Any of you ever heard of this?

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AKR
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Any of you ever heard of this?

Post by AKR »

This was from Winex this morning. They claim it sold out basically instantly. Any of you ever heard of this?

This style of vinification/elevage or whatever seems more like something one sees in Rioja's most traditional estates (LdH, Murrieta etc.)

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Bordeaux 2000. A great vintage, from Petit Chateaux all the way to the First Growths. Over the years, we have sold thousands upon thousands of cases of wines from this millennial vintage but today’s offer is one-of-a-kind wine that truly amazed all of us here at Wine Exchange… and comes with a twist.

On a chilly, early April morning in St. Emilion, Kyle and I met with Jean-Luc Thunevin, owner of Chateau Valandraud, who is also a Negociant, along with his sales agent, for an intense tasting of 2015’s as well as other selected wines we requested from their catalog.

Armed with glass in hand, it was go-time, starting with the pre-selected wines before we killed our palates with 2015 barrel samples. One of the wines we tasted that day just so happens to be one of the best-kept secrets in Bordeaux.

Adrien Tramier, owner of Chateau Saint-Saturnin is a man who marches to the beat of a different drum. Born in Algeria, he arrived in Marseille in 1964 and studied oenology at the University of Montpellier. After graduation, his travels led him to Bordeaux where he searched for a small wine estate to call his own. He landed seven acres in the northern Medoc and after a few years as an apprentice winemaker with the old owner of the property, he ventured on his own in 1975, making wine from his estate’s grapes.

Even at this point in time he knew he would never use oak and he knew his vineyards would be more meticulously maintained than any others in the appellation. He’s stayed true to his word.

Adrien is a strong-minded man and questions the rules as he is one of those iconoclastic wine producers (especially in Bordeaux) who makes wine for himself not the masses. While most of his neighbors harvest by the end of September, he rarely picks before the end of October. Somehow, the grapes are not over ripe but completely healthy and, best of all, balanced.

The wine is a blend of 60% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc and he keeps the grapes on their skins for months rather than days in fermenters which are outside exposing the wine to the cold of winter. After fermentation and removal of the skins, the wine sits in jacketed cement tanks and is bottled when he feels the wine is ready, with absolutely no oak used in the process. It is said he basically sells wine when he needs the money because, as with his winemaking techniques, there are no rules to his way of conducting business.






The famous British wine critic and Bordeaux expert Jancis Robinson, upon visiting the property, noted, “…there are certainly precedents for excellent wine emerging from such unsophisticated settings. Sean Thackrey's California wines and Château Rayas in Châteauneuf-du-Pape spring immediately to mind. And I couldn't help noticing the hygiene-conscious footbaths next to the front door.”

He has said…” money is not my aim. I prefer harvest and working in the vineyard”. I can believe it.

In fact, he still has some of his inaugural 1975 vintage, still in tank. In-sane. Jancis Robinson noted, “I'd say that Château St-Saturnin 1975 is much fruitier, more interesting and delicious than most of the much more high-flown 1975 red bordeaux I have tasted in recent years.”

And gang, she’s tasted them all.

So on this cool morning, we proceeded to taste the 2000 Chateau Saint-Saturnin… WOW… We were blown away! It’s rich and delicious with a deeply fruited yet classically ‘old Bordeaux’ style for a wine that sees no oak. This deep ruby/purple-colored 2000 exhibits notes of plum intermixed with black currants, smoke, earth and licorice. It shows a warm texture with seamless, persistent tannins and long silky finish. The wine is super-fresh since it has spent its entire life in tank as opposed to bottle.

For you wine dorks out there, think of Adrien as a super-hygienic version of Quintarelli, Paolo Bea or Henri Bonneau (at a fraction the price!) and you’ll get the picture. A funk-free iconoclast. How rare is that?

If you want ‘numbers’ you’re pretty much out of luck since this cat isn’t very interested in the wine press. Yet, Jancis Robinson went the extra mile to see how he worked and we have her review of the 2000 in which she gave it 17 (out of 20) points and wrote: “Quite rich and dense, yet beautifully balanced – more intense than many 2000s.”

People, that is the same score that she gave to the following legends from the 2000 vintage:
•Canon la Gaffeliere St. Emilion 2000 $120 a bottle
•Gazin Pomerol 2000 $120 a bottle
•Clinet Pomerol 2000 $150 a bottle
•Pape Clement Pessac-Leognan 2000 $200 a bottle

And higher than…
•Branaire Ducru St. Julien 2000 $100 a bottle
•Sociando Mallet Haut-Medoc 2000 $90 a bottle
•La Fleur Petrus Pomerol 2000 $300 a bottle
•Petit Village Pomerol 2000 $90 a bottle

Need we say more?

It’s hard to explain or show our excitement on an email, but this is one of those “damn I should have bought more” wines! It’s in that perfect window of drinkability and we guarantee you’ll dig it as much as we do! Like the 1996 Bel-Air Lagrave, this is one of those rare wine moments we pine for. At $19.98 a bottle for a pristine 2000 vintage Bordeaux all I can say is…back up the trucks!
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