Beating the Bordeaux Blues

So, how are your purchases of 2009 Bordeaux futures coming along? If, like me, you decided to sit out the hysteria this year (the prices are epic and the hysteria just as epic), you may be feeling a little blue. For me, its budgetary. I just don't eat enough of the kind of food that goes with a fantastic bottle of aged Bordeaux to warrant the splurge. Riesling or Champagne? That's another matter.

It's not that I don't like the taste of Bordeaux wines--I do. But I think I've got enough 2003 bottles in my cellar (none of which will be ready to drink for another few years) to keep me going.

Meanwhile, if you are watching/listening/participating in the 2009 Futures Follies, you may want a nice bottle of Bordeaux to go with it. Here are two bottles--one unusual bottle from Bordeaux and one Bordeaux-like bottle from California--that will help see you through the process.

The first bottle I'm recommending is the 2007 Château Tire Pé DieM ($7.99, Garagiste; available currently for $10-$14) This is not your father's Bordeaux, but it's just fantastic. Imagine, if you will, the vinous love child of a wine from Bordeaux and one from the Beaujolais and you've pretty much got this wine. It's a classic blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon that oozes personality and old world charm but is much lighter in weight than most bottlings from this part of France, which tend to be heavy, complex, and age-worthy. The first impression of the wine is crushed raspberries, some soil, and some rocks--very Beaujolais, in my book. The feeling of the wine is silky in the mouth. Then the funkier notes kick in, along with some vegetal greenness, some spice, and a hint of pencil lead--all very Bordeaux. And it's a terrific excellent QPR buy that certainly constitutes a great candidate for a house red (and when was the last time you said THAT about 2007 Bordeaux??) For food pairings, think of any foods you would pair with Gamay or Cabernet Franc, such as roasted chicken, sausages, or pork.

If you are looking for a heavier, more complicated wine made with true Bordeaux style, reach for the 2007 Trefethen Double T (available for $16-28) from the Napa Valley. I was extremely pleased with this blend that includes all five classic Bordeaux varieties. The wine was unusually complex for an excellent QPR bottling, with cassis, plum, and tobacco leaf aromas. Layered cassis, graphite, and herbal notes are present in the flavors, with a juicy aftertaste that lingers long enough to invite you back for another taste. Excellent with heartier fare, like this molasses/mustard marinated pork tenderloin.

Full Disclosure: I received the Trefethen Double-T as a sample.

Old World/New World: Comparing 2003 Cabernets

The summer puts me within arms' reach of my wine cellar--a long windowseat in a house in the woods that that never goes above 60 degrees. (you can see the tell-all pictures here) Every wine bottle I unearth has some history attached to it--where I bought it, when, why--and it feels like greeting an old friend to see them again.

While puttering in the windowseat I found two bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines from the 2003 vintage that had entered my cellar the same month--December 2006. One was from France's Haut-Médoc region in the Bordeaux. The other was from California's Alexander Valley. I decided to grill some steaks and open both bottles to compare their taste and their readiness for drinking. I like experimenting with cellaring wines, and usually find that my patience is rewarded.

The first wine, the 2003 Château Cantemerle, cost me $20.99 from K & L Wines. I purchased several bottles in April 2006 as Bordeaux futures. They arrived in December 2006 and were promptly stored in my windowseat cellar. Even six years after harvest and with two and a half years of cellaring I think it might have been a bit early to open up this wine, which is made from a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. When I pulled the cork, there were aromas of earthy funk and leather. Over the course of the evening, plum and cassis aromas and flavors were added to the earthiness, along with some herbal notes. What I most liked about this wine was its silky texture, and the way the wine tasted like a cross between a Burgundy and Bordeaux. The wine was still awkward, though, a little like a gawky adolescent. Nevertheless, I think it represented very good QPR for Bordeaux, and will be interested to see how the other bottles develop over the next 2-4 years.

I purchased the second wine, the 2003 Chateau Souverain Cabernet Sauvignon, in December 2006 at Costco. The price was $14.99, and it's been waiting in my cellar ever since. I expected this bottle to be a bit more integrated and really hitting its stride--and it was. Alexander Valley Cabernets are (in my opinion) a bit "old world" in style, so I was ready for the initially strong aromas of cassis and bell pepper that I associate with red wines from this part of California. As time passed, however, there were more plummy and cassis aromas and flavors, accompanied by some toasty oak, and the vegetal notes faded. I liked this wine's lushness, and its cinnamon-inflected finish. All in all, I thought it was excellent QPR for the price paid and was glad that I'd let the wine sit as long as it did before opening it up. Right now the wine's compexity is evident. If you have any of this wine in your cellar, I suggest opening it up now or over the next two years.

If you've got some 2003 Cabernets in your cellar, are you drinking them yet? And if so, what are your experiences?

Two White Wine Bargains for the End of Summer

There will be some talk of high-end wines later this week on GWU$20, so to balance out the account books I have not one but two picks for good QPR white wines today that are widely available for under $10 and will get you through the dog days of August.

One is a creamy Chardonnay, the other a light white Bordeaux blend. I received both as samples and they stood out from many of the other bottles I received because they tasted true to their varietal characteristics and were well priced.

First up is the new 2006 Lot 205 Chardonnay. Made by Cartlidge & Brown with fruit from California, the only evidence you will see of their affiliation with the new label is the address of American Canyon on the back. The Lot 205 line of whites and reds will compete handily with Australia in the under $10 category. You should be able to find this near you pretty easily. I was pleasantly surprised by this wine, because it was a nicely balanced, creamy Chardonnay without aggressive oak flavors. It was pale straw in color, and had aromas of butter, cream, and apples. These aromas carried through into the flavors and there was a citrusy, creamy aftertaste that was pleasant and not at all artificial. This wine would be great with grilled chicken with lemon, fried chicken, or grilled halibut. But don't underestimate the appeals of a white wine like this served with some simply munchies and an ice bucket on a Sunday afternoon.

