Chapters of my life: PJ Wine - My New York Years

Chapters of my life

PJ Wine - My New York Years 

Part I (2002-2007)

PJ Wine Inwood Manhattan NYC - 
Photo courtesy of John Davis (2016) for Google Map

Memories of my New York years often resurface in my mind, I guess, even after 8 years living in Hong Kong, I have not forgotten my years spent in the Big Apple. 

The year was 2002 when I left London to come to Manhattan, after 5 crazy years living in the British Capitale. At that time, I was following the one that would eventually become my wife. 

After studying in "The Smoke" (a persistent nickname for London, where we met in 2000), she decided to move back to her home country, the US, and settled in "The City that never sleeps" in 2001. 

As for me, after being a Sommelier/Maitre D' and wine buyers for restaurants in various places in France for 6 years (1991-1997), then in  Britain for 5 years (1997-2002), I was about to rejoin my American girlfriend and, without knowing it yet, have a life-changing experience on the other side of the Atlantic. 

I was already seeing myself facing new challenges on the road to success, without really knowing anything about where I was going? what would I find there? or even where will I work? Yet, the lyrics of the eponymous song, "New York, New York", were already echoing in my head: "If I can make it there, I'm gonna make it anywhere."....      

I drove all the way down from London to my birth town of Bordeaux.Map courtesy of Google Map

So, I left London and went back to France, the south-west of France more exactly. I drove all the way down from London to my birth town of Bordeaux. I stayed there for about nearly 8 months, working as Sommelier/Maitre D' for a private caterer supervising the service at wine dinners and events in the many Chateaux of the Graves and Haut-Médoc areas while waiting for my US Visa. 

It was fun as it allowed me to get reacquainted with numerous Chateaux owners, winemakers and brand ambassadors, I had not seen for years, to have the chance to spend some time with them, as well as to listen to them talking about their respective property and the quality of the vintages, and of course tasting their wines too (the most interesting part I must say 😊).  

When my US visa came, I was ready to go. This brief interlude of about 8 months back home, in France, living once again at my parent's homes ("s" as they are divorced), after working 5 years in the UK, was somehow needed, but, in fact, seemed very, very long, as, frankly, I could not wait any longer to see my girlfriend again and start a new chapter of my life in the Empire State. 

And to tell you the truth, as much as I love my parents, the supposedly few months to wait for my US visa, which ended up turning into a lengthy 8 months waiting period at my parent's houses, with not much money saved in the bank, only occasional works here and there with the caterer, and therefore not much to spend and consequently stuck in this situation of not being able to do much or to even try to have a regular job (as the visa could arrive any time any day), did not suit at all the free-minded and free-spirited 27 years old I was back then. No offence to my parents, but in the end, I could not wait to get out of their houses and get my freedom and independence back. 

In fact, if I knew it would take that long, I would have stayed a little longer in the UK, worked and saved more money to prepare for my jump across the Atlantic. But hey, that's life and at the end of the day, as I said above, it was somehow needed... I needed to resource myself for a little while prior to live new adventures on the other side of the planet.         

I went to New York once before, back in 1998, with a friend of mine, when the twin towers of the World Trade Center were still standing proudly. It was our first trip to the USA for both of us. We were both eager to discover the country of Uncle Sam, but for different reasons, that I only realized at the end of our trip.  

New York amazed me as much as it scared me. We spent around 10 days visiting pretty much everything and anything the city had to offer. I was fascinated and I knew already it will not be my last visit. It was an old dream come true and I was not disappointed. The mix of old and new architectures, history and stories, races, cultures, religions, colours, traditions, languages, the energetic vibes and the constant noises and lights of the city that never sleeps, it was a melting pot like rarely seen one like that before. Even London and Paris seemed rather quiet and "national" compared to New York's inherent energy and internationality.  

At the end of that trip, on the way back to London, my friend told me that he loved NYC and was glad that he had visited it, but that overall the US, in general, was not his thing, and that he did not want to stay in the UK either, his goal was to go to Asia soon and maybe settle in Hong Kong or Singapore, as he had a thing for Asian women. 

Stunning view of the twin towers and Manhattan skyline at night (late 90s)by and courtesy of John Cardasis - Getty Imagesextracted from a www.tripsavvy.com article (read it here)

For me, I went on that trip as I wanted to experience the "American Dream", going to the US was something that I always wanted to do since my early teenage years. A huge fan of American's comics, clothes, music and ways of living, surely due to growing up in the late 70s and 80s in a very Americanized France, I wanted to experience it for myself. And two years after that first trip to NYC, in 2000, while I was still in London, I met my American girl and fell in love with her. Fate? Maybe... Who knows? but I took it as a first sign that my wish to go back to the US could come true. 

When she moved back to the US and settled in New York, I was still living in London and our relationship took a toll. You know, you're in love with someone, and it is just the beginning and you are at that stage where everything matters and everything has to be important and you want to be with the other person 24/7, thinking there is nothing else better in the world and imagine how good it could be if time could stop forever when you're together.... you know what I mean.... Well, it was not like that exactly for me and my American girl, as although we barely knew each other and we had our heads in the clouds with the romance, our relationship was a bit more grown-up than a teenage love story... but still, it was difficult to be apart... 

Distance relationships tend to test the veracity of your sentiments for the other person and define how important this relationship is to you and how far are you ready to go and commit to it.  So, I told her that if we wanted our relationship to work, we could not stay any longer that far apart from each other. One of us had to make a move, either me going to the US or her coming back to Europe, for us to be together again. That was the only way. 

Moreover, she had just moved to "Gotham" (another nickname for New York), so if a decision had to be made, it was now or never. So, we decided that the first one who finds a good job for the other would decide on where we will be living. She found me a job first, and I must say, after 5 years in London and no real desire to go back to live in France (back then), it was not too difficult to convince me. And by accepting the job she found for me, I was finally realizing my wish to live and experience the US for myself. So, moving across the Atlantic it was. My decision was made and there was no going back on it. (And it was easier for me logistically too, so it made more sense). 

Prior living France, during the 8 months waiting for my visa, we phoned and emailed each other very regularly on a weekly basis (even on a daily basis should I say). Each day that passed had its dose of both sweet romances at a distance and "I-cannot-wait-any-longer-anymore" type of moments. But the wait was over, as I was now sitting by a small window, flying at 35,000 feet, my eyes looking into the far, staring at the ocean of clouds beneath going as far as the horizon. New York, here I come. 

