Chronicle 118. Le Guide Quarin des Vins de Bordeaux is here!

Le Guide Quarin des Vins de Bordeaux is here! Chronicle n° 118 ( September, 4th 2011) At last, it is on my desk - and superb it is too with its gorgeous red, black and maroon (“Bordeaux” in French!) glossy cover. Supple and easy to handle thanks to its user-friendly format: 9 inches by 6, 1 inch thick, a couple of pounds in weight, and 780 pages; a 12 month maturing process; 20 years worth of dedicated and thorough observation; 5, 400 updated tasting notes on every single vintage from 1994 to 2010, the average scores on the tables worked out from over 16, 000 tastings. This is actually 2 books in one. The first book is about my tasting method- it has never been put down on paper before; the second is a presentation and an analysis of 17 vintages for 329 châteaux. The tasting method presented in the book is the method I introduce my trainees to in my yearly course on Bordeaux. And now it is on paper, so it can officially be communicated. And that should put a stop to the numerous plagiarism or hijack attempts on the internet. Jacky Rigaud, a well-known lecturer at the Université de Bourgogne, tried to make it his own - to which he readily admitted. It would have made more sense for him to contact me to say that he was interested in my work and see how he could contribute to it. The theory I present has been elaborated from my tastings of Bordeaux wines. He took it over and applied it Burgundy crus. I could not have dreamt of a better way to highlight the universal character of my method and to see it reach theory status. It is my belief it can be applied to all red wines, as I experiment it all the time. It will enable you to distinguish a bad wine from a good wine from a grand vin. I illustrate my ideas with drawings, particularly those on stimulation on the palate. As regards my work as a critic, the fact that I am actually explaining my method in a book for the public to buy makes some say that I am « the only wine critic to explain his tasting method”. A few chosen samples from the guide: About the art of tasting To become stimulated one needs stimulation. On the palate, it all depends on the amount of wine taken in one mouthful and how long it is kept in the mouth. The usual quantity poured in a tasting glass is around 6 cl – 12 glasses to the bottle- and represents two to three mouthfuls. The tasting time is about ten seconds. If it takes you five or six sips to go through the content of your tasting glass, you will never be able to experience the same stimulation on the palate as the people who do so in two or three. As for the length of time the wine is kept in the mouth, you should allow enough time for the stimulation to be triggered. We know for a fact, for instance, that bitterness is felt on finish. And what happens then is essential to assess the wine’s potential. About one of the 6 concepts on taste and its vocabulary Tactile feel and smoothness on the palate How to recognize a quality tactile feel on the palate and a smooth character? The wine fills the mouth, slips through to the finish whilst coating the side of the mouth and tongue. The tannin is only present on finish and triggers saliva; Positive vocabulary: caressing, silky, well-coated, fat, smooth, melting, ethereal Negative vocabulary: rough, massive, austere, square, sharp-angled, harsh, dry, About what is currently said on wine How talks on the fresh and lively character in Bordeaux wines are not always pertinent When we look at the concepts I use to illustrate and identify a grand vin, liveliness only ranks fifth. Although it is indeed essential, it really needs to be paired to flesh. One does not work without the other. But it is true to say that all through the history of Bordeaux, and as discourses and theories on wines became more common and widespread, its original meaning has gradually been transformed. Too many owners, too many merchants, too many sommeliers or others use the term when actually dealing with wines that lack maturity. I insist on the fact that liveliness and a fresh character without body only make flimsy wines with acidic balance. True liveliness and freshness only go with wines that boast enough flesh and that are broad on the mid-palate. The last time I heard the term “freshness” misused was about a double magnum of Lafite 1978. It was very good indeed, but whilst the commentator, incidentally the world’s best sommelier, was praising its freshness in front of the learned audience, I thought that if the grapes had been brought in a week later, the liveliness would still shine through but the fat would be tenfold. About appellations The Bordeaux winegrowing area is organized in 60 different Appellations d’Origine Controlée - not good news for a hasty visitor! 