Friday 11 September 2015

A harvest update from the Guinaudeaus

Posted by Tom Jenkins, Bordeaux Buyer

The récolte is well underway across France. Jacques and Sylvie Guinaudeau have kindly taken a few moments from their busy schedule to give us an update on the 2015 harvest.

‘On the 5th September we picked the first Semillon grapes from the 'Ambaud' parcel. The crop is of great maturity and the juice possesses a powerful fragrance and precision never before seen within Grand Village Blanc…

We have just finished picking the white grapes. We have taken advantage of the wonderful weather (cool nights and splendid, warm days) to harvest the rest of our Semillon and Sauvignon only in the mornings, which will help to retain freshness and allows the grapes to be transported in perfect condition.

The harvesting of the whites gives the team the ideal preparation so we will be 'all set' for the challenge ahead. 

After a dry and warm summer punctuated with some welcome rainfall in August, the vines are expressing themselves exceptionally. We should be starting to pick the Merlot for Lafleur very shortly…’

Friday 13 March 2015

Growers Champagne

Posted by Julian Campbell, Buyer
Growing ‘pagnes - small production grower champagnes pushing quality ever higher.

It is no secret that the UK champagne market is dominated by the Grandes Marques. According to a grower we lunched with in Champagne earlier in the week, Britain’s thirst for grower champagnes accounts for a measly 1.5% of Champagne’s market share. In Italy, by contrast, 15% of all champagne comes from smaller independent producers, while in Japan that number is 10%. We clearly have some catching up to do.



The reasons for this state of affairs are no doubt historical, but also educational, and sociological. The might of the Grande Marque, not to mention the cachet of serving one, resonate strongly with the British public and there still appears to be a general lack of awareness that there are myriad family run estates across Champagne producing small batch artisan Fizz from fully owned plots of carefully tended vines.

Over the course of a very brief two day trip, we were invited on multiple occasions to come and taste still wines, the Vins Clairs, from the vats of growers who evidently class themselves as winemakers just as much as champagne producers. The likes of Francis Egly (-Ouriet) in Ambonnay and the Diebolt Vallois family in Cramant are producing vinous wines of such personality, precision and charm that it’s impossible not to be won over. The stringent quality controls they employ are perhaps only possible when working on the scale like this, where a small team quite literally oversees every element of production, from tying back the vines, to harvest, and into the cellar for elevage. And all this at prices that in the grande (marque) scheme of things, seem exceedingly fair.

Once the UK market in general starts to wake up to the quality on offer from these sorts of small, focussed estates, the rush will begin. For the time being, growers’ champagnes remain relatively under the radar, and arguably something of a steal: all the better for those who care more about what is in the glass than on the label.

Some stand out wines from a recent trip:

Egly-Ourriet Brut Tradition NV – Base 2010, a tremendously high quality entry level cuvee that combines rich fruit with great clarity and control at just 3-4 grams of dosage. 70% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay.

Pascal Doquet Diapason Grand Cru Le Mesnil sur Oger – 85% 2006, 15% 2005 – an all chardonnay cuvee that begins broad and gourmande and finishes highly pure, taut and focussed. A lot of wine for the price and currently in conversion to organic.

Diebolt Vallois, Cuvee Prestige Blanc de Blancs – a blend of 2009, 2010, 2011 (though the next release set to be a blend of six vintages) – potentially the best value of the lot. Precise, detailed fruit supported by super fine structure and an exceedingly pretty floral character.

Tuesday 10 March 2015

A Vega Sicilia line up

Posted by Justerini & Brooks
This week saw the annual tasting of new releases from the Vega Sicilia stable. As ever, it was eagerly anticipated by the Justerini & Brooks team who were keen to get to grips with both the Valbuena 2010 and Unico 2007. The first Unico to be released since the 2004, the 2007 gently bucks the trend of ten years cellar time post-vintage, thus allowing the brooding 2005 to lie dormant a little longer. 2007 was considered a ‘challenging’ vintage; indeed, it mirrored a number of the weather conditions seen in much-maligned 2007 Bordeaux. This necessitated the strictest possible selection of fruit for Unico which is only produced in years when quality allows. Rest assured, on tasting it, our concerns were quickly allayed.


