Chateau Cheval Blanc and Chateau D'Yquem Tasting at The Edge Steak and Bar with managing director Pierre Lurton

“Let’s have some wine, go upstairs, and look at my money.” - David Letterman

I have no need for money- other than to buy more wine... The month of October is full of chances to spend your money with us as we have lots of "Once in a Lifetime" tastings for you to attend this month.  Whenever I get a chance to put together an event with one of the principles from a top level Chateau in Bordeaux I am happy to oblige as this is usually the best chance to taste these wines at a reasonable price.  The price of our event tonight is 1/2 of what one bottle of the 1982 Cheval Blanc costs - and that is just one of the wines we are serving with this five course dinner at one of Miami's top restaurants.

We have the managing director for two of Bordeaux's most prestigious Chateau - Cheval Blanc and D'Yquem.  Pierre Lurton will be here to tell the story of both properties as well as the vintages of each wine on the table.  Chef Aaron Brooks will be making a special five course tasting menu to accompany the tasting wines.  The fee for this tasting and dinner is $495 All-Inclusive and there are only 24 seats available for this event.  For reservations call 954-523-9463.

Chateau Cheval Blanc and Chateau D'Yquem Tasting at The Edge Steak and Bar with special guest managing director of both properties Pierre LurtonSaturday, October 18, 20147:30 PM

Reception:

Green Apple, Manchego, Dry SherryFried and Grilled Pita, Scallop Tartar, Preserved Lemon, VadouvanGrilled Key West Shrimp, Melon, Smoked Ham, Black Pepper  

First Course

Torchon of Foie Gras, Mango Jam, Nuts, Seeds and Grains

2011 Chateau d’Yquem Sauternes Price: $450.00    Sale $396

(96 Points) Served from an ex-chateau bottle. Bottled in October 2013, the 2011 Chateau d’Yquem is reticent at first, a little stage fright perhaps. It soon recovers and offers gorgeous scents with fresh white peach, nectarine and fresh apricot that are beautifully defined, although there is a veneer of new oak that will need to be subsumed. The palate is well-balanced with superb structure. There is a light spiciness here with great symmetry, and although there is not the persistency of a top flight Yquem, it has a penetration that is compelling. Tasted March 2014. eRobertParker.com #213 Jun 2014 Reviewer: NEAL MARTIN

Second Course

Free Run Egg Poached in Red Wine, Bone Marrow and Barley Grits, Smoked Bacon and Red Grape Vinaigrette, Aged Cheddar

2005 Le Petite Cheval St. Emilion

The second label of Château Cheval Blanc, Le Petit Cheval is generally a meager 3,000 case production.

(90-92 Points) Readers should take note of the estate's second wine, the delicious, up-front, Cheval-like Le Petit Cheval. The 2005 may be the finest example of this cuvee yet produced. Lastly, readers should be aware that the owners of Cheval Blanc recently purchased the nearby La Tour du Pin Figeac, so they now have another 20-acre vineyard which they hope to bring up to an exciting level of quality. —Robert Parker Jr. Wine Advocate, April 2007.

1998 Le Petit Cheval St. Emilion

This is the second wine of this famous property and in a great vintage like 1998 these second wines can be some of the best values in Bordeaux.

Dinner Course

Beef Wellington, Foie Gras, Fall Vegetables Roasted with Spices and Honey, Truffle Gravy

2000 Chateau Cheval Blanc St Emilion Magnum

(100 Points) This closed, backward blend of 53% Merlot and 47% Cabernet Franc boasts a saturated purple color along with a reticent but striking bouquet of blackberries, blueberries, truffles, and mocha. In spite of its tightness, aeration reveals scents of licorice, menthol, and saddle leather. Opulent and full-bodied, with low acidity, sweet tannin, and a 60-second finish, it is unquestionably as profound as the 1990 and 1982. I still believe the 2000 has the potential to be the most compelling Cheval Blanc since the mythical 1947 and 1949, but patience is required. It should merit a three digit score in 7-10 years, but it is closed at present. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2030+. Note: The score for this wine was 98 in The Wine Advocate but it is changed to 100 per Mr. Parker as of August, 2006.

1982 Chateau Cheval Blanc St Emilion

(96 Points) All in harmony. Deserves its reputation. Dark ruby. Smoke, black truffle, berry and cherry. Full-bodied, velvety and fine.--Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2005. “JS Wine Spectator Issue: Jun 30, 2001

Dessert

Apricot Mascarpone Cheesecake, Passionfruit Gel, Roasted Almond Graham Cracker Crumble

1996 Chateau D'Yquem

(95 Points) Compared with the flamboyant aromatics of the 1997, Yquem's 1996 plays it closer to the vest, although there is a lot going on. Light gold with a tight but promising nose of roasted hazelnuts intermixed with creme brulee, vanilla beans, honey, orange marmalade, and peaches, this medium to full-bodied offering reveals loads of power in its restrained, measured personality. There is admirable acidity, weight, texture, and purity in this impeccably made Yquem. However, patience will be a virtue. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2060. Wine Advocate # 146, Apr 2003

Total $495 per person total inclusive of everything but parking.  There are only 24 seats available for this event, for reservations call 954-523-9463.

A bit about Chateau Cheval Blanc

If you were to ask any wine lover what the finest Saint-Emilion is today, he would be most likely to reply Cheval Blanc.  This was not always the case.  Once Château Ausone enjoyed a greater reputation, while Château Figeac was once considered the best wine among the properties of the Saint-Emilion Graves.  Cheval Blanc's reputation in England was certainly made by the 1921 vintage, and from that time onwards it was spoken of in the same terms as the first growths of the 1855 Classification.  However, it did not achieve equality of price with those wines until after the Second World War.  When the first official classification of Saint-Emilion was made by the INAO in 1955, Cheval Blanc and Ausone were set apart by themselves among the dozen Premiers Grands Crus of Saint-Emilion.

The property once formed part of Figeac until the nineteenth century - the Cheval Blanc portion was sold in 1852.  It has since been owned for many generations by the Fourcaud-Laussac family, who have made it more famous than the property from which it sprang.  The heiress of the family married Jacques Hébrard, the towering and obsessed administrator who brought Cheval Blanc to new heights in the 1980's.  Following Hébrard in 1989, Bernard Grandchamp was brought in to run the estate.  However, Grandchamp resigned his position a year later, fueling speculation of family in-fighting about the future of Cheval Blanc.  The château itself is a modest but charming house with small turrets and pleasing proportions which, together with its white palette, give the appearance of a summer villa.  But this is now completely overshadowed by the palatial new chai which more truly reflects the present prestige of Cheval Blanc.  For many years the wines had to be moved (during the second year in cask) to a cellar in Libourne where the bottling was allowed to take place -the former chai at Cheval Blanc was simply too small to accommodate all the wine.

On the open plateau of the Graves Saint-Emilion, the properties tend to be larger than those that crowd the cramped hillsides around the ramparts of Saint-Emilion, and Cheval Blanc is no exception to this.  The large vineyard of 82 acres produces as much as 14,000 cases annually.  It is one of the curiosities of Cheval Blanc that the soil and sub-soil contain almost every variation to be found in the region; and this, no doubt, contributes to the unique style of the wine.  With Figeac, Cheval Blanc has the lion's share of the gravelly outcrops that give this district its name.  In addition, a proportion of ungrafted vines have been maintained in the vineyard, and the proprietors believe this to be an important factor in preserving quality.

Cheval Blanc is undoubtedly one of Bordeaux's greatest and unique wines.  For most of this century it has sat alone at the top of Saint-Emilion's hierarchy - representing the finest wine this appellation can produce.  (This situation has been altered slightly by the renaissance began at nearby Château Ausone in the mid 1970's - now Cheval Blanc has had to share the limelight.)  Sitting on the Pomerol border in the Saint-Emilion Graves sector with only a ditch separating its vineyards from those of the great Pomerol châteaux of L'Evangile and La Conseillante, Cheval Blanc has often been characterized as making a wine that is as much a Pomerol as it is a Saint-Emilion.  The distinctive choice of grape varieties used at Cheval Blanc, two-thirds Cabernet Franc and one-third Merlot, with a tiny parcel of old vines of Malbec, is highly unusual.  No other major chateau uses this much Cabernet Franc.  Cabernet Franc reaches its zenith in Cheval Blanc's gravelly, sandy, and clay soil that is underpinned by a bed of iron rock, producing an extremely rich, ripe, intense, viscous wine. 

Among the "Big Eight" of Bordeaux, Cheval Blanc probably has the broadest window of drinkability.  It is usually delicious when first bottled, and yet it has the ability in the top years to last and last.  None of the Médoc first-growths nor Haut-Brion, Ausone, or Pétrus can claim to have such flexibility.  According to Robert Parker, the world's foremost authority on Bordeaux wines, "only Haut-Brion comes closest to matching Cheval Blanc's early drinkability and precociousness along with the stuffing and overall balance and intensity to age for 20-30 years."  The style of wine produced at Cheval Blanc has no doubt contributed to its immense popularity.  Parker describes it thusly: "Dark ruby in color in the very good vintages, it is an opulently rich and fruity wine, full bodied, voluptuous, lush, and deceptively easy to drink when young.  The bouquet is especially distinctive.  At its best, Cheval Blanc is an even more fragrant wine than Margaux.  Scents of minerals, menthol, exotic spices, tobacco, and intense, as well as superripe, black fruits can overwhelm the taster.  Many tasters, fooled by its cunning show of precocious charm, falsely assume that it will not age well.  In the big, rich vintages, Cheval Blanc evolves exceptionally well...Cheval Blanc can produce a decadently exotic wine of unbelievable depth and richness."  David Peppercorn, one of England's foremost authorities on Bordeaux, has written: "It is indeed a stunning wine, not subtle, but winning admiration with its sheer beauty and animal vigor; it assails the palate in the way some of the French Impressionists assail the eye with the brilliance of their colors.  It is a quality only matched in Bordeaux by Pétrus."

The great age of Cheval Blanc came after the war.  It began badly, because half the 1945 crop, already much reduced in size, had to be pasteurized, due to volatile acidity.  But then came a wonderful run of vintages: 1947, one of the most celebrated Bordeaux made since the war, soon commanded record prices because everyone wanted to have it in their cellars.  To this day, the 1947 remains the greatest Bordeaux we have ever drunk - it has been very impressive on two recent occasions (once in 1993 and again in 1994). The 1948, overshadowed by its immediate predecessor, was robust and fine; 1949 was only a little behind the 1947, a great wine instead of a masterpiece. In a once in a lifetime vertical tasting of Cheval Blanc conducted in 1994 by the Hollywood Wine Society in Miami, Florida, we had an opportunity to sample 15 top vintages of Cheval Blanc from 1947 to 1990.  We were awestruck by the amazing 1950 (an unheralded vintage) and the awesome 1955 - both were fat, rich, and concentrated with plenty of life still ahead of them.  The 1964 and 1966 were also very impressive. Cheval Blanc was not a strong performer during the seventies - the 1970 and 1975 were disappointments considering the reputation of the vintage.  However, with the increasing attention to quality and detail provided by administrator Jacques Hébrard, the quality of this wine - beginning with the 1979 vintage - became more consistent.  Some critics feel that the three consecutive vintages of the early eighties - 1981, 1982, and 1983 - were the finest Cheval Blanc trilogy since the splendid wines of 1947, 1948, and 1949.  Recent vintages - 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2009 and 2010 are all outstanding.  

A bit about Chateau D'Yquem

The wines of Sauternes and the neighboring district of Barsac were, up until recently, called the "dinosaurs of Bordeaux."  This reference to the majestical creatures that once roamed and ruled the earth is somehow appropriate.  These luscious, decadently rich sweet wines are the world's most exotic and at one time were the world's most expensive and most desired.  After the Second World War, staggering costs and slackening demand threatened the vignerons with extinction of the prized nectar.  Then in the 1980's the pendulum at last begun to swing the other way; and beginning with the great 1983 vintage (the best since 1976 and 1967), there was a renewed interest and demand for this great wine.  This has sparked an unfortunate increase in prices, -The Wine Spectator reported in the fall of 1990 that wine merchants and collectors were lining up to pay as much as $230 a bottle for the first release of the 1986 Château d'Yquem.  The auction market for these wines also began to heat up - older, prized vintages of Château d'Yquem began to double in price.  In 1989 at Christie's first West Coast auction, a rare 1811 Château d'Yquem (from the famed comet vintage) sold for an astronomical $18,000!!

The fame of Sauternes reaches back at least to the time when Thomas Jefferson visited the area in 1785 and ordered a few cases of Château d'Yquem - in Jefferson's day d'Yquem was also the region's non-pareil Château.  When the great wines of Bordeaux were classified seventy years later, d'Yquem was so highly regarded that it was accorded the unique status of Grand Premier Cru - a higher classification than the great Médoc clarets like Lafite and Latour etc.  It is a little known fact that the wine Jefferson ordered was quite dry; in fact the first sweet wine from this district was not made until the 1847 harvest at d'Yquem.  However, it did not take long for these wines to achieve fame, for in that era sweet wines (Champagne was a sweet beverage then) were very fashionable.  D'Yquem's first sweet wine vintage gained tremendous notoriety when the Grand Duke Constantine of Russia paid the then staggering price of 20,000 gold francs for four barrels; ever since it has been one of the most expensive wines of the world.

The process by which these great wines come about is fascinating and one of the examples of how nature can play topsy-turvy tricks and make decay a very beneficial rather than a harmful phenomenon.  In the fall, under certain conditions, (misty mornings and sunny afternoons) a mold forms on the skin of the exceedingly ripe grapes that are left on the vines.  The mold's technical term is botrytis cinerea; the vignerons refer to it as the "noble mold".  It often envelopes a grape and feeds on it by sending spike-like tentacles through the skin.  It rapidly shrivels the grapes and leaves their skins mere pulp.  The remaining juice is extremely sweet, concentrated, and packed with glycerine.  The particular conditions for serious onset of the "noble mold" occur only several times in a decade; and often the mold attacks unevenly, so the vines have to be picked over several times.  (Picking is done as many as thirteen times at d'Yquem!)  Sometimes growers lose patience and pick before the mold takes hold (for fear of a rain-out); the resulting wine is sweet, but it does not have that concentration that results from the shrinkage of the grapes from the mold.  The great difficulty and expense of producing these wines in tandem with a great lack of demand after the Second World War discouraged many proprietors; during the post war period, d'Yquem stood almost alone in maintaining the great standards of the past.

The newly released 2011 vintage is another classic vintage for D’Yquem and for those that have children with this vintage there is no better wine to purchase to set aside for the future than Sauternes, at our annual D’Yquem vertical tasting last February we experienced the 1901 vintage of this famous first growth and this was not even a great vintage for the Chateau and the wine was still drinking nicely!!