It is sad when something you have always believed in turns out to be false. I suppose I am not the only one having learned early on that the fog that causes noble rot in Sauternes occurs when cold water from the small river Ciron meets the warmer waters of the Garonne. Now I learn [...]
Tag Archives | Bordeaux
Time to discover white Bordeaux wines from Entre deux Mers
BKWine was recently in the jury for the annual competition for white Bordeaux wines. The wines that competed were all from the appellation Entre-deux-Mers. Here they make fresh and very pleasant white wines in a very reasonable price range. And with a wide range of flavours depending on whether it is sauvignon blanc or sémillon [...]
Exciting and affordable wines from Entre-deux-Mers in Bordeaux
BKWine judges the annual wine competition for white Bordeaux. And an intro to the Entre deux Mers appellation We tasted several exciting white Bordeaux wines from Entre-deux-Mers competition recently. BKWine was one of the judges in the Top Vin competition which is organized every year. Here is a brief introduction to Entre-deux-Mers, and a selection [...]
Are you interested in learning more about wine or about wine and photography?
We are thinking about two new travel projects: a wine tour including a wine course; and a wine tour combined with a photography workshop. The “wine course” project is simply a “normal” wine tour with many visits to wine producers combined with a number of more structured sessions of teaching wine theory as well as [...]
Chateau Lestrille wins award in wine tourism
Best of Wine Tourism is a prestigious international competition that promotes wine tourism initiatives. One of the awards for this year has been given to Chateau Lestrille, one of the estates we often visit on our Bordeaux wine tours. The chateau is run be the young female winemaker Estelle Roumage, with the help of her [...]
No Château d’Yquem 2012
There will be no 2012 vintage of Château d’Yquem, the most famous Sauternes chateau. The conditions for the development of noble rot was bad this year, and the chateau’s director Pierre Lurton would rather refrain from making an Yquem wine than to make one with little concentration. Last time it happened was in 1992, says [...]
White dry Bordeaux from André Lurton
We love dry white Bordeaux wines and hope that more people will discover how delicious they are. This summer we had the opportunity to visit some of the Lurton chateaux (there are several) in Entre-deux-Mers and Pessac-Léognan in Bordeaux and taste the wines. André Lurton is a big producer of white dry white wines in [...]
Saint Emilion and Stradivarius for lunch
In late October we were invited by Bernard Magrez to a luxurious lunch at Le Cinq, star restaurant at the Hôtel Georges V in Paris. We were there to celebrate several things. Bernard Magrez’ Château Fombrauge in Saint Emilion had just been given its new classification, Grand Cru Classé, and he had only a few [...]
A super-Tuscan with Bordeaux links
Eric Albada Jelgersma owns Chateau Giscours and Château du Tertre in Margaux in Bordeaux. But he had, apparently, money left to spend so some years back this rich Dutchman started a winery in Tuscany, on the coast, not far from where many of the “super-tuscan” wines are made. This past autumn we found our way [...]
One more classified biodynamic chateau in Médoc: Château Durfort-Vivens
Château Pontet-Canet in Pauillac was the first and Château Durfort-Vivens in Margaux will probably be the second Grand Cru Classé in Médoc to become biodynamically certified. Durfort-Vivens was made as second growth (deuxième grand cru classé) in the Bordeaux classification of 1855. Owner Gonzague Lurton has worked biodynamically on part of the vineyard since 2009. [...]
Bordeaux wines from the 2000 vintage. Are they still good?
Roberson Wine recently launched an internet based wine shop targeting the Swedish consumer market, as well as one in the UK. The Roberson selection is focused on top-level and exclusive wine. They introduced their activity to Swedish wine lovers by organising a tasting of rare Bordeaux wines from the 2000 vintage. BKWine’s reporter Wilhelm Arnör [...]
Château de Chantegrive, Graves | BKWine Pick
Château de Chantegrive is one of the few really big chateaux in AC Graves (the other big ones are in Pessac-Leognan), with 90 hectares of vines. This is also the star of the Graves appellation (and one of our big favourites). The chateau is a family owned and is run by Hélène Lévêque. It was [...]
Chinese buyer acquires classed growth in Saint Emilion
The purchase is now said to have been officially approved and confirmed: For the first time a Chinese buyer has acquired a classed growth chateau in Saint Emilion. It is far from the first chateau to land in Chinese hands but it has never before been a case of such a prestigious name. It is [...]
Luxury: nine top-class Bordeaux clarets from the legendary 2000 vintage
A tasting from the Roberson Wine’s selection Roberson Wine recently launched an internet based wine shop targeting the Swedish consumer market, as well as one in the UK. The Roberson selection is focused on top-level and exclusive wine. They introduced their activity to Swedish wine lovers by organising a tasting of rare Bordeaux wines from [...]
A few late-summer days in Bordeaux
One cannot complain when one stands on the terrasse in the late-summer sunshine and look out over the chateau’s garden. With a perfectly chilled four year old white Bordeaux wine from one of the very top estates in the Graves. And then sit down for lunch in the chateau’s private dining room to enjoy a [...]