Vega Sicilia is often considered as an estate that tends to overcome the caprices of a given vintage. Speaking with Javier Ausas, chief winemaker and all-around head honcho at the estate, his feeling is that Unico can broadly be described as producing two distinct styles through the years. It either falls into the liberal, opulent, generous style we have seen in vintages such as 2004, or the stricter, elegant style seen in vintages such as 1999. Both absolutely have their place and at their peak produce utterly compelling wines that are recognised as world class. 2007 certainly falls into the latter category. It is full of verve and tension, with a nose of dark and red cherries, violet and lavender, tempered by fresh coffee beans and bitter strawberries, the palate quite reserved, with clear acidity and a firm tannic structure. 

It is also worth mentioning Valbuena 2010 - the little sibling of Unico - which in 2010 is absolutely delicious. Having spent three years in barrel and two years in bottle prior to release, this is the first Valbuena vintage born in Vega’s much discussed state-of-the-art winery. For a complex, layered wine with sweet tannins and bright, open fruit from an outstanding vintage, look no further.

The ensuing lunch with Vega Sicilia in the private dining room of The Wolseley really centred on two bottles; the Reserva Especial 2012 and Unico 1987 from magnum. It is a rare privilege to taste the Reserva Especial, a traditional wine made from a blend of three vintages intended to maintain a consistent Vega style. 15,000 bottles are produced each year and the blended wine spends four years in bottle prior to release. In the case of 2012 the assemblage was made up of 1991, 1994 and 1999, complimentary vintages chosen to emphasise particular aspects of the wine; 1999 for freshness and acidity, 1994 for persistence and weight on the palate, and 1991 for mature, savoury flavours. Sour cherries, strawberry, griotte cherry, violet and dark berries were the fruits, with a structure that was still lively, coiled and [surprisingly] rather young.

On to the magnum of 1987, a vintage that was cut from the same cloth as 2007; high acidity, fresh and perfumed, but as Javier explained it is also a vintage that like 1998 and 1999 can be difficult to understand. When brought to the market these vintages were nervous, tight and a little unfriendly. Time in bottle has helped them soften and put on a little weight. On tasting, the technological advances over the last 20-30 years are clear when one considers the vintage similarities between 1987 and 2007. The controlled maturity of the grapes and clearer studies of Vega’s differing soils and parcels (19 and 64 respectively) have permitted 2007 to potentially become a great wine. The 1987, although seriously complex, has a touch of the wild about it – herby, leathery and spicy, it feels a little wayward and unharnessed and the acidity is still a little high. Naturally, it does however have a very attractive core of sweet and sour cherries, raspberries, blackberries and orange peel with an iron note on the finish. There is no doubt that this is seriously good wine. The ’87 has real character, is a wonderful experience and has remained true to the conditions - and the era - in which it was grown. 

In short, both 1987 & 2007 are of the same style and similar vintages but the ‘07 feels more complete, less wild and more finely tuned – a process indicative of evolution, not revolution. If age really is the great leveller then I sense that ‘07 at 20 years old will prove to be the superior of the two. 

More so than many, Vega Sicilia Unico really does have a style about it. Across vintages the wines display beautiful aromas and purity of fruit, the centerpiece to tertiary, savoury, herbal notes that develop over time. Whether it is an opulent vintage or reticent one, the wines have a clear sense of place and the question is never one of quality. Perhaps this has become a hallmark for this iconic estate, and that which enables it to sit with the very best. 