Second up is the 2006 Mouton Cadet Blanc from Baron Philippe de Rothschild. This wine is also available widely for under $10. Made from a mixture of 50% Semillon, 40% Sauvignon Blanc, and 10% Muscadelle, the wine was pale straw in color like the Chardonnay. The aromas were very different, however: hay, grass, and the white pith of the lemon that rests under the peel. The flavors were dry and slightly tart, dominated by citrus, lemon pith, and hay notes. Overall, the wine had a nice roundness from the Semillon and Muscadelle, and nice freshness from the Sauvignon Blanc. This wine is much better with food than it is without, and would be especially good with shellfish or more delicate fish preparations that emphasized butter and lemon. Not too shabby, and would be great with simple fish preparation. It was good with some goat cheese and crackers, and went nicely with a handful of cashews, too.

With these chilling in the fridge you can settle down to some serious relaxing before everybody comes back from vacation and the kids go back to school. You'll also be able to afford the extra latte you are going to need to get through it all.

A Honey of a Second Label

All over the world, fancy winemakers blessed with more fruit than their limited production wines can use, or fruit that is almost but not quite up to their standards, are crafting wines under second labels. Here in the US, these second labels are often guarded as big secrets. I've had more than one person tell me who the real maker of a second label was as long as I promised not to reveal it. More open "secret second labels" include the great Napa Cab maker Larkmead's second label wine, Meadowlark. Once Gary V has outed you, it's pretty hard to achieve plausible deniability.

In an odd twist, France is quite open about its second labels. Lots of chi-chi makers have second labels, and they're quite proud of them. So it was with real anticipation that I opened a 2003 Sauternes bottled under the second label of the famed Bordeaux producer Chateau Suduiraut. Called Castelnau de Suduiraut, this is (like many second labels) an unbelievably good wine for an unbelievably good price. I received this bottle as a sample from the Bordeaux Wine Bureau, who puts out a list of the 100 top Bordeaux values every year.

To give you some pertinent details, the Chateau Suduiraut Sauternes is a premier cru wine from Bordeaux. The 2003 bottle scored 93 points consistently across the board, and had a suggested retail of $55 for 750ml (though that size bottle is now going for $50-$100). Right now the average price for a 375ml bottle of the stuff is $35.

The 2003 Castelnau de Suduiraut, on the other hand, is available at lots of places for under $15 in the 375ml format, and virtually every place for under $20. Want a bigger bottle? 750ml bottles go for $30-$50.

So how was it? In short, it was excellent QPR. The 2003 Castelnau de Suduiraut Sauternes was a lot of bang for the buck, and though not as transcendent and ethereal as some of the most expensive Sauternes, it was full of the spicy, sweet, and honeyed flavors that make this most people's favorite dessert wine. If you've had dessert wines in the past and found them unidimensional and sickeningly sweet, that's not what you experience in good Sauternes. Instead, the fruit I always think of is pineapple. There is a sweet yet acidic quality to a good Sauternes and this wine had it. It was honey-colored, and slightly less thick than some Sauternes that I've tasted. There were prominent aromas of pineapple, coconut, and honey and these aromas developed perfectly into the flavors. As the wine opened up a bit during the course of the evening, the flavors continued to deepen and gain some weight, which suggested to me that this wine--though delicious now--will be even better in a few years. Because it is not terribly sweet for a dessert wine I would think of pairing it with cheese and fruit for dessert, or just sipping it on its own.

If you are looking for some inexpensive but excellent Sauternes to try, or to buy in multiple bottles so you can stash them away and open one every now and again, this is a no-brainer choice. 2003 was an excellent vintage, and this is an excellent QPR way to get a taste of it.

Lillet--It's How They Spell "Cocktails" in Bordeaux

I don't drink cocktails most months of the year, since I prefer to start the evening off with a tiny taste of wine while I'm making dinner. In summer, however, all that changes. The evenings are so long that there is often a lag between when I want a little sip of something and when the kitchen is cool enough to turn on the stove. There are friends and family stopping by, the deck is so inviting, and suddenly cocktails seem just the thing.

If you want a classy (and classic) cocktail and don't want to abandon your wine habits entirely, go to the store and get yourself a bottle of Lillet, the aperitif from Bordeaux that has been made since 1887. Raymond and Paul de Lillet started blending Bordeaux white wines with fruit steeped in Brandy and a touch of everybody's favorite tonic, quinine. Today, Lillet is still made from 85% Bordeaux (both white wines and, since 1990, red wines), and 15% fruit-steeped Brandy and other liqueurs.

I received a bottle of both the red and white versions as samples, but a bottle of Lillet will set you back between $11 and $24 depending on where you buy it. Once you've got it home, you will want to chill your Lillet--whether white or red--a good, long time in the fridge. When you take the bottle out, pour some into a red wine or Bordeaux glass that has some cracked ice in it (if you want it to stay nice and cold) and then garnish it with a strip of orange or lemon zest, or (what I like) an orange or lemon slice. Have both? Stick them both in and you won't be disappointed. The folks from Lillet suggest placing the orange and lemon slices directly on top of the ice before you put the wine in to help keep the diluted ice cubes from weakening the flavor of the wine. I prefer to keep pouring small glasses, but the other method works well if you want to stop serving and keep drinking cool Lillet.

Once you pour your Lillet in the glass, here's what you can expect. The classic Lillet Blanc is golden in color, with aromas of orange blossom, lemon, and beeswax. The flavors turn a bit bitter--tending towards Seville orange, herbs, and tart Meyer lemon--but this is what makes the drinks so very refreshing. As for the Lillet Rouge, its fruity raspberry and red currant flavors are lifted by a nicely herbal note and are rounded out with a warm vanilla aftertaste. I suppose if I had to choose, I would prefer the Lillet Blanc but I'm glad I don't have to because both of them are a wonderful change of pace.

One of the best things about Lillet is that, once opened, the wine keeps for up to 10 days in the fridge without losing its flavor. So you don't need a house party for an excuse to try this wine-based aperitif. Open up a bottle, cut yourself a strip of orange zest or a slice of lemon, put your feet up on your chaise lounge and relax into the full deliciousness of the summer.

A Timely List of Bordeaux Values

After our recent Wine Book Club foray into Bordeaux, I thought you might be in the mood to buy some wine from the region to stash away in your cellars and closets for drinking in three to five more years.

