TheWineForum Château Margaux Dinner. 21 October 2011 The Crown Wine Cellars Hong Kong SAR

Transcription

1 IN VINO C AR ITAS TheWineForum Château Margaux Dinner 21 October 2011 The Crown Wine Cellars Hong Kong SAR

2 Contents Welcome Welcome to The Wine Forum The Menu Château Margaux Wine Guide Thibault Pontallier Acknowledgements For Your Notes to TheWineForum It is with great pleasure we present to you The Wine Forum s 2011 Hong Kong Château Margaux Dinner. The Wine Forum is an independent organisation originating from a series of tastings held at the World Economic Forum s Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland in Wine Forum Members share three attributes: they are global leaders in their fields; they deeply appreciate fine wines; and they avidly pursue philanthropic interests. The Wine Forum operates a nonobligatory Wine Buying Club where every participant pledges to donate to charity an equivalent amount to the wines they purchase. During the 2010 Bordeaux En Primeur campaign, members purchased US$1.2 million of wine. Tonight we celebrate Château Margaux, a first growth of undisputed stature. However, the reputation this wine now commands and the standing it now enjoys does not mean that Château Margaux has always had an easy ride. Between ownership changes, social revolutions, bug infestations and economic depressions, Château Margaux has seen its fair share of crises over several hundreds of years. However, since the early 1980s a first class owner-management team comprising Corinne Mentzelopoulos and Paul Pontallier, has passionately moved the château from strength to strength and capitalized on the unique terroir in which the vines grow, to fully realize the property s potential. We are lucky to have Thibault Pontallier, son of the famous general manager to guide us through some extraordinary vintages of the recent past. It is always a pleasure and privilege to present Château Margaux not only as a superlative wine, but as an institution that understands how to manage long term, multi-generational change in a world that tends towards myopic, short term gain. The results, we think, speak for themselves. The Wine Forum also arranges exclusive events in the most prestigious vineyard venues as well as emerging world wine centres. Hong Kong has emerged as such a world centre. With zero-tax on wine imports and storage, a knowledgeable wine consuming population and a vibrant wine auction culture, Hong Kong is destined to be the hub of Asia s wine trade for the forseeable future. Fortuitously, we enjoy the historic venue of the Crown Wine Cellars, part of the Crown Worldwide Group a group founded and chaired by Jim Thompson, a dedicated wine aficionado and Wine Forum member. We hope you enjoy tonight as much as we enjoyed preparing it. David Spreng Co-founder The Wine Forum 21 October 2011 iii 1 Vidhi Tambiah Co-founder The Wine Forum

3 The Menu Wines for Dinner (with Robert Parker Tasting notes where available) Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux 2009 Most châteaux equaled the dazzling quality of the 2007 dry whites. That said, the 2009s tend to be less classic than 2007, but more exotic, honeyed and higher in alcohol, with compelling richness. The 2009s will probably have a shorter evolutionary curve, but these wines tend to last a long time, even in a vintage such as this. They are fascinating dry white wines. Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux 2006 The light, fresh, sensual, round 2006 Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux exhibits moderate levels of dark cherry and red currant fruit accompanied by background herb and spice characteristics. Drink it over the next 5 7 years. Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux 2003 A terrific, value-priced second wine, the 2003 Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux (150,000 bottles produced) may be the finest example of this cuvée I have yet tasted. Its dense ruby/purple hue is followed by creamy aromas of cassis, vanilla, flowers and licorice. Round, generous, savory, expansive and amazingly long as well as concentrated, I even joked with Paul Pontallier that this could get him fired as perhaps the selection was too severe! This 2003 should drink well for 15+ years. Château Margaux 2003 A wine of extraordinary complexity and intensity, it reveals a deep purple color, a style not unlike the 1990 Margaux (possibly even more concentrated), a velvety texture and notes of spring flowers interwoven with camphor, melted licorice, creme de cassis and pain grille. Not a blockbuster, it offers extraordinary intensity as well as a surreal delicacy/lightness. There is riveting freshness to this offering, which tips the scales at a lofty (for this estate) 13.5% alcohol, as well as an alluring sweetness and accessibility. It probably will tighten up over the next few years. Nevertheless, it is a profound Château Margaux that brings to mind a hypothetical blend of the 1982 and Anticipated maturity: Château Margaux 2001 Performing well from bottle, Château Margaux s 2001, which is somewhat reminiscent of both the 1985 and 1999, is an elegant, seamlessly constructed effort with a deep ruby/purple color and a beautiful nose of flowers, creme de cassis, blackberries and cedar. A blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot and 4% Cabernet Franc, this forward, opulent beauty can be drunk now or cellared for years. This is one of the most elegant wines of the vintage. Château Margaux 1988 In a somewhat chunky, full-bodied, rather muscular style, with a dark, almost opaque garnet color and a big, smoky, earthy nose, with hints of compost, melted asphalt, black fruits, mushrooms and new oak, this wine lacks the elegance one expects from Château Margaux, but does have plenty of tough-textured tannin and an almost rustic, corpulent style to it. The wine is mouth-staining as well as mouth-filling, but in a relatively chunky style. Anticipated maturity: now Château Margaux 1986 A magnificent example of Château Margaux and one of the most tannic, backward Margauxs of the last 50 years, the 1986 continues to evolve at a glacial pace. The color is still a dense ruby/purple with just a hint of lightening at the rim. With several hours of aeration, the aromatics become striking, with notes of smoke, toast, creme de cassis, mineral and white flowers. Very full-bodied, with high but sweet tannin, great purity and a very masculine, full-bodied style, this wine should prove nearly immortal in terms of its aging potential. It is beginning to budge from its infantile stage and approach adolescence. Anticipated maturity: Last tasted December

4 Château Margaux Material for this section is sourced from thewinedoctor.com. Of all the first growths, Margaux is certainly a strong contender for being the most splendidly presented: its imposing 19 th -century château which peers over the chai, barrel cellars and other buildings easily visible from the D2, and the road that snakes up the Médoc past the front doors of many of the classed growths. It stands proud, surrounded by several broad sweeps of vines, the only visual challenge being from Château Palmer, which is visible in the distance with its witches-hat turrets stretching skywards, in marked contrast to the more reserved style of the château at Margaux. It is a regal château indeed, and certainly fitting in view of the quality of the wines that have been made here over the last couple of decades. Early History The history of Château Margaux stretches back to the 12 th century, although this predates the construction of the building that we see today by about seven hundred years. At this time it was in the ownership of French nobility, and was known as La Mothe de Margaux; La Mothe comes from motte, meaning a small rise in the land, yet another example of the seemingly infinite different number of words that describe such hillocks on the Médoc. Perhaps of more pertinence, this also predates the arrival of viticulture at Margaux, the land more commonly being employed in the production of sugar beet, as was common across much of this part of Bordeaux. It was not until the Lestonnac family took possession of the estate in the 16 th century that it began to resemble the Château Margaux that we know today. In the ten years that followed 1572, Pierre Lestonnac, in anticipation of a widespread change from arable agriculture to viticulture on the Médoc, made his mark in a most dramatic fashion. By the beginning of the 18 th century, the estate at Margaux covered an impressive 265 hectares, of which one third was devoted to viticulture. The estate as it is today has changed very little in size or layout since that time. The early 18 th century saw more improvements of considerable significance at Château Margaux, led principally by the estate manager Berlon. These changes may at first seem surprising, as today they sound like common sense, but at the time these were brave new ideas. Berlon counselled against picking wet grapes, so as to avoid dilution; he recognised that certain plots produced better fruit than others, recognising the varied terroir of his estate; and he began to vinify red and white grapes separately they had previously all been vinified together. The wine improved in quality dramatically, as demonstrated in 1771, when it was the first claret to ever be sold at Christie s. In addition, Thomas Jefferson, the American ambassador, oenophile and later President, was an acolyte and purchased the Margaux was on a high, and successive owners kept quality to the fore at Margaux, including Joseph de Fumel and Elie du Barry, but Margaux saw an end to its good fortune when the latter saw his end under the guillotine following the Revolution. The estate came to the citizen Miqueau who paid it little attention, and it fell into disrepair. It was subsequently rescued from total dilapidation by Laure de Fumel, Joseph s niece, but she was soon forced to sell, and in 1801 the estate was purchased by the Marquis de la Colonilla, Bertrand Douat. The Marquis de Colonilla Builds a House Colonilla had little interest in wine or Margaux, and lived in Paris rather than Bordeaux. He was a Basque, and arrived in France having already made his fortune; for him, ownership of such a grand property was intended to assist his social advancement. To that effect, the manor house which had already replaced the original fortified building was deemed inadequate, and it was torn down and replaced with the grand château, as designed by the leading architect of the day, Louis Combes. This building, which still stands today (pictured on the cover and on the last page of this programme), was Colonilla s only major contribution to Margaux, and it is one that he saw little of himself. Work began in 1810, when Colonilla was already in his eighth decade, and he died 26 years later, before the château was completed. His death once again prompted the sale of the estate, as his descendants had little interest in taking it on. The new owner this time was the Marquis de la Marismas, Alexandre Aguado, another Spaniard. Unlike Colonilla, Aguado regarded Margaux as a residence and he had a deep interest in the estate and its wines. Aguado and his family saw the estate through the powdery mildew crisis of the 19 th century, and the 1855 classification, when it should go without saying that Margaux was comfortably ranked as a first growth. The Aguado family subsequently sold Château Margaux to Frédéric Pillet-Will, and it was he who was in charge when phylloxera ravaged the estate, not to mention the rest of Bordeaux and all French vineyards, in the late-19 th century. The solution was to replant on American rootstock which, when this became widely accepted, was a task Pillet-Will undertook. The quality of the wine thereafter, for many possible reasons, was not always as good as might be expected, and it was at this time that a second wine, the forerunner of today s Pavillon Rouge de Château Margaux, was introduced. 4 5

