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Aktuell zur VieVinum ist der aktuelle Guide zu Österreichs Weissweinen erschienen. Walter Tucek und Helmut O. Knall holten wieder eine internationale Jury nach Wien. Über 400 aktuelle und auch erhätliche Weine wurden verkostet, beschrieben und bewertet.

Neu, frisch, übersichtlich und informativ.

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Domaine Ponsot Proprietor Halts Sale of Fake Bottles

The wine-auction market faces more questions after 107 bottles of Burgundy prove fraudulent

Peter Hellman

Posted: Friday, May 16, 2008

Midway through Acker Merrall & Condit's April 25 wine auction, held at the Manhattan restaurant Cru, auctioneer and Acker president John Kapon paused the fast-paced action to make an unusual announcement: Twenty-two lots of red Burgundy, identified in the catalog as rarities from the prestigious Domaine Ponsot in Morey-St.-Denis and estimated to sell for as much as $603,000, were being withdrawn from the sale "at the request of the domaine and with the consent of the consignor."

"I guess there were a couple of inconsistencies there, so we had to pull them," Kapon added. Inconsistencies may have been an understatement. According to Laurent Ponsot, the fourth-generation proprietor of the domaine, who had contacted Kapon after hearing about the sale, the wines were flat-out fakes—some of the wines were from vintages that the domaine never bottled.

The withdrawal of the purported Ponsot wines, all from the grand cru vineyards of Clos de la Roche and Clos St.-Denis, capped off a difficult few days for Acker, which last year boasted $59.86 million in sales, the highest of any American auction house. Two days before the auction, energy executive and wine collector William Koch filed a lawsuit against the firm, accusing it of selling him counterfeit wines in 2005 and 2006.

The withdrawal of Ponsot lots was just the latest sign that the problem of counterfeit wines is growing. As trophy wine prices have climbed to levels unimaginable a decade ago, auction houses, high-end retailers, collectors and their consultants have gone on high alert as skillful fakes of the priciest wines have infiltrated their rarified world. Any offering of a desirable vintage of Château Pétrus, for example, is now instantly suspect unless it has ironclad provenance.

But the best fakes are difficult to detect. Experts at Christie's, for example, recently debated for five months before deciding that three cases of Pétrus 1982 were bogus. "Even we had different opinions among us," said Richard Brierley, wine specialist at Christie's.

Correctly labeled bottles of Ponsot's Clos de la Roche 1990.

Ponsot's wines are certainly valuable—Christie's recently sold a bottle of the Clos de la Roche 1934 for $22,800. The withdrawn wines look real, but Laurent Ponsot is adamant that they cannot be. Six of the lots were various vintages of Clos St-Denis, ranging from 1945 (a single bottle estimated at $7,000 to $9,000) to 1971 (a full case estimated at $30,000 to $50,000). The problem, Ponsot said during an interview, is that, "My father, Jean-Marie, didn't begin to produce our Clos St-Denis until 1982. So how could the bottles say 1945, 1949, 1959, 1962, 1966 and 1971?"

Ponsot also pointed to a full-page photo in Acker's catalog of a quartet of Clos de la Roche bottles bearing the Domaine Ponsot label, including a 1929 (estimated at $14,000 to $19,000). "My grandfather, Hippolyte, would have made that wine," he said. "But he did not begin estate bottling until 1934. So a Clos de la Roche from 1929 from our domaine is impossible." The fact that Ponsot began estate bottling in 1934 is even stated in the catalog, in a history of the producer on the page opposite the photo.

Looking at the photos of the other lots, Ponsot was able to point out problems in all the bottles. One photo shows a case of 1962 Clos de la Roche bottles, all carrying a black and gold neck label saying "Reserve Nicolas," indicating that they had been selected and sold by France's largest wine retailing chain. But, said Ponsot, "We never sold any of our wine to Nicolas." As for the lumpy red wax caps on the 1962s, Ponsot said, "We never used that bloody wax," opting instead for smooth lead foil wrappers. Yet another inconsistency: All bottles in the catalog photos carry a shield-shaped shoulder vintage label embellished with a vine-leaf motif. But such labels were never used by the domaine, according to Ponsot. "My grandfather hand-stamped the old labels," he said. "In the evening, back when there was no television, he'd sit by the fireplace and sign the bottles by hand."

The Ponsot wines were among 71 lots from a trio of acclaimed producers (the others were Domaine Armand Rousseau and Domaine Georges Roumier), all consigned from what the catalog simply called "The Cellar." It was the sole source of a two-day Acker auction in October 2006 that grossed a record $24.7 million. Though unnamed in the catalog, the consignor was a young, Los Angeles-based collector named Rudy Kurniawan. He is "one of the biggest collectors on the planet," according to Kapon, who wrote in the catalog for the April 25 sale: "I can safely say that when it comes to old Roumier, old Rousseau, and old Ponsot, there is one place to go: 'THE' Cellar."

Not so safely, as it turned out. The first hint of trouble came a few days before the sale, Kapon said in an interview, when a client, Doug Barzelay, who was in communication with Ponsot, called to ask Kapon for additional photos and indicated that he thought there was a problem. "I then talked to Ponsot directly," Kapon said. "Based on that conversation, I decided to pull all the wines."

As Kapon announced that the Ponsot wines had been withdrawn to a packed house on the evening of the sale, one would-be bidder cursed loudly. Then the sale rolled on. In another corner, a slender man, his long hair bound in a ponytail, sat quietly—Ponsot himself. He had already planned to travel to the U.S. for some meetings, but changed his schedule to come a day early. "I wanted to be there to see for myself that those wines were not sold," he said. "I will not leave things as they are. I could have said nothing, and the Ponsot image would have still been big. But I have given my life to authenticity of all the appellations we have in Burgundy. I am not a rich man, but I have consulted with a lawyer and I will spend my money looking for the people who did this."