If you are looking for some good value in Bordeaux, then you should check out the list of 100 affordable wines that was selected in a blind tasting by a jury that included Chanterelle Master Sommelier Roger Dagorn, Binny's Fine Wine Buyer Barbara Hermann, and author Leslie Sbrocco. I had hoped to attend their tasting last month in Los Angeles, but was felled by such a bad cold that I couldn't taste or smell anything--not ideal for sampling Bordeaux.

Thankfully, the list is still up on the web so I wanted to let you all know that it's a well-rounded list of dry whites, reds, and roses, as well as sweet dessert wines. Though I didn't get a chance to taste my way through the whole list, the inclusion of wines from Chateau Lamothe de Haux, Chateau Andron Blanquet, and Chateau L'Embrun all inspired confidence. None of these names will be terribly familiar to you, because they are produced by smaller producers who are vastly overshadowed by the big Bordeaux names. But they were selected for the list because they were excellent representatives of Bordeaux for the price.

So if you want to try some Bordeaux, but are not prepared to pay premium prices, this list could help you to find more affordable options that will still deliver great taste and classic varietal flavors.

Wine Book Club #2: Noble Rot

I used to think I would love to live in Bordeaux. All those vineyards, the old chateaus, the sense of place--where could you possibly imagine living that could measure up to this ancient wine region?

Then I read Tim Elliott's selection for the second edition of the Wine Book Club: William Echikson's Noble Rot: A Bordeaux Wine Revolution.

Now I'm not so sure.

Echikson paints a portrait of politics and wine culture in the region that is poised somewhere between bitter family feud, hostile corporate takeover, and prolonged civil war. There are two things at stake in this struggle, no matter how you label it: money, lots of money; and a death match between advocates of traditional and more modern styles of wine making. Among traditionalists, the 1855 Bordeaux Classification is gospel, and pedigree matters. The modernists think Parker is king, employ consultant winemakers, use lots of oak, and pray on their knees for 90+ scores.

In the process of describing these relationships, he introduces us to some arresting characters who dot the Bordeaux landscape. Robert Parker, of course, appears and reappears as the story unfolds, tasting wine and setting futures prices that are based almost entirely on whether he pronounced the wine to be good, not so good, or great. So, too, do great winemaking families such as the Lur-Saluces, who have been making wine for a very, very long time. Clan warfare so bitter as to make the Hatfields and the McCoys envious broke out between branches of this distinguished family. The feud started over who should control Chateau d'Yquem, the name of which is synonymous with the ambrosia-like Sauternes made from botrytized grapes that have shriveled due to the fungus known as "noble rot." Inter-generational strife, money, love affairs, broken marriages, back-room deals, shady legal documents--it's all there in the tale Echikson tells about life behind the chateau's walls. All I can say is this would make one hell of a TV series.

What I liked best about this book was the spotlight that it shone on aspects of Bordelaise wine culture that we either take for granted or never knew in the first place. I assumed, for instance, that Sauternes had always been fabulously expensive and prized. Not so. Thomas Jefferson ordered 250 bottles of the 1784 vintage of Chateau d'Yquem. Between 1968 and 1983, however, sales of Sauternes and other Bordeaux wines languished. I also assumed that Pennsylvania had the most Byzantine wine distribution system on the planet. Also not so. It's Bordeaux, with its middle-men, futures market, and allocations based on previous orders. Ever wonder why you see so much Bordeaux on shelves, even in bad years? Because if you don't order it consistently, you can loose your allocation entirely--which could prove deadly if you're a retailer.

Echikson's book will appeal to anyone who likes behind-the-scenes exposes or reality television. There is something gripping and haunting--like watching a train wreck--about watching a group of people engage in self-destructive behavior and bad decision making. You could call this book Survivor: Bordeaux and not be far from the mark. It's great beach reading, plane reading, corporate lunchroom reading, and hammock reading. If you've ever pulled the cork on a bottle of Bordeaux, or ever thought about doing so, you will find this book provides an engaging window into that rarified world.

Bordeaux will never be the same for me, now that I've read this book. Thanks to Tim Elliott of Winecast for serving as our host this month. If you're reading this and want to chime in on the discussion, check out the posts on other blogs, the Wine Book Club website, or one of our linked sites on Shelfari or Facebook. Next month's host will announce the title on May 6, and in the end of May/early June look for an inspirational post to keep you turning the pages on the new book club selection from Richard, the Passionate Foodie, about a book that touches on one of his areas of expertise.

Wine Book Club Reminders

It's time for a few Wine Book Club reminders. For those of you who don't know, the Wine Book Club was started in January 2008 to give wine bloggers and readers a chance to meet all those New Year Resolutions to read more/learn more about wine. It's also fun to review something that we can all share without shipping restrictions! Our first meeting hosted by David McDuff of McDuff's Food and Wine Trail was held in February, and two dozen bloggers and readers participated.

I'm hoping that we'll have as many if not more for our second edition, which will occur on April 29, just three weeks from today. Our host, Tim Elliott of Winecast, picked a fantastic book for the second edition. I've been reading it, and it's a winner. The book under discussion in a few weeks time will be Noble Rot: a Bordeaux Wine Revolution by William Echikson. The blend of history and present-day expose of politics and fashion is truly fascinating. I'm reading Samuel Pepys' diary at the moment, and chuckled when I saw Echikson quote his entry describing Haut Brion from April 10, 1663: "[I] drank a sort of French wine called Ho Bryan that has a good and most particular taste." Don't you wish we still used phonetic spelling for wine labels? Samuel Pepys would clearly have been a wine blogger if he were alive in 2008!

My second reminder has to do with keeping your eyes peeled for our latest "Spin the Bottle" review. Sometime in the next week or so, just as your resolution begins to fade, Russ Beebe the Winehiker will post his review of Wine Across America, a wonderful visual tour of wine throughout the United States. I'm looking forward to what this intrepid wine traveler has to say about the book and its contents.

Why not join us for the 2nd edition of the WBC? Visit your local bookstore, favorite online retailer, or library and join in the discussion. If you have a "Ho Bryan" to sip while reading Echikson, please let me know and I'll be right over to help you drain the bottle.

