Every now and then, the word ‘singularity’ is used to describe a particular wine that stands apart, for whatever reason, from other wines of its type. But just what is singularity, and how can wine express it? Wine writer Tamlyn Currin investigates.

What makes a wine truly singular? Tamlyn Currin explores the rare bottles that defy convention and challenge the rules of the wine world.

Searching for Singularity in wine

Searching for Singularity

“It’s been an absolute pig of a year,” says Mark Gaskain. It’s September 2024 and we’re reaching the end of what has been a trying growing season across most of Europe – with seemingly never-ending rain. Fortunately, Gaskain knows that such challenges are just part of the job. He’s a farmer, born and bred, now at the helm of his family business, and responsible for growing 70 million apples a year. But in the last decade, he’s added a new strand to the business – after selling a swathe of land to none other than Champagne Taittinger in 2015. That land is now the home of Domaine Evremond – one of the most exciting English wine projects to date.  The story began almost a decade ago. Patrick McGrath – founder and CEO of Hatch Mansfield, which represents Champagne Taittinger in the UK – had been looking at adding an English sparkling wine to the company’s portfolio. It was the early 2010s, and he spied an opportunity with the burgeoning category – but Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger suggested that, rather than taking on an existing estate, McGrath should create his own, working with Taittinger. Taittinger had embarked on a similar venture in California, creating Domaine Carneros with their US agent, Kobrand, under Pierre-Emmanuel’s uncle, Claude. Together, they decided to take the plunge.  They charged leading English wine specialist Stephen Skelton with helping them find the perfect site – determined to have chalk soils, south/southwest-facing slopes (for maximum sun exposure) at altitudes below 100 metres (with temperatures reducing by 1°C per 100m, anything above this would simply be too cold in England’s marginal climate). Kent – with easy access across to Champagne – was decided on, but it took them 18 months to find the right site. At the same time, the Gaskains were looking at selling some of their land (a foray into soft fruit had proven challenging, and were looking to get back to their core business of apples). The timing was fortuitous and the orchards at Stone Stile Farm – around the village of Chilham, southwest of Canterbury – were perfect. As Alexandre Ponnavoy (Chef de Cave for both Taittinger and Evremond) told me, if a site can grow good fruit – it’s a good indicator for its viticultural potential.  In 2015, the deal was signed and the project launched with great fanfare at Westminster Abbey. Domaine Evremond takes its name from Charles de Saint-Evremond (1614-1703), a Frenchman, essayist and early ambassador for the wines of Champagne – bringing them to the court of Charles II – who is buried in Poets’ Corner. Although Didier Pierson – a grower in Champagne – had made English wine under the Meon Hill label, Taittinger was one of the first major Champagne Houses to invest in England (Pommery had bought vineyards in Hampshire in 2014). Unsurprisingly, press coverage was extensive: the Champenois were coming to make sparkling wine on our home turf – the French naysayers set to eat their hats as the world started facing up to fine English fizz.  Evremond’s first vines went in the ground in 2017, with more added in 2020 (the team set up at the local Premier Inn to tackle the work mid-pandemic) and in 2024. The land here has a layer of alluvial clay over its chalk subsoil which is part of the Paris basin, shared with much of northern France (including Champagne). Around Canterbury, however, there’s more flint in the soil – something that Ponnavoy feels shines through in the wine, giving it a mineral, reductive character. There’s also a definite maritime influence – moderating temperatures, but also bringing ocean breezes from Whitstable, which is just six miles away. For Ponnavoy, it’s the combination of the site’s chalky soils, maritime softness and sea winds – a “contrasting climatology” – that defines the Evremond wines.   Gaskain is deeply involved in the project – his in-depth knowledge of the land an invaluable resource, knowing where potential frost pockets lie, for example, or where the soil might be overly rich for vines. He and his team manage the site day-to-day, guided by Christelle Rinvelle (Taittinger’s Vineyard Director). Currently, they have 62 hectares of vines, split between 45% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir and 10% Meunier. They planted Chardonnay on areas with the thinnest topsoil, allowing its roots almost direct access to the chalky bedrock, while the Pinot Noir and Meunier sit on the more clay/gravel-rich plots.  The vines are widely spaced (5,000 vines per hectare – half the vine density Taittinger uses in Champagne) and trained higher than across the Channel, allowing for better airflow (helping manage disease pressure) and a larger canopy (to aid ripening). While herbicides have never been used on the site and there’s a concerted effort to be sustainable, Gaskain is clear on the limitations of viticulture in Kent: “Organics is madness in this climate,” he tells me – as, perhaps, 2024 proved. While the team has vine-specific sprayers, Gaskain can also draw on his team’s orchard equipment too – a boon when conditions are challenging – and spray the entire site in one (rather long) day.  They harvested tiny quantities of fruit in 2018 and 2019, with the first commercial-sized vintage coming from 2020 (conveniently the grape harvest falls neatly between that of Galas and Braeburns). Early wines were made at nearby Simpsons, and from 2020, they set up in an old concrete barn on the site – with the entire operation run on a generator. In June 2022, they broke ground on a new winery (“We were over budget four weeks after starting,” says McGrath, with a weary smile). The same company that worked on the Channel Tunnel dug out 83,000 tons of chalk (around 2,000 lorry loads) to make way for the three-storey building that stretches 20 metres below ground. Designed by Reims-based architect Giovanni Pace, the idea is for the winery to blend into the landscape – rather than stand on it. It has the capacity to cellar 1.5 million bottles – all without expending any additional energy on cooling, thanks to its natural subterranean chill.   Works were finished in time for the 2024 harvest – a relief undoubtedly for the team. There is something charmingly British, slightly ramshackle and underdog about the operation – despite the very serious money behind it (£17 million invested so far, reportedly). “Everybody’s had to muck in,” says McGrath. He might be Hatch’s CEO and one of the Evremond founders, but he’s also the first to pull on his wellies to help with harvest – and has spent more weekends in the vineyard than anyone else. Vitalie Taittinger has taken over from her father as President of Taittinger, and McGrath’s daughter India is running the commercial side of Evremond – meaning the operation really is a family business, even if it comes with some luxury, Champenois-esque swagger.  With the Taittinger association, of course, expectations are incredibly high – something McGrath is painfully aware of. Talking to Ponnavoy – who is in charge of the winemaking at both Taittinger and Evremond – there’s been something very exciting about creating a project from scratch, even if it has come with some challenges too. He argued to keep the small 2018 harvest for the property only, allowing them to follow the wines in tank over several years, and get to know the site. It was a huge cost, and delayed the first release, but something he felt was crucial.  “It was really important not to do a copy of another sparkling wine, not to produce a… ‘style’,” he says. Their goal, instead, was: “To identify the terroir, to identify the soil, to identify the climate, and reproduce all that in the bottle. To find the Evremond identity.” Inevitably, there’s a temptation to draw comparisons between Taittinger and Evremond, but the team is clear that they are totally separate projects with very different DNA.  Working with English fruit, Ponnavoy felt it was key to manage the potentially biting acidity (and the wine sees full malolactic as a result), but – for him – the greatest challenge was to avoid a bitterness that he finds common in some English wines. Managing the phenolics to avoid this was, for him, therefore essential, while he also focused particularly on the bubble texture – working to get a very fine mousse, something that he believes sets the wine apart from the competition.  In time, Evremond hopes to make 400,000 bottles a year, although there are only 120,000 of its first release. There are plans to add a vintage and rosé cuvée once the vines have matured and they’ve gotten to know the site, but for now they’re only producing the non-vintage Classic Cuvée. Now, a decade after they bought the land, Edition 1 of the Classic Cuvée is set to be released. For a début, it’s an incredible result – perhaps not surprising given the pedigree of the operation. Incredibly fine, taut and layered with oyster-shell, iodine and flint, it’s a wine full of the promise of what Evremond can do.  Domaine Evremond’s Classic Cuvée Edition 1 will be released on Thursday 3rd April: contact your Account Manager to register interest or sign up to be notified here 

