 hectares (slightly different from Mr. Touton stating 2 hectares), but now 35 hectares of vines are planted (here again, different from the 23 hectares on Mr. Touton website, but this could just be a question of not updating the info on their website for a while) and some 250,000 bottles of wine are produced each year. Today Laurent is helped in the running of the estate by his son, Florian. (**)

MTVins is also adding that the vineyard is situated in the foothills of Bossugan (hills is a lot to say, Bossugan is a tiny village in between 2 rather small bumps...) in the heart of the Entre-Deux-Mers region. The vines are on average twenty years old (20? not 25 like on Mr. Touton website? they probably uprooted some when they bought it in 1992 and replanted new ones since...) and the clay-limestone soil (I thought it was clay and gravel, maybe some limestone underneath in parts of the vineyard so then...) is great for producing a wine that typifies the red Bordeaux appellation. (**)

The additional details on MTVins website (compared to Mr. Touton) are: 

• Chateau Barade 2014 vintage is made with 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon
• It has a cellaring potential of 5 years
• It received a Silver Medal in Paris

So, despite a few details, both sites are roughly saying the same things, but, surprisingly the label presented on MTVins is completely different from the 3 labels above, yet, same wine and same 2014 vintage... see for yourself... 

Chateau Barade 2014 Bordeaux - Orange Label  (Label 3)

Chateau Barade 2014 Bordeaux - Orange Label (2) (Label 3)

Once again a lot of differences when compared with the other labels, which makes me think that it could be (or maybe, and it is a far-fetched "maybe"...) the label for the US market as: 

• different label color (orange to get better visibility on the shelves amongst all the other Bordeaux classic labels and more modern style maybe also to draw millennial drinkers attention... maybe..?)

• different letter font and color (a question of style depending on the targeted type of markets and drinkers... maybe...?)

• different type of label: compared to the other ones above, this orange label appear to be embossed (for those of you who may not know, embossing is the process of pressing an image onto the label paper, to make the image (or parts of the image) rise above the rest of the label, to give the customers a more tactile experience...maybe...?)

• grape varieties on the label (more usually seen on bottles produced in or sold for the so-called "New World" markets like the US, Australia, South-America, etc...)

• the Silver Medal supposedly received in Paris is nowhere to be found on the label (strange as it is usually the pride the producer/winemaker to put it on the label (front or back does not matter)) 

• the drawing of the house and vineyards completely disappeared

• a "fancy" logo with the initials "CB" (for Chateau Barade, I guess...) surmounted by a crown has been added to the label and the capsule...   

However, let's admit that this distinctive orange label is (as the 3L Box Wine label above) also legit and let's move on to another website, like Wine-Searcher for example.

Oh, what a surprise, Wine-Searcher is showing us a different label (again?). Both labels below are roughly the same, except that one mentions "Cuvée Vieilles Vignes" ("Old Vines", strange for a vineyard of only averaging 20 years of age...), which is not mentioned on the one from Wine-Searcher, representing the regular wine.

That means that there should be (at least) two Chateau Barade labels and (strangely enough) both with a proper Medal (not like this fake imitation bottled in Beaujolais above at the beginning of this post with its weird looking medal wannabe...)

1. the regular one like on Wine-Searcher

Chateau Barade bottle picture courtesy of Wine-Searcher.com

(please note that Wine-Searcher states that it is a "Bordeaux Superieur", while the label only states "Bordeaux", not "Bordeaux Superieur".... go figure...)


2. and the "Cuvée Vieilles Vignes" (probably from a parcel selection amongst the oldest vines...)

Chateau Barade 2014 Cuvée Vieilles Vignes (Label 4)

The label above has been slightly modified for the latest vintages ("modernized" somehow...?) and is now looking like the label below. That is a lot of different labels for the same wine or same producer so far....  (unless they are different cuvées or different labels for different markets... maybe... yet, for a Bordeaux AOP sold in the market between 12-15 Euros, which is kind of expensive for a generic Bordeaux AOP wine, as they normally sell for maximum 8-10 Euros a bottle, it is a doable marketing stunt that would not even surprise me....)

Chateau Barade 2015 Vintage (label 5)

And here again, did you notice all the changes and differences compared to all the previous labels above?

• The house has completely disappeared from the drawing on the label (again...?), only the vineyard remained (view from another angle, again..?) and a tiny windmill has been added in the background... (no comments...)  

• The drawing now is encircled with Golden rings (why not...)

• And, out of nowhere, a new logo or "Coat of Arms" should I say (or "Blason" in French) has been added and embossed on the bottle (which is normally reserved for families with Royal or Noble roots in France, are they?...) and added to the capsule too 

• The medal is not part of the main label (at the bottom) anymore, just a golden sticker at the top right-hand side of the label (which is normal and pretty common nowadays.. nothing wrong with that)  

Here is the back label, if you want to have a look at it as well

Chateau Barade Label 4 (back label) 

Strange, but not impossible, the back label is stating that the wine was bottled in Landiras (zip code 33720), let's look at the map again, which is a commune located about 47 kilometers or 50 minutes driving away to the south-west from Bossugan 

Bossugan to Landiras courtesy of Google Map

I don't know about you, but I personally think that it is a lot of changes for a label of a small producer producing Bordeaux AOP wines... moreover, it must be terribly costly to constantly change the label  from one vintage to the next to begin with... but imagine how costly and time consuming it must be to change the entire label design, as well as the logo and emboss the label and more especially the bottle, 3 or 4 times for the same wine and more especially for the same 2014 vintage... just saying...

Because, if we recap, so far, and looking closely at the 4 different labels of Chateau Barade 2014 (above and in the photo collage below), basically for the same wine, (but maybe, and once again, it is a far-fetched "maybe"... maybe they are "maybe" different wines after all), I found all the following differences, which are way too many variations for my taste for not being fishy (somewhere, somehow....) and hard for me to believe that all these 4 labels are genuine... (at least 1 of them isn't, the "Beaujolais" one for sure is not genuine..... and if someone dares telling me that it is  not a mistake, I will probably laugh out loud for a while, then call the INAO right away.. seriously 😊) 

Chateau Barade 2014 - 4 different labels (at least one is fake) © LeDomduVin2018

Label 1. The supposedly fake Bordeaux bottled in the Beaujolais region "Vignésime" (label with vineyards upfront and a small house in the background with dependencies surrounding it, stating that it is a "Prestige Cuvée")

Label 2. The regular wine in 3L Wine Box (label with a big house that has nothing to do with the first label and vineyards viewed at a different angle)

Label 3. The regular wine in a 750 ml bottle with an embossed orange label (label with no more house or vineyards, but a new logo and stating the grape varieties)

Label 4. The regular wine in a 750ml bottle with the golden circles around the drawing (label with no house but the vineyard remained, maybe a view from a different angle again, and a coat of arms has been added, and it is totally different from the logo on the bottle with the orange label)

Label 5. The "Cuvée Vieilles Vignes" which is the same as number 4 with the additional "old vines" statement

I can hear you say:  ..." but what are you talking about, maybe he just has a different labels for all of his wines/cuvées "...  and I would agree with you if it was a fact, but searching around the internet, it was impossible for me to find out on any of the various websites I visited, if this producer (Chateau Barade) either produces 5 different Labels or Cuvées under the Chateau Barade name or not...


And frankly, I could have stopped there my investigation and moved on to other projects, but I couldn't as I also found the following labels for Chateau Barade 2014... (sigh)

Chateau Barade 2014 - Another label (Label 6)

Chateau Barade 2014 - Another label (Label 6)

As you can see on this label above (Label or Cuvée number 6 now?...), once again, everything as changed

• The label colors, font, design and details are completely different 

• The house look is (once again) completely different and there are no more vineyards around it

• The logo and/or Coat of Arms is also completely different (only 1 initials instead of two compared to the logo, the lions on the side, etc...) and does not appear on the capsule this time (I mean WTF... what is going on?  no consistency whatsoever with this producer....)

• And, this time, (definitely more and more strange), it has not been bottled in Saint-Etienne des Ouillieres (69460) in the Beaujolais region (😊), or even in Landiras (33720) as stated on the other labels, it has been bottled at the "Chateau"...   ...at the Chateau? which Chateau? I'm counting 3 different ones so far on all these labels... so which one of these houses is supposed to be the so-called "Chateau"? (I wonder...) 

Label or Cuvée number 6 could have been the last one, but no.... (sigh)...
Look what I found... yes, it is another completely different label...
Aaaarrgghh.... it never ends.... (sigh)...
This producer must be constantly changing his mind on label design (or some of those labels are the fruits of a really good counterfeiter... not possible otherwise)...

Chateau Barade (Label 7) 

Chateau Barade (Label 7) 

Look at this label, once again so many variations and differences (Label number 7).....

• Smaller label (could it be the old label? ok, maybe... but why this embossment on the bottle looks so peculiar)
• Different color, font, design
• Different house (again?...pffff)
• Different vineyard view... 
• Etc.... 
• And the cherry on the cake, the bottle is embossed with a crown and the name "CRUSE" (I mean, again, WTF? What is going on here?)

Moreover, this label number 7 is really strange compared to this label below of the Cuvée Vieilles Vignes 2012. 

Chateau Barade 2012 Cuvée Vieilles Vignes

Why will a producer in his right mind will go to the trouble of changing the design of the label and embossing the bottle for the "Cuvée Vieilles Vignes" 2012 and not doing it for the regular wine 2012 vintage? (money reason? maybe... he changed his mind, maybe...) you never know, but obviously, he decided to do it starting from the 2013 vintage, as both bottles and labels (regular and Vieilles Vignes) are the same... (as far as I can see...) 

But the "CRUSE" embossment on the bottle of that label 7, that can't be right? Can it? Fishy, I'm telling you, there is something fishy about all these labels.....  

And to finish this lengthy investigation, yes he did it again..... look what he did to the label of the "Cuvée Vieilles Vignes" 2016 (label 8), he changed it again.....

Chateau Barade Cuvée Vieilles Vignes 2016 (label 8)

Unbelievable isn't it? Is there something fishy here or what?

Chateau Barade various Labels (at least 1 is fake...) © LeDomduVin 2018

So in conclusion, I will say that, unless someone can prove me that Chateau Barade is really  producing at least 3 or 4 different wines, yet all called "Chateau Barade" and all in the 2014 vintage with 3 or 4 completely different labels (refer to label 2, 3, 4 and 6); I, personally, will continue to think that part of this whole story smells and feels like a scam in my opinion.

Let's be serious, what I mean is that

• either the producer knows about it and is maybe the one who took the initiative to make 3-4 different labels for the same wine in the same vintage (which could be weird, but not unseen before in Bordeaux, as some producers may have totally different labels for the same wine depending on the targeted markets and customers - even if will make it difficult for people for brand recognition and thus to associate the same brand name and same vintage with the various labels), 

• or he does not know anything, and is simply victim of a huge parallel market on his brand..... (which seems to good to be true in my opinion...)

Whatever is the answer, the reality is that there are definitely copies of his wines on the black and/or grey market (***) in China for sure (and elsewhere maybe). And the label number 1 is a far cry statement of it.
An undeniable fact that is (unless proved wrong). 

That's all folks for today...

Cheers! Santé! and stay tuned for more post like this one coming soon.....

Dominique Noel a.k.a. LeDomduVin     

  

(*) Info partly taken and edited from Monsieur Touton Selection website (here)

(**) Info partly taken and edited from MTVins website (here)

(***) Black Market = illegal  and Grey Market = more or less legal until caught 

Hong Kong: Hub of wine buying, Yes! But is it really the hub of wine selling and drinking?

Hong Kong: Hub of wine buying, yes! But is it really the hub of wine selling and drinking?

Over the last 2-3 years, Hong Kong has become the new world hub of luxury goods and more especially high-end wines. Auction houses like Acker Merrall and Condit followed by Christie's and Sotheby's (HK branches) are breaking world records of sales, now predominantely selling to richer middle class and corporate companies from mainland China rather than Hong Kong customers and consumers.

Even foreign connoisseurs and collectors from Europe, USA, Russia and a few more countries, who continue to occasionally attend some of London and New York auctions, are now coming to Hong Kong. Yet, due to the economy, the amount of foreign buyers has tremendously depleted, compared to the ever increasing new wave of rich mainland Chinese and Hong kong buyers.

Evidently, due to the rapid Chinese economic growth over the last 4 years, a touch of occidental influence as well as the amount of potential customers in China (due to the population density) and the young state of this juvenile market, Hong Kong has become the world's hub of wine buying and the Chinese gate to a booming wine market.

Rich Hong Kong and mainland Chinese connoisseurs, amateurs, buyers and consumers are undeniably concerned and careful about the brands and the names, but also how and where they buy their wines. They usually buy mostly from expert specialized merchants, private owners and auction houses enabling them to verify quality and provenance, rather than buying in uncertain main street wine stores.