Bordeaux to Go? Wine Through a Straw and Other Mysteries

After posting yesterday on dry white Bordeaux, I had to let you know that the single-serving wine juice box has hit France.

The French, who are miles ahead of us when it comes to using alternative packaging, are now putting Bordeaux in those little single-serving packs (with straw) that have yet to capture the popular imagination in the US. Decanter magazine reports that negociant Cordier Mestrezat is testing the market for Tandem Wine Bordeaux in a box in Belgium, where an individual pack will sell for about 1.25 euros (your guess is as good as mine what exactly this is in dollars, but it is under $2)

What I want more information on, however, is the straw. They've put four holes in the bit of the straw that goes into your mouth and sealed the top that normally is the outlet for liquid. Supposedly, this special straw directs four separate streams of wine into the mouth, duplicating as closely as possible the mouth-filling effect of taking a sip of wine from a glass. Hmmm. Does that sound like how you drink wine?

Ray Isle from the blog Tasting Room over at Food and Wine Magazine was asked to be on CNN to discuss Cordier's move to the juice box. Too bad they didn't get him one of those magic straws so he could test the technology out for us! Dare we hope someone has actually tried this wonder? I have to say sipping wine through a normal straw was one of the major problems with the Three Thieves Bandit Pinot Grigio I had for WBW #31.

But really, I just have to wonder if this is ever going to catch on. Somehow, I doubt it.

A Classic White from Bordeaux

When most of us think of whites from Bordeaux, we think of the delicious Sauternes dessert wines made with a luscious blend of sauvignon blanc/semillon grapes that have been kissed by a touch of botrytis or "noble rot." But Bordeaux also makes dry white wines using the same mix of varietals. Because Sauternes gets most of the attention, dry whites from Bordeaux can be good value picks when you are in the wine store and are in the mood for something a little bit different with dinner.

I picked up just such a dry Bordeaux white, and was pleasantly surprised by the 2006 Château Lamothe de Haux Blanc given its low price. ($10.95, Chronicle Wine Cellar; available from other merchants for between $10 and $11) The wine greeted you with fresh, juicy aromas of melon and citrus. These aromas were the perfect prelude to the flavors, which were also citrusy with round notes of melon. There was a touch of thyme as you finished the wine, which only added to the pleasure of this full and rich wine. I thought this was an excellent example of a dry sauvignon blanc/semillon blend, and had excellent QPR.

We had the wine with a delicious grilled shrimp with an accompaniment of couscous salad. The shrimp were basted with a tarragon-flavored oil that picked up the nice herbal notes in the wine, and the shrimp seemed to pop with rich flavor just as the wine did. I should note that this wine would also be excellent with turkey--especially if you are going to serve some creamed onions with the meal, or sweet potatoes. So don't be surprised to find it in this year's Thanksgiving picks in a few weeks!

One Lump or Two? Bordeaux Green-lights Chaptalisation

The news from the 2007 Bordeaux harvest continues to be less than promising. Today, Decanter magazine reported that the area's wine officials are likely to allow chaptalisation of the wine because grapes have not achieved a desirable level of ripeness during this year's difficult growing season. (image from wijnidee.com)

What is chaptalisation (or chaptalization, if you spell things the American way)? It's the technical term that refers to the practice of adding of sugar to wine during fermentation. This process, which was developed in the 18th century, raises the alcohol level, and in Bordeaux they impose a standard limit on how much sugar a winemaker can add. Bordelaise winemakers can only raise the alcohol levels by 1% by adding sugar. So the sugar isn't going in to the wine to make it sweeter--it's going in the wine to give them more alcohol and more body. Though some wines in past Bordeaux vintages, and other wines in other areas, have been watered down in order to lower the alcohol levels, signs are that the 2007 Bordeaux harvest will be requiring just the opposite.

The European Union is looking into chaptalisation and may ban the process in future years. It is likely that winemakers would still be able to add concentrated must (unfermented grape juice) to wine to raise sugar levels, but not sugar. Already, however, Bordeaux officials have agreed that sugar can be added to 2007 sauvignon blanc grapes. At a time when many wine buyers are looking for the least manipulated wines they can find, and lower alcohol wines to boot, one has to wonder how this development will effect the sale of 2007 Bordeaux futures.

Charge! Bordeaux Season Begins

It's official. It's time to play Bordeaux-ball. (photo by Ian Britton of FreeFoto.com)

I just got my 2006 Bordeaux report in the mail from K & L Wines, and the June 30 issue of Wine Spectator, which includes the 2006 Bordeaux barrel tastings report. This can only mean that the futures market is open, and sure enough, I headed to K &L and there they were, with their prices, and their reviews, and the alluring little "Add to Basket" button.

But should you buy now? Good question. It's impossible to perfectly predict how any wine will age. Nevertheless, experienced tasters can give you some sense of where they think a wine is heading when they do their early tastings of the wines. And then there's cost to consider. The wines will sell now for $3-$10 a bottle less than they will after they arrive in the stores. And unless the wines fail to develop, they are selling now for at least $10-$20 a bottle less than they will sell for when they begin to hit their stride, around 2011. Before you buy, you should decide if the style of the 2006 vintage is for you, then you have to decide if you want to gamble on the wines now or wait until they develop further, and finally will you have room to store your Bordeaux properly once they arrive?

I can't answer the second two questions for you, but I can tell you what the folks at K & L Wines are saying about the style of the 2006 vintage: there are good 2006s, many of which are classic in style (meaning that they are not huge and ripe). You may want to sit this vintage out if you like your Bordeaux lush. But if you admire restrained Bordeaux, with herbs and spice to balance out the fruit, this may be a good year for you IF you buy carefully.