A decade ago, Champagne Taittinger did something unexpected: they bought land in Kent. On the eve of the release of the project’s first wine, Sophie Thorpe caught up with the team behind Domaine Evremond about the challenges and triumphs of their English adventure 

Champagne Taittinger bought land in Kent 10 years ago. As the first wine from the project is released, we talk to the team behind Domaine Evremond

Diving into Domaine Evremond – Taittinger’s new English wine

Unearthing Evremond: Taittinger’s new English wine project 

“It’s difficult when you don’t have vines, a winery, any equipment or money,” Stéphane Dief – co-owner and winemaker at Clos Manou – tells me. “You say you want to be a winemaker, but it is complicated. Our advantage, however, was being able to do exactly what we wanted.” Over the last 25 years, he and his wife Françoise have slowly grown their tiny estate in the northern reaches of the Médoc, beyond Saint-Estèphe, where they make wine that offers some of the best value in the region.  Saint-Christoly-Médoc – the miniscule village that is home to their domaine – is where Stéphane grew up, while Françoise is from less than 15km away. Although Françoise’s family had vines, neither she nor Stéphane were working in the production side of the business, but they fell in love with wine. Via his brothers-in-law – who worked at Ch. Mouton Rothschild and Ch. Rauzan-Sègla – Stéphane started tasting some special wines, buying older vintages at auction – and was soon determined to give it a go himself.  Together, the couple bought a mere 12 ares and produced their first vintage in 1998, 600 bottles that they labelled as Clos Manou – “Clos” because they felt it wasn’t grand enough to use “Château”, and “Manou”, Stéphane’s nickname. It was such a success that their hobby rapidly became a full-time gig and the duo left their day jobs in 2000.  In some ways it doesn’t sound like they were doing anything remarkable. They wanted to make attractive wines that reflected their site, and to do so with precision and care. Their ambitions were modest. And yet, for Bordeaux, their small-scale, hand-crafted approach was – and is – atypical.  They sought out specific parcels of old vines, those planted before clonal material became commonplace, favouring the natural complexity of massal selection. They chose to work only with high-density vineyards – around 10,000 vines per hectare, a point at which Stéphane feels the vines self-regulate, meaning there’s no need to green harvest and often less de-leafing required.  In principle, they are close to organic – however, in a bid to avoid dependency on copper, they use bio-controls that aren’t permitted under organics, specifically phosphonic acid. They don’t use any herbicides, insecticides or chemicals – but believe that copper, as a heavy metal that kills soil’s microbiome, is best used minimally, and they prefer to use something that doesn’t leave trace levels in the final wine.   Almost everything is done by hand, with 12 full-time employees working on the estate. There are no protocols or routines. “We do things by watching, observing our vines and drawing conclusions and echoing those conclusions the following year,” Stéphane says.  The 2003 vintage was a turning point. Robert Parker gave the wine 93 points – an incredible score for such a modest Médoc, writing that it was “better than many of the vintage’s ‘big’ names”, “drop-dead-gorgeous” and a “prodigious effort”. Given the critic was at his peak, his influence was significant – and suddenly Clos Manou was in enormous demand.  “C’est notre métier, mais notre passion aussi," Stéphane says – “It’s our profession, but it’s our passion too." That explains perhaps why, for 11 years, he didn’t take a day off. “My wife wasn’t very happy with me,” Stéphane tells me, laughing cheekily.   Today they have 18.5 hectares of vines, scattered between Saint-Christoly-Médoc and Couquèques, all within a three-kilometre radius. They sit across three different soil types – gravel over clay, limestone-clay and sand, with some sitting very close to the estuary itself. Stéphane thinks of them as three children – one of which, the gravel over clay, is naturally gifted. But just because the other two need a bit more work, doesn’t mean they are any lesser. There is, he says, no such thing as “un petit terroir”. One special parcel dates back to 1850. Planted before phylloxera swept through the region, it’s managed to survive thanks to its sandy soils. In certain vintages they make a special “Cuvée 1850” from the block.  Despite the vines averaging 45 years in age, the yields are generally good – sitting at around 50hl/ha. Stéphane emphasises that low yields don’t equate to better quality, necessarily – the balance of your vines is what matters most.  It’s undeniable that climate change has been a benefit here, beyond Saint-Estèphe, where once it was a struggle to ripen fruit. In 2018, Clos Manou had 15% alcohol – but, thanks to their clay soils, the pH was a vibrant 3.52, bringing great freshness to balance the wine. He’s still thinking about the long-term impact of the rising mercury, however, and experimenting with small portions of whole-bunch, inspired by the likes of Guillaume Pouthier at Les Carmes Haut-Brion. Stéphane feels that it can add tension and make the wines feel more dynamic, even on just 5% of the blend. “On est des vrais vignerons – comme il y a en Bourgogne," Stéphane tells me ("We are true vignerons – as there are in Burgundy"). Unlike larger properties where there are various directors who influence decisions – it’s just them deciding what to do. Despite looking further afield for their inspiration, he and Françoise don’t want to go against the grain of the region. “We want to be a bit unorthodox, but we are nevertheless Bordelais,” he says.  Clos Manou is, in essence, a family business. There’s nothing remarkable about their modest ways, but their freedom to start with a blank page has allowed them to create something that is no longer the norm. Inspired by the Bordeaux of yesteryear, everything is low-tech yet done with great precision. The wines are fresh and pure, yet distinctly savoury and earthy – with a natural intensity that points to their old vines. You can see the addition of larger oak and amphorae in more recent vintages, bringing more vibrancy. They are somehow rustic yet fine. Little has changed here since 1998; let’s hope that that remains the case, and the Dief family continue to craft humble expressions of Bordeaux that are very much extraordinary.  Browse all listings of Clos Manou or read more about Bordeaux 

At first glance, Clos Manou might seem run-of-the-mill. But this small estate in the Médoc is far from it. We sat down with Stéphane Dief to talk about how a hobby became his life, the freedom of a fresh start, and why his family’s wines are worth seeking out

We talk to Stephane Dief about his family estate in the Medoc, Clos Manou – one of Bordeaux’s best-value wines and best-kept secrets

Why Clos Manou is anything but ordinary

Anything but ordinary: Clos Manou

We arranged a tasting of some of the top picks including Jean Stodden, Klaus Peter Keller, Bernhard Huber and Dr. Heger. The variety on offer just from a handful of these wines showed the incredible potential of the region for top Pinot production. With Pinot’s inherent ability to express terroir we found a huge range in structure and flavor profiles from different single vineyard sites. 