However, my concern, which is also the reason behind this little article, is that most of these wines (once again) are bought for speculation, investment and lucrative activities and businesses, rather than consumption. Especially the old vintages of top growth Bordeaux and Burgundy wines, which instead of delighting the palates of convives gathered at a table sharing dinner and laughers, spend more time travelling in containers all around the world from a city and auction to the next, without even seeing the rim of a glass, to end up in a warehouse or a private cellar until the next sale.

If you have any interest (or even worst, refuse to believe in that fact), take a few minutes of your precious time spend mostly on social network and chat zone to do a market analysis of some of these wines. The internet gives you all the tools you need to come up with a precise idea. Vinopedia, Wine Searcher, Liv-Ex, Vinfolio's Wine Prices, Wine Market Journal,  Wine Decider, Snooth, CellarTracker, Idealwine, and a few more (among others) represent some of the most powerful and recognized search engines on the market. Wine Prices and Wine Market Journal, for example, even give you the date of previous auction sales, which could help you to realized that certain wines have gone around the planet more than once over the last 10-20 years(+) between London, Paris, Geneva, Berlin, New York, San Francisco, Rio, Tokyo, Singapore and Shanghai before landing in Hong Kong (and maybe go for another round...).

Speculation on wine is not new and has always been very active at least for the last 30 years, yet it has never really reached such nonsense, craze and disputable pricing until 2000. The last decade saw the biggest inflation of price ever recorded in Bordeaux top growth, the En Primeur prices nearly multiplied by 10 in 10 years. A 1st growth En Primeur 2000 went in first tranche in the market for about $125-150 a bottle; while the same label 2009 vintage, went between $875-950 a bottle.

Therefore, their again, the wines seem sold from a buyer to another buyer to make money rather than being sold, then consumed and appreciated as it should be. The ever rising prices also scare the mundane consumers. 

Expensive wines have become a casual commodities that even the rich and famous seem to really appreciate more for the return they could make out of them rather than the aromas, flavors, sensations and pleasure they could procure instead. Everything is about business nowadays, fast efficiency and results and money making deals, no time anymore to enjoy life and even less for a good bottle of wine.  

That said, one question come to mind: Hong Kong, Hub of wine buying, yes! But is it really also the hub of wine selling and drinking?

In my opinion, not really, but before jumping too hastily to conclusion, let me try to explain my point of view, based on my years of experience as Sommelier and Wine buyer for retails and restaurants in various market such as Bordeaux, Paris, London, New York and now Hong Kong. In fact, let's talk about the few factors that will explain why sales are not booming in HK.  

First, wine consumption has never been a cultural thing in Hong Kong where people are more concerned by their health, their cloths and job title. HK culture is more incline to hot water, tea, beer, cocktail and hard alcohol rather than wine. Certain acohol and more especially wine in general can have secondary effects that surprisingly, compared to any other etnies and races, really affect a big part of the Asian population.

"Alcohol can only be oxidized in the liver, where enzymes are found to initiate the process. The enzyme Aldehyde Dehydrogenase (ALDH) metabolises alcohol into acetic acid (vinegar) a product from which the body can obtain some energy.  Some people have an alteration, called a polymorphism, in the ALDH gene which renders the enzyme inactive and makes it impossible for them to convert alcohol into acetic acid. Such persons should avoid alcohol, although they can enjoy the benefit of the antioxidants found in non-alcoholic red wine. This leads to allergy-like symptoms including most notably nasal congestion and mild flushing of the skin within minutes of ingesting alcohol. The commonest abnormal reaction to alcohol is seen in persons from an oriental background, who get flushing, increased heart rate, and symptoms of reduced blood pressure. This is sometimes referred to as 'oriental flushing syndrome'. Approximately 50% of Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans are deficient in ALDH, and this has been reported to be protective against the development of alcoholism." - courtesy of www.foodreactions.org (http://www.foodreactions.org/intolerance/alcohol/index.html)

But also because people are always working, doing longer hours than before to show that they are dedicated to their job, showing how important and dependable they are (understandable in such economy) to always obtain better results, and more of this and more of that, while not taking the time to really enjoy life, family, friends, food and wine. They usually end up stress and nervous, always on their smartphone, busier than ever due to the amount of texts, chats, emails and social network updates and comments they have to post minutely, yet it is part of their work...not their life they said... But this is another subject. 

The other things is surely due to lack of knowledge, education and interest on the subject. Altough, it is changing slowly, and despite the ever growing numbers of certified and uncertified wine courses and wine school around town, I can not help to notice how empty average main street wine stores are and how narrow their wine selection is. Probably one of the reasons why that they have a huge lack of pedstrians traffic, despite maybe a few tourists.

Peering at the shelves of most Hong Kong wine retailers, it is not difficult to realize that some of the greatest Bordeaux and Burgundy wines are more predominantly represented than any other wine regions in the world, led by the First Growths and DRC of course.

It is actually quite amazing to see the line up of all of these expensive bottles and larger formats, waiting patiently standing up, in full light behind the windows or on the shelves, while nobody in Hong Kong really buys their wines in these mostly-empty-of-customers main street wine retail stores.

Understandably, they usually source their wines elsewhere, surely because standing up bottles are an acceptable common concept for small retailers and supermarket chains offering an interesting wine selection with more attractive and competitive prices generating cash flow and quick turnover (i.e. Mark & Spencer, etc...).

Therefore, it is folly, for these small main street wine stores, to expect a quick turnover and successful business returns, when mainly offering expensive bottles of Bordeaux and Burgundies, lots in large format too, especially if they have been standing up in the light for weeks or even months, with the cork drying and the wine turning, without seeing a soul.

HK small community of real connoisseurs and amateurs are looking at the conditions in which the bottles rest, hence it is not surprising these kind of stores don't inspire much sell (add the hefty prices and the counterfeits, and now you have a clearer picture of why these stores are often empty). The selection has also something to do with it. 

In fact, most Hong Kong wine retailers don't offer much of any else aside of Bordeaux and Burgundies, despite a few usual suspects and high end wines from Australia, New Zealand and Italy and a rare few from the US.

Rarely or scarcely represented are the beautiful and less expensive gems from Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Argentina, Chile and South Africa just to name some of the most recognized world wine countries, and strangely enough barely no Chinese wines either (but this is more a question of locale culture..., it is not my place to talk about this on this blog, so just ask someone from Hong Kong, they usually are pretty explicit when describing people from mainland China). However, let's get back to wine.

In fact, being the world references of wine, fetching astronomical prices (and god knows the Hong Kong people love the luxury brands), Bordeaux and Burgundy have been crowding the shelves of most Hong Kong retail stores and the wine lists of most HK restaurants for years, especially those with more occidental influenced food.

