A perfect Sunday in Bordeaux

It was one of those Bordeaux blue sky mornings! We woke late, thanks to the jet lag, then enjoyed a quick breakfast of fresh baguette and croissants from the local boulangerie. 

We strolled down to the Chartrons Market. Known locally as the "Bo Bo" market (meaning Bohemian Bourgeois or "trendster") one can choose from a vast array of produce- fresh fruit and vegetables, artisanal cheeses, wine, bread, patisserie, fresh and pre-cooked meats, poultry and seafood dishes. 

But the highlight for us, and our priority any sunny Sunday that we are lucky enough to be in Bordeaux, is the oyster stalls. There 6 oysters of your choice (which grade/size?) are shucked to order, and best washed down with a glass of Bordeaux Blanc. These oysters are so fresh one can taste the salty waters of the Basin d'Arcachon where these were harvested on the previous low tide.  A perfect Bordeaux lunch. Then we grabbed some macarons for later.

Macaron stand Chartrons market #bordeaux #sunday #dimanche #marche #macarons #france

A photo posted by discovervinwines (@discovervinwines) on Jun 26, 2016 at 5:39am PDT

Bordeaux was heaving, with the Euro finals in full swing. We found a bar near the Garonne to watch France v Ireland. 

Fete le Vin, the Bordeaux wine festival, was underway as well . Crowds of wine lovers spilled from the wine tasting stands along the banks of the Garonne clutching wine glasses but were seemingly well behaved. 

After the French match many of the tens of thousands of football fans from the nearby Fansite in Place de Quinconces headed to the wine stands. We found these 2 wearing the famous French coq symbol...

I suppose you would call these guys coq-heads? Allez les bleus! #france #bordeaux #euros

A photo posted by discovervinwines (@discovervinwines) on Jun 26, 2016 at 9:03am PDT

We had a stroll through the wine festival site but decided not to taste, due to the crowds. 

Instead we decided to retreat to our apartment for a quiet Apero, before heading out to dinner. We enjoyed a glass of wonderful Domaine de la Croix Irrésistible rosé, cru classé from Provence.

Apero #bordeaux @domaine_de_la_croix #rose #provence #wine #wineandfood

A photo posted by discovervinwines (@discovervinwines) on Jun 26, 2016 at 10:03am PDT

We took a short stroll across the Pont de Pierre to Restaurant l'Estacade. It features a lot local seafood dishes. One of those menus where its hard to decide what to choose. It has a very good wine list with some top local wines, plus a good selection from other parts of France (which is a bit bit shocking in Bordeaux) and interesting wines by the glass thanks to Coravin. The service is excellent and the restaurant has a stunning view across the Garonne looking back to Place de la Bourse and central Bordeaux. 

It's a perfect place to watch the sun set in this stunning natural ampitheatre, with water meeting sky, and framing the stunning architecture of the Bordeaux waterfront.

Gorgeous evening in #bordeaux

A photo posted by discovervinwines (@discovervinwines) on Jun 26, 2016 at 1:11pm PDT

At 11pm we had a fantastic view of the Fete le Vin son et lumière (sound and light show ).

 


Then at 1130pm we ordered a half bottle of Gosset rosé Champagne and moved to the deck to watch the fireworks exploding above our heads over the Garonne. An amazing ending to a perfect Sunday in Bordeaux.

Spectacular #bordeaux @bordeauxfetevin

A photo posted by discovervinwines (@discovervinwines) on Jun 26, 2016 at 3:02pm PDT

Chateau Laroche Joubert 2011. An example, par excellence, of a good value wine from Bordeaux

One of our favourite red wines at the moment is Chateau Laroche Joubert 2011.

We sent a sample to our friends at The Wine Wankers, one of the wine blog/social media sensations of 2014. They have over 120k twitter followers and are rated by Klout and others as one of the most influential in our industry. You can read about their amazing journey here.

This story about this wine review began when we met Conrad from The Wine Wankers at a trade tasting in November 2014.