Prior to our mixed case offer of these top producers out next week, the tasting helped us map out the different terroirs in Germany as well as the typical profiles of these top producers. With such rich diversity in soils, climate and clones throughout the Pinot growing regions of Germany, there is plenty to discover, from the cooler climate, slate soils of Ahr to the richer, more opulent Pinots of Baden.  Pinot Noir’s amazing ability to express terroir is the perfect vehicle for the variety and nuance to be had from the top sites in Germany, which are dotted all around the fine wine regions of Germany including Mosel, Ahr, Franken, Rheingau, Rheinhessen, Baden and beyond. In the last 20 years there has been a quality revolution in Germany, specifically with Pinot Noir production, buoyed by the ever-increasing demand for Burgundy and the intrinsic connections the Germans have with their contemporaries in Burgundy.  Many producers have strong links with the Cote d’Or either having worked extensively in the region or from forging long-term friendships with some of the top growers. Between the two regions, there has been a real sharing of knowledge from viticultural to winemaking techniques, exploring the variations and nuance created by the distinct soils and the mix of both German and Burgundian clones being used today in Germany.   The recent trends in Pinot Noir production with a move towards earlier picking, less extraction and a reduction in oak have helped further promote the diversity of styles found throughout the German Pinot regions and allowed the top producers to really shine in recent years. Critics throughout the world have been praising the results coming out from the top producers in Germany. This Pinot Noir Revolution gripping Germany is well worth getting excited about and we are thrilled to be able to offer a range of some of the finest examples.

 Top Pinot Noir producers Jean Stodden – Ahr 
One of the longest-running wineries in Germany, the Jean Stodden estate has been producing wine in Ahr since 1578. The wines are unique thanks to their very specific terroir and incredibly cool climate and this shows in spades throughout their range of wines, producing beguiling ethereal examples that are quite unlike Burgundy but distinctly European. 

This really is cool-climate Pinot, with vineyards located 50km north of Mosel. The wines
only reach ripeness thanks to the steep south-facing slopes grown on slate soils that retain the heat in the vineyard. The Estate has just 6.5 hectares of vineyards. This soil type, steepness and slate soil offer a completely different style of Pinot Noir compared to the Cote d’Or.

On tasting, the wines have an incredible line of acidity running through them, distinctly more marked than Burgundy. There is amazing contrast here too. Tasting the Sonnenburg Grand Cru alongside the Monchberg, these wines have completely different personalities, the Sonnenburg is incredibly linear and focused on the palate with great precision and pitch. The fruit is delicate and uber-fresh – sappy cranberry, wild strawberry and earthy rhubarb flavours. This is one for all the acid heads.

The Monchberg really is outstanding, and certainly worthy of Grand Cru status anywhere in the world. Incredibly compact with tons going on. The spectrum of fruit goes from fresh red fruit right through to meatier, savoury tones. The mid-palate is striking – weighty and viscous yet still has such delicacy and finesse. The length and breadth of the wine is extraordinary and the contrast of the wine shows real terroir in action. This wine is not cheap but its is stunning. 

Both wines have quite a different tone to Burgundy but are full of European etherealism. If you can find it, the Monchberg is one not to miss. World-Class.

 Key wines:     Jean Stodden Spatburgunder Herernberg Grosses Gewachs (GG) Jean Stodden include Hardtberg Spatburgunder GG Mayschoss Monchberg Spatburgunder GG  NeuenahrerSonnenburg Spatburgunder GG What the critics say: 

“From their home village Rech, Stodden's 2016 Recher Herrenberg Spätburgunder GG shows a ruby-garnet color and an aroma of pure, fine slate but warm, ripe fruit. Lush and intense on the palate, this is a full-bodied, quite powerful and intense Pinot with a lingering juiciness and spicy slate flavor. The 2016 is still very young, but its potential is enormous. Tasted during the preview of the GG wines in Wiesbaden in August 2018."
 93 points, Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate “Alexander Stodden's 2016 Neuenahrer Sonnenberg Spätburgunder GG is brighter in color than J.J. Adenauer's Sonnenberg and shows a very ripe, slightly caramelly yet pure and slatey bouquet with remarkable precision. Sweet, round and elegant on the palate, this is an intense and refined Pinot Noir with good concentration, remarkable length
and a tight finish. This 2016 is excellent, but it needs time.”
 91+ points, Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate

 Markus Molitor, Mosel
 Starting from practically nothing in the early 1980s, Markus Molitor has rapidly grown into one of the world's most respected winemakers, with a list of accolades including Rising Star of the Year 1999 from Gault & Millau, Winemaker of the Year 2014 from Falstaff and raft of huge critic scores. He is also the proud owner of over sixty hectares of prime real estate that Mosel Fine Wines – an independent review of Mosel Riesling – describes as a "who's who of Grand Cru between Erden to Bernkastel and the Southern Saar."

Molitor, like all producers in the Mosel, is most well known for his Rieslings, with Pinot Noir just making up 4% of his plantings. However, his top Pinot Noirs are becoming as collectible and as respected as his whites and are rated amongst the finest in the world. He produces seven different Pinot Noir cuvees in total.

"Try the most 'simple' Pinot Noir Molitor is bottling and you are already in the upper class of German Pinot Noir. His three-starred Pinots are mind-blowing and can compete with prestigious Grands Crus from Burgundy.” Stephan Reinhardt, RobertParker.com

 Key wines:        Trarbacher Schlossberg   Brauneberger Klostergarten     Graacher Himmelreich K.P. Keller – Rheinhessen 
 Alongside Egon Muller, Klaus-Peter Keller’s wines are the world's most collected and prized wines coming from Germany, famously quoted by Jancis Robinson his Riesling has been described as the Montrachet of Germany. Whilst his Rieslings initially brought so much international fame to the winery, his Pinot Noirs today also have a strong following. His 16 hectares of vines are predominantly made up of Riesling plantings but he has a Grand Cru site for his Dalsheim Spatburgunder grown on the Burgel Grosses Gewachs site. 

This Grand Cru has a specific shell limestone soil more suitable for Pinot Noir than Riesling
production. Yields are minuscule with each vine reduced to just two bunches of grapes and each individual cluster further halved. Klaus believes this helps to increase the overall acidity allowing him to pick the grapes at full ripeness whilst retaining freshness. His global recognition in a region more famous for high yielding dirt cheap Liebfraumilch, has caused a quality revolution in Rheinhessen, with more producers following in his footsteps. 

The Keller Pinots are genuinely impressive, the wines capture the beguiling Pinot fragrance
and the finesse to the tannins are very close in style to top Burgundy. We tasted the Frauenberg Grand Cru, the last of Keller’s Pinot Noir vineyards to be harvested, being the coolest site and grown at altitude. The wine has tremendous stony minerality, very precise fruit clarity and is not without structure – think Clos de la Roche rather than Chambertin.

