Chronicle 164: a new taste in Bordeaux: Château du Retout white 2011 and 2012, a Vin de France

Comparative vertical tasting of Angélus, Ausone, Cheval Blanc and Pavie at the top of the Saint-Emilion classification Name changes in the vineyards A new taste in Bordeaux: Château du Retout white 2011 and 2012, a Vin de France Chronicle 164 (4 March 2014) Ausone and Cheval Blanc versus Angélus and Pavie 2009, 2008, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003 and 1998 vintages The tasting took place on 27 January in Switzerland. It was carried out blind and in public with bottles that had been bought. Here are my conclusions on the seven vintages: Angélus : first once, second three times, third once and fourth twice. Ausone : first three times and second four times. Cheval Blanc : first three times, second once, third twice and fourth once. Pavie : never first, second twice, third once and fourth four times. Ausone wins with all its vintages in either first or second place. It came first three times with its 2003, 2004 and 2005 vintages. Cheval Blanc also came first three times with its 2006, 2008 and 2009 vintages. Angélus came first with its 1998 vintage. I will soon be publishing the scores in detail, the differences between them, my comments that are sometimes similar, sometimes quite different, as well as my take on the style of the wines. This was a great evening with a lot of emotion and it was very enjoyable. It cost in real terms €18,682 for fourteen tasters. Expensive knowledge indeed! Name changes in the vineyards The following information follows on from that given in Chronicle no. 154 published on September 2013. - It has been confirmed: Château L’Arrosée, a Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé, acquired on 1st October 2013 by Clarence Dillon Estates (Haut-Brion), disappears and its plots are incorporated into Quintus, previously Tertre Daugay. - Petit Figeac is the new name of Château Figeac’s second wine as of 2012. It replaces La Grange Neuve de Figeac, now a name of the past. - Croix Canon has become the new name of Château Canon’s second wine in Saint-Emilion as of the 2011 vintage. It has replaced Clos J Kanon since the acquisition of Château Matras, a Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé, by the owners of Château Canon, a Saint-Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classé B. Apparently, the name Matras should disappear as most of the fruit from its plots is used for Croix Canon . Out of the twelve hectares (29.65 acres) of Matras, 1.12 hectares (2.77 acres) seem to have geological qualities compatible with Premier Grand Cru Classé B status. Château Canon will strive to establish this potential in order to incorporate it into its first wine. For those of you who remember the very good Hermitage 1998, produced from a plot of Matras, it has in fact been grubbed out and replanted to achieve an expression and potential considered by Château Canon technicians to be very striking. This news may appear outrageous, but in fact this is Bordeaux and it has always been like this since the beginning. And what about the taste of the wine, you might ask? Well, actually, by blending 15% of Cabernet Franc from Château Matras with a sizeable proportion of Merlot as usual, Château Canon’s second wine has never been so good as it was in 2011 (15.75 // 89). It competes with the delicious 2009, which was all Merlot, whose score is the same, but whose price is certainly higher. Is there any better way to convince the market? What better way is there to develop great taste and complexity than by blending? Those who don’t blend their wines, because they are not allowed to by law, as in Burgundy for example, or because they are stuck on some ideological hang-up on one place having a unique expression, don’t know or refuse to contemplate what their wines are missing. - Côte de Baleau, les Grandes Murailles, Clos Saint Martin and Clos Fourtet Clos Fourtet, a Saint-Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classé B, acquired the three aforementioned Grands Crus Classés in spring 2013. Since then, Sophie Fourcade, who used to run them, has bought back the majority of shares in Clos Saint-Martin, while Clos Fourtet holds on to 20 to 30%. According to Mathieu Cuvelier, the owner of Clos Fourtet, the two hectares (5 acres) at Château Les Grandes Murailles next to Clos Fourtet should one day be incorporated into the latter estate, because the soil types appear to be identical. So why is there such a difference in taste? This is definitely a case of “Found in Translation”. The hand of Man, his thoughts on wine and the way he translates these into comments, clearly constitute a second terroir that is easily as influential as the soil itself. For example: Grandes Murailles 2011 15.75 // 89 Deep colour. Creamy nose. Thick and luscious and very fruity on the palate with more subtle wood than the other vintages. Ordinary body and length. Clos Fourtet 2011 17 // 94 Deep colour of ordinary intensity. Fruity nose with a hint of truffles. Big on the palate and multi-layered in the middle, it grows stronger and reveals a refined texture of tannins with an elegant impression of balance and ever so slightly tannic on the finish. At present of course, the two wines are not made by the same teams. Château du Retout red, a Haut Médoc Cru Bourgeois and Château du Retout white, Vin de France For some weeks now, I have been drinking Château du Retout red and white at table, monitoring how these wines resist oxidation. I re-cork the bottles and put them in a cool place and then taste them again a little every day. This is an excellent way to test the vitality of a wine and anticipate how it will evolve over time by checking when it starts to oxidise. Château du Retout red 2010 Château du Retout red 2010 15.5 // 88 €12 The best vintage of this estate Lovely, deep, intense colour. Discrete nose of ripe fruit. Slightly gamey, it is a little secretive when opened and only takes off long after being decanted or the following day. It excels on the palate because of its taste, its Burgundy-like structure, more streamlined than wide and this vintage’s hitherto unequalled savouriness and mellowed tannins. It is impossible to spit it out! Drink now and up to 2030. Price: €12 tax included, sold on the premises. Unique! A blend of 84.4% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15.6% Merlot. As far as I know, Château du Retout 2010 is the only wine not to be classified as a Médoc with such a high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon in it. This feat pushed me to actually go to the property to find out why. In fact, it was a case of sheer necessity plus a conscious choice. Initially, the harvest did not produce the volume of Merlot expected and subsequently the high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon ended up seeming like the best choice to the owners Hélène and Frédéric Soual. I really liked the way they came to their decision about which blend was right. They tell the same story as the team at Château Haut-Brion. They taste it blind and take their decision based solely on the taste. They could change their mind when taking into account the financial implications of their choice – taste and reason are not always compatible – but they don’t. They defend a taste. Will this principle apply in future vintages? Nothing could be less certain. Château du Retout needs a little more Cabernet Sauvignon growing on good quality plots. Unfortunately, their vineyard is on one single plot and they don’t envisage buying land a few kilometres away, so take a close look at this 2010, because it is the best wine ever made on this estate. It was sold for €4.80 before tax as a future to professional buyers and today costs €12 including tax at the property. It is amazing the quality Bordeaux can produce at such low prices! It is incredible what the Medoc can produce when winegrowers don’t dilute the quality of their Cabernet Sauvignon by blending it with Merlot! They do it of course, because it’s cheaper for them and it satisfies the market demand. This way, they leave the privilege of Cabernet Sauvignon- rich blends to the classed growth elite. And even they don’t do it all the time, except Margaux, Latour, Mouton and Lafite! Château du Retout white 2011 and 2012 – a new taste in Bordeaux In 2007, INAO informed the owner of Château du Retout that two of his hectares, which were in an area designated as suitable for construction, were (surprise, surprise!) no longer in the Haut-Médoc appellation area, although they had been previously for 40 years! Instead of selling their land to a developer, Mr and Mrs Soual stood firm and decided to produce a white wine there, which would only be classified as a Vin de France and would therefore enable them to plant more or less all the grape varieties used in France. Their ambition is to produce a dry white wine different from Bordeaux whites. They are inspired by Cygne de Fonréaud which they love and which is produced in Listrac in a red wine-growing area. To save time, they decided to graft the following varieties onto the existing Merlot vines, which grew in a cold, sandy soil, which was wet and late developing: - 40% of Grey Sauvignon, chosen for its aromatic elegance, its rich suppleness and its length on the palate. - 40% of Gros Manseng, a grape variety that originated in Jurançon, useful for its resistance to disease and its acidity. - Savagnin, a variety from the Jura, which contributes a supple richness, flesh and good ageing properties. - White Mondeuse, a rare variety, only 4 or 5 hectares (10 to 12.35 acres) of which remain worldwide. It produces tannic white wines. The whole lot is fermented and aged in barrels, 30% of which are new. The objective is to produce a dense dry white wine with good ageing properties. Although a lot of the grafts did not take, du Retout managed to produce an average of 1,500 bottles of white in 2011 and 2012, and 5,000 in 2013. . The price to the trade is €8.50 before tax and €17 including tax to the consumer. I tasted a little of the 2011, then the 2012 every day for a week. I have to admit that their taste is difficult to label or to describe, because it is so different from what Bordeaux can produce. The supple richness portrayed in du Retout white is not the same as in Cygne de Fonréaud; it is closer to that quality in Alsatian white wines, while Fonréaud is more reminiscent of the supple smoothness of a Burgundy white. 2011 15.5 // 88 Pale colour. Discrete nose when initially opened, but nevertheless subtle, which slowly unfolds 24 to 36 hours later. It then takes on a Sauvignon-like bouquet and a silky, sappy texture not easy to describe, with average density, but especially fragrant. On the palate it remains delicious for five days with the bottle open. I took a glass every evening. This wine’s resistance to oxidation is phenomenal! Very nice length, which is sinewy, supple and smooth, and flavoursome. Blended with 57% of Gros Manseng, 22% of Grey Sauvignon, 16% of White Mondeuse and 5% of Savagnin. Yield: 8.3 hectolitres per hectare. Production: 1,600 bottles. 13° alcohol. 2012 15.25 // 87-88 Pale colour. The nose is more open than the 2011 and is aromatic, subtle, fruity and ripe with hints of pepper. Very aromatic on the palate with medium body and fragrances unknown in Bordeaux, but which are very original. The wine is delicious and long, a little less lively than the 2011 and a little more compote-like. It only takes off 72 hours after being opened, and develops hints of truffle, becoming rich, smooth and powerful on the palate. It then resembles the 2011 as if the vintage effect had disappeared. Blended with 52% of Gros Manseng, 32% of Grey Sauvignon, 9% of White Mondeuse and 7% of Savagnin. Yield: 8 hectolitres per hectare. Production: 1,500 bottles. 13° alcohol. Give them a try. I prefer the 2011, which is a little more sinewy. Contact: contact@chateau-du-retout.com Happy reading! Jean-Marc Quarin _ _______________________________________________________________________ © Copyright 2010. This publication is the original work of Jean-Marc Quarin Sarl, 10 allée de Ginouilhac, Le Taillan-Médoc. France. - E-mail : jmquarin@quarin.com 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.

2014 Chronicles

Chronicle 164: a new taste in Bordeaux: Château du Retout white 2011 and 2012, a Vin de France

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