There are some total @winewankers at this tasting !

A photo posted by discovervinwines (@discovervinwines) on Nov 11, 2014 at 5:33pm PST

He challenged us to prove that good value wines existed in Bordeaux. So we showed him some wines at the tasting and then sent him a sample of this wine. We thought that this wine could help prove the point about good value wines and Bordeaux.


You can see for yourself what the team thought ...

This was a cracker of a Bordeaux sent to us by @discovervinwines! Really good value and shows that enjoyable Bordeaux doesn't have to be expensive.

A photo posted by The Wine Wankers (@winewankers) on Jan 1, 2015 at 8:31pm PST

Nice! We'd like to thank The Wine Wankers for trying the wine and for taking the time to let us know their thoughts. 

For more information on this (and other) good value wine from Bordeaux, click here. 

Bordeaux Wine Festival - Fete le Vin!

One of the worlds great wine festivals unfolds this month on June 26th to June 29th. Held on the banks of the Garonne river in the UNESCO World Heritage listed city of Bordeaux a series of wine tastings, wine events, concerts will take place. 

A spectacular son et lumiere (sound and light show) is projected onto the magnificent buildings around Place de la Bourse (refer photo) and fireworks are launched from barges on the river. 

There is so much more to the city of Bordeaux but wine is integral to the economy and heritage of the city. On this one week-end every second year the Bordelaise and visitors from across the world celebrate the wines of Bordeaux!

This festival is definitely worth planning around for any trip to France.

More details on the Bordeaux Fete le Vin website

2004 Bordeaux drinking at their peak

La Revue du Vin de France is one of France's leading monthly wine magazines. We subscribe to it and love pouring over the pages filled with news, articles and dozens of wine reviews.

The December 2013 edition featured a review of the Bordeaux 2004 vintage with the headline- "They are at their peak, start to drink them!"  

To celebrate we are offering a discount on 2 reds from the 2004 vintage.

Anyone going to the DiscoverVin site from this blog can use code BDX04 for a 15% discount on these wines (minimum order 6 bottles in total- can be 3 or each). Click the links to the wines below. Be quick. Limited stocks.

In summary the article says it was "a generous/good volume harvest but the level of maturity was not optimal. At their birth the 2004 Bordeaux in barrel samples, didn't enthuse the critics. Retasted 10 years later in bottles, it amounted to the following: agreeable/nice reds, disappointing dry whites and premature evolution of the Sauternes". 

After the hot and dry year of 2003, 2004 was cooler and wet. The cool and wet finish to the harvest led to a "level of maturity not always optimal' . It was a late harvest and in many cases the grapes suffered from dilution due to the moisture.

This appears to have been more of an issue for the dry whites and the sauternes which are showing early ageing and need to be consumed if not done so already!

The reds have done better- with the right bank St Émilion and Pomerol, described as "pleasure wines" ready to drink with round, perfumed with typical merlot characteristics but often with firm tannins.

The left bank, prime slow-ripening cabernet terroir, seems to have done best, especially the reds of Pessac-Leognan on the southern outskirts of Bordeaux, and the Reds of the Medoc, stretching along the Gironde estuary to the north of the city.

The 2004 left bank reds are ready to enjoy. They can be kept for several more years without a problem but are currently drinking well. Optimally they would benefit from a couple of hours in a carafe (the oxygen softens the tannins and reinvigorate the fruit).

Similarly the Bordeaux Index after reviewing wines from the 2004 Vintage on March 13 2014, said "In the main these are delicious, bright, medium-bodied and digestible clarets. They have an extremely pleasant aromatic profile, with enough ripeness to accurately show their regional and vineyard characteristics; when the fruit was able to sufficiently ripen and the grapes were delicately and sensitively handled, the palates are also extremely satisfying: soft and seamless but with both a firm tannic structure and balanced acidity. The best examples have a solid weight of fruit on the mid-palate which helps along with the acidity to provide medium to long and often multi-layered finishes. The best of the wines yesterday – which weren’t necessarily the biggest names or most highly prized bottles – were genuinely delicious. They also have the benefit of being, in the main, very good value."

