A little light reading

So Porco sits down with the new Parker book and a stack of sticky post-its to do a little bit of homework – only to note that not only have wines been re-rated (some down but mostly up) but the maturities have been adjusted as well. What is interesting is that all the dates have been adjusted down, in some cases by as many as five years - has Parker finally caught on that in trying to “rush” a rating, the winemakers have sacrificed longevity and aging potential for maximum points while still in the barrel? Micro-oxygenation be damned – so there!

Shopping

Last Friday, Porco bought some books – a bit of this and a bit of that. The Parker book really got Porco upset – there are no tasting notes, just a brief introduction to the winery, scores and maturities. What a rip off! Yesterday, Porco bought some wine from a very nice shop. What a pleasant change – buying wine from someone who really knows wine. Prices are really reasonable as well. Today, Porco bought some more wine from a sale. Not drinking fast enough!

New Find

World of Wines at the basement of Central – normal retail prices (what did you expect?) but interesting selection of lesser known wines. Worth having a look at the Kanonkop Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 and the Simonsig Gewurtztraminer 2006.

Sign of the times

Crystal had a sale this weekend and when Porco got there this morning, he was only one of five customers. Discounts were not great and Crystal is expensive to begin with – only things worth buying were “other French regions” with no Parker points. Lots of off years from Bordeaux around 89-91 RP with no takers.

Dulce et Decorum

Having gone out in search of New World Chardonnays last weekend, Porco returned instead with a few bottles of $39 Rieslings. A couple of the 2005 Schlumberger Les Prince Abbés which is consistently good and good value for the price. Something new from the New World – a Bouldervines Riesling 2008 from New Zealand. These are the folks who used to supply grapes to Hunters but have now set up on their own. Experimental.

For a few dollars more

It really pisses me off that many people in the wine trade in Singapore have absolutely no idea what they are talking about – it doesn’t help that they aren’t interested in what they are selling either. I don’t mind if they are totally teetotal – they need just knowledge not experience.  Moving on to the main gripe of the day – I don’t mind paying a little more for a single vineyard release but if the premium is about one-third more then it’s just a case of getting your face ripped off. Again. It also does not help if the guy in the shop is absolutely incompetent and it totally unable to explain why you should pay the extra money.

That said, it is time to be brave again. A quick scan of the honours list for this year’s New World wines has thrown up a host of unknown names among the tried and tested houses. Time to go hunting.

Decepticon

For all of two minutes, I was in Mersault heaven – it smelled like the soul of Mersault and after the first slurp, gargle and gulp, I was still there, then air and other base elements brought me back down to earth. It was just a Vincent Girardin Mersault Ville Vignes 2006. A little young, a touch too much oak and just a little too much. Nothing patience and another year in storage will not improve but just for a minute or two …

The week that was

It went off on a sour note – indifferent Chablis from Leflaive, even the beer the following evening was better. Then – we should have known – Burgundy does not travel well. Thank goodness for a Sauternes with a little bit of age. Finally, a quiet night in with a bottle of barrique aged 2003 Siegfried Chardonnay – it’s harsh to say this, they haven’t got it quite right in that you get the fruit, the oak and the acidity but not the structure to hold it together … still, it is moving in the right direction.

Actualitas

On a bit of a whim, Porco bought some Veuve Fourny – a grower’s Champagne from a village south of Le Mesnil. Rose, Vintage and Blanc de Blanc – all between $75 and $90. Other excitement this week – the Kanonkop Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 is finally coming home after two years in a proper cellar on the farm.

Sweeping Seconds

Yesterday, we extolled the virtues of Leoville Las Cases – well, it’s more of the same today. Clos du Marquis, the so-called second wine of the estate, has long been praised for being one of the best second wines from any estate in Bordeaux. It is usually mentioned in the same breath as Carraudes de Lafite or Les Forts de Latour. Some of the praise is diluted somewhat so as not detract from the estate’s top billing. So Jancis Robinson calls it “a very nice wine on its own account” and goes on to say “there is no suggestion of sweeping up the leftovers”. It’s not often Porco disagrees with Jancis but the wine is far better than that – other critics will go as far as saying it is as good as a 3rd Growth but I will go one better and I have history and geography to back it up.

The grapes for the Clos du Marquis come not from the principal vineyard of the estate, the “Grand Clos“, but a completely separate plot called the “Petit Clos“. When the estate was split up, these were the only two areas which were retained and it is no coincidence that the both these plots were enclosed vineyards – after all, you would only put a wall around something worth delineation and demarcation, right? So if you take the view that the original estate was divided into four parts and two of which were walled, it would seem strange that these were the numbered one and four in terms of quality – if that is indeed the case, one could put together an argument that as far as selective retention was concerned, the Petit Clos could be better than either plots which now make up Leoville Barton or Leoville Poyferre. Geographically, the Petit Clos is further north compared with its cousins, closer to the Grand Clos as well as the stream which separates the original estate from Latour. 

Aside from terrior, the winemaking at Las Cases should not be an issue either, they make excellent wines consistently even in less than ideal vintages and the premium it commands compared with its cousins is ample testimony to that. Which is why this second wine should really be a Second Growth and everyone should run out and buy as much as you can store.