Mark Dearing
Buying Assistant

Tuesday 3 March 2015

Dining with the Guinaudeaus at the Connaught

Posted by Justerini & Brooks
Last week saw Baptiste and Julie Guinaudeau, proprietors of Château Lafleur, come to London so we took the opportunity to put on a dinner at which they could introduce us and some clients to their wines.



So, as you do, we called the Connaught and booked one of their private rooms, with dinner to be cooked by Hélène Darroze’s 2 Michelin star team. Unsurprisingly I’d been looking forward to the dinner for quite some time.

After a quick tour of the Connaught’s small but exceedingly good wine cellar (worth asking for if you’re there) it was time to open some wine and await our guests. Drinks started round the table so Baptiste and Julie could say Hello to everyone with some of their Château Grand Village Blanc 2013. Grand Village is the home of Jacques and Sylvie, and they produce excellent red and white wine from the vineyards around it; I’ve tasted quite a few vintages of Grand Village and can say I’ve got a big soft spot for them. New vintages of both cost under £10 per bottle, which is incredibly good value considering it’s made in exactly the same way as Lafleur, by exactly the same team. The 2013 Blanc was delicious, refreshing and palate-cleansing. It’ll be fantastic this Summer for sipping in the sun.



Then we got down to the main event; dinner and some side by side tasting. The oyster amuse-bouche, served in a Martini glass, was accompanied by a glass of Château Grand Village, A Louima, Blanc, 2012. It slipped down nicely before the second wines were served: Château Grand Village 2008 and ‘G’ Acte 2 2010. Both of these are Merlot/Cabernet Franc blends, the Grand Village 2008 having a smaller amount (10%) of Cabernet Franc than the ‘G’ 2010, which has nearly 50% Cabernet Franc. ‘G’ is a project they started in 2009 (Acte 1) so it was great to actually taste the result after a few years bottle-ageing. Side by side they both showed really well – Grand Village felt more traditional, ‘G’ more modern in style and both had a lot of fans round the table, as did the exquisite starter called ‘Onion’, a pasta dish with onion, black truffle, barley and lardo di Colonnata.



All we knew about the main course was the rather terse description on the menu: ‘Lamb’, Panisse, Taggiasca olive, basil. However by now we had 2 glasses of Lafleur in front of us and the evening was going swimmingly! The point of the evening wasn’t so much to show off the great vintages of Château Lafleur, rather to taste a couple of wines from less well-known years to show just how good the wines are. So, we started with 2007 Pensees de Lafleur (their second wine). Delicious, and a really good showing in a pretty-difficult vintage, but rather overshadowed by the glass of Château Lafleur 2004 next to it. The 2004 was a bit of star – still young and from a less than stellar vintage, this is the kind of wine that proves Lafleur are at the very top of their game. The lamb was stunning too, beautifully presented as was every course. I wouldn’t be surprised if they made use of a lot of tweezers in the kitchen to prepare food, the attention to detail of each plate was some of the best I’ve seen. It’s not hard to love food that looks this good.


Coming to the end of dinner, it was time to pour the 2 magnums of Lafleur 1999 that had been sitting on the side. Along with some simple but delicious Comte, the Lafleur brought the dinner to an end brilliantly. At the other end of the spectrum to the 2004, being far more mature, this was another example of great wine coming from a tough vintage. It’s still a ‘big’ wine but the density is now being replaced by some gorgeous aromatics.

Thanks to Baptiste and Julie for coming over – it was a tremendous night and a perfect reminder of how good Bordeaux can be. We all know about the pricing and the problems we’ve had with Bordeaux over the last few years; sometimes you need to remind yourself it’s about the wines. When Bordeaux makes great wine like this it really is the greatest wine in the world.

PS: I asked Baptiste “without going mad and spending the earth, what vintages of Lafleur and Pensees should people buy now?”. He replied “Lafleur 92, 93 and 94 for drinking, Lafleur 95 for laying down. Pensees 99, 2000, 2001.” Straight from the owner’s mouth…

- Nick Clarke, Private Client Account Manager

Friday 13 February 2015

Barolo 2011 - Don't underestimate it!

Posted by Giles Burke-Gaffney, Buying Director
Vintages come in all shapes and sizes: round or racy, sweet or savoury, rich or delicate. However when it comes to ultimate drinking pleasure, and indeed age-worthiness, it is balance that counts. Although it was far from an extreme year, being punctuated by cooler weather either side of August, 2011 was hotter and less uniform than the routinely brilliant 2010. Nonetheless the quality of the best 2011s is not that far behind in our view, specifically amongst the cooler high altitude or southeast-facing vineyard sites. The wines exhibit powerful yet open, sweet, headily-perfumed fruit, which makes them polar opposite to their impressive but more serious, predecessors. We think there are some impeccably balanced wines that are thrilling to enjoy now whilst offering good ageing potential. Following a great vintage is never easy, but don’t underestimate 2011, it is a very good vintage that will surprise many.

Vintage in depth:

Heavy rainfall characterised winter, right up until March. Higher temperatures in April brought the season forward by two weeks and, despite cooler weather returning in June and July, the growth cycle of the vine did not slow down. August was hot but thanks to the good water reserves, ripening continued uninterrupted, even if berries started to shrink in some cases. Rain in the first week of September further aided ripening and hot September days were followed by cool nights which preserved a sufficient level of freshness in the grapes and also helped build up incredibly aromatic components that characterise the resultant wines. Vintage started relatively early at the beginning of October. The crop was healthy and quantities were good. There are a handful of factors vital to the quality of the vintage: The crop was a good sized one and in some areas controlling this was important; vines grown in cooler areas, either at altitude or with southeast exposures, performed best; Late ripening varieties such as Nebbiolo coped best with the vintage conditions; a cooler September as well as the good underground water reserves ensured the growth cycle slowed down and returned to normal, this meant the “hang time” of the grapes was longer than compared to other “hot” vintages such as 2009.

So what of the wines? They are packed with rich, ripe, fruity flavours and intense floral perfumes. The tannins are powerful and evident yet your mouth is left sweet with fruit. The very best wines are those from the cooler sites or those with a cooler site component in the blend, and these wines are utterly compelling. They show a fine, balancing freshness to counteract the vintage’s heady fruit character. There are many excellent wines from La Morra the pinnacle of which are those from Brunate and Rocche dell’ Annunziata. Star performers from other communes were Cascina Francia, Fiasco and above all Rocche from Castiglione, whilst in Serralunga Brea from Brovia and San Rocco from Azelia were exemplary. A little lower down, but nonetheless brilliant, Cannubi showed its quality across the three producers that I tasted – Altare, Scavino and the Cannubi Boschis from Sandrone.

When tasked with comparing it to another vintage producers flitted between 2007 – but with more tannins and acidity (Roberto Conterno), 1998 (Davide Voerzio) and a blend of 2008 and 2004 (Vietti.) They are wines that have a sweetness and fragrance that make them very appealing already, although their structure and exquisite balance should ensure very good ageing ability.

Friday 30 January 2015

Cheval Blanc Masterclass

Posted by Justerini & Brooks
Yesterday we were treated to a Cheval Blanc master-class with Pierre-Olivier Clouet and Arnaud de Laforcade. This young and talented Technical Director and Finance Director team gave us a wonderful tasting and shared their wine-making philosophy in our chilly St James’s Street Cellar.

We started with a flight of Quinault L’Enclos, the newest addition to the group. This small vineyard in the outskirts of Libourne was purchased in 2009 and has undergone a complete transformation in the vineyard and the winery. The gravelly vineyards have been ploughed and organic farming techniques have been adopted. In the chai, Pierre-Olivier is using a much lighter touch, allowing the vintage and the terroir to speak. The progress is evident just from the three vintages we tasted: 2010, 2011 and 2012. The 2012 is wonderfully aromatic, is packed with transparent fruit and is beautifully balanced. Texturally, this is so refined – the tannins are fruity and long with no sense of dryness. This is definitely an estate to add to the watch list. 

Pierre-Olivier then introduced the wines from Cheval Blanc. The first flight paired the 2010 Petit Cheval and the 2009 Grand Vin. It was extraordinary to re-taste these magnificent wines. At 14.5% alcohol, the 2010 Petit Cheval is a most impressive wine. It possesses all the hallmarks of this arresting vintage: power, alcohol, and the most intoxicating of bouquets, but everything is in perfect balance – this is so harmonious you want to drink it right now! Cheval 2009 is clearly a baby. It has the exoticism of the vintage with copious amounts of extract and regal, large scale tannins. It is a tour de force that requires and will reward patience. 

Our next flight was an opportunity to see the progress of the 2011s. You might expect 2011s to struggle after the 2010 and 2009, however, the 2011s equipped themselves admirably. Aromatically they are more reserved. The fruit is dark, brooding and mineral, although there is a nice clarity and precision here. Petit Cheval’s tannins are quite powdery at the moment, a common trait in 2011. The Grand Vin is noble and classy, finishing with pure refined fruit tannins – a noteworthy effort. 

The next brace came from the 2006 vintage – something of a forgotten year. Petit Cheval is already quite evolved displaying secondary aromas and gorgeous, mouth-coating iodine and mineral flavours. The Grand Vin is by contrast very primary. The fruit is pure and sexy and the firm tannins require a little more time to blend into the wine. This is a splendid wine which the Cheval team are quite rightly very proud of. 


The final flight only had just one wine, the magnificent 2000 Cheval Blanc. This is a wine that really deserves its own flight. It has been a 100 point wine and in our opinion is thoroughly deserving of the accolade. It is unctuous and rich, yet delicate and refined. There is no sense of heaviness; it just keeps giving wonderful perfumed nuanced fruit. This is a deeply complex wine that one can’t help to admire right now, but one senses this could be one of the all-time great Chevals, which will last well into the 21st century.


We’d like to extend our sincere thanks and gratitude to Pierre-Olivier and Arnaud for sharing their passion, time and above all, wonderful wines with us.

Tom Jenkins, Bordeaux Buyer

Wednesday 28 January 2015

Southwold 2015 tasting (Bordeaux 2011)

Posted by Justerini & Brooks
Following the spectacular duo of 2009 and 2010, some questioned the pulling power of the 2011s. Whether it was the charm of this somewhat derided vintage or the lure of cooked breakfasts and sea air, the Southwold regulars nearly all made the trip to Suffolk.

The vintage got off to the very best of starts. While we were tasting the embryonic 2010s from barrel, we basked in warm sunshine and admired the precocious vines. This was one of the earliest flowerings in recent times. Summer had arrived early - but it didn't last. Seasons were getting muddled. July and August were decidedly spring-like and didn't help grape maturity. Thankfully a fine September (except for the hail in St Estephe) came to the rescue and provided relief for some very worried vignerons. 

My general perception of the vintage is quite positive. The wines have a soft ripe core that to my mind is reminiscent of the 2001s. They are charming and not at all aggressive or astringent. They don’t have the concentration or complexity of 2009 and 2010, but that is an unfair comparison. Having tasted two of the all-time great vintages, this was definitely a bump back down to earth. 

Wines that stood out included: Pichon Baron and Grand Puy Lacoste. Both displayed the hallmarks of elegant Pauillac and possess ample density. From St Julien, Leoville Poyferre was glossy and impressive, while Montrose and Cos d’Estournel stood out as the class acts of St Estephe. Chateau Palmer and Smith Haut Lafitte Rouge were both head and shoulders above their peers in their respective communes. On the right bank, star performers included Angelus, Tertre Roteboeuf, L’Eglise Clinet and Vieux Chateau Certan. 

