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Vinexpo Summary -- Kudos and Hats Off to Luis Gutierrez
I have just returned from Vinexpo and am writing this from the Dressner Family Compound in Poil Rouge. I learned many interesting things in Bordeaux:
1. American Importers are Now Required to Wear Star of David badges at all Vinexpo events.
2. A man who resembles André Ostertag has opened a shop in Strasbourg featuring Hungarian Tokaj. His only saleswoman is France's Miss Gastronomie of 1997.
3. The International Wine Industry is dominated by Dutchmen wearing bowties and no socks.
4. There is not a single grower, négociant or cooperative in the Côtes-du-Provençe who uses sulphur.
5. Bordeaux prices are going up.
6. 1999 was a difficult year in Côte-du-Bourg and everyone's neighbor failed to properly treat their vineyards.
7.There is conclusive evidence that red wine consumption leads to immortality.
8. Wacky Internet Wine Personality VS (WIWP) owns a pied-à-terre in the Bronx.
9. Southcorp has bought Mondavi. Or Mondavi has bought Southcorp. Either way, there is much talk about Globalisation and Globalization.
10. Robert Parker yields great power over the Wine Industry.
11. Marvin Shanken yields great power over the Wine Industry.
12. Some 22-year-old kid named Yixin yields great power over the British Wine Industry. He plans on going international.
13. Jean-Paul Brun made lovely Gamay in 2000.
14. Luis Gutierrez has generously given me three bottles of Cornalin - 1999 Cornalin de Salquenen from Franz-Josef Mather, 1998 Cornalin de Sierre from Denis Mercier and 1998 La Chaille Cornalin from Imesch Vins. I will be returning to New York with these bottles on August 31st and they will be available for a Jeebus. By the way, Luis is either the former winemaker at Vega Sicilia or yet another Wacky Internet Wine Personality (WIWP). I'm not certain.
15. There is a world-wide international web conspiracy of wine geeks that yields even greater power then Robert Parker and Marvin Shaken. Yixin is reputed to be a part of this conspiracy.
16. Thank goodness for this conspiracy and all my thanks to Luis, André Ostertag's double, João Roseira, Mike Bassman, Wine Gurus Catherine and Pierre Breton, André and Colette Texier (parents of Internet Cult Wine Maker Eric Texier and my hosts during this grueling event), Mike Bassman, José Roseira, Anne-Claude Leflaive, Catherine Roussel, Internet Gamay Cult Winemaker Jean-Paul Brun and finally Internet Cult Rhône Winemaker Eric Texier for making Vinexpo an enjoyable event.
17. Louis/Dressner Selections will have a major announcement concerning our firm's involvement in Portugal sometime in the next 5 months.
18. Michel Rolland is extremely likeable and a Freemason.
I expect to be leaving endless spam on this site about the fabulous wines I found at Vinexpo (principally at Satellite tastings outside of the exposition) and will be posting more information here in the hope of getting some suckers to buy some of these wines. My apologies for being absent from these pages over the past 10 days.
Cornalin Tasting Planned at VINEXPO!
That's right. Geeks from all over the world are converging on Bordeaux this coming Sunday to one of the largest organized tastings of Cornalin ever organized at an international event. Cornalin, of course, is a rare grape variety found in the Swiss Valais. Unfortunately, Swissair (the airline I took to Lyon) does not yet serve Cornalin in coach class.
Other Interesting Events are Possible!
The Cornalin Tasting is reassuring news for me. My usual routine at Vinexpo is to walk the aisles of this giant show trying to look important. Since there are tens of thousands of other people in the trade doing exactly the same thing, I usually feel right at home. Although there is some wine available for tasting at Vinexpo, people in the know never taste anything there. We all know that giant conventions are the worst possible venue for tasting wine. Some of the more savvy exhibitors bring cases of wine and never open a single bottle during the entire week!
Otherwise, there are many interesting tastings being organized next week outside of the convention floor. I'm invited to the major geek affairs, but since I do not import any Bordeaux I have to hustle to get some invites to the big Château. I think I just got one to Cheval Blanc.
More to come.....
Buster Barely Escapes Exile in Zurich as Swissair Almost Loses Pooch!
