Bbs Book (pt 21) Jeff Davies Exclusive Bordeaux

JEFFREY M. DAVIES SIGNATURE SELECTIONS EXCLUSIVE BORDEAUX

2516 Waukegan Road • Suite 323 • Glenview, IL 60025 • Phone: 512.919.9463 • Fax: 512.727.2453

Ch. D’Aiguilhe Querre Côtes de Castillon

The year 2000 was the first vintage for this new wine from the Côtes de Castillon appellation - not a bad year in which to make one’s debut! The tiny estate is owned by Emmanuel Querre, son of Michel Querre - the peripatetic owner of several châteaux on the Right Bank (including Le Moulin in Pomerol) and also a wellknown negotiant. Emmanuel is joined by his wife, the lovely Gaëtane, who has day-to-day responsibility for overseeing the property. The Querres have entrusted winemaking responsibilities to Jean-Michel Ferrandez, one of Bordeaux’s unsung, but truly talented, winemakers. It is he who turned around (diametrically, one might say) Château Citran in the early nineties - propelling it to head of the Cru Bourgeois class. The wine takes its name from the parish of Saint Philippe d’Aiguilhe, in which the vineyards are located. One finds most of the best vineyards of the appellation, including Joanin-Bécot, Vieux Château Champs de Mars and Clos Louie in this same township. This is the high plateau of the appellation - an eastern extension of the plateau of Saint Emilion with a very similar thin clay topsoil set atop a deep limestone mother lode, thus assuring a regular, but rarely excessive, supply of moisture to the vines. The size of the tiny vineyard was doubled in 2002, bringing it to a “whopping” 2.4 hectares (a little less than six acres). The single-block vineyard is situated at the very top of the limestone plateau in Saint Philippe d’Aiguilhe, with a relatively high plantation density of 6,000 vines/ha. The average age of the Querre vineyards is about 25 years. During the first two vintages, the planted acreage was comprised of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc. However, with the acquisition of the additional 1.2 hectares in 2002, that mix changed to about 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. Thanks to severe pruning and careful green harvesting, yields have averaged less than 30 hls/ha under the Querre’s stewardship. Under the direction of Jean-Michel Ferrandez, the fruit is hand-harvested at optimum ripeness and moved to the winery, where it is sorted, destemmed, gently crushed and then fermented in small, open-top, oak tanks. During the 18-day (on average) maceration period, the cap is regularly and manually punched. When completed, the new wine is run off into French oak barrels (60% new, the remainder one-wine old), wherein it is aged on its lees. The wine is then bottled unfined and unfiltered. Needless to say, the punishing attention is unmistakeable in this truly outstanding wine.

2516 Waukegan Road • Suite 323 • Glenview, IL 60025 • Phone: 512.919.9463 • Fax: 512.727.2453

Château Beaulieu Comtes de Tastes Bordeaux Supérieur

This 54 ½ acre vineyard is planted in clay and limestone soils that are situated in the village of Salignac, 15 miles northeast of Bordeaux; it is in close proximity to the appellation of Fronsac. The well-drained southfacing slopes of the property give credence to the name - Beaulieu means “beautiful place” in French. Under the enlightened vineyard management of Count Guillaume de Tastes, aided since 2005 by the talented team of consultant Stéphane Derenoncourt, the quality at this estate has soared - cover cropping, “greenharvesting” and leaf-pulling are all practiced religiously. Consequently, yields are very low for the appellation, ranging from two tons per acre in 2000 to less than 1.5 tons in 2001 and 2002. To put these numbers in perspective, two tons per acre is roughly the equivalent of just one bottle of wine per vine! The average age of the vineyard (planted with 55% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc) is 15 years. The vines are planted at 2,226 vines/acre; this density is twice the average of most New World vineyards! The hand-harvested fruit undergoes a pre-fermentation cold maceration for three to five days, after which the juice is slowly fermented in small temperature-controlled tanks for 10 to 15 days. Extended maceration runs for as long as necessary. Malolactic fermentation takes place in barrel, 60% of which were new in 2000. The percentage of new barrels in 2001 was even higher and included only French oak barrels. The wine is aged on its lees for 10 months, gaining additional richness, freshness, and complexity. This wine is best enjoyed upon release and over the five to seven years following the vintage. Since we first introduced Château Beaulieu with the 2000 vintage, it has consistently ranked as one of Robert Parker’s “Sleeper’s of the Vintage” and has demonstrated that Bordeaux can indeed produce not just great wines but also great values! It has also been lavishly praised by such French publications as Michel Bettane and Thierry Desseauve’s Classement des Meilleurs Vins de France and in the annual Le Guide Hachette des Vins.