Victoria Moore in the Telegraph (UK) April 2014 also wrote about the value and  the merits of the Bordeaux 2004 vintage compared to recent releases.

DiscoverVin has 2 Bordeaux left bank reds from the 2004 vintage. These are available online or to trade. They are both drinking at their peak as the article suggests. They will last for several years but why wait when one can enjoy mature Bordeaux at its peak!





Chateau Lanessan 2004 
A great value example of the power, finesse and elegance of the Médoc.

The Lanessan vineyard has belonged to a succession of eight generations of the Bouteiller family since the 18th century.  Made up of 45 hectares (111 acres) of vines that form part of a larger 80 hectares (198 acres) estate on one single plot.  The Lanessan vineyard is located in the commune of Cussac-Fort-Médoc, close to Saint-Julien, in the Haut-Médoc appellation area and runs east to west along a fine ridge of deep Garonne gravel.
The average age of the vines is about thirty years.  

Region/Terroir:  Haut Medoc.
Grapes:  Cabernet Sauvignon (60%), Merlot (36%), Petit Verdot (4%).
Soil:  Deep Garonne gravels.
Alcohol:  12.5% VOL
Wine making:  Grapes are picked at optimal ripeness and hand-sorted to ensure only optimal grapes used.  The wine is made in thermo-regulated concrete tanks and aged for 12 months in French oak (⅓ new).
Cellaring potential:  This wine is already drinking at or close to peak. A chance to enjoy aged Bordeaux now, but will last for several more years to come.



Our Tasting notes:  It was such a pleasure to find this parcel of aged Bordeaux.  We bought some of the last remaining cases!  It is a great value example of the power, finesse and elegance of the Médoc.  A classic claret nose with fruit, spice and developed meaty notes.  Luscious mouth filling fruit, good balance and fine softened tannins.  It has a lovely structure and length.

Here’s what the French wine bible, Guide Hachette, said in 2008 about the 2004 vintage, “The sheer length of family tradition since 1793 has built up true expertise in growing wine on Garonne gravel soils. This 2004 is a fine example with its garnet robe and its bouquet that unfolds gently to reveal cooked fruit aromas with spicy hints. Smooth and round on the palate, this wine is recognisably a Haut-Médoc with its nicely extracted, ripe tannins. It all knits well into a harmonious wine that will be at its best in 3 or 4 years’ time.”

Fast forward to 2014 time’s up!  Time to enjoy! 

Legende de la Tour Carnet 2004

Château La Tour Carnet has its origins in the 12th century and is the oldest castle in the Médoc.  It includes a medieval tower built in 1120 and is surrounded by a moat! The vineyard of Château La Tour Carnet has been established in the year 1407!

Legende La Tour Carnet is the second wine from the Château which has had a  resurgence since 2000, when it was purchased by Bernard Magrez.  Vineyard practices have been modernised and consultant winemaker Michel Rolland consults to the winery team.

Reviewed by Regan Drew in Vinonotebook October 2013
"Showing the petticoats under the frock, there’s complex secondary aromas of older leather and tobacco and meat shadowing the black fruits, violets, tomato leaf and tobacco. The palate still long and exquisite. Class. Olives and blackcurrants and savoury lift given from dried herbs. Those rocks..those hot hot rocks under the vines, they’re there too, with a earthy/mineral quality that assists in the palate length. This is a very smart wine that is smack bang at the height of its power."

