Michael Fridjhon WINE Experience 2006

Getting to taste the likes of Richebourg Grand Cru 1988 from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti remains a fantasy for most wine enthusiasts simply because of cost (a single bottle will set you back R9 000).

The annual Michael Fridjhon WINE Experience however makes the world's most desirable wines slightly more attainable.

This year saw the 10th anniversary of the event and though the price per person has risen from R1 950 a head when it was first held in 1997 to R6 250 this time around, guests were treated to a weekend of great meals and some of the very best of Burgundy and Champagne.

 

Saturday 26 August

Lunch

WINES:
Pinot Noir: The New World meets Old Cloudy Bay Marlborough 2004
Hamilton Russell Walker Bay 2003
Coldstream Hills Yarra Valley 2002
Beaune Premier Cru Les Theurons Jadot 1999 and
2002 Chambolle Musigny Jadot 1999 and 2002

The French are a proud lot but the engaging Pierre-Henry Gagey, president of renowned Burgundian winemaking house Louis Jadot, began proceedings by giving credit to the Romans for having taught the inhabitants of Burgundy the cultivation of vines some 2000 years ago. He pointed out that the parentage of Pinot Noir is not yet known and explained that it was generally supposed that it originally grew wild in the region. "Burgundy would not exist without Pinot Noir and Pinot Noir would not exist without Burgundy" he observed.

Gagey went on to outline what constituted good Pinot Noir. It is necessary that the grape be grown in cool-climate locations to ensure sufficient acidity in the resulting wine. "The fruit from Pinot Noir is wonderful but too much can become boring." He also said that a defining characteristic of Pinot Noir is delicacy. "We are constantly fighting against too much concentration." Ultimately, the wine should convey an "impression of truth" and what lies at its core should not be hidden by new wood or winemaking technique.

Keynote tasting

Corton-Pougets Grand Cru Jadot 1995
Griotte Chambertin Grand Cru Domaine Drouhin 1993
Mazis Chambertin Chambertin Latour 1990
Corton-Pougets Grand Cru Jadot 1989
Richebourg Grand Cru Domaine de la Romanée Conti 1988
Corton-Pougets Grand Cru Jadot 1978
Chapelle Chambertin Grand Cru Leroy 1966
Corton-Pougets Grand Cru Jadot 1959

The keynote tasting featured eight examples of Grand Cru Burgundy from some of the best vintages of the last 50 years, and what was striking was the well preserved vitality that the older wines displayed. A real treat for those attending, as Grand Cru is the designation for Burgundy's finest wines in terms of its four-grade classification (the others being Premier Cru, Village and generic in descending order).

"The classification is based on observations made by our great-great-grandparents as to which sites produced the best wines," said Gagey. "It's not based on studies of the sub-soil or anything like that."

Included was a vertical tasting of four vintages of Jadot's Corton Pougets, remarkable in that the Corton AOC is the sole red Grand Cru in the Côte de Beaune, the other 22 of the region's 23 red Grand Crus lying in the Côte de Nuits further north. Jadot controls 150ha of vineyard with Clos Pougets making up 5ha.

Gagey explained that until the 1960s, the vineyards of Burgundy were farmed organically but this ended with the advent of industrially produced fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides. Now, however, there is a swing back to organic and even biodynamic methods among the top domaines. "We're trying to capture the energy of the soil in our wines," he said. "The roots of the vine must plunge strongly downwards to take up as much minerality as possible. Work with fertiliser and the roots don't need to go very deep."

Jadot's Clos Pougets spends 20 months in oak, no more than 30% of which is new. "We hate it when the wine shows oak," said Gagey. "We do not put the wine into barrels to add spice but rather to metabolise the aromas in the wine itself through oxygenation," he continued. "The challenge for the winemaker is not to let his ego intrude the wine. He must simply unlock the door to let terroir show."

Typically, 40 casks of Clos Pougets are produced, the equivalent of 1 000 cases, and the going rate for 12 bottles of the current release 2001 vintage is R7 000.

Dinner

The gala event continued the theme of Pinot Noir with three red wines from Burgundy provided. A Santenay Clos de Malte 1997 accompanied the Quenelles trio (salmon, kabeljou and crab in a saffron reduction), Beane Premier Cru Clos des Ursules 1990 was served with the poultry galantine (with a pain d'epice sauce) and Chapelle Chambertin Grand Cru 1985 with the veal cutlet topped with porcini ragout, truffled Dauphinoise and timbale Florentine, sage jus and forest berries. The dessert was a macaroon, fresh raspberries and rosemary ice cream with a cassis crème brûlée, matched by a Tokaji First Growth, the 1995 Mézes May.

Sunday 27 August

CHAMPAGNE TASTING
Bollinger reserve wine 1973
Bollinger Special Cuvée NV
Bollinger La Grande Année 1997, 1996, 1992
Bollinger RD 1995, 1990, 1988

With Pinot Noir the focus of the weekend, what better Champagne House to provide the wines for the Sunday morning tasting than Bollinger, which uses the red grape as the backbone for all its blends.

The house was founded by Jacques Bollinger in 1829 and remains owned by his descendants to this day. Great-great grandson Ghislain de Montgolfier presented.
First up was the Special Cuvée, the wine that makes up 80 to 90% of Bollinger sales. De Montgolfier explained that there 32 000ha under vineyard in Champagne cultivated by 17 000 growers. Bollinger controls 165ha of vineyard, which supplies 65% of its needs, allowing the house to manage them to its own satisfaction.

Special Cuvée is a multi vintage blend, done to alleviate vintage variation and ensure consistency. "Consumers don't care that weather conditions from one year to the next. They want to drink Bollinger rather than a vintage specific wine," said De Montgolfier.

Unique in Champagne, Bollinger keeps reserve wines by cru, by grape variety and by vintage in magnums, sealed with cork rather than metal cap. This provides the house with a library of different wines available for blending. De Montgolfier revealed that between 40 000 and 80 000 bottles of reserve wine are opened every year and it was fascinating to taste the 1973 that was on hand.

Part of the grapes for Special Cuvée and all of the grapes in the case of the Grande Année and RD (Recently Disgorged) are barrel-fermented. Only old barrels are used, to ensure that neither tannin nor oak flavours are imparted to the wines. This technique increases both the aromatic complexity and ageing capacity of the wines. "If you don't like Bollinger, I will respect that," said De Montgolfier, "but if you consider it the same as any other Champagne, I will be upset."

Before disgorging, the Special Cuvée ages on its lees for at least three years, the Grande Année for five years and the RD for at least eight years. De Montgolfier explained that Grande Année is the Prestige Cuvée of the house, only from exceptional vintages and made with "more freedom" than the Special Cuvée. In the case of RD, the wine is first a Grande Année but then matured for much longer, from eight to 20 years. This introduces more delicate tertiary flavours, making it an "old wine with the freshness of Champagne".

In closing, De Montgolfier said he wanted Bollinger to be viewed as a temptation.

"The definition of a temptation is something you cannot resist. If you can resist something, it is not a temptation."