With Marly, we discussed the current crisis facing Bordeaux wines: how New World wines are successfully competing against Bordeaux with easier to understand labels and lower prices.  In 2003, the United Kingdom imported more Australian wine than French – the first time since records were kept that French wine came in second.  Patrick said that even top Bordeaux châteaux like his couldn't afford to sit on their laurels.  He travels three months a year, from Hong Kong, Singapore, Moscow and Brazil to Athens, London, Dallas and Chicago, to promote not only his wine but Bordeaux in general – he has to as he is also president of a major union of some 250 Bordeaux wineries: l'Union des grands crus de Bordeaux.

“You have to constantly travel to promote your wine,” he said.

And,  allow for more access. During my September visit, I also spoke to an export manager for the renowned Château Pape Clement in the Pessac-Leognan appellation, who said that while “Bordeaux makes some of the best wine in the world, we do a terrible job of selling it.” 

Pascal Fricard, export manager for Germany, also regretted how difficult it can be for tourists to visit a château in Bordeaux – with some châteaux requiring a reservation or even a call to their “Paris office” beforehand.

“That puts people off, especially people who are passing through and want to visit,” he said. 

Patrick said that he makes an extra effort to welcome people to his estate, though his time is limited. 

“If I am here, and I see people walking up to the château, I certainly come out and greet them personally,” he said. 

Comprehensive vertical tasting

On Sunday, Patrick and Evelyn busily prepared for a major visit and lunch for 50 people belonging to a club called the Cercle de Montesquieu, a serious Paris-based wine tasting group headed by a direct descendant of the famous French philosopher and Bordeaux native.  Evelyn busily gathered beautiful roses from the château's garden, while Patrick made final arrangements with the caterer and for the wines to be served, which included a fabulous 1990. 

Despite such a time-consuming event, Patrick found the time for me to organize a comprehensive vertical tasting of his wine with Olivier Campadieu.  A vertical tasting means one wine, different years, whereas a horizontal tasting is one year, several wines.  While a horizontal tasting gives one a good impression of how a particular vintage tastes among different wines, a vertical tasting allows one to appreciate the character of a wine over a period of time – to see whether that wine has a specific style over the years, and Branaire Ducru certainly does: notes of chocolate and spice are often found in most vintages of Branaire Ducru that add an exotic touch to its fruit.

The complete tasting notes below to my Sunday morning tasting show how much of a pleasure it is to drink Patrick's wine – and how nice it was to taste them with him.   Anyone visiting Bordeaux should not avoid a visit to Château Branaire Ducru. As a friend, I am certainly biased, but as an objective journalist, I am also sure in my recommendation that tasting Patrick's wine and visiting the château will be as much a pleasure for you as it was for me. 

Complete tasting notes: Château Branaire Ducru vertical 
1994 – 2003 

When tasting a wine in a vertical one normally starts with the youngest wine and ends with the oldest because younger wines tend to be less complex,  and tasters generally like to go from the least to the most complex, rather than the other way around.

2003: Dark purple color. Aromas of raspberry and blackberry, though a bit closed. Tannic in the mouth, leaving a “well armored” impression: solidly built wine with a concentration of fruit at this stage somewhat dominated by the tannin, thus too young to fully appreciate and very normal from a barrel sample of wine that will not be on shelves before 2006. (Drink from 2010)

2002: Less dark color, and less concentration in this case. Nose is closed, though some hints of ripe and pleasing green pepper. A bit tight in the mouth and disjointed: like a bottle that has been just shaken. Indeed, the wine was just bottled two months before, which makes it harder to taste.  Imagine buying a wine and then taking it with you on an airplane in a suitcase you move around.  It will not taste well because of the excessive movement.  That is what happens when a wine has just been placed in a bottle – and for that reason, châteaux normally keep their wines “lying down” in bottles for six months before releasing them. To try later. (Drink from 2008)

2001: Color again not as dark as the 2003, but what marvelous aromas of blueberry and plum, with the characteristic spice one gets from this château: indeed very aromatic and pleasing to the palate as well, with refined balance, a medium- to full-bodied texture and a good finish. (Drink from 2005)

2000: A very big wine, broad-shouldered. A dark color resembling the 2003, but three years older, which is a good sign – as red wines age, they tend to lose their color intensity, but this wine has not lost much, if at all, which means it is aging very slowly. A nose of fraise de bois with hints of chocolate and spice. Concentrated full-bodied flavor in the mouth but very fresh, with balancing acidity.  Not an optimum time to drink as it needs at least five more years to shed its tannic presence – it is certainly closed compared to the 2001.  It is a wine for the long haul.  Wonderful! (Drink from 2008)

1999: Nice purple color – though much more evolved than the 2001, despite just a two-year difference.  A nose dominated by chocolate and spice.  More full-bodied than the 2001 but not as complex from a “vintage that will not qualify for the Formula 1 but represents a nice Cabriolet for the summer,” remarked Patrick.  A wine that can be enjoyed now but can also be cellared for a few years – to enjoy before cracking open the 2000, for example. (Drink from 2005)