Here are some of the wines that stood out to me from their early reports, with links to the ones that are already on the site and ready for purchase. Of course, your local Bordeaux merchant or favorite internet supplier may already have price details for these wines, too. But I'm a loyal K & L customer, so that's where I'm sending you! One wine I'd take a look at is the 2006 Caronne Ste. Gemme from the Medoc ($12.99, K & L Wines) with dark fruit flavors and aromas and good balance, which often indicates that a wine will continue to develop and improve. At a higher price, the 2006 Cantemerle ($26.99, K& L Wines), also from the Medoc, is getting great reviews and advance reports, with many saying it is better than the 2005 vintage. In the middle price range, I'd seriously consider the 2006 d'Aiguilhe ($21.99, K& L Wines), a merlot-based Bordeaux which is drinking lush and round, according to the buyers. In Sauternes, head straight for the 2006 Doisy-Vedrines ($17.99/375 ml, K& L Wines), which is always a great value and looks to have come through the difficult vintage without problems and to be priced well.

More futures are hitting the market every day, so expect the stock at K&L to change. They have lots of good 2005 values, too, if you haven't yet picked any up. If you buy 2006 Bordeaux futures, don't expect to see them until January-June 2009. And don't expect them to begin to drink well for 3-5 years after that. Of course, you can always check back here in 2013 and see what I think of the 2006 vintage! And if you're new to Bordeaux wines, you may want to check out my previous posts on "Beginning, Budget Steps into the World of Bordeaux," scrolling down to the bottom for the first post.

What They're Drinking in Heaven

Sauternes. If there is a heaven, and I get there, this is what I'm drinking. Every day and every night.

It's magical stuff, an alchemical mix of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc and a special rot called botrytis. Who knew fungus could taste so good.

There are shockingly expensive Sauternes (Chateau d'Yquem, anyone?), but there are also suprisingly affordable wines with rich concentration and a dazzling array flavors. So even if you're in the under $20 end of the wine budget spectrum, you can pick up excellent half-bottles of sauternes, which for a dessert wine represents quite a bargain.

The 2003 Ch. Sigalas Rabaud ($16.99/375 ml, K&L Wines), for instance, represents excellent QPR. It's an outstanding young Sauternes that really won't even hit its stride until 2008. Even as a relative juvenile, it already has abundant aromas and flavors of apricot, honey, and a wonderful toasted coconut note. Added to this, the wine is exhibiting a lovely, silky texture. The sweetness and acidity are in nice balance in this dessert wine, so you don't have to worry that this is somehow too sweet. It will be interesting to see how this wine is drinking in a few years when I open the next bottle. Hard to imagine it could get better, but the experts say it probably will.

What to have it with? Nothing. Just sit down, pour yourself and someone you love a glass, and put your feet up. Voila. You're in heaven.

They've been making wine at Chateau Sigalas Rabaud since at least 1660, and the Wine Doctor has a super profile of the chateau and its production, if you'd like to learn more. If you've never had any Sauternes, seek some out and give them a try. And if you love it already, please let us know which are your favorites and what you pair them with, if anything.

LA Bordeaux Alert at the Wine House

If you are in LA around the Wine House, and in the market for some good Bordeaux, they just announced that they have 56 cases of 2003 Chateau Coufran Haut Medoc for $16.99 a bottle. If you buy a case, the price drops to $14.99 per bottle.

The 2003 Chateau Coufran has received strong reviews in the barrel and bottle tastes (receiving 89 points from Robert Parker and 88 from Wine Spectator, for example). It is a cru bourgeois chateau, located next to the very swishy and prestigious Chateau Calon-Segur just outside the St. Estephe appellation, and promises to have plum and cherry flavors with smoke, vanilla, and white chocolate. A low-acidity Bordeaux, expect this to have a slightly glycerin texture and taste, which helps to make is an easy, early drinker. It is made primarily from Merlot grapes, which also helps to make this wine so soft, round and approachable.

The experts are giving this a drinking window of 2006-2014, so its a Bordeaux that is priced just perfectly for you to buy a few bottles and start opening them now if you want to embark on the great Bordeaux experience, or just expand your existing knowledge. The few folks that have tried the wine over at CellarTracker are not finding that this wine is at its peak yet, though, so if you do open up a bottle now, it may not quite live up to the hype for a few years!

At this price, this wine is not going to last, so if you want some you might want to go and order some online (click on the wine label to go directly to the page that enables you to stash a few bottles in the basket and checkout). They claim this is the lowest price in the country for this wine, and I haven't been able to find it at this price anywhere else. Wine House does ship to most states, so if you're not in LA and still want this wine, check out their shipping policy to see if you can get them to send you some.

Bordeaux Step 7: The Waiting Game

Patience is a virtue--or so they say. I've never been convinced. There is only one area of my life where I seem to be able to muster even a modicum of patience, and that's with my wine. I eagerly look for signs that the patience might spill into the rest of my life--when I'm driving, walking the dogs, waiting for the pot to boil--but there haven't been any so far.

When it comes to my wine, though, I can be so patient that people who know me would gasp with surprise. I am an almost obsessive user of one of Cellar Tracker's most brilliant features, the Drinkability Report. Eric LeVine figured out some ingenious, mathematical way to calculate when you should start drinking your cellared wine based on "drinking windows," how many bottles you have, and how a wine matures. He issues lots of disclaimers about the flaws of the program, but I've discovered that I'm happy drinking any of my wines that have passed over the .50 mark in the Drinkability Report, and .30 will do in a pinch! Patience, and delayed gratification, have become a kind of game for me, especially with respect to my Bordeaux.

So what's a person to do while waiting for their Bordeaux to enter into its drinkability window? Lots of things, actually. Because you have to have some patience if you're going to drink Bordeaux wines, its always a good idea to have some Bordeaux activities to while away the months and years that don't involve a glass and a corkscrew.

Here's a few ways I twiddle my thumbs:

1. Track which of your wines are entering and leaving "the dumb period." Eric Asimov of The Pour wrote a great piece about this phenomenon. Wines made for aging, like Bordeaux, can open up and close down with little warning as they age and when they are closed and tight it is known as the "Dumb Period" because the wine is not speaking to its drinker. Not all wines go through a dumb period, but Bordeaux usually do. Tasting a dumb wine can lead you to believe you have a "bad wine" on your hands. On the contrary--if your wine is shut down it is kind of resting and gathering its forces for a taste explosion a little later on. If you have multiple bottles, you can track where your wines are by keeping good tasting notes and indicating whether a wine seems muted, tight, or lacking in complexity. If you don't want to find yourself drinking a Dumb wine, you can track the experiences of other drinkers on a site like CellarTracker. Here's a good example of how folks there talk about the phenomenon.

