Chronicle 122. Top scorers fade away too! Brief updates on Pessac-Leognan reds 2008. Outsider : superb SEGUIN 2008

Top scorers fade away too! La Conseillante: what it has going for it Outsider : superb SEGUIN 2008 Brief updates on Pessac-Leognan reds Chronicle n°122 – November 8, 2011 Top scorers fade away too! Since the beginning of September I have taken part in two prestigious tastings in which 8 of the labels were internationally renowned leaders boasting a 100-point score. I wrote about six of them in my last report. The other two were part of the line-up in a blind tasting of the top 1990 Bordeaux labels. When at the end of the tasting, the organiser asked the panel «Do you see any 100-point scorers among the wines you’ve just sampled?” every single person, including myself, said no. Château Margaux took the lead with a score closer to 95 than 100. Montrose was harsh and extremely disappointing and did not rise above 87/100. So, why such a jarring gap between the wines’ official ratings and the views of the audience however well-versed in wine tasting? Of course there are bottle variations, but it is definitely not enough to avoid the question of the critics’ responsibility on the matter. Although they apparently seem free and independent, critics often become prisoners of the echo the media and wine merchants give to their views and the buzz they create around the scores. It is in the merchants’ best interest to display the highest score for a bottle. When awarding the grades, some may be tempted to puff the scores up – at the wine buyers and owners’ expense. How many of them have told me they had paid the price of the tough competition between such and such paper or magazine? In 2010, I tasted the same sample of Ducru Beaucaillou as two of my American fellow critics. How can the difference in scores be explained? I suppose one might refer to a legitimate difference in opinion, but that is hardly enough. The score and how it comes to be is also part and parcel of some media’s development strategy. As for the over-generous mark awarded to Montrose, it is quite simply a case of lack of knowledge. The wine contains a high amount of brettanomyces that affect the smell and taste. In the long term, brettanomyces are well-known to dry the wine out. Who knew about this in the mid-1990s? Not many people. I had warned my readers in my report n°13, in the article entitled « Une certaine odeur d’écurie: interview avec Denis Dubourdieu », which is still available in French on line. (Roughly translated, it would be « A faint smell of stables : interview with Denis Dubourdieu ») Following the costly and disappointing tastings of the past two months, I would like to reassert a few aspects of my grading system. I have established a personal data base where all the top Bordeaux’s performances are recorded in detail from the moment the wines are released on the market, starting from the 1988 vintage. And that gives me a unique overview on their evolution from the en primeur, through the elevage and after they are bottled, with tastings held at the estate or in private cellars. Only part of the data is available on line. Having tasted so many wines so many times, I only believe in the average score. You can access on line the last four tasting notes that constitute the average mark. The average score is not the exact average of all the scores per se as the most recent mark is given a higher index than the very first one. The aim is to take into consideration the way the wine is evolving. Of course, regular tastings held in different circumstances will give the score its worth and I believe I am one of the few people in the world to taste the Bordeaux labels that really matter time and time again. I do so regularly enough to assert that a leader that twenty years ago was marked 100/100 can fade away. How can one not see the very same wine differently in the light of all the progress that has been made since? All in all, the relative value of a score is very much linked to its time. I suggest you study the graph on Château Margaux in the Guide. You will note that the 2004 vintage has the same score level as the 1996 when, because of the context, it has neither the same reputation nor the same price tag attached to it. The problem is that the merchants do not update the scores. And are the critics who have propelled the wines to the pinnacle at liberty to do so? Have you ever heard of a label that was downgraded because of its fading qualities? I am said to be a severe critic. Nonsense! I strive to avoid over-generous scoring as much as I endeavour to give credit where credit is due. Being precise has always been one of my priorities, even if I am well aware it is exceedingly hard to achieve. The last tasting events have proved my temperate approach right. It is wrong to let customers believe that a wine is greater than it actually is. To some extent, some scores can be compared to political promises - as a former head of state once said, they are only binding on those who listen to them – a sign of contempt for wine lovers that truly bothers me. ________________________________________ La Conseillante: what it has going for it Three major transformations are currently taking place in la Conseillante. The first one is the demolition of the old vat house. The new one will be built this winter and will be up and running for next harvest. The high and narrow stainless steel vats will give way to cubic concrete vats which will modify the extraction and are likely to make it softer. Their number will be increased from 10 to 22 for 15 plots. Such a tool could well reveal terroir specificities that were up to now lost in the bulk. Average vintages will undoubtedly benefit from it, not to mention the top years. I am now eagerly waiting to see how this cru’s taste, already wonderfully complex, will be affected. The second alteration is the pulling-out of the Sorbier, a 0.48ha plot to the right of the cellar, which was planted 58 years ago on rootstocks SO4 - inducing generous yields but producing berries that reach full maturity with difficulty, even in older vines. This new merlot plot on clay should be a real wonder, even with young stocks, if the pulling-out and replanting of the Pipeaude plot (right opposite the cellar) in 2005 is anything to go by - that merlot