Unfortunately, these beautiful Burgundian and Bordeaux gems are not really selling, rather taking the dust more than anything else, due to some of the multiple reasons and factors cited above, including hefty prices, crumbling economy, bad storage conditions and, even triggering more concerns lately, fake bottles. 

I know, I'm repeating myself, but I would like to stress the point that lack of interest due to the economy and genuine fear from the customers about the wine quality, are especially true for the wine retail stores where shelves seem overcrowded with countless amount of unsold bottles, magnums and even larger size bottles of some of the most expensive French wines standing up in full light and poor air conditioning system.

Moreover, the ever increasing number of counterfeit bottles discovered over the last few years had huge consequences on the market, consequently sales have been declining deeply over the past year-or-so. The recent growth of the Chinese economy is also slightly slowing down. 

The last quarter of 2011 was the worst with sales in retails and restaurants depleting dramatically (despite a little surge around Christmas and New Year celebration, yet usually representing a higher percentage of the year sales). Also, the last two quarter of 2012 didn't bring back the spike of hope eagerly awaited by most importers, suppliers and distributors.

All the above combined with a slowing down economy, the prices going up and the customers being rather cautious with an easy-on-the-wallet attitude, put the Hong Kong wine buying mood on a down slope.

It has been happening everywhere else, more especially in Europe and the US; and even if until now HK has managed to remain slightly above the water as the door to an emerging and rapidly growing market in China with enormous potential, the wine buying market has far exceeded the wine selling market. 

Although China and more especially Hong Kong remain full of Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Rolls Royce, Bentley as well as privately owned yachts and jets, wine warehouses and stores alike are full of unsold stocks of expensive and exciting wines, but interested customers are not as numerous as expected and attitudes have changed regarding buying and consuming high end bottles.

Also, although wine has been produced in this part of the world for centuries and the Brits brought a bit of their knowledge and wine drinking culture, the Hong Kong and to a certain extend the Chinese wine market consumption is a fairly new market (15-20 years maximum) compared to the rest of the western world, where drinking and consuming wines have always been fully integrated parts of centuries-old culture and traditions. Therefore, the Chinese and Hong Kong wine connoisseurs and amateurs constitute only a small minority of the population, which also explain the sales not being as good as expected.

Most importers, suppliers and distributors, probably thought that it will be an easy thing for them to sell their stocks, even the bad vintages (young uneducated market tend to fall easily for this kind of thing at the beginning. However, my personal experience working in two Hong Kong restaurants and quite a few wine events in various places, enable me to say that not many people drink wines in restaurant. Most of the time, it was the foreigners, expats and tourists, who will order a glass of wine for the lunch or a bottle for dinner, rarely the Chinese customers. In fact, the latter were ordering more hot water, tea, fruit juice and beers than wine. But there again, things are slightly changing and more wine is getting consumed, yet we are far from Europe and the Americas in general in terms of wine consumption.

In any case, let's not forget that China wine production place them in the top 5 largest producers in the world. That position does not yet reflect the Chinese wine consumption yet, but, a surge of wine education and wine consumption in the last few years put the Chinese within the the top 10 wine consumer in the world. Things are also changing in Hong Kong too.     

In fact, and more especially since 2008 when Hong Kong decided to take off the tax on wine, everybody realized the birth of a very lucrative business, importing and distributing wines. Suddenly, corporate companies as well as small investors all in the same time had the same idea, and the word spread very quickly. In less than 2 years, more than 1000 importers and distributors were fighting for their respective piece of the Hong Kong wine market. By september 2011, more than 3000 importers, suppliers and distributors were overcrowding and overflowing the market with wines. A year later, probably only 10-15% are really making a good living, the rest of them are struggling to sell their stocks.

Moreover, small innovative retailers are now even importing directly their wines for their boutiques, finding a niche and new ways to attract customers and being different. The last two years have pushed most of them to turn their head and business towards mainland China, but then again, things are not are easy as they seemed they will be at the beginning.      

As for the available wine selection, even thought it is slightly changing, it remains mainly French based. The rest of the world wines are more wildly found now, while barely nonexistent still 2-3 years ago. Wines from Spain, USA, Germany, Austria, Chile, Argentina and even South Africa, and not only the big appellations or big brands, are currently more represented in more specialized stores, which help diversify the shelves and wine-list around the proud Asia's World City. Being also better value for money, they make for a better and more adequate choice for most consumers.

Consequently, and in my opinion, it seems that the Hong Kong market is the hub of wine buyers and wine buiying for sure; yet the buying market doesn't reflect the selling marketing which is still struggling, suffering from being overcrowded and over-flooded with an insane amount of unsold and snail-moving-speed wine stocks.

The recent exodus of expats to Hong Kong, especially from France and Europe in general, in addition to the locals who, over the last few years, opened countless wine import-export and distribution companies as well as small retail stores, submerged the market with thousands of wines from all over.

They were first thinking that selling wines in HK was lucrative and profitable enough to make a better living, yet they didn't realized how fierce the competition will be. The most successful businesses were established about 4-5 years ago when the movement started after the abolition of import duties and other taxation on wine, but it has faded tremendously since then and the market is now somewhat out of breath with new comers facing a very difficult market in Hong Kong.

Just to compare, New York encompasses about 1,000 importers and distributors of wine & spirits for about 8+ millions inhabitants, while Hong Kong counts about 3,000 wine importers and distributors for about 7+ inhabitants

While mainland China market  is still booming and growing, some of the most fortunate and wealthy mainland Chinese continue to come and shop in some of Hong Kong well established and reputed wine Auction houses and specialized retailers and private cellars. Yet, the selling numbers and statistics, compared to the continuous flux of wine palettes constantly arriving in Hong Kong, are way under what they should be, even if a good part of it is sold to mainland China.

Therefore and in conclusion, and after all of the above factors and reasons, (I could still talk about it but it would be too long), I can confidentally say that Yes, Hong Kong is surely the new hub of wine buying, like New York was 6-7 years ago and London still has been over the last 15 years, but no it is not the hub of wine selling and even less the hub of wine drinking. There is still a long way to go to reach that point. 

To be continued... as this blog is my hub to the endless wine debates and discussions that daily crowd my head.

Enjoy!

LeDom du Vin

Back to the Future or my new Job in Hong Kong

Back to the Future or my new Job in Hong Kong

It has been a few months since I've last updated my wine blog, and I could try to invent all the excuses in the world to explain why I didn't, but I think it is best to stay simple and tell you the truth: I relocated to Hong Kong.

