The FromVineyardsDirect Blog

The American food writer, Waverley Root,  said of the Languedoc cuisine “it fits intimately the character and the history of the country. It is solid, like the strong Romanesque architecture of the south, never elaborate like the flamboyant gothic buildings of the north. It is not the cooking of a poor country, for its raw materials are substantial and they are put together with gusto”. The same can be said of their wines, and crucially the two complement each other perfectly.

On a three day tasting trip to the region last week, Esme and I worked our way through a vast array of ‘solid’, rich, earthy red wines, produced with real passion from small family owned estates. Most of these wines were all the more remarkable for their modest prices- with the exception of a few aspiring ‘cult’ wines (Mas des Daumas can fetch up to £50 a bottle).

The Languedoc is the largest wine region in France, indeed the world, and yields wine from a multitude of different grape varieties. Almost every Mediterranean variety is on display, including some extraordinary regional hybrids like Macabeo, Aspiran and Terret. Three grape varieties however predominate: Carignan, Grenache and Syrah.

The reds made from these ’Rhone varietals’ are on the whole rich, robust, tannic and cut like a knife through the fat of a local cassoulet. Particularly exciting were the wines of Jean-Michel Arnaud from Minervois la Livniere, Chateau Virgile and Domaine la Liquiere.

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Wine, thankfully, is no longer just the preserve of the rich or professional classes – it is a global consumer product, produced in most temperate countries, and has become a repeat purchase for most of us. Some scientists also believe it is now healthy to drink wine (in reasonable quantities), a far cry from the days of prohibition and the Temperance movement.

I have been fortunate enough to have experienced all aspects of the industry over the past 30 years as a merchant, retailer, wine grower and wine maker. My interest started at the age of 10 when my Father gave me a taste of wine and asked me to guess the year – the right answer was rewarded with a full glass. I did a quick inventory of his cellar and worked out that about 50% was 1929 Bordeaux. Thereafter I was given a full glass of marvelous claret 50% of the time – no skill was involved – just Scottish cunning!

Then some years later came Majestic , which I started with a friend – we were the first to sell wine from warehouses with an enthusiastic young team dressed in jeans as opposed to the black suits of St James Street, or the soul-less shelves of Tescos. I remember supplying both Maggie Thatcher, the then PM, and Neil Kinnock the Leader of the Opposition on the same day – the former with wine – never more that £5.00 a bottle – and the latter with firkins of real ale. The Class system was still alive & kicking then!

Growing grapes and making wine was much the hardest thing I have ever done – forget the romance – it is a 7 day a week job growing fruit, turning it into wine and then having to sell it around the world. It is an attention to detail and crisis management business! However seeing Japanese gourmets drinking ones own wine in an expensive restaurant in Tokyo did make it (almost) worthwhile!

Now to the present and www.FromVineyardsDirect.com which I started a few years ago with Publisher David Campbell – ‘Old World’ wine sold through the internet, which vastly reduces the overheads associated with the traditional trade, and gives the company a tremendous competitive edge. It is surely the way forward as the ‘virtual’ store is open all the time and provides far more information on the product than even the most informative shop. It is also a very exciting business as new wines can be added or updated instantly, and one knows how the business is doing literally by the minute, even from a blackberry.

As for the future, my fear for all wine lovers is excess taxation on wine which is already with us, and is regarded by socialist administration as a ‘soft touch’. With a bottle of wine that costs you £5.00 you are only paying 75p for the wine itself – at £10.00 you are paying £3.50 for the wine – I know which is better  value and so should you!

CHATEAU TEYSSIER, SAINT EMILION, FRANCE

After the normal chaos of the harvest, things are beginning to settle down in the winery. The machinery used only once a year (press, sorting tables, conveyors, crusher and de-stemmer) has be cleaned, disinfected, and cling wrapped for next season. The two wineries (wood and stainless steel) have been hosed down and polished. Most importantly, the cellar is starting to bristle with barrels full of 2009 wine in-the-making. Barreling down started in November but, because we have the equivalent of 52 hectares to put to bed, this runs through to this month. You’ve probably heard a lot about how great the 2009 vintage is rated by the Producers of Bordeaux (it doesn’t take long for the hype-machine in Bordeaux to get going) but, in this case, they’re right. It’s a fabulous vintage. A great summer followed by perfect picking conditions (we even had rain on cue!). If you’re into podcasts you can catch some of our antics during harvest on YOUTUBE – search on “Chateau Teyssier Vintage 2009”. When Neil and I got to taste the finished product on Christmas Eve it blew us away – particularly some of the single-vineyard wines.