Hours later, the plane landed at JFK. She was there waiting for me. My heart had both long-awaited and apprehended that moment for months, and here we were, my heart and I facing our destiny. After some "embrassades" and kisses and a few tender words, we took a taxi and aimed for the city. The highway 495 was congested and the traffic rather slow, which gave us the opportunity to talk, look at each other in the eyes, exchange a few kisses and talk some more. 

I was asking a lot of questions and was looking around too. And at some points on the road, within the 3 minutes prior to entering the "Queens Midtown Tunnel" that leads right to the center of the city (exiting just at 37th street, between 2nd and 3rd avenue), there are stunning panoramic views of Manhattan (which usually last less than a few seconds depending on how fast the taxi you're in drives), and once again I was in awe facing the "grandiose" scenery of these buildings piled up on each other, scraping the sky for some of them. New York, here I am.    

Have a look at this short video of the last few minutes on the road 495 (going westbound toward Manhattan) prior to entering the Midtown tunnel, and you'll understand what I'm trying to say (especially if you have never been to New York) (video courtesy and property of "Roadwaywiz" YouTube Chanel). 

 

I did not know exactly where my girl settled down, I had a vague idea, but, apart from some memories from my first trip 4 years back, I did not really know the town. My eyes could not resist looking outside and realize (once again) how "grand" everything is in Manhattan: the buildings, but also the streets and avenues, the monuments, the signboards, but also the people too, as tall and large as the town they live in, no wonder why the portions of food are so big here 😊. 

The taxi drove to FDR Drive, on the east side of Manhattan, toward the Harlem River Drive and the north of the island.  I was trying to recognize the landmarks and flagship buildings along the way. Bobby Womack's song came to mind 

🔺 Work in Progress - Post to be finished soon  🔺

       

LeDomduVin a.k.a. Dominique Noel 

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

Short memories of Chile & Argentina and 2007 Luigi Bosca – Familia Arizu – Reserva Malbec Lujan de Cuyo Mendoza Argentina

Short memories of Chile & Argentina

Between the 20th of February and the 11th of March 2000, one of my best friends and I went on a trip to South-America; traveling to Chile and Argentina to visit both countries, experience both cultures and have a taste of their respective wines and food traditions. A magnificent journey of 20 days, backpacking, trekking and winery hopping to discover a fascinating world where mother Nature still prevail and human being can only be admirative and barely influence it.

We landed in Santiago, the capital of Chile, where we shortly stayed before beginning our expedition to the majestuous massif of "Torres del Paine". We took a plane from Santiago to Punta Arenas, where we ended up massively drunk and didn’t see much of the town, despite our good intentions to do so. It was without counting on our encounter with a funny French Canadian that we met in the first food joint that we could find. We started with beers to push the food down, but were taking off guard when he unveiled a magnum of Jack Daniels from his backpack. Franck and I are huge fan of J-D and the "Tavernier" let us drink it as long as we continued to order more beers.

Therefore, it happened to be early morning the next day, much sooner than we thought. And, running like wild animal in the maze of this little port-town, we nearly missed our minivan-bus which was about to drive us and a few other locals to Puerto Natales... where, in turn, we took a boat for a few hours, during which we couldn‘t stop contemplating the beauty of the surrounding mountainous landscape and the immense shattered glaciers breaking up huge blocks of ice into the Chilean fjords, drinking the local “Pisco” by the shots at the rear of the boat with the captain barely paying attention.

Fortunately, we were the only two persons on the boat, despite the captain and his mate (in the literal sense of the term of course, but also in the metaphorical sense too, because "Mate" also is a traditional South American infused drink, particularly in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, southern states of Brazil and south of Chile. But after the previous night and the Jack Daniels ambush in which we felt lamentably, "Pisco" seemed somewhat more appropriated than "Mate", while not necessary it felt like a proper continuation of our nocturnal impromptu celebration.

Once arrived in front of the magnificent, yet somewhat scary massif, proudly pointing its peaks like sharpened teeth towards the sky, we knew that we had only one choice: to trek as much as we could, about 8 to 10 hours a day, for the next 6-7 days, to complete the entire tour of the beast. It was amazing! We walked hours without seeing a soul, only surrounded by the mountain and its grandiose presence. It was even lonely and creepy at time, but majestic. We were sleeping in tent or in some of the refuges scattered along the way at night, sometimes washing ourselves in the river and drying our cloths by the bonfire some nights; and cooking our frugal meals in the flames, often climbing high into the deep marine blue sky alight by the incredible visible amount of stars.

It was really amazing and frightening at the same time, tiring and revealing too; yet what a tremendous personal achievement for the both of us. Full of unforgettable moments, momentum and memories of a place where Nature seems untouched and humans appear rather insignificant and powerless. I felt in love with this part of the world and both of us were somehow happy to go back to civilization, but also sad to leave such a magical and touching place.

We came back to Santiago and its surrounding to visit the city itself, where we were staying in a backpacker’s motel, but more especially some the wineries in Casablanca Valley, San Antonio Valley, Cachapoal Valley, Maipo Valley, Curico and Maule Valley. Some of the wines that we tasted and some of the appointments were organized by the importers and distributors that I used to work with when I was a Sommelier/Wine Buyer in London at the time. Amongst others, our first visit was Cousino Macul and since then it became sentimental between the wines from this particular winery and me.

At the time, their prestige cuvee, “Finis Terrae”, was one of the most expensive wines on the wine lists of the few restaurants, brasseries and grills that we tried during our stay. Therefore, we often decided to indulge ourselves with the most expensive and succulent piece of “bistec” (steak) served with "patatas fritas" and complemented it, of course, with a bottle of 1996 Finis Terrae, which was about 4,500 – 5,000 Chilean Pesos at the time, so let’s say 10,000 Chilean pesos of now, which is about $20...

After a few days spent in Chile, we decided to cross the Andes to go on the other side of the Chilean boundary, in the neighboring country called Argentina, to explore the myths and legends of the Malbec revolution in the wineries surrounding the town of Mendoza. It took us quite a few hours (at least 6 hours minimum by mountainous, treacherous roads between the two cities) to arrive at the top of the mountain where the customs’ baraquement of Las Cuevas didn’t offer much of a refuge against the freezing temperatures awaiting us at this altitude. It was warm and comfy in Santiago, but that wasn’t the case atop the Andes.

