Welcome one and all to my dabble in oenology. This is by no means the work of a professional in the business, but an amateur (in the purest sense of the word), intended to help my own evolution in the domain of wines, viticulture and oenology, as well as to encourage others to enter this fascinating world which may seem so intimidating and even pretentious to the uninitiated.
For my inaugural entry, I will write about a recent visit to an estate in the picturesque Saint-Emilion village on the right bank of the Gironde department, just a stone's throw north-east of the capital of Aquitaine; Bordeaux. Whether one is a fan of wine or not, I would recommend the visit of this magnificent small town, a true UNESCO World Heritage site, to anyone .
Château Guadet (formerly known as Château Guadet-Saint-Julien), for that is the name of the estate in question, is located in the center of the town on a road bearing the same name, rue Guadet, both namesakes of the Girondin revolutionary who lost his head in Bordeaux towards the end of the Terror in 1794, having been discovered hiding out in the cellars where the wines are sheltered. It is a rather nondescript property, with no signs or publicity alerting anyone of its existence; just a building with an old, blue door facing opposite the Caisse d'epargne bank. To even know that it's there, one has to contact the proprietor and schedule a visit, as Guadet only accepts visitors on reservation. The owner, Guy Pétrus Lignac, is only too happy to go over some of the rich history of his château, owned by his family since before he was born, as well of that of the town.
Lignac is an interesting and charismatic man, with elegant style and a baritone voice that would have not been out of place broadcasting on radio waves. He is a modern day wine aristocrat; having been born into a vintner family and being the grand nephew of Mme Edmond Loubat, the woman who essentially developed Château Pétrus into what it is today. Upon her death, being childless herself, Pétrus was inherited by the two children of her sister, Mme Lily Lacoste-Loubat, and the father of our host himself.
Pétrus is where Lignac gets his middle name from, and he controversially missed out on inheriting the fabled estate as it was Jean-Pierre Moueix who ended up buying the Pétrus shares of both his father, in 1961, and those of Mme Lily more recently. Lily herself left with a few thousand bottles of the famous elixir and lived until the ripe age of 99, but in her frailty, was defrauded of a significant number of them by people she trusted, an inheritance that would have otherwise gone to Lignac, since she was also childless. It is a fascinating tale of intrigue and betrayal, but not really anything to do with the rest of this entry, so we move on.
Château Guadet, one of only two estates to have all its functions located on town premises, is also one of the few crus, or growths, in the Saint-Emilion appelation to have grand cru classé status, which unlike the classification of the Médoc of 1855, started one hundred years later and is updated every ten years. At least in theory; alas, there is controversy here, too.
Out of the 850 or so vineyards in Saint-Emilion, 13 have what is called premier grand cru classé, or first growth, status. These are further split between premier grand cru classé A and B, of which only 2 are A (Châteaux Ausone and Cheval Blanc, for those dying to know). A further 53 are grand cru classés, with no further distinction unlike in the Médoc. All remaining vintners must go with either Saint-Emilion or Saint-Emilion grand cru on their bottles, and even the grand cru status must be earned. As a result, achieving cru classé status can bring fortune to an estate as it can easily have the effect of doubling prices; and, consequently, demotion from grand cru classé status can lead to ruin.
The last update to the Saint-Emilion classification was attempted in 2006. That year, twelve châteaux were demoted and four châteaux were promoted in their place. One of those demoted was none other than Château Guadet. Guy Pétrus Lignac and the owners of the other estates filed suit, alleging that the classification was flawed, as several of the panelists involved in the judging were negotiators for several of the other properties, and hence a conflict of interest was inherent. The affair dragged on back and forth through the courts for a couple of years, but eventually, the ruling came in Lignac's and the other vintners' favour, and the 2006 classification was invalidated, restoring that of 1996. This caused the would-be promoted châteaux to despair, and so they counter-sued, and eventually, won the right to retain their 2006 promotions while everyone else will continue to use the 1996 classification until a new one comes out, likely in 2012.