Of course, said like that, it doesn't really explain why I couldn't write anything since then, but the reason why is that I'm not working anymore as a Store Manager and Wine Buyer, tasting more than 10,000 wines a year in one of the greatest city in the world, New York, with enough time in my hands to handle my work, my family, the various tastings and my writing time and still find the time to travel to Europe to taste wines. Instead, I'm now back into the restaurant business as a Head Sommelier & Wine Buyer for a renown restauranteur in Hong Kong, which is great and I love it, but it doesn't leave me much time to write as much as I would like.

So, it is a bit like Back to the Future, because I worked in the restaurant business for nearly 11 years, then went to the US and work in Wine & Spirits retail for 9 years in between, before being back to where I started my career, running around in a restaurant, suggesting food pairings and pouring wines. I still have the passion for it in me and, I must say, even after 9 years, it came back right away. The excitement of sharing these special moments with my customers, be a part of the entertainment, provide exemplary attentive service and redefining who I'm everyday with different customers like an actor will do, all this is fun! Yet, I will just say that age has taken a bit of a tall on me, but hey, I'm not that old and I chose the fun and the adventure, so we'll see... as for now, I'm in Hong Kong.

It has only roughly been two months and a half, and I should be use to it by now, but still, sometimes I wake up... and I'm in Hong Kong! It is a weird yet exciting feeling at the same time. Who knew, nearly 40 years ago, that a little boy like me who mostly spent his time in the vineyards and the countryside in the northern part of Bordeaux will ever, one day, end up working on the other side of the planet? However, it is still quite interesting to keep an open mind and embrace different cultures, being receptive to new and different ideas and opinions and ways of living of others. See the world was one of my many dreams when I was young and I'm pursuing that dream.

Next year, I will celebrate 20 years of working in relation with Wine & Spirits and 15 years as a certified Sommelier and Wine Buyer for restaurants and retails in Bordeaux then (for a very short time) Paris (and quite a few other French towns in between), then London, New York and now Hong Kong.


Hong Kong market is very exciting, yet like most market it has its pros and cons. Here are a few things and facts that I noticed and came to understand over the last 2 months.

• The first obstacle in this market is the fact that most Hong Kong's natives, and Asian in general, do not drink wine or rarely. It is a very young market that need to be educated, despite the number of wine and spirits retails, bars and restaurants, importers, distributors and wine schools, which mushroom everywhere, every month. At the restaurant (where I work, in Central, where a lot money and wealthy people converge), both for lunch and dinner, most tables drink water, warm water for that matter (culture and pollution oblige). Only few dare sometime ordering a glass or two for dinner with their meal, and a full bottle is a rare treat. In general, mostly foreigners (expats and tourists) and Asian people with a certain background or a certain education, people who usually travelled abroad or even went to boarding school in the UK, Europe or the United States, drink wines and order by the bottle. The other drink a lot of water, herbal or floral tea, fruit or vegetable juices, or cocktail, or beer or strong spirits like Cognac or Whiskies. 

• The second obstacle is that wine (and pretty much everything else) is terribly expensive in Hong Kong, especially the most well known brands, understandably because wine remains predominantly an imported product. Usually, in most markets I've worked, it is a conflict of interest for the suppliers to sell the same wines, therefore they usually avoid doing it, which also guarantee a better control of the distribution and sales of the brand, especially from the winery point of view. However, in Hong Kong, it is not rare to have multiple suppliers (distributors and importers) selling the same wines (especially the high end ones), sourced in various ways: for example, in most markets, the wines come from the wineries directly; however, in most case scenarios, here in Hong Kong, the wines may come from private buyers and may have already transited before by one or more markets; i.e.: London or New York or else. In fact, I don't think that there are many regulations regarding who buys or sells what and how in terms of wine. Of course, there must be some laws to control the market and guarantee the provenance of the wines, but they are probably not yet as strict as they are in America or in Europe. There is a certain idea of monopole and sole distributor type of operation for certain wines, usually the less well known and small wineries from lesser regions; but for the high end market, I personally experienced the fact of trying to buy a well known brand for the restaurant and received as responses, multiple offers at various prices for the same wine and the same vintage from various suppliers. Which lead me to conclude that one has to do his home work well and buy intelligently to pay the best price for a great bottle in very good condition. I just said that because it is not rare (in retails especially) to find countless amount of fine Bordeaux, Burgundy and Tuscan wines stored indifferently up side up and not on their side as they should be, so beware of dried cork and oxidize wines. Know your retailers or your suppliers for that matter, it is very important.      

• Atop these 2 obstacles, the market is overcrowded with wines, suppliers and importers. In fact, pretty much all successful individuals, private investors and major companies that have some spare cash, are already or will in the nearest future import or distribute wines and spirits. If you compare with New York for example, NY counts about 24,000 restaurants and about 2,300 Wine & Spirits retail store for about 8 millions people living in NYC and I heard that the number of wine suppliers (importers and distributors) in NY was roughly about 600; while Hong Kong counts about probably twice more restaurants for a population of 7+ millions inhabitants, definitely twice less wine retail stores; yet twice more suppliers than NYC overlooking in most case scenarios the business on both side: Hong Kong and mainland China (which is huge and could very quickly become bigger than NYC and London market combined, if they continue to grow at this pace). It is a young and exciting, yet rapidly evolving market somewhat comparable to New York 15-20 years ago. 

• Hong Kong has a predominantly service-based economy, and restaurant businesses serve as a main economic contributor. Restaurants are literally everywhere in the street, in the shopping malls, in the private residences and even in companies building. With the third-densest population per square meters in the world and serving a population of 7+ million, Hong Kong is host to a restaurant industry with intense competition. Due to its small geographical size, Hong Kong contains a high number of restaurants per unit area. With Chinese ethnicity making up 98% of the resident population, Chinese cuisine is naturally served at home and in most restaurants. A majority of Chinese in Hong Kong are Cantonese in addition to sizeable numbers of Hakka, Teochew and Shanghainese people, and home dishes are Cantonese with occasional mixes of the other three types of cuisines. Rice is predominantly the main staple for home meals. Home ingredients are picked up from local grocery stores and independent produce shops, although supermarkets have become progressively more popular. Hong Kong homes and kitchens tend to be small due to a high population density, and traditional Chinese cuisine often requires the freshest possible ingredients, so food shopping is undertaken frequently and in smaller quantities than is now usual in the West. Take-out and dining out is also very common, since people are often too busy to cook with an average 47-hour work week. (Courtesy of Wikipedia)

• The market is wide open to anyone and competition is fierce. And that is where my problem resides, it is very difficult to find the good wines amongst this ocean of brands and labels; because most companies carry only a few very interesting and renown brands, leading the pack of their portfolio, lost in the middle of a huge amount of unknown producers and wineries. It has been very difficult for me to redo the wine list for the restaurant, for the 200+ wines that I chose roughly come from 20+ suppliers, which is not that easy to handle. Instead of buying from a few suppliers only and keep it simple, I only bought a few wines from various suppliers (usually the ones that I knew and the ones that I tasted and presented a certain uniqueness due to their grape variety or the region they where from), to incorporate more incentive wines in the wine-list. I somehow wish that I will have bought these wines from less suppliers;  yet I felt oblige to work that way to create an eclectic, more interesting and somewhat out of the beaten path wine-list that is both complete, offering a wide array of wines from the various major producing countries around the world, and attractive, giving the chance to the customers to explore and discover wines from lesser known grape varieties and regions.        