Of course, we only had a tee-shirt and a thin sweater on our skin, the rest was in our backpack; and the local police asked us to line-up against the wall like prisoner or more like condemned, in order to, at their pace and at 2 o’clock in the morning, verify our passport and our legality before we enter the Argentinean territory. After awhile, taking their time to search all of our backpacks, (imagine the time to check an entire bus full of tourists and locals), they let us through, while I smoked about a packet of cigarette, freezing to death for the last few hours (yeah, I used to smoke, I know, I know….).

Mendoza was rather small compared to what I was trying to picture looking at the travel brochures and guides. The center of the town was obviously the main interest, a huge square surrounded by low rise building, with restaurants and boutiques. We didn't spend much time there. We rented a car and went on the winery road towards the southwest at the foothills of the Andes. In 3-4 days, we visited quite a few of the most well-known wineries at the time, including Bodega Norton which was probably the most memorable (at the time) and many others.

What really stroked me the most, despite the beauty of the landscape and the "paysages", was the enormous size of the cement/concrete vats that we discovered in some wineries. Although not in use anymore, one of them was the size of a large 3 or 4 bedrooms apartment, a huge circular concrete vat maintain by multiple pillars that could contain thousands of hectoliters. We were about 20 tourists regrouped inside with the guide and there was still room a lot more people. Unfortunately, I do not remeber the name of the winery, but it was colossal. The winery itself without counting the surrounding vineyards, extended on 10 hectares above and underground. It was huge. I have seen many wineries in my lifetime, but never one that monstrous. (I will try to find the name soon).

One of the most funny moment that we had in Argentina was on the road to the no-man's land: La Pampa. If you drive south of Mendoza from Lujan de Cuyo to San Rafael, (I don't remember if it was in the village of Lujan de Cuyo itself, or in one of the next two tiny villages of Agrelo or Ugarteche); however, at the southern end of one of those "bourgs", you explicitly get a sense of getting close to the no-man's land, in other term "La Pampa", because at the exit of a tiny gas station, a huge billboard acknowledges you that you should fill up the tank of your vehicle, because you won't able to do it for the next 175 kilometers.

We then lost ourselves our the Route 40 and Route 143 for a few hours of pure desolation, rocks and cactus, not a soul and no houses or villages for kilometers. Only the mountains in the far to draw the limit of the horizon and in front of you an endless straight road to nowhere. However, about in the middle, we managed to see one hitchhiker walking alone on the side of the road, in the dirt and the rocks, trying to get a ride. We hesitated but didn't stop... shame on us, I know. But what would you have done? He was alone, in a lunar landscape, walking from nowhere to go God knows where, and may be he just had been abducted.... who knows? It was a bit creepy....

Anyhow, I would love to continue to detail our adventure, but it will be rather too long for this post. However, here again, just writing about this trip in Chile and Argentina brings back a lot of memories and unforgettable moments, that I wish I could have the time to share with you. As a result of visiting Mendoza and its surrounding wineries, I once again felt in Love, this time with Argentina, the breathtaking beauty of its picturesque panoramas, and obviously its steak and its wines.

That is why, in memory of that trip, I would like to share with you one of these Malbec wines from one of the Argentinean wineries that I like the most and that I have been selling for quite some time now.

Bodega Luigi Bosca – Familia Arizu – Lujan de Cuyo Mendoza Argentina

Bodegas Luigi Bosca – Familia Arizu – is a story of a legacy and an expertise gained over many years; the story of a name, of a family and their winery; of men who succeeded in conquering virgin soil and in gathering its best fruit.

It is the story of a profound understanding of wine and of the constant evolution of all its process. The first Arizu was Leoncio, who at the end of the 19th century, left his homeland of Navarra (Spain), to come to the Andes, where he was greeted by a young but promising business: vine grower. The first years went by, and the native vines gave way to the ones brought from Europe which, slowly, grew older and stronger until they became unique and completely adapted to this new Argentinean ground. Four generations have passed since the time of those early viticulturists and their revolutionary concept of winemaking.

From the time the Bodega started to make a name for itself on the international market in the late 1990s up until now, Luigi Bosca winery has always remain consistent in quality and avant-gardist in attitude and profile; mixing the savoir-faire and traditional ways of the old generations with the newest techniques to produce structured and textured gems, resulting from generations of experienced winemakers who are always striving for excellence.

Somewhat modern and fruit forward, these attractive and expressive wines do not lack of character or Terroir expressions. On the contrary, over the last decade, they have been recognized as some of the best and most consistent amongst all the Argentinean wines exported in the major wine market like New York and London. They pretty much stand out all around the world in Wine & Spirits boutiques and regarded restaurants.


The winery produces three distinct lines:

• "Finca La Linda": a line expressing flavor, varietal character and fruit in approachable, wallet friendly and versatile wines, in a wide range of varietals: unoaked chardonnay, viognier, Torrontes, Malbec rose, Bonarda, Syrah, Tempranillo, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and even Extra Brut sparkling.

• "Selectos de Familia Arizu": a line demonstrating the quintessence of Luigi Bosca wines: modernity, innovation, passion and pure Terroir character. It encompasses three different labels: “Gala Collection” (Galla 1, 2 & 3) 3 delightful wines superbly crafted; Boheme Methodo Traditional, their fancy sparkling wine which can easily rival some of the most well-known French Champagnes in the $30-$35 price range. And, in my opinion, their best wine called “Luigi Bosca Malbec Single Vineyard D.O.C”; the only wine in Argentina that can claim to come from a single vineyard recognized as a “Denominación de Origen Controlada” due to its unique Terroir characteristics.

• The third line is “Luigi Bosca Reserva” which represents the quality, prestige and identity of the wines, the winery and the devoted passion of the men and women behind it. This line also comes in large range of varietal: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Extra brut sparkling and of course the irreplaceable pride of Argentina: Malbec.

2007 Luigi Bosca Reserva Malbec Lujan de Cuyo Mendoza Argentina
Suggested retail price $16-$19
Imported/distributed by Testa Wines of the World Ltd. In NYC

This wine was crafted with carefully selected and sorted 100% Malbec grapes from low yielding vines planted at Vistalba vineyard in Lujan de Cuyo, an area south-southwest of the city of Mendoza, with an altitude of 960 meters, in the foothills of the Andes. The climate is dry with very cold winters, temperate springs and fresh summers. The clouds from the Pacific Ocean rarely pass above the Andes and usually remain on the Chilean side, transforming the mountain in natural barrier against the rain; yet because of the high elevation, there are big thermal temperature changes between night and day. Average summer temperature: 22º C and average winter temperature: 6º C. Minimum winter temperature: -6º C. Average annual rainfall: 197 mm.