2516 Waukegan Road • Suite 323 • Glenview, IL 60025 • Phone: 512.919.9463 • Fax: 512.727.2453

Château Belle-Vue Haut-Médoc

Let’s face it, true discoveries in the Médoc are few and far between. If ever there were a great property to be found in this sometimes disappointing area, Château Belle-Vue is it! Located on the southern fringe of the Margaux appellation, the vineyards of this beautiful property are adjacent to those of Château Giscours. In fact, all that seperates Belle-Vue from the prestigious area of Margaux is a small drainage ditch! What makes this property a true find? Much of Château Belle-Vue’s vineyard consists of old vines, situated close to those of Château La Lagune, in deep, gravelly soils. Yields are kept deliberately low by Médoc Cru Bourgeois standards, about 40 hl/ha. Furthermore, there is an unusually high percentage of Petit Verdot in the vineyard, a good portion of which was planted at the beginning of the twentieth century. The owner, Rémy Fouin, is fanatical about picking fully mature grapes, and the wines of Belle-Vue, year in and year out, are marked by their exceptional degree of ripeness. Indeed, the wines of Belle-Vue are among the “fattest” most hedonistic Médoc wines one will ever taste. The final wine is a usually a blend of about 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 20% Petit Verdot. The fruit is carefully table sorted before an extended maceration, which can often run upwards of 6 weeks. Malolactic fermentation takes place in barrel (a significant portion of which is renewed every year) and the lees are stirred regularly to enhance the wine’s texture and increase its complexity. The wine is aged in barrel for about a year and a half before being bottled unfiltered. It generally has a natural alcohol content of around 13%.

2516 Waukegan Road • Suite 323 • Glenview, IL 60025 • Phone: 512.919.9463 • Fax: 512.727.2453

Clos Saint Julien & Ch. Petit Gravet-Aîné St. Emilion

Clos Saint Julien

This estate is owned by Catherine Papon-Nouvel, also the owner of Château Petit Gravet Aîné in St. Emilion and Château Peyrou in the Côtes de Castillon. The 1.2 hectare vineyard is situated just behind Soutard, atop the limestone plateau of Saint Emilion. A very thin layer of topsoil sits covers a limestone mother lode; the vineyard is comprised of 50% Merlot (80 years old) and 50% Cabernet Franc (40 years old), planted at 5,500 vines/ha. The grapes are hand-harvested at yields of 25 hls/ha. The wine is fermented in oak tanks, with malo and sur lies aging take place in 100% new barrels from Taransaud and Berthomieu. 250 cases. 14.8%

Château Petit Gravet-Aîné

A 2.35 hectare vineyard in the Saint Emilion foothills, it is situated right next to (west of ) Canon-La Gaffelière; deep, sandy/clay soils are home to an unusual encépagement of 80% Cabernet Franc and 20% Merlot (average age of the vines is 70 years). Yields are 25 hls/ha, and all grapes are hand-harvested and then table-sorted. An 8-day cold soak @ 5° C is followed by fermentation in stainless stell with microbullage under the cap; malo and aging takes place in 100% new French oak from Taransaud, Berthomieu and Sylvain with limited cliquage (oxygenation) and bâtonnage for up to 18 months. Less than 700 cases. 14%.

2516 Waukegan Road • Suite 323 • Glenview, IL 60025 • Phone: 512.919.9463 • Fax: 512.727.2453

Jean Faux

Bordeaux Supérieur

This estate posseses a six hectare southfacing vineyard (about 4.5 hectares are currently in production) that sits just across the Dordogne River from the picturesque town of Castillon-La Bataille. Plantation density is very high at 7,400 vines/ha. The hillside vineyards are planted in clay and limestone soils with 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc with an average vine age of 25 years. The first vintage under the new owner, Pascal Collotte (longtime Sales Manager for the Saury cooperage), was 2003. Yields in 2005 were 39 hls/ha before, and 31 hls/ha after, selection and saignée. A meticulous farmer, Pascal mechanically tills the soils and practices deleafing and green harvests for his vines, which are subsequently hand harvested. After table sorting, the grapes are fermented in a combination of cement and stainless steel tanks. The postfermentation solids are pressed using a modern version of the age-old basket press, which, while slower than bladder presses, is extremely gentle. Malolactic and aging take place in 40% new and 60% one-wine old barrels, all from...Saury! Less than 1,670 cases are produces annually. Stéphane Derenoncourt and his able team consult.

2516 Waukegan Road • Suite 323 • Glenview, IL 60025 • Phone: 512.919.9463 • Fax: 512.727.2453

Les Angelots de Gracia St. Emilion

The owner of this property, Michel Gracia, is widely recognized throughout Bordeaux as one of the most talented restorers of the region’s vast collection of 18th century freestone buildings. He and his company have participated in the restoration of some of Bordeaux’s most celebrated châteaux and historical monuments. Michel brings to his wine the same near-fanatical attention to detail. His 4.5 acre vineyard is situated on the hillside just east of the village of Saint-Emilion in Saint-Laurent-des-Combes. There he cultivates roughly 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Yields can be as low as 20 hls/ha (about 0.9 tons/acre), arguably the lowest of any Saint-Emilion wine, grand cru classé or not! The fruit is handharvested in late September into small plastic lugs then quickly transported to his tiny winery in the heart of the town of Saint-Emilion. There the fruit is individually hand-sorted and hand-stemmed, grape-by-grape, ensuring that only the ripest cleanest fruit makes its way into the hand-operated crusher. The freshly pressed juice is then poured, not pumped, into two small cement tanks where it undergoes primary fermentation. Once completed, the new wine was transferred to 100% new oak barrels from three different coopers. Therein, the malolactic fermentation took place. In April of 2006 Robert Parker gave the 2005 Angelots de Gracia a barrel rating of 91-93 and had the following to say, “From the idiosyncratic proprietor of Gracia, this tiny garagiste operation has fashioned a provocative blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc with 13+% alcohol. Its inky/blue/purple hue is accompanied by scents of blueberries, white flowers, and black currants. Deep and rich, with a wonderful minerality, abundant nuances, fresh acidity, and stunning concentration (from incredibly tiny yields of 21 hectoliters per hectare), this is a major league claret that should drink well for two decades or more.”

2516 Waukegan Road • Suite 323 • Glenview, IL 60025 • Phone: 512.919.9463 • Fax: 512.727.2453

Ch. Le Thil Comte Clary Pessac-Léognan

In 1989 Château Le Thil had no vines, but it possessed a real treasure in the form of some twenty hectares of land situated within the AOC of Pessac-Léognan. At that time, the de Laitre family considered giving to the estate what it was missing - a vineyard. Jean de Laitre who then was far removed from the world of wine - he was working as a medical intern in Paris - was nonetheless attracted by the project. He considered this to be a once in a lifetime opportunity and abandoned his doctor’s stethoscope to commit himself full-time to this incredible challenge. What an amazing adventure - to create from scratch a new vineyard on exceptional land within a most prestigious appellation! Guided only by his passion, Jean began this considerable undertaking which required very heavy investments. Jean says if he had known just how high the financial stakes were, he may not have been quite so enthusiastic about his new adventure. Nevertheless, in 1990 one of the youngest wine estates in Pessac-Léognan was born. In love with his vines and the work of expressing the essence of the vineyards, Jean de Laitre is constantly improving the vine growing and the vinification techniques. “Wine is a world of passion and a great school of humility. It is a fantastic privilege to live in contact with nature, and to devote yourself to creating happiness,” says Jean. Today he is beginning to harvest the fruits of his passion: his wines are recognized all over the world and his production is no longer big enough to meet the constantly growing demand from wine lovers. Bravo, Mon. de Laitre!

2516 Waukegan Road • Suite 323 • Glenview, IL 60025 • Phone: 512.919.9463 • Fax: 512.727.2453

Château de l’Estang Côtes de Castillon

Château de l’Estang is truly a hidden gem. Located in the small village of St. Genès de Castillon, it is just 2 kilometers from the well known AOC of St. Emilion, and in fact the estate’s 26.5 hectares of vine are planted in limestone soils, which can also be found in St. Emilion. The vines, which have an average age of 20 years, are made up of 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and are planted 5,000/hectare. Harvesting is done exclusively by hand. The wine is fermented in thermoregulated stainless steel with 2 to 4 weeks of maceration, depending on the vintage. It is then aged in a combination of 25% new oak, 50% 1 and 2 year oak and 25% tank, during which time the lees are regularly stirred. Prodution is around 100,000 bottles.

2516 Waukegan Road • Suite 323 • Glenview, IL 60025 • Phone: 512.919.9463 • Fax: 512.727.2453

Château Méjean Graves

This 5.2 hectare vineyard of 5-year old vines - 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon planted at a density of 6,666 vines/ha - is favorably located, with soils containing Garonnaises and Mindel gravel. The soil is mechanically tilled and every other row is cover cropped. Yields are kept low, about 39 hls/ha. The fruit is hand-harvested into small plastic cagettes beginning in the middle of September for Merlot and the end of September for Cabernet. The grapes are placed in a cold box for 12 hours @ 5° C prior to crush, which is followed by a cold soak for 4 days @ 12° C. A 24-day maceration in stainless steel tanks is complimented by microbullage under the cap. The wine is aged on its lees for the first four months, with a total of 13 months in 45% new and 25% one-wine old barrels from Nadalié (25%) and Tonnellerie Bordelaise (75%). 30% is raised in tank. The blend is usually about 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet. 13.5%

2516 Waukegan Road • Suite 323 • Glenview, IL 60025 • Phone: 512.919.9463 • Fax: 512.727.2453