Kurniawan was also at Cru that evening. Like Ponsot, he hadn't been planning to attend, but decided to be on hand after learning that his wines had been withdrawn. Asked after the sale who he had acquired the wines from, Kurniawan, looking distressed, responded only, "We try our best to get it right, but it's Burgundy, and sometimes shit happens."

While that auction is history, troubling questions hang over the withdrawn lots which, at Ponsot's request, rest untouched in Acker's warehouse. In effect, they are being treated as evidence. The most immediate question: Where did Kurniawan acquire these wines? In a phone interview 10 days after the auction, he said, "I have a pretty good idea of where I bought them from, and I will be working directly with Laurent. We want to get to the bottom on this. My goal is that I just want the market to get healthy."

Auction houses are expected to do their own due diligence before offering wines of high value. In the case of the Kurniawan consignment, it appears that Kapon did not ask for evidence of provenance, relying instead on the track record of Kurniawan's wines and on his own extensive personal tastings of the wines with the owner and other collectors. All auctioneers check bottles for signs of authenticity, even cutting the foils so they can see the brandings on the corks. But Kapon also asks clients to pull certain bottles for them to taste together, often at marathon dinners where a dozen or more old bottles are consumed.

"One of the ways we've been able to weed out questionable bottles is to taste and taste again with some of our biggest clients," said Kapon. "We've religiously tasted the megawines that we've offered." Of the 22 Ponsot lots in the April 25 sale, the catalog entries of eight included detailed, laudatory tasting notes by both Kapon and critic Allen Meadows—aka "Burghound," author of a newsletter devoted to Burgundy—who attended dinners where Kurniawan poured the wines for Kapon. Meadows called the Clos de la Roche 1964 "remarkably elegant, and remarkably pure for a '64 … this is a really lovely effort and that is the real deal."

According to Brian Orcutt, a New York-based wine consultant to wealthy collectors, Kapon's reliance on tasting is valid. "You can have discrepancies in labeling that don't make the wine fraudulent, so tasting the wine is the last step you can take. John has used that tactic. He'll tell you, 'I can look at the wine all day long, but what matters is the taste of the wine.' What he's done is more extreme than at other auction houses, because his test of authenticity is to destroy the wine."

Just what wine is in the Ponsot bottles, which Kapon now says are "tremendous fakes at the highest level"? Clever counterfeiters make sure that the wine in the bottle does not taste incorrect. Ponsot himself said, "I believe that whoever did this actually found old bottles of wine from Morey St-Denis, maybe even from Clos de la Roche or Clos St-Denis. But it wasn't ours."

Kapon says that the "Faux Ponsot" affair has sobered him. "The auction market is one of intense labor," he said. "Next fall, we might have to slow down and tighten up to ensure that some of these old treasures are what they're supposed to be. We'll think long and hard about it over the summer." At Christie's, any lot of wine valued at $20,000 or more must now be subjected to multiple inspections by experts. All such steps are part of an effort to instill confidence in the now-global community of collectors that fake wine will not reach the selling floor. As Geoffroy Troy, a New York wine merchant, said, "We're like a small village all drinking from the same well. If it's poisoned, we'll all suffer."

Most threatened by the false wines, however, may be conscientious growers like Ponsot. "There's a geological universe under our soil that makes the character of our wines," he said. "I will not see it abused."

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May 16, 2008
Adam Lechmere

Robert Mondavi, a colossus of the Californian – and world – wine industry, has died aged 94.

Mondavi, the 'Father of Napa' and Decanter Man of the Year 1989, dominated California winemaking for decades. He was credited with – almost singlehandedly – making Napa the force it is in the global wine world.

He died at 3am today, 16 May, in hospital in Napa.

Sarah Kemp, publishing director of Decanter said, 'Robert Mondavi holds a unique position in the history of wine. This extraordinary man, through his vision, relentless energy and gritty determination changed the way consumers thought about wine. By putting California wine on the map he ensured the world knew that some of the worlds great wines could be made outside Europe, at the time a revoluntary concept He was deservably one of the wine legends of our time.'

A descendant of feudal Italian peasants – 'My grandparents were sharecroppers', he would tell interviewers – he forged lasting alliances with the great aristocratic wine families of Europe.

In 1979 he met Baron Philippe de Rothschild at Chateau Mouton Rothschild in Bordeaux. As he liked to recount it, Mondavi was shown into the baronial bedchamber where the the Baron sat in state, a brace of dogs at the foot of the bed.

That meeting resulted in Opus One – a wine that still enthralls vintners and collectors alike.

In 1995 he set up Luce della Vite in Tuscany with the Frescobaldi family, and in 2002, the Robert Mondavi Corporation bought Tenuta dell'Ornellaia from Ludovico Antinori and promptly sold 50% to Frescobaldi.

That Mondavi was an extraordinarily powerful figure – the word 'colossus' is no exaggeration – is not in doubt. As one of his senior executives told decanter.com a few years ago, 'In his 90s, Bob's got more balls than any man half his age.'

Indeed, in 2004 his son Michael Mondavi, vice-chairman of the corporation, took an extended sabbatical, citing his father's overwhelming 'presence' (Mondavi senior, 91, was chairman emeritus) as his reason for stepping out. His winemaker brother Tim had already taken the same route a year earlier.

Into his 90s Mondavi would describe his sons – influential executives running huge departments of the corporation – as 'my boys.'

It is up to history to decide how acute a businessman he really was. In 1993, in search of yet more growth, the Robert Mondavi Corporation was floated and became a public company.

In the eyes of many, the company never quite recovered, despite partnerships with the Frescobaldis, the Chadwicks if Vina Errazuriz in Chile and Rosemount in Australia.

By 2000 the Mondavi Corporation was in financial difficulties, and members of the board – including Michael and Tim – were at loggerheads. Late in 2004, Constellation Brands bought the entire company, with Mondavi staying on as figurehead.

News of Mondavi's death has spread around the world. Ted Baseler, president and chief executive officer of Ste Michelle Wine Estates, near Seattle, said, 'Long before Washington State became recognized as the great wine region it is today, Bob tasted our wines and gave us detailed, positive feedback. When Bob Mondavi said your wines were good, people took notice.'

