kurznotiz: anfangs sehr verhalten in der nase, dezent rote reife frucht, leicht die hitze des jahrganges anzeigegend, hauch süsslich, aber klar...rein  & nicht alkoholisch oder gar mit flüchtiger säure. am gaumen reifes leicht karamelliges tannin, reife aber spürbare säure, finesse, eleganz, perfektes barrique, sehr gute balance, samtig seidene struktur, hervorragender spätburgunder aus dem markgräflerland, steht am anfang seiner reife mit weiteren 3-5 jahren der steigerung, könnte noch zulegen & gross werden!! wenn die sb aus 2003 gut sind dann richtig oder schon lange nicht mehr trinkbar. es lohnt sich danach ausschau zu halten!!!

2. tag: ein grosser spätburgunder der immer besser wird, gross angelegte struktur, unheimlicher extrakt, bringt 2003 nahezu perfekt auf die flasche, um es mit punkten zu sagen: 18,25 - kann noch zulegen.

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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from the prestigious Domaine Ponsot in Morey-St.-Denis and estimated to sell for as much as $603,000, were being withdrawn from the sale "at the request of the domaine and with the consent of the consignor."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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