 Key wines      
 Dalsheimer Burgel Spatburgunder GG         Frauenberg Spatburgunder GG      Westhofen Morstein Felix Spatburgunder GG What the critics say 
Frauenberg Spatburgunder GG 2013: “From French mass selections planted in 1996 and picked with 35 hectoliters per hectare, the 2013 Frauenberg Spätburgunder trocken GG has a
clear and subtle yet aromatic bouquet of red and dark berries (raspberries, wild blackberries, cassis), along with some flinty/smoky flavors. Intense, concentrated and firm on the palate, this is a full-bodied, powerful and firmly structured Pinot.  It has a velvet texture, ripe and grippy tannins, and a persistently sweet and concentrated flavor of ripe cherries and red fruit jelly in the finish. The wine has more power and body than the Bürge, l but also needs more time to develop. It's from a cooler and windier plot, and always the last Pinot harvested at Keller. The 2013 was aged in used barrels, whereas only the 2012 was still in new barrels until the malolactic fermentation was finished.  92 points, Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate “The 2014 Frauenberg Spätburgunder GG offers a ripe, yet precise, fresh, well-focused and rather coolish Pinot aroma; it shows some very discreet toast and mocha flavors highlighting the wild blackberry and dark cherry aromas. Full-bodied, ripe and concentrated on the palate, this is an intense and juicy, almost charming Pinot Noir from low-yielding vines on limestone
bedrock (21 hectoliters per hectare). The finish is intense and powerful, but well structured due to the stems on which the wine fermented for 21 days.  The finish is almost sweet, due to the ripeness (a word rarely used 30 years ago in the higher altitudes of the Frauenberg), but is also very fresh and precise; whereas the ripe tannins give the required grip and structure. This is a promising wine with delicate fruit flavors, mineral freshness and probably more power than the Bürgel; but at least at this moment, it maybe has less transparency and finesse.  
91-92 points, Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate

 Bernhard Huber, Baden
 Bernhard Huber was seen as the German godfather of Pinot Noir and was one of the most
instrumental vignerons to improve the region's reputation for the varietal. Working extensively with massal selection of clones, 10 – 15 different Pinot clones exist within one vineyard. Huber’s style has always been centred around creating a “nervosity” in his wines. The vineyards share a similar climate and limestone soils of the Cote d’Or. 

The wines are distinctly smoky, meaty with both sweet cherry liqueur notes but also greenness too. The Sommerhalde Grand Cru however is a real step up from the Alte Reben cuvee (made from declassified Grand Cru grapes). Even more impressive was the Bienenberg Grosse Gewachs. You certainly get more weight in these wines from Baden. The wines have rich broad textures on the palate and the tannins more velvety and sturdy than the wines of Keller and Stodden with have more finesse.

 Key wines:     Bernhard Huber Alte Reben Spatburgunder    Bernhard Huber Sommerhalde Spatburgunder GG  Bernhard Huber Malterdinger Bienenberg Spatburgunder “R” 
What the critics say
 "Cherry red and fresh in color, the 2015 Sommerhalde Spätburgunder GG has a pure, very elegant and rather floral bouquet of fresh red fruits. Still a bit reductive on the palate, this is an elegant, silky textured, fresh and fruity Pinot Noir with firm but fine tannins and a long, complex and pretty tight finish with reduced power. It is an impressive wine but the most closed of Huber's 2015 GG Pinot quartet at this early moment. Tasted in Wiesbaden,
August 2017. 
93 points, Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate
 
Bernhard Huber Malterdinger Bienenberg Spatburgundr “R” 2015 – “Julian Huber's 2015 Bienenberg Spätburgunder GG shows a lovely, vital ruby red color and opens a bit reductive still, with a clear, fresh and well-defined bouquet of red fruits, crushed stones and spicy and floral aromas. It is a full-bodied, firm, fresh and finessed Pinot Noir with a serious tannin
structure and persistent vitality. This is a terribly clear and precise Pinot, and the finish is really cleansing and stimulating. Tasted at the "VDP Grosses Gewächs" presentation in Wiesbaden, August 2017.” 
 92 points, Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate 
Weingut Dr. Heger, Baden  
One of the more established domaines in Baden the winery has been in operation since 1935.
Today run by Joachim Heger who was understudy to Helmut Donnhoff, the winery has never been in better shape, producing their unique expression of German Pinot Noir thanks to the distinct volcanic soil found in their two main Grand Cru sites of Winklerberg and Achkarrer Schlossberg.  
The 2015s we tasted were stunning. Whilst perhaps less complex in terms of fragrance at
least at this point, the palate has very fine textured tannins, tremendous finesse - there is so much elegance to these wines and so much freshness, the wines leave your mouth enlivened and salivating. Is this the effect of the volcanic soils? Whilst clearly European in style this is again very different to Pinot Noir from Burgundy but certainly as interesting and ethereal. 

 Key wines:     
 Hausleboden Winklerberg Spatburgunder GG Mimus Winklerberg Spatburgunder      Achkarrer Schlossberg Spatburgunder GG      Vorderer Winklerberg Spatburgunder GG Rudolf Furst, Franken
 These days this prolific estate is run by Paul Furst who has continued to make further improvements in their already world-renowned vineyards, further increasing the planting density and replacing German clone vines with Burgundian clones. The estate comprises 20 hectares in total, of which 13 are planted on the Centrafenberg Vineyard in Burgstadter, one of the most celebrated vineyards in Germany. The site is made up of red sandstone, iron rich soils ideal for Pinot Noir production. He also produces a Pinot Noir on the very steep slopes of Schlossberg. Furst is famous for their tiny yields operating at ruthlessly low production levels in order to maximise quality.

 Key wines:       Centrafenberg Spatburgunder GG         Hundsruck Spatburgunder GG          Klingenberg Schlossberg Spatburgunder GG What the critics say: Weingut Rudolf Furst Hundsruck Spatburgunder GG The 2016 Hundsrück Spätburgunder GG is even more fine and spicy on the nose than the Centgrafenberg. The palate is lush and firm but also concentrated and very elegant, with remarkable finesse and aging potential. This is great German Spätburgunder, and I am looking forward to tasting it again with more time and more wine in my glass. Temporary score. 
94-95 points, Stephan Reinhardt (tasted in Wiesbaden in August 2018) Explore more Editorial 

We have sourced a parcel of some of the finest Pinot Noirs coming out of Germany, a diverse region that is today arguably producing the most exciting Pinot Noirs in Europe, outside of Burgundy. Top examples are world-class and offer both similarities and important differences to the Cote d’Or. 

The finest Pinot Noirs are coming out of Germany, a diverse region that is arguably producing the most exciting Pinot Noirs in Europe, outside of Burgundy. 

Exploring Germany's Pinot Noir

Beyond Burgundy: Exploring Germany's Pinot Noir

In 1991, Jean-Luc Thunevin made the first vintage of Valandraud. In the workshop next to his house, he produced just 100 cases of wine from tiny yields, de-stemming and punching it down by hand and ageing it in 100% new French oak. Although it didn’t have a name yet, the garagiste movement had been born.  As the Super Tuscans had in Italy, these maverick bottlings, operating outside the official classification, rocked the world of wine – especially in the conservative heartland of Bordeaux. At the same time, the likes of Harlan and Colgin were starting to prove the power of Cabernet Sauvignon in Napa. Meanwhile on the East Coast, a lawyer called Robert Parker had already gathered a loyal following for his newsletter, offering independent advice and a novel scoring system. The internet was just getting started. Everything in the world of wine was changing.  “In the 1990s there was formidable energy and consumers who were ready to accept something new,” says Thunevin. But the Bordeaux wine trade was stuck in the Middle Ages, he says; it was aristocratic, closed – and one reason why the garagistes, a collection of outsiders, caused quite such a stir. Thunevin himself had been in banking, while Jonathan Maltus (Le Dôme) was a British businessman and Stephan von Neipperg (La Mondotte) a German interloper. With the challenging conditions of 1991, the first vintage of Valandraud had little impact. He made a tiny volume of red, and then a rosé de saignée that he gave away to friends. “L’histoire, c’est ’92,” Thunevin tells me, almost whimsically. The wine, a product of much more favourable growing conditions, put him on the map. “I created a revolution,” he says today. The 1991 Valandraud was released to négociants for 13€; the 2022 came out at 118€.  It was Michel Bettane who coined the term “vin de garage”, sneeringly suggesting that these new-fangled wines could be made in someone’s garage. But, as Jean-Luc Thunevin told me, “By talking about me, they made me exist.” Without such outrage from wine’s more traditional core, the garagistes likely wouldn’t have had the same success. Combine Bettane’s throwaway comment with the rise of garage music in the US and UK, and the movement gained an accidental cool-factor – but that’s all changed now.  “I don’t think anybody wants to admit they were a garagiste anymore,” Jonathan Maltus – the Englishman who created Le Dôme in 1996 – says. He looks back on the time with relative fondness, however. He’d arrived in Bordeaux in 1994, buying Ch. Teyssier, having sold his petrochemical business and decided after a stint in Cahors that he needed to be in the “Formula One” of wine, making for Bordeaux. It was an English wine merchant who told him how a single-vineyard Pomerol called Le Pin was causing a stir – one of a handful of “cuvée wines” that were becoming incredibly popular. As a canny businessman, he decided to give it a go himself.  “It was really exciting – and there was no budget,” Maltus says frankly, explaining how the movement rapidly became a game of one-upmanship. They would instantly snap up any new machinery or equipment, pushing their concepts further and further to out-do each other. Green-harvesting and picking only the ripest berries in multiple passes was de rigueur; the vines often stripped of their leaves to expose the fruit to the sunshine and maximise ripeness (something climate change has put paid to). Yields were consistently low, with over 30hl/ha considered too much to produce the requisite concentration. Maltus explains how the introduction of double-sorting and cold-soaking was radical – both expensive tools, with the latter requiring protective gas and the ability to chill tanks. He would put the wine into one set of new French oak barrels for malolactic fermentation, before transferring the wine to another batch of new oak for ageing. The resulting wines were bold, rich and lavish. “I like to think of it as a kind of Vivienne Westwood period,” Maltus says.  Ask any of the garagistes who inspired them and they’ll point to, among others, Le Pin. Although owner Jacques Thienpont firmly believes Le Pin is not – and never was – a garage wine; he feels that it is sometimes mistakenly seen as one because it was so successful at the time. Ironically, the wine was originally made in a garage, from just one hectare of vines. It was the sensuality of the wine that inspired Jean-Luc Thunevin, he tells me. He visited Le Pin several times and Thienpont told him that wine was all about the quality of the soil, rather than winemaking. “In the cellar, there are no secrets,” Thienpont says. Thienpont wasn’t Thunevin’s only advisor; Alain Vauthier of Ausone happened to be a school friend, and helped the amateur winemaker.  This tension between terroir and technique is at the heart of the garagiste movement. Jean-Luc Thunevin tells me how Valandraud was not a garage wine, but a “garden wine” – from 300 vines he planted on 0.6 hectares, a single site captured in 300 bottles. For Stephan von Neipperg, who made the first vintage of La Mondotte in 1996, from 4.5 hectares, “It’s a terroir… without an outstanding terroir, you cannot make an outstanding wine.” The garagistes, in his mind, by contrast were about “making the wine easier to understand – round, ripe, sometimes too ripe, extracted” – it’s a term he assigns to the likes of Ch. Gracia – first made in 1997, in a back-alley of Saint-Emilion.  Whether you are convinced these wines were true expressions of site or not, they were a direct contrast to the Médoc Classed Growths – where vast swathes of land were used to create a blend each year. Was it a reaction to the Left Bank’s dependence on blending, maybe even a complacency? Perhaps, but it was also a consequence of what each of them could afford; none of them, at first, had the cash to buy any more land. Thunevin’s methodology, for example, wasn’t idealistic; he had to do everything by hand because he didn’t have a tractor or any other equipment, splurging on new barrels alone, and turning a profit for the first time only in 1995.  It’s hard to untangle the movement from Parker’s influence – but few of the early renditions earned the big scores one expects and associates with these vins de garage. Le Dôme, for example, only earned 100 points in 2010 – long after Maltus had started reining in the style, La Mondotte in 2009. Although 1992 Valandraud kickstarted the movement, Parker only gave it 87-88 points when he first rated it in February 1994. Time blurs lines, inevitably – and, although it’s undeniable that Parker’s palate aligned with plush, polished styles, the truth around his influence is more complicated.   “We realised that the whole thing was just becoming a parody of itself,” Maltus says. He points to 2002 a real turning point, but it was only from 2008 that he stopped double oaking, reduced the proportion of new oak to 80%, and more recently started picking earlier. It’s the same across the spectrum, with many of these rebel estates now part of the formal classification system – absorbed into the establishment.  The instigator Jean-Luc Thunevin was branded Bordeaux’s “bad boy” for having challenged the status quo. It’s a reputation that he worked hard to keep – continually pushing forward (indeed, he even makes wine under the Bad Boy name today). Asking what prompted him to create Valandraud – and make it so differently, he says, “I have always been out of my mind. I always wanted to do things that were a bit shocking.”  Today, Bordeaux has more competitors than ever before, with a world of fine wine that is now truly global. Thunevin feels it’s a region in crisis – in need of another bad boy to take the baton. He was an outsider with nothing but a romantic dream of making wine. Whether you like what he did or not, he changed Bordeaux for good. “Les rêves sont nécessaires à notre équilibre,” he tells me – dreams are essential for our balance. The garage movement was just one chapter in Bordeaux’s lengthy history, but perhaps it’s time for another wave of disruptors – after all, they may just be the key to its long-term survival.  Browse all Bordeaux listings or read more about Bordeaux 

When it comes to wine, little has changed in Bordeaux for centuries – but in the 1990s a group of outsiders shook things up: the garagistes. Sophie Thorpe talks to three of the movement’s leading figures about its legacy – and what it means for Bordeaux today

Talking to Valandraud, Le Dome, La Mondotte and Le Pin about Bordeaux’s garagiste movement and what it means for Bordeaux today

The legacy of Bordeaux’s garagistes

Disrupt and disturb: the legacy of Bordeaux’s garagistes

A prince’s kiss rouses the cursed princess from a century-long slumber in Sleeping Beauty
but the man responsible for Bordeaux’s long-overdue reawakening was not a prince (this being the French Republic after all) but Alain Juppé, France’s former Prime Minister.  Bordeaux had been comatose, earning it the nickname la belle endormie, but the indefatigable politician has given the city the kiss of life. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2007, it is now the most desirable place to live in France and was voted “European Best Destination 2015’. Bordeaux's renaissance is a real-life fairytale. Bordeaux was a “melancholy, unwelcoming place” just 20 years ago but the arrival of Alan
Juppé as mayor in 1995 has transformed the city’s fortunes, making its centre as elegant as its wines. Blackened buildings and abandoned warehouses are now a thing of the past and, with the arrival of the high-speed rail link, connecting the city to Paris in just two hours, living in Bordeaux is as aspirational as drinking its first growths.” When Juppé was elected as mayor in 1995, Bordeaux was not the modern and vibrant place it is today. Deputy mayor Stephan Delaux, who worked alongside Juppé for more than two decades, admits: “Bordeaux had a reputation as a melancholy, unwelcoming town. The town wasn’t modern – that is to say that in the town centre, cars, trucks, buses, car parks dominated. The building fronts were black, the waterfront was a relic of a once-busy
port; the warehouses [on the waterfront] were empty. The people of the city no longer knew they lived by a river – there was no life there.” He paints a rather depressing picture but throughout its history, Bordeaux’s sons have
portrayed the city in a none-too-flattering light: the novels of Nobel-prize-winning writer François Mauriac (1885-1970) whose bust now stands in the leafy public gardens, depicted Bordeaux and the surrounding areas as a bleak and uptight place to live in the early 20th century. Similarly, one of Alfred Smith’s (1854-1932) best-known works ‘Le Tramway devant les Quinconces par temps de pluie’ depicts a grey, wet day on the banks of the Garonne, umbrellas up and those without hurrying, heads bowed. It’s not a place you would have aspired to live.  Things didn’t get much better during the 20th century: local tour guide Veronique Baggio recalls a ramshackle apartment she lived in in the 1980s. “The building’s bathroom was in the attic so I had to leave my apartment to use it.  At that time the city was trying to push locals to improve the inside of buildings [to improve living conditions].  It wasn’t until the late 1990s that they started to focus on cleaning up the outside of the buildings and the public places.” Today, the buildings are impeccable – a mass sandblasting effort has unveiled the natural caramel and blonde tones of the local limestone, which were long hidden. Here and there, a few reminders of the past can be seen along its narrow streets: a blackened façade, as if smeared with charcoal.  Yet the renaissance of Bordeaux required more than a spit and polish. The length of the city’s riverbank had long been hidden by a line of ugly warehouses designed to cater to the needs of a port city. Since the 19th century, sugar and spices from far-flung places were unloaded to be reloaded by local timber and wine. The commercial port moved away in the 1970s from the city centre but the warehouses remained, as did the businesses that catered for the all-male docking crews.  Charles Sichel, export director of Maison Sichel, a wine merchant in the Chartrons district since 1883, explains:  “20 years ago there were a few seedy bars [on the quais] and where the new bridge is [Pont Chaban-Delmas] there were working girls. It was interesting taking customers out to lunch when there were girls standing in the doorways waiting for business – it was quite something – but I can’t remember them ever saying anything!” How times change. The waterfront is now the playground of the Bordelais, filled with joggers,
cyclists and prams promenading along its length; a place for concerts, festivals and open-air markets.  It is a sunny day and a Viking cruise liner lounges at the edge of the city centre overlooking children skipping in the water mirror, a slick of water that, as its name implies, reflects the classical architecture of the Place de la Bourse (Stock Exchange Square). It has become Bordeaux’s iconic postcard picture (and an unwitting urban water park) and represents the new face of the city – clean, bright and, dare I say it, fun.  The reawakening of the city has been noticed far beyond the city’s ring road; it has become the most desirable place to live in France, according to a survey commissioned by the Observatoire du Bonheur in 2015. Asked in which French city they would most like
to live, nearly one in five respondents answered Bordeaux – ahead of Montpellier, Toulouse and streets ahead of Paris.  Just an hour’s drive from the beaches of the Atlantic and three hours to the ski slopes of the Pyrenees, Bordeaux is now within commuting distance of Paris. A high-speed rail link (TGV) cuts the travel time between the two cities from more than three hours to two hours and five minutes in July 2017.  The spruce-up now continues beyond the city centre. Gliding north along the quai past Sichel’s office in the Chartrons district, the tram has started to deposit an unprecedented number of tourists in the Bacalan district. It’s certainly not the prettiest of suburbs, home to run-down docks, abandoned factories and a huge concrete mass that was once a submarine base, but the Juppé magic dust is now being sprinkled here and the opening of the Cité du Vin in June 2016, a towering sphere of gold and silver in a Frank Gehry meets Zaha Hadid-construction, is a pivotal part of its future. Tourists  - and most locals -  have had no reason to come here but that’s changing with 421,000 visitors walking through its doors in 2018. La belle endormie has woken up but the city continues to dream big. Sichel is rightly proud of his hometown. “Now, every time my customers come here they all comment on how beautiful the area has become. Juppé has turned this city around.” Explore more Editorial

Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2007, it is now the most desirable place to live in France and was voted “European Best Destination 2015’. We explore the renaissance of Bordeaux 

Exploring the renaissance of Bordeaux, from being named a UNESCO World Heritage site to being crowned the most desirable place to live in France 

Bordeaux revival - the city's transformation

Bordeaux revival: A reinvention of the city

Philippe Guigal hadn’t yet met his future wife – it would be another nine years before he finally walked down the aisle but he had long known what vintage he would serve at his then-imaginary wedding. The 1999 season in the northern Rhône was as perfect as it gets and when he was picking the beautiful berries that were worthy of photographing he told his father it would the wines of the 1999 vintage would be served on his wedding day.  Baltimore-base wine critic Robert Parker seemed to agree with Philippe that Domaine E. Guigal’s 1999s were worthy of the most important day of a man’s life, handing out three perfect scores to its trio of Côte Rôtie wines, known affectionately as the La Las. It wasn’t just
one northern Rhône producer who basked in the glory of the 1999 summer: Michel Ogier’s Cuvée Belle Helène and Rene Rostaing’s Côte Blonde both nabbed their first–ever 100 Parker points and Michel Chapoutier’s Ermite l’Ermite Blanc received its first, of what would be many, 100-point scores.  While Parker was accustomed to handing out awards to the French wine fraternity, the tables were turned in 1999; he was named an officer of the Legion d’Honneur by French President Jacques Chirac “being the man who taught America about French wine”. France’s highest award, he joined an illustrious list of recipients including Queen Elizabeth II, American President Dwight D. Eisenhower and French poet Victor Hugo.  Another American Robert was making waves in Europe in the autumn of 1999. Robert Mondavi Winery bought a stake in Tenuta dell’Ornellaia, one of a handful of so-called Super Tuscan estates made famous for their law-breaking use of non-Tuscan grape varieties and
the superlative quality of the resulting wines. But it wasn’t just Antinori who was celebrating his windfall in 1999: it was a magnificent season growers across Tuscany. The winemakers of Brunello di Montalcino enjoyed a superb follow-up to the opulent 1997 vintage in an otherwise unremarkable decade for the area.  Burgundy was also bringing the century to a close with flourish: it was a record year with around 20 million more bottles than the five-year average. The late Henri Jayer, affectionately known as the "pope of winegrowers" recorded his thoughts on each vintage in notebooks and, in 1999, he said: "One has to go back to 1934 to find a similar association of quantity and quality."  If growers did not thin their crops, however, the vines struggled to ripen their loads while producers that normally ferment their wine with a portion of whole bunch had to destem to make room in their vats.  From the off the wines were succulent and seductive but they had greater staying power than many envisaged due to their rich phenolics and fine acidity. In 2018, Burgundy critic Stephen Tanzer said that the reds had just entered "their periods of peak drinkability" and this is a great time to crack the 1999 reds from the Côte d'Or. It was a truly great vintage to see out the 20th century. 
François Millet of Chambolle Musigny's Domaine Georges Comte de Vogüé shares his memories of the 1999 vintage. "The 1999 vintage was abundant. The previous vintage - 1998 - was marked by a hard frost and, as is often the case after a small crop, it is followed by a large one - like 2017 after 2016.  "The most important factor in 1999 was consequently whether you limited yields or not. We
had been very vigilant at the domaine and didn't hesitate to do a severe green harvest. The weather during the season was beautiful and we harvested on 20 September. It was not an early vintage and maturity was reached calmly.  "The wines are concentrated, complete, elegant and refined with black fruit dominating and a
beautifully spicy structure. It was quite a serious vintage in terms of its expression while also retaining a beautiful elegance; it is a quiet force that inspires respect." On Musigny "When it comes to the winemaking, there was no pigeage because I think that Musigny is a
sensitive terroir that doesn't like much intervention; you have to have a lot of empathy for the wine and to be forceful with it would risk having vegetal tannins and bitterness, which I perceive as a form of anger. By its structural nature, if you were too brutal with it, the 1999 vintage, could very quickly have become monstrous. [On the other hand] Bonnes-Mares likes and needs more intervention to best express itself and so I punch down.  For me, making wine is a message of peace and empathy, particularly for Musigny. As Claude Debussy said: 'Music is the silence between the notes'." Explore more Editorial 

In the latest installment of our Vintage Series, we explore the last year of the 20th century. Francois Millet from Domaine Georges Comte de Vogue tells us what makes the year 1999 so special.

Exploring what makes 1999 so special with Francois Millet from Domaine Georges Comte de Vogue  

The 1999 vintage in wine

A year in wine: 1999

It’s often noted that Burgundians know nothing about Bordeaux and its wines – and vice versa. This is an exaggeration, though it retains a nugget of truth. These two great French wine regions are poles apart culturally. This is not a novel observation. Indeed, Jean-Robert Pitte, a professor at the Sorbonne, wrote an entire book, Bordeaux Bourgogne: Histoire d’une rivalité (2016), on this very theme. Just a couple of examples. In Bordeaux you will encounter people with names such as Basile, Vanessa, Diana or Jennifer – that would be inconceivable in Burgundy. This may be to do with the fact that Aquitaine was English-owned for centuries, or it may be that some Bordelais believe that an English name confers a certain cachet. At celebrations organized by the Chevaliers du Tastevin at Clos de Vougeot, and just about anywhere where Burgundy’s wines are praised and consumed, the ban bourguignon is an unavoidable part of the proceedings. It entails raising both arms in the air and twisting them in time to a raucous ditty with the words ‘Lala, lala, lalalala layla, lala, lala, la, la, la’. Can you imagine such a thing at Haut-Brion? Another striking difference is that Burgundy excludes, while Bordeaux includes, at least in terms of embracing those it considers helpful to its promotion, such as merchants, auctioneers and journalists. I have visited Burgundy and its growers every year for over three decades and can count on the fingers of two hands the number of times I have been invited to stay for lunch, let alone dinner. Without fail, a 10.30am appointment will come to an end at noon, and the visitor will be politely shown the door. Hungry after a morning of tastings? That’s your problem, monsieur. I used to find this irksome but soon came to understand that for the Burgundian, noon is the time when family members return to the homestead from pruning or tractoring or delivering bottles. It’s the sacred lunch hour, and outsiders have no place. You can taste from every barrel in the cellar, but that hospitality doesn’t extend to the dining room. It’s the exact opposite in Bordeaux, where it’s assumed that a visitor with a late-morning appointment will stay for lunch. Indeed, when researching one of my books in Saint-Emilion, I was amazed to find that my programme, organised with enthusiasm by the local syndicat, included lunch and dinner every day, weekends included. The Bordeaux proprietor will usually use the occasion not just to offer a fine meal, but to open some older vintages for the delectation of the visitor. The Burgundian really couldn’t care less. On one occasion, a grower with whom I spent a morning to research a profile for a magazine, had suggested, when I made the appointment, that I might like to stay for lunch. With pleasure, I responded, hoping that a mature Richebourg might be brought up from the cellar for my appreciation. But sur place, when I had completed my interview, it was clear that the owner had completely forgotten his offer. (However, after an embarrassing few minutes all around, his wife did rustle up a rather good meal.) Born to be hospitable Burgundy’s wine culture is about the nuances of terroir; Bordeaux is about selling wine that’s produced in far larger quantities than from patchwork Burgundy, and all those who can serve that purpose are corralled into a network of hospitality. A lunch will always take the same form. Coats and bags are deposited in the hallway of the château and one is led into a salon, where a small table supports a bottle of Champagne (often Pol Roger, sometimes Bollinger) and some glasses.  In comes the butler or maid (often on hire from the local traiteur, or caterer) with a plate of gougères or roundels of toast with foie gras to stimulate the appetite. Then the host rises to his (and occasionally her) feet and leads the way into the dining room. Lunch is invariably a butler-service event, so guests must calculate how much meat or veg to convey onto one’s plate without either appearing greedy or depriving others of their fair share. The dishes are always replenished, however, so seconds are in order. No need to panic. If the aim is to impress, it usually succeeds. In contrast, the Burgundians en fête are after a good time. Other than the rather forced jollity of the Chevaliers du Tastevin dinners, usually accompanied by indifferent wines, the highlight of the Burgundian wine calendar is the Paulée de Meursault (other paulées are available, but all agree that Meursault does it best). This is in effect a giant bottle party. Each producer, who may be accompanied by family or guests, will bring a basket stacked with a few bottles or magnums of a venerable or prized vintage. These will be poured and later circulated in the course of a five-hour lunch. Those lucky enough to attend can often taste spectacular rarities. This is not the Bordeaux way. At a formal dinner, for example during the en primeur tastings or Vinexpo, invited merchants or journalists will find themselves at a large round table in the company of two or three château owners or winemakers. They will have brought bottles – often very fine bottles – that will, in due course, be delivered to your table. There’s a certain amount of swapping with other tables to provide more variety, and certain journalists, towards the end of the evening, will be seen roving the room in search of wines to try on distant tables. (I plead guilty.) Here again, the aim is to impress. Brigades of waiters and waitresses, quite often students from a local catering college, will swoop in from the kitchen with such efficiency that a few hundred guests can be served almost simultaneously. Moreover, the food will usually be excellent, provided by one of the many highly professional traiteurs who flourish in Bordeaux. Access is the name of the game. The privileged guest, sipping Champagne or Sauternes during the prolonged apéritif hour before a grand Bordeaux dinner, will be in the company of dozens of château owners. Reach out a hand, even to someone you’ve never seen before but vaguely recognize, and it will instantly be shaken: ‘Bonsoir, monsieur.’ Everyone present is within the magic circle. You have been appointed, like it or not, as an ambassador for Bordeaux. Over 20 years ago I was present, along with 400 other guests, at the Fête des Vendanges, a great feast organized each year before the harvest by a leading château. I could see from the menu that 1985 Haut-Brion was to be the final wine of the evening, but what I hadn’t anticipated was that it was to be served in magnums only. Moreover, on a very warm evening each magnum had been lightly chilled before serving to ensure that it would retain