FromVineyardsDirect.ie recently provided all the wine for a marvellous Charity event at Burren House, Michael & Jane Newmans wonderful Georgian home in Kilbrittain, West Cork.

The event was a splendid opera rendition of the Barber of by Seville performed by the talented young Garden Opera Company. The party went on long into the early hours of the morning, with the cast all singing around a grand piano. Stuart, who runs our Irish business was not a pretty sight the next morning!

The coastline there is to die for, even in the pouring rain, and for those of you who are in that part of the Emerald Isle, here are a few tips of where to stay and where to eat:

The Glen in Kilbrittain itself is a very upmarket B&B run by the charming Scott family Tel 0238849862 – the breakfast is one of the best you will ever find. It is the place to stay in the area.

A mile or so away the Pink Elephant www.pinkelephant.ie is an excellent pub with a great seafood based menu.

In Castletownshend we had 1/2 a fresh lobster for lunch for a mere €18 at Marie Ann’s – www.maryanns@eircom.net .

In Kinsale Fishy Fishy www.fishyfishycafe@eircom.net is the place to eat.

Youghall Ahern’s www.ahernes@eircom.net has great seafood and very comfortable rooms

 We are delighted to introduce two fantastic new wines from Castello di Potentino, owned by Graham C Greene and run by the enigmatic Charlotte Horton. The Castello di Potentino is situated in the Grosseto area, on the slopes of the Monte Amiata near Seggiano, and is made up of 4 hectares of D.O.C Montecucco vineyards and about 500 ancient olive trees, the Olivastra Seggianese variety, indigenous to the area. The estate received five out of five stars in The Guida Espresso 2007, and our out of five in Decanter 2004. Last year Potentino was awarded a star for originality and continuity of quality from the Guida Espresso (along with estates such as Biondi Santi, Col D’Orcia, Querciabella) and five out of five stars again this year for the Sacromonte Sangiovese.

Please find below an extract from Charlotte’s recent blog:

“The Pinot Noir is happily bubbling in the vats. The bunches were splendid and firm. Sugar readings confirmed an alcohol content of about 13.5-14 so we picked. I had a heroic team, too many to mention, but you were all fantastic. Thanks.

Quite honestly, I never really believed in the value of making a white in Tuscany because the environmental conditions are generally not right. However, here at the Castello di Potentino, we have a very particular micro- climate. Low – 380m, protected basin valley, right under the highest mountain in Tuscany, touch of sea air, ex volcano etc. etc .

After observation of the happiness of the Pinot Noir I planted here, I realised that the minerality of the soil (volcanic and therefore geologically new and bursting with energy) plus the nocturnal incursions of cold air at night, were influent enough to POSSIBLY… MAKE A GOOD WHITE WINE. So… we did.”

Castello di Potentino ‘Sacromonte’ | Montecucco Rosso 2005 £9.95 per bottle/£119.40

http://www.fromvineyardsdirect.com/wine/sacromonte.php

”This is a dark, velvety, sangiovese with succulent sweet fruit and supple oak. Very definitely sangiovese, but not the dry, astringent school of Tuscan sangiovese or the jammy new world style. It carries its 14.5% abv effortlessly and is perfect for drinking now, but has plenty of life in it. Montecucco is a relatively new DOC in the province of Grosseto in the south of Tuscany between Montalcino and Scansano.” Joanna Simon www.joannasimon.com September 2009

Castello di Potentino ‘Piropo’ | IGT Toscana 2005 £12.95 per bottle/£155.40 per case

http://www.fromvineyardsdirect.com/wine/piropo.php

Charlotte harvesting while Messalina keeps an eye on things…

We are delighted to be able to share an update with you from one of our 2008 En Primeur Producers.  The Chateau Teyssier from Jonathan Maltus, the producer of our La Reserve Claret and Le Dome, is a really serious St Emilion Grand Cru.

http://www.fromvineyardsdirect.com/enprimeur.php#teyssier

http://www.fromvineyardsdirect.com/wine/lareserve.php

Jonathan is assisted in the production of this wine by Gilles Pauquet, the oenologist to Cheval Blanc, and the quality shines through in this vintage.  Their approach in winemaking, which has all the benefits of the modern equipment afforded by the more senior wines (Le Dome etc), is new world in style. 