1998: Similar color to the 1999, if a bit less dark. The wine possesses pronounced notes of cedar and ripe green pepper aromas (one should distinguish between a simple green pepper nose, a sign of unripe Cabernet Sauvignon and ripe green pepper, which for me is a quality). As the wine sits in the glass, dark chocolate notes rise from the glass. The mouth is a bit tight, characteristic for the vintage, which generally did not favor the Left Bank.  This wine needs a bit more time to settle down its tannins, but promises smooth drinking pleasure. (Drink from 2007) 

1997: Represents an average vintage in Bordeaux, not unlike 1999. The color is a light purple with hints of brick on the rim: a sign of aging.  The nose has a pleasing note of tobacco, but also hints of “animal” and wet earth aromas one gets from wines that have aged. Recalls the somewhat loose structure of the 1999, meaning not as well built as in better years, such as 2000 and 1996.   Big in the mouth, which is surprising for the vintage, but a bit short on the finish. (Drink from 2002)

1996: This vintage was a classic Cabernet vintage and Branaire Ducru shines appropriately. It is comparable to the 2000 but at a later stage (both eye and nose are more evolved, for example). A lovely and intense nose of red fruit, very cassis, with the château's characteristic spice as well. The mouth is both round and powerful, which promises pleasurable drinking for the long haul! (Drink from 2005) 

1995: A hotter year than 1996, this 1995 wine shows also a more evolved color than the 1996. Nose has mineral, tobacco notes much like a wine from the more southerly (and typically warmer) Bordeaux appellation in the Graves region. Patrick said that the heat perhaps attenuated the richness of the aromas. Indeed, this is a fine wine, but not as interesting as the 1996, which is both richer and more intense. (Drink from 2002)

1994: Very intense aromas of chocolate and spice!  Pleasing nose. Though the wine attacks the gums a bit in the mouth – signifying slightly unripe tannins, Patrick said – I found the power of this wine agreeable: a wine which will likely soften a bit in a few years. (Drink from 2008) 

Web sites and addresses: 

      Château Branaire Ducru, 33250 Saint Julien Beychevelle, Tel 33 (0)5 56 59 25 86   http://www.branaire.com

      Bordeaux wine map:  http://www.terroir-france.com/wine/bordeaux_map.htm

      Union des grands crus de Bordeaux: http://www.ugcb.net

      Auberge du Lion d'Or, 33 Arcins-en-Médoc, Tel 33 (0)5 56 58 96 79

Ski and Snowboarding Travel Guide - A Review by Christine Miller

Snowdvd.com is a web based company in their second year of operation.  They provide consumers visual resort guides of the world's top ski and snowboard destinations.  FRANCE On Your Own was asked to view this season's Skiing Snowboarding Travel Guide Volume Two,  a DVD featuring 16 resorts around the world.  Our focus was the three in France: Chamonix, Val d'Isère and Les Arcs.

The general format is interesting.  Viewers can see video coverage of the resort itself accompanied only by background popular music.  Most impressive is the spectacular scenery, but seeing the resort up close, the lifts, the conditions and the accommodations completes the picture.  Of additional interest are village scenes showing visitors shopping in the markets, dining in the various restaurants and generally enjoying themselves.  There is substantial footage of skiing, mostly of excellent skiers on the most advanced slopes.  But, occasionally you will see brief shots of little tiny children learning to ski, which is helpful if you have kids who you want to bring along on a ski trip.  Chamonix and Les Arcs both have scenes of youngsters learning to ski. 

A second option to viewers is to watch snowboarders.  Les Arcs and Val d'Isère both accommodate snowboarders and seem to offer them quite a lot in regard to location and challenges.  The snowboarding shown on this DVD seems to be 'extreme' in nature and the photography is very professional.

The third feature is "Resort Review",  comprehensive text on two or three screens about each resort.  Originally, I thought that rather than have a separate link to the actual information and particulars of the resorts, I'd prefer that someone be speaking the information to me as I was viewing the video of the location.  But, this format allows viewers to play the DVD on their computers and print out the information they want, rather than having to frantically scribble down notes as they watch.  The information provided is concise and complete.  You are told what kind of slopes you will find (beginner, intermediate, advanced), what conditions are normally like, what to expect of the local town (accommodations, night life, restaurants, etc.), and you are given helpful tips such as  "What Not to Miss" (unusual areas for advanced skiers, a fun family activity, particular mode of transportation, peculiar rules of the area).  Finally, you are given information on how to get there, the nearest city and the best way of traveling to your destination.

For anyone who skis or snowboards and is interested in exploring resorts in different regions of the world (the DVD also 'visits' St. Moritz, Aspen, Vail, Steamboat, Jackson Hole, Kitzbuhel, and the Hakuba Valley in Japan among others), this video is simply terrific.  It provides a nice flavor of each resort, all the practical information you might need, and is so enticing that, if you don't ski, you might want to learn!  If you are a skier, you'll add quite a few resorts to your list of places you hope to ski one day.

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