In New York, Kevin Zraly, the founder of Windows on the World Wine School, said, 'Robert Mondavi was a Renaissance man, not only of wine but through his passion for food, music and art. When you talked with him, it was always about quality. He forged the path for American wines, and that legacy will remain.'

Frederick Frank, perhaps New York State's top vintner, said: 'We appreciated Robert Mondavi for being inclusive and respecting other American wine regions' and for promoting them. Frank, president of Dr. Konstantin Frank's Vinifera Wine Cellars, in the Finger Lakes, is the grandson of the founder of this New York winery and the son of the late Willie Frank, who 'knew and respected Mondavi' and who was sometimes called 'the Robert Mondavi of the East.'

Later in life Mondavi devoted himself to philanthropy and the arts. He donated millions of dollars to the University of California at Davis, and founded the the art and wine centre Copia in Napa town.

He was also reconciled with his brother Peter, with whom he ran the Charles Krug winery until a memorable fist fight in 1966 – over the purchase of a mink coat for a visit to the Kennedy White House – which led to a 40-year estrangement and the foundation of Robert Mondavi Winery. The whole episode is detailed in his 2000 biography, Harvests of Joy.

At once a sophisticated man and a peasant, as one senior wine industry figure described him, he was respected, loved - and sometimes feared - by many. He leaves his wife Margrit, sons Michael and Tim and daughter Marcia, and many grandchildren.
quelle: www.decanter.com

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May 9, 2008

Adam Lechmere

Robert Parker has released his scores for the first tastings of the just-bottled 2005 Bordeaux – with another broadside at high prices from the 'museum pieces' that are the great wines.

In his journal the Wine Advocate, and on erobertparker.com, the influential American critic leaves us in no doubt as to how good he considers the vintage – 'the greatest…produced during my 30-year career'.

But he makes it clear where his loyalties lie: 'The real values are not found in the first growths or many of the classified growths' but in what he calls 'Bordeaux's big little wines.'

There are only two 100-point wines – Ausone and L'Eglise Clinet - but it should be remembered that in April 2006 potential 100-pointers 'weren't scattered like confetti', as decanter.com noted at the time.

Then, there were only eight properties with a potential 100 points: Haut-Brion, Margaux and Latour, Pavie, Petrus, Ausone, Pavie Decesse and Pape Clement.

But now none of the first growths gets past 98. That is Margaux's score (in barrel it was 'a candidate for 50+ years of evolution') and the 'colossal' Latour – 'a modern classic' – gets 96.

Of the rest, Haut Brion, Angelus, Pavie and Pape Clement get 98, while Lafite, Mouton, Petrus and Pavie Decesse get 96.

While the great wines are lavishly praised, the critic offers a general rebuke.

'The top end offerings from the most renowned appellations and terroirs are likely to become primarily museum pieces given their already astonishing price climbs.'

Parker reserves his highest praise for the 'unheralded, less prestigious' terroirs.

'These are some of the finest wine bargains of the world, and quality for the unheralded, less-prestigious terroirs continues to merit significant consumer support.'

The relative lack of high scores (the difference between 100 points and 98 points, in the Parker universe, can mean hundreds of thousands of pounds in sales) has caused a furore in the wine trade.

Stephen Browett at Farr Vintners said it was 'a political statement':

'Parker moves the market. I'm sure he knows this. So perhaps he feels he has a responsibility and is sending a message to the chateaux.'

Gary Boom at Bordeaux Index said the same. 'Just two points – ie the difference between 98 and 100 – can double the price of the wine. So he is making a statement by not giving the first growths the most points.'

And at Berry Bros, wine director Simon Staples – who had predicted at least 15 wines with 100 points - said he was 'flabbergasted' at a 'totally political comment'.

In New York, Chris Adams, Sherry-Lehmann's executive vice president, said, 'The absence of more than two 100-point wines was surprising, but reading his notes on the other very highly rated wines - like Margaux and Haut-Brion - captures nicely his enthusiasm for this special vintage. As for his focus on the smaller chateaux as great values, we couldn't agree more.'

In Bordeaux, Laurent Ehrmann of negociants Barrieres Freres said, 'if this is an attempt to control the market then it's a bit late: the 05s have been out there for 36 months now and they have an economic life of their own.'

Another senior figure in the industry said, 'it is obviously to do with prices. Parker is trying to tame the market.'

At the time of going to press it has not been possible to contact the major Bordeaux chateaux.

additional reporting by Howard G Goldberg in New York

quelle: www.decanter.com

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Maggie Rosen

American wine critic Robert Parker has released his 2007 Bordeaux en primeur scores, and they aren't pretty. He has awarded only three wines up to 100 points - all of them white; among the reds, only four achieved up to a potential 95.

Chateaux Pape Clement Blanc and Haut-Brion Blanc both earned 96-100, while Climens (tasted by Neal Martin) was awarded 98-100. The top possible mark for the any first growth was 94 - with Margaux earning 92-94; Haut-Brion, 91-94; and Mouton-Rothschild,90-94. Chateaux Lafite-Rothschild and Latour both earned 90-93.

Among the rest of the reds tasted were precious few bright spots.

Only Bellevue Mondotte earned 94-97, while just two achieved up to 95 - Leoville Las Cases (92-95) and Parker's beloved Pavie (93-95). Indeed, only a dozen or so were awarded up to 94, including Ausone (91-94) and La Mission Haut Brion (90-94).

Parker's prognosis for whtles was better, with Laville-Haut-Brion Blanc earning 93-96, Smith-Haut-Lafitte Blanc 94-96 and a handful more achieving up to 94.

He dubbed Sauternes a 'silver lining' to the vintage's cloud, with taster Neal Martin awarding Chateau Climens 98-100; Yquem, 96-98; and Doisy Daene l'Extravagant, 97-98. Several more Sauternes - as well as dry whites - hover in the mid-90s.

