Wine Journal

Next week will start seeing offerings of Bordeaux's 2023 vintage, the annual tradition of Bordeaux futures. Here's a preview of this vintage from the Bordeaux Institute of Vine and Wine (ISVV).

• Variability in Profiles: The red wines of 2023 are diverse, with some notable successes. Factors influencing this variability include regional thunderstorms, the diversity of soil types, and viticultural practices.
• Lower Alcohol Levels: Compared to 2022, the red wines generally have slightly lower alcoholic degrees but maintain good acidity, beneficial for their balance.
• Impact of Harvest Choices: The timing of the harvest and decisions made during vinification significantly influenced the quality. Merlot grapes, in particular, showed good color and fruitiness, reflecting their terroir authentically.
• Soil Influence: The expression of red wines varied by soil type—more structured on gravel, fuller on clay, and bright and saline on clay-limestone.

• Excellence in Whites:

One of many Bordeaux buyers' favorite wines is Château Pontet-Canet. Located in the tight-knit Pauillac village, Pontet-Canet has long established itself among the other great wines from its luminous neighbors: Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Mouton Rothschild, Château Latour, Château Pichon Baron, Château Pichon Lalande, Château Lynch Bages.

For comparison shoppers, here is a price analysis of 4 recent vintages 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020:

Note: *Per Wine-Searcher data

2020: "The 2020 Pontet-Canet is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot, aging in 50% new French oak barriques, 35% concrete amphorae and 15% in one-year-old barrels. Harvest began on the 14th September for the Merlot, and the final lot of Cabernet Sauvignon was harvested on 30th September.

Opaque

- February is around the corner

If the traditional pattern of the New Year celebration held for 2024, millions of bottles of champagne were just popped again. Lots of bubbles! In the new year, you may be observing the dry tradition of January. We hope you have planned to celebrate Valentine's Day in February, at least. It is right around the corner.

In our Wine of the Month Selection for the dry month of 2024, we present a 2010 vintage champagne produced for the Rothschild families. This is a joint project by all three branches of the Rothschild family: Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Mouton Rothschild, and Château Clarke.  The idea came after many gatherings at Domaine Barons de Rothschild, where extended families spend time together. They came to the realization that Champagne was always served as a starter.  Why shouldn't there be a Champagne by Domaine Barons de Rothschild? In 2005, their first vintage champagne was launched.

The 2010 vintage Champagne

- Wine Thoughts in the Winter

Besides terroir (the soil, the winemaker, the know-how), time is behind the magic we experience in a fine wine. For our Christmas selection, we wanted to showcase wines that have aged in the bottle for at least 5-8 years. Five years is normally considered short for a Left Bank Bordeaux to reach its peak, but for more approachable Right Bank wines, 5-8 years of aging often suffice to reveal how delightful the wine is. More aging is encouraged if you have the cellar space or patience to wait.

Horse racing is said to be a bet on the jockey as much as on the horse. Finding remarkable wine is the same. You look for terroir, but you also look for the talent behind the wine.

Among the top Bordeaux chateaux, Mouton Rothschild has a unique tradition.  Every year, it releases a newly commissioned artwork as its label for the vintage.  Part of this traces to the love of art by the owners of this prestigious producer, part of it is attributed to the idea of starting afresh each year with a blank slate (see comparison below: one without the artwork, and one with the newly unveiled label for 2021 vintage).

The label of the 2021 vintage of Château Mouton Rothschild features the artwork by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota. She follows in the footsteps of Joan Miró, Andy Warhol and David Hockney in being invited to design the label for the latest vintage of Château Mouton Rothschild.

The owners of Château Mouton Rothschild, Philippe Sereys de Rothschild, Camille Sereys de Rothschild and Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild, gave the commission to the Japanese artist, recognizing her talent in creating site-specific installations and sculptures that are so tactile and

We chose not to propose James Suckling vs. Wine Spectator, albeit both publish a Top 100 Wine List of the Year. An occasional face-to-face aside, James Suckling and Wine Spectator have a complicated relationship, definitely not characterized as mere competitors.

James Suckling was the wine critic at Wine Spectator for nearly 30 years. He was the mastermind behind the annual Top 100 Wine List, a tradition he started at Wine Spectator and is now continued under the other James: James Molesworth. Nowadays, Mr. Suckling has more of a following among Asian buyers as he is based out of Hong Kong and conducts his frequent wine-tasting educational seminars in that city. Still, when he put Château Figeac 2020 as #4 on his Top 100 list of 2023, we thought it was worth mentioning to our American clients.

James thus reviewed Château Figeac 2020: "A mesmerizing nose here with flowers such as violets and red roses, then shows cherries and currants with some mineral

- 2022 Léoville Barton

The Second Growth powerhouse in St Julien, Château Léoville Barton, released its 2022 vintage today.  It has been called "one of the stars of the Médoc" by the William Kelley at the Wine Advocate.

Neal Martin, of Vinous, thinks "the 2022 Léoville Barton is a total model of classicism, even in this warm, dry year... This is classic as classic gets. Not interested in making the richest or showiest wines, nor interested in jacking up prices as high as they can be."  We can't think of better compliments than what he said.  This is a wine we love, year in, year out.

You can watch Madame Lilian Barton presenting her 2022 vintage in a video:

"One of the stars of the Médoc and a wine likely to equal or surpass its 2019 and 2016 counterparts, the 2022 Léoville Barton unwinds in the glass with deep aromas of cassis, pencil shavings, spices and tobacco leaf, followed by a medium to full-bodied, deep and layered palate that's vibrant,

Bordeaux is on the cusp of the release of 2022 vintage.  The 2020 has been bottled.  Tradition dictates the wine critics to review and re-rate the vintage in the bottle.  The ratings came back, a bright star is shining over Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion.

Decanter magazine picked the 2020 Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion as the #1 Wine of the 2020 vintage (giving it a perfect score of 100 points), an honor Les Carmes Haut-Brion shares with the 2020 Château Mouton Rothschild, the venerable First Growth heavyweight of Pauillac.  Let that sink in, the wine produced from a parcel that was once carved out of Château Haut-Brion is now recognized as a top choice, on equal footing with another First Growth.  That is neither pre-ordained, nor by accident.

Long-term readers of our newsletter would not be surprised by this latest recognition.  We have been sharing our enthusiasm for Les Carmes Haut-Brion for years.  A true story from one of our customers tells it

Laguna Cellar features Barolo, aka, "King of Wines"

Barolo is a red wine produced in the Piedmont region of Italy, specifically in the Langhe subregion. It is made from the Nebbiolo grape, which is known for its high acidity and tannins, and is considered one of the finest red grape varieties in Italy.

Barolo wine is known for its deep ruby-red color, complex aromas of cherries, raspberries, plums, licorice, and violets, as well as its full-bodied, dry, and tannic taste. It is aged for a minimum of three years in oak barrels, which gives it its characteristic smoky and spicy flavor, and can be aged for up to 20 years or more in the bottle.

Barolo is often referred to as the "king of wines" because of its high quality and status among Italian wines. It is also one of the most expensive wines in Italy due to its limited production and aging requirements. The Barolo region is divided into 11 communes, each with its own unique terroir and microclimate, which can affect