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Bordeaux Awakening

Dear Friends,

Guess what happens when you spend the better part of your adult life working in and around the Bordeaux trade (and you finally retire )?

You tend to get bored without all the action.

You also know where the best terroir lies.

The very best...regardless of classification or supposed worth.

There’s a curious element in Bordeaux that few US tasters know about. A layer of “handlers” that lurk (yes, often quietly unknown) as a go-between with one hand inside the most prestigious properties and the other wrangling and haggling with the negociants, exporters and importers. If you ask a dozen top insiders in and around the city of Bordeaux who the most important handful of people in the local trade are, the chances are quite high that at least a few of them will be the “handlers” mentioned above.

The smoothers.

The negotiators.

The carriers of the most difficult to acquire allocations.

They also rend to be EXCEPTIONAL tasters – they’ve seen it all – lived through decades of change (climate and cellar modernity), changing of the guard from old-school to new-school and back again, Steven Spurrier era UK critics giving way to Parker giving way to Neal Martin, et al.

In short, they get the deal done when the deal seems impossible to do. They control allocations from both ends (the chateau and the negociant/exporter) and they can make life miserable for those that step on the wrong side of their patience. There are some ruthless “handlers” out there but there are also those that have dedicated their life to progress and innovation – to the betterment of all and a slow but sure transparency between all parties involved (this is wholly relevant - one of those parties is you).

Roger Waters once screamed “tear down the wall” and the gentlemen we highlight this afternoon (a former “handler”) has done just that in his post-retirement days with the acquisition of his own Bordeaux property. A property that will trade impeccably produced bottles of wine for your enjoyment – directly from his hands to yours...for some of the lowest $’s you will ever see...from some of the finest terroir in all of Bordeaux.

(see line #3 in the opening above).

A bit of background...

After casting aside his “handler” role several years ago and starting his own progressive negociant with his sons (that wished for a forward-thinking/modern approach to the tired system in Bordeaux - caveat/disclaimer: I am quite friendly with one of his sons), our patron set out to land one of the top pieces of terra firma in the greater Bordeaux region – one of the bullseye underperforming properties he had identified via decades in the trade. He wanted a small/special place that would and could produce bottles WAY ABOVE their pay grade but he also wanted them to be “Monday night” affordable...at least to start ;)

A big song and dance ensued, offers were made, rebuffed and finally accepted - the dream came true this year and the property, Chateau La Vaisinerie, tucked behind the Montagne in Puisseguin Saint-Emilion, is ready to “tear down the wall” with a 2015 $13+ wonder that gives the taster a reason to celebrate seven nights per week.

Mark my words, if you thought Tour St Christophe has had a remarkable rise from the ashes (literally, the property was downtrodden and lacking an ounce of soul prior to the Kwok’s take over), as Lin-Manuel Miranda repeated on a near-nightly basis as his main character took to the Broadway stage, “just you wait, just you wait”.

Wait for what?

Well, you will have to taste the wine to find out ;)

If you recall, 2015 has been heralded as one of the finest Right Bank vintages in, well, ever (see: 2015 Canon, 2015 Ausone, 2015 Figeac, 2015…insert your favorite Pomerol/Saint-Emilion). The magic didn’t end at the borders of Saint-Emilion proper. In the outer banks of Puisseguin, the taster finds a wealth of 2015 material that is nearly as good (or better!) than some of the sun-baked/overdone examples from the Perse stable as well as others that missed a golden opportunity to produce would-be legends from a mix of climate, terroir, fabulous grapes and gleeful interplay between the three.

Chateau La Vaisinerie took full advantage...for $13+, not $113+.

La Vaisinerie contains a mix of Cabernet Franc and Merlot and they currently produce two wines, one with less wood/old wood and one with more wood and extraction.

Guess which one I focus on today?

A Gold Medal winner at the 2015 vintage release in Macon, the 2015 Chateau La Vaisinerie (the less wood/old wood version) is a gorgeous bottle of Bordeaux from a year that favored those with exceptional terroir (regardless of storied ground or supposedly less so). It’s the type of “awakening” that speaks to the taster from the first whiff and sip with a style that’s awash in breed and symmetry with a long, savory finish that perks the palate and has the taster nodding in vinous appreciation.

That wouldn’t be a big deal at $50+ but at $13+?

Chateau La Vaisinerie is a rising star in Bordeaux that’s now as close to a “can’t miss” situation as there is in the region.

Why?

The new proprietor (our humble “handler” mentioned above) has spent most of his working life in a single region (Bordeaux), sussing out and studying every echelon of terroir, potential and market push/pull. He ventured past this property many times over the years and always thought to himself... “If this chateau ever comes up for sale, I think I could do something special with it...”.

He already has.

This parcel is directly from the winery holding pen – it’s a mint parcel of 2015 with the finest/freshest original provenance available.

ONE SHIPMENT ONLY.

FIRST COME FIRST SERVED up to 36/person until we run out:

2015 Chateau La Vaisinerie Puisseguin Saint-Emilion 750ml (Bordeaux) - $13.81
(this is not the Quercus, this is the Gold Medal winning 2015 “grand vin” Chateau bottling; vintages prior to 2015 cannot be vouched for, 2015 is the dividing line!)
Drink: 2019 - 2025+.

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