Every now and then, the word ‘singularity’ is used to describe a particular wine that stands apart, for whatever reason, from other wines of its type. But just what is singularity, and how can wine express it? Wine writer Tamlyn Currin investigates.

What makes a wine truly singular? Tamlyn Currin explores the rare bottles that defy convention and challenge the rules of the wine world.

Searching for Singularity in wine

Searching for Singularity

If there is one new constant in Napa, it’s that each vintage seems to bring extraordinary conditions – once-in-a-lifetime circumstances now occur with regularity.   In 2020, the historic Glass Fire erupted near the end of harvest, cutting power for many wineries, damaging vineyards, and meaning many producers didn’t release any wine, due to potential smoke taint. The 2021 vintage, on the other hand, was quieter with no wildfire activity; however, the lingering effects of a severe three-year drought caused reduced yields and the need for meticulous water management. Completing a trifecta of climate change issues, the theme of 2022 was neither smoke nor drought, but intense heat.   Unlike the unusually dry winters that preceded the 2020 and 2021 vintages, the winter before the 2022 vintage marked a return to normal rainfall totals. With over 18 inches of rain between the end of harvest and the start of 2022 alone, the three-year drought was broken. Steady rainfall continued into the early months of 2022 and, after a warm spring, budburst and flowering were slightly earlier than normal. The summer progressed in classic Napa Valley fashion, dry and warm, and the ample water levels led to healthy, well-developed canopies, unlike the previous two vintages. Though two minor heat spikes occurred in May and June, both were brief and too early in the season to have significant impact. All of this changed in the first week of September, however, when a major heatwave was predicted. While most white grapes were already harvested, the timing was critical for red grapes, the majority of which were approaching ripeness but needed additional hang time to achieve optimal flavour development and ripeness. The question every winemaker faced was: just how bad would the heat be?   Winegrowers had two choices: act conservatively and harvest whatever was close to maturity, or bet that the fruit would tolerate the heat. Of course, many variables influenced the choice, including vineyard elevation, vine age, access to irrigation and other heat-mitigation techniques such as misters and shade cloth. For later-ripening varieties and cooler sites, there was little choice but to endure the heat with fingers crossed.  For those who chose to wait, the heat spike was both longer and more severe than predicted – record-breaking, even. The first few days of September were hot – with peak temperatures ranging from 32-35̊C – but beginning on 4th September, daily temperatures soared over 38̊C for six critical days. In some lower-lying areas of the valley, historical records were shattered with temperatures surpassing 46̊C.  For winemaker Mike Smith of Myriad Cellars, the decision was stressful, as most of the fruit he works with, including from To Kalon and Dr Crane vineyards on the valley floor, were not fully ripe. Ultimately, he decided to wait. He likens this experience to facing a stronger team on the playing field, where no matter the outcome, the weaker team will become tougher as a result. Though he is pleased with the resulting wines, he says he still wonders what they would have been like if picked earlier.  Other winemakers didn’t wait for the heat to begin, but instead shifted their plans well in advance. At Philip Togni Vineyard on Spring Mountain, winemaker Lisa Togni says she “jumped the gun on harvesting”, starting on 23rd August – the earliest harvest ever in the history of the winery. She was able to harvest one-third of the property before the heatwave began and says the remainder was able to be brought in shortly after the heatwave ended, at optimal ripeness or slightly higher than normal.   When the heat dome settled over Napa Valley, however, some winemakers quickly pivoted. Winemaker Allison Tauziet of Colgin Cellars remembers she was in St Helena every night when the heat began, tasting in the dark, because she was so concerned about losing freshness. “I could sense flavors moving faster than I’d ever seen,” she says. Just a few days into the heatwave, Tauziet made the snap decision to pick all the fruit that was destined for the Cariad and Tychson Hill wines. “We nailed it,” she says, “We got maturity but didn’t sacrifice anything.”    Many small wineries with fewer resources, however, scrambled to find picking crews, as demand surged. As Lisa Togni points out, “Developing a relationship with pickers is critical. When you need them, you really need them.” Fermentation-tank availability was another major concern. With a suddenly very compressed harvest, not every winery had sufficient space to process the fruit.  Even with varied picking decisions, the multitude of microclimates and site variations in Napa Valley also affected outcomes. Elevation helps to mitigate heat, and this was the case on Howell Mountain at Dunn Vineyard, says winemaker Mike Dunn. Located 2,000 feet above the valley floor, temperatures were six or seven degrees (Fahrenheit) cooler, though still “incredibly unusual” and led to fruit with higher-than-average ripeness. He notes that a few of the 2022 lots at Dunn will likely be de-alcoholised, a technique famously adopted by his father Randy Dunn to keep the wines in balance and below his preferred maximum of 14% alcohol. At Sleeping Lady Vineyard in Yountville, a location “hard up against the Mayacamas mountains”, as described by Ad Vivum winemaker Chris Phelps, the natural shading that occurs from about 3pm onwards always shields the grapes from the hot afternoon sun – a feature that proved especially useful in 2022.  