Over the past few days we have been visiting the Chateaux of Bordeaux with our friends Joe and Sheila Malvagna. They are much more serious wine aficionados than we and have previously visited many wineries in Italy and France. They made most of the arrangements for this trip which included appointments for tours and tastings at a selection of first and middle-tier wineries. At each chateaux we met with their representative, sometimes a family member, for an overview of their operations, took a tour of the facilities and finished with a tasting of recent vintages of their premier and secondary labels. In most cases these were young bottled wines--the better Bordeaux wines need 8-10 years in the bottle before they are ready to drink. For those interested, check out the following links for more details.
The people at each chateaux could not have been nicer, and often went out of their way to accommodate us. For example, the son of the owner at Chateau Haut-Marbuzet heard we had not eaten yet and arranged for us to have a quick meal at a nearby restaurant while he waited to begin the tour; and the guide at Haut-Brion waited a half hour for us to drive down from Pauillac. She delayed her lunch (a BIG deal in France) to give us a private tour and tasting. The warm welcome and courteous behaviour also extended to people on the street and in restaurants who often readily stopped what they were doing to help us find our way. There were several mentions of the "boycott-Americaine" but they were more in the way of a discussion of external variables like the weather. They didn't seem to personalize it (at least not to us, who were obviously not boycotting). On the other hand, the newspapers were full of talk (not complimentary) about President Bush. We were impressed with the organization and cleanliness of all of the wineries we visited. The richer ones were also beautiful to look at with incredible landscaping and statuary.
While many of the things we saw were similar, there were some significant differences in how the wine was made. For instance, some do the first stage of vinification in steel barrels, some in concrete and some in wood. About half remove the final sediment from the wine before it is bottled by putting egg whites in the barrel to precipitate the settling. Others preferred a more natural approach. Some blend the Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot and other grapes in the barrel, some in the vat and some only when they are bottling it. The differences seem to be not related to quality or reputation but more to the personality of the owner and wine maker and probably gives each vineyard it's own unique style. With so many controls in place from the government to insure quality, this is the most significant opportunity for individualization and creativity.
We were able to visit Chateau Leoville-Barton. As some of you may know, Barry and I were fortunate to buy futures of the 2000 vintage (Parker - 98 points!). The wine will not be ready until our 65 birthdays, so this was my first chance to taste one of their wines, although not the 2000. We tasted the 2001, it just gave a hint of what it will become. What a birthday party we will have (of course, none of you will be invited unless you bring your own wine (:).
Château Mouton-Rothschild (Pauillac) http://www.bpdr.com/
Chateau Haut-Brion (Pessac-Leognan http://haut-brion.com/
Chateau Lynch-Bages (Pauillac) http://www.lynchbages.com/
Chateau Kirwan (Margaux) http://www.chateau-kirwan.com/
Chateau Margaux (Margaux) http://www.chateau-margaux.com/
Chateau Leoville-Barton (St. Julien) http://www.wine-journal.com/leobarton.html
Chateau Haut-Marbuzet (St. Estephe) http://www.scpomillesimes.com/article.php3?id_article=53
Chateau Giscors (Margaux) http://www.chateau-giscours.fr/
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