© S. Peter Smith, 1997
Harvest Report and St. Emilion's New Re-Classification
We are well into the fall wine tour season. Here is a summary of the year's production, plus a little "hot" news from the recent revision of St. Emilion's Classification system.
Chateau l'Angelus has just been promoted to Premier Grand Cru Classé "B" in St. Emilion! This made our recent lunch there even more special. Chateau Beausejour Becot was also reinstated as a Premier Grand Cru Classé "B" after being downgraded ten years ago for adding "unclassified" land to their vineyards. (This land is now included in the upgraded classification with the rest of the vineyard!)
Plus, our good friend Bernard Gans, owner of Chateau Cadet Bon, was rewarded for his dedication in being promoted to Grand Cru Classé.
The only disappointment was that one of St. Emilion's greatest and most dedicated producers was shunned by the Apellation Controllé board in his bid to upgrade from Premier Grand Cru Classé "B" to "A". Thierry Manoncourt, owner of the outstanding Chateau Figeac, applied for and upgrade for the first time since the first classification was made in 1957.
It was not that he was refused that was so lamentable, but the reason why. There are apparently 10 criteria that must be met in order to qualify for an upgrade (equipment, land quality, consistency of quality winemaking, etc. etc.). Of these Figeac passed all except one - PRICE! It was deemed that although Figeac was consistently at the top of the Class "B" price range, it was not expensive enough to merit a place alongside Cheval Blanc and Ausone.
How sad that someone as ethical and honorable as Thierry Manoncourt should be penalized for trying to maintain a fair price in these days of excessive greed. Manoncourt has always been satisfied to get a good, but fair price for his product. Obviously the controlling powers in France are not so concerned that the customer does not get shafted as they are in raising profits as far as the market will stand at every opportunity. Much as I love French wines, I feel that this attitude will eventually be remembered by the consumer as other regions compete with France's wine.
At any rate, the time to buy Figeac is now! You can rest assured that the price will be systematically raised despite Manoncourt's philanthropic ideals. He told me himself that he simply can't afford to be under-recognized on such an unfair criterion. Not only will future prices go up, but you can rest assured that they will also drag along the price of older Figeacs with them.
On a happier note - the sun shone till yesterday! Bordeaux is always at the mercy of the weather - the difference between a good, great and exceptional year is decided by as little as one day's weather.
Today we visited with Remi Edange at Domaine de Chevalier in Graves. He picked his white grapes in perfect weather, and the five-day-old fermenting juice we tasted was delicious! He was picking the last of the Merlot, with potential alcohol levels of 12.8 to 13.5 degrees - exceptional for this property. Remi began the harvest in perfect conditions.
Not everyone's so lucky. In St. Emilion the Merlot is due to harvest around the 23rd, and they certainly don't need any more rain - they got more than enough in August. In the Médoc they plan to start the harvest about the same time as St. Emilion, but they had a much drier August and a little rain now won't hurt too much.
But therein lies the key to Bordeaux; the difference of a few miles between vineyards, and a few rain showers at the right or wrong time. How boring life would be if every harvest were perfect!
Sunday, September 15th was the Fête of the Ban des Vendanges in St. Emilion. Our group were guests of the Jurade, the Confrèrie of St. Emilion, for the celebration of the start of the harvest. A 6-course lunch with 11 of St. Emilion's great wines preceded the proclamation of the harvest from the Tour du Roi. This 11th century tower, in the center of the village, was basked in brilliant sunshine. What a contrast from '95, when the Jurade stood up there in pouring rain trying to convince us all that it was all going to be OK - but they were right! This year it looks great right now, but who can tell what the next three weeks will bring .... Keep praying for the Bordeaux winemakers!
Meanwhile, we're planning our next adventures in The Wine Club's travel program. We'll be in Chile for their harvest next March, in Italy for the VinItaly wine fair in April, and we'll visit Burgundy and Chablis to join the Chablisiens' spring fête in May. We're invited to the private dinner with the Confrèrie of Chablis. After this we come back to Bordeaux for a tour which includes VinExpo, the most important wine fair in the world. A very exciting program, with representatives of The Wine Club staff on each trip.
If you've been on a tour, thanks for letting us share a little of France with you - if you haven't been yet, try it: we think you'll really like it - ask those who've been!