On September 10th, the heatwave broke, and just a week later, winemakers were presented with another potential challenge: nearly an inch of rain in one day. This, too, was record-breaking for the month of September, which typically sees little to no rain. The rain event was not enough to be impactful after the long, dry stretch of summer, says Mike Dunn, who instead described it as just enough to wash the dust off the grapes. On Pritchard Hill, the rain measured three quarters of an inch, but Tauziet says it was “not at all a big deal” for Colgin, and the days following were cool and dry, so mildew pressure was low.  Like Mike Smith, Dunn describes the vintage as a learning experience that will help form future decisions. He is considering a sorting table, which Dunn has never used before. “We are one of the few that are that primitive and that is intentional,” he says, noting that while he and his father’s goal has always been to avoid overly homogenous fruit, a vintage like 2022 made avoiding desiccated berries difficult. Similarly, the brutal heat caused Lisa Togni to decide to build a shade structure over the winery’s crush pad, which she describes as a matter of “human safety” in an increasingly warm region.   Other wineries have already adapted to hotter conditions and more frequent heat events. Up on Pritchard Hill at the Colgin estate, where the fruit is typically harvested later – and in 2022, after the heatwave – shade cloths are used across the entire vineyard. Tauziet adds that misters are used on blocks that are more vulnerable, including thinner-skinned Cabernet Sauvignon clones. Rather than irrigate the vine, the misters instead reduce the air temperature inside the canopy.  When it came to managing the fruit in the winery, it seems approaches varied, although the naturally high pH for later-picked fruit posed a potential ferment – with risks of stuck ferments and the associated problems. Many producers said they did little different, although – as mentioned – many emphasised sorting out any dried berries, but it’s a vintage where generalisations are difficult.  Increasingly extreme weather in Napa – whether from fire, drought or heat – makes vintage comparisons to 2022 difficult. Mike Smith sees some similarities with the heatwave at the start of harvest in 2017, however, which also led to opulent, rich concentration of fruit which he also sees in the 2022 wines. Lisa Togni reaches further back, to 1991, for a comparison, noting that it was a very ripe year that wound up evolving gracefully, while Allison Tauziet likens the texture of 2022 to 2002, for the “amazing expression of fruit”, and she doesn’t see any reason to disparage the wines. “It’s kind of shocking that I really like them,” she says, noting that, despite the stress of the vintage, “there’s a lot of what we’re always seeking: flavor, minerality and perfume.”  Coming after the highly structured 2021 vintage, which was marked by densely packed tannins, the 2022 wines are likely to please those seeking more immediate pleasure. The word “soft” is one that Chris Phelps uses to describe the wines but cautions that he doesn’t mean that in a derogatory way. “There is a natural hedonistic aspect the 2022s have had in spades since – or even before -- they left the fermenter,” he says. “The wine is fresh and has been charming since it was in juice form prior to fermentation. There's plenty of acid for vibrancy and tension, but with just a very slight touch higher pH.”  Most of the wines we’ve tasted so far share a bold style, with opulent layers of fruit and supple tannins. It’s important to note, however, that this is clearly not a homogenous vintage. Vineyard location and aspect were crucial, with higher elevations and those areas better shielded from the sun faring better. It’s clear that the line between fully ripe and overly ripe fruit flavours is razor-thin in this tricky vintage, with many wines showing notes of cooked, even desiccated fruit – not surprising, given the conditions. But collectors should certainly not be put off the vintage, as many other wines show excellent balance and a juicy, friendly exuberance that makes them very pleasurable even in their youth.  The 2022 vintage began as routine, but – in what seems be the new normal in Napa – shifted virtually overnight, forcing winemakers to make quick decisions based on their own unique location and combination of contributing factors. While the resulting wines will share some characteristics, the 2022s are formed by their microclimate, as well as the resources and quick decision-making skills of the winemakers. Lisa Togni also credits her successful harvest to another factor: sheer luck. Much like 2021, when fire licked the edges of the Togni property but spared her parents’ house and the winery, Togni is grateful above all else. “I feel for everyone who didn’t have the luck we did,” Togni says. “2022 was a reminder to be ever vigilant. You can’t relax even for a minute anymore.”    Napa 2022: the vintage in brief   Ample winter rainfall ended a three-year drought The bulk of the growing season was uneventful, with normal temperatures and rainfall  Beginning the first week of September, a record-breaking heatwave lasted six days  Yields are lower than average, though not as low as the drought-impacted 2021  Quality is heterogenous, with the wineries that were able to make quick picking decisions impacted less by the heatwave  The best wines are opulent, dense and concentrated, with a juicy exuberance that makes them approachable early  The 2022 wines from some estates are now being released; keep your eyes out for Schrader and Double Diamond, launching soon 

