Bordeaux Archives

Wine Technology: Bordeaux’s first wine with augmented reality label revealed

Château Laffitte Carcasset has just released a new wine which, when viewed through an app on a smartphone, appears in augmented reality.

The wine, a classic 60% Cabernet Sauvignon 40% Merlot blend, is destined for the export market and pays tribute to a key figure in the region’s history.

Jean Lafitte bought a wine estate in ‘Carcasset’ in 1781, naming the estate after himself and passing it down to his children.

The 35-hectare estate has partnered with the SnapPress app and POSQA, a start-up that supports augmented reality projects, on the initiative.

The producer hopes it brings “young, connected consumers” to the brand, and also to Bordeaux.

Made from grapes sourced from the 2016 vintage, the wine was fermented in stainless steel vats before being matured in oak for 12 months, creating a wine that is approachable and “easy-to-drink in its youth”.

Eden Villages, owned by French businessman Pierre Rousseau, acquired a majority stake in estate in 2017. Since 1958 it had been owned by members of the Padirac family.

Upon acquiring Laffitte Carcasset, his first winery, Rousseaux said he would implement a renovation and restructuring project, drawing on his experience gained through running his company, which specializes in mobile homes and motorhomes and already deals in the wine tourism sector.

L’Intendant – “A Mythical Ascent in the World of Bordeaux Wines”

Established in 1945, L’Intendant has established itself in Bordeaux as the reference caviste to purchase the grands crus of Bordeaux directly from the properties.

L’Intendant is situated in the city center of Bordeaux, and
one of the grandest wine stores in the world. As you enter, you see a magnificent central staircase spiralling up five floors, which are surrounded by cylindrical shelves holding over 20,000 bottles of Bordeaux.

The ground floor offers a wide selection of half-bottles and affordable wines, ascend to the next level you will find bourgeois crus and second wines; at the third level you discover the classified Crus of Médoc, the big reds of Saint-Emilion, Pomerol and Pessac-Léognan; finally, a true sanctuary, the fourth and final level contains an incomparable offer of large formats including double-magnums, jeroboams, and imperial, along with older vintages, some going back as far as 1945.

2 Allées de Tourny, 33000 Bordeaux, France

Author lizpalmerPosted on February 5, 2019Categories Articles, Bordeaux, News, TravelTags Bordeaux, crus, L'Intendant, medoc, pamerol, saint emilion, Wine

Chateau Margaux Palmer 2001 Bordeaux Review

Medium-garnet colour. The nose is youthful with notes of cassis, black cherries, cloves, some cedar with a touch of mint. Deep, sweet, and rich with a length and breadth that is captivating. I kept coming back to the glass for another sip – this Palmer is a classic Margaux!

93 points
Liz Palmer
December 25, 2018

Awards
International Wine Challenge, 2011: Gold
Le Guide Hachette des Vins, 2005: 2 Stars
San Francisco International Wine Competition, 2003: Bronze

Wine Spectator: 94 Points
Extremely pretty, with flowers, berries, chocolate and spices. Full-bodied, with a solid core of fruit and ripe, silky tannins; long and caressing. Beautiful. Palmer shows wonderful refinement. Best after 2009. –JS

Wine Advocate: 93 Points
“Fairly deep color. Another lovely, elegant Palmer nose. It offers richness, but stays pure and delicate. (There’s almost as much Merlot (44%) in the blend as Cabernet Sauvignon (51%), one reason it’s less powerful than other vintages.) The 2001 offers scents of red fruit, blackberry, sandalwood, spice, and mocha. Follows through in a similar fashion on the palate; same delicacy and precision. It’s subtle yet graceful, nicely balanced, still needing a few more years to reach peak, although it’s most of the way there. Overall, a very strong showing.”

Wine Enthusiast: 93 Points
As with so many other wines from the 2001 vintage, this Palmer is classic Margaux. It has delicacy and elegance, but it also packs power, concentration and dark, dry flavors. Intense and concentrated, the richness of the high proportion of Merlot in Palmer?s blend shows through, while the Cabernet Sauvignon gives a fresh lift at the end.

