Bordeaux tasting: what to expect after 5 years ? Part 1

Bordeaux wines are meant to age.
One could even say that great Bordeaux wines should only be opened after 20 years.
They can sometimes last for a century without losing their texture and aromas.

But people are like children. 
We can't wait. Having a magnificent bottle of Leoville Poyferré in your cellar is like waiting until the morning for Santa to give you your new Nintendo game : it is distressing.
And most of the time, you end up sneaking up in the living room to get of peak of what your presents will be before dawn.
Well it's the same for wine. Most of the time, you want just a little taste. Just that one time.
The problem is: there is no putting the wrapping paper back on. When you're bottle is open: you just have to finish it up.

So that is why people hardly get to try out really old Bordeaux wines.
In restaurants they are unaffordable, and in your cellar, well, in your cellar they just don't make it to that point in time.
Shame.

The trouble is that when they are young, Bordeaux wines can seem a tat too tannic, even austere from time to time. And it is not always easy to make out what their aromas deliver...which is a pity when you paid 50 euros for your bottle.

So here is an introduction to what you can find in a 5 year old Bordeaux wine. You know the one you should keep for 20 more years. 


I will start my tasting with a Saint Julien (Part 1 of this series) and we will go on through the whole Medoc region with tastings of the 6 appellations  (Saint Estephe, Pauillac, Margaux, Moulis, Listrac and Saint Julien).

Château Léoville Poyferré, 2004

Eye: Deep red, with hues of brown and orange. Very bright. 

Nose: Prune, black current (typical of Cabernet Sauvignon) and cherry (Merlot). The secondary aromas revolve around spices (hard to tell which at this point, but I think I can tell their is cinnamon). Then subtle notes of cedar and unsweetened chocolate make their way, translating the aging in oak barrels. 

Mouth: the mouth is fine and subtle. The tannins are soft, round, pleasantly balanced.This is typical of Saint Julien where soft tannins are a signature. 

How to recognize Saint Julien ? 


Go ahead and read my post on how to recognize aromas if you are a beginner at wine tasting: http://alamodeaujus.blogspot.com/2010/05/how-to-drink-wine-recognize-aromas-and.html

1. First try to know what variety you are drinking.
If you taste black current, cherry or prune their is a big chance that their is some Cabernet Sauvignon is your wine.

2. If this is the case and you know you are drinking a French wine, it is very likely that you are drinking Bordeaux. A Californian Cabernet Sauvignon would be very ripe and fruity.

3.  Now you know you are in Bordeaux. But from which appellation comes your wine? Try to focus on the mouth. As is described in my tasting notes, Saint Julien has signature soft tannins yet intense structure. You may also find mineral aromas (because of the gravelly soil). Saint Julien is an area of Medoc on the left bank of river and is formed of gravelly soil. Wines from Saint Julien can be recognized because of their smooth and harmonious nose. They combine a rich and solid mouth yet display subtle aromas.

If this is all in your glass of wine, then you can bet it will be a Saint Julien.
I know, it's easier to say it than to actually get it right during a blind tasting.

7 steps to organizing a fabulous wine tasting

So now you think you are good enough to deliver your knowledge of wines to others, huh?

You want to please.
You want to share.
You want to impress.
You want to show yourself and your friends that the money you've spent in wine tasting classes has not been totally meaningless.
But the truth is (and I know this because I've lived the exact same thing) you are terrified at the idea that it might just turn wrong.
What if the wines are not good?
What if people get bored?
What if you don't recognize a single aroma?
What if...

So you need some help. And luckily, as I've been there, done that, I can tell you that there are 7 very easy steps to make sure that your wine tasting will be a total hit.
Are you ready? Here we go !


1. Plan at least a week in advance and think about the people you are going to invite.

It may seem dumb, but I can assure you that a last minute wine tasting is never easy to tackle. All the more so if you've planned to drink wines that need to decant... you might just disgust your guests.
So you need to think in advance of whom you want to see at your little event. First of all, don't go for quantity. Having 50 people for a wine tasting may seem fun, but in fact you might end up with too much you can handle. Trust my experience when I tell you that 10 people is just about right if you want to keep good relations with your neighbors. Secondly, tell people in advance. Otherwise you might end up drinking all this wine alone with your cat and your grandma. That would be a pity.


2. Think about the wines you are going to taste in advance.

Yes I know, it's a shame because you will not be able to blind taste like the others. But on the other hand, you'll be very happy to have a little idea of what you SHOULD find in these wines if by any chance you can't smell a damn thing.
So my advice is to sacrifice yourself (I know noble isn't it)and ask your local wine seller if he knows 4 or 5 wines that would be adequate for an introduction to wine tasting.
And then, ASK FOR HINTS ON WHAT TO FIND INSIDE THEM.
If you have the time and feel a little unsure about yourself, you may even look those wines up on the internet to get a little feedback from the experts.


3. Open your wines in advance.

This is really important for red wines. White wines don't need this and should be kept cool until the beginning of the tasting. However remember to open up your reds in advance or you could encounter two hardships:
First, your friends will hate you for serving them something too tannic. All the more so if they have gum issues. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about (sorry granny).
Secondly, don't forget wines evolve with time and oxygen. So if you open your wine right before the first part of the tasting, by the time you get to step 6, the wine will have completely changed and it will ruin everything for you. No I'm not being over-dramatic.





4.(optional but much better) Buy le Nez du vin (if you haven't already done it).

To understand what le Nez du vin is check out my explanatory post "How to drink wine, recognize aromas ... and impress your friends ! ".
What you need to do during your wine tasting session, is begin by a little nostril momentum. You should select a few aromas (about 20) that may be found in the wines you have selected and tell people to sniff the little flasks of le Nez du Vin and try to decipher what smell they convey.
This is actually a very important element of a good wine tasting session. Most people can't make a difference between a strawberry and a banana (with their nose I mean !) so it usually really helps people to focus on their olfactory sense.
I truly believe this is a pivotal moment of a successful wine tasting so don't skip it !

5. Wine tasting per se. Finally.




After your little sniveling game, your friends will pretty thirsty and glad to start drinking. Use proper tasting glasses if you can and take your time taste each wine individual. After each wine, try to pause and have your friends explain what they felt. You should tell them that this part is actually important because there will be a little competition by the end of the wine tasting, and they will have to try to recognize which wine is in which glass.
Give you guests pens and paper so that they can jot down their impressions to try to remember later on what they tasted.


6. To be sure to win your friends over, you have to create emotion.

Competition and the promise of wining a bottle can be a very good way of having people remember your event.
People are like kids. They like to win. They like to have prizes. So you should buy an extra bottle to give it to the person who will recognize the wines you tasted the fastest. I know it sounds childish and stupid, but trust me: it works! People go crazy for a 3$ bottle of wine!

So do a blind tasting with our four wines in four different glasses dubbed 1, 2, 3 and 4. The person who answers the fastest wins the jackpot!
You'll be surprised how hard this game is actually. Most of the time, if you didn't open your wines early enough, they will have oxygenated and changed by the time the game starts. Also, if your friends didn't spit during the preceding tastings they might be having trouble staying focused by now...


7. How not to go bankrupt.

I promise that if you follow these 6 very easy steps, you are pretty sure to have a great time during your wine tasting.
The best thing to do (to avoid thinking about your diminishing bank account during the whole session) is to ask a little compensation (just the amount you paid to get the 5 bottles) to your friends. Try not to by Opus One or Château Margaux on your first try, people might be a little taken aback to pay 800$ for a friendly wine tasting session.

If you follow these simple rules, you'll experience the joy and fun of sharing something you love to do with people you care about. And you won't even get nervous about it.

How to drink wine, recognize aromas ... and impress your friends !

It was a few years ago, in a fancy restaurant in Paris. The sommelier delicately poured a crimson colored wine in my glass. The moment was tantalizing. The beauty of terroir. I leaned forward to taste the wine and tell him it was great. Everyone was looking. Waiting. Expecting me to sigh with ecstasy. So I did, of course.


But it was corked.
And I thought it was just a very heavy smell of mushroom. Or someone's bad cologne. Or my nose. Hell, I didn't have a clue.

Now I'm pretty sure this could happen to anyone who doesn't have any experience in wine tasting. And it's ok. It happens. It would just be a shame for you to spend 200$ on cork juice for your wedding day.
That's why I decided to deliver my experience of and show you with a little "how to" post, precisely HOW TO drink wine, recognize aromas... and impress your friends !

1. The first and most important thing you need to do is train your nostrils.
Nowadays our noses have just about all their core functions. They are meant to smell, whiff, sniff, snivel, inhale, and mostly identify. But that last action takes practice. You need to learn what a food or flower smells like and memorize this scent. It should be a game really. Each time you go out in a garden or stand in your kitchen (or someone elses !) just try to deeply inhale and sniff everything you can get your hands on.
Ok so you may look a little dumb if your friend stumbles upon you with your nose stuck in a jar of mushroom.
But remember one thing, it is for the greater good: you may have lost your dignity, but next time you drink a 10 year-old Burgundy, you'll know there's truffle in there.


2. The second thing you should consider is, well, cheating.
Fumbling around your friends kitchen may be fun once or twice, but what will happen if people start thinking your a kleptomaniac, or a utensil fetishist? There must be another solution.
Well, there is my friends, and I, in my immense generosity, will promptly deliver it to you. It is a well kept secret. The secret to learning quickly how to recognize different scents without loosing all your friends.
Here is my secret weapon to shine in society and impress my friends with my super smelling skills (I know it sounds very sexy):
Le Nez du Vin, by Jean Lenoir.
A kit of 54 aromas captured in little flasks (the basic fragrances you can find in wine)so that you can train your nostrils until they die. I do not work for Mr Lenoir, nor do I have shares in his business, but I still really recommend anyone who wants to learn how to taste wine to buy it.






3. Drink and taste as much as you can.
But mostly don't just drink, take the time to reflect and think about what you are drinking. Why do you like it ? or not ? What aromas are predominant. Do you smell fruits, flowers ?



So next time you sit in a fancy restaurant, and the sommelier comes up to you and asks you to taste, don't be scared, if the wine is corked, you're allowed to say so. Just think about your little flask and try hard to remember if it corresponds to the same smell. Before you know it, it'll come naturally and you won't even have to think about your magic kit !

Bourgogne mon amour

Today I went to Fouquet's for lunch.

To tell you the truth although it's a real institution in the world of French Brasserie, I had never actually eaten at Fouquet's before.
A diet coke for 15 euros; I can live without that.

Chinon Wine Makers Fair

Do you know Cabernet Franc ?

I mean do you REALLY know Cabernet Franc ?

The only true way to discover this unusual varietal in its depths and idiosyncrasies is to taste it in a wine from the Loire Valley.
Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil and Chinon are areas that usually produce 100% Cabernet Franc wines and take pride in the specificity of this unusual varietal.

26 years old, not a wrinkle.

Of course it's not me I am talking about.

I'm talking about someone special. Someone I met quite a while ago, during a dinner party at my parents' house in the Alps.

I'm talking about one of my first experiences as a wine lover.

I'm talking about Château La Lagune, 1983.