A year of extreme conditions, 2022 demanded much of Napa’s producers. Rachael Ryan – Senior Buyer for our US arm, Vinfolio – spoke to the region’s top producers about the vintage, reporting on the growing season and the wines 

Your essential guide to the 2022 vintage in California’s Napa Valley, with information from Togni, Ad Vivum, Myriad, Dunn and Colgin

Napa 2022 vintage report

Napa 2022: the bold and the brave 

Ian Chang is one of the most well-respected and accomplished whisky makers in the modern era. After 16 incredible years at Kavalan, in which he and the distillery went from unknowns to untouchables, Chang is embarking on a new adventure. This time he is turning his sights to one of the most exciting whisky-producing regions in the world: Japan. You’d forgive Chang for being egotistic. Over the past decade and a half, the Taiwan-native has received countless awards and accolades for his Kavalan single malts and is fawned over by whisky lovers and the press. And yet, even through his medical mask – there are still Coronavirus restrictions in Japan when we speak via Zoom – on a slightly pixelated screen, you can feel a genuine warmth and kindness emanating from the Master Blender. He is fiercely intelligent, good-humoured and modest. When it was announced in 2020 that Chang would be leaving Kavalan, the news was met with surprise and intrigue. Why was he leaving? Where might he work next? Would he stay in Taiwan? “The reason why I left Kavalan is because I wanted to change to a different environment,” Chang tells me from his new office in Japan. “Before this project, I only had experience in Taiwan,” Chang explains. “Producing whisky in a hot climate, which means that age statement whisky can virtually not be produced due to very high angel share.” Chang says he immediately signed onto the new distillery project spearheaded by Karuizawa locals Koji and Yoshie Shimaoka. While some details are already in the public domain about Komoro, located near the fabled original Karuizawa distillery site, this is the first time Chang has spoken at such length about his intentions for the new Japanese whisky distillery. “In Japan, in Karuizawa, they have a very similar climate to Scotland, so our plan is to produce whisky with age statement,” he tells me with glee. The first Komoro age statement will be a 12-year-old, followed by a 16- and 20-year-old. Thereafter, the age statements will increase in five-year increments, Chang says. There will be some non-age statement bottlings before the whisky reaches the 12-year mark. “So hopefully I can see my very first 40-year-old whisky,” he says with a soft chuckle, “If I’m still alive – fingers crossed.” Chang joined the whisky industry as a novice (or “from zero” as he calls it) in 2005. After graduating with a degree in food technology, he applied on a whim to a role at Kavalan’s parent company. Despite his lack of experience, Chang passed the interview stage, which required him to identify flavour notes in whisky, with flying colours. For the first year, while the distillery was being built, Chang voraciously read everything he could on whisky. Then, in 2006, the young whisky-maker-to-be met a man who would change his and the distillery’s destiny: Dr Jim Swan. “That was when the official learning started,” Chang tells me. Dr Swan – who was dubbed the “Einstein of whisky” for his pioneering scientific research and ability to help new distilleries with his unparalleled whisky production and maturation know-how – began by teaching Chang the fundamentals. This education took the best part of three years and covered everything from malting, milling, mashing, fermentation and double distillation. By the time the very first Kavalan Classic Single Malt was released in year three, the team knew they had produced something exceptional, and it didn’t take long for the wider whisky world to start taking a keen interest in Taiwan, Chang and Kavalan’s ground-breaking techniques. Not that Chang would say as much. Ever humble, he continues: “That’s when my focus with Jim Swan switched to blending.” The duo travelled extensively, visiting cask suppliers across Europe and the USA, while Dr Swan taught his protégé everything he knew about whisky from his 40-year career, and, you sense, his learnings from the school of life. When Dr Swan suddenly passed away in 2017 at the age of 75, he left a gaping chasm in the industry and many people’s lives, Chang included. Five years after his mentor’s sudden passing, Chang occasionally uses the present tense when talking about Dr Swan and takes a nano second to compose himself before he continues with his train of thought. The reverence and respect is clear to see. Of all the people Dr Swan taught, directly and indirectly, Chang spent the longest time under his tutelage, and he continually credits him for every success that he has had. For his latest project at Komoro, Chang said he wants to “bring Japanese whisky to the next level” by applying the many techniques he learned from Dr Swan. It’s a brave move in more ways than one. Chang has relocated to the country and doesn’t speak the local dialect, yet – but he is very grateful that his local colleagues are willing to learn and speak English to him. He is also joining a whisky-producing region that is at a very interesting crossroads in its history. It was announced last year that new regulations will come into force in 2024 which stipulate all liquid labelled as “Japanese whisky” must be produced (from fermentation to bottling) in Japan. This undoubtedly wouldn’t have been a problem for Komoro but it does mean several very high-profile competitors are scrambling to change their practices accordingly. Chang doesn’t comment on this but he does say: “To be honest, so far, I think all the major producers, such as Suntory and Nikka don’t really use STR [Shaved, Toasted and Re-Charred casks] at the moment. “So, by introducing Jim’s technologies and also his way of new-make production we are going to enrich the spirit produced in Japan and make a whisky which will be very much more enjoyable for consumers to enjoy globally – this is our aim for the future.” One of Dr Swan’s most famous contributions to the whisky world, and Kavalan specifically, was STR (Shaved, Toasted and Re-Charred casks). The invention was born out of necessity in 2010 when shortages of refill casks began to cripple the industry. Chang says Kavalan was in “serious trouble” because the distillery was a mere four years into production and couldn’t secure any re-fill casks for their new-make spirit. It was then that Dr Swan suggested the team used ex-wine casks instead of the in-demand refill Bourbon. This was highly irregular; ex-wine casks were undesirable because of wine’s organic acids, which would spoil the whisky and make it astringent. Simply, the process of shaving, toasting and re-charring casks removes the unwanted acids, breaks down the lignin structure of the wood to release wood-related compounds (including the desirable vanillin and caramel notes), and imparts a nice, sweet character to the spirit.  When asked what the secret is to producing an exceptional whisky, unsurprisingly Chang’s answer has been heavily influenced by his mentor. For Dr Swan, it was always about layering flavours and textures. “We want to make sure that it’s a rich and complex whisky but at the same time, very balanced without any off notes. To Jim, off notes were a big minus in terms of quality and that is why distillation and fermentation is also very critical in addition to wood policy,” Chang explains. “Because off notes can come from three places: fermentation, from the wood and also from fast distillation, these are the three areas that Jim always paid attention to.” This attention would include visiting cask suppliers regularly and ensuring distillation is slow to promote interaction between the new-make and copper. He would also keep a close eye on fermentation so the temperature increases from the beginning until the end. For Chang, and Dr Swan, there is a science and an art to whisky making and blending. “When it comes to marketing, especially during masterclasses, sometimes you’ve got to tell a little bit of stories so that’s when parts of the art and romance come in,” he says, laughing gently – making him even more endearing. “But to be honest, to be a blender, sometimes you have to use your imagination as well. You have to imagine how a Sherry cask will blend with a peated new-make, for example. “Jim always said, whisky making is a combination of art and science. And I think it’s maybe half, half. I think if you don’t have good imagination, you cannot really be a good blender but if you don’t know the science and just know the romantic side you cannot produce good new-make to begin with, so you have got to combine the two to make sure that the new-make and the wood go very nicely together.” During his 18 years in the industry, Chang has seen a lot of change. With new distilleries opening at a staggering rate and lost icons being brought back to life, there has arguably never been a more exciting time to work in single malt whisky production. Chang agrees and says things are looking “very bright”. So, what does a man like Chang do in his spare time, when he’s not producing remarkable whiskies consumers want to buy? “I watch Netflix,” he says before I can finish asking the question, and then lets out that laugh again. It’s a typically frank and relatable response that comes as a slight shock to us both. Most would – truth or not – say something that made them sound high-brow but not Chang. He continues to say that he’s recently finished the entire box set of 24 (a recommendation by a friend who presumably thought he had a lot of time to kill or difficulty sleeping), a Taiwanese drama, the latest Karate Kid (Cobra Kai) and a series about Japanese history. It’s an eclectic mix and refreshingly honest. As the Komoro project enters its next stage and whisky starts to run from the stills, there will be a lot of pressure on Chang to produce another award-winning single malt but those who know him won’t be concerned. With his formidable knowledge, calm confidence and unwavering integrity, you sense he’s going to do himself – and Dr Jim Swan – proud. Browse all whisky listings or read more Editorial

Ian Chang is the man behind Taiwan’s first and most decorated distillery, Kavalan. For 16 years, this young whisky maker defied expectations and redefined world-class single malts. Holly Motion discovers how he became the best of the very best

The ex-Kavalan Master Blender Ian Chang on how his mentor, the late Dr Jim Swan, taught him how to become one of the world's most well-respected whisky makers

How Kavalan’s Ian Chang became a whisky icon

Ian Chang: the humble student

Three of the five First Growths are situated in Pauillac. What is it that makes this appellation so special? As Chateau Lafite neighbours Saint-Estèphe does it share an affinity with both appellations?

We can only be very biased when making comments on the Pauillac appellation, having two Chateaux in the appellation (Chateau Lafite & Chateau Duhart Milon). We are Pauillac
lovers and defenders! It is deeply rooted. The capacity to combine density, complexity
and elegance is unique. The capacity to age the wines is remarkable, such is the potential to seduce wine lovers with captivating aromas. One phrase, not from us, that we feel symbolises Pauillac’s wine is “an iron fist in a velvet glove”. When it comes to Saint-Estèphe, we are also very biased as we have four hectares planted next door to Cos d’Estournel and Lafon-Rochet. Those four hectares produce remarkable Cabernet Sauvignon which goes into the Lafite Grand Vin nearly every year. It is part of the original estate of Chateau Lafite, which is one of the reasons why we have a specific authorisation to include it in our final blend. Ripeness, structure, capacity to seduce are really what makes our Saint-Estèphe grapes so special. In the past you have talked about how well the terroir of Lafite manages with warm vintages – why do you think that is?