As one would expect, the First Growths and top estates from the Right Bank are generally a notch up on the super seconds. However, Pichon Baron, Eglise Clinet and Chateau Palmer could more than hold their own, even in this company. 

Sauternes and Barsac are traditionally a bit of an afterthought in these reports. High costs of production and waning demand makes one wonder why anyone struggles to produce these wines. But struggle on they do and thank goodness they did in 2011. The wines are wonderfully sweet and beautifully balanced. They will be a joy to drink young and they should age gracefully for decades. Our old friend Doisy Vedrines was the pick of the bunch, as it was for our Buying Director when we tasted en primeur - good spot Giles! 

Commercially the 2011s are not that interesting at the moment. This is often a problem with vintages preceded by a great crop (or two in this case). Prices don’t fall fast enough. Bordeaux was certainly guilty of over-inflating prices on release. Subsequently, market conditions deteriorated making prices look even less attractive today. I felt that a general despondency about pricing probably unfairly influenced peoples’ impression of the wines. I believe that this is a superior vintage to 2007 at this stage. Bordeaux’s euphemistic phrase, ‘classical’, springs to mind when tasting the 2011s. Because of the lack of heat in August, these are not fruit bombs. Californian Cabernet they are not; this is an orthodox Bordeaux vintage, which, given a few more years in bottle, should blossom into something quite interesting.

Tom Jenkins, Bordeaux Buyer

Monday 5 January 2015

New Year’s Message from Justerini & Brooks

Posted by Justerini & Brooks

2014 was an exciting year for Justerini & Brooks. Despite continuing challenges in the wider wine market the business grew, but not without work.

We saw particular success with our portfolio of Burgundy, Champagne and Italian wines, all of which have continued to be increasingly demanded by our customers. This year’s Barolo campaign was the first for Justerini & Brooks to exceed £1million sales in the month it was released, with a further £1million sold in older vintages over the following few months. A well-deserved and exciting development for a region we began importing into the UK a generation or so ago with the 1989 vintage.

The demand for prestige and artisan Champagnes in 2014 proved to be even stronger with our customers, with Champagne sales almost surprisingly growing by 20% on the year before. Some quality vintages and a broadening portfolio sit behind that. Sadly, the same success cannot be said of Bordeaux, with the 2013 en primeur campaign being the smallest Bordeaux campaign for Justerini & Brooks since the 1990s. Though we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that Bordeaux still remains quite substantially the biggest area of our business. We've also noticed a strengthening in demand of older vintages of Bordeaux over the past six months at these new prices, with the successful sale of several substantial and world-class cellars through our broking team.

As for customers, the United Kingdom continues to be our single biggest market, with just over half our business done servicing the wine collections of our customers here in the UK. A further 40% of our customers are based all across Asia - now as north as Beijing, as south as Perth, as west as Delhi, and as east as Tokyo. It is a pleasure to see us moving to second generation customers in Asia, particularly in Hong Kong and Singapore, markets we began looking after in 1976. It was a full 110 years earlier than that, in 1866, that Justerini & Brooks first began to attract overseas customers to its portfolio, initially with the United States. It has been a quiet few years for our American business, though we are now seeing a slow upturn, with New York remaining by far the biggest part of that market for us. As it was originally.

Within the business, our window cleaner and our Chairman both celebrated 40 years with Justerini & Brooks. One of whom has helped bring a sparkle to how we display ourselves in St. James's, the other has proved to be an invaluable steward. Hew Blair's clear vision and commitment to quality has been instrumental in building the continuing success of Justerini & Brooks through the changing times of these past few decades. We have a customer base more vibrant and active than we've ever known, and a huge collection of fine wine estates that we represent; a collection that is arguably unrivaled around the world.

Our customers and ourselves have much to be excited about in 2015. And like with much at Justerini & Brooks, it shall start with Burgundy.

We wish a very happy New Year to all our customers.

Chadwick Delaney
Managing Director