• The other difficulty is that the market is still dictated by the two most expensive French regions. Hong Kong is the hub for countless retail stores and suppliers offering mainly the same Bordeaux and Burgundy wines, with a significant section for Australian and New Zealand, but that is about it. Spain, Italy, Portugal, Germany, Austria and the US, and the rest of the world for that matter, are still pretty poorly represented; yet it is definitely better than it was only a few years ago. The biggest problem is that most of the best vintages are sold to private buyers and some restaurants, but most retails mostly carry the lesser vintage. For example with Bordeaux, it is very difficult to find 2000, 2005 or 2006 or older great vintage, but you can find plenty of 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2007 and older vintages which were not great respectively for various reasons. It is the same with Burgundy and the Rhone, and I'm not even talking about Loire Valley or the Languedoc, because one can barely find anything from these regions. To finish my thoughts about the bad vintages, sorry to say it bluntly, but even the greatest producers can craft mediocre wines in bad vintages. And, although an established brand or label or producer usually implies reliability, a renown brand can not entirely control or ensure the quality of a vintage or the evolution of the wine in the bottle or the way the wines have been stored (even with the newest techniques), especially for bad vintages. And even if producers have more and more difficulty to admit that they are still bad vintages due to technical progress and experiences, I can still say with conviction that they are still mediocre and bad vintages, and as proof of it, I will suggest you to do as often as you can some vertical tastings, which emphasize differences between various vintages of the same wine. 

• In my opinion, Hong Kong is still a young and opportunistic market trying to fool the customers with established, expensive brands, too often available in ok to mediocre vintages, selling the names rather than insuring the quality of the product. This situation has changed a bit over the last few years apparently from what I heard, but still and I witnessed it, certain suppliers remain overwhelmed with unsold stocks of older, mediocre vintages of certain established and also unknown brands, which is definitely true for reds but more especially for the whites. Due to their high prices for the most well-known or lack of marketing or promotion or even knowledge for the lesser known, these wines are hard to sell and it often takes longer for the suppliers to empty their stocks because of the increasing competition. Moreover, I come to realize that some of these suppliers are very young in this business and have no wine background, too often just basic knowledge and barely no experience in previously choosing or selling wines. Some apparently did it without passion, more for fun and some lucrative ambitions. Therefore, as I said earlier, it is important to know your suppliers and the storage condition of your wine in Hong Kong, especially with the subtropical warm and humid climate. Don't get me wrong, not all suppliers are like that, some are doing a great job, but I was and still am astonished by the amount of unbalanced, mediocre or even bad wines that I found here, even with recognizable established brands, and also how old the whites can be (you can still find some 2004, 05, 06 and 07 in whites which were not supposed to age that long and some that I tasted were totally oxidize and deep yellow in color, however some suppliers were still trying to sell those....unbelievable). Yet, if like in any market you can find find bad wines, there are also some really good wines if you take the time to search for them and taste them. At the end of the day, the only way to define the quality of a wine is to taste it, and only your taste buds will define if you will like the wine or not, not the label or the name of the wine.    

• Until only a few years ago, the situation was even worse because Bordeaux and Burgundy with some of the Super Tuscans were the only wines that you could find and buy. Nowadays, it is definitely better and consumers and suppliers are more wine savvy, because over the last 3 years the market has seen a surge of importers and distributors who thought that bringing wines to Hong kong, was a lucrative business and overflowed the market with all sort of wines... which usually push the interest of people to learn, read and get more acquainted with wine, and thus explain the fairly recent enthusiasm for Hong Kong people to know about and enjoy drinking wine.

In conclusion for this post about this subject, I will say that lucrative the market was, maybe 2-3 years ago, but the market is now saturating. There are still a few niches that haven't been explored, but otherwise, the place is pretty full and new suppliers seem to emerge at the door of the restaurant nearly everyday. It is a really tough market. And the incredible amount of Wine and Spirits fairs and expositions and tastings happening in Hong Kong every month, is surely a sign of the desire for the population to learn about and appreciate wine, but it is also a sign that suppliers constantly need to promote their wines to be able to sell them due to the ever increasing competition and the ever growing number of labels, brands, producers and wineries from all around the world available in this market.

I will continue to describe the Hong Kong market and my various experiences in this incredible city, but I will stop here for today.... I could get carried away and write much more as I very often do, but it is already enough for a first post after nearly 3 months without one. And it is already late at night. Good night.


To be continued....


Enjoy!


LeDom du Vin now in Hong Kong

LeDom du Vin: Dragon's Hollow: China, New Frontier and experimental ground for winemaking

Dragon's Hollow China

For the purist who knew Great Wall, one of the most famous Chinese wines sold in Europe (and in the rest of the world), here is a new challenger from China: Dragon's Hollow.

Dragon’s Hollow, one of the first Chinese winery to produce a high quality grapes, is located at the foot of the He Lan Mountain range in Ningxia Hui, China (about 600 miles west of Beijing, central-north China).

The vineyard was started in 2003, but the vines were originally planted in the early 90’s. The land covers an area of 6,000 hectares and is the largest top quality vineyard in Western China. The landscape looks like a huge green mirror inlaid in the vast expanse of the Loess Plateau.

China’s best varieties of wine grapes are grown in this region profiting from the sandy soil which is rich in organic content. Experts from both China and abroad have found the natural conditions in this region are comparable those found in France’s Bordeaux region and agree that it is the best ecological zone in China for growing top quality wine grapes.

The lofty He Lan Shan Mountains shelters the vineyard from cold winds in the winter and local spring water is used to irrigate the vineyard in the spring and summer. Dry weather and long hours of sunshine ensure that the grapes grow to full ripeness with superb colors, a full aroma, and an enchanting taste. The long and cold winter helps to ward off plant diseases and insect pests.