its freshness and digestibility in the glass. Other blandishments include guests of honour who are often prima donnas or celebrated actresses. Who wouldn’t want to be around when, as once happened, Gina Lollobrigida was escorted between the tables by the château owner? These feats of generosity, glamour and service are to be observed at all such events in Bordeaux. If you’re lucky enough to be present, it’s hard not to experience a wave of self-satisfaction. This warm embrace of the wine trade is not extended to mere consumers, of course. Although châteaux are more open to visitors than they were in the past, most wine tourists making their way up the roads that connect Margaux to Saint-Julien and Pauillac are confronted by closed gates or notices that read ‘by appointment only’. Some 25 years ago a delegation of Bordeaux worthies came to London to ask friendly journalists (over a good lunch, of course) what they could do improve the image of their region. ‘Try opening your gates,’ was my suggestion, and it did not go down particularly well. Fees, factotums and fixers Oeno-tourism has been slow to come to Bordeaux. Showcase châteaux such as Pavie, Smith Haut Lafitte or Lynch-Bages have become adept at offering tours and tastings, though at a price. A fee is understandable, as the cost of staffing the tours and the wines to be poured needs to be recouped. Napa does it differently. Visitors are courted, and the customary tasting fee will be refunded if you buy a bottle or two. In Australia, the ‘cellar door’ is always open for visitors to enjoy the wines and other merchandising. However, in Bordeaux, most prestigious châteaux make little effort to welcome visitors.  In Burgundy, top growers sell to a band of importers and perhaps a few private customers and restaurants. In Bordeaux, châteaux sell to négociants, who distribute their wines worldwide. Châteaux have no direct influence over who sells or buys their wines. That’s why it’s important to have influential writers and critics on their side. A high score from a wine guru may just persuade a group of merchants or consumers to buy Château X in preference to Château Y. And the other way around the following year. No wonder top châteaux treat the media with affection and respect. Consultants, too, form part of the hype machine. They are rarely present in Burgundy, where savoir-faire is passed down (not always successfully) from one generation to the next. But in regions such as Tuscany or Bordeaux, where estate owners are often rich and enthusiastic but short on expertise, the consultant is an essential member of the team. Nothing wrong with hiring good advice, of course. But choosing the right consultant also adds lustre to the estate. In Italy, take on Carlo Ferrini or Riccardo Cotarella and you can be certain, at the very least, of media attention. In Bordeaux, the consultant is more than an adviser on viticulture or vinification, suggesting how high your canopy should be or which coopers are best suited to your style of wine. They have influence too. Michel Rolland, notoriously, had the ear of Robert Parker for many years. This was perfectly understandable because, broadly speaking, they liked the same style of wine. I once asked a château owner with a group of properties why he had chosen a particular consultant rather than another of similar renown. ‘He’s good at what he does,’ was the reply, ‘but he also has a track record of getting his clients’ wines onto airline lists.’ Many of the older generation of consultants were invisible. In decades of visits to Bordeaux, I never encountered Jacques Boissenot, who advised most of the top estates of the Médoc, or Gilles Pauquet in Saint-Emilion. Others, such as Stéphane Derenoncourt, court importers and the press assiduously, with regular tastings that provide a showcase for all their clients. Wine writers like, for sound reasons, to be on close terms with consultants such as Derenoncourt, as they can be invaluable sources of information. Save time and score it? Admission to the magic circle of Bordeaux carries its own risks. I doubt there is much corruption as such – no wine writer of any importance would, I assume, be foolish enough to accept backhanders in exchange for favourable ratings – but what has happened is that independent assessment has been almost abandoned. And there are stories of bribes, often in the form of a few cases of wine, being offered. Newly minted bloggers would be particularly susceptible to a helping hand. Back in the 1980s or even 1990s revered critics such as Robert Parker would not hesitate to give a poor score to a wine he considered below standard. These days a poor score has become close to inconceivable. A score below 90 has become the equivalent of a smack in the face. In an article some years ago I predicted the scores that the major critics would give the 2014 vintage when, a few months later, the wines became available for tasting En Primeur.  My educated guesses, made without tasting a single wine, were alarmingly accurate. That, simply put, is because critics now score the brand and not the wine. No one is going to rate a first growth or scarce Pomerol at below 96; likewise, no obscure fifth growth or Côte de Bordeaux red, however fine, will ever be scored at 93 or higher. Bordeaux has succeeded in imposing its own self-valuations on its critics. Price has become equated with quality, as has been the case since the 18th century. This is why new owners of certain properties relentlessly push up their prices, because this is the best way to confer prestige on the wines. For Bordeaux as a whole, it may be a costly business organizing lavish dinners with superlative vintages, but it has paid off in establishing a group of wines as safely within the band of the world’s most appreciated and sought-after. For the wine critic, it’s a tricky balance. Without access, an article or vintage assessment becomes impossible. I am not immune. To research my own publications on Bordeaux, I have accepted offers to stay at comfortable châteaux for extended periods. I do my best not to let my judgment be swayed by this quid pro quo (which I disclose), but one can never be certain. Schmooze or you lose? It’s not only the wine press that is courted and pampered. Top châteaux will lay on lavish feasts for négociants and brokers too. Corinne Mentzelopoulos of Château Margaux once described such events as a way of thanking the Bordeaux wine trade for their success in selling her wines (not an arduous task, I would have thought). She intimated that it was also a way of keeping the trade on her side. Selling top claret in a great vintage is a doddle (except when grotesquely overpriced); selling the same label in a mediocre year such as 2013 is another matter. Maintaining brand loyalty – to Brand Bordeaux and individual châteaux – is crucial. By 2020 the region was having to face the threat of USA tariffs, the cold shoulder from China, the uncertainties of Brexit for the important British market, not to mention the growing climatic vagaries bringing drought, frost and hail in their wake.  Other challenges are stylistic rather than economic. A colleague who is involved in assessing the wine lists of top restaurants worldwide notes that there are a growing number of such lists that ostentatiously scorn Bordeaux in favour of, usually, ‘natural’ or other styles considered trendy. This is sommelier-driven, and Bordeaux producers and merchants are not always aware of how old-fashioned and stuffy their offerings appear to sommeliers (and their clients) in search of novelty rather than reliability. It’s hard for individual châteaux to promote their wines worldwide since they don’t know precisely who is buying their superb wines. In contrast, their Napa Valley equivalents stage auctions and other events targeted very precisely at super-rich clients and social media. Australia has its highly regarded agricultural shows, awarding medals that confer more prestige than most medals from wine competitions.  Bordeaux doesn’t have such marketing opportunities at its disposal, which is why generic marketing campaigns, prestigious tasting events, and the assiduous wooing of the media are such necessary tools. Whether they will continue to be effective as they have been in the past is undoubtedly open to question. On Bordeaux: Tales of the Unexpected from the World’s Greatest Wine Region – an anthology of writing on Bordeaux with a foreword by Jane Anson – is published by Académie du Vin Library and available now.  Explore more Editorial 

Bordeaux and Burgundy couldn’t be much more different. In this extract from Académie du Vin Library’s new publication On Bordeaux, Stephen Brook considers how the two regions market themselves – asking whether wooing the world’s press is enough to keep Bordeaux in pole position

Stephen Brook considers how the Bordeaux and Burgundy wine regions market themselves 

Bordeaux, Burgundy wines and building the hype

Bordeaux, Burgundy and building the hype

Stephan Gschwing

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