5 Frédéric s good intentions meant little to his children, however, as after his death the estate suffered serious neglect. Nevertheless, a group led by Pierre Moreau, a trusted friend of the late Pillet-Will, formed a committee of purchasing shareholders in order to take over the ownership and running of Margaux. This arrangement worked well, and they tended the estate through the first half of the 20 th century, their most significant contribution to the Margaux of today being the introduction of château bottling, contemporaneous with the exact same change being implemented by Baron Philip de Rothschild at Château Mouton-Rothschild. This era of committee-led ownership came to a gradual end in the first half of the 20 th century, however, as Fernand Ginestet and his son, Pierre, gradually acquired more and more of the available shares in Margaux; finally, with the financial backing of Boylandry, Mayor of Saigon, they purchased the property outright in Sadly for the Ginestets, however, they had taken on too much. Château Margaux was trading on its reputation, and the intrinsic quality of the wines fell off dramatically during the 1960s and 1970s. They held onto the reins here for a little over two decades, but the Bordeaux crisis of the early 1970s, with several disastrous vintages, forced them into selling Château Margaux. This is the point at which the Mentzelopoulos family enters the fray. The Mentzelopoulos Era Greek by birth, André Mentzelopoulos had travelled far, and had become a wealthy man on the back of trading cereals in India, Pakistan and the Far East. Upon arriving in France in 1958, he purchased a small chain of grocery stores, and he proceeded to build the company into the Félix Potin supermarket chain, with more than 1600 outlets. In 1977, when Margaux had already been languishing on the market for two years, he bought it from the Ginestet family. In a time of economic depression for Bordeaux, it was testament to Mentzelopoulos commitment that he invested heavily with no expectation for short-term reward. He installed new drainage and replanted vines, reintroduced the use of a second wine to aid quality, constructed a new underground cellar, a remarkable achievement in the flat landscape of the Médoc where few cellars are truly subterranean, and purchased new oak barrels. The château was also renovated. What a tragedy then that André Mentzelopoulos, whose arrival in the region as an outsider had caused mutterings of controversy only for him to be gladly accepted into the Bordeaux fold, died in 1980, so soon after he had set Margaux on the road to recovery and before he could even take a taste of the full fruits of his labours. 6 The family business, and Château Margaux, came to his daughter, Corrine Mentzelopoulos, at a very tender age. With the aid of general manager Philip Barré, and esteemed consultant Professor Emile Peynaud, she and the Margaux team continued with the programme of improvements. In 1983, they were joined by Barré s replacement, Paul Pontallier, who has also been instrumental in the quest for even greater wines from the hallowed terroir that surrounds the château. The reward for wine drinkers has been exceptional; today, Margaux is no longer an under-achiever. Corinne has also been amply rewarded; in 2003, she was able to purchase the majority stake in Margaux held until that time by the Agnelli Group, and thus she became the sole owner of a very successful first-growth estate. Corrine Mentzelopoulos Vineyard and Vinification Today the estate is spread over 262 hectares, with 87 hectares entitled to the Margaux appellation; 82 hectares are under vine. Many of the vines lie on gravelly terroir, although there are also patches of sand and small seams of limestone and clay in some areas. The areas of this extensive estate committed to the vine have changed little since the 18th century, so unsurprisingly many of them surround the château in a large walled vineyard, but there are other patches, including some to the south opposite the cellars, a plot on the right of the D2 as you drive north away from Margaux, and also a 12-hectare plot further inland which is Paul Pontallier given over solely to white grapes and which is notable for the anti-frost system installed there. All four common red Bordeaux varieties are planted, these being Cabernets Sauvignon (75%) and Franc (about 3%), Merlot (20%) and Petit Verdot (about 2%), whereas the white vineyards are planted solely with Sauvignon Blanc. The vines average 36 years of age. The soils are gravelly, with a clay subsoil known as Calcaire de Plassac. 7

6 Wine Guide Although a grand estate with a long heritage, Pontallier does not shy away from new developments in both vineyard and chai, although with any change he makes he will undoubtedly be looking to preserve the combination of finesse and grandeur that is the core feature of Margaux. New practices in the vineyard are being developed all the time. There is nothing striking about green-harvesting and deleafing, nor a shift towards organic methods, as these are techniques and philosophies that can be found all over Bordeaux these days. But changes in canopy management, in response to warmer temperatures and rising potential alcohols in the wines, is certainly not something you will hear discussed at many estates. The changes Pontallier put into place in the vineyard were largely a response to alcohol levels in the white wine, which in 2008 and 2007 was 14% and 15.5% respectively, whereas in the considerably warmer 2009 vintage this was controlled more effectively in the vineyard, the result being a Pavillon Blanc with a final alcohol level of 13.9%. The wines are fermented in large 150-hectolitre oak vats, with the very recent addition of a range of stainless steel vessels in a range of sizes to facilitate fermentation of smaller plots on an individual basis. After fermentation, the wine is then run off into barrels, the latter being constructed on-site in the Margaux cooperage (pictured to the right), which is situated next to the barrel cellars in the buildings that surround the château. The red wines see an élevage of between 18 and 24 months in oak, the whites up to six months, and they are fined using egg whites prior to bottling, the bottles subsequently laser etched to act as a marker of authenticity and traceability. There are generally 12,500 cases of the grand vin, Château Margaux, produced each year. The second wine Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux has a greater production, typically 16,500 cases, although in some recent years these figures have been even more remarkable, with the grand vin accounting for just one-third of the production in some vintages. As for Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux, which is harvested at about 30 hl/ha, this very admirable wine has a typical production of just 2750 cases. Thibault Pontallier As the son of Paul Pontallier, the General Manager of Château Margaux, Thibault Pontallier has always been immersed in the wine universe. In 2009, Thibault graduated from HEC Paris (the first European Business School) and obtained a double master s degree in management. Before moving to Asia for Château Margaux, he lived and worked in Italy, in Spain and in New York in order to gain a deeper knowledge of the luxury and wine industry. He also completed a professional training for a world-renowned wine publication as well as for a fine wine shop. Château Margaux recently set its first representative office in Hong Kong and appointed Thibault as the Ambassador in Asia. It is the first time in Château Margaux history that a representative is sent abroad. Now that he is based in Hong Kong, Thibault will ensure that Château Margaux further expands its reputation in the area. 8 9

7 Acknowledgements SkyBridge Capital Founded in 2005, SkyBridge Capital ( SkyBridge ) is an alternative asset manager with approximately $7.4 billion in total assets under advisement or management as of November 1, The firm offers investment services across four business lines addressing a wide range of market participants from individual retail investors to large institutions. These business lines are Commingled Funds of Funds Products, Custom Portfolios, Hedge Fund Seeding and Hedge Fund Advisory Services. Our approach leverages the following capabilities: Hands-on team of professionals including six senior members with an average of fifteen years of investment experience Dedicated operational due diligence and risk management teams with separate reporting lines and veto power Team members responsible for the U.S., Europe, Asia, Australia, South America and the Middle East providing customized support to a global client base An innovative product development team that structures unique and customized hedge fund product offering Krug Maison Krug was founded in 1843 by Johann Joseph Krug. His only son Paul was, however, responsible for the worldwide recognition of the brand, especially in the UK market. In 1867 he purchased the land and constructed the buildings that form the Krug headquarters today. Paul Krug also played a large role in promoting Champagne as a whole, by convincing numerous Champagne houses to participate in the World Exposition of 1900, where their pavilion was awarded the Premier Grand Prix. Paul had 10 children, his son Joseph was director of Krug for several years. Now six generations on, Krug continues to be a leading Champagne house. Crown Cellars Crown Wine Cellars is acknowledged as one of the world s finest wine cellar facilities, dedicated to the meticulous handling, storage, long-term maturation and ultimate enjoyment of wine. Located in Shouson Hill, an exclusive suburb on Hong Kong Island, Crown Wine Cellars is nestled in a park-like setting which is also of immense historical significance, having been declared a UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Site in Crown Wine Cellars boasts six underground cellars and a private members clubhouse comprised of two underground bunkers as well as a newly constructed conservatory. The original structures were constructed almost 70 years ago by the British Military to serve as an ammunition and weapons storage depot in preparation for World War II. The site was originally known as the Central Ordnance (Munitions) Depot, and included 24 underground bunkers, of which only 8 remain. Owing to their intended purpose, the bunkers are located approximately 20 meters below ground with 1-meter thick concrete walls and 12-meter long entrance passages. Despite these excellent natural cellar attributes, CWC has gone one step further by introducing state-ofthe-art computer-controlled equipment to provide the ultimate cellar environment. In order to assist the serious collection and future trade of wine, the essential cellar attributes of even temperature, balanced humidity, zero vibration and controlled light exposure have been brought together in virtual text-book perfection. In short, all wines cellared at Crown Wine Cellars enjoy unsurpassed provenance. We have created a perfect replica of the cellar in which your wine matured for the first critical years after bottling nothing more and nothing less. Gregory De 'Eb Members have access to the only genuine underground Private Members Club in Hong Kong. The venue is full of character and offers a variety of outstanding fine dining options. Moreover, members may also request that their wine be made available in the Clubhouse, to be enjoyed on-site at no additional cost. As a combination, these unique options provide an extremely attractive personal and professional entertainment venue. Naturally, home and restaurant wine deliveries are also available. Krug is an expression of the highest art, the transformation of nature through precise grape selection, the assemblage of a mosaic of different growths and the long ageing in the cellars, says Olivier Krug. This alchemy is ultimately expressed in the breathtaking abundance of flavours, the extraordinary contrast of richness, freshness, power and finesse. Every sip is a revelation

8 For Your Notes 12 13

9 For Your Notes 14 15

10 Thank you for attending The Wine Forum s Château Margaux dinner in Hong Kong. We aim to attain the highest standards in everything we do. We will be delighted to hear your feedback on how we might improve for next time and what you enjoyed the most. Our next event: The Golden Decade of Bordeaux a tasting of classic clarets from 2000 to Davos, Switzerland; 25 January Please contact vidhi@thewineforum.org or david@thewineforum.org for more details. The Wine Forum is an independent, notfor-profit society of very senior private and public sector leaders who share a passion for fine wine and philanthropy. Our events feature the best wines from the most renowned producers and take place in discreet, unique settings. Our members come from many different cultures, religions, and political philosophies and set aside two or three days a year to attend our events.