Why Bordeaux?

Montauk Club Wine Club Hosts Special Guest Sommelier Who Asks the All-Important Question:

WHY BORDEAUX?

The October 25, 2012 convocation of the Montauk Wine Club was most pleased to host a special guest sommelier, B, who tried his darndest to teach us all about the wonderful world of Bordeaux.  (B, by the way was an active resident member and former director of the Montauk Club in times past, and is now a non-resident member hailing from New Hope, Pennsylvania.  More importantly, he is extremely knowledgeable about wine.)  After giving us a lot of essential facts about Bordeaux – such as:

(i) people drink expensive Bordeaux when travelling by train (at least that’s what they do in the movies),

(ii) there are those who often mistake Bordeaux for Burgundy, but only at lunch time and

(iii) drinking the popular Bordeaux known as Cabernet Sauvignon will make you sing "I Love You" in a loud whisper.

Our stalwart group of students took careful note of these facts and stood ready to try to impress our guest teacher.  This was our agenda:

1. How to tell a Graves from a St. Julien (or most other left bankers)
2. How to tell a St. Emilion a St. Estephe (right bank v. left bank)
3. How to tell a Paulliac from a Margaux (fuller v. lighter bodied)

Each flight would match two "blind" Bordeaux, accompanied by a Mouton Cadet as a control wine. (Don't you like the concept of a "control wine"?)

Graves

St. Julien

For the first flight, we tasted a Graves, Chateau Clos Marsalette 2008 ($26) against a St. Julien, Chateau Lalande Borie 2007 ($28). We were told that, primarily due to the different soil, the Graves would be a bolder, more intriguing wine than the medium-bodied, well balanced St. Julien, typical of left bank Bordeaux other than Graves. With Wine No. 1 we found a very purple or ruby colored wine with an aromatic scent that exuded the kind of warmth one finds when standing very close to an animal or another person.  The taste was soft in comparison to Wine No. 2 but nonetheless inviting. Wine No. 2 had a darker color and denser look accompanied by a sharper, stronger taste with a bit of tar. We unanimously picked Wine No. 1 as the St. Julien because of its lighter, ruby color and less robust taste, and Wine No. 2 as the Graves.  This was the correct choice putting the students on track to achieve a perfect score.

St. Estephe

St. Emilion

The second flight featured a left-bank Bordeau from St. Estephe, Chateau L’Argilus du Roi 2005 ($35) and a right-bank Bordeau from St. Emilion, Chateau Simard 2001 ($20). The difference here was was in the grape varieties. The St. Estephe contained 55% Merlot and, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, while the St. Emilion contained 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. The Cabernet Sauvignon, we were told, would give the St. Estephe a fuller body compared to the more approachable St. Emilion.  We found Wine No. 3 to have a denser, darker, agate color.  The taste was definitely more complex with a bit more tannin (described as that "scrapey" feeling on the top of your mouth) and all in all more likeable and drinkable.  Wine No. 4, in comparison, was a lighter ruby color with a tinge of brown.  We thought it a "nice" wine with a juicier taste.  Because Wine No. 3  had the deeper color and more tannic mouth feel, we unanimously chose it as the St. Estephe and Wine No. 4 and the St. Emilion. Right again!! We were on a roll and sure to impress our guest speaker.

Margaux

Paulliac

With the third flight, our work was really cut out for us as we attempted to tell the difference between the boy wine (the Pauillac) and the girl wine (the Margaux). Representing the masculine Pauillac wines was a Chateau Haut Bages Averous 2005 ($40), and representing the feminine Margaux was a Chateau Segond du Dufort 2000 ($30). We thought this would be easy, but when we took a look, we weren’t so sure.  Both wines had a dark color, but upon closer inspection we thought Wine No. 5 thinned out a bit toward the edge. In its flavor we noticed licorice and then some tar. It was definitely more distinctive compared to Wine No. 6 which seemed to have a sweeter, softer flavor. Based on the sweetness and light of No. 6, all of us chose it as the Margaux, and No. 5 as the Pauillac. Unanimously correct once more!

A perfect score on three flights!!  Bryce was duly impressed (or did his wry smile belie the fact that he chose the wines so we couldn't miss?)

When we asked students for their preferences, they chose the St. Julien from flight one, the St. Estephe from flight two and the Margaux from flight 3.  The best of show was the St Estephe.  The Mouton Cadet, a run-of-the-mill Bordeaux, paled in comparison.  But what do you want from a control wine?  Controlled drinking is never fun.  It was good to know we wouldn't run out of wine during dinner though.

OK, back to the original question:  Why Bordeaux?  Well clearly after trying seven different Bordeaux wines in one night, no one but the note-taker can remember anything.  So we’ll just have to keep drinking them until we get it down.