This controversial issue was not discussed with Lignac, however; instead, he showed us around the estate, explaining the various stops the grapes made between harvest and when the wine is finally bottled and stored in the cellars or shipped.
The grapes are harvested manually, usually in the beginning of October, although that depends on the year. Lignac claims that 2010 will be an excellent vintage, almost as good as 2009, which surprised me, because in the northern part of France, it was an exceptionally poor summer, with producers in Beaujolais abandoning their crops and producers in Champagne not having a 2010 millésime, or vintage. However, Lignac claims that the summer in Bordeaux was excellent, and he only wishes it had rained more. Time will tell if his claims are true; whether or not the 2010 vintage will be able to live up to those of 2009 and 2005, two of the greatest wine years of a generation.
Like all Saint-Emilion wines, Guadet are predominantly Merlot, with lesser percentages of Cabernets sauvignon and franc. The exact proportions vary year to year, depending on which variety the growing season was kindest to that year.
The control process at Guadet really is impressive, and the attention to detail and quality is very minute. From the separation of the grapes right after harvest right down to the length of time the wines are left to age in their casks, everything is very pedantic. After the initial fermentation, malolactic fermentation is still done in segregated vats. Once that stage is completed, the young wine is barrelled in young, French oak barrels where it sits from 18 to 21 months. Every couple of weeks, however, wine is poured into the barrels as it “disappears”. Lignac claims that the barrels are like people: they drink the wine. Every few months, the wine is poured into new barrels for the old to be checked for mold and treated with sulphur. At the end of the ageing process, whisked egg whites are poured in to remove all the sediment from the barrels so that only pure wine is bottled.
The end product is ready under two years from harvest, though Lignac tells us that it is meant to be conserved for ten to fifteen years before it is to be consumed, although the wines can still be consumed earlier or later, but that that would not be their prime.
After the tour came the moment of truth; or the dégustation. The first wine sampled was the 2001, a reasonably good vintage, particularly on the right bank, of which Saint-Emilion is a part. Lignac opens the bottle, sniffs the cork, frowns, sniffs the cork again, frowns again, pours the wine into a glass, smells the wine, pours it into another glass, smells the empty glass, then into another and another and another. He says the news is bad; “le vin est bouchonné”, the wine has been corked, which is a great pity. He passes the cork around describing how to tell. Indeed, the cork smells of a wet rag, and the wine is a bit fragrant, though not unpleasant in and of itself. Regardless, this bottle will be used to make vinegar.
So on to the next bottle, a 2007. Another fine albeit unexceptional year for Bordeaux wines. This one is untainted, and it is silky smooth, perfectly balanced and very elegant. The aromas are very subtle; nutty, with hints of caramel. The only thing it lacks is power, as it is perhaps too subtle, but it is a very impressive and delicious wine. The tannins are very delicate; so much so that I cannot see this wine still being excellent in 20 years, although time will tell. I won't get into things like legs, or the robe, how it is called in French, or the colour, as these things really make no difference if the wine is good or not, and are only imperfect indicators of whether or not it will be. Besides, as I have pointed out already, I am not an expert, only an amateur in it just for the pleasure.
In any case, this is a wine that I certainly recommend and, although not cheap, is not prohibitively expensive since it was 24 € at the château. On my scale from one to five, i will give this one a 4.5.
The next bottle was...well, there was no next bottle, and this was my big disappointment. We brought back four bottles for testing from the cellar, but after one spoilt wine and one good one, Lignac must have decided that he was throwing pearls before swine and the dégustation stopped there. So despite the last wine being decidedly good, the taste in my mouth when I left was bitter, which is regrettable. Ultimately, it was Lignac's loss as well, because I buy those wines I like but have a strict policy of not buying any that I have not tasted.
The epilogue to this tale is that the next day in Bordeaux I found a bottle of 2005 Guadet at a local caviste for 30% less than what was sold at the estate.
W.
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Visits to Château Guadet cost 8 € per person and are on reservation only. Information on reservations and such can be found through the Saint-Emilion tourist office located in the town centre.
Do any naked boys come with the wine?
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