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Swedish version available here (click this link).
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Welcome to the
BKWine Brief nr 48, July 2007 |
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This year the summer seems
to have been very short. I’ve just spent a week in the southern Rhône
and the Languedoc, enjoying sunshine and warm temperatures. Back in
Paris we have autumn weather. Is summer already over? This will be a
very strange wine harvest and vintage. Where I was, in the south of
France, most wine growers seemed very happy with the year so far –
expecting a medium size but good harvest. But further north the
situation is much more difficult. Much rain and cold weather with all
the dangers and difficulties with diseases and uneven ripening that it
will lead to.
If you are a wine grower you probably have to be a bit of an artist in
doing all sorts of things. One of the growers we met in the Rhône valley
had just opened a bed-and-breakfast (or chambres d’hôte as it’s called
here); another was growing fruit in addition to the wine (and using the
fruit cold storage to refrigerate the grapes if weather was hot during
harvest). A third put a lot of effort into selling direct to the
consumers at the door and sold more than half of his production in the
winery shop – with correspondingly higher margins. Everything helps….
Wine points pointless?
You can read more on wine ratings in the article in the Wall Street
Journal that you’ll find in the ‘link tips’ section below. But the
question certainly has a point. Yes, it can be interesting and
“convenient” with wine ratings sometimes. But in many ways it is unfair
and unjust to reduce a wine to a simple score. Because you can’t really
rate a wine with a number. Read for example in the WSJ article about the
wine that once had a top score in the Wine Spectator and a bit later
only had a very moderate score. The same wine. What had happened?
Nothing really. And you should certainly not blame the WS and say that
they are incompetent wine judges. It’s just that you simply can “rate”
(or taste) a wine differently at different occasions. On top of that,
different persons have different tastes and appreciate different wines.
Some like Burgundy and others like Amarone. Some like elegance others
prefer structure. And Parker does not have the same taste as Jancis
(Robinson) who does not have the same taste as (Hugh) Johnson who does
not have the same taste as BKWine…
Another illustration: in a wine competition in south America the
organisers decided one year that all members of the jury should come
from England. No doubt a clever move to get some added international
attention. But when the medal winning wines were announced they
scratched their heads in South America. How could those wines win? Well,
no doubt because the taste is different in South America and in England.
(And in France, the US, Germany, Hong Kong, etc.)
So perhaps the best thing would be to scrap points ratings? But
nevertheless, at BKWine we do use a rating system sometimes, albeit not
often on these pages. But I encourage you to read the descriptions and
comments rather than the point rating for a wine, and to not only buy
top rated wines but also give the lowers ratings a chance – the “rater”
may have had a bad day or may have a different taste than you. And best
of all – don’t bother with what some “experts” say, taste the wines
yourself and judge for yourself and you will discover many wonderful
things in the wine world.
[you can comment on this
in the BKWine Brief Blog]
Wine tours
We’re working on the program for next season and you will soon find more
information on it on the site. You can already get a sneak preview of
the first trip of the year in 2008: a luxury tour with truffles, foie
gras and wine. More info below.
Custom made trips, events, educational tours,...
I also do custom made tours – designed specifically to your
requirements. If, for example, you’d like to take some people from your
company on an exciting and unusual trip with (among other things
perhaps) wine and gastronomy on the agenda. Or if you want to take a
customer or a business partner on a special event. Or if you’re part of
a wine tasting club that celebrates an anniversary. Or if you run a wine
education program, perhaps you'd be interested in a specifically
targeted educational trip. Or… I can organise the whole trip for you,
custom designed as you wish, or I can do a specific event that can fit
into a bigger organisation, e.g. a day trip to champagne to lighten up a
conference in Paris, or a wine and gastronomy dinner… Give me a call or
send me an email if you are interested to know more.
Britt
PS: Recommend to your
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All previous
issues of the Brief are here:
Archive
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News from BKWine |
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 Wine Tours
 | 26-30 September: Côte
d'Or, the heart of Burgundy
 Over the course of a long weekend we will take a close look at the heart
of Burgundy: la Côte d’Or de Bourgogne, the Golden Slope of Burgundy. Our
visits will give you expert insight into the important aspects of Burgundy
wines: soil, geology, viticulture, and vinification.
More info!
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| 17-21 October: Portugal –
Alentejo
Portugal have been making great strides in improving wine quality over the
last decade and the Alentejo region is one of the most dynamic (albeit one
of the least known). There are many ambitious wine makers in the region,
both traditional Portuguese "houses" and modern ventures. And this is also
where you find the vast Portuguese cork oak forests and the delicious Pata
Negra ham.
More info! |
Spring 2008
program sneak release
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13-17 February 2008: Truffles
Foie Gras and Wine
 It's
not officially released yet, but we can give you a sneak preview. On
February 13-17 we will organise an exclusive Truffles Hunting, Wine and
Gastronomy tour (including foie gras) to the Perigord district in South West
France. We'll go "hunting" for truffles with specially trained truffles dogs
and we'll end the morning with a magnificent all-truffles lunch... An we'll
also visit a number of interesting wine producers in the region of course.
You'll soon find more info here:
More info soon! |
 Finnish
Wine Tours - Viinimatkoja Ranskan viinialueille!
 Tours
on the schedule (in Finnish):
| 26.-30. syyskuuta:
Viinimatka Alsaceen
More info here!
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| 17-21
oktober: Portugal – Alentejo |
You can find the pictures on
www.bkwine.com/wine_pictures/photo_galleries.htm |
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Recommendations |
| A selection of
what we have tried, tasted or visited recently.
□
Producers
Château Pech Latt, Philippe
Mathias, Corbières
  A
narrow road from the village Lagrasse in the Corbières leads to Chateau Pech
Latt, owned by the Burgundy house Louis Max. The winery and vineyard is
manage by the enthusiastic oenolog Philippe Mathias. It’s a big vineyard –
120 ha, 100 of which are planted with vines – all in a single plot, and
without any close neighbours. “An advantage”, says Philippe “when you want
to run the vineyard organically”, which they do since 1991. 90% of the
production goes on export. “Selling Languedoc wines in France is difficult.
The French ’drink the label’” Philippe explains, using the expression
“buveurs d’etiquettes” – all the worse for the French we can only say.
Balance is a central theme for Philippe, balance in the vineyard, between
different plants and animals, and balance in the wine cellar. Pech Latt
Cuvée Tradition make up 85% of the production, made from 50% Carignan and
some Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvèdre. A wine with distinct typicity, deep
colour and powerful bouquet, a good structure with quite a healthy dose of
ripe tannins and notes of the local garrigue herbs. Other cuvées: Vieille
Vignes, dominated by Carignan, and Cuvée Alix that has been aged 16 months
in wood. Excellent and good value wines.
Click here for address and more recommendations.
Domaine de Triennes,
Provence
  Triennes
is a property that has attracted quite a lot of attention lately although it
carries the quite modest appellation of Vin de Pays du Var. But you should
not be fooled by the humble origin – the wines are excellent and interesting
and we would be surprised if they were not. The winery was founded by two
Burgundy legends: Aubert de Villaine (Domaine de la Romanée Conti), Jacques
Seysses (Domaine Dujac in Morey St Denis), together with Michel Macaux. In
1990 they bought a rather run-down property between Aix-en-Provence and
Brignoles and gave it the name Triennes, after the name used for a roman
wine feast (and perhaps the fact that they were three partners?). They did
some replanting with Chardonnay on soil that was similar to Burgundy, Syrah
on soil that was more iron and clay rich, and Merlot on a flat but well
drained plot that reminded them of St Emilion. Domaine de Triennes now makes
very good wines at very affordable prices – the powerful and well structured
Cuvée Sainte Auguste, made from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, Les Auréliens
from Syrah and Cabernet, and the white Sainte Fleure from Viognier, a
full-bodied wine with a fresh acidity and notes of ripe apricot and flowers.
Click here for address and more recommendations.
Read about more recommended
producers on the site:
Favourite Producers
□ Wine
Bars and Restaurants
Paris:
Le Brandevin, Paris 16
A classic Parisian bistro – crowded and with a great and friendly atmosphere
and good service. The emphasis is on classic French cuisine – main courses
are mostly meat, for example côte de Boeuf (T-bone steak style), entrecôte,
escalope de veau (veal with morel sauce), steak tartare, filet de boeuf.
Prices for a main course vary between 18 and 22 euro, starters around 7 euro
Click here for address and more recommendations.
Helsingborg:
Lagmark, Helsingborg
 A
popular watering hole in the coastal town of Helsingborg, open for lunch and
dinner, or for just a glass of wine. The popular tapas, called ‘gourmetas’,
are world famous in Helsingborg – two or three makes a nice lunch, for
example in classic Swedish style with marinated herring and egg,
“skagenröra” (with a creamy mix of shrimps), or a thick slice of salmon.
Each is charged the very affordable price of 24 kr. If weather is good (so
not this summer) you can enjoy sitting outside on the newly renovated
square.
Click here for address and more recommendations.
Read more recommendations on
restaurants and winebars on
my Restaurant and Wine Bar page. |
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News from the Wine World |
Still dear
Bordeaux?
 Many
more primeur prices have now (finally) been ”released”. Hardly any bargains
for the wine lover. Here are some examples (R = release price from the
winery per bottle; C = estimated merchant price in England): Château
Mouton-Rothschild (R=270€, C=£3200), Lafite-Rothschild (R=270€, C=£3200),
Margaux (R=275€), Latour (R=275€) and Haut Brion (R=275€, C=£2950). And a
bit more: Ch Ausone (R=450€, C=£7500).
Decanter.comUSA
tops the cognac list
The top ten export markets for cognac is quite an interesting read
(source BNIC):
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USA
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Singapore
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UK
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Germany
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China
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Russia
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Finland
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Hong-Kong
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Norway
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Japan
All markets grew during 2006, except Finland (-2.1%) and Japan (14.9%). Just
over 50% of exports are of the VS (youngest) category.
Wine region-of-the-month:
Muscadet
Muscadet is a wine region in the westernmost Loire valley
| A total of 13,000 hectares
and 91 communes |
| The appellation was created
in 1936. There are now four ACs: Muscadet (3400ha), Muscadet Sèvre et
Maine (8800ha), M. Coteaux de la Loire (200 ha), and M Côtes de Grandlieu
(300ha) |
| 700,000 hl is produced
annually, exclusively from the grape variety Melon de Bourgogne, also
called Muscadet |
| Some Muscadet is made “sur
lie”: it requires (for example) that the wine has been kept on the lees
until bottling. This should give the wine added freshness and aromas. Some
40% of all Muscadet is sur lie. |
| The soil is very varied:
schist, micaschiste, granite, sand and gravel. |
Champagne Duval-Leroy
appoints new female winemaker
 Not
many champagne houses have a female winemaker. But now there is one that is
both owned and managed by a woman as well as having a female winemaker.
Duval-Leroy recently appointed Sandrine Logette-Jardin to “chef de caves”
and thus responsible for the wines at this family-owned house. Logette-Jardin
is with Duval-Leroy since 1991. The company is owned and managed by Carol
Duval-Leroy.
Does the minister drink?
There was some concern in wine circles in France after the appointment
of Christine Lagarde as agricultural minister after the French presidential
elections. The magazine L’Express had written that the new minister did not
drink wine and wine being one of the main agricultural sectors, it raised
questions. However, it turned out that the information was false and that
the minister does drink wine (as BKWine can attest, having seen her sip a
glass of champagne at a press conference recently). Shortly after, Lagarde
was promoted finance minister.
Lower yields = better wines.
Or?
 The
ruling has been confirmed that raises the yield in Champagne to 15,000
kg/ha. Very few people (in France) counts in kg/ha so if we translate it to
hectolitres per hectare it equates to 100 hl/ha. (In Bordeaux, as a
comparison, the yield is usually around 40-50 hl/ha.) Perhaps it has to do
with that champagne is selling just as fast as the corks pop these days and
that there is no land to increase the cultivated area, so the only
possibility for expansion is higher yields? (For the wine nerd: Rendement de
Base is now 12,400 kg/ha (up from 10,400) and the Rendement Butoir is 15,500
kg/ha (up from 13,000).).
Chambertin Grand Cru with
screw cap
 The
Burgundy producer Jean-Claude Boisset has launched two top level wines with
screw cap: a Chambertin Grand Cru and a Beaune Premier Cru Les Bressandes.
Both are from the vintage 2005. Boisset calls it “a provocation?”.
Boisset.com
EU and Australia writes new
wine agreement
A new wine agreement has just been signed by the EU and Australia. It
stipulates e.g. that Australian wine producers will no longer be able to use
European regulated place names for their wines, such as for example Moselle,
Chablis, Champagne or Port. It also says that the EU will recognise
Australian wine making practices and will allow wines to be sold in the EU
even if they do not follow European regulations, as long as they follow
Australian rules (for example, in Australia de-alcoholising wine is allowed
but not in the EU). In both cases the rules are reciprocal (i.e. European
producers will not be allowed to use Australian place names etc).
Moth threatens American
grape harvest
The light-brown apple moth can devastate fruit plantations – both grape
crops and other fruit such as apple (obviously), apricots, and tomatoes. The
moth has not previously existed in North America but has been spotted in
nine different counties in California since the beginning of the year, e.g.
in Napa. Wine and fruit growers fear the worst and traps as well as
pesticides have started to be used.
Telegraph.co.uk. See it
here
France’s oldest vineyard
Archaeologists have found what is believed to be France’s oldest
vineyard dating back to 10 AD. They have identified fragments of the
fermentation tanks and water channels that are said to have been used for
temperature control. The winery includes a roman villa and a 200m2 swimming
pool in the garden.
Decanter.com
Small demonstration in
Languedoc against the EU wine reform
Only 300 participants in the demonstration on Monday in Béziers
(Languedoc) protesting against the upcoming EU reform of the wine support
program. Most producer organisations had preferred to await the official
presentation which is expected this week. The demonstrators demanded more
protectionist custom barriers and guaranteed minimum prices for the
producers. It would perhaps be more productive to focus the energy on making
quality wine and on selling it to consumers?
MidiLibre.com
World’s finest collection of
Yquem for sale
Do you have a sweet tooth? Then you should note September 28 in your
agenda. On that date Nils Stormy will sell his unique collection of Chateau
d’Yquem at auction at Zachys in New York. Stormby has over many years
amassed the world’s finest collection of the legendary sweet wine from
Bordeaux. And now he thinks it is time to sell it – rather than having some
less wine interested heirs gulp it down to ice cream…
www.zachys.com
Conference on competition
and the future in the wine industry
”Competitive Forces Affecting the Wine and Winegrape Industries” is the
full title of the conference organised at US Davis wine university in
California. Indeed an interesting theme. More info:
http://wineconferenceaugust07.ucdavis.edu/
V&S Vin & Sprit up for sale
The Swedish government has confirmed its willingness to sell the
government owned wine and spirits importer and producer V&S Vin & Sprit.
Many suitors are expected, not least because Vin & Sprit owns one of the
world’s leading vodka brands, Absolut. Speculations include Diageo, Pernod
Ricard, Fortune Brands, and even the Finnish state owned Altia Corporation.
The price tag is estimated to around $5-6 billion. Well, it’s high time that
the Swedish government gets out of the business of producing and selling
spirits to the international market - often in blatant conflict with Swedish
public health policies.
Would you like to buy a
vineyard in France?
Then you have a vast range of prices to choose from. Some examples of
prices per hectare:
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Champagne: 627,000€ (the only region where prices are up this year)
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Alsace: 133,000€ (curiously second most expensive)
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Bordeaux: 56,000€ (which actually is under the national average. But
variations are enormous, from Champagne levels down to almost nothing)
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Fronton: 10,000€ (Oh, you don’t know where it is? Exactly. It’s a small
region near Toulouse in southern France that makes very nice wines from an
unusual grape variety called Negrette. But which is not very good at
marketing.)
Bordeaux.com in new clothes
Bordeaux.com, the ”official” site for Bordeaux wines, have had a
thorough redesign. You will find information on appellations, the
classification system, the history of Bordeaux wines, varietals, winemaking
methods, vintages, how to discover the region etc.
Bordeaux.com
►►
Best insider tip to discover Bordeaux:
Travel with BKWine.
English wines win prizes
The recently held competition for English wines saw record number of
contestants and better wines than ever, according to the organisers. 142
wines were awarded medals. “Wine of the Year” was awarded to Camel Valley
Vineyard for its sparkling Cornwall Pinot Noir Rosé 2004. Camel Valley won
three of the eight gold medals, the others going to Chapel Down Wines,
Ickworth Vineyard, and Ridgeview Wine Estate. All prize winners:
www.englishwineproducers.com
Do you want to work in the
vineyard during the harvest?
Vinomedia has a page for those who wants to find a job in the vineyard
during the harvest. NB: its not a vacation pastime but real and hard working
harvest job. For the future harvest hands:
Vino-Media.org/vendanges/
Have a news
item you'd like to see here or have a news tip? Send me an email:
winebrief@bkwine.com |
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Book Reviews |
| No new book
reviews this month but don't forget that we have a whole section on the web
site dedicated to book reviews and recommendations. See below.
Click here for more book reviews on my site. You will also
find links to on-line book shops on that page. |
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Link Tips |
Some wine sites
that you might enjoy visiting:
Send us suggestions on sites to
be included here:
winebrief@bkwine.com |
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Agenda |
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France:
- -
Sweden:
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4-6/9, Gothenburg:
Wine & Spirtis Expo
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15/9, Malmo: Prowine wine show,
www.prowine.se
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1/10, Stockholm, Spanish Wine
Fair,
spanskaviner.se
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3/10, Göteborg, Spanish Wine
Fair,
spanskaviner.se
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13/10, 2007, Östersund:
Munskänkarna's wine fair
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- - UK,
Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Denmark,...:
Wine auction
agendas:
Something we've missed? Send us suggestions for events to be added here:
winebrief@bkwine.com |
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Post Scriptum |
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 Copyright
©
Britt Karlsson, BKWine
www.bkwine.com
info@bkwine.com
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