2. Seek out earlier vintages of wine you've recently bought and stashed in your cellar. Never underestimate the power of the web to help you find older bottlings. I drink and buy Ch. Cantermerle and Ch. Poujeaux pretty regularly, and would like at some point to be able to do a vertical tasting, stacking up 5 vintages next to each other to see how they differ and how they age. Thanks to search engines like Google, WineZap, and WineSearcher, I can periodically plug in my wine coordinates and see if anyone has a few bottles of 1986 Cantemerle for sale. Older cru bourgeois bottlings can represent especially good value, and of course you might want to pick up a few bottles since they are typically aged and ready to drink. (so much for patience!)

3. Keep your eyes peeled for opportunistic Bordeaux purchases. Buying futures is one thing, but tripping across a nice bottle of Bordeaux in the wine store is awfully nice, too. I found a bottle of 2001 Ch. Potensac for $18.95 at Chronicle Wine Cellar last fall, a 2003 Chateau Poujeaux at Trader Joe's for $19.99, and a splurgey bottle of 2003 Chateau Clerc Milon at Costco for $41.99 (which was still pretty near half what it was selling for elsewhere). Remember to keep your storage limitations in mind and make sure you are tracking what boxes are due to arrive in the not to distant future so you don't find yourself storing clothes and shoes on the living room couch to make room for the Bordeaux you just "happened upon" at Costco.

4. Surf. Try typing the name of your wines into an internet surf engine and just see what the internet has to offer in terms of information and perspective on your wine. You are likely to find chateaux web sites, commentary on vertical tastings like this one from the Wine Lover's Page, and barrel sampling reports. If my fingers get itchy to taste my Bordeaux, sometimes I can hold off for a little bit simply by virtually travelling or tasting, instead.

5. Read, read, read. Become as knowledgeable as you can be about Bordeaux wines. You can learn a huge amount from reading while you are tasting, and Art and Betsey over at Strat's Place has a great list of Bordeaux-related books on their web site (plus if you order through Amazon on their site it helps to support their efforts).

6. Taste, taste, taste. Instead of drinking your Bordeaux, drink somebody else's. Look for Bordeaux tasting events in your area on the Wine Events Calendar. For not much money, you can often taste some really terrific wines, both younger Bordeaux and older Bordeaux. No matter where you live, there is bound to be some kind of Bordeaux event in the upcoming months--not to mention this weekend. On March 2, in Okemos, MI, Dusty's is having a California-France tasting that includes Bordeaux, for just $20, for example. On March 3, in Miami, FL, Sunset Corners Fine Wine and Spirits is having a FREE tasting of Bordeaux from the 2003 vintage. (wish I could go to that one--13 wines!)

Many thanks to all of you who have followed this series of posts, and left comments and feedback. I'm looking forward to posting my own tasting notes in the near future as I begin to open up the first bottles I've cellared myself. Have fun with your beginning steps into the world of Bordeaux--I know I am.

Bordeaux Step 6: Hitting the Books

Once upon a time, before there were wine magazines, people used to see advertisements like this one and trot down to their wine merchant to order up some Bordeaux. All research was done in the shop. Now, the trade magazines tell us "time to buy!" and we hit the internet for more information. Modern bordeaux buying typically involves a lot of research, and the wine buyers and critics are happy to put their oar in the water to help out. I just got my March 31 Wine Spectator, for example, complete with their list of the 50 best Bordeaux under $50 and notes for the 2004 vintage (which kind of got lost between the 2003 and 2005).

Every year, lots of ink is spilled on giving consumers like you and me advice on how to spend money on Bordeaux wines. And if you want to make savvy choices, and spend wisely, you need to read barrel reports, early bottling reports, and later tastings once the wine has developed a bit. Even if you don't read Wine Spectator, Wine Advocate, Decanter, or any of the other magazines regularly, if you're going to buy Bordeaux futures on the basis of barrel samples, or pre-arrivals on the basis of early tastes from bottles coming soon to a retailer near you, researching your options is imperative.

But this research can be confusing. Early responses to Bordeaux wines are typically prognostications about how a buyer or critic thinks a wine will develop and taste when it is at its peak. As a result, leading critics and wine buyers at big retailers like K&L Wines often give point ranges ("89-91," for example) because it's just not possible to exactly predict how a wine will perform. Often, you will see indications that a wine might be a "sleeper of the vintage." This term is used to describe wines that might be from lesser-known producers but show early indications of maturing into interesting, complex, and highly-drinkable wines.

Some of the best values in Bordeaux are among wines given an "89-91" rating in the initial barrel tastes, and among so-called "sleepers." Among K&L's 2005 Bordeaux and Sauternes Pre-Arrivals available now, for example, there are more than half a dozen wines under $20 that fit into one--or both--of these two categories. But it's absolutely vital that you buy for flavors not just points. I like currants, licorice, flowers, and a silky texture in my Bordeaux, so I gravitate towards those wines regardless of the scores.

My advice is to find a critic, a blogger, or a buyer whose palate more or less coincides with yours and follow their lead. I find Clyde Beffa, the Bordeaux buyer at K&L, likes the same kinds of wines that I do and tastes pretty much what I do when I drink the wines. Another person whose recommendations I like is Chris Kissack, aka the Wine Doctor, who has great tasting notes for Bordeaux, all available right here on the web. I think his palate is fantastic, and his notes are really detailed and informative so check him out if you haven't already. Most of these resources will also be able to give you a sense of when the particular wine is likely to reach its optimal drinkability--something that can help you to plan your storage.

In general, I find that the best value Bordeaux are lurking among cru bourgeois wines. Bordeaux wines are divided among a dizzying array of classifications, beginning with the 1855 classification of Medoc wines and Sauternes and Barsac into crus. These wines tend to be very, very expensive. More classifications followed when the wines from Graves were classified in 1959, the wines of St Emilion in 1996, and the Medoc's cru bourgeois in 2003. A lot has changed since 1855, and this newest classification of cru bourgeois wines began as a way to recognize the excellent wines being made by chateaux not included in the original 1855 classification.