30 of them are reds... In a country such as France, boasting 300 different cheese varieties, our visitor will probably expect Bordeaux red wines to offer 30 distinctive tastes. Well, he, or she, is in for a surprise and will only find two different kinds of red Bordeaux, only two types of taste and structure, depending on whether the cru is from the right bank or from the left bank… Could Bordeaux classed growths have something that no other wine has? For any amateur and professional, the question is to work out what makes those wines stand out. Why are they so special? Why can’t others reach up to their standard? Contrary to popular belief, it is not down to the alleged superior quality of the soil – as if it was a natural advantage that would last forever. In Bordeaux, unlike in Burgundy, the classification is a hierarchy between the brands i.e the châteaux and not the soils. AOC and closures: safeguards for the consumer Any buyer is influenced and feels protected by what is written on the label. The Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée is supposed to vouch for provenance and quality. However, for many years, the AOC was granted before the wine was actually bottled. Since 2008, the wines have been sampled and checked during the bottling process or right after - a progress worth noting. However, a systematic check on the way the bottles are sealed or on the quality of closures is not always carried out before granting the AOC label. Bearing in mind they can be the snag that can well ruin two to three years of hard work, not to mention the consumers’ pleasure, shouldn’t closures be one of the elements taken into account for the granting or not of the AOC label? In any case, it is totally unacceptable for the consumer to pay the price of faulty corks. You will find in the book the names of the châteaux, and the vintages, it is best never to open to avoid being disappointed or losing money. About the châteaux A detailed table for each estate The study of each property starts with a graph and a grid. Thanks to the linear regression on the graph you will immediately visualise the way scores have evolved for the château between 1994 and 2010. No need for you to be fluent in French to see which of the châteaux are improving – or not – or progressing faster than others. On the grid, you will find the scores out of 20 and the matching scores out of 100. You will also see the estate’s position among the 329 châteaux reviewed in the book, the best drinking by dates and the average price on the market, recorded as late as June 2011 – an incredible feat as such a book is normally completed a good 6 months before going to print! Many many thanks to the team at Solar! The grid will be available on my website in a few days. Staying true to the ideas I develop in my introduction on Bordeaux wines, I give information to be able to distinguish, for each given estate, the AOC distinction and the one granted by the Bordeaux classification. To be consistent with my explanation of my tasting method, I wanted to give out details on each estate, and particularly the vine density, which is so essential to assess the body on wine.Out of 329 châteaux, 20 are granted the « outsider » status as their taste and quality are superior to what would be expected merely from the label and 32 are “Coups de Coeur”- wines not to be missed. The book will help you find quality reds and whites from 6 to 10 euros a bottle, but such bargains are few and far between contrary to what people tend to believe. And yes, 64% of Bordeaux wines seem to me of no interest at all when others, in only a few years, have transformed the approach to taste in their area. Reviews They tell you all about the vintages between 1994 and 2010 and point out the crus and the years lacking consistency that would be best avoided or sold on. About style I develop a stylistic approach that illustrates and defends the taste I like best. I define it as “the French Taste”, with everything in place and nothing in excess: a tannic and elegant texture, nuance, presence, no hint of a rustic character, a positive youthful austerity, restraint that, with time, will give way to a mellow character and a unique perfumed dimension that my tasting method will help appreciate as objectively as possible so that you may put such wines at the top of your must-buy list. They are wines that cannot exist if we do not allow them the time they need to reveal their potential and perform at their best. Château Margaux is currently the perfect illustration of such style, Bellevue Mondotte the antithesis - at around 232 euros a bottle! And that goes to show that price tags cannot be relied on as indications of taste! Price for the Guide Quarin des Vins de Bordeaux : 29 euros, French edition signed by Jean-Marc Quarin. The book will make a wonderful present to your French-speaking or Francophiles friends and relatives. In order to organize the deliveries as efficiently as possible, please mention how many copies you would like to order and send us back the email. From next week, a presentation of the book will be available on the net along with the possibility to pay for your order on line. It is not yet certain the book will be translated into English – we’ll have to wait for an extra 12 months to be sure – but for those of you whose skills in French may be a little rusty or even non-existant, remember the grids and graphs are clear enough even for non-French speakers. Kind regards Jean-Marc Quarin ___________________________________________________________________________ © Copyright 2010. This publication is the original work of Jean-Marc Quarin Sarl, 10 allée de Ginouilhac, BP 40, Le Taillan-Médoc. France. - E-mail : jmquarin@wanadoo.fr. The news media and subscribing wine distributors, importers and retailers may use portions of this material (such as tasting notes, ratings or quotes) provided that it is not distorted, the proper wine and vintage are stated, www.quarin.com is given credit for the material utilized, and Jean-Marc Quarin (JMQ) is shown as the Copyright holder.

2011 Chronicles

Chronicle 118. Le Guide Quarin des Vins de Bordeaux is here!

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