My daughter Alyce and I travelled yesterday from New York City, to Zurich, to Lyon, and finally to the Dressner Family Compound in Poil Rouge, France (see below for photo). Our dog Buster also came along but since he weighs over 10 pounds he was in a kennel in the plane for the bulk of the trip. All told, Buster spent about 12 hours caged-up.
Although Delta Airlines has a direct New York to Lyon route, they do not accept dogs from June through August. So we are always compelled to take some crazy routing going through Brussels, Luxembourg, Zurich, Amsterdam or somewhere else. This time it was Swissair through , Zurich and then another flight to Lyon.
Unfortunately, our plane left JFK airport late and Alyce and I had to run to catch the corresponding flight to Lyon. Of course, when we got to the plane, a propeller job in the middle of the runway, there was no dog. I insisted we were not leaving until they found our dog and was then threatened by "This is not possible, you must let the plane leave or we will have the police arrest you. Absolutely!"
After insisting for some period of time that I was not letting the plane go anywhere and demanding that they send someone to find Buster, I felt I was getting nowhere. The Swiss airport people kept insisting it was impossible and that we had a choice of staying at the airport and trying to find Buster or leaving without him. Since Air France lost our dog for over four days at Kennedy Airport in 1997, I was not going to cave-in and was prepared to fight until the bitter end. Plus, I was thinking of the all the wine geeks out there who buy and consume Buster's special Cuvée. I discussed the Cuvée Buster with the Swiss Authorities, but they seemed incapable of understanding the story and the urgency of my retrieving Buster.
Finally, after yet another threat to have me arrested a van came barrelling up the runway. Safely cloistered inside the van was our beloved Buster. Off we went to Lyon!
We learned about Swiss culture during this adventure. Swissair has a stellar reputation and my daughter had water, coffee (decaf), a second cup of coffee (also decaf) and her cognac (non-alcoholic, she's only 13) spilled all over her on four separate occassions.
Buster Barely Escapes Exile in Zurich as Swissair Almost Loses Pooch!
My daughter Alyce and I travelled yesterday from New York City, to Zurich, to the Dressner Family Compound in Poil Rouge, France (see below for photo). Our dog Buster also came along but since he weights over 10 pounds he was in a kennel in the plan for the bulk of the trip. All told, Buster spent about 12 hours caged-up.
Although Delta Airlines has a direct New York to Lyon route, they do not accept dogs from June through August. So we are always compelled to take some crazy routing going through Brussels, Zurich, Amsterdam or somewhere else. This time it was Swissair through Zurich.
Unfortunately, our plane left JFK airport late and Alyce and I had to run to catch the correspoinding flight to Lyon. Of course, when we got the place, a propeller job in the middle of the runway, there was no dog. I insisted we were not leaving until they found our dog and was then threatened by "This is not possible, you must let the plane leave or we will have the police arrest you."
After insisting for some period of time that I was not letting the plane go anywhere and demanding that they send someone to find Buster, I saw I was getting nowhere. The Swiss airport people kept insisting it was impossible. Finally, after yet another threat to have me arrested a van came barrelling up the runway. Safely cloistered inside the van was our beloved Buster. Off we went to Lyon!
We learned about Swiss culture during this adventure. Swissair has a stellar reputation and my daughter had water, coffee (decaf), a second cup of coffee and her cognac (non-alcoholic, she's only 13) spilled all over her on four separate occassions.
Leaving for France on Tuesday Night....Will be Attending Vinexpo!
I hate Vinexpo but always go. Vinexpo is like a family obligation -- similar to attending the wedding of a relative you despise and pretending to have a good time. At least you don't have to bring a gift to attend Vinexpo.
It is always mind-boggling (as the wine critics say) that kilometers and kilometers of wine producers show their horrible industrial wines once every two years in Bordeaux. One would think all these kilometers of producers would be more discreet and less aggressive about showing their horrible wares. Apparently, they not only expect people to buy these wines, they act ually find customers at Vinexpo!
I go because it feeds my meglomaniacal notion that I'm a Big Man in The Wine Industry. There will be Big Men in The Wine Industry (an Occassional Big Woman, but on the whole it is a sexist trade, like everything else) from all over the world for one week in Bordeaux and I sure as hell am not going to miss all that action. Even if the air conditioners don't work yet once again.
Of course, I would not make a special trip from New York to Bordeaux just to be seen amongst the powerhouses of the industry in Bordeaux. I will already be in France, leaving tomorrow evening, to take my annual summer residence in the Louis/Dressner Family Compound in the hamlet of Poil Rouge in beautiful St-Gengoux-de-Scissé, somewhere in the Mâconnais.
The Louis/Dressner Family Compound in Southern Burgundy during the Catastrophic 1994 Harvest
Copyright 2001 John Danehy
The Wine Importer Will be Making a Rare Public Appearance this Friday
Yes, I am speaking about myself in the third person.
I, The Wine Importer, will be conducting an exhaustive tasting of Louis/Dressner Selections wines at Chambers Street Wines at at 160 Chambers Street in downtown Manhattan from 4:30 to 7:18 pm. This is a new wine shop headed by various luminaries from some of America's greatest wine shops and auction houses.
Mention that you learned about the tasting through this site and you will receive a 10% case discount!
1999 Red Burgundies
Along with Kevin McKenna, my partner, I just did a 1999 Red Burgundy tasting in Boston.
We started out importing Burgundies 34 years ago, but soon became enamored with other regions. I forgot how enjoyable Burgundies can be and the 1999 vintage seems very ripe and pretty. Even the Melon de Bourgogne, which everyone knows comes from the wrong side of the the National.
I actually enjoyed tasting Red Burgundies today, something that I haven't truly enjoyed in quite some time. We really had nothing grandiose there, with only Sylvie Esmonin's Clos St-Jacques coming close to a Grand Cru, but there was a consistent elegance across the line. I give them all 92 points, in descending order..
I think our search for the unspoofulated has payed off with this vintage. We don't have oak monsters but lots of pure little Burgundies with delicacy and charm. Maybe I'll buy some myself.
Remember that vintage generalizations about Burgundies are always useless -- the important thing is which vigneron in which year. So be certain to buy Burgundies selectively. A general good rule of thumb is to limit your purchases to Louis/Dressner Selections and Eric Solomon's Burgundy selections. Both firms make impeccable selections.
Now that I think about it, you also can't do wrong with Fran Kysela Père et Fils. I love that Père et Fils stuff in Fran Kysela's company's name, even though Fran started the company and his father never had an actual involvement in the daily activities. Most importantly, Fran's Government Warning Label has a great graphic of a guy in an apron rolling around a barrel. There is no indication if this is a new or old barrel, but I don't believe that Fran Kysela or his father supply the barrels to their winemakers. If you're looking for that sort of thing, you would do best to buy from Bobby Kacher et Fils or from North Berkeley et Fils. These outfits not only select the wines but also select the tonnelier and send forests of new barrels to their vignerons.
Father's Day is June 17th and what better way to celebrate that day then with a bottle of over-oaked Burgundy from one of the American Père et Fils operations that specialize in new oak? 92 points
Premised
Along with Kevin McKenna, my partner, I just did a 1999 Red Burgundy tasting in Boston. The tasting was at our wholesaler's headquarters and included actual wine buyers from the Boston market and lots of salespeople from the distributor. I don't know many of the salespeople, much has changed since our wholesaler was bought by a multi-national cartel five years ago, so I made a point of introducing myself to each of them as they poured themselves generous portions of high-priced Burgundies on allocation. The general pattern is to pour half a glass, sip a bit, spit it out and then dump the remaining considerable quantity of highly-allocated Burgundy into the dump bucket.
Some of the salespeople work on-premise. Some work off-premise. Some work a combination of on-premise and off-premise. Some were the On-Premise Sales Managers and some were the Off-Premise Sales Managers. One of these gentlemen was responsible for product programming 92 points wines but didn't explain what that was. I did notice that several of the On-Premise people took smaller pours than the Off-Premise salespeople, but the control group was too small to come to definitive conclusions.
Anyhow, what, in God's name, is all this premise talk. Whose premise are they either on or off? Are they all trespassing? If so, where, when and why?
Please send me explanatory e-mail.
Thank God for Marc Olliver
Along with Kevin McKenna, my partner, I just did a 1999 Red Burgundy tasting in Boston. One of the most exciting wines was the Domaine de la Pépière 2000. This is as good a young Muscadet as I have tasted. The wine exhibits gobs of minerality and multi-layered Melon-de-Bourgogne texture. Highly recommended. 92 points
A little-known fact about great Muscadet is that is unsaleable in Chicago!