Notably, however, Parker has not posted any individual tasting notes. He chose instead to summarise his thoughts per region and highlight a handful of properties. Prompting several UK merchants to suggest that he was being dismissive of the entire vintage.

'What is he saying,' said Simon Staples of Berry Brothers, 'that they are all rubbish? I've been campaigning for years for him to just post tasting notes, they are much more meaningful and the points just confuse people.'

Concluding that the vintage is not as poor as 1992, Parker calls it an 'improved, modern-day version of 1997'. The best he can say is that the top wines are 'flattering' and 'fruit-forward' wines - gluggable even as barrel samples - that most consumers will love, though they lack long-term ageing potential. He says what's on everyone's mind, posing the rhetorical question, who will buy and at what price?

In first growth territory of Pauillac, he concedes to top growers' rigorous selection, calling the wines, overall, 'flattering, charming, and easy to taste.'

He offers kudos to Grand-Puy-Lacoste (89-91), Duhart-Milon-Rothschild (86-88), Batailley (87-89) and the 'brilliant' Pontet-Canet (91-94) for being 'good value'. He also praises Roederer-Deutz - the new owners of Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande (88-90) - for improving the quality.

Of the St Estephe properties, only Cos d'Estournel and Montrose topped 90 points, achieving 90-93 and 89-92, respectively. Parker singles out Lafon-Rochet (85-87) - saying that despite a paint job that makes it stand out like a 'brothel' – the wine is 'top-notch, going from strength to strength.'

Indeed, by the time he gets to St Emilion, Parker appears to have run out of energy altogether for the 2007s. While singing the region's praises in general and mentioning the positive influence of the garagistes, he doesn't highlight a single 2007.

Not surprisingly, many UK merchants are bearish on the vintage and say price will be the only factor in a buying decision.

'These scores are even lower than peoples' worst expectations,' said Gary Boom of Bordeaux Index.

'In fact they're shocking, really. Lafite and Latour [both 90-93] have been low for years. To achieve even a fair price in the market, the chateaux would have to come down at least 35% to get UK merchants to offer them, and that's highly, highly unlikely. Demand is likely to be weak indeed.'

The Friday before UK bank holiday Monday was far from disappointing, however, as many merchants spent the day working the phones, flogging earlier vintages - notably the 2005s - to an eager clientele.

Boom said he had made £2m ($3.95m) before 10am.

Parker's other ratings include: Angelus (90-93), Cheval Blanc (88-91), L'Eglise Clinet (91-94), Leoville-Barton (87-90), Palmer (91-93), Petrus (90-93), Le Pin (91-93), Rauzan-Segla (89-91) and Vieux Chateau Certan (89-91).

quelle: www.decanter.com

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Maggie Rosen

Berenice Lurton has been elected the new president of the Sauternes and Barsac Crus Classes, it was announced today.

Lurton, who owns first growth Sauternes chateau Climens, succeeds Nancy de Bournazel of Chateau de Malle who held the post for eight years.

Appointed for three years, Lurton said the group's strategy would be to change the common perception of the region's wines. The group aims to attract younger drinkers and demonstrate its wines' versatility.

'The image of our wines is a bit fusty,' she told decanter.com. 'We want to show they can be drunk in all different circumstances - as aperitifs, with dishes, especially exotic ones.'

She said the appellation would look to take the sweet wines of Sauternes and Barsac beyond professional wine journalists 'to food and lifestyle writers, as well as directly to consumers.'

She pointed to the forthcoming Vinexpo Asia-Pacific in Hong-Kong as a major focus of the group this year.

'We'll be doing things a bit differently this time,' she said. 'Including a masterclass, and food and wine matching activities for consumers.'

quelle: www.decanter.com

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Howard G Goldberg in New York

Multimillionaire collector William Koch has broadened his legal attacks in the 'Thomas Jefferson bottles' case.

Koch filed a consumer-fraud lawsuit on 28 March against the Chicago Wine Company, an auction house and retailer, and the Julienne Importing Company, a Chicago importer and distributor.

In a separate 27 March action, Koch asked federal court in Manhattan to hold the German collector Hardy Rodenstock in default.

Koch's lawyers refiled his dismissed 'Jefferson bottles' fraud suit against Rodenstock in February.

Though notified of the refiling, Rodenstock did not reply to the new complaint.

In the Illinois suit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, Koch alleges he was victimized by 'misrepresentations and dealings in counterfeit wine.'

'Most notably,' Koch said, he spent US$100,000 for a bottle that 'Chicago Wine represented to be a 1787 Branne-Mouton [the original name of Mouton-Rothschild] formerly owned by Thomas Jefferson.'

Koch asserts that the company 'knew or should have known that there were considerable doubts as to the bottle's authenticity.'

He said 'a central finding' in his investigation into the authenticity of the bottles was that 'Th.J.' initials 'and other markings' on the four bottles 'were engraved by an electric power tool or tools with a flexible shaft that did not exist in the 1700's.

Rodenstock is named as the source of Chicago Wine's 'Jefferson' bottle and three other 'Jefferson' bottles Koch bought for about $500,000 in total.

Koch alleges that Chicago Wine, which does business in London under the name International Wine Auctions, sold him 'at least 14 bottles of other counterfeit or likely counterfeit wines.'

He adds, 'Of these at least nine were imported by Julienne.'

He discovered this situation in 2007, he said, after hiring an expert to examine wines Chicago Wine sold him.

The 'Jefferson' bottle aside, Koch says he paid 'over US$50,000 for counterfeit wines bought from Chicago Wine, including over US$43,000 for bottles imported by Julienne.'

They include two bottles of supposedly 1928 Château Margaux, two of 1924 Lafite-Rothschild, an 1848 Lafite, an 1864 Lafite and a 1945 Pétrus.

Koch alleges that International sold him a fraudulent jeroboam of 1970 Pétrus.

Koch also alleges that Julienne imported five dubious bottles that Farr Vintners in London sold him. Farr, not a defendant in the case, was not available for comment. Neither Devin Warner, Chicago Wine's president, nor James Ricker, Julienne's owner, could be reached by phone for comment.

quelle: www.decanter.com

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In the first major changes to the Champagne region for 80 years, 40 new champagne growing areas were unanimously approved last night while two will be struck off.

Significant increases to champagne volumes are not expected until 2021, but land prices will change overnight.

'If your vines fall on the wrong side of the divide, they will be worth €5,000 a hectare,' Gilles Flutet of L'Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) told French news agency AFP earlier this month.'

'On the other side they will be worth €1m.'

Following last night's decision by the National Committee of INAO, the production zone where grapes can be grown will increase from 319 communes to 357, said Yves Benard, president of the INAO committee on wines and eaux de vie.

Areas in which Champagne can be made and matured will also increase from to 675 communes, from 634.

The names of the new communes will be published over the next 15 days in INAO's official journal.

An enquiry process will follow INAO's announcement, allowing for any objections or recommendations to be reviewed. Both are expected to conclude by the beginning of 2009, but actual planting is not expected to take place until 2015.

As vines take three years to produce grapes and another three years are needed for bottles to mature, the first effects on volumes will not be seen until 2021.

The approval of new producing areas, seen as a response to increasing demand for Champagne, is likely to be viewed as contentious by other producers of sparkling wine, who have long been told that real Champagne can only be made in the area laid out by the 1927 laws.

INAO said the demand for a revision of the Champagne growing area dates back to 2003, and came from the Syndicat Général des Vignerons de Champagne, driven by the need for greater fairness in dealing with demands for revisions to the existing area.

The current growing area of 33,500ha was defined in 1908. A definitive law was passed in 1927, based on local winemaking traditions. This was further backed up by technical criteria laid down by INAO in 1984.

A team of five people were chosen to select the new areas - a geologist, a climatologist, a vine technician and a plant expert.
quelle: www.decanter.com

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Exports of Champagne grew for the seventh year in succession - and reached a record high last year.

Total export shipments of Champagne grew by 7.3% in 2007 to reach a new all time record of 150.9m bottles, compared to 140.7m bottles in 2006. This is the seventh consecutive year that exports have grown.

Worldwide shipments - which include France - were up 5.3% to a new absolute record of 338.7m bottles, finally surpassing the 'false' pre-millennium shipment level of 327m bottles recorded in 1999.

There were many more shipments than sales in 1999. In the following year – 2000 – this led to the only dip in shipments seen in the past 14 years.

Despite worries of a slowdown in sales, growth in the UK was stronger than in 2006, rising 5.9% to 38.7m bottles, also a new record - the largest volume growth among the top ten markets.

Shipments to China rose 30.4% - but that was still only just over half a million (656,208) bottles.

In terms of percentage growth the biggest increase among the top ten markets came from Spain, up 27.5% to 4.6m bottles, following a 26.7% jump in 2006.

In general, the traditional developed European markets performed better than markets outside Europe.

Europe was up 9% overall, while markets outside Europe increased by an average of 4.7%.

The exception was Japan, which continued its recent strong growth.

Exports there rose by 14.4% to 9.2m bottles, although this is slower rate of increase than the 34.9% achieved in 2006.

Japan maintains its position in terms of volume as the sixth most important market, closing the gap on Belgium.

In terms of value, Japan is already the fourth most important export market ahead of Belgium and Germany.

Among the top ten markets only the USA showed a decline, down 6.2% to 21.7m bottles.
quelle: www.decanter.com

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Cru Bourgeois revived
February 26, 2008 - Jane Anson in Bordeaux

The Cru Bourgeois classification is alive and well and will be reintroduced in 2009, it was agreed at a meeting last week.

The Cru Bourgeois Alliance has moved forward with its plans to reintroduce the classification following a group meeting held with producers at the end of last week.

The meeting, held at Haut-Medoc chateau Clement Pichon, established the format for a new Alliance, enabling members to label their estates as Cru Bourgeois.

Following an opt-in vote, 275 chateaux voted to be in the new Alliance - 180 of them were part of the now defunct 2003 ranking. There were also 95 new entrants. The overall membership is likely to increase as Alliance membership is open to all properties in the Medoc, when and if they decide to join.

Thierry Gardinier remains president of the Alliance, but several key things have changed.

Properties classified as Cru Bourgeois will have to adhere to production rules and independent quality testing in order to remain in the classification. Although the production rules are yet to be finalised, proposals will govern, among other things, barrel and vat capacity, and a guarantee of 18 months ageing in barrel.

One anonymous property owner in St-Estephe said that for a 25ha (hectare) property, the proposals would mean investment in stainless steel vats able to contain an extra 1,000hl (hectolitres) of wine before adherence is due to be checked in September 2008. The new vats would cost around €150,000 (£113,000, US$222,000). If properties choose to increase barrel capacity, the cost will be far higher.

However, according to insiders there was a sense of reconciliation at the meeting with Denis Hecquet, who in 2003 was driving force behind the disgruntled producers dropped from the appellation, sitting alongside Gardinier throughout proceedings.

'The two Medoc families that were once split are now back together,' said Gardinier.
There will be no Cru Bourgeois Superieur or Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel at this stage. Gardinier said the idea is to create a consensus and 'build from there'.

The audits will be held by an external agency in September 2008. and by January 2009 wine samples will be submitted for the right to put Cru Bourgeois on the label.
Properties will not know if they can call themselves Cru Bourgeois until just before bottling the 2007 vintage in 2009.

'We hope to have validation from the French authorities by July of this year. But this is a huge step forward,' Frederique de Lamothe, director of the Alliance, told quelle: www.decanter.com.

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Howard G Goldberg in New York

A lawsuit involving bottles that came from Hardy Rodenstock, the collector at the centre of the Jefferson bottles case, has been settled out of court.

Massachusetts collector Russell H Frye brought the fraud lawsuit in 2006 against Petaluma, California merchant The Wine Library.