The (still) very strange story of the Saint Emilion classification
Illegal and invalid classification, says Chateau Croque Michotte It seems we have not seen the end of the debate around the new Saint Emilion classification (read our story). It was probably not very far from a classification that everyone could be happy with and not complain about. (Almost) no-one was downgraded. Lots of chateaux were [...]
Chateau Bellefont Belcier snapped up by Chinese buyer
The Chateau Bellefont-Belcier is said to be on the verge of being sold to a Chinese buyer, or perhaps already sold. It is also said to be the first “classified growth” to have been sold to a Chinese. The price has not been published but it is believed that classified chateau in Saint Emilion fetches [...]
The new Saint Emilion Classification
All the details and a critical review Saint Emilion has just announced the new classification of the chateaux. It has been a long time coming; the classification should be renewed every 10 years but this has been much delayed due to legal wrangling. The new classification includes some substantial changes but perhaps not dramatic surprises, [...]
Should Bordeaux (or the French) have a monopoly on the term “chateau”?
Another example of outrageous protectionism or justified worries about consumer protection? The Bordeaux producers, or more precisely the Fédération des Grands Vins de Bordeaux (FGVB), the Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux (CIVB, who sent the press release) as well as the Confédération Nationale des AOC (CNAOC) is incensed by a discussion between the EU [...]
Château Franc-Mayne, Saint Emilion Grand Cru | BKWine Pick
This is a small and beautiful estate, situated very close to the pretty town of Saint Emilion. The wines here, made with merlot as the main grape variety, are classic Bordeaux wines that age beautifully for at least 12-15 years. We had a Franc Mayne 1995 for dinner the other day and it was delicious. [...]
What’s on at BKWine Tours (august 2012)
“World’s Top Wine Tours” – Travel + Leisure Magazine, on TravelAndLeisure.com 2012 wine tour program Bordeaux 19-23 September Tuscany 10-14 October Champagne 14-18 November 2013 wine tour program Chile & Argentina, 4-19 February 2013 South Africa, 1-11 March 2013 For more information please contact us on email or on phone (we’re on French time), or [...]
Château Margaux in an experimental mood
More on Bordeaux. They have been doing some interesting experiments at Château Margaux reveals The Wine Sleuth, an interesting wine blog. At a tasting in London Paul Pontallier, director and wine maker at the chateau, talked about his experiments with organic and biodynamic wine growing on part of the estate. The participants tasted blind three [...]
Beginning of the end for the primeur sales? Chateau Latour quits
Talking about primeur wines (previous note on Lafite), Château Latour has announced its intention to stop selling its wines en primeur, that is to say, in spring following the harvest. Vintage 2011 will be the last vintage they sell in this manner. Instead they will sell their wines when they are ready to be drunk. [...]
Lafite Rothschild 50 % cheaper than last year. A bargain?
In early April journalists and wine merchants tasted the new vintage, the 2011, during one week in Bordeaux. This is called the primeur tastings. The wines are not ready to drink yet, of course, they still have at least a year and probably more to spend in oak barrels, but this is the Bordeaux way [...]
James Bond’s original favourite drink
We read in Drink Business that alcoholic beverages are a frequent ingredient in the James Bond movies. No big news. However, maybe you would think that dry martini is the most frequent drink, seeing how well established Bond’s shaken-not-stirred-martini is. That is wrong however. Drink Business has counted, both in the books and in the [...]
All time high for Bordeaux export
Le Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bordeaux , CIVB, has recently published the 2011 export figures for Bordeaux. And the figures are impressive and actually the highest ever. 2.16 million hectolitres of Bordeaux were exported during 2011, an increase from 2010 by 22% . The value of the export has also increased, by 30%, to [...]
The Bordeaux Grand Cru Classé 1855 classification
The Bordeaux Grand Cru Classé 1855 classification is old but still going strong. What ever feelings you have about the fact that a classification that was made more than 150 years ago is still valid, you have to admit that it is an achievement. I doubt that the people of the Chamber of Commerce in [...]
11 wine regions to discover (or rediscover) during 2012
We probably all have a tendency sometimes to choose the wine that sounds familiar or what happens to be easiest to find on the shelf. Here is a list to encourage you to look for those things that are a bit more off the beaten path in terms of wine regions. In no particular order. [...]
11 wine regions to discover (or rediscover) during 2012
We probably all have a tendency sometimes to choose the wine that sounds familiar or what happens to be easiest to find on the shelf. Here is a list to encourage you to look for those things that are a bit more off the beaten path in terms of wine regions. 1. Apulia, southern Italy [...]
Fine Magazine on Bordeaux, exclusively for readers of The Brief
Fine Magazine is a super-luxury-premium wine magazine (that is actually published in Finland!). Their latest issue is a special celebration of Bordeaux wines. The write, among other things, about “the 100 Best Bordeaux Wines Ever Made” (well, let the hyperbole pass for this time). There are articles on several of the most exclusive estates: Château [...]
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