Stephen Tanzer: 90 Points
“Dark red. Expressive aromas of redcurrant, raspberry, dark plum, tobacco, graphite, minerals and flowers. Very suave and smooth on entry, then a bit closed in the middle palate. But this very young, firm Palmer boasts harmonious acidity, very good cut and excellent balance. Finishes with rather tight tannins that will need six or seven years to soften.”

Liv-ex top 50 most-searched wines in 2018

Each year around the summer season, Liv-ex examines the top 50

Each year around the summer season, Liv-ex examines the top 50 most-viewed wines, based on visits to their website from January to July. The search-data acts as a barometer for the interests of fine wine merchants, showing where there have been changes in the trade’s interests each year.

Firsts still first

The Bordeaux First Growths continue to occupy the top five spots in the table, with Lafite Rothschild holding its position as the most viewed wine by Liv-ex members. The only difference from last year is Margaux has leapfrogged Haut Brion into third place, helped along by this year’s most searched wine, Margaux 2015.

Risers

Brands on the move such as new entrant Carmes Haut Brion (+34) have been the winners so far this year. However, trade is yet to catch up with interest, as the wine ranks a lowly 141^st in terms of trade by value. Canon has had another strong year. It has climbed 23 places into the 20^th spot, after climbing 24 places in 2017.

Opus One is the largest non-Bordeaux riser, jumping 24 places. Louis Roederer, Cristal has also done well, jumping 18 places. Trade has also seen a corresponding increase in 2018, placing the champagne as the 9^th most traded brand on Liv-ex.

Fallers

For some to rise, others must fall. Traders appear to be losing interest in Super seconds as, amongst others, Ducru Beaucaillou (-8), Leoville Barton (-6), Leoville Poyferre (-5), Montrose (-4) and Pichon Baron (-2) have all subsided in the ranking.

Vieux Chateau Certan was the biggest faller, down 15 places.

This year’s top 50 are shown in the table in full.

Sources:

Liv-ex

Fine Wine Market

Direct Train London to Bordeaux Planned for 2020

A direct high speed railway that would take passengers from London to Bordeaux in under five hours could be in operation by 2020, according to the chief executive of the HS1 rail network.

Currently travellers from London to Bordeaux have to change trains in Paris. The Paris route takes 5h 25m, including a 1 hour 5 minutes connection in Paris, travelling from London to Bordeaux.

The current return connection in Paris takes 6h 26m, with a longer 1h 55m connection in Paris, owing to the need to pass through border and security controls.

The new direct service would cut travel times to less than five hours in both directions, through a direct route and security controls located in Bordeaux, with trains reaching speeds of up to 200 mph between the two cities.

The proposed route bypasses Paris and takes advantage of a newly completed 302km French high-speed rail line linking the French town of Tours with Bordeaux.

“As we’ve seen with the recent introduction of the Eurostar London-Amsterdam service, there’s a real demand for international train services to provide a comfortable and better-connected service, especially for leisure journeys,” said Dyan Crowther, chief executive of HS1 Ltd.

“This is the first time that railway operators have collaborated in this way and saves the train operator having to do a lot of legwork. The route is almost ready for a train operator to turn up and turn the key as soon as the UK and French Governments agree on border controls.

“With the right commitment, we could be looking at new services in the next couple of years. The service will take passengers direct from city centre to city centre, taking the hassle out of travel to South West France.”

HS1 Ltd, the owner and operator of High Speed 1, is in advanced planning with three other international railway operators along the proposed route, and is working on pre-planned timetable slots and train routes, meaning that a new international train operator will be able to get the route up and running in “a couple of years”.

The four railway operators along the proposed route (HS1 Ltd, Lisea, Eurotunnel and SNCF Réseau) are meeting at the end of April, beginning of May, 2018 to discuss developing a Gare de Bordeaux-Saint-Jean station, to facilitate international departures.

Source Drinks Business, UK