Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Decanter, the magazine where all the opinions can openly be expressed!

Will Panos Kakaviatos be able to write the opposite point of view expressed by Steven Spurrier on April 19, 2007 ?

Yesterday, a tasting was organized for Panos Kakaviatos in our wine bar l’Essentiel: He is supposed to write an article for Decanter on (if I understood correctly) the various categories of Bordeaux: modern/classic.
In any case, we tasted:
Gracia 2004
Croix de Labrie 2003, 2005
Petit Labrie 2005
Petite Chapelle 2005
Fleur Cardinale 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005
Balthus 2003
Bon Pasteur 2001
And Valandraud 1992 et 1995

Were attending : Jeffrey Davies, Dominique Decoster, Michel Gracia, Ghislaine and Michel Puzio, and our colleague Emmanuel Emonot from the restaurant – wine bar « Lard et Bouchon ».What did Panos Kakaviatos think about the wines he tasted? The answer in his future article. I am convinced that he noticed the passion shown by the producers attending, how different each wine he tasted were, this due to the vintage, the terroirs or the style of each winemaker, and this, despite the fact that the same oenologist (Jean-Philippe Fort from Michel Rolland’s lab) takes care of Valandraud, Fleur Cardinale, Croix de Labrie and Gracia.

So, to answer all the nonsense written here and there about wines tasting all the same, I am certain that Panos, despite his classic taste, will write about his experience. The other clarification I need to make is regarding the aging of my wines.
Jeffrey Davis presence gave me the opportunity to open (a rare occasion) a bottle of Valandraud 1995, and especially one charged with history, Valandraud 1992.

These bottles, served in the right conditions, could rival, in blind tastings, the wines from all the property owners who predicted a short life span for my wines: 10 years for them seemed unthinkable; It is rare today to read these kinds of nonsense on my wines, except when a bottle was not properly stored and/or due to a defective cork (don’t forget this maxim from Jean-Marc Quarin: There are no great wine, only great bottles).

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