made it to the second wine in 2007 and 2008 but was included in the grand vin as early as 2009, and again in 2010 and 2011. The third significant event at the estate is the presence of Jean-Claude Berrouet as consultant to work alongside Gilles Pauquet. To recap a long and celebrated career, Jean-claude Berrouet worked as oenologist for the Moueix stable from 1964 until very recently. His son took over at Petrus. He has vinified the most prestigious labels on the plateau. I was extremely impressed by what I tasted at la Conseillante in 2011- superbly vibrant fruit and an incredibly precise tannic texture. The result of the comparative tasting that was held last September at a private cellar between La Conseillante and Cheval Blanc, its illustrious next door neighbour, is wonderful news for the estate too. The line-up included vintages spanning 10 years, from 1995 to 2005. I positively love those two! Over the years it had become gradually obvious to me that they were getting closer in style and the question was: could we tell them apart in a blind tasting? The answer was no! You will soon have the opportunity to read about the tasting - and about the one that took place 4 years beforehand, as a first approach. No doubt the new measures currently taken by the estate will enhance the cru’s potential, which I believe is boundless. As for Cheval-Blanc, it has just vinified its first vintage in a superb concrete vat. Videos will soon be available for you to watch. For information, Petrus, its next door neighbour, is having major alterations done to its cellar and le Pin has just finished building a new one. The old quaint house with the cellar underneath, Burgundy style, has gone and so have the washing lines with clothes flapping in the wind - but Jacques Thienpont will still ride his bike to the reception to welcome visitors. ________________________________________ Outsider : superb SEGUIN 2008 Score out of 20 : 16-16,25 Score out of 100 : 88-89 For a few years now, I have regularly drawn your attention to Seguin, the number one outsider in the Pessac-leognan appellation. This is the fourth time I have sampled the 2008 vintage since it was bottled. It is the most successful vintage for the estate, right behind the 2010. But what is its true worth ? It has just been tasted blind in a Pessac-Leognan tasting event. It was sampled next to Carbonnieux (score: 14.75//85-86) and Fieuzal (score: 16//88-89) and took the lead; yet, it is not a classed growth. The majority of the participants shared my views on the bottle. It is a brightly coloured wine boasting a remarkably clean and elegant nose of fruit. Gorgeous on entry – mellow, aromatic, caressing and packed with savours; becoming deliciously broad after the mid palate; excellent length, still a touch vivid, which will soften with time. Wait till 2015. Fieuzal has less body but displays great charm on finish – what Seguin needs to work at and develop in the next vintages. If it does so successfully, it will shine among the best. At 16 euros a bottle, I highly recommend it, and if you are lucky enough to find some, go for the magnums. I am certain it will develop beautifully in such containers. ________________________________________ Brief updates on Pessac-Leognan reds OLIVIER 2008 Score out of 20 : 14,75-15 Score out of 100 : 85-86 Body improving surely and steadily. Pleasant wine. Wait till 2014. LARRIVET HAUT BRION 2008 Score out of 20 : 16 Score out of 100 : 88-89 Out goes the excess oak and over-ripeness. Wonderful balance, delicious, clean- a true revival. Enjoy it now for sheer pleasure or wait till 2015. HAUT BERGEY 2008 Score out of 20 : 14,75-15 Score out of 100 : 85-86 Too tannic on finish. Wait till 2015. BOUSCAUT 2008 Score out of 20 : 15 Score out of 100 : 86 A touch steely on the nose. Pleasant on the palate. Wait till 2014. MIREBEAU 2008 Score out of 20 : 15 Score out of 100 : 86 A touch steely on the nose. Pleasant on the palate. Wait till 2014. MALARTIC LAGRAVIERE 2008 Score out of 20 : 16,5 Score out of 100 : 90 Powerful and ripe. Wait till 2016. BRANON 2008 Score out of 20 : 17,5 Score out of 100 : 94 A stunning result that confirms the point I develop in the Guide Quarin. Wonderfully elegant tannins and savours. Wait till 2016. HAUT BAILLY 2008 Score out of 20 : 16,5 Score out of 100 : 90 Beautifully broad; a touch firm on finish. Wait till 2016. HAUT BRION 2008 Score out of 20 : 18,25 Score out of 100 : 95-96 Wonderfully balanced palate– laden with taste, presence, softness and length. Wait till 2022. PAPE CLEMENT 2008 Score out of 20 : 16,25-16,5 Score out of 100 : 89-90 Ripe on the palate but fading a little on finish. Wait till 2014. SMITH HAUT LAFITE 2008 Score out of 20 : 16,75 Score out of 100 : 91 Beautiful nose of truffle. Dense but showing more complexity and elegance than in the past. Wait till 2016. LUCHEY HALDE 2008 Score out of 20 : 14,75-15 Score out of 100 : 85-86 Aromatic and soft on the palate, a touch lively on finish. Wait till 2014. LATOUR MARTILLAC 2008 Score out of 20 : 15,5 Score out of 100 : 87-88 Clean nose of fruit echoed by the palate. A touch lively on finish. Wait till 2016. CARBONNIEUX 2008 Score out of 20 : 14,75 Score out of 100 : 85-86 A touch on the light side. Wait till 2013. DE FIEUZAL 2008 Score out of 20 : 16 Score out of 100 : 88-89 A wonderful surprise, full of softness. Wait till 2014. ________________________________________ Promoting Tour for the Guide Quarin Belgium : I shall be at Justin Monard in Zonhoven on November 12 and 13. Bordeaux : At Alice Megastore, on November 16 at 7 pm; presentation of the Guide, tasting of outsiders and coups de Coeur. Arcachon : Same programme on Saturday, November 19 at Alice Megastore. Le Havre : On November 24 at the Entrepôts Normands, blind tasting of outsiders versus famous estates. Switzerland : on December 6 at the Hôtel des Trois Couronnes in Vevey – presentation of the Guide and illustration of my tasting method. Please contact me if you wish to attend. Christmas gifts. Remember to place an option now on your order to ensure you get your copies in time for Christmas. Kind regards. JM 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 122. Top scorers fade away too! Brief updates on Pessac-Leognan reds 2008. Outsider : superb SEGUIN 2008

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