Winemaking is Ningxia has a history of over 1,000 years. During the Tang Dynasty (618-907) a famous poet wrote a poem in praise of the wine made in Ningxia . During the 11th and 12th centuries the Xixia Kingdom flourished here. The Capital city Yinchuan, used to be an important town on the ancient Silk Road where many merchants came to trade. They brought the local wine to other parts of the country making it known far and wide. Rock carvings in the Helanshan Mountains are testimony to the cultural exchanges between different ethnic groups in ancient times. Today the people of Yincuangxia are carrying forward the fine tradition of wine making by adopting high technology and modern management.



2006 Dragon's Hollow Vineyards Unoaked Chardonnay China
(eastern foot of the "He Lan" Mountain appellation)
Suggested retail price $12-$15
Distributed by Domaine Select in NYC


First, I need to say that I tasted this first wine blind and need to admit that this wine wasn't easily recognizable because of its texture (somewhat lighter and not as complex as a Burgundian Chardonnay, with a "je ne sais quoi" of New World ripeness, a more tropical fruit touch to it, without being over extracted or too ripe), but also because of its bright acidity that reminds me more of some other grapes (sort of a sauvignon-like texture in the palate), pretty vivid for a Chardonnay or too light.

The nose is bright, clean, fresh with aromas of citrus, lemon peel or zest, green apple and a touch floral. Light on his feet, the palate is refreshing, balanced and clean yet not too complex but very pleasing for a first experience with a Chinese white wine (I tasted some reds before, but no whites until today). The finish is simple and easy going with an excellent balance.

Overall, even if a bit light for my taste, I enjoyed it very much and I think my customer will be please to experience such wine. I think that with a tiny bit of age, the vines will get slightly better and more interesting. For now, it is rather uncomplicated, discreet and straightforward. I hope that the next vintages will bring more layers of complexity and depth. But in this kind of price range, it remains a very strong value (especially in today's market where everything is so expensive).

I tasted this wine last winter and it was a bit closed. However, because the lightness and the vivid acidity that this wine shows, it seems more appropriate for the summer months and seems to have evolce the right way since then. Let's just hope that we will have a good summer and a warm Indian fall, because so far this spring season has benn awfully rainy. This is a wine to discover and to appreciate on salad, oyster, shell fish and grilled river white fish.


After this very interesting tasting game, David (the brand manager of Dragon's Hollow) poured me a glass of his second wine:


2006 Dragon's Hollow Vineyards Riesling China
(eastern foot of the "He Lan" Mountain appellation)
Suggested retail price $12-$15
Distributed by Domaine Select in NYC

Dragon's Hollow Riesling is definitely more expressive on the nose than the Chardonnay (although it remains quite discreet and restrain compare to some Alsace or German Rieslings).

It displays floral and fruity aromas of white flowers, honeysuckle, white peach and apricot skin mixed with notes of wet stone minerality. The palate is dry (dryer than an Alsace and definitely more than a German Riesling) and offers similar flavors of citrus, lime, honeysuckle and a twist of petroleum. Showing more depth and multiple layers of fruit combined with a great acidity, it appears less mono-dimensional than the Chardonnay.

Overall, both have a great balance and some interesting features despite the fact that they are both quite light; yet they will surely quench the thirst of someone looking for a fresh, bright, clean and down-to-earth white wine.


In my opinion:

The wines from China just started to arrive in the American market and they are fairly unknown to most drinkers. Fortunately, made out of international grape varieties, they will ease the expected hesitation of the consumers at first.

Unfortunately, for some people, it will just be another Chardonnay or another Cabernet (or any other international grape) from another country that doesn't have a past of winemaking history. It may fashion a certain interest at the beginning, but who knows how long is it going to last, especially if they don't rapidly focus on high quality wines for a decent price.

If they don't offer wines made from lesser known (or less commercial) grape varieties, after a while the Chinese wines may end up not selling too well and not necessarily continue to attract the customers (except may be by curiosity or because the wine is a truly good value compare to other wines from other countries made from the same grape).

They may have to specialize into certain grapes to keep up with the market (like Malbec in Argentina; Carmenere in Chile; Tannat in Uruguay: Shiraz in Australia; Sauvignon in New Zealand; Riesling in Germany; Gruner Veltliner in Austria; Tempranillo and Garnacha in Spain; Sangiovese and Nebbiolo in Italy; Pinot Noir in Burgundy and Oregon; Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from Bordeaux and California; etc...only to talk about the most well-known grapes, because they are dozens more coming from the 70 leading wine producing countries in the world).

However, I'm glad that there are quite a few open minded people like David Henderson to lead the way into introducing winemaking and wine tradition in new countries. I wish him luck with Dragon's Hollow Vineyards and will be proud to be one of the first in New York to carry his wines and suggest them to my valuable customers.

We have now carry at the store Dragon's Hollow since last fall, but I think customers will better appreciate these wines now that we timidly entering in the summer months.

Keep an open mind on everything, do not judge too quickly when you don't know and don't be too stubborn about what you like or dislike, taste it before making in hasty conclusion.

Enjoy!

LeDom du Vin

Info and picture taken from Domaine Select website at: www.domaineselect.com

Step into the Green! drink more Bio and Organic wines (and food) from sustainable culture and respect the environment!

Tasting Session: Domaine Select portfolio 08.21.08

Hi everybody,

Alison from "Domaine Select" (the importer / distributor) came back today with very interesting wines, 2 from China and 1 from Barossa Valley. But let's concentrate on the Chinese wines first.

Special guest of the day, David Henderson, owner and founder of Dragon's Hollow Vineyards, a major winery and wine distribution company in China, was also here to introduce 2 of his wines: an unoaked Chardonnay and a Riesling from his Dragon's Hollow Vineyards 1600 acres winery located 625 miles west of Beijing in the Zhingun province (northern part of China). The winery produces classic international grape variety based wines: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Riesling, Merlot and Syrah. Out of the 1600 acres, only 200 acres of especially selected parcel of vines are dedicated to produce wines for the international market (roughly 100.000 cases), the rest is sold through the local market. I was really please to welcome David Henderson at the store and found his Chinese wines very interesting. Ant MacKenzie, also winemaker for Mud House and Spy Valley (2 leading wineries of New Zealand, located in Marlborough), has surly something to do with the quality of these wines.

