As followers of this blog know well your scribe has been a long time big fan of Chablis. Remember so well buying in December 1977 at a British Columbia liquor store all 86 bottles on sale of 1976 Chablis Vaudesir Grand Cru by J. Moreau at $8.05 each. Over the next 10 years they were all opened consuming the last marvellous one with fresh Petrale sole on September 20, 1987. My cellar book notes show a lot of bottle variation as some corks looser and some tighter than others plus differences in ullage resulted in higher fills being much more dependable. However the inital light green colour showing so much glycerol legs inside the glass with high acidity brought with ageing increased rich complexity. Even back then our exciting passion was further enhanced by pairing Chablis with food – from seafood to cheeses. So admire those Grand Cru Chablis!

This Chablis love-in has continued even more frequently over the many years since and especially over this last month with the first fresh wild Sockeye salmon of the season, Sablefish, and Dungeness Crab available – three really outstanding matches for Chablis. Enjoying so much the outstanding quality for price from excellent producer Christian Moreau Grand Cru Right Bank vineyards – particularly my favs of Les Clos & Valmur. However also use their fresh minerally Premier Cru Vaillon with mature vines though prefer even more the specific lot within that vineyard of Cuvee Guy Moreau with vines almost twice the age planted in 1934 by current winemaker Fabien Moreau’s grandfather. Not only are they very old vines but are also located on the steepest part of this Left Bank slope with good drainage and south & south-east exposure on Kimmeridgien clay. So pleased they made the important decision to keep this separate and continue to do so. I have noticed that this Cuvee (which IMHO competes for best 1er Cru with Montee de Tonnerre next to Blanchots & northern end Vaulorent a special part of Fourchaume next to Les Preuses) needs time but has a wonderful rich intensity often showing a bit more wood initially. It is a textbook example of what very old vines can bring to the overall complexity of the resulting wine. Congrats! Lately I have had several bottles of the 2012 with lively verve and rich full intensity that rivalled their 2012 Les Clos for perfection right now. The 2010 is a richer more mature year, 2011 & 2013 somewhat simpler while the 2014 has perfect vital Grand Cru-like balance with depth and 2015 is forwardly riper. The 2016 use those Diam composite corks to advantage. In 2017 frost really affected the Grand Crus with very low yields and total production but mainly spared Vaillon. Therefore highly recommend buying some Vaillon Christian Moreau in 2017 – and worth the search to find some of that special Cuvee Guy Moreau! Old vines can make a big difference moving a Premier Cru to a Grand Cru look alike!

center

You might also like:

Question: What is the latest SCOTUS decision on wine that people are talking about?

Answer: On June 26 the United States Supreme Court by a majority decision 7-2 delivered by Justice Alito decided Tennessee Wine and Spirits Retailers Association vs. Russell F. Thomas against two year residency requirements for liquor retailers in Tennessee. Reference was made to the US Constitution “Commerce Clause” and the extent of the protection for producers but also for retailers seeking to do out-of-state shipments There was also clarification (or confusion depending on your point of view) on the continuing important issues for individual states (and hopefully some dicta guidance for provinces in Canada) on their restrictive liquor regulations. Particularly retailers trying to do more out-of-state direct shipping. The US has a three-tier distribution system that further complicates the issues. Interesting dissent comments by Justice Gorsuch. Obviously more litigation to come. Good brief overview of the case in Wine Spectator here.

You might also like:

Over the past 20 years there has been more buying of fine wine as a distinct asset investment. Some investors have done very well indeed as the limited supply rarity of top mature wines often just continues to increase in value. For most of us though the wine (& food) boom has meant not an asset portfolio but acquiring some special bottles here and there for expected later drinking but resulting in more of a “wine cellar” than we perhaps intially anticipated. The unwitting result is that more and more “collectors” are having a fair amount of valuable wine left on their death as an asset to be dealt with by their estate. Fewer problems if your spouse, children or other relations have an interest in keeping them. However this is becoming a less unanimous choice and the Estate usually wants to turn those wine assets into cash for distribution. What to do?
In many jurisdictions with a less restrictive liquor policy you can usually contact an auction house or wine store and get an appraisal and eventually deal with the matter on a simpler sale – though value can be very difficult to determine. However for instance in Canada it is becoming a much bigger problem with this increasing asset value. Your scribe was invited as an after dinner speaker at The Law Courts Inn on this topic for a large turnout of the June meeting of The Estate Planning Council of Vancouver. The Executive led by wine lover Vince Cardella of the Promerita Group organized this event very well. Our head table enjoyed a delicious still young loaded with balanced complex fruit 2005 Chateau Canon-La-Gaffeleire St Emilion from his personal cellar which matched perfectly with the main course duck confit. In a good mood. The talk tried to be light and uplifting but was burdened down by the monopoly reality of the BC Liquor Control & Licensing Act (and BC Liquor Distribution Act). Section 39 refers to the unlawful purchase of liquor providing “Except as provided in this Act, the Liquor Distribution Act or the regulations made under these Acts, a person MUST NOT, personally or by his or her clerk, employeee or agent, PURCHASE or, in consideration of the sale or transfer or any property or other consideration, take liquor (which includes wine) from another person”. Section 35 refers to Offence & Penalty under the Offence Act where section 4 has a fine of not more than $2000 or imprisonment of not more than 6 months or both. The Liquor Distribution Act section 2 (2) provides that the LDB has “sole right to purchase both in & out of BC, liquor for resale in BC in accordance with the provisons of the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act of Canada. Section 4 provides you must not even possess + 4(1)(e) unless purchased from an authorized vendor (ie. LDB). Of course you can sell the wine Estate asset to the BCLDB (with added sales taxes) but not really a practical solution because presently they have no store to take it for resale but expecting you to come up with your own purchaser. You may want to check with a lawyer on the legality of sending it out of province to one of the helpful Auction Houses (Acker, Christie’s, Hart Davis Hart, Sothebey’s, Zachy’s etc). Ontario now has their own authorized auction company Waddingtons but can’t ship wine in BC to them. Hugh Bulmer of BC local Auction House Maynards would like to help but states he is not legally allowed. They do deal with a long list of other interesting non alcoholic trendy older collectibles such as comic books that are also being increasingly found in Estate assets. Everyone seems to agree that fine wine as an increasing Estate asset is becoming a bigger and bigger problem for executors to administer. They have a high duty of care to locate and review any original will, protect the assets, obligations to beneficiaries & creditors, and so on. What are their duties and best procedures in dealing with Estate wine? Looks like a lot more work coming for the lawyers! Any comments or suggested solutions most welcomed.

You might also like:

Question: I have some difficulty choosing the correct wine glass for my wine. Your thoughts?

Answer: Nice dilemma to have – you must have a good  wine glass collection. Yes too many shapes and sizes out there. Credit to Riedel and the other glass manufacturers for all these fun choices. I prefer high quality thinner rim glass to enhance the appreciation of the wine being served. Bigger size is often better though those Sommelier Burgundy Grand Cru at 37 ounces are almost too large, thin & fragile. Very old wines can actually be served to their disadvantage in a very large format wine glass. Generally don’t like narrow flutes for sparkling (though show the bubbles best) or too small a glass normally used for fortified wines like Madeira & Port. Always like to choose those wider bowl glasses for both pinot noir & nebbiolo grape variety wines. A smaller glass for whites than reds is not always required. Otherwise my thoughts are that generally any glass including even a tumbler could work. Actually IMHO there is some benefit to using the same all-purpose glass you like and are familiar with so you concentrate all your attention only on the contents rather than the glass itself. Experiment. Don’t follow any strict rules. Be flexible. Discover what glass you prefer using for the wine you are serving!

You might also like:

Followers of this Blog will know that your scribe adores the quality and versatility of aged Parmigiano Reggiano from cow’s milk. After attending an insightful seminar this past week you can add Pecorino Toscano from sheep’s milk to that cheese list. This Masterclass took place in Vancouver on June 17 at Les Amis de Fromage delivered by Stefano Sarti of Cooperativa Agricola Il Forteto and their distributor Jan K. Overweel Limited. There are 4 Pecorino (Sheep in Italian is “pecora”) cheeses with Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) the most well known one being Romano (named for Rome but main production area is in Sardinia), Sardo (Sardinia), Siciliano (Sicily), and Toscano (Tuscany since 1996). Sampled Fresh (young semi-soft) tasty with truffle, Fresco, and Stagionato (aged minimum 120 days,semi-hard). Impressed by the QPR (quality-to-price-ratio) and especially the lower salt content of Toscano compared to Romano. Also has a variety of interesting uses as shown on their Power Point presentation attached with various foods (fresh fava beans, fresh & preserved fruits like pear, walnuts & almonds, olives), wines (Chianti & Vernaccia di San Gimignano) and recipes (arugula salad, prosciutto & salami, grated on pizza – even suggest cannabis!). Recommend you check out these Pecorino Toscano cheeses.

center

You might also like: