Vino Cobos, Chalk Hill, Domaine Drouhin, Louis Roederer, what do these have in common? Wine Spectator's 2010 Grand Tour hosted at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC.
212 of the finest wines were featured at the event, where new releases were featured, rarities discovered, and old gems tasted providing a walk down memory lane! Every producer was asked to bring their finest and boy, were we ever lucky to be in attendance.
Organized by type, there were three different tasting rooms, one featuring mainly wines of Burgundy style, the other Bordeaux's to include Malbec and Barolo, and the last room was rounded out with wines from Italy and Spain. We also very much enjoyed the Oregon pinots and hope to visit some of the wineries when out West in the Fall. Also a standout was a 2004 Fuligni Brunello di Montalcino Riserva.
We loved meeting Concezio Marulli, (seen left with CITYPEEK Patti) winemaker from Popoli, Italy, owner of the famed 'stick wine! You see, his bottles are wrapped with twine and a little stick.
The breadth, and depth of wines featured was second to none, surely something to satisfy the most discriminating palate from red-whites-bubbles-ports. From chardonnay-pinot grigio to fume blanc and in between. What made the event truly memorable was the knowledge and passion that the winemakers shared with the guests. Many flying in from France, Argentina, Italy, and elsewhere to share and educate about the history, appellation and terroir of the region.
We had a lovely time chatting and sipping with owner of 2006 Mendel Malbec Finca Remota made by winemaker Anabelle Sielecki in Mendoza Argentina. This particular wine wine only produces 1,500 bottles so it was a precious tasting. Mendel produces Finca Remota, UNUS and Malbec wines. We were lucky and savored each sip. Frederick Wildman & Sons is the Mendel USA distributor. www.frederickwildman.com and we chatted it up with Brandon Skull who was excited for some post event festivities.
Anabelle Sielecki of MENDEL Winery and CITYPEEK Patti are seen left.
Other notables was from France-- the 1999 Chateau Haut-Brion, represented by USA HAUT BAILLEY USA representative, Larry Graves (seen left with Andrew Harrison, Strategic Architect, CITYPEEK). We tasted 1999, HARMONY and though we would deliver some specific wine maker notes for fellow oenophiles showing the painstaking detail going into the art of making fine wine:
"HARMONY: Assemblage : Cabernet Sauvignon : 61%-Merlot : 33%-Cabernet Franc : 6% Harvest : Sept 10th - Oct 5th ----
1999 has been a early vintage with mid-flowering on May 31, four days ahead of the ten-year average. Despite adverse weather conditions in early June, flowering took place rapidly and uniformly so that midveraison, when the grapes change color, was declared on August 4, the same as 1989. 1999 was warmer and somewhat wetter than normal, marked once again by inclement conditions during picking… Since maturity seemed to be coming on much faster than expected, with high sugar content and low acidity, we decided to make a very early trial run –on September 10 and 16 – from a parcel planted to young Merlot grafted on Riparia Gloire.
Picking only began in earnest on September 22, completed by October 5 but we seemed to be constantly juggling with the unpredictable weather and the risks of rot setting in. However, as it happened the grapes turned out to be in an excellent sanitary state thanks to the special care taken over the way the vines were looked after right through the summer : thinning the grapes considerably and de-leafing both sides towards end August…A wine virtually « custom-built », but nevertheless stamped with a brand of classicism, a very Haut-Bailly vintage !!" www.chateau-haut-bailly.com
Post Wine Tasting Show, we were personally contacted by Veronique Sanders of Chateau Haut-Bailly - Cru Classé de Graves 33850 Léognan - France inviting us to visit the winery. We hope to visit in Bordeaux soon, are checking our calendars and loved the connection! Especially since it was further endorsed by Thomas Matthews, Executive Editor of Wine Spectator!
If you have the chance to go to a future Wine Spectator Grand Tour we recommend the event with absolutely no reservations. Cheers, until next time….
CITYPEEK Patti & Andrew andrew@citypeek.com
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