He decided to settle out of court because of the potentially high cost involved in going to trial. He declined to discuss the terms of the settlement.

Frye alleged that many bottles he bought from The Wine Library were counterfeit or questionable. The merchant had informed him that some of the bottles 'were ultimately obtained from Hardy Rodenstock.'

Rodenstock is the German dealer who, as the source of the so-called Thomas Jefferson bottles, is being sued for fraud in New York City by Florida collector William I Koch.

Frye told decanter.com that he bought wine from The Wine Library over the course of several years, starting in the late 1990s.

He said that when he decided to sell off part of his collection, Sotheby's refused to auction many of the bottles he had purchased from The Wine Library.

The cache of allegedly fraudulent wines included an 1811 Lafite, a magnum of 1870 Lafite, three bottles of 1847 d'Yquem and two magnums of 1921 Pétrus.

Frye hired an outside expert with over 20 years of experience evaluating European cellars to examine the bottles.

'His opinion was that the majority of the bottles at issue were counterfeit,' he said.

Frye said, 'I approached The Wine Library after receiving the bad news. Based on [their] response I felt that I had no choice but to sue. The Wine Library denied any liability and offered a contrary opinion on the authenticity of the bottles from one of their best customers.'

He added, 'Although I would have preferred to take the case to trial I reached the point in the litigation where I believed that spending additional money on legal fees would not significantly improve the outcome, so I chose to settle the lawsuit.'

The sale in question was in May 2006, when Aulden Cellars/Sotheby's in New York City sold what it billed as 'The Magnificent Cellar of Russell H Frye' for US$7,832,755.

'This was the second highest wine total ever for Sotheby's, and still is,' Sotheby's said today.

Frye said he lost several million dollars when Sotheby's declined to offer the dubious bottles.

Frye recently established wineauthentication.com, which bills itself as 'The first website dedicated to helping the wine industry fight the war on counterfeiting.'

quelle: www.decanter.com

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Two communes in Champagne look set to be removed from the Champagne appellation next month, decanter.com has learned.

According to the regional wine trade body (CIVC), Germaine and Orbais l'Abbaye are being considered for removal by the French national appellations institution (INAO).

The move is in sharp contrast to earlier reports regarding plans to add 40 new communes to cater for growing international demand. The possible addition of the new communes is part of a wider review in the two villages are being punished for failure to comply with regulations.

Although an official announcement is yet to be made, Daniel Lorson, communications director of the CIVC told decanter.com that regulators will hear that the two communes do not comply with all of the appellation's 33 quality criteria.

If the Paris-based INAO supports the proposal, the communes could face banishment from the Champagne appellation. This would set land prices in the a areas plummeting, and potentially leave some winemakers in short supply.

A hectare of grape-growing land within the appellation costs at least two hundred times more than neighbouring farmland.

Vranken-Pommery Monopole sources part of its grapes from Orbais l'Abbaye, while Moet Chandon has extensive plantings in Germaine.

However, any changes would take several years to take effect and the proposal, if approved by the INAO, will be followed by a year-long public consultation.

If the two communes are removed from the appellation, both would likely grow vines until 2020, Lorson said.

The INAO began a review of the Champagne classification two years ago at the request of the region winemakers' union (SGV).
quelle: www.decanter.com

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hier die vollständige pressemitteilung.

Angehängte Dateien: kellereiterlanundandrian_international.doc (30 kb)

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Termin: Mittwoch, 16. April 2008
Ort:        Lindenhofkeller in Zürich
Zeit:      18.00 Uhr

Kosten: CHF 1'500.-

Angehängte Dateien: 1_thehistoryguiraud.pdf (53 kb)

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Sophie Kevany in Burgundy

The Hospices de Beaune, the world's oldest charity wine auction, made a record €4.29m at the weekend – 27% more than last year, and for less wine.

The success of the auction – which has been held every year in Burgundy since 1859 - was despite French train strikes, doubts about the 2007 vintage quality and fears of overpricing.

The auction took place over the weekend, 17 and 18 November.

UK buyer James Rackham of Emporia Brands, who bought two barrels - a Volnay premier cru for €4,200 and a Meursault for €7,000 – said prices were up overall for the grand crus.

'You could see the bids coming in from three directions, the salesroom, the phone lines and the internet, but there were still some good values to be had,' he added.

The higher prices paid at this year's auction, particularly for the reds which were up 38% in value, are a reflection of growing international demand for red Burgundy, said Anthony Hanson, Christie's international wine consultant.

Another factor was the high quality of the vintage, despite weather-related mildew and rot outbreaks which reduced harvest volumes by up to 30%.

Held annually in Beaune and now in its 147th year, the auction sells Burgundy by the barrel from vineyards owned by the local Hospice, an ancient charitable hospital. Each barrel, locally known as a 'pièce', holds 228 litres or 288 bottles of wine.

The bulk of the auction proceeds are used to maintain hospice and hospital facilities, but every year the sale of one barrel – known as the President's Barrel – is used to help a range of other French charities.

This year the selected barrel, a Beaune premier cru, was bought for €65,000 by David Murray. One of Scotland's richest men, Murray - who bought a Burgundy vineyard, Domaine Jessiaume, in November last year - is also chairman of Rangers football team.

He got a bargain compared to the €200,000 paid last year by Jacques Rouvory, director of Belvedere a French wine and spirits distribution company.

A total of 607 barrels were sold this year, compared to last year's 680 barrels, which went for a total of €3.8m.

Buyers were able to bid over the internet for the first time this year. Hanson said there was 'sustained interest from the web' throughout the sale. The first Hospices de Beaune barrel sold over the web was a Pommard premier cru that went for €4,500.

quelle: www.decanter.com

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Top UK wine writer Hugh Johnson has claimed that wine vintages do not really matter any more.

Speaking to UK broadsheet the Times, the veteran taster said that numerous techniques had been developed by wine growers to ensure that their crops are no longer ruined by bad weather or diseases. He claims that any year is now a good one for drinkers.

