Question: My daughter mentioned I should be “flex drinking”. What is that?

Answer: Your smart daughter is on top of the sweeping trend of alcoholic moderation without actually quitting completely. The thought is with flex drinking you can lessen your alcohol load by being flexible in your choices of balancing drinks with alcohol together with alternative drinks with very low or no alcohol. Good idea.

You might also like:

Pomerol is a small Right Bank Bordeaux region with very limited wine production that has become quite expensive. A comprehensive small publication book Pomerol by critic Neal Martin provides valuable insights but it is out of print and hard to find.

In the old days there were as Michael Broadbent in Wine Tasting described: “Two styles: one deep and firm and Medoc-like, but with full, silky merlot richness, slow developing; the other light in colour and weight, sweeter, more gentle and quick maturing. Each style has a noticeably velvety texture in the mouth. Lighter vintages develop quickly.”

With increased consumer demand and helped by global warming there seems to be much less of the second mentioned lighter style being made. Today the first style dominates with distinctive powerful iron fist intense big fruit terroir wines.

It is a treat these days to taste any Pomerol and a rare vertical provides an amazing insightful education on both this unique region and the specific property for tasting.

Our Vancouver Group of Eight is so fortunate to have our leader Ian Mottershead collect and generously provide for event #138 at Blue Water Cafe on January 13 all the wines including 9 vintages of the scarce Vieux Chateau Certan. Many thanks indeed!

The evening started off well with a complex 2014 BERECHE & FILS (established 1847) CHAMPAGNE AY GRAND CRU of 75% Pinot Noir & 25% Chardonnay grown on thin topsoil on top of dense Campanian chalk disgorged November 2021 as Extra Brut of 4g/l for small production of only 3880 bottles.

Long lees aging, combined with 4+ years of bottle age, showed rich, balanced Krug-like flavors, making it a perfect pairing with an innovative smoked black cod dish. The finale was also an unprecedented match of an apple & quince tarte tatin with 2019 VIN DE CONSTANCE KLEIN CONSTANTIA (established 1685) of 100% Muscat de Frontignan in a sweet 166g/l RS but drier vintage style because of 26 vineyard picking passes to include early higher acidity grapes to late ripe raisined ones resulting in a no botrytis 14 abv honey-sage beauty. A few comments on the main event:

Vieux Château Certan on the Pomerol plateau has 14 hectares (35 acres) planted in a single block of 23 plots 70% Merlot on clay, 25% Cabernet Franc on gravel-clay & 5% Cabernet Sauvignon on gravel. VCC has been in the Thienpont family since 1924 with first Georges who died in 1962, followed by Leon till 1985, and his son Alexandre since 1986 and now together with his son Guillaume. The wine has a distinctive pink capsule that assisted your scribe at a blind tasting when seeing a mostly covered up but slightly peeking through pink that allowed correct identification of VCC – but later admitted why. Interesting vertical:

2009 VIEUX CHÂTEAU CERTAN: MERLOT year: 88% with 6% each of CF & CS harvested September 21 to October 2. Old merlot vines back to 1942 provide dense rich smooth full bodied style. Varied opinions from legendary 100 point scores to slightly one dimensional lacking Chateau signature of elegant complex perfumes. The big very ripe fruit of 2009 at highest 14 abv makes a statement that Nick Wright called ” amazing power”. Impressive opulence with rich full bodied luscious flavours.

2008 VIEUX CHÂTEAU CERTAN: CAB FRANC year with 25% to blend with 65M & 10CS. Lower yields of 34hl/ha harvested September 28 to October 4. 13 months in 2/3 new oak. Structured, balanced with intense plummy fruit not as ripe as 2009. More classic traditional Chateau style with tannins and long finish. Needs airing – should have been decanted earlier as most of these are showing – and should age well with time.

2006 VIEUX CHÂTEAU CERTAN: CAB FRANC year again with 70M & 5 CS harvested September 12 -27 but heavy rains after first picked merlot so lost 2/3 of CF but excellent remaining 1/3. Shows outstanding vineyard skills of Alexandre Thienpont – so admired that his cousin Jacques Thienpont (since 1979) used their vineyard management at LE PIN. Surprised by the 2006 quality from a difficult year and though a touch austere it has Pomerol pedigree with inviting lush silky substantive textures. What success for the vintage. Needs more bottle age.

2005 VIEUX CHÂTEAU CERTAN: MERLOT year 80% with 20% CF but no CS in this outstanding vintage year perfectly harvested September 12-21 and 18 months in 100% new oak. It has great depth + fresh stylish elegance with balanced tight structure from cooler cherry herbs graphite fruit. 2005 is classic with all the elements but needs aging and is my favourite. You can experience the top quality there paired with the delicious truffled tagliatelle and chanterelles course.

