It’s been another enthralling week of fine wine tastings at AWC Wine Academy. On Tuesday, we enjoyed some breathtaking Grand Cru Burgundies. On Thursday, it was the very finest of Bordeaux, where we compared the likes of Pétrus, Latour, Haut-Brion and Cheval Blanc. As the saying goes, it’s a tough job, but someone has to do it!

Our primary interest was in conducting a head-to-head tasting of the best estates from the Left and Right Banks of Bordeaux. The plan was to do this with eight wines, in four vintage pairs, followed by a final mystery wine. For this event, we were delighted to welcome several of our top clients alongside a number of American Express International Currency Card and Centurion cardholders. The knowledge of the attendees and the quality of the wines being served promised to make this our most impressive tasting yet.

In addition, we were delighted to welcome back wine writer (and co-founder of the International Wine Challenge), Charles Metcalfe as our host. Charles had already proved his mettle by hosting our magnificent 1990 Bordeaux retrospective a few weeks prior. On this occasion however, Charles wasn’t the only wine writer in attendance. I was particularly pleased that Robert Parker’s UK colleague Neal Martin was also able to join us. I’m a great admirer of Neal’s writing and his palate is top notch. I’m certainly looking forward to reading his new book on Pomerol, which he has just completed, when it is published in September 2012.

Above: Journalist Neal Martin and Account Manger Lucy McMillan discuss the upcoming wines.

One of my definitions of truly fine wine is that it doesn’t just engage and intrigue our palates; it must also engage our intellect. This process of engagement is something we strive for at all Wine Academy tastings as we find it is integral to both understanding and enjoyment. It is important that wine tasting be both fun and interactive so that people leave with smiles on their faces, having been entertained just as much as they have been informed.

Our primary technique for getting people involved is to put them into teams and to encourage them to taste the wines blind. We taste wines blind for a number of reasons. First and foremost, not knowing what the wine is in advance removes any pre-existing prejudices that could easily influence the way we regard and rate particular wines. Additionally, because tasting wines blind is more challenging, it is also much more fun!

Above: Purchasing Manager Berenger Piras pours the wines.

Moreover, putting people into competitive teams adds immeasurably to the atmosphere of the evening and is something people invariably enjoy. This promotes inclusiveness and, as a result, tasters tend to ask more questions and become more involved. As a result, they often learn more too – almost without even realising they’re absorbing the information.

Charles began with a short, insider’s guide to the key differences between the Left and Right Banks and how those differences influence both the flavour and structure of the wines. On the Left Bank, the wines are generally dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, thanks to the prevalence of gravelly soils in the region which allow the variety to thrive. On the Right Bank however, Merlot is more common and it tends to do well on the heavier, clay-based soils.

However, as Charles pointed out – there are always exceptions. In Saint-Émilion for example, there is still quite a bit of Cabernet Sauvignon planted in its cooler soils. Additionally, at the likes of Château Ausone and Château Cheval Blanc, significant quantities of Cabernet Franc make it into the final blend.

Above: Charles prepares for his lecture.

The first two wines set the standard for the evening. Wine one was a stellar 2004 Château Margaux from the Left Bank, which was both magnificent and completely true to its trademark, elegant style. As Charles pointed out, the First Growth was, “perfumed, graceful and classical; everything good Margaux should be all about.” I noted lovely cassis fruit, finely tuned acidity and supple tannins from this underrated vintage. 93 Points.

The Right Bank counterpart (wine number two in this pair) was the 2004 Château Angelus. Somewhat counter-intuitively, this was darker and deeper in colour than the Margaux, with more tannin and grip on the palate to match - which is perhaps why some tasters mistook this for the Left Bank wine of the pair. Whilst I enjoyed Hubert de Bouard’s 2004 Angelus and rated it 91 points, personally, I think it needs a bit more time in bottle.

I wasn’t the only one who preferred the Margaux over the Angelus. When we took a vote on which of these wines people preferred, Margaux was the favourite by a nearly 2 to 1 margin. In total, 19 tasters chose it versus just 10 for the Angelus. At this early stage of the competition, Team Latour (perhaps aided and abetted by Senior Client Relationship Manager, James Woodhead), had swept into an early lead by correctly identifying both the vintage and the respective origins of both wines.

The next pair presented a bit of conundrum. Wine three was revealed to be Gerard Perse’s 1998 Château Pavie, a Saint-Émilion Grand Cru. The estate is a favourite of Robert Parker and he rated this wine 95 points, while predicting that it will last for at least 50 years. High praise indeed, yet not without appropriate basis - you can see exactly where he’s coming from when you taste this wine. Again, much like the 2004 Angelus, this was deep, tannic and powerfully extracted, with fabulous flavours of black cherry fruit. 94 Points.

Of course, 1998 was correctly regarded as a great Right Bank vintage. Unfortunately, that means that many Left Bank wines from the year are regularly overlooked. The magisterial 1998 Château Latour, wine number four, ideally proved the point – these 1998 Left Bank wines are not to be missed! This Latour was commanding, powerful, beautifully delineated and exquisitely balanced, with lovely fruit, cedar, minerals and a terrific amount of length. 95 Points.

As many people pointed out, the Pavie improved considerably in the glass – it clearly has a long life ahead of it. However, the overriding consensus was in favour of the Latour. It just pipped the Pavie by 11 votes to eight with the remainder of tasters undecided.

By now, all the teams were warming to their tasks as the competition heated up and the quality of the wines was increasing in kind. The next pair was simply stunning and it began with a 1996 Château Pétrus. This was a gem of a wine, with poise, power, brooding black fruit, lovely sweetness and that tell-tale spiciness that so often characterises great Pétrus. I rated it 97 points. Paired with it was the 1996 Château Haut-Brion which was a lovely contrast. The Haut-Brion was more evolved and had more smokey and savoury notes. It was also lighter in body, with finer grained tannins and flavours of liquorice root, cigar box and creamy cassis. 95 Points.

It was a tough call between these two wines. The Pétrus was just slightly preferred and it won-out with 11 votes against 10 for the Haut-Brion. Significantly, put perhaps not surprisingly, it was also voted the wine of the night, just edging out the Haut-Brion which came in second overall. Meanwhile, in the team competition, the Lafite table was challenging Latour as they correctly nailed both the vintage and the respective region of origin.

The last pair of wines hailed from the 1995 vintage and did nothing to tarnish the extraordinary levels of quality tasted thus far. First up was Pierre Lurton’s stunning Château Cheval Blanc. Beautifully crafted, with an almost unimaginable purity of fruit, this was benchmark Cheval Blanc at its elegant best. While drinking beautifully now, this will also age and improve for many years to come. 98 Points.

Paired against it was a much more intense Château Mouton Rothschild which was both rich and powerful. It brought an interesting sensation of total completeness with it. The firm and beguiling structure had notes of cured meat, Morello cherry, dark soy and black olives set atop the tannic framework. 94 Points.

So, which wine went down as the best from this final Left versus Right pair? The answer from the very enthusiastic and increasingly competitive audience was the Cheval Blanc, by a hair – just 10 votes to 9. Meanwhile, the team competition was also down to the wire and was only decided in the final round, with Team Latour sealing an impressive victory over Team Lafite.

However, neither the evening’s wines nor the competitive elements were quite done and dusted. What remained was an individual, blind tasting round of the ‘Wine Options’ game. The wine in question was revealed to be an older vintage of Château d’Yquem…but which vintage?

By process of elimination, the triumphant taster eventually emerged, to great applause from the attendees, and was rewarded with a half bottle of the wine in question - a sumptuous, honeyed, marmalade-laden, richly-textured 1983 d’Yquem which I rated 97 points.

Above: A taster admires the evening's wines.

Once again, it was quite a night at AWC Wine Academy. Great wines, great people and great fun. What more could you possibly want?

At the end of this remarkable evening we took a vote on which were the top wines of the night. Here are the results: [Please note that all of these wines are available on request from The Antique Wine Company]

- 1st Place -
1996 Château Pétrus – Enquire for pricing
- 2nd Place -
1996 Château Haut-Brion - Enquire for pricing
- 3rd Place -
1995 Château Cheval Blanc - Enquire for pricing
- 4th Place -
1998 Château Latour - Enquire for pricing

For each paring, here is how the voting tallied up:

Pair 1 – 2004 Château Margaux: 19, 2004 Château Angelus (Enquire for pricing): 10

Pair 2 - 1998 Château Pavie (Enquire for pricing): 8, 1998 Château Latour: 11, Undecided: 8

Pair 3 - 1996 Château Haut-Brion: 10, 1996 Château Pétrus: 11, Undecided: 8

Pair 4 - 1995 Château Cheval Blanc: 10, 1995 Château Mouton Rothschild (Enquire for pricing): 9, Undecided: 10

We look forward to welcoming you into the Wine Academy in the coming months, whether for another exceptional night of Bordeaux, for your own private tasting or for one of the other exciting events we have planned.

To join us for a tasting or to reserve the Wine Academy for yourself, please visit - http://www.awcwineacademy.com - or contact Deborah Ives on +44 (0) 20 3219 5560.

To purchase any of the wines which were covered in this particular tasting, please contact one of our staff wine experts.

The Event -

This report follows a fascinating evening of tasting and analysis which covered recent Top Investment Wines and was held in Monte-Carlo, the tax-advantageous wealth haven on the Cote d’Azur.

The thirty-two attendees were comprised of clients of Monaco Asset Management and local clients of The Antique Wine Company.

The purpose of the tasting was to study the investment performance of wine as a commodity, while simultaneously offering an opportunity to taste some fantastic wines.  At The Antique Wine Company it remains our view that whilst fine wine represents an impressive investment vehicle, ultimately, great wines deliver pleasurable experiences. It is those experiences with family and friends which are often just as important as a wine’s ability to provide financial gain. What better place to enjoy some fine wine and discuss its investment potential than in a wealth management environment?

The line-up included four of the five First Growths (Lafite, Latour, Margaux and Mouton) along with the world’s finest white wine (Chateau d’Yquem), an exceptional example of Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Echezeaux and Chateau Cheval Blanc. Additional wines included Carruades de Lafite, Chateau La Mission Haut Brion, and a 100 point rated vintage of Chateau Pavie. Bordeaux vintages included 2000, 2005 and the recently released 2008.

Tasting Format -

Our head of purchasing, Berenger Piras, acted as sommelier for the evening and prepared the wines approximately 2.5 hours before the event. With the exception of the Domaine de la Romanee Conti Echezeaux, all the wines were double decanted in advance. The Echezeaux was tasted but not decanted in order to avoid any excess exposure to air.  The wines were presented by Stephen Williams, our Managing Director.

The Rules of Engagement -

The wines were tasted in pairs. After delivering a short presentation on The Antique Wine Company and our Fine Wine Investment Services the ‘rules of engagement’ were explained. In this competitive tasting format, tasters could earn points for guessing (or calculating) the correct Return on Investment which would have been generated had the wine been purchased en primeur and then sold on the market today.

 
To enhance the competition, a bottle of 2005 Chateau Margaux was put on the line for the winner!

Guests tasted their way through the pairs, with some tasting notes, the opening en primeur price, and information on the various estates and vintages being provided. A few subtle clues here and there aided with the calculations. After the final wine was tasted we revealed the answers and guests marked their sheets accordingly. The winner scored an impressive 40 points!

Guests were then asked to vote on their favourite ‘palate’ wine (the wine they enjoyed drinking the most), which also revealed some surprising results...

Votes and Answers –

Please click here to enquire about the availability of these wines or to request additional information.

Surprising Conclusions -

The favourite wines of the night (by taste) were the 2002 DRC Echezeaux followed by the 2000 La Mission Haut Brion and 2003 Cheval Blanc in a tie for second place.

The 2002 Lafite Rothschild was the best performing investment wine with an increase of 1106% since release.

Correlation between taste and investment performance -

The tasting showed that there was very little correlation between the ROI and the Parker scores for this sample set. Two of the three 100 point wines actually ended up at the bottom half of the results sheet in terms of ROI (the Pavie at 203% return and the d’Yquem at 186% return). Interestingly, the two highest performing wines in terms of ROI, Lafite Rothschild (1106%) and Carruades de Lafite (712%) were scored modestly on the Parker scale at 94 points and 91-93

points respectively. This is no doubt due to the distortion caused by the Chinese market for Lafite.

The standout wine of the tasting was clearly the 100 point rated 2000 La Mission Haut Brion. In terms of ROI it came in third place (at 564%) and it was tied for the second most popular wine of the evening by taste. Our view is that La Mission continues to challenge the First Growths year after year in terms of quality. Be this as it may, it is still often overlooked by investors who are only focused on the ‘First Five’.  This tasting really highlighted the investment potential of this wine, particularly given that it currently sits at an undervalued position in the marketplace. Fortunately, for savvy investors who are interested in the potentially 100 point La Mission 2009, we still have this wine available for acquisition in small quantities.

What did we learn? -

All of the wines at the tasting performed well from an investment perspective. Mouton Rothschild was the ‘poorest’ performer and it still showed 99% ROI over a four year period! Selecting blue chip wines and carefully analysing the market for undervalued options is the most lucrative route to ensuring solid financial returns.

The corollary between taste, critical acclaim and investment performance is clearly not direct. This shows the diversity of individual preferences, style and quality. These complexities are what continue to make the world of wine so intriguing.

To discuss or purchase wines from this tasting, or if you have questions about other fine wine investment opportunities, I can be reached at our London offices via email or phone +44 (0) 20 7359 1109.

Will Buckland, Wine Investment Analyst
The Antique Wine Company

Once again, numerous of the world’s Masters of Wine have descended upon Bordeaux for a week of wine tastings, lunches and dinners, centred around a symposium to discuss the world wine industry and current changes in the international wine market.

I am writing this note having retired to my room at Chateau Marojallia in the sleepy hamlet of Margaux and there is a noticeable calm and tranquillity that’s fallen over this city, whilst my sales office in London (in common with most other wine merchants and negociants) is frantic with activity in selling the 2009 Bordeaux vintage.

This vintage is one that has been received with massive critical acclaim as to its quality, as this week we have seen eager anticipation turn to aghast and shock at the levels of the prices, which incidentally are completely in line with my original forecast set out earlier in this blog.

It seems that we wonder where the logic is in paying between eight and twelve thousand pounds for a case of first growth wine that is still going to be maturing in the barrel for the next two years when we can buy mature vintages, ready to drink today, at a fraction of the price. However, I thought the same during the en-primeur campaign of 2005, again in 2000, the same in 1995 and 1996 – and the same, in fact, in every great vintage when the wines seem to take a step-change to the next level. Despite that, in every example, five years later when the wines are in my cellar and it’s increased in value so much, I’ve not regretted my purchase but wish that I had bought a lot more! I am sure the same will be true of the 2009 vintage.

One of the main advantages of buying en primeur is the fact that this is the only time when you can secure a significant amount of the wines that one really wants. It is also an important time to secure the wine before the distribution fragments its availability around the world. For example, I know that every case of wine that I have bought en primeur, 20 years later when I come to enjoy it, hasn’t been shipped to the United States, Taiwan, back again to Europe and around the world another three or four times but has been under my control since its birth. The faultless provenance offered by en primeur is one of its most important and alluring features and guarantees the quality of what one enjoys in the future.

We have to remember, at the end of the day, it is not the producers that set the price, neither is it the merchants: it’s the market that sets the price. The producers are in a difficult position because the market price will prevail and, if the producer offers his wine to the market too low, then the merchants add on their margin and sell at the maximum the market will accept - therefore, the merchants make all the money. If it is the other way round and the Chateaux price the wines too high then the market will not buy it anyway and the negociants are stuck with the wine because they can’t lower the price. In this case it is just a matter of time before the wine eventually begins to sell but, sooner or later, all great vintages sell.

For me the real secret in all this is finding the value. As I am writing this blog, I have just heard that Chateau Leoville Las Cases has come out at a little more than Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou and considerably less than its neighbour, Chateau Latour, and this is an example of where the real value lies. This is a great wine and I take my hat off to them. I congratulate those at Chateau Leoville las Cases for getting it exactly right. The problem is we just can’t get enough of their wine because everyone wants it!

I am pleased to say that we will have an offering of mature vintages of Chateau Marojallia and Clos Margalaine, the best value Margaux, in a few days time.

Picture: Chateau Marojallia Proprietor Philippe Porcheron in his Margaux vineyard

Day 2
Rive Gauche….

It’s Tuesday and that means we’re heading off to the Left Bank. This also necessitates an early departure time of 7.30am from where I am staying courtesy of a very dear friend at his Chateau de Sours in the Entre Deux Mers. Believe me, these are the most comfortable beds in Bordeaux! The bad news is the weather. After yesterday’s glorious sunshine, it’s raining stair rods and blowing a gale. Will it affect the way the wines taste with the change in atmospheric pressure? The bio-dynamic prophets might convince me but we’ll have to wait and see.

Either way, it promises to be another busy day. And where better to begin than with the brilliant and genial Paul Pontallier at Chateau Margaux. Today, he tells me, he’s expecting 700 visitors. Yesterday, he had 450.

So there’s no time to waste and we get down to tasting the wines.with Philippe Bascaules his Export Director, who I also know well.

First is the Pavillon Rouge and once again, I am struck by the wonderful approachability of this ever improving second wine. Philippe compares it to the 82 and 90, which were also extremely forward early on – and still aged exceptionally well.

It’s wonderfully elegant and complex. Both Paul and Philippe rate it as possibly their best ever Pavillon and I am inclined to agree and give it 19 points. They even think it’s as good as some Margaux vintages of the 90s, which shows you how far Margaux’s second wine has come.

On the evidence of what I have tasted so far, many of the second wines are proving quite exceptional in 2009. I am convinced they will provide plenty of drinking pleasure – and, critically, great value too. I think a lot of the smart money will snap them up. I’ll certainly be buying them this year.

I’m also struck by the relatively modest alcohol levels and balance of both the Pavillon and the Grand Vin, which are just 13.4% and 13.1% respectively – unusually low for the vintage. ‘We had some very low yields and some really exceptional lots this year, explains Paul. ‘Plus we kept the levels of Merlot down in the final blends. Selection was also key. We have a lot of old vines on great terroirs which is a huge advantage.’

Paul is modestly effusive about his Chateau Margaux 2009 and who can blame him. ‘I think it is the most elegant – but also the most dense, concentrated and tannic ever produced at Margaux.’

And yet, both wines have this wonderful silky softness and freshness, together with fabulous fruit. There is a density but without any heaviness. It remains a quintessential Margaux – elegant, refined and beautifully balanced. I gave it another 19 out of twenty.

Last but not least, we also taste Pavillon Blanc – Margaux’s magnificent 100% Sauvignon Blanc. Only 15,000 bottles have been made – just over 1,000 cases. For me, it didn’t have the opulence of 2006 or 2008, but was more tightly focused and fresher. It was also more minerally too with a bit more sinew and will certainly age and improve. Again, another terrific success.


Cos d’Estournel

From Margaux, we headed north to St Estephe to taste the wines of Cos d’Estournel, run by my ever-enthusiastic long time friend Jean-Guillaume Prats. (I remember doing my first ever tasting in Hong Kong in 1992 at the Seibu store in Pacific Place). I couldn’t help thinking that Margaux would be a tough act to follow, but I also hoped and felt that Cos would be up to the challenge. And so it proved.

We arrived in weather that I wouldn’t wish to fly through, and were welcomed into Cos’ brand new chai, which looks like something out of a James Bond movie. If you get the chance to see it, don’t pass it up. Architecturally, Cos is one of the most exciting and arresting Bordeaux Chateaux with its exotic Indian and Asian design.

As for the wines, St Estephe and Cos in particular produce much more masculine wines than those of Margaux,. Les Pagodes de Cos had terrific richness and power with hints of leather, black fruit and a lick of cream. Again the tannins are out in force, but they’re ripe and completely integrated. I gave it 17 out of 20.

Similarly, the Grand Vin was a notch up in power, depth and concentration. (For instance, the alcohol is 14.5% on the Cos and the tannin index was almost off the scale at 99!) The result is a deeply coloured, massively tannic and broad-shouldered wine but which also manages to carry off great integration and balance and remain true to the Cos terroir. It really broods on the palate with promise of being a real vin de garde. So much so that Jean-Guillaume reckons it could last as long as the 1870!

Nature gave us everything in 2009, said Jean-Guillaume. We have ripe tannin, wonderful fruit and great acidity.’

Well, that’s it for now because my next stop is a spot of tasting at Batailley where the UGC tasting is being held. It’s usually a bit of a bunfight, but they normally do a good lunch. Then in the afternoon, it’s a stellar line-up of Lafite, Duhart, Las-Cases and Mouton. So there’s plenty more to come.