Region/Terroir:  Haut-Médoc
Grapes:  Cabernet Sauvignon (55%), Merlot (35%), Cabernet Franc (10%).
Soil:  The area is characterized by a land base of strongly calcareous clay covered with a thick layer of serious gunziennes forming the famous "Butte de La Tour Carnet". (We realise that this is probably too much information but, Gunzinennes (or Guntzian gravel), in case you want to know, refers to the large pebbly gravel distinctive to the terroir of Médoc and is well suited to the cabernet grape.  Gunz refers to a glacial geologic period in the Plesitocene era!.  Bottom line - this is a great location to grow grapes!
Alcohol:  13% VOL
Wine making:  Grapes are hand harvested in small crates with the first selection occurring in the vineyard.  The grapes are again sorted by hand, before and after de-stemming. Vinification occurs in stainless steel vats with cold pre-fermentation maceration at 12 °C.  Fermentation occurs at low temperatures (28°C) with maceration occurring over 35-45 days.  Malolactic fermentation occurs in barrels.
Cellaring potential:  Up to 15 years
Our Tasting notes:  We were impressed with this wine in a line up of many wines from the Médoc.  Complex nose of red and black fruits, some minerals and spicey notes. On the palate, rich complex fruit, raspberries, blackberries, blackcurrants, with minerals and tobacco.  Big but soft and integrated tannins.

Anyone going to the site from this blog can use code BDX04 for a 15% discount on these wines (minimum order 6 bottles in total- can be 3 or each)

A (very) long lunch at Melbourne Food and Wine Festival

As part of the 2014 Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, it was a great pleasure to collaborate with  Damien, Daniel, Georgie, Lincoln and the team at Van Haandel and Comme to stage a french Long Lunch. The theme of the festival in 2014 was water and we spoke about the influence of the great rivers and Gironde estuary of the Bordeaux region in shaping terroir and the production of premium wines. Some great food and wine was served and everyone seemed to have a great afternoon! 




Luckily the weather was perfect and 85 people came along for this superb food and wine event in Alfred Place.

First up was the entrees: Baked Oysters, leeks, comté gruyere & Vin Jaune; Mussel and saffron soup, fennel, basil; Cassoulet of garlic snails. 

The oysters were washed down with the delicious Grand Bateau Bordeaux Blanc 2012 A semillon/sauvignon blend made by the grand cru team at Chateau Beycheville and given 91 points recently in the Courier Mail in Brisbane.



We then moved onto the ever popular Chateau La Rayre Bergerac Rosé 2012 which was great with the mussel soup and with the cassoulet (and on its own!) . It was a burst of colour and flavour! 



On to a platter of main courses. Squab, grapes, foie gras parfait. Beef, vol au vent, Bordelaise sauce. 2 delicious and inexpensive reds showing off the left and right bank of Bordeaux - Château Senilhac la Prade, 2009 and Château Truquet, 2011. (The Senilhac La Prade has now sold out, but something similar from the same excellent vintage is Chateau Haut-Belian 2009 )

Cheese platters arrived followed by desserts to share- madelines, canelé, lemon curd and cream. Dessert wine was poured- the delightful Chateau Le Pradey 2009 Sainte-Croix-du-Mont just across the Garonne river from Sauternes (but selling for a fraction of the price of Sauternes and Barsac wines).

Surprisingly, nobody was in a hurry to leave! 

For information on upcoming events, sign up for our monthly mailing list at info@discovervin.com.au or keep an eye on our events page.

Review for our new white wine from Bordeaux-Grand Bateau

This week we were really pleased to see a review for our new white wine from Bordeaux called Grand Bateau. This is the first time this wine has been imported to Australia. It is available online and to trade exclusively through DiscoverVin. It is one of only a few white wines made in the Medoc- one of the premium red wine growing regions of world. I guess the Bordelais can't drink red all the time!

The bateau refers to the famous sailing ship that symbolises Chateau Beycheville. Ships sailing on the Gironde estuary coming to and from the port of Bordeaux would be saluted by a retired Admiral (the "Amiral of Beycheville") who would lower the flag on the tower of the Chateau.

Sean Mitchell in the Grape Observer published the following review:

"Produced by Château Beychevelle, the Grand Bateau Bordeaux blanc is a lovely wine.  A blend of 80% sauvignon blanc and 20% semillon, it has reticent aromatics of apple skin, bruised peach, lemon, stone fruit kernels, hay, grass and gooseberry.  The palate is medium to full bodied, the acid medium and its flavours remind of lemon, apple skin, grass and gooseberry.  The finish is medium in terms of length and depth of flavour.  This is overall a good wine due to the complexity on offer.  Good

Abv: 12.5%
Price: $24.50
Source: sample"

We think this is a great quality/value for money white wine from a famous Bordeaux producer.

