You’ve probably heard the phrase ‘to know a lot about wine you have to drink a lot of wine.’ It’s true. With hundreds of varietals of wines, it takes a lot of tasting and contrasting to contemplate what’s in the glass.
An inquisitive nature comes with the territory of being a journalist. I thrive on asking questions, digging deeper—seeking information. While working in the ‘news’ business, I usually got the information I wanted, was satisfied and eager to move on to the next topic. Exploring and learning about wine is a completely different story.
The more I learn, the more I want to learn. And, I realize and am thrilled by the challenge that I’ll never know all there is to know and never know enough to be satisfied. There’s great adventure in that pursuit!
Some sage advice I received when starting this journey came from a sommelier who said it’s best to start with the classics—the wines that set the standard for quality. Everyone needs a baseline, so to speak, from which to compare and contrast other wines. So Bordeaux, being the standard bearer of the world when it comes to wine, became dead center on my radar of wine regions to visit.
We recently returned from our second visit to the historic wine region…part of a special thirty year wedding anniversary that we’d been planning for and saving for a long while. We also traveled to some amazing wine regions in Italy on this long awaited trip which I’ll talk more about later.
Back to Bordeaux! Visually, spring was in full bloom, but the temperatures were actually much cooler than normal, and all of Bordeaux was receiving an uncomfortable amount of rain for this important growing time of the year.
This visit we stayed in the commune of Léognan which is home of the 16 Graves Crus Classés—a beautiful region just south of the city of Bordeaux. The Pessac Léognan region is known for both its red and white wines. It’s a relatively new appellation, but the quality of its wines has been common knowledge for many years.
One of the more memorable chateaux we visited in Bordeaux was Chateau Haut-Bailly, one of the premier crus in the Classification of Graves and a highly acclaimed producer. Both Wine Spectator and Parker rated the 2010 Haut Bailly at a 95. Parker gave the ’09 a 98!
It’s a beautiful spot with a history of growing grapes that dates back to the 15th century. Chateau Haut-Bailly is now owned by an American but is managed by Veronique Sanders, our host and the granddaughter of the previous owner. Veronique is the fourth generation of her family to be associated with the vineyards and one of the first women in Bordeaux to run a winery.
Growing up in the vineyards at Chateau Haut-Bailly, Veronique says she constantly tagged along with her grandfather as he worked the vineyards and made the wine. She says her dream since she was a young child was to run Chateau Haut Bailly…to make the wines just as her grandfather did. It was a dream that almost didn’t happen.
Veronique was just finishing college studying wine making when her grandfather dropped a bombshell. He sold Chateau Bailly! Heartbroken but not defeated she called the new owner, the American, and asked for the opportunity to run the winery. After all, who could know its vines better than someone who literally grew up on the property.
The owner, Robert G. Wilmers, must have not only recognized Veronique’s knowledge of wine making at Haut Bailly but also her passion for the land. After all, when you meet her you can’t help but notice her eyes are alive with such energy. Wilmers gave her the job she’d always dreamed of having, and the winery has consistently won rave reviews.
The Chateau Haut-Bailly wines were lovely with beautiful fruit and silky tannins. Old vines often make the best wines, and the average age of the vines on the property at Haut-Bailly is 120 years old. From the La Parde de Haut-Bailly (the second label) to the well respected Chateau Haut-Bailly, their elegance and finesse shined through.
In fact, these full bodied red wines paired beautifully with our lunch which was seafood based—a delightful prawn and vegetable salad followed by a beautiful sea bass served with baked zucchini topped with a black olive tapenade.
We enjoyed the wine so much we purchased a bottle of the 2000 Haut Bailly and tucked it into our suitcase to savor at a later date. BTW, in H-Town Masraff’s in Uptown has the Chateau Haut-Bailly on its wine list in addition to many more of Bordeaux’s best. Let Sommelier Ben Roberts be your guide!
I’m already looking forward to duplicating some of the incredible food we discovered on this trip…an excuse to drink more Bordeaux. More on that amazing food and a recipe for escargots that is incredible!
Next Entry –>
For more wine info and wonderful recipes from top chefs, head to Goodtaste.tv.
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