Log on to the link below to see their update on the Bordeaux vintage, a chat about green harvesting, and a sneak look at picking in Pomerol (notably Petrus). It can be seen on -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q99tPyi1ByU&feature=channel  

Jonathan Maltus, the larger than life producer of Le Dome, Chateau Teyssier and our La Reserve Claret, gives his thoughts on the 2008 vintage:

Outside of 2005 and 2000 – 2008 may represent the best vintage of Bordeaux with a 2 on the front of it. The low crop (in our case a figure of 29hl/ha across all wines) was a direct cause of poor fruit-set and frost damage early in the season, and this ensured that the wines had sufficient concentration. At Teyssier we have never harvested as late as we did in 2008. We picked from the 6th October to the 23rd – almost into winter! It was this lateness that gave the vintage its uniqueness.

The Indian Summer ensured that we had hot days resulting in ripe grapes, coupled with cold nights. It was the difference in the two temperatures – day and night – that brought the fantastic strain of acidity that marks a great Bordeaux vintage. This separation of temperatures is something that the winemakers of the Napa Valley, for instance, highly value and is only prelevent in mountainous areas. Merlot was great, but it was the texture of the late-ripening Cabernet Franc which will make the vintage a winner on the Right Bank.

Chateau Teyssier 2008 is £118 in bond and is exceptional value

FVD had a stand at the Game Fair this year in the grounds at Belvoir Castle. It was a very jolly affair with lots of our more sporting customers & friends whom we entertained with a broad selection of our wines – and a very talented young Bag-Pipe player. Our neighbouring stands were an exotic mix – a holiday company with a beach in their stand and the Abu Dhabi Tourist Board with a couple of camels who looked slightly out of place in the Leicestershire countryside, to name but a few.

We had a draw for a Methusala of Laurent Perrier Champagne – LP is our favourite family owned grand marque champagne. This very large bottle (8 bottles in 1) was won by Peter Stephens of Linconlshire.

In 2000 two young men – Justin Gibbs & James Miles – gave up their day  jobs and started Liv-ex, an internet based fine wine exchange, that has since revolutionized the market in fine wine. In 2000 the volume of fine wine traded globally was around £1 billion per annum – today that figure is closer to £3 billion. Much of that growth is down to Liv-ex.

Liv-ex has 250 + trade members around the world who can buy and sell fine wine on the exchange in the same way that other commodities are traded. They also provide an independent valuation service for wine funds and collectors around the World. They have an enormous data base on all fine wines so if you want to find out what Chateau Lafite 2000 is worth now – and its trading history over the last 5 years, Liv-ex is the place to go.

It is this transparency in pricing present and past that has revolutionized the fine wine market – Liv-ex is independent and does not buy or sell wine from the general public so they do not have the conflict of interest that perhaps much of the trade does, as it is trying to sell to you its stock! They are purely an exchange.

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At the end of last month the wine world held its biennial wine exhibition ‘Vinexpo’ in Bordeaux with several thousand producers from around the world and in excess of 150,000 trade visitors. Besides the Exhibition itself there were receptions and dinners every night – the most spectacular being at Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou, one of the top St Julien 2nd classified growths.

The dinner at Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou was hosted by Bruno Borie, the dashing showman Proprietor, to celebrate the ‘fete’ of Saint Jean for about 250 lucky guests. It was a perfect balmy night that started with a champagne reception (Dom Perignon 2000 in magnums) in the gardens overlooking the Gironde River. At the bottom of the garden there was an enormous glass marquee which looked as if it might have been borrowed from Kew Gardens with 25 tables of 20, each with its own Chef & Sommelier.

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