Château Haut Peyrous – A Darroze Estate in Graves

DiscoverVin is proud to be importing wine from Château Haut Peyrous in the Graves appellation of Bordeaux.  While not a classified producer, Château Haut Peyrous exemplifies Bordeaux’s new generation. Producers adopting new techniques, including organic practices and working with their terroir to produce quality value for money wines.  Marc Darroze, of the famous Darroze family of Gascony owns Château Haut Peyrous and has been driving the changes to make these unique wines.

For three generations the Darroze family have lived in the area and have been known for their Armagnac.  Marc’s sister Helene Darroze boasts two Michelin rosettes at her wonderful restaurant in the Connaught Hotel, London, along with award winning restaurants in Paris and Moscow.

Marc has worked with his father producing Armagnac and recently diversified into his own wine estate, Château Haut Peyrous. Organic practices in the vineyard are producing wines with lots of personality, by making the most of the quality of the terroir on his estate.  Since June 2008, all work on the estate has been carried out in accordance with organic production criteria.  Wines from the 2012 vintage will be certified as organic.  The soil is worked mechanically, and the grass grows between rows to enable humus to develop and encourage intense microbial activity in the soils. Similar projects are cropping up across Bordeaux and the south-west of France with a new generation of wine-makers introducing modern production methods to properties on proven terroir.

When we first tasted the wines of Haut Peyrous, the quality and value blew us away.  The white wine being simply delicious and a great example of just what can be achieved in the white wines of Bordeaux.

The red wine was smooth and restrained, but opening a bottle recently from the 2008 vintage, has revealed a new level of flavour and complexity with the passage of time.

Mary Harrington from DiscoverVin says, “Marc Darroze is producing great wines. We are delighted that everyday wine lovers in Australia now have the opportunity to enjoy authentic French flavour and impressive quality, together with value for money.”

The Darroze wines in the DiscoverVin portfolio are:

Château Haut Peyrous-Pêche au Carrelet-Graves Blanc, 2010

RRP $46.20 (online)

The square shaped net (carrelet) that the fisherman has just hauled out of the Garonne is teeming with shad, lamprey and eels …tasty fish, which need to be cooked slowly and gently.  Fish like this need complex and generous wines to pair with! 

Grapes:  Semillon (75%), Sauvignon Blanc (25%).

Alcohol: 13.0% VOL

Our Tasting notes:  Lively nose with spice and mineral notes and vanilla from the oak.  Lovely soft and round mouth feel.  Richness and complexity on the back palate and a lovely soft acid backbone.

ChâteauHaut Peyrous-Retour de Palombières-AOC Graves-Rouge, 2008

RRP $38.50 (online)

Palombieres (wild pigeons) return to the region each autumn in massive flocks which at times cover the skies, then roost in pine forests adjacent to the vineyard.

Grapes: Merlot (65%), Cabernet Sauvignon (20%), Cabernet Franc (15%) and small amount Petit Verdot and Malbec.

Alcohol:  13.5 % VOL

Wine making:  The long maceration period without massive extraction brought finesse to the wine, while maturing in oak barrels for one year helped to refine the tannins and to make the wine more complex.  In 2009 new oak was used to emphasise the lovely fruit.

Our Tasting notes:  Immediate complexity in nose with red fruits, chocolate and violets.  Great mouth feel, round, complex and gorgeous.  Lovely weight and primary fruit with restrained and integrated tannins. Lovely minerals and spice of good Graves. 