Bordeaux prices tend to rise steadily as the wine progresses from barrel, to bottle, to retailer shelves, to retailer storage facilities. Your best bet is to buy as early as you feel comfortable doing so. So if in your research you trip across a barrel tasting that describes a wine that sounds just perfect for you, the buyer or critic predicts it will develop into a very good or excellent wine, and it's under $20 you probably want to order it then. Next time you see it on offer, it's likely to be $25, and the next time $30, and so on.

Bargain hunting among merchant websites and magazines can be a lot of fun but it's easy to get carried away and end up forgetting what you've already ordered and have stashed in the closet. Don't forget to sign up with CellarTracker or keep a good list of your futures and pre-arrival orders so that your budgetary limits and your storage constraints won't be forgotten in all the excitement.

Next week: a few final recommendations regarding how to twiddle your thumbs productively while you wait for your Bordeaux to enter its ideal drinking window.

Bordeaux Step 5: Where the *&!% is Pessac-Leognan?

OK, so you know you know you like Bordeaux wines, you understand that they're blended wines that are not going to taste like New World cabs or merlots, and you actually managed to find a cupboard/closet/unused fireplace where you can put several dozen bottles. You've got a merchant in mind, and now you want some Bordeaux.

Then you read the labels. Confusion sets in and your resolve to try Bordeaux begins to crumble.It's like having a bad flashback to 9th grade geography. Where exactly is Pessac-Leognan, you wonder? How does this wine from Pessac-Leognan differ from the wine advertised beneath it, that is from Haut-Medoc?

Every Bordeaux lover discovers that they need to brush up their French geography if they are going to buy wines that they like at a good price, and they have to come to grips with French appellations, too. And we're not even talking about classifications yet (tune in next week). Adding to the confusion, the Bordeaux region is dominated by the Gironde river, which runs through the area. So we have appellations, classifications, and even "Left Bank" (Medoc, Haut-Medoc, and Graves) and "Right Bank" designations (Pomerol and St. Emilion)

It's really nothing that can't be sorted out with a map and a chart (map right, chart below). The French appellation system (AOC) is strictly controlled and covers not only the geographical origins for grapes used in a wine, it also covers what grape varietals can be grown, how they can be grown, how wine is to be produced, and alcohol levels. There are over 40 AOCs in the Bordeaux region (map from Terroir-France, click to enlarge), each specializing in a handful of wines made in a handful of ways. Of course, the genius of the place and the talents of the winemaker make these wines taste different, despite all the precision and regulation.

Most of the AOCs that produce red Bordeaux, and the most popular white Bordeaux like Sauternes, have varietal guidelines that can help you to make the best wine choices for your palate. Like the pencil lead and cassis of Old World cabernet? Head for wines from the Medoc, from St. Julien, or any of the other AOC that produce red wines made predominantly with that varietal. Prefer the softer, fleshier merlot blends? The Right Bank AOCs of Pomerol and St Emilion are for you. And if you like a balance between cabernet and merlot, the Pessac-Leognan, Entre-Deux-Mers, and Graves AOCs all produce wines that should suit your harmonious palate.

APPELLATION	DOMINANT GRAPES
Médoc and Haut Médoc	Cabernet Sauvignon
Margaux	Cabernet Sauvignon
Pauillac	Cabernet Sauvignon
Saint Estèphe	Cabernet Sauvignon
Saint Julien	Cabernet Sauvignon
Pomerol	Merlot
Saint Émilion	Merlot
Graves	Cab/Merlot 50/50
Pessac-Leognan	Cab/Merlot 50/50
Entre-Deux-Mers	Cab/Merlot 50/50
Sauternes	Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc

Next week: professional tasting notes, how to read them, and how to use the classification system to help you sort through them in search of bargains.

Bordeaux Step 4: Buying your Bordeaux

Now onto the fun stuff: buying Bordeaux.

There are two ways to buy Bordeaux. The first I call opportunistic (that is, you walk in the shop, see a bottle you want, and buy it), the second I call strategic (that is, you order wine as a future or pre-arrival and wait for up to two years to feel the bottle in your hot little hand). In both cases, however, it is absolutely crucial that you buy Bordeaux from a merchant that you trust. And, ideally, your merchant should be someone with whom you have developed some kind of a working relationship. You want to be able to ask questions, and to know that the answers are reliable. You also need to know that this is a merchant who is going to be around if there are problems with your shipment. Indeed, you need to feel confident this merchant will still be in business when your wine finally arrives long after you've paid for it.

First, opportunistic Bordeaux buying. You can always go into your favorite wine merchant and ask them if they have any Bordeaux wines on the shelf. Some will have aged Bordeaux, and others will have freshly arrived Bordeaux that may or may not be ready to drink. It's important that you trust your merchant, in this case, because you don't want to buy older Bordeaux that hasn't been stored properly, or newer Bordeaux that hasn't been shipped and received properly. Who wants cooked Bordeaux? Not me.

When it comes to strategic Bordeaux buying, trusting your merchant is just as important for reasons of storage and receiving, but you have to add to this the real worries that I always have about shipping. There are merchants that specialize in shipping wine, though, and it pays to find them. Often, big online merchants such as K&L have great selections and prices and I typically browse their futures and pre-arrival wines, find what I want, order them, pay for them, and then wait for them to arrive 18 months to 2 years later. When they do arrive from K&L, I know that they will arrive in a sturdy box (picture 1), packed into styrofoam silos or some other packing material that provide some insulation from temperature changes as well as breakage (picture 2), and that I will actually receive what I ordered (picture 3). I have a long relationship with K&L and had received lots of wines from them without any problem for almost 10 years before I started buying Bordeaux futures. They have excellent customer service, too, as Vivi's Wine Journal reported back in November. On the east coast, I've ordered wines as gifts for family out there from The Wine Library in NJ and I've never had a bad experience with them, either. The wines are always correct, they always arrive in impeccable condition, and I've experienced great customer service during the order and delivery process.

Simply put, finding a merchant that you know and can trust takes a lot of anxiety and stress out of buying Bordeaux. If you have any recommendations for Bordeaux merchants in your area, or online merchants that you have used, please leave a comment and let us all know. Beginning next week: the final three posts on the research you need to do to make the best buying choices.