The Lafite terroir is extraordinary, it is such a privilege for us to work on this very particular piece of land. The density and depth of gravel, the capacity to restrain water, the quality
of the vegetative material, the high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon… all those elements combined are certainly part of the answer. Cabernet Sauvignon is a fascinating grape in that regard, the resistance and capacity of never becoming too extreme is very fortunate. But Lafite is not only one terroir. People think about the hill of Lafite of course, but we have Anseillan which is a very interesting territory to explore, we have Bel Air on the South West not far from Duhart-Milon which is a bit more arid, we have the Plateau des Carruades –  a playground for Grands Vins for a century, and we also have the Caillava in the Saint-Estèphe appellation which makes us a bit unique in that regards. Our fortune is to be able to play
with this diversity in the final blend, always challenging ourselves every year. Tell us more about the five defining terroirs of Chateau Lafite: Plateau de Lafite: Located just outside the Chateau from our cellar up to the hill of Lafite down south on one side, and up to the villages of Milon and Loubeyres going west on another side. This plateau, from the quaternary period is a mix of very deep Clayey gravel on top of the hill, sandy-gravel closer to the Chateau on the western part, and some parcels planted on aeolian sandy soil. All is mainly planted with old Cabernet Sauvignon. This is the backbone of Lafite Grand Vin nearly every year. It gives fruit elegance, texture, and exceptional density. The magical playground for us. Plateau des Carruades:  The iconic and historic terroir des Carruades nestled between the south of Duhart-Milon and Mouton, is one of the most extraordinary pieces of deep clayey gravel soil from the
quaternary period. This plateau is planted with great Cabernet Sauvignon but also with the best Merlot of Lafite. It is today a terroir of experimentation for us where we conduct most of our biodynamical analysis. As for the Plateau de Lafite, it is a core component of our Grand Vin blend nearly every year bringing structure. Le Caillava: Le Caillava is unique and is one of the reasons why we believe Lafite has something special. Le Caillava is located in Saint-Estèphe between Cos d’Estournel and Lafon-Rochet. A wonderful terroir of deep clayey-gravel soil from the Quaternary period. Planted in 1927, Cabernet Sauvignon on this terroir gives spicy, ripe and structured grapes entering every year in the final blend of Lafite Grand Vin. Bel Air, Passe-Temps, Berret:  Our most southern and arid terroir is located south of Duhart-Milon vineyards, next door to our cooperage. Most of the terroir is gravel soil from the quaternary period, with some
blocks mixed with more sandy soil. Grapes from those two terroirs are very expressive, generous, and sometimes more hard than other plateau, but always useful in blends. Our plot of Cabernet Franc is also planted in this part. 
Anseillan:  Located on the eastern side of the estate, the closest to the riverside, on the other side of the road from Pauillac to Saint-Estèphe. Some terroir of clayey gravel soil on top of Anseillan
surrounding the village. On the lower part of Anseillan down the road and up north closer to the Saint-Estèphe border the terroir is alluvial-clay-limestone from the tertiary period. It is relatively evenly planted in Cab Sauv and Merlot, and with our parcel of Petit Verdot. It is a new terroir of exploration for Carruades that looks very promising. An even more precise “laser-cut approach” towards parcel management enabling us to pick lovely grapes bringing us joy and confidence for the future of this terroir that we better master. 
Making a wine for such a historical estate, do you feel the pressure to maintain the status quo? Making wine and working in such a historical estate is a privilege, first of all. And because it is such a privilege, we have a moral duty of not maintaining status quo and always challenging ourselves. What can we do better? How is Bordeaux evolving? What is
driving wine lovers’ appetites today?...  Great companies and chateaux are led with an entrepreneurial spirit. We work for the long term, to prepare the estates for the next generation, the decisions we take when it comes to
investment or vineyard management are really long-term. This is strongly rooted in values of Lafite and the Rothschild family. 
How do you balance this with your own desires as a winemaker to make an impression on the wine? It’s a very good question! It was a little bit difficult at the beginning for a young agronomist/oenologist arriving at Lafite. At this age, you always think that you will be able to start the revolution and change everything and have a huge effect on the wine. But, rapidly, you understand that Lafite is not yours and belongs to the family of course, but also to the World, to the great clients, and to the history. Thus, when that is understood, your action is only focused on increasing the quality step by step, but with respect to all those who are waiting for Lafite. 
With the 2019 vintage what do you feel are the most important elements behind the vintage? 
The vintage started beautifully with a dry and mild winter. Fine weather continued in early spring with an early vegetative cycle. Cold came between March and May and we crossed our fingers/held our breath 6 times fearing that frost might hit us badly. Careful vigilance from the team was key, so was the use of candles. The first flowers appeared in Pauillac around 28th May. This flower was unfortunately capricious due to important rains arriving during the second part of flowering, leading to small amount of “coulure” and “millerandage”. Early summer was the warmest recorded since 2003, fortunately relatively short, and the vineyards showed beautiful resistance. Rain miraculously arrived on 26th July with 45mm in Pauillac  – ideal for “veraison” to start. August was then fine, with average temperatures and some rain. Early September was dry, enabling us to start the harvest on 19th September in Pauillac, 13th September at L’Evangile and 8th October in Rieussec. As always at Lafite we follow our philosophy and DNA of wine with freshness, tension and beautiful ageing capability. We have a viticulturist approach to winemaking, 80% of a great wine comes from the quality of the fruit and the investment we put in the vineyards. What have been some positive surprises of the vintage? This year we had lovely surprises from “outsider vineyards” producing pure and elegant wines that have been replacing some typical vineyards in the final blend – as always testing is key, such as the capacity to always question ourselves. This is particularly true for the Merlots planted on more gravely-clay terroirs showing beautiful tension this year. For Carruades (the second wine of Chateau Lafite), the very important work done over the last year of precision and exploration of our Anseillan terroir is really paying off. The Merlots of Anseillan and our Cabernet Franc are giving a lovely density and elegance to the pure Lafite DNA. Overall for Lafite, this is a vintage that we call “modern-classic”. In the pure Lafite style, very Cabernet led, very pure, very precise, with some ripeness. This is reflected in the final blends that is 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot for Chateau Lafite Grand Vin, and 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc for Carruades. Our gut feel is that just as there will always be a discussion between 2009 and 2010, we will have the same between 2018 and 2019. 2018 being closer to 2009, and 2019 being closer to 2010. What are the most important factors in regard to Chateau Lafite’s winemaking philosophy? 