Bordeaux DInner in Brisbane

Following on the heels of successful dinners in Adelaide and Melbourne it was a great pleasure to hold a Bordeaux dinner in Brisbane on October 25th. This time we went to local favourite and award winning French restaurant C'est Bon in Wollongabba. Part of the charm of this restaurant, apart from the great food and wine, is the friendly and quintessentially professional front of house staff led by Celine Damour. As usual they made everyone welcome and the evening ran like clockwork. Thanks to Celine, Anthony, Sandrine and the team!

The evening kicked off with an amuse-bouche of salmon and goat cheese "tartare" which was a perfect foil with our favorite  cru classé  dry rosé from Provence- Domaine de la Croix 2010.Following that the dinner followed the theme of New Bordeaux showcasing 2 fabulous whites matched to a classic dish of monk fish in a white wine sauce. The soft acidity of the Chateau Haut-Peyrous Graves 2009 and rich complexity of the Tour des Gendres Moulin des Dames Blanc 2009 (both semillon/sav blancs) were great matches. There was a lot of discussion about which one people preferred and it seemed to be a split decision. Both are drinking beautifully well. Several people made comments like "the best semillon/ sauvignon blancs that I have tried".

Then onto a great main course of rack of lamb moist and just pink in a red wine sauce, matched with spaetzle (to soak up the delicious sauce!) and some beautifully presented seasonal vegetables. We enjoyed 3 red wines which showed off the Merlot based wines of the right bank versus the Cabernet based wines of the red bank. Chateau D'Aiguilhe 2008 one of the "rising stars of Bordeaux" (and recently shown on the cover of Decanter magazine) is a great example of the opulence of the right bank Merlot based wines. Tourelles de Longueville 2007 is a great example of a "second label". A wine made from the younger vines to at Pichon-Longueville Baron to the same exacting standards as the "first label", intended to drink young and representing great value for money. The third red was from the ever reliable Chateau Lanessan. From the 2004 vintage it is starting to show some integration of the fruit and tannins and is a great example of how the reds of the left bank can develop with a few years of clearing. These 3 red wines all impressed for their purity of flavours, class and finesse.

Desert was a pear poached in red wine served with  a lovely calvados sabayon and cinnamon ice cream matched with the incredible Chateau Le Pradey Sainte-Croix-de-Mont 2008. This is a lovely dessert wine. Luscious fruit (stone fruits, tropical fruits and and some citrus notes,) excellent mouth feel and sweetness but a lovely non-cloying dry finish. Lots of excitement amongst the diners who had not previously had a Saint-Croix de Mont wine before. This is an excellent appellation facing the famous vineyards of Sauternes and Barsac just across the Garonne river.

To finish some excellent cannelles de Bordeaux. Crunchy on the outside, moist and gooey in the middle. Not easy to get right. Well done Anthony!

All in all DiscoverVin had a great night. and it was a pleasure to collaborate with Celine and her team. There was a real "buzz' and energy in the room.  It was a pleasure to meet some new customers and to see them enjoying the food and wines and see their excitement and pleasure form enjoying good food, great new wines and great conversation. 

Next up it will be Sydney's turn to enjoy the wines of New Bordeaux, matched to the cuisine of Fix St James in Sydney and hosted by another consummate professional- Stuart Knox Sydney Morning Herald Somelier of the Year 2012- to look after us. Details of the dinner can be found here.

Bordeaux Wine dinner in Sydney Nov 13

Details have now been finalised for the upcoming wine dinner in Sydney at Fix St James November 13th 2012. Fix St James is one of Sydney's restaurant gems and is run by Sydney Morning Herald Sommelier of the Year 2012, Stuart Knox. It will feature some excellent but good value wines matched to the great food from the kitchen. It promises to be a great night. Be quick for bookings as our recent dinners in Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane sold out very quickly. Call DiscoverVin on 0260 206016 for reservations.

WIne reviews - Chateau Moulin Pey Labrie from Canon Fronsac

The team at DiscoverVin is very pleased to see 2 new reviews in the Australian media for one of our favorite Bordeaux reds- Chateau Moulin Pey-Labrie 2006.