Bordeaux Step 3: Thinking Through the Storage Issues

Cellaring wine has a certain mystique, an aura of wine geekness that says "I know what I'm doing." Even popular songs were written about wine cellars and those who had them in the 1920s and 1930s (vintage image from The Authentic History Center). But the prospect of cellaring wines can be daunting, not least because of storage issues. Space may not be the final frontier if you are thinking of getting into Bordeaux wines, but it was a real concern for me and I imagine for most people. Where was I going to put this stuff? How much of this stuff would there be?

Solving the first and second questions requires math. Most Bordeaux wines are shipped to you 2-3 years before they start drinking well. There are exceptions, but as a general rule this is true. And, most continue to improve for years after that, so you may not want to drink all your 2003 Bordeaux the moment it hits its stride around 2008. Indeed, part of the fun is NOT doing that but tracking how the wines continue to develop and change. So, in my calculations, I knew I wanted to buy 6 bottles of Bordeaux a year (3 x red, 3 x white) , and because I didn't want to drink them too young the holes would slowly begin to emerge in about 3 years only to be refilled. This led me to believe that with a storage space sufficient to hold three 12-bottle boxes of wine, I was set.

Now you will see lots of folks out there who say you need to buy at least 6 bottles of every wine to fully track their development, or even 12 bottles of every wine. Professor Bainbridge thinks that any cellar smaller than 250 bottles is useless based on the idea you would drink a bottle of aged Bordeaux a week--but I don't have that kind of space or that kind of money. Do you? Why should we miss out on ALL the fun? Why not have a little fun? So you need to know that I am in some ways going against expert opinion here, but this is working for me and is manageable both in terms of cost and in terms of space.

Now you have to find a space that will hold 36 bottles--eventually. As this excellent article by Prof. Bainbridge explains, there are two cellaring options: active cellaring (in a refrigerated unit) or passive cellaring (in a cool, dark space). I don't have room anywhere for a refrigerated wine cellar except the garage--and only a few models are capable of keeping their cool under those conditions, so I opted for passive cellaring. I use a combination of a closet and some windowseats. Prof. Bainbridge suggests that you can hold wine for up to five years in warmer temperatures than you would for longer periods, but I would try to find a place that stays around 60 degrees if at all possible. You would be surprised at how cold your northern cabinets and interior closets can be. Don't believe me, or want to be sure? Buy a digital weather station and stick it in your spot for a few weeks and track the temp. Remember, too, to check it in the summer and the winter, because you don't want daily temperature fluctuations greater than 10 degrees in your chosen space. Of course, if you are buying for an investment, then you are on the wrong site. Deal with professionals who can store your wine impeccably and certify its provenance, like the folks at Vinfolio.

You want to try to find a spot now that will hold at least 36 bottles, even if you are only going to put 6 bottles into it because it will save you hassles later on. And, you can use the extra space to store some of your other wine. You want to find the coolest, darkest place in your house that doesn't freeze (basements in the northeast, for example, might not be such a good idea, so check first) For many of us, this will be on the north side of the house in a cabinet, cupboard, or closet. Some people swear by unused fireplaces since the stone is an insulator. Here's one of my two storage areas, complete with vacuum, dog carrier, old lamp, and two x-boxes from the Wine Enthusiast now completely stuffed with wine. You want to avoid spaces next to fridges, heating ducts, and other things that vibrate and/or give off heat. One of the best overviews of cellaring--the whys and wherefores--is in an article by Jim LaMar on the Professional Friends of Wine site. It is good-humored, informative, and absolutely correct.

Facing the storage issues is the last hurdle you need to cross before you start buying, so next week I'll start talking buying strategies beginning with finding a good merchant who handles Bordeaux futures and pre-arrivals.

Bordeaux Step 2: Familiar Grapes, Old World Style

As I said in my earlier post on Bordeaux, if you are going to devote a chunk of your budget and storage space to Bordeaux wines, you have to know if you like them. Because the taste of Bordeaux wine changes from vintage to vintage and appellation to appellation, you also need to know that in general you like the grape varietals that go into making most Bordeaux wines.

Bordeaux wines are blended wines that are made from cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and cabernet franc (if red), and sauvignon blanc and semillon (if white). But there is often a huge difference between California and other New World expressions of these varietals, and those from the Old World. Though the varietals are familiar to us, they behave very differently when they are planted in different soils--distinctions that are known as terroir. When I was starting out I found Andrea Immer's (now Andrea Immer Robinson's) Great Wine Made Simple absolutely indispensable when trying to understand how these and other grapes behaved in different regions. Much of the information below is drawn from her "flavor maps." If you don't have this book on your wine reference shelf, you really should! And you can also check out Gary Vaynerchuk's discussion of this topic over at Wine Library TV.

After years of reading and tasting, I now think of these Old World/New World varietal flavor differences like a Venn-diagram, with a core of common flavors, flanked by expressions that come from terroir. Here's one of mine, with very low production values (I never could color in the lines). But you get the point. Below is a slightly more polished chart of Old World and New World characteristics for the varietals used in Bordeaux wines, with the common characteristics for each made bold.

	Merlot	Cabernet Sauvignon	Sauvignon Blanc	Semillon
Old World	Plum, vanilla- oak, roasted coffee, wet gravel, cocoa powder, pen ink	Blackcurrant, cassis, wet leaves, wet gravel, spice, vanilla, mocha, pencil lead	Grassy, herbaceous, vanilla	Honey, fig
New World	Jammy plum, blackberry, blueberry; prominent oak	Jammy blackberry, blackcurrant, cassis; sweet and spicy oak; mint or eucalyptus	Citrus, melon, peach, vanilla	Honey

So think hard about whether you would like the Old World expressions of these varietal flavors BEFORE you start madly buying Bordeaux. And, be sure that you eat the kind of hearty fare that will support the red wines, and enjoy sipping dessert wines, too.

Next week I'll be posting about the most challenging aspect of Bordeaux for most of us: storage. Stay tuned for shots of my closet, and some advice gathered from the experts.