Sebastian is really amazing.  In addition to setting us up with the fantastic host couple last night he also set us up with three wineries to visit today.  Wine tasting in Bordeaux is not like most other places.  Here you must first have an appointment.  When you arrive you are then met by someone who is passionate about wine and will spend at least an hour giving you a guided tour of the entire facility and opening several bottles for you to taste.  At the end there is no expectation to purchase as there is nothing to sell.  You also never pay for the tour.

Sebastian had set us up with two small producers in the morning and a larger operation in the afternoon.  The first was Chateau Des Eryins located in the small village of Margaux.  It is more a house and a barn set among the other houses in the small town of Margaux then it is a chateau.  We met with the wine maker himself - a young man whose father is the wine maker at Chateau Margaux - and tasted both his '04 Bordeaux appellation and his '05 Margaux appellation  (from the barrel).  Both wines were amazing.  The Bordeaux was very concentrated with ripe fruit and great balance and structure.  We were in awe.  Then we tasted his Margaux from the barrel and we were blown away.  It's true that this vintage will be stunning and this wine is an excellent example.   (Those of you who bought futures will not be disappointed!) The wine was elegant with a balance of violets, licorice and barnyard all well integrated like liquid silk.  It lingered on the pallet for a long time and we were simply blown away.  This is a very small production and we are hoping for ten cases of each to be able to include it in the club. 

Next we drove over to Chateau Mille Roses and met the owner and wine maker David Faure.  David had inherited the property from his parents and has done an amazing job updating and creating a new facility.  He took us to his new barrel room where he opened five wines for us to try.  We were unimpressed by the first couple but then his '02 was something quite unique.  The wine did not impress us at first taste, but after we swallowed the wine the finish was amazing.  It had a kind of boomerang effect that came back with lovely black fruits and complexity.  It made us want to drink more and with each sip we had the same reaction.  He gave us a bottle of this to take to lunch and the same sensation occurred.  We think this wine is ready to drink now and is a definite contender for the club.

The last wine of his we tried was his '05 - again from the barrel - and it too was amazing.  It had a massive expressive nose of ripe fruit and leather with some barnyard and excellent structure.  It is very concentrated and lingers on your tongue.  Another wine club contender.

After a lovely lunch in Pauillac we headed to our last winery, Chateau Haut Breton Larigaudiere.  This is a much larger operation and we had a lovely hostess give us the tour, but in the end we were not impressed by any of their wines.  They were all thin and simple and we did not consider them worthy of the club.

Bill left for Paris in the evening and I hooked on with the Cottrills for a ride up to Chenenceaux and some Vouvray tasting tomorrow.

Sante
Bob