From the appellation of Canon-Fronsac on the right bank of Bordeaux, adjacent to Pomerol and Saint-Emillon. This is an appellation recently highlighted in an article in Decanter magazine by Oz Clarke. He wrote about how he was "excited" by the quality of wines being produced in Canon-Fronsac and other right bank appellations. 

Chateau Moulin-Pey Labrie is one of the best producers in this appellation. 

Benedicte and Gregoire Hubau made their first vintage in the Bordeaux commune of Fronsac at Chateau Moulin Pey-Labrie in 1988.

Their philosophy is to produce wine that is an expression of the ‘terroir” of their 6.75 hectare vineyard. They work with influential Bordeaux based oenologist Michel Rolland to make wines with finesse, elegance and balance.

So here are the 2 reviews-the first by Kerry Skinner in Quench in the Illawarra Mercury in  July 2012 and the second by John Lewis in the Newcastle Herald August 2012

Go to www.discovervin.com.au for more information or to purchase this wine.

Bordeaux wine & food dinner Adelaide - Universal Table wine club

Wow what a great night! One of those kind of unexpectedly good nights, where beforehand you think, this should be good, but then it turns out to be excellent. Fantastic food, great wines (well to be honest we expected that!) and fabulous company.

DiscoverVin recently travelled to Stamps Restaurant in Adelaide at the invitation of the Universal Table wine club. This is a wine club with about 100 members that was started by Michael Hill Smith, who at the time was the first Master of Wine in Australia. It used to meet regularly at his restaurant - The Universal Wine Bar. It was a privilege to be asked along to the Club. It was potentially a tough crowd for a wine distributor - knowledgeable, experienced and potentially world weary as probably there was not much they hadn't experienced in the past. Possibly that was part of the pleasantly unexpected experience - rather than a  pedestrian night, there was a real buzz about the food and wine. Adjectives like "outstanding", "exquisite", "revelation" punctuated the conversation.








































We had decided to present Bordeaux wines plus a few others and it seemed to hit the mark.

We had 5 courses of fantastic food - seasonal, creative, clearly cooked with care and passion by Brenton. A great front of house team, Matt and Alex led by Anita. 

We started with a taste of Domaine de la Croix Irresistable Rosé , Cru Classé in Provence poured from magnums, while people arrived and chatted - a great start to the evening.

First course of seared scallop with cauliflower panna cotta, roquefort scented cream with the delicious Arlaux Grande Cuvée Champagne (a small family producer making wine from  premier cru vineyards). Amazing to look at and a taste sensation on the palate. The champagne partnered the sweetness and richness of the dish very well.

Second course: An amazing course of Rainbow trout , rolled up with smoked salmon and served with caviar, leek , mussels, potato and red sorrel. Technically impressive and great textures and flavours. Served with Semillon Sauvignon Blanc, Chateau Haut-Peyrous Peche au Carrelet (Graves) 2009 and Chateau Tour des Gendres Moulin des Dames Blanc (Bergerac) 2009. The first made by Marc Darroze and lightly wooded. The second by the acclaimed Luc de Conti and more wood treatment and richness. It created a great debate as to which was the better match - but we were splitting hairs! It was all superb!

Next up was a delicious course of boned roasted rabbit with fennel jam, celeriac puree, sweet and sour quince. Again this was not a simple dish - beautifully cooked and complicated but delicious and integrated flavours. This dish showed of a trio of New Bordeaux from the right bank. The Chateau d'Aiguilhe 2008 (Castillon Cotes de Bordeaux) - on the cover of September edition of Decanter magazine, Chateau Rouget (Pomerol) 2006 and Chateau Dassault (St Émilion) 2006. Three delicious merlot based wines. These wines demonstrated the power and finesse of the wines of the right bank. The D'Aiguilhe in particular drew a lot of attention. This wine epitomises 'New Bordeaux"- ancient vineyards - probably dating back to the time of the Romans, now producing wines using modern techniques and vineyard management to get the most from this fantastic site/terroir. No wonder by this stage the restaurant was buzzing!