The shallow soil is mainly composed of alluvial, clay and abundant limestone resting on subsoil of stone and pebbles, which generate good drainage. Mainly planted on a plateau, the inclination of the vineyard is only about 1.5% west-east and 1% south-north.

2007 was a great vintage in Argentina and so far I can say that most of the Argentinean wines that I tasted from this particular vintage were mostly very good to excellent. We recently received the 2007 Luigi Bosca Reserve and Single Vineyard D.O.C and both really exceeded my expectation for being focus, rich, complex and long. Although I prefer the Single Vineyard D.O.C, I still found it too young and not tamed enough, it will definitely last for quite some time. It has great potential.

Aged for 12 months in French oak casks and only lightly filtered before bottling which enable to keep the maximum of natural and essential components and confer it more ageing potential, 2007 Luigi Bosca Reserva Malbec Lujan de Cuyo was more open and approachable now after about half an hour in a decanter. It presented a fairly intense, bright yet dark ruby color with purple reflects on the rim, sign of youth. The nose offered expressive classic Malbec aromas of dark fruit, earth, spices, coffee, ripe plum, violets and purple flowers, with hints of mineral and subdued oak notes. The medium-to-full palate was focused, balanced, well rounded and fairly soft yet rich, complex and earthy, with enhancing acidity and integrated tannins. The lingering finish is quite juicy and structured, making this textured wine a pleasurable drink to pair with earthy, substantial dishes like stewed, roasted or grilled red meat, venison, game and hard cheese.

A true classic, elegant and gutsy Malbec that brought multiple memories of my trip to Argentina back in my memory. Cheers to my oldest friend Franck! without whom this trip will have never happened in the first place, if it wasn’t for his determination and methodical organization.

Enjoy,

LeDom du Vin

Info partly taken and edited from the winery website at www.luigibosca.com.ar and from the importer website at www.testawines.info

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LeDomduVin: the various wines of the Southwest of France

Southwest of France

The Southwest of France is precious to my heart because it is a beautiful region with rich food and wine culture, complicated history, interesting geography, and many landscapes from the long wild beaches of the Atlantic ocean shores and the dense pine tree forest of the Landes to the high rocky picks of the Pyrénées Mountains range and the deep black truffle forest of the Périgord.

Often confused with Bordeaux wines, Southwest of France wines don't say much to consumers. Coming from smaller appellations, often unknown and neglected, these wines represents (in my opinion) very good values and often reveals interesting characteristics due to certain indigenous grape varieties.

Southwest of France vineyard area starts roughly from the eastern and southern edges of Bordeaux and forms a triangle shaped area (pointing toward the east) between the town of Bergerac (East of Bordeaux), southwest of Pau (in the Béarn and Basque Country, the southwestern corner of France) and Marcillac and Gaillac (at the eastern point).

This large area encompasses many little appellations and sub-appellations, producing whites (dry, semi-dry, moelleux and sweet), reds and rosés, and even one of France's most famous digestif "Armagnac", from grape varieties that you probably never really heard of.

To simplify it for you, here is a list of the main vineyards, from north to south and from west to east, and the type of wine(s) they produce:

• Bergerac White: dry, refreshing whites made primarily with Sémillon and Sauvignon with a touch of Muscadelle, and also in very small quantity Ondenc and Chenin Blanc). Also produced Côtes de Bergerac dry white.
  

• Bergerac Red: aromatic, soft and earthy reds and rosés primarily made Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc with a touch of Côt (worldly known as Malbec), and also in small quantity Fer and Mérille (two indigenous grapes of the southwest mainly found in Madiran, Gaillac and some Aveyron wines). Also produced Côtes de Bergerac Red.
  

• Montravel (dry whites made mainly with Sauvignon and Sémillon), Haut Montravel (usually semi-sweet to sweet whites with the same previous grapes), Côtes de Montravel (sweet whites, same grapes), Montravel red (red wines made from Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Côt).

• Saussignac (semi-sweet to sweet white wines made mainly with Sauvignon and Sémillon)

• Pécharmant (dry, earthy, age worthy red wines made with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Côt)

• Monbazillac (sweet white wines that can match some Sauternes and Jurançon wines, also made with Sauvignon, Sémillon and Muscadelle)
  

• Rosette (a fairly unknown supple, round sweet white wines, also made with Sauvignon, Sémillon and Muscadelle)

• Duras and Côtes de Duras (produce dry, earthy reds with small age potential, and also some white -dry and sweet- and rosé, made with the same above grape varieties and in small quantity some Fer, Negrette, Syrah and Gamay)

• Côtes du Marmandais (mainly reds and some whites often made with the same Bordeaux grapes as above with in small quantity some Fer, Syrah, Gamay and Abouriou for the reds and Ugni Blanc for the whites.

• Cahors (earthy, robust, fruit forward and age worthy red wines made generally with a minimum of 70% de Malbec, known as Côt, Côt Noir or even Auxerrois in the area, usually blended with a bit of Merlot and Tannat)

• Marcillac (east of Cahors, a fairly unknown small appellation producing mainly light, juicy, earthy, slightly tannic and peppery red and simple rosé wines produced predominantely with Fer Servadou, known in the area as Mansois or Braucol, blended with small quantity of other grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Gamay, Merlot, Jurançon Noir, or even the nearly extinct Mouyssaguès).

• Buzet (often confused for a Bordeaux, Buzet produces mainly red (85%), white and rosé wines.The reds are earthy, concentrated and age worthy with a distinct and individual character are made from Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon for the reds, and Sauvignon, Semillon and Muscadelle for the whites).
  

• Fronton or Côte du Frontonnais (red wines produced mainly with Negrette, a rare red grape variety with a unique, earthy, dark, attitude producing robust, tannic red wines precious to the people of Toulouse)
  

• Gaillac (east of Fronton and North east of Toulouse, Gaillac reds are also very appreciated by the people of Toulouse and are crafted with local grapes like Fer, Duras and Braucol blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot for the reds and Ondenc, Len de l'el and Mauzac for the whites).
  

• Béarn (west of Madiran and Jurançon, Béarn produces big red with at least 60% Tannat blended with local grapes like Manseng Noir, Courbu Noir, Pinenc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, and fresh, aromatic whites made with Gros Manseng (white), Petit Manseng (white), Sauvignon Blanc and a small amount of other local grapes like Courbu, Lauzet, Camaralet and Raffiat).
  

• Madiran and Pacherenc du Vic Bhil (Madiran (red) and Pacherenc du Vic Bilh (white) are crafted in the same area, from vineyards planted on south facing terrasses (slopes) looking out towards the Pyrenees. Madirans' wines, very much influenced by the Tannat grape, are often slightly green, a bit bitter and tannic in youth, but after a minimum of five or six years aging become rounder, warm and full bodied).

• Irouléguy (or Irulegi in Basque) (a small forgotten appellation to discover or rediscover, producing excellent, earthy, slightly esoteric, robust red wines and some rosés made with with Tannat (Bordelesa Beltza), Cabernet Franc (Axeria) and Cabernet Sauvignon (Axeria Handia) and some refreshing whites made with Courbu (Xuri Zerratia), Petit Manseng (Izkiriota Ttipia) and Gros Manseng (Izkiriota)).
  

• Jurançon (an appellation south of Pau, producing fresh, mineral, zesty dry whites and full flavored, balanced and complex, sought after sweet white wine from the piedmont of the Pyrénées mountains, crafted with Gros Manseng, Petit Manseng and Courbu).

• Armagnac (one of the two most recognized French brandy produced in the heart of Gascogny, the middle of the southwest of France region, it is the result of a "column stills process" distillation of young white wine usually made from a blend of grapes including Ugni Blanc, Colombard and Baco (22A)).

Beside all these main Appellations, the southwest of France also offers plenty of sub-Appellations and Vin de Pays (like Vin de Pays des Côtes de Gascogne) in white, red and Rosé.

Be adventurous and curious, and explore a bit more these interesting wine region and their wines. Continue to visit my blog at www.ledomduvin.com to check my notes on the different wines from the southwest of France that I tasted.

Enjoy!

Also check the following websites for more info and maps: www.terroir-france.com and www.frenchentree.com

LeDom du Vin

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Wine Travel: Spain and Rioja

For those who know me well, you know my love for Spain. Every year, I go to San Sebastian and Getaria in the Basque country and spend a few days with my wife and son, eating tapas and drinking Txakoli whites and Rioja reds. I highly recommend it, for food and wine lovers.

Kaia Kaipe (in Getaria, excellent wine list with old Riojas and Riberas and fabulous grilled fish, the Turbo for two is one of the house's speciality) and Arzak (in San Sebastian, a mix of traditional and fusion cuisine in a Basque way, a bit expensive but excellent food) are two of my favorite restaurants in the world.

In Getaria, my favorite hotel is Saiaz Getaria Hotel, it is a lovely, peaceful, family run hotel with unique views of the ocean and the little bay of Getaria. In San Sebastian, Hotel de Londres y de Inglaterra with its incomparable view of La Concha (the main beach of the town) is surely one of my favorites. The other one is Monte Igueldo hotel perched on the mount of the same name, overlooking the entire bay of San Sebastian (a bit old and run down in some part, noisy and a bit far from city center for some people but worth it for the views of the ocean and the city (go their for a drink just for the view).

I also went to El Bulli (in the village of Roses, north of Barcelona, in the Costa Brava region) which was a truly amazing experience and an unusual culinary lesson. In my opinion, El Bulli will never become your everyday restaurant due to the prices and the extreme texture of the food (lot of "mousse" or foam), however you should experience it at least once or twice in your life, it's worth it.

One of my most memorable memories in Spain took place at Marques de Riscal (Rioja, Elciego), after one of my numerous visits at the winery, we were invited to eat at their new gastronomic restaurant and to stay in their newly built Luxury Hotel. Don't ask me how we did it, it is a long story... however, here again the food was excellent, the service fabulous and the suites (it is more than a room, trust me) which were reserved for us, were sumptuous.

Despite sleeping in great hotels and eating in many exquisite, hard to book in advance restaurants, my previous job also allowed me to travel, every year, to many different wine regions of Spain (and many in France too) for wine tastings (often with the owner or the winemaker, in the cellar at the barrels) and buying purposes. I was really privileged to be able to prepare, organize and participate to all my boss's trips.

I visited many wineries, met a lot of earthy, welcoming producers and tasted hundreds of wines from Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Toro, Cigales, Bierzo, Rias Raixas, Ribeiro, Navarra, Monsant, Priorat, Bullas, La Mancha, Penedes, Rueda, Tarragona, Terra Alta, Coster del Segre, Emporda Costa Brava, Alicante, Jumilla, Yecla, Valdepenas, etc... and of course many Xeres (altough I never been to the south of Spain, I roughly stoped in the middle).

Spain is really a delightful place to visit but not only for its wines or its food, the culture, the history, the people, the sunny weather, the Mediterranean cost and the nouvelle vague (new wave) of artists and designers make Spain one of the main center of interest in Europe. Barcelona is (somewhat) still under the radar compared to Paris, London, Rome, Milan, Geneva, Brussels or Berlin (to only name a few), but it is getting there slowly and surely. You just have to walk the streets of Barcelona to realize it. There are paintings and sculptures, and many other forms of art to confirm it at every corners of this energetic city.

However, I could continue to talk about the multiple attractive features of Spain for many more paragraphs, but I think I should write another post about it. So let's come back to wine and especially to Rioja.

Despite the fact that my heart belongs to Bordeaux (and my wife and son) and that I absolutely adore Burgundy, I always come back to Rioja. First, because it is not too far from Bordeaux and San Sebastian (both primary destinations every time I 'm back in Europe), and secondly, because there is something magical about it.

I always say that Rioja has something almost unrealistic, a bit like an attraction park or a movie studio. You will understand what I mean if you drive through Rioja, because, (and this only a personal impression), the roads are brand new but everything around it date from the XII and XIII century, which create such a contrast that you could almost believe that the landscape is a decor, somewhat unreal or surreal.

If you leave the main road to take a more country side road to go to San Vicente de la Sonsierra, Laguardia or even Haro, you will suddenly be transported back in time, a more medieval time.

On the side of the road, next to the vineyard, you can still see these little domes made of stone and earth, sort of vineyard workers' hut where they usually rest during the day if the temperature rise to high during summer or just to take a break or stock their vineyard tools. Some of these Stone Domes or Huts date from even before the medieval times. From an historical point of view, Rioja's vineyards and wine culture began with the Phoenician in 11th century BC, and was later firmly established by the Romans (like most of the known vineyards in western Europe).

These Domes are vestige of the long wine producing tradition of the area. Even the villages, like in the medieval times, remain small and nestled on hilltop through out Rioja. They were built and erected on strategic high point to be defendable and some were impregnable. The lord of the village or the region could, that way, overlook the production of his land and protect his people.

Rich in culture and tradition, Rioja is a peaceful wine oasis that any wine and food lovers should visit.

To be continued....

Enjoy,

LeDom du Vin

PS: next time, I will write a bit more about some of my favorites restaurants, hotels and of course wineries in Rioja. I will also give more details on different places that I visited in Ribera del Duero and Priorat (and more)....

Antic Wine: the wine store of a passionate, travelled wine and food lover (JoJo)

Hi everybody,

Recently, I met more and more French and non-French winemakers, producers, Domaine or Chateau owners or simply customers/travelers that seems to all know the same person. A store owner of the old city of Lyon who goes by the name of JoJo.

To my surprise, I give them the same answer everytime: "You know JoJo. I know JoJo too. We used to work together and I followed his adventures for many years before he settled in Lyon. He is a great guys...etc" and usually what was supposed to be a short meeting become a long discussion about wine, food and JoJo.

JoJo (aka Georges de Santos aka The Flying Sommelier) is in fact one the most knowledgeable guy I know in the wine industry. He is also the owner of a small yet overloaded-with-rare-wines-ports-spirits-and-other-gems-from-all-around-the-world store called: Antic Wine.

Often mistaken for TinTin (due to his somewhat resemblance to the famous little reporter from Herge), Georges is funny, super friendly, curious, stubborn in some ways and his personality mixes craziness with ingenuity. Very generous with a big heart, he has many passions and a life-long entertaining relationship with fine wine and food. He knows every single restaurant in Lyon and beyond and eat out in one of them each day, probably more than 360 days a years.

I met JoJo for the first time in 1997 when I landed my first job as a commis-Sommelier at Monte's Private Club in London. JoJo (at this time) was a waiter carrying the trays from the kitchen to the table under the supervision of his Chef de Rang and Maitre D'. The weird thing about this situation is that JoJo did have surely more knowledge about food and wine than any other staff members. He was also the most energetic person I knew but the management wouldn't give him a higher position.

During his break of a few hours (before going back to the restaurant for the evening service), he used to spend most of his time flirting with the best wine store in town in order to find some rare gems and old vintages of wines, ports and even brandy and spirits (from Colheitas and other vintage ports to Cognac and Armagnac, Jerez Sherry, Tokaji Aszu to TrockenBeeren Auslese, etc..), and anything else that could excite his mind and his palate. He was also reading a lot about wine, food and cultures from around the world.

I must say that Georges often enjoyed cooking for his many friends and we spent great times opening dozens or more bottles and smoking Cuban cigars each time we met with the bunch of food and wine lovers that we were back then (most of us were working in the restaurant business as Sommelier, Waiter, Bartender or Chef). These endless lunches or dinners were always memorable moments.

Somewhat frustrated after working as a Waiter, a Cook, a Bartender and a Sommelier in many places around London, he decided that he was time to travel the world in a quest of meeting with some of the most famous Domaines, Chateaux, winemakers, owners, producers, chefs and more. He took him four years to do it but he did it, alone with his backpack, his friendliness and his insatiable need to learn, discover and share mostly everything with people.

JoJo is the only person that I know that, during his trip, just knocked on the door of some of the most famous wineries and was welcome with open arms (without appointment). He also be-friended the owner and the winemaker in many estates that he visited. And many times, instead of just accepting to have lunch or dinner with them (like most people will do), JoJo had his own way: he offered them to cook for them and to prepare the lunch or the dinner for them...Who will dare do such thing except JoJo?...

JoJo came back from his trip and finally settled in Lyon, the Gastronomic Capital of France. He found a small semi-basement in the old part of the town (Le Vieux Lyon) between the 2 most reputed hotels of Lyon: "La Tour Rose" and "La Cour des Loges", and he transformed this little hole in the wall into one of the most soughtafter wine cellars in France with some of the oldest vintages of port available.

There, in his cellar, he opens bottle after bottle everyday. And I'm not talking about your everyday under $10 bottle of wine, I talking about the real deal, worldly famous labels that even collectors dream of opening but keep jealously in their cellar for unique occasions. For JoJo, everyday is a good occasion to open a few of those rare gems and share them with his customers for a more than modest tasting fee, and trust me, people are lining up at the door.

JoJo de-snob or unsnob the myth of ultra recognized labels and unaffordable wine brands. How he does it? First, he buys as much of these difficult-to-find gems everywhere he can, then bring them back to the store and start to open bottles after bottles for his everyday customers. Why he does it? Because he wants to experience each wine himself and share them with friends, connoisseurs and amateurs and especially all the people would will normally not have any access to these bottles.

It is not a question of money for JoJo, it is a question of sharing and enjoying the opened wines and the moment, that's it. No more than that. No fuss, No bullshit, No manners, No bourgeoisie, No aristocracy, No pretension. It is just about the pleasure of opening a very good bottle of wine, taste it and appreciate it for what it is. Ask him about Domaine de La Romanee Conti La Tache, Domaine Leflaive Monrachet, Petrus, Le Pin, Ausone, Cheval Blanc, Penfolds Grange Hermitage, Vega Sicilia, and much more... Ask him, you will see, he tasted them and drink them all, and share them all.

And in my opinion, there should be more people like JoJo to teach the world that wine is an earthy nectar produced by men and women that spend all of their energy, knowledge, patience and skills to craft the best elixir that they can make from the land and terroir that they love, nurture, observe and respect.

In 2006, I was one of the first fan to write a little note in French in his Livre D'Or on his website and to this day, this is one of my favorites notes that I wrote about someone in the wine industry:

"Georges, dit JoJo, il est de ces fous que l'on adore. Curieux, espliegle, bon-vivant et toujours une bone dose d'humour pour epicer le tout. Il est a l'extreme de l'extraordinaire et ivre de passion pour la bouffe, le bon vin, les voyages, les amis et les plaisirs de la vie en general. Avec un coeur gros comme ca et debordant d'energie, ce petit bonhomme vous accueillera dans sa caverne d'Alibaba pour une voyage autour du monde des vins sans precedent. Il vous contera surement certaines de ses aventures et ouvrira pour vous la porte cachee derrriere chacune des etiquettes de sa collection. Merci pour ta joie de vivre, ta generosite et la curiosite qui t'anime. Pleins de bonnes choses et encore Bravo pour avoir accompli l'un de tes plus beau reves. De la part d'un vieux copain Sommelier de Londres." Le Dom (10/06/2006)

It will be difficult to translate it literally, but I think it resume well the man and his passion.

Two years later, I'm still a big fan of Georges and continue to hear about him weekly via the many people that met him and went to his store to share a tasting session with him and his crew.

I will definitely recommend any wine and food lovers to travel to France, forget about Paris and go to Lyon, book a room at "La Tour Rose" or at "La Cour des Loges" and knock on the door of Antic Wine to meet Georges and his knowledgeable crew. You won't be disappointed, and especially you won't regret it.

The shop, Antic wine, is located at 18 Rue du Boeuf, 69005 Lyon France.

You can find more info on his website at: www.anticwine.com

If you go to Lyon and see JoJo, say hello from LeDom (du Vin) de New York.

Enjoy,

LeDom (du Vin)

Wine Travel: T-Edward trip to Bordeaux 09.17.08 to 09.21.08 (4th part)

Friday 09.19.08

I forgot to mention that in the morning before visiting Chateau La Dominique, we went to Jean-Luc Thunevin's Negociant company warehouse in Saint-Magne de Castillon, which was a very good way for us to understand how Jean-Luc's company works. It was an interesting visit that allow us to see many cases of great wines from Bordeaux, but also from italy and Spain, ready to be shipped around the world.  

Lunch

After Chateau La Dominique, we came back in the heart of the village of Saint-Emilion to have lunch at Logis de la Cadenne, a lovely bistro with terrace with one of the best grilled beef on vine shouts in Saint-Emilion (Bavette ou Entrecote a l'echalotte grillee sur sarments de vignes). 

We tasted with the lunch:

2001 Chateau la Clotte Saint-Emilion

Suggested retail price $45-$55

Floral, rose petal, touch of forest floor, leather, light hints of spice with bright red raspberry, cherry fruit. Slightly restraint, it was a bit tight and tannic but the food helped to round up some of the angles.  

and also:

2004 Chateau La Fleur Cardinale Saint-Emilion 

Suggested retail price $45-$55

Very expressive nose of blackberry, ripe raspberry, with hints of leather, licorice, spice. The palate is quite soft and tamed with a good texture and a good structure. Overall very enjoyable and quite open for a 2004 vintage with less tight tannins than I expected. 

We then headed to Pomerol to visit ex- Chateau Vieux Chateau Bourgneuf  renamed "Le Clos du Beau-Pere". 

To be continued...

LeDom  

Wine Travel: T-Edward trip to Bordeaux 09.17.08 to 09.21.08 (3rd part)

Friday 09.19.08

After our visit at Chateau Bel-Air Ouy, we went to Chateau La Dominique. 

Chateau La Dominique Saint-Emilion Grand Cru

Bought by the Fayat family in 1969, Chateau La Dominique is a beautiful property of 24 hectares of vineyards planted in a great Terroir surrounded by prestigious estates: Chateau Cheval Blanc Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classe A (and surely one of the most well known Saint-Emilion in the world with -one of my favorite wines in the world- Chateau Ausone); but also Chateau La Conseillante and Chateau L'evangile a Pomerol. The vineyards are planted with approximately 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. Since 2006, Jean-Luc's team is managing the property for the Fayat family and consult for the final blending with the help of Jean-Philippe Fort. Trained by Michel Rolland, he will replace him as a consultant for La Dominique and will be responsible for the final blend. 

We tasted: 

2006 Chateau La Dominique Saint-Emilion

Suggested retail price $35-$45

A blend 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc, the 2006 vintage is quite floral, with hints of blackberry and cherry, mixed with leather, woody notes. Overall, it is fresh with very good fruit and acidity. The balance is very good and the tannins are young, present but fairly well integrated. Lovely. 80.000 to 100.000 bottles produced. 

As a more personal note, I will say that it was probably one of the best La Dominique I ever tasted. I've been tasting La Dominique for the past 10-11 years, en Primeur but also different vintages in many other occasions and I've never been a great fan of it. It was always lean, thin, dry, austere and often full of green tannins. 2006 is one of the first vintage of La Dominique that I found very good with a good harmony and elegant texture. For sure, the 2006 is not a fruit bomb and will never be, but so far and in my opinion, it is a much more concentrated, balanced and integrated version of any vintage that I tasted before. 

Let's hope Jean-Luc Thunevin and Jean Philippe Fort will revamp this wine and increase the quality, because as Jean-Luc told us when we visit the winery: "When you realize the quality of the soil and Terroir, and where the Chateau is located, you wonder how they never made a much richer, complex wine before. The wine was good but it will only get better and better" Let's say that now La Dominique is in good hands.  

We also tasted:

2001 Chateau La Dominique Saint-Emilion Grand Cru

Suggested retail price $35-$45

There again, I found it quite floral, with expressive red berries notes on the nose. The palate was fresh, fruity without being too ripe, with very good acidity. The attack and mid-palate was quite soft and round, lifted by vivid acidity and enhanced by the woody texture. The finish has some fruit and earthy notes with dry, slightly green tannins. Overall, the wine was good but not great, may be it will take time to soften a bit. It will be interesting to taste it within 2-3 years, but It is sure that 2006 is a much better wine. 

LeDom

 

To be continued...

  

Wine Travel: T-Edward trip to Bordeaux 09.17.08 to 09.21.08 (2nd part)

So, remember, we just finished eating at Jean-Luc Thunevin's house with his wife Murielle who is a fantastic cook and were on our way to the Chateau Bel-Air Ouy to spend the night (that we will also use as a base camp for the next 3 nights and 4 days). 

After choosing our bedrooms within the various bedrooms of the estate (also used as a guest house for visitors like us and a House for rent with all the best conveniences and appliances for group of friends or big family), 

I do not remember if it was on Thursday before the dinner or Friday first thing in the morning, anyhow Jean-Luc gave us a quick tour of the estate and the cellar of Chateau Bel-Air Ouy. 

Chateau Bel-Air Ouy Saint-emilion

Chateau Bel-Air Ouy is a newly renovated Maison Bourgeoise located on the commune of Saint-Etienne de Lisse, next to Fleur Cardinale Grand Cru Saint-Emilion, roughly half way between Saint-Emilion and Castillon la Bataille. 

The back of the estate overlooks a beautiful slope covered with vineyards going down to a little valley surrounded by little hills planted with vineyards, and even more hills fading in the horizon. The view is quite breathtaking on sunny, clear day. Looking to the south-eastern direction, one can see the beginning of the Cotes de Castillon hills and vineyards.

Jean-Luc Thunevin bought this property and vinified the first vintage in 1999. The cellar is also used to make Valandraud and Virginie de Valandraud, and Chateau Prieure Lescours when they were rebuilding the cellar (of Prieure Lescours). Although some people may think that it is the 3rd or 4th wine of Valandraud, it only shares the same cellar and the same care and vinification, but it is a totally different beast.   

Vinification: The 6,5 hectares of vineyard are planted on clay and limestone. The average age of the vines is 30 years. They produce about 30.000 bottles. The cellar includes temperature controlled, cone shaped stainless steel tanks with double wall for a better control of temperature during fermentation with cold or hot water (running through the double wall). It also includes cone / oval shaped concrete tanks (better for inertia between wine and air). For your info, these concrete tanks that weight a few tones each were actually slowly rolled in the cellar (on rounded wooden beam) to avoid cracks. Like most of the wines of Jean-Luc, the wine of Chateau Bel-Air Ouy is aged in 100% new barrels from different barrel coopers: Saury, Seguin, Demptos, Radoux, Ameline and more). 

   

Before I carry on with the rest of my trip to Bodeaux with T-edward hosted by Jean-Luc Thunevin and his wife, I'd like to give you more info about these two great persons that I discovered during this trip:

Jean-Luc Thunevin, his wife Murielle Andraud and their wines. 

It apparently all started in 1989, when Jean-Luc and Murielle bought 0.6 hectares of vines on the side of a little road touching the village of Saint-Emilion, near Chateau Pavie-Macquin. Over the next few coming years, they acquired a few more small parcels in diverse locations around Saint-Emilion (in the valley next to the Dordogne river at Saint-Sulpice de Faleyrens where the soil is more sandy, but also in Saint-Etienne-de-Lisse on the limestone plateau east of Saint-Emilion, Medoc, and more recently Pomerol and Languedoc-Roussillon). 

It is during these first difficult years that they bought a small garage in the heart of downtown Saint-Emilion to be used as a house and a winery. Within a few years, they also bought the 2 houses next door (that they combined in one since then) where they still live. The old house / garage has been totally revamped and is now only dedicated to make wine. The living quarters, located next door, are still quite simple, but much nicer, warm, cosy and inviting than what they must have been in this little rearranged garage. 

For those of you who have some difficulties to understand, Chateau Valandraud and Virginie de Valandraud and 3 of Valandraud are 3 wines made out of grapes grown in many different parcels around Saint-Emilion. These parcels were bought over many years, one at the time, by a motivated and passionate Jean-Luc Thunevin, supported by his wife and driven by an insatiable ambition to succeed and achieve his dreams. Remember that Jean-Luc started with barely nothing, didn't even have the money to buy his first parcel of vines and was considered like an outsider for years.

Made in this little garage including minimum equipment, with barely no money, only the precious tips of Alain Vauthier (Owner of Chateau Ausone and great friend of Jean-Luc), and from the passion and efforts of two dedicated characters (Jean-Luc and his wife Murielle) managing primitively the fruit of a small plot of vines, Valandraud was born and the first released vintage was in 1991. 

The name Valandraud is a combination of two words: Vallee (name after the location of the first parcel located in the vallee of the village of Saint-Emilion) and Andraud which is his wife family name (in the name of love...). 

Michel Bettane, one of the most influential and leading french wine critics (who, by the way, invented the therm "garagiste" after Jean-Luc and a small group of other innovative producers / winemakers of the Bordeaux region) and Robert Parker Jr. (the Wine Advocate and also the most well known wine critic in the world) described them as the pioneer of the "Vin de Garage" movement.

Although, the Thienpont family with Le Pin may have been one the precursor of this movement in the 70's with their 2 hectares in Pomerol and already low yield, the Thunevins were surely and somewhat accidentally (because they didn't have any other choice, no other place to make their wine and no money to buy the proper equipment, build the proper cellar or even purchase more wine) the first to bare the name as garagiste in Saint-Emilion, others, like Michel Gracia and many more, quickly followed the movement.    

And the rest is history. In 1995, Robert Parker Jr. gave a higher rating to Chateau Valandraud than Petrus, which suddenly was considered as one of the best and finest Saint-Emilion Grand Cru almost at the rank of Chateau Ausone and Chateau Cheval-Blanc. The Thunevins slowly and constantly increased their prices. They started to see the looks of people (of Saint-Emilion first) changed by the mid 90's, from badly considered and criticized they became adulated and showed as an example, a model of winemaker making richer, more concentrated and somewhat less traditional wines. A new era of winemaking and winemakers awaked on the right bank of Bordeaux.      

Since then Jean-Luc Thunevin (the limitless, passionate workaholic) and Murielle Andraud (his lovely wife, chef de cuisine, also winemaker and fervent supporter of her husband) have bought quite a few more parcels and properties. They also manage a few, even if the they don't own them, consult for a few more and still find the time to take good care of their Negociant company distributing some the greatest estate of our world: Chateau Ausone, Dominio de Pingus and many more.  

I could write much more about everything that I learn about them and all the great moments that I shared with them during this little trip, but so many people have already wrote hundreds of pages on books and on internet (you can even read more on Jean-Luc's blog at http://thunevin.blogspot.com), so I will just continue (in some other posts on my "Wine and Colors" blog) to develop my story of these few days spent in their company.  

And to conclude this post, I just would like to personally thanks them for what they are: two fantastic, generous and down to hearth persons who worked very hard and devoted all their time, patience and courage to arrive where they are now. Bravo! and Thank you again for you, your personalities, your wines and your beliefs. 

A tres bientot, I hope, in Brooklyn, New York or even Bordeaux. 

Merci, 

LeDom (aka Dominique) 

To be continued...