Vinexpo continues

26 May 2010 or Day 2 of Vinexpo: I only had time to visit the booths of Mas de Daumas Gassac and Lucien Le Moine. I tried the 2009 white and red and they were both excellent. Also tried the 2008 red but the 2009 seemed to be more concentrated and had a firmer structure. The white was just a superb balance of acidity, alcohol level, body, fruit character and minerality. Mainly based on Chardonnay, Viognier, Chenin Blanc and Petit Manseng (20% of each variety), with the balance coming from 15 other varieties. For the 2009, no one variety stood out but each played its role and the result was a harmonious blend. Since 2000, the white wine does not see wood anymore - just a few months in stainless steel vats before bottling. I asked Samuel Guibert, the oldest son, what they did to get it so right for the white wine. His first answer was Emile Peynaud who was a big influence on Mas de Daumas Gassac when he provided his advice to Samuel's father (for free!). After that, they have continued to improve the quality of the wines, including the winemaking and viticulture (more varieties). For the white wine, the grapes are typically picked just before fully ripe to ensure good balance between grape ripeness and acidity level. Another reasons for such minerality and good balance of acidity and alcohol level is the very cool microclimate in the Gassac valley, despite the hot and dry climate generally in the Languedoc, and its specific soil.

The red is based on 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, with the rest made up of Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Tannat, Nebbiolo, Dolcetto.......etc.

At Lucien Le Moine, Mounir organised the tasting into 5 pairs of wine, all from the 2007 vintage. For day 2, he presented 2 Nuits Saint Georges (Les Cailles and Les Vaucrains), 2 from the Gevrey-Chambertin commune (Mazis-Chambertin and Chambertin Clos de Bèze), 2 from the Vosne-Romanée commune (Echézeaux and Grands Echézeaux), 2 Meursaults (Les Charmes and Les Perrières) and 2 Cortons (Corton Blanc and Corton-Charlemagne). Mounir guided us through the different pairs, explained to us the typical characteristics of each wine based on terroir and the vintage conditions that would influence the differences in the two wines. Really educational - although I was a little distracted by the size of his audience - at one point, I found myself listening to him from inside the storage area of his booth! I was particularly impressed by the Meursault Perrières and the Echézeaux. I liked the Grands Echézeaux too but I found it a little more austere than the Echézeaux which was much more approachable. Mounir said the typical character of the two wines switched for the vintage of 2007. The 2007 Echézeaux was much softer and had more mellow tannins and a more approachable fruit character, whereas the Grands Echézeaux showed firmer tannins.

A very educational session! Thank you Paulo for directing me there!

27 May 2010 or Day 3 of Vinexpo: I took Richard back to my favourite booths: Decanter, Mas de Daumas Gassac, Lucien Le Moine and Chateau Cabezac. Unfortunately Mounir wasn't there - so could not visit Lucien Le Moine.

We had a good tasting session at the Decanter booth with Paul. He did a fantastic job! Well done Paul! I chose a Bonarda from Argentina (Valle de la Puerta, Alta Bonarda, Famatina Valley, La Rioja 2009) to try - thought it was really interesting and good quality for the price range. The beerenauslese from Rheingau was excellent - Domänenweingut Schloss Schönborn, Hattenheim Pfaffenberg Riesling Beerenauslese! The 2005 was finished when we got there - so we tried the 2007, which was equally tasty. Tried the Japanese sparkling wine - interesting but not so convinced.

We had an interesting chat at Mas de Daumas Gassac and I spotted their balsamic vinegar, which Iasked to try. Basile was very kind to open a bottle for me and let me take a sip (from a wine glass!!!) - it was gorgeous! Basile then very generously gave me the bottle to see if I can generate some local interest in their vinegar! It's really good quality and far better than any of the supermarket stuff - even the 8 year old Italian aged balsamic vinegar does not compare with this! I was so happy with the vinegar in my bag!!!

We went back to visit Monsieur Dondain at the Chateau Cabezac booth. Really good chat and Richard tried the wines. He liked Les Capitelles, Carinu and Belvèze.

Then we tried some rosé wines and some Chablis from Louis Moreau. Very interesting. Preferred the 2006 wines - more open and approachable now. The Vaillons and Valmur were well-made and to be recommended!

Just too many interesting wines to try and too little time! Wish it could be a 5-day event instead of just 3 days!