Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  8/9/2007 (link)

  (AUX TROIS FRERES) Aux Trois Freres - IMPORTANT Dear Friends, Here’s one we’ve been working on for a while and today is the day. This one is going to make a lot of noise - so much so that I waited until our allocation was already half way to Seattle to offer it (with 2005 Bordeaux and Burgundy you can never be too careful or protective of your contracts). This is not intended to be a sales pitch or other, it is just telling it like it is. If you are interested in the 2005 Troplong-Mondot or 2005 Canon-la-Gaffeliere style for a great price (not to mention a wine that very few will ever be able to acquire which should make its value interesting in the coming years) this is for you... When the US pundits get a hold of this to review (which they finally will), all bets are off - to say this is an ambitious effort is putting it mildly. With the fervor and pricing of 2005 Bordeaux already at ad-nauseum levels, it makes this even more enticing. I would have attempted to recant the story below but my typically long-winded banter will not do it justice, therefore I will let the winery do the talking on their own behalf. As the ultimate new-generation garagiste from the Right Bank, the fit for us was seemingly made to order. Aux Trois Freres produces this wine from what is probably the finest parcel of vines not only in the entire Castillon but in the surrounding environs as well. With all deference to Gerard Perse and others that have invested heavily in vineyards around the Castillon, this property has the jewel. The bargain La Mondotte of the Castillon at this price? That is not far fetched at all: From Aux Trois Freres: “My family has been making wine in Cotes de Castillon for over 20 years. My father’s first vintage was in 1984 and (since I was born) I have been coming out every year to help and learn the art of winemaking from many of the flying winemakers working in the area. From the age of 17, I worked at various wineries in other areas of France and Australia, and made my first wine at 22 in McLaren Vale, under the watchful eye of the regions best ‘garage’ winemakers. That year I also decided to create my first Bordeaux cuvee with the aim of one day challenging the bigger names of the region. The name (of the winery, Aux Trois Freres) comes from an old shop that used to exist in the local town of Castillon. It was run by three brothers who each specialized in a certain craft. One fixed watches, the other repaired shoes and the other repaired furniture. When the shop closed down, my father bought the gold leaf sign, and placed it in the old barn where I first created this wine back in 2003. I thought it a very apt name as my two younger brothers, who have both developed their own ‘crafts’, join me every year to create this wine of true origin and character, a wine that will make a father proud... and hopefully jealous! Viticulture: All fruit is sourced from a prime-site, old-vine vineyard on the very top of the limestone ridge. This gives the wine the complexity and structure of an old head, but with a young body to satisfy the modern wine drinker. Green harvesting is used to keep the yield low and concentrated, whilst also using techniques to help keep the fruit ripening until the optimum picking date, whatever the weather. All fruit is hand picked, and chilled overnight to keep the temperature low. I use a special technique of small-batch vinification that I learnt from my time in Australia. We use very small one-half and one ton open fermenters so that we can isolate specific vineyard parcels and keep them separate so they can develop their own individual character. By keeping the ferments small we keep the temperature cool and we get maximum fruit expression. We do not inoculate with any cultured (manufactured) yeast - the whole process in the hands of the wild fauna (risky but worth it) which gives each fermentation its own individual character and adds to the complexity of the final blend. Wine is given extended maceration to build structure and soften and develop the tannins and then put into barrel for both malo-lactic fermentation and aging for 18 months. We use 100% new oak with a mixture of Taransaud, Saury and Sansaud cooperages. All wine parcels are kept separate up until 6 months before bottling when the final blends are decided. We then leave the wine to age in bottle for a further 6 months. Notes on the 2005 Aux Trois Freres: 2005 produced wines of exceptional quality. In my relatively short winemaking career I have never seen fruit in such perfect condition and ripeness. Colour, tannin and flavour were all at optimum levels. The resulting wine is intense in colour, not over-done with oak, has richness and depth with a long, LONG finish. The best bit is that it is only going to get better! Production of the 2005: 270 cases” There you have it. If you’re interested in 2005 Right Banks, high-end Napa bottlings or other this is a pretty safe experiment and one that should bring you accolades from your local tasting group. If this were made in California or from a classified plot in Bordeaux (with the quality of the cooperage alone) this wine would be at least three times as much. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED as an exhilarating newcomer in one of Bordeaux’s most anticipated vintages ONE SHIPMENT ONLY directly from the winery cellar with perfect provenance: 2005 Aux Trois Freres (Cotes du Castillon) . Please be patient with final allocations - only 270 cases of this wine were made and they must satisfy all of the world’s wine markets, not just the US. Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Bord8510