Johnson's statement, displayed in his 2008 Pocket Wine Book, is likely to divide opinions in the wine industry, especially in the sale houses. The writer railed against what he sees as wine snobbery.

'The reasons people buy a particular wine are complex but have a lot to do with snobbery,' he said. 'If you sold a non-vintage Bordeaux nobody would buy it. It would be just as good, but it would not have the romance and interest.'

Other wine writers, including Spanish expert John Radford, agreed.

'There have been so many wonders in research and we know so much that there are never going to be vintages of the appalling quality we witnessed after the washouts in France 1965 and 1968,' said Radford.

Members of the wine trade were more sceptical of Johnson's views, however, saying that climate contiditions in the year still play a large part in the wine.

'Winemakers may have all this technology, but great vintages are made in the deckchair when Mother Nature shines and they don't have to do anything,' said Stephen Williams, managing director of the Antique Wine Company in London.
quelle: www.decanter.com

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Krug will launch its first ever blancs de noirs, Clos d'Ambonnay - also its first new Champagne since introducing Krug Rosé in 1983.

Next April, Krug will release 3,000 bottles of 1995 Clos d'Ambonnay, made entirely of Pinot Noir harvested from a tiny (0.625 hectare) walled vineyard.

While press reports have indicated a price tag of US$3,000 (£1,451.50) a bottle, Krug's UK spokesperson Patricia Parnell declined to speculate on the cost.

Krug's other single estate Champagne - Clos de Mesnil – is made only in exceptional vintages, and the plan is to do the same with Clos d'Ambonnay.

Parnell told decanter.com that the company had bought the Clos d'Ambonnay vineyard in 1984, and has been adding the wine from vintages prior to the 1995 into its Grande Cuvée – as it does with unbottled Clos de Mesnil.

'This may be their best-kept secret,' she said.

'You could say there's a drop of Clos de Mesnil and Clos d'Ambonnay in every bottle of Grande Cuvée.'

The wine is fermented in small casks at the vineyard itself, and then transferred to Reims where it is bottled the spring following the vintage, and then aged. Bottles will be packaged individually for sale.
quelle: www.decanter.com

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The 2007 harvest in Champagne is set to result in the largest volume of wine ever produced in the appellation.

If current figures are correct, this year will beat the record level of 375m bottles made from the bumper 2004 crop by over 13m bottles.

Although the expected average yield of 14,000 kilos per hectare (ha) will not better the highest yield levels achieved in 1982 and 1983, the total amount of productive vineyard in Champagne has risen 38%. Plantings in the region have increased every year since the early eighties.

Had the maximum yield of 15,500kg/ha been achieved, production would have surpassed 430m bottles. A poor summer, however, has affected the quantity of the black-skinned grapes Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.

Hail also hit some areas earlier in the year and in those badly affected volumes are as low as 8,000kg/ha.

The 2007 harvest is the first to have the new maximum yields of 15,500kg/ha in place. Agreed by the Institut Nationale d'Appellations d'Origine (INAO), this new limit will run for an experimental period of five harvests from 2007 to 2011.

Although initially 340m bottles will be produced with the base yield set at 12,400kg/ha, vineyard owners have the option of producing a further 3,100kg/ha, with the aim of using this surplus to increase their reserves.

Kept as still wine, the reserve is to be used in case of a drop in production due to a poor harvest or if demand continues to increase.

The four highest yielding harvests in Champagne

Source: Table compiled by Giles Fallowfield using CIVC statistics
quelle: www.decanter.com

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Hanna Agostini, Robert Parker's one-time representative in Bordeaux, is publishing an unauthorised – and by all accounts highly inflammatory – biography of the world-famous critic.

Publicity for Robert Parker: Anatomie d'un Mythe, due out in French on October 25 from Editions Scali, describes it as 'the antithesis of an authorised biography'.

Interviewing Agostini on the book, local Bordeaux newspaper Sud Ouest refers to alleged 'errors in Parker's prose' as detailed by the biography.

News of the book has already ignited passions on the bulletin board of erobertparker.com.

'Mme Agostini is not the first "unknown" person that attacks RP to get her 5 minutes of fame, neither will be the last one,' is one of the more temperate comments.

Agostini was a long-time collaborator of Parker's in the region, co-ordinating his wine tastings and translating his work into French, until she faced accusations in 2002 of using his name to get lucrative consulting projects.

In a separate interview with decanter.com, Agostini referred to 'contradictions' in Parker's writings and insisted, 'There is no personal opinion in the book.'

Specific accusations at the time included Agostini allegedly using the letterhead of Parker's journal the Wine Advocate to bill Belgian drinks company, the Geens Group, for substantial sums of money. Agostini, who does not deny consulting for the company, claimed the letter-headed paper had been stolen from her house, and that any consulting she did was entirely under her own name.

Although Parker stood by Agostini, they parted company in 2003. It was after this that Agostini began writing her book.

Review copies were unavailable at the time of going to press.

quelle: www.decanter.com

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The Sauternes 2007 harvest is well underway, but progressing slowly, with the final yield expected to be well below average.

The opening date for Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon grapes in the sweet wine appellations of Barsac and Sauternes was September 10, but most growers are having to spend longer than normal on successive tris – sorting grape by grape in the vineyard - waiting for maturity of the grapes and for the noble rot to develop.

The final yield is expected to be well below average, about 10 hectolitres of grape juice per hectare, about 40% of the amount harvested in 2005. The allowed yield in the appellation is 25hl/ha.

'The botrytis has been very slow to develop this year,' Xavier Planty at Chateau Guiraud told decanter.com, 'perhaps because of treatments to counter the mildew over the summer.'

He added that cold nights in early September stopped any rot that could have formed, and the differences between day and night-time temperatures made for 'highly aromatic' grapes.

'It really is a question of having patience and waiting for the right concentration of botrytis,' he said.

In Chateau Guiraud, the Semillon grapes are reaching 350-360g of sugar per litre, or 21 degrees potential alcohol. For sweet wines in Bordeaux, a potential of 20 degrees is the minimum for picking.

