Manhattan Wine Company

2012 Bordeaux Vintage – A Pleasant Surprise Rewarding Hard Work, Precision & Adaptation Every...

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 15:47:00 -0400

2012 Bordeaux Vintage – A Pleasant Surprise Rewarding Hard Work, Precision & Adaptation Every...

Not your average tasting note: Patrick Reuter’s shape...

Thu, 13 Sep 2012 12:09:42 -0400

Not your average tasting note: Patrick Reuter’s shape tasting. From Hawk Wakawaka.

A great profile on Guy Bossard and his Domaine de l’Ecu in...

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 10:58:00 -0400

A great profile on Guy Bossard and his Domaine de l’Ecu in Muscadet from The Wine Doctor. We tasted through his ’10s yesterday and were extremely impressed. Look for an offer soon.

Lower alcohol, less big fruit, less ripeness? Less...

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 14:35:00 -0400

Lower alcohol, less big fruit, less ripeness? Less California-ness in California? Chris Deegan from the restaurant Nopa in San Francisco weighs in on winemakers who make wines they like to drink. It’s a great read on a trend we hope continues.

This is our kind of wine pairing. Who knew there was Mexican...

Fri, 29 Jun 2012 09:55:26 -0400

This is our kind of wine pairing. Who knew there was Mexican food in Paris? Bert Celce to the rescue.

A really intelligent and concise take on 2010 Burgundy on Doug...

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 15:33:48 -0400

A really intelligent and concise take on 2010 Burgundy on Doug Barzelay’s blog, Old Vine Notes. The article is a few months old, but it’s a great read for anyone curious about ‘10’s, many of which will be hitting the market in the coming months.

Mike Steinberger, formerly the wine writer for Slate, goes...

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 10:22:00 -0400

Mike Steinberger, formerly the wine writer for Slate, goes in-depth on the Rudy Kurniawan saga in Vanity Fair.

A nice post on a recent visit to the vineyards and cellar of...

Wed, 06 Jun 2012 09:59:08 -0400

A nice post on a recent visit to the vineyards and cellar of Giacomo Conterno from Levi Dalton’s fantastic blog.

Wow.

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 10:49:02 -0400

Wow.

Bert Celce is the author of what may be one of the most...

Wed, 30 May 2012 16:51:34 -0400

Bert Celce is the author of what may be one of the most underrated wine blogs on the internet, Wine Terroirs. In this post, he explores the vineyards and cellar of Alice and Oliver de Moor, who run one of the most exciting up-and-coming domaines in Chablis. They are making fantastic and authentic wines for a song, and they won’t be ‘up-and-coming’ for much longer, if they even still are.

We’re opening all our ‘09 Hospices de Beaune &...

Thu, 10 May 2012 17:15:00 -0400

We’re opening all our ‘09 Hospices de Beaune & Hospices de Nuits on May 23rd at the Vicky David Gallery on 23rd Street. Come raise a glass with us!

The premox “bumblefuck” with White Burgundy:...

Mon, 07 May 2012 10:03:00 -0400

The premox “bumblefuck” with White Burgundy: explained in layman’s terms by Remoissent’s President, Pierre-Antoine Rovani of former erobertparker.com fame.

A great article on the Burguet brothers and a visit to their...

Fri, 04 May 2012 10:59:00 -0400

A great article on the Burguet brothers and a visit to their Gevrey Domaine from Aaron Ayscough. We had a similarly amusing impression of the ‘odd couple’ Eric and Jean-Luc when we met them at a tasting earlier this year. Their ‘10 Champeaux was ridiculously good.

Great entry from Christian Seely of Pichon-Baron regarding the...

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 17:34:00 -0400

Great entry from Christian Seely of Pichon-Baron regarding the En Primeur system. Thanks to @trouty for the heads up.

I’ve been digging through some older podcasts from The...

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 09:40:00 -0400

I’ve been digging through some older podcasts from The Guild of Sommeliers and found a great interview with Jean-Marie Fourrier from August of last year.

Bordeaux 2011 - A Horse with No Name - Post #2

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 13:32:00 -0400

Billy and I were extremely excited to embark on Day 2 of our 2011 En Primeur tastings. We set out...

2011 Bordeaux Futures - Domaine Clarence Dillon - Haut Brion...

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 08:35:00 -0400

Billy scribbling tasting notes

Chateau Haut-Brion

Presentation of the wines

Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion

Gnarly old vine at Chateau Haut-Brion

2011 Bordeaux Futures - Domaine Clarence Dillon - Haut Brion & La Mission - Post #1

My brother Billy and I arrived in Bordeaux on the morning of April 5th and hit the ground running with our first En Primeur tasting at Chateau Haut-Brion that afternoon. En Primeur tasting schedules and pace are not for the faint of heart and, despite our lack of sleep and the time change, we arrived at Haut-Brion excited and ready to dig into this vintage. In the summer of 2011, Domaine Clarence Dillon, owner of Chateau Haut-Brion and Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion, acquired Chateau Tertre Daugay in Saint Emilion and renamed it “Chateau Quintus,” as the estate represents the “fifth child” in the Domain’s repertoire. Quintus is a ~16ha estate that is 67% planted with Merlot and 33% Cabernet Franc. From our conversations, it was clear that the Domaine was excited about the acquisition and the prospects of producing a Saint Emilion classed growth.

Below are my notes on the wines we tasted from Domaine Clarence Dillon and our discussion with the Chateau on the vintage:

2011 Vintage: “Spring of all Fears”

Haut-Brion and La Mission experienced a super dry spring—in fact, the driest on record since 1949. As we all know, these arid conditions are normally extremely beneficial to the vines, forcing them to dig deeper in search of water. As the roots bring the water back up to the vine, they also bring those wonderful trace elements of terroir to the grapes, resulting in greater complexity and nuance, as we saw in the (also dry) 2010 vintage. However, the region experienced two extremely hot days in late June (26th and 27th) that severely impacted the vines’ ability to produce evenly ripe fruit. These severely hot days and tremendous hydric stress during the spring basically defined the vintage and severely and adversely impacted the vines ability to achieve phenolic ripeness. Haut-Brion came in at 73 ITP and La Mission came in at 71 ITP.

Rain finally came, which enabled the vines to continue growing through the summer. August was relatively cool and unusually rainy. September on the other hand was dry, which enabled harvesting in ideal conditions.

The weather conditions had varying impacts on the different types of grapes and the Chateaux’s yields:

Semillon suffered in comparison to Sauvignon Blanc. Merlot was hardly impacted by the weather, while the Cabernet Sauvignon struggled. During the harvest it was not uncommon to see green, pink, red and even shriveled grapes all on the same vine. Cabernet Sauvignon yields were among the lowest ever seen at the estates.

As a result, the Chateaux had to go to extreme lengths during sorting to remove all of the unwanted elements. At Quintus, they employed an air knife sorting machine to blow away anything that wasn’t perfectly round in shape, while at Chateau Haut-Brion and Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion they employed optical sorting machines that sort not only by shape, but also by color. This necessary heavy-handed sorting resulted in the loss of 5-10% of the overall harvest.

Creating the ideal blend was more challenging than usual in 2011. Less than 45% of the total harvest was used for the first wines at Chateau Haut-Brion and Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion, and only 30% at Quintus.

The Wines of Domaine Clarence Dillon

The Reds:

2011 Le Dragon de Quintus, a blend of 54.3% Merlot and 45.7% Cabernet Franc, is the second wine from Chateau Quintus and quite a difficult wine to taste this year. It was herby and lean, and on the attack it was acidic and hard. Very little build in the mid-palate and quite astringent on the finish. Unripe fruit and too much extraction. Not very good.

2011 Chateau Quintus, a blend of 50.5% Merlot and 49.5% Cabernet Franc, was much more enjoyable and clearly benefited from the severe sorting that took place at the estate. Only 30% of the total production found its way into the Grand Vin of Chateau Quintus and resulted in a much more enjoyable wine. The aromatics were much more pronounced and clearly there was more depth and concentration to this wine. It attacked sweet and full with good acid and complexity. The mid palate left a bit to be desired but had a little creaminess to keep you engaged until the boxy, uptight tannins began to take over in the long and dry finish. I’m sure this property will produce great wines moving forward, and this first effort by Domaine Clarence Dillon is not bad considering the growing conditions.

2011 La Chapelle de La Mission Haut-Brion, a blend of 68.7% Merlot and 11.7% Cabernet Franc and 19.6% Cabernet Sauvignon, offered up a quiet nose and subtle floral aromas. It entered the palate a little sweet, but quickly turned to acid. The middle was a bit hollow and highly acidic, lacking any semblance of real concentration. Tannins were fine and gripped the mouth, and the wine finished moderately long. Not bad, but nothing to get too excited about.

2011 Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion, a blend of 33.7% Merlot, 11.3% Cabernet Franc, and 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, had a good deep color and moderately pronounced aromatics. It too was a bit sweet on the attack but had more depth and concentration in the mildly creamy mid-palate. It quickly turned towards the acid with moderate fruit concentration. The finish was very tannic and stopped rather abruptly. Not a classic La Mission Haut-Brion, but not terrible either. This wine will need time to cellar for the tannins to settle down. My guess is that Parker will give this wine 90 to 92 points which is a big step down from the 100 points he lavished on the ‘09 and the 100 points I think he will ultimately give the ‘10.

2011 La Clarence de Haut-Brion, a blend of 71.5% Merlot, 4.5% Cabernet Franc, 22.8% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1.2% Petit Verdot, had a pretty nose and deeper color than Chapelle. It entered sweet and supple and built nicely in the mid-palate. The tannins were fine, present and seemingly ripe enough. This is classic claret that will age nicely and actually should show fairly well in its youth. Pretty solid effort and if this is cheap enough (fingers crossed!), it is a wine worth seeking out.

2011 Chateau Haut-Brion, a blend of 34.8% Merlot, 18.9% Cabernet Franc, and 46.3% Cabernet Sauvignon, was clearly the best red wine of today’s tasting. It had a decent dark color and nice aromatics. The palate was much more interesting than the nose. It entered sweet and relatively powerful with a touch of creaminess in the middle and great freshness due to its acidity. Clearly more concentration, depth and complexity than La Mission, but still not a knockout wine. It finished with a lot of dry extract and was much longer than La Mission. If the price is right here, I say buy this wine as you should be able to enjoy it relatively early on in its development and should cellar for at least 15 to 20 years. Since I’m in a guessing mood, I bet Parker goes with 93-95 points and has some favorable things to say about this. I enjoyed it.

The Whites:

2011 La Clarte de Haut-Brion, a blend of 22% Sauvignon Blanc and 78% Semillon, revealed a very pronounced aromatic profile of Semillon. On the nose, entrance and mid-palate it was very Semillon, and on the finish it was high acid Sauvignon Blanc. This was a pretty wine and a very successful effort. This shouldn’t be too expensive and definitely worth buying and enjoying for many years to come.

2011 Chateau Haut-Brion Blanc, a blend of 42.1% Sauvignon Blanc and 57.9% Semillon, had a very pretty nose, but not nearly as pronounced as La Mission Blanc. It attacked sweet and fairly forceful, but the middle was a bit disjointed. The acid was not as pronounced as it as was with La Mission Blanc and lacked a bit of freshness. This won’t last nearly as long as La Mission Blanc. Ok wine, but for the money, forget it.

2011 Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc, a blend of 27.1% Sauvignon Blanc, 72.9% Semillon, was a tremendous success in the 2011 vintage! It had an amazing nose that exploded from the glass. It attacked powerfully and was lifted by great acidity and concentration. Extremely creamy mid-palate and a very balanced wine. Great minerality and precision on the long and pure finish. This was delicious and if it were not so damn expensive, I’d love to own this. Clearly the best white wine of the bunch.

A beautiful photo of Mathias Marquet of Château Lestignac from...

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 09:52:00 -0400

A beautiful photo of Mathias Marquet of Château Lestignac from an article on “indus-turel” wine (in French). Mathias makes wine in the very much unexplored Dordogne departement of France.

A good look at the total and per capita consumption of wine by...

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 10:55:22 -0400

A good look at the total and per capita consumption of wine by country from the Economist.

Chablis, the sometimes misunderstood wine that balances on a...

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 09:59:00 -0400

Chablis, the sometimes misunderstood wine that balances on a tightrope between Champagne and Burgundy, is the subject of Eric Pfanner’s NY Times article today. Raveneau & Dauvissat are the oft-cited Kings of the region.