When it comes to winemaking, we have a very traditional and, we could say, “hands-off” approach to preserve the quality of the fruit and reflect the vintage conditions. As an example, we always use a high proportion of press wine as we don’t go for “maceration pre-fermentaire à froid” or even “maceration post-fermentaire à chaud”. We don’t do “delestage”, we have always been very gentle on vinification at Lafite.  We don’t push on the dregs/marc - we are always very soft and traditional. This explains why we then have super high quality press wine that we can include in the final blend, this year up to 15% of the blend comes from the press wine! Normally this is closer to 10-12%. 
Have you made any changes at Lafite due to global warming? We are already very well equipped at Lafite in the context of global warning. The extraordinary terroir we mentioned previously, our strong Carbernet Sauvignon planting, the quality of vegetative materials are strong assets.  Nevertheless, we try to anticipate these changes. We have an internal research and development team running some tests with different plantings, with grass development (enherbement) in vineyards, with canopy management.  We are not sure that the future will be the introduction of new grape varietals, given the Cabernet Sauvignon is already a very resistant grape. The topic of density of plantation is more important, and we are working on a slow decreasing of it. The main change in Bordeaux is the succession of extraordinary vintages. In the past, once every 5 years we had a great vintage and every 10 years an exceptional vintage. Now nearly every year the vintage conditions are such that we can produce very good wines.  How we can sustain beautiful vintages year on year in the markets is one of the big questions for the future. But it is a great challenge to have – we prefer to have amazing wine every year, it will always be drunk at some point! It is our duty as owners and producers to create the moment for wine lovers to open our bottles. Something that Bordeaux Chateaux have not been particularly active on in the past. 
How do you feel Bordeaux’s reputation has changed in the world of fine wine in the last 20 years? 20 years ago Bordeaux was by far the leading region in the world of fine wine, maybe followed by Napa and Piemont. Then Burgundy and Northern Rhone were under the spotlight. Today we have seen the rise of other regions like Tuscany… Cabernet Sauvignon was the acclaimed varietal also, now Pinot Noir is trendy - of course from Burgundy but also from Central Otago in New Zealand, and from Oregon State. The world is more open, wine lovers are maybe more curious, the loyalty to big names in the world of fine wine (as in other categories) is also weaker. This can explain why today younger generations may enter the world of fine wines through other regions, when in the past Bordeaux was the point of entry. What is also striking is how Bordeaux is modernising itself with more professionalism in many Chateaux, more willingness to travel and meet wine lovers, more open to welcome people at the property, a better understanding of the world of fine wine. With the quality of the wines produced, with more willingness to travel and understand consumers, with greater attention on crafting experiences and creating occasions for people to open bottles, there is no reason to doubt that Bordeaux will continue to shine and seduce the younger generations of wine lovers that today might not consider Bordeaux as a preferred choice. What is Bordeaux's greatest asset? We don’t see many regions in the world like Bordeaux that have the capacity to produce extraordinary wines year on year with significant volume to create a very capillary distribution. The investments that are made both in the vineyards and in the cellar are absolutely impressive in Bordeaux. Bordeaux is one of the greatest and most dynamic cities in France today, very well reachable from Paris, London, Amsterdam, Geneva…, with many things to do for a week or weekend in the region. Many Chateaux have invested in great hospitality experiences to provide customers with a memorable experience. Bordeaux has everything in its hands to really stand out and continue to seduce wine lovers from around the world, we just need to communicate it! 
What is Bordeaux’s biggest challenge? Its lack of capacity to communicate the assets discussed previously. There is no other region in France and in the world that is experiencing so much “bashing” over the last few years. Are all the criticisms unfair? Certainly not, but everything is exaggerated, and Bordeaux is not able to speak with one voice on some big topics, to have a consensus, to unite forces to make people realise how Bordeaux has changed, how modern and open to world things are now, on top of the extraordinary quality of the wines produced! How have you been affected by Coronavirus? We have been observing the evolution of this terrible pandemic for several weeks, and we have been taking immediate measures in line with the authorities. Our first priority is the safety and well-being of our people in our Chateaux, in our Bordeaux and Paris offices, in our Domaine of Aussière, but also in our properties in China, Chile and Argentina. The second priority has been to maintain minimal staff in the properties for mandatory activities – we are right in the middle of harvest in South America, we were planning the bottling of Duhart-Milon 2018, we were finishing the blending of vintage 2019 in our
Bordeaux Chateaux… We hope strongly that this terrible situation will pass very soon for everyone. 
With En Primeur tastings postponed how will this affect the release of Chateau Lafite 2019? You know that we are very strong believers in the en-primeur system as it is a unique platform for Bordeaux wines enabling the Chateaux to have the best reach and international spread possible. However, as with every system it needs to be fine-tuned, recreating a
sense of magic to maintain desirability, and needs to provide a customer incentive to purchase en-primeurs. So yes, postponing the en-primeurs is not a decision taken easily, but given the circumstances it is a choice that had to be made. It is almost impossible to have a clear view of when this terrible crisis will end and thus when we would be able to reorganize the en-primeurs. One thing is for sure, as soon as the conditions are in place for people to travel safely, which we all hope to be in June/July, we will be delighted to meet them for tastings (either in Bordeaux or around the world) to share the wines of the 2019 vintage, and share our passion and dedication to produce some of the best wines in the world! Explore all current Ch. Lafite listings or browse more Editorial 

Chateau Lafite Rothschild Technical Director Eric Kohler and Commercial Director Jean-Sebastien Philippe of Domaines Barons de Rothschild on Bordeaux’s continued relevance in an ever-expanding and competitive global fine wine market

Interview with one of the most prestigious and world-renowned wine estates, Chateau Lafite Rothschild

Interview with Chateau Lafite Rothschild

Exclusive interview with Chateau Lafite Rothschild 

It’s often noted that Burgundians know nothing about Bordeaux and its wines – and vice versa. This is an exaggeration, though it retains a nugget of truth. These two great French wine regions are poles apart culturally. This is not a novel observation. Indeed, Jean-Robert Pitte, a professor at the Sorbonne, wrote an entire book, Bordeaux Bourgogne: Histoire d’une rivalité (2016), on this very theme. Just a couple of examples. In Bordeaux you will encounter people with names such as Basile, Vanessa, Diana or Jennifer – that would be inconceivable in Burgundy. This may be to do with the fact that Aquitaine was English-owned for centuries, or it may be that some Bordelais believe that an English name confers a certain cachet. At celebrations organized by the Chevaliers du Tastevin at Clos de Vougeot, and just about anywhere where Burgundy’s wines are praised and consumed, the ban bourguignon is an unavoidable part of the proceedings. It entails raising both arms in the air and twisting them in time to a raucous ditty with the words ‘Lala, lala, lalalala layla, lala, lala, la, la, la’. Can you imagine such a thing at Haut-Brion? Another striking difference is that Burgundy excludes, while Bordeaux includes, at least in terms of embracing those it considers helpful to its promotion, such as merchants, auctioneers and journalists. I have visited Burgundy and its growers every year for over three decades and can count on the fingers of two hands the number of times I have been invited to stay for lunch, let alone dinner. Without fail, a 10.30am appointment will come to an end at noon, and the visitor will be politely shown the door. Hungry after a morning of tastings? That’s your problem, monsieur. I used to find this irksome but soon came to understand that for the Burgundian, noon is the time when family members return to the homestead from pruning or tractoring or delivering bottles. It’s the sacred lunch hour, and outsiders have no place. You can taste from every barrel in the cellar, but that hospitality doesn’t extend to the dining room. It’s the exact opposite in Bordeaux, where it’s assumed that a visitor with a late-morning appointment will stay for lunch. Indeed, when researching one of my books in Saint-Emilion, I was amazed to find that my programme, organised with enthusiasm by the local syndicat, included lunch and dinner every day, weekends included. The Bordeaux proprietor will usually use the occasion not just to offer a fine meal, but to open some older vintages for the delectation of the visitor. The Burgundian really couldn’t care less. On one occasion, a grower with whom I spent a morning to research a profile for a magazine, had suggested, when I made the appointment, that I might like to stay for lunch. With pleasure, I responded, hoping that a mature Richebourg might be brought up from the cellar for my appreciation. But sur place, when I had completed my interview, it was clear that the owner had completely forgotten his offer. (However, after an embarrassing few minutes all around, his wife did rustle up a rather good meal.) Born to be hospitable Burgundy’s wine culture is about the nuances of terroir; Bordeaux is about selling wine that’s produced in far larger quantities than from patchwork Burgundy, and all those who can serve that purpose are corralled into a network of hospitality. A lunch will always take the same form. Coats and bags are deposited in the hallway of the château and one is led into a salon, where a small table supports a bottle of Champagne (often Pol Roger, sometimes Bollinger) and some glasses.  In comes the butler or maid (often on hire from the local traiteur, or caterer) with a plate of gougères or roundels of toast with foie gras to stimulate the appetite. Then the host rises to his (and occasionally her) feet and leads the way into the dining room. Lunch is invariably a butler-service event, so guests must calculate how much meat or veg to convey onto one’s plate without either appearing greedy or depriving others of their fair share. The dishes are always replenished, however, so seconds are in order. No need to panic. If the aim is to impress, it usually succeeds. In contrast, the Burgundians en fête are after a good time. Other than the rather forced jollity of the Chevaliers du Tastevin dinners, usually accompanied by indifferent wines, the highlight of the Burgundian wine calendar is the Paulée de Meursault (other paulées are available, but all agree that Meursault does it best). This is in effect a giant bottle party. Each producer, who may be accompanied by family or guests, will bring a basket stacked with a few bottles or magnums of a venerable or prized vintage. These will be poured and later circulated in the course of a five-hour lunch. Those lucky enough to attend can often taste spectacular rarities. This is not the Bordeaux way. At a formal dinner, for example during the en primeur tastings or Vinexpo, invited merchants or journalists will find themselves at a large round table in the company of two or three château owners or winemakers. They will have brought bottles – often very fine bottles – that will, in due course, be delivered to your table. There’s a certain amount of swapping with other tables to provide more variety, and certain journalists, towards the end of the evening, will be seen roving the room in search of wines to try on distant tables. (I plead guilty.) Here again, the aim is to impress. Brigades of waiters and waitresses, quite often students from a local catering college, will swoop in from the kitchen with such efficiency that a few hundred guests can be served almost simultaneously. Moreover, the food will usually be excellent, provided by one of the many highly professional traiteurs who flourish in Bordeaux. Access is the name of the game. The privileged guest, sipping Champagne or Sauternes during the prolonged apéritif hour before a grand Bordeaux dinner, will be in the company of dozens of château owners. Reach out a hand, even to someone you’ve never seen before but vaguely recognize, and it will instantly be shaken: ‘Bonsoir, monsieur.’ Everyone present is within the magic circle. You have been appointed, like it or not, as an ambassador for Bordeaux. Over 20 years ago I was present, along with 400 other guests, at the Fête des Vendanges, a great feast organized each year before the harvest by a leading château. I could see from the menu that 1985 Haut-Brion was to be the final wine of the evening, but what I hadn’t anticipated was that it was to be served in magnums only. Moreover, on a very warm evening each magnum had been lightly chilled before serving to ensure that it would retain
its freshness and digestibility in the glass. Other blandishments include guests of honour who are often prima donnas or celebrated actresses. Who wouldn’t want to be around when, as once happened, Gina Lollobrigida was escorted between the tables by the château owner? These feats of generosity, glamour and service are to be observed at all such events in Bordeaux. If you’re lucky enough to be present, it’s hard not to experience a wave of self-satisfaction. This warm embrace of the wine trade is not extended to mere consumers, of course. Although châteaux are more open to visitors than they were in the past, most wine tourists making their way up the roads that connect Margaux to Saint-Julien and Pauillac are confronted by closed gates or notices that read ‘by appointment only’. Some 25 years ago a delegation of Bordeaux worthies came to London to ask friendly journalists (over a good lunch, of course) what they could do improve the image of their region. ‘Try opening your gates,’ was my suggestion, and it did not go down particularly well. Fees, factotums and fixers Oeno-tourism has been slow to come to Bordeaux. Showcase châteaux such as Pavie, Smith Haut Lafitte or Lynch-Bages have become adept at offering tours and tastings, though at a price. A fee is understandable, as the cost of staffing the tours and the wines to be poured needs to be recouped. Napa does it differently. Visitors are courted, and the customary tasting fee will be refunded if you buy a bottle or two. In Australia, the ‘cellar door’ is always open for visitors to enjoy the wines and other merchandising. However, in Bordeaux, most prestigious châteaux make little effort to welcome visitors.  In Burgundy, top growers sell to a band of importers and perhaps a few private customers and restaurants. In Bordeaux, châteaux sell to négociants, who distribute their wines worldwide. Châteaux have no direct influence over who sells or buys their wines. That’s why it’s important to have influential writers and critics on their side. A high score from a wine guru may just persuade a group of merchants or consumers to buy Château X in preference to Château Y. And the other way around the following year. No wonder top châteaux treat the media with affection and respect. Consultants, too, form part of the hype machine. They are rarely present in Burgundy, where savoir-faire is passed down (not always successfully) from one generation to the next. But in regions such as Tuscany or Bordeaux, where estate owners are often rich and enthusiastic but short on expertise, the consultant is an essential member of the team. Nothing wrong with hiring good advice, of course. But choosing the right consultant also adds lustre to the estate. In Italy, take on Carlo Ferrini or Riccardo Cotarella and you can be certain, at the very least, of media attention. In Bordeaux, the consultant is more than an adviser on viticulture or vinification, suggesting how high your canopy should be or which coopers are best suited to your style of wine. They have influence too. Michel Rolland, notoriously, had the ear of Robert Parker for many years. This was perfectly understandable because, broadly speaking, they liked the same style of wine. I once asked a château owner with a group of properties why he had chosen a particular consultant rather than another of similar renown. ‘He’s good at what he does,’ was the reply, ‘but he also has a track record of getting his clients’ wines onto airline lists.’ Many of the older generation of consultants were invisible. In decades of visits to Bordeaux, I never encountered Jacques Boissenot, who advised most of the top estates of the Médoc, or Gilles Pauquet in Saint-Emilion. Others, such as Stéphane Derenoncourt, court importers and the press assiduously, with regular tastings that provide a showcase for all their clients. Wine writers like, for sound reasons, to be on close terms with consultants such as Derenoncourt, as they can be invaluable sources of information. Save time and score it? Admission to the magic circle of Bordeaux carries its own risks. I doubt there is much corruption as such – no wine writer of any importance would, I assume, be foolish enough to accept backhanders in exchange for favourable ratings – but what has happened is that independent assessment has been almost abandoned. And there are stories of bribes, often in the form of a few cases of wine, being offered. Newly minted bloggers would be particularly susceptible to a helping hand. Back in the 1980s or even 1990s revered critics such as Robert Parker would not hesitate to give a poor score to a wine he considered below standard. These days a poor score has become close to inconceivable. A score below 90 has become the equivalent of a smack in the face. In an article some years ago I predicted the scores that the major critics would give the 2014 vintage when, a few months later, the wines became available for tasting En Primeur.  My educated guesses, made without tasting a single wine, were alarmingly accurate. That, simply put, is because critics now score the brand and not the wine. No one is going to rate a first growth or scarce Pomerol at below 96; likewise, no obscure fifth growth or Côte de Bordeaux red, however fine, will ever be scored at 93 or higher. Bordeaux has succeeded in imposing its own self-valuations on its critics. Price has become equated with quality, as has been the case since the 18th century. This is why new owners of certain properties relentlessly push up their prices, because this is the best way to confer prestige on the wines. For Bordeaux as a whole, it may be a costly business organizing lavish dinners with superlative vintages, but it has paid off in establishing a group of wines as safely within the band of the world’s most appreciated and sought-after. For the wine critic, it’s a tricky balance. Without access, an article or vintage assessment becomes impossible. I am not immune. To research my own publications on Bordeaux, I have accepted offers to stay at comfortable châteaux for extended periods. I do my best not to let my judgment be swayed by this quid pro quo (which I disclose), but one can never be certain. Schmooze or you lose? It’s not only the wine press that is courted and pampered. Top châteaux will lay on lavish feasts for négociants and brokers too. Corinne Mentzelopoulos of Château Margaux once described such events as a way of thanking the Bordeaux wine trade for their success in selling her wines (not an arduous task, I would have thought). She intimated that it was also a way of keeping the trade on her side. Selling top claret in a great vintage is a doddle (except when grotesquely overpriced); selling the same label in a mediocre year such as 2013 is another matter. Maintaining brand loyalty – to Brand Bordeaux and individual châteaux – is crucial. By 2020 the region was having to face the threat of USA tariffs, the cold shoulder from China, the uncertainties of Brexit for the important British market, not to mention the growing climatic vagaries bringing drought, frost and hail in their wake.  Other challenges are stylistic rather than economic. A colleague who is involved in assessing the wine lists of top restaurants worldwide notes that there are a growing number of such lists that ostentatiously scorn Bordeaux in favour of, usually, ‘natural’ or