David Henderson invited me to play a blind tasting game of 3 Chardonnays including his Dragon's Hollow Vineyards Unoaked Chardonnay. The game was to identify his Chardonnay first, but also to determine if his wine could compete and equal in quality other Chardonnays from elsewhere at the same retail price point (and in my opinion, it did). I didn't know which one was his wine, but after tasting the three wines twice, I was confident in my choice and nailed the right one. Here are the descriptions of the three wines and a synopsis or a resume of the tasting.


1) 2007 Jean-Paul Brun "Terres Dorees" Beaujolais Blanc Burgundy France
Suggested retail price $13-$16

The nose is inviting, clean, fresh and almost creamy with floral hints of chamomile and notes of lemon, honeydew, golden apple. The palate is ample, rich and soft, with a creaminess enhanced by the malolactic fermentation. The finish is quite long and concentrated yet balanced by a great acidity and seems to expand in complexity. This is a lovely example of Beaujolais Blanc that confirms the benchmark position of Jean-Paul Brun as one of the leading producer of Beaujolais (white and red). It also gives a different dimension to Chardonnay and exposes the versatility of this rather common and often neglected grape variety. Highly recommended, one of our favorite Chardonnays at the store.


2) 2006 Louis Jadot Chablis Burgundy France
Suggested retail price $18-$21

The nose is green (greener than the previous one for sure), with more acidity and more minerals. The palate starts with a very good attack showing good acidity, liveliness and fruit, but unfortunately the mid-palate doesn't follow the same path and seems to be slightly unbalanced. The finish is ok, not great and reflects somehow the overproduction and lack of focus of the Louis Jadot brand in general. Don't get me wrong, I do have nothing against Louis Jadot, but I just think that the brand is a bit too mainstream for me and somewhat crowd pleasing for non-connoisseur. Granted, it is often very consistent from a vintage to another, and seems very reliable to some people, but frankly I prefer their higher-end cuvees. I do think that their entry level wines don't meet the connoisseur level and can be easily outmatched by smaller producers offering greater quality wines for the same price or less (even from China...no comment).

3) 2006 Dragon's Hollow Vineyards Unoaked Chardonnay China (eastern foot of the "He Lan" Mountain appellation)
Suggested retail price $12-$15

First, I need to admit that this wine was easily recognizable amongst the others because of its texture (not Burgundian at all, with a "je ne sais quoi" of New World touch to it without being over extracted or too ripe), but also because of its bright acidity that reminds me more of some other grape (sort of a sauvignon like mouthfeel).

The nose is bright, clean, fresh with aromas of citrus, lemon peel or zest, green apple and a touch floral. Light on his feet, the palate is refreshing, balanced and clean yet not too complex but very pleasing for a first experience with a Chinese white wine (I tasted some reds before, but no whites until today). The finish is simple and easy going with an excellent balance. Overall, even if a bit light for my taste, I enjoyed it very much and I think my customer will be please to experience such wine. I think that the older the vines will get the better and more interesting the wine will taste. For now, it is rather uncomplicated, discreet and straightforward. I hope that the next vintages will bring more layers of complexity and depth. But in this kind of price range, it remains a very strong value (especially in today's market where everything is so expensive). I just wish that David could have come 3 months earlier, because the lightness of this wine and the vivid acidity that it shows seem to be more appropriate for the Spring and Summer months. Let's just hope that we will have a warm Indian fall. This a wine to discover and to appreciate on salad, oyster, shell fish and grilled river white fish.


After this very interesting tasting game, David poured me a glass of his second wine:

2006 Dragon's Hollow Vineyards Riesling China (eastern foot of the "He Lan" Mountain appellation)
Suggested retail price $12-$15

Dragon's Hollow Riesling is definitely more expressive on the nose than the Chardonnay (although it remains quite discreet and restrain compare to some Alsace or German Rieslings). It displays floral and fruity aromas of white flowers, honeysuckle, white peach and apricot skin mixed with notes of wet stone minerality. The palate is dry (dryer than an Alsace and definitely more than a German Riesling) and offers similar flavors of citrus, lime, honeysuckle and a twist of petroleum. Showing more depth and multiple layers of fruit combined with a great acidity, it appears less mono dimensional than the Chardonnay. Both have a great balance and some interesting features despite the fact that they are both quite light; yet they will surely quench the thirst of someone looking for a fresh, bright, clean and down-to-earth white wine.


In my opinion:

The wines from China just started to arrive on the American market and they are fairly unknown to most drinkers. Fortunately, made out of international grape varieties, they will ease the expected hesitation of the consumers at first.

Unfortunately, for some people, it will just be another Chardonnay or another Cabernet from another country. It may fashion a certain interest at the beginning, but who knows how long is it going to last, especially if they don't rapidly focus on high quality wines.

If they don't start to offer wines made from lesser known (or less commercial) grape varieties, after a while the Chinese wines may end up not selling and not necessarily continue to attract the customers (except may be by curiosity or because the wine is a truly good value compare to other wines from other countries made from the same grape).

They may have to specialize into certain grapes to keep up with the market (like Malbec in Argentina; Carmenere in Chile; Tannat in Uruguay: Shiraz in Australia; Sauvignon in New Zealand; Riesling in Germany; Gruner Veltliner in Austria; Tempranillo and Garnacha in Spain; Sangiovese and Nebbiolo in Italy; Pinot Noir in Burgundy and Oregon; Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from Bordeaux and California; etc...only to talk about the most well-known grapes, because they are dozens more coming from the 70 leading wine producing countries in the world).

However, I'm glad that there are quite a few open minded people like David Henderson to lead the way into introducing winemaking and wine tradition in new countries. I wish him luck with Dragon's Hollow Vineyards and will be proud to be one of the first in New York to carry his wines and suggest them to my valuable customers.


The last wine of this tasting was:

2005 The Colonial Estate "Explorateur" Old vines Shiraz Barossa Valley Australia
Suggested retail price $29-$32

After tasting the 2005 Colonial Estate "Envoy" GSM the previous day, I need to admit that I wasn't as please by the "Explorateur". The "Explorateur" has a warm nose with some hints of alcohol, and doesn't seem as attractive on the nose as the "Envoy". It displays interesting and rich aromas of deep dark ripe berries with floral and spicy notes. It is definitely not as elegant (for an Australian wine, don't get me wrong on this one) as the "Envoy". It is bigger, broader and shows much more alcohol than I would like to. The finish has a lot of dark chocolate, mocca, earthy spices and ripe plum tones. Overall, it is not bad, quite well balanced (for an Australian wine...). Although, I can see people getting into it and loving it, it is definitely not my style of wine (I like them fresher, juicier, earthier with more acidity and balance, less ripeness and less oak, but it is only my taste...).

see you soon for some new wine tasting sessions,

cheers!

LeDom