This slow ripening season seems to be reflected across Bordeaux this year – with the Merlots in Chateau La Rivalerie in Premieres Cotes de Blaye just beginning to be harvested this week, and many estates in Saint Emilion still with Merlots to bring in. 'It is likely to be November before many estates finish this year,' said Jerome Bonaccorsi of La Rivalerie.

The lower alcohol has meant that chaptilisation is allowed to add up to 1 degree of alcohol to the grape must (or 1.5 degrees by special dispensation).

quelle: www.decanter.com

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Sotheby's London has sold a 12-bottle case of 1967 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti for £58,650 ($119,259), making it the most expensive case of wine ever sold in this saleroom.

The case, which had a high estimate of £22,000, was sold to an American private collector. It was part of sale of fine and rare wines, spirits and vintage Port which took place on October 10, and achieved £594,401 ($1,206,634).

To date, the most expensive case sold at Sotheby's in London was a 12-bottle case of Château Cheval Blanc 1947, which fetched £71,300 ($146,071) in July 2007. In fact the lot contained two cases, both sold for the same price, both sold to the same buyer in Asia.

Stephen Mould, head of Sotheby's European wine department, told decanter.com, that it was also the first time Sotheby's London has sold this particular vintage of Romanée Conti.

He confirmed that the turmoil in the financial markets doesn't seem to have dampened sales.

'As we have witnessed in Wednesday's sale, buyers of top end wines are still prepared to pay the price for the best,' said Mould.

'There is relative stability in the fine wine market – confidence among private buyers seems unmoved.'

He said that among Burgundies, DRC is in 'a league of its own' but that Henri Jayer wines are also very much in demand.

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One of Bordeaux's top red wine chateaux, Cos d'Estournel, has released its first ever white wine.

The chateau, a second growth in the Medoc appellation of St-Estephe, released its white wine, called Cos d'Estournel blanc, this week.

The wine, a 2005 vintage currently selling through UK merchant Farr Vintners for £100 a bottle, is a Bordeaux white blend of Semillon and Sauvignon. Despite the chateau's location in the south of the St Estephe appellation, next to Pauillac, the vineyards for Cos blanc are located at the northernmost tip of the Medoc.

The bottle is almost identical to that of the grand vin, with the label, bottle and foil in green. Each bottle comes in an individual box.

Although the price tag may seem excessive, Farr's are plugging the fact that Laville Haut Brion, a similar level white wine from Graves first growth Chateau Haut-Brion is worth 'considerably more' at £130 a bottle

quelle: www.decanter.com

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Winemakers in Hungary's Tokaj region fear a power station will be built on their doorstep.

Hungarian energy company BHD Hoeromu has been authorised to proceed with a 50 megawatt bio-mass power station in Szerencs, near Tokaj. The project is worth 35bn Forint (£968m).

This plan comes after an announcement in the summer that a coal-burning plant would be build in nearby Slovakia. While the Hungarian government was against the Slovakian plant, it has approved the one within its own borders.

Locals fear the impact of 20,000 lorries a year transporting fuel from 80-100km away could far outweigh any of the benefits derived from the plant's organic strategy.

In particular, emissions may interfere with the botrytis that is critical for the production of sweet wine.

'We fear the emissions will affect the micro-climate,' said Laszlo Meszaros, head of the Tokaji Renaissance Company and managing director of the Disznókõ estate. 'Particularly the morning mists that help with the development of botrytis. Nobody has studied this yet.'

'It's a huge building that will dominate the landscape,' said Meszaros. 'Winemakers are extremely concerned about congestion and pollution from all the lorries constantly driving through with fuel.'

The privately funded plant will supply electricity to power companies throughout the region.

Meszaros told decanter.com that the plant itself was 'probably a good idea' but that the proposed location was misguided.

'It will have ”green” emissions from burning straw and other agricultural by-products,' he said. 'But the problem is that the owners couldn't sell power to the region where the fuel is produced, so they decided to build it in Szerencs instead. '

Meszaros said that petitions have been registered with the authorities. A petition has been sent to UNESCO, appealing for intervention on the grounds that Tokaj is a world heritage site.

'We've demonstrated against this at length,' said Isabella Zwack of Dobogó Winery. 'We've spoken with the President and the Minister of Agriculture. I really hope the worst can be avoided.'

The plant is one of 10 planned for construction around the country. BHD Hoeromu's CEO Otto Hujber could not be reached for comment.
quelle: www.decanter.com

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Sauvignon Blanc could 'kill' the New Zealand wine industry, a new study says.

International consultants Deloitte have analysed the potential for the wine sector to commoditise Sauvignon Blanc, in light of the success Marlborough has had with this varietal. Their report concludes that a mass production strategy cannot be replicated by the vast majority of wineries across the country.

Reacting to the report, David Ridley, general manager of Moet Hennessy told the New Zealand Herald, 'If we go blindly after the golden goose we could be killed in its collapse.' Moet Hennessy owns the renowned Sauvignon Blanc-based brand Cloudy Bay.

The Deloitte study indicates that producers of less than 200,000 litres a year – 89% of the industry - are stymied by high capital costs, and either are unprofitable or losing money. They cannot afford to grow large enough to compete with the contract growers who supply Sauvignon Blanc on a large scale.

The report underscores the predicament of producers who seek to compete on a global scale without knowing the realities of an increasingly cut-throat market.

'The more your volume increases, the more you compromise your prices,' said Ridley, referring to the experience of Australian producers as an object lesson.

Ridley worked in Australia and saw the industry's increasing attention to volume come at the expense of value. He warns that New Zealand is on a similar track, citing the drop in prices for brands like Montana Sauvignon Blanc, which has gone from NZ$10 (£3.55) to NZ$8.99 (£3.19) over the past couple of years.

Many New Zealand producers feel the global appetite for Sauvignon Blanc may be short-lived, and that they should focus collectively on developing alternatives

quelle: www.decanter.com

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