Quick tour

Quick tour of my friends’ vineyards; the harvest is seriously beginning everywhere. The good weather gives us courage.

In Chateau de Carles and Haut Carles, they’re looking to start October 3, the vineyard is superb.

Chateau Haut-Mazeris will probably have low yields and still has to wait 10-15 days?

Chateau Bellegrave in Pomerol practices organic farming and is picking beautiful grapes, another proof that organic practice can work in this difficult vintage. I can’t wait to taste these wines with my employees, and why not try ourselves.

As for our vineyards, still some young vines to pick early next week if all goes well.

I read this comment from Henry James: There are two kinds of taste, the taste for emotions of surprise and the taste for emotions of recognition. Food for thought, especially when he said that expensive wines are rarely surprising! I think it's more complicated than that, and if the price should not be the determining factor to express ones choice, expensive does not mean boring, on the contrary, unless one can’t afford them or doesn’t want to buy expensive wines.

I also read on Vitisphère, the 20 wines that Parker feels are underestimated and equivalent to 1st growths. This list includes Cos d'Estournel, Pontet Canet, Léoville Poyferré, Pape Clément, Angélus, La Conseillante, Pichon Baron, Lynch Bages Smith Haut Lafitte, Le Gay, etc... These wines will be tasted at the 2011 Wine Future in Hong Kong, November 6 to 8 2011. Will also attend: Jancis Robinson, Michel Bettane...