Next was a slow cooked beef check with liver and bacon pie, potato and horseradish puree, beetroot and fine herbes. Another delicious dish and a perfect foil to two older cabernet based wines from the left bank. Legende de la Tour Carnet (Haut-Médoc) 2004 and Chateau Lanessan (Haut -Médoc) 2004. Both of these wines are starting to develop some aged flavours and integration of the tannins and fruit. Delicious. The Legende de la Tour Carnet is a good example of a second-label. Tour Carnet is a grand cru producer and puts the grapes from parcels of younger vines (usually less than 15 yo) into the second label. This makes a wine more approachable at a younger age and is very good value for money. The Lanessan is one of our best sellers - it is drinking just beautifully at the moment.

Finally, cheese! We believe this is a club tradition or at least a preference to a sweet dessert. We showed off the spectacular Domaine de l'Ancienne Cure Extase 2003. Incredibly luscious botrytised fruit, great balance and length and not cloying on the finish. As good as many fine sauternes but great value for money at this level of quality. Dessert in a glass and went well with the cheeses.

It was a great night and we hope to be back next year to show off some more wines to the Universal Wine Club in Adelaide. We thoroughly recommend Stamps Restaurant to all our followers.

New Bordeaux Part 2

Hot on the heels of Oz Clarkes Feature article on the New Bordeaux in Decanter magazine September 2012 (and in part reproduced in our blog) comes another article on the good value for money of "New Bordeaux". 

Chateau D'Aiguilhe in Castillon-Cotes de Bordeaux

DiscoverVin wants to bring good values and interesting wines to Australia. We can see that there is almost a mini-revolution occurring in Bordeaux with some great value wines being produced by producers sitting just outside the vineyards included in the 1855 classification system. It seems like the less well known appellations of Bordeaux are starting to get some recognition. These are wine regions held in high esteem since the time of the Romans. Taking grapes from these proven sites/terroir and using modern viticultural and winemaking techniques is leading to a surge in quality and interest amongst discerning wine lovers.

The term "New Bordeaux" is being used to encompass these "new" wine making regions and producers.

Written by John Mariani in Bloomberg Business  on August 6, 2012 and reproduced in the Sydney Morning Herald and entitled Bargain Bordeaux 99 Percenters Can Afford- a reference to the fact that the top classified chateau chased by unprecedented world-wide demand can only be afforded by the top 1% of income earners.

"Despite some softening of prices in the past year, first-growth Bordeaux wines are still at levels only a few can afford.

While the first growths get all the hype and stratospheric prices — a 12-bottle case of 2008 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild recently sold at auction in Hong Kong for $US11,800 — second through fifth growths have shown little in the way of price inflation.

Bargain bin for Bordeaux is found in the estates and appellations that fall into categories as Bordeaux Superieur. Look out for local names such as Fronsac, Cotes de Bourg, Cadillac, Cotes de Castillon and others that make up 95 percent of the region's wines. 

After all, it's what the French drink on a daily basis.

stocked up on Bordeaux from such unheralded appellations and have been drinking them with pleasure, sometimes with real surprise. It hardly needs noting that none rises to the levels of complexity that one finds in first and second growths, but I would be hard put to discern many from an array of third, fourth and fifth growths.

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The vintages went from 2006 to 2010, and all of them were ready to drink right now, although a year or two more on some of the more recent vintages will prove interesting. All were typical Bordeaux blends of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, malbec, and cabernet franc."

Here are some examples of wines from the appellations of Blaye, Fronsac, St Emilion satellites and Castillons that are available from DiscoverVin. Click on the links to read more!


Chateau Fontblanche (Blaye-Cotes de Bordeaux)
Chateau Haut-Larriveau (Fronsac)
Chateau Moulin Pey-Labrie (Canon-Fronsac)
Chateau D'Aiguilhe (Castillons-Cotes de Bordeaux)
Chateau La Fleur Poitou (Lussac St Emilion)
Chateau La Croix Bonneau (Montagne Saint Emilion)