2004 VIEUX CHÂTEAU CERTAN: CAB FRANC highest here at 30% with 70%M harvested September 20 to October 6. Note the unusual 2003 has 80% Cab Franc and 1993 has 50CF. IMHO the wide diversity over several vintages between the Merlot and the Cab Franc in the blend has detracted from the Vieux Chateau Certan distinctive signature. Know that Thienpont prefers to have more Cab Franc than mostly Merlot for better elegant aromatics and complexity but sometimes it is difficult to achieve the perfect blend. Dark forwardly charming delight in another difficult year. Well done. Interestingly on their website they suggest grilled fish or white meat with 2004 rustic earthy olive notes.

2000 VIEUX CHÂTEAU CERTAN: More typical 70 M/20CF/10CS harvested September 13-27. Only at 13 abv with a paler rim showing age. Somewhat closed at first though lovely but quite light for a 2000. Acidity higher than expected but tertiary truffle tobacco tea notes are of interest. Fred Withers really liked this developed styling. On a drinkable plateau now but your scribe has had better bottles.

1990 VIEUX CHÂTEAU CERTAN: Looks even older with another 10 years of aging and less alcohol of 12.5 is classy and charming clove scented juicy cherries. Touch medicinal (like Leoville Barton can be) has elegance but is fully mature.

1989 VIEUX CHÂTEAU CERTAN: Early picked merlot on August 31 has sweet plums and earthy floral character though drying on the finish. Not as rich and opulent as expected from 1989 but has a mature softer silky entry. Enjoy. Jim Robertson liked this with the Prime Rib.

1982 VIEUX CHÂTEAU CERTAN: This had rather big tough tannins on release but has improved and softened up after 40+ years. Made by Leon Thienpont but has shown bottle variation. Ours has a paling mature edge with earthy spiced tobacco plus mocha-espresso. Classic style but showing more leafy peppery notes than most 1982s. Hoping for the complex treasures your scribe experienced a while ago now with their outstanding velvety wines from the late forties. Usually not the power of Petrus or Le Pin but VCC can have a special elegant finesse and delicacy from the Cab Franc. They are finding their true unique identity with a very successful 1998 and particularly from recent vintages. Seek out 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2020. A special Pomerol property again on the rise.

A wonderful, insightful educational wine event.

You might also like:

Question: I heard about a new USA study report that differs from the Canadian drinking guidelines. Can you please elaborate?

Answer: Yes there are a couple of new Study groups by the USA Federal government that have submitted reports on alcohol consumption. They do not follow the no safe limit recommendations of the Canadian model. Mark Hicken has prepared a most helpful detailed review on this matter in his posting of January 13 on WineLaw.ca linked here. Interesting different perspectives to review.

You might also like:

The New Year brings a plethora of hospitality events to Vancouver. Dine Out Vancouver Festival is celebrating its 24th year from January 21-February 8 with more than 300 restaurants participating. Lots of wineries and craft breweries are involved plus 13 Food Trucks at the Vancouver Art Gallery Plaza from January 22-25 for Street Food City 2026. The inspiring Chefs’ Table Society of BC is an expanding force of influence with their newly opened Culinary Commons for the revived Chowder Cup on February 3, AGM & Marketplace on February 23, and Curry Cup on March 30 in addition to the later dates for Spot Prawn Festival in May & CooksCamp in September. So many more exciting food & wine events too detailed to list here. The oldest and arguably the most instrumental hospitality event going since 1979 has been the Vancouver International Wine Festival (#VIWF and @VanWineFest) now with the 47th edition scheduled from March 7-14 with a spotlight on France. This year features 114 wineries from 14 countries at 33 events.

Lots of activities planned from the International Festival Tastings to Restaurant meals, and a Gala dinner/auction. A key focus has always been the important educational wine seminars and Trade events. Over the years the Wine Festival has been an important catalyst in getting younger demographics interested in the art of wine and learning about its complexities. Hopefully this will continue. However, any event where lots of alcohol is available will be under a detailed fine microscope especially this year as Canada’s Guidance on Alcohol and Health reports there is no safe amount but low risk is limited to only two or fewer standard drinks per week. This 47th Van Wine Fest has a very good record for responsible wine tasting and it is not a simple booze-up event but this could be a key crossroads for it. Your scribe has been involved actively with the #VIWF since day one and is probably the only person to have attended all of them so obviously I am biased. However the emphasis has always been on education first and foremost. The system in place still requires a knowledgeable winery principal to be at their wine tasting booth explaining their product. Thinking back to day one in 1979 the feature event was purely educational where Michael Mondavi conducted a component tasting of Robert Mondavi Winery acid, tannins, and oak influences on fruit – not wine drinking. Van Wine Fest is an easy target because it lasts a whole week. Early on it nearly was changed to the now more common one night fundraiser format but in a very close vote (I was a part of) we retained the one week length for the unique valuable educational features it provides. In these times it would be prudent to reemphasize these most important educational goals of Van Wine Fest. Also provide even more easy access containers for proper wine tasting spitting etiquette and encourage tasters to spit. A good thing!

You might also like:

Question: I like drinking Washington state wines and wonder which region was the first one recognized?

You might also like: