Si l'on en croit l'email reçu d'Allan Liska de Cellar Blog, la dégustation verticale d'Henri Lurton à Reston, Virginie (USA) s'est bien déroulée et il a remporté un vif succès auprès des amateurs présents.

"The tasting was incredible and the evening did not stop there, we kept poor Henri out until midnight enjoying great Brane wines, good food and very good company (there were 12 of us who wound having dinner together).

...everyone really liked him and enjoyed learning from all he had to say"

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According to the e-mail we received from Allan Liska from Cellar Blog, Henri Lurton’s vertical tasting in Reston, Virginia (USA) went smoothly and met with great success among the fans in attendance.

"The tasting was incredible and the evening did not stop there, we kept poor Henri out until midnight enjoying great Brane wines, good food and very good company (there were 12 of us who wound having dinner together).

...everyone really liked him and enjoyed learning from all he had to say"

To view photos of the tasting, click the following link: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/album.php?aid=171192&id=505032730&ref=mf

And to read the full article by Allan Liska from Cellar Blog and his tasting notes: http://www.cellarblog.org/2010/05/chateau-brane-cantenac-at-vinifera.html

Le 2 mai, en marge du salon d'Hermitage qui se tenait au Fullerton Hotel, Robert Parker donnait une masterclass à l'American Club de Singapour. Belle dégustation de plusieurs types de vins allant du champagne à l'Australie en passant par la Bourgogne, l'Oregon, Bordeaux, la Californie et le Rhône...culminant avec un magnifique Château Margaux 1996.

Voici les notes que j'ai prises pendant cette session fort intéressante. Bien qu'ayant rencontré Mr Parker il y a très longtemps ...( j'ose à peine le dire!)... j'ai été séduite par le personnage qui est resté le même en dépit de sa célébrité: captivant, passionné, et surtout humble et très courtois avec tout le monde. Tout l'après midi précédent sa masterclass, il a signé avec le sourire et un mot gentil et aimable pour tout le monde, son dernier livre... Malgré sa fatigue et la souffrance que lui impose son dos, il n'a jamais montré d'impatience, de lassitude et a su véritablement être à l'écoute de chacun! Un exemple inoui de professionnalisme...

En dépit de ce que toutes les mauvaises langues peuvent dire, il reste le meilleur ambassadeur de Bordeaux.Il n'hésite pas à le dire haut et fort au monde entier et très honnêtement,  nous lui devons tous beaucoup car où qu'il soit,  il vente sans relâche les mérites de nos vins, grands et petits! Merci Monsieur Parker...

 

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On May 2, in tandem with the Hermitage event at The Fullerton Hotel, Robert Parker gave a Master Class at the American Club of Singapore. It was an impressive tasting of several types of wines ranging from Champagne to Australia to Burgundy, Oregon, Bordeaux, California and the Rhone Valley, which climaxed with a superb Châteaux Margaux 1996.

Here are the notes that I took during this fascinating session. Although I’d met Mr. Parker a very long time ago… (I hardly dare to say it!)…I was captivated by this person who has stayed the same in spite of his fame: he is fascinating, passionate and most importantly, humble and polite with everyone. Throughout the afternoon before his Master Class, he smiled and had kind words to say as he signed his latest book. In spite of his fatigue and aching back, he never seemed impatient or uninterested and was truly attentive to everyone! A first-class example of professionalism!

Contrary to what some ill-intentioned people may have you think, he is still Bordeaux’s best ambassador. He doesn’t hesitate to proclaim it loudly to the entire world and quite honestly, we all owe him a lot because wherever he goes, he tirelessly praises the merits of our wines! Thank you, Mr. Parker!

 

The role of a wine critic is:

1)      To be independent, so has to be credible. Be unsensored and unmanipulated

2)       To have the courage of your own convictions. Sharing what you think with the consumer, speaking from the heart

3)      To be accountable. There’s a fine line with the wine trade… It’s a privilege to be let in the door. The grower have a once a year chance only for a whole year’s worth of hard work. The critic must be HONEST and accountable. If he doesn’t like the wine, he must have a good reason not to. One can criticize but not be vicious.

4)      To support the good artists… the ones making the best wines in their area

5)      To be faithful to his palate. There’s a great diversity of tastes and of wines. The greatest palate is YOURS and that goes for everyone.

(“mine ‘s insured for a million dollars”)

 

I write for my readers. I focus on values because of them.

It is a myth, I am not a monster, I’m approachable!

 

The best wines of the world are the balanced ones, with singularity. They stand the test of time and have their own individuality. Wine has to satisfy the senses we possess. We drink wine for pleasure! there’s a place for every wine. The great, great wines are wines which challenge us. You want to back to intellectual attraction. The great wines improve in a measurable sense (Age+2; age +10 etc) But I am very American and disagree with the British: a bad young wine will always remain a bad wine! whereas they believe that wine always improve with age.

Great wines can be identified in their youth!!!

To be good a wine should be pure, clean. It is better to drink a wine earlier than too late.

Wine is fun, civilized. It promotes conversation.

A wine has to smell good. It it does, you’re going to be inclined to liking it…

We’re only interested in the greatest vintages but we have to wait the longest for them…We should go for the lighter vintages that are drinkable sooner.

 

Bordeaux is still the capital of wines! It’s proven by what they produce and the value of Bordeaux wines at Auctions. The first growths are branded luxury items like Bentley, or works of arts. They are liquid investments which give pleasure.

 

The word ‘terroir’ is a nebulous expression. It is important, and it entails many things (climate, soil etc) It also means winemaking technics and man’s influence. It all plays in!

Wisdom comes from seeing the whole picture. Terroir is only part of it.

Storage is everything… you can keep your wines long very long if you keep them well…

Glasses are important, not in favor of the huge sommelier glasses. They are too big! They promote oxydation of the wine at too speedy a rate. After 30 minutes no more aromatics. They are beautiful and impressive but useless.

 

His most noteworthy comments were:

 

‘I can drink a whole bottle of Margaux but not of a California wine !’

‘I drink my fare share of Bordeaux’s’

'I never take anything for granted. I feel privileged to taste all these wines'.

‘I had this wine (Rung Rig 03) at a black tie dinner on the great wall of China… that night I could not detach the wine from the whole experience’.

'A Triumph' is the title of his review, volume 16 from April 18 2010...

."..2009 [is] a profound, hugely-constituted vintage of historic proportions, and a beautiful reference point for years to come. It is a rich year, full of surprises, great achievements and gorgeous articulation....I find myself stunned by the results of the first tier wines from most estates... and for 2009 there is plenty of proof to validate its status as a first rate vintage."

Brane-Cantenac 2009: 94-96

This is a stunning achievement by Henri Lurton! It is a beauty, offering an opaque ruby-purple hue followed by white flower perfumes, crushed-pencil, plum/cherry liqueur, a la plancha meat juice, and wet-stone that reveal extraordinary purity. There are thrilling plum liqueur flavors, a medium to full body, an elegant mouth-feel and a mass of fruit that reveals such length. This wine grips the palate with extract and gorgeous flavors that has to be tasted. Delicate precision is the hallmark of this nuanced, intellectual wine. A remarkable Brane-Cantenac for the next 25 years! Maturity period 2015-2038

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'A Triumph' is the title of his review, volume 16 from April 18 2010...

."..2009 [is] a profound, hugely-constituted vintage of historic proportions, and a beautiful reference point for years to come. It is a rich year, full of surprises, great achievements and gorgeous articulation....I find myself stunned by the results of the first tier wines from most estates... and for 2009 there is plenty of proof to validate its status as a first rate vintage."

Brane-Cantenac 2009: 94-96

This is a stunning achievement by Henri Lurton! It is a beauty, offering an opaque ruby-purple hue followed by white flower perfumes, crushed-pencil, plum/cherry liqueur, a la plancha meat juice, and wet-stone that reveal extraordinary purity. There are thrilling plum liqueur flavors, a medium to full body, an elegant mouth-feel and a mass of fruit that reveals such length. This wine grips the palate with extract and gorgeous flavors that has to be tasted. Delicate precision is the hallmark of this nuanced, intellectual wine. A remarkable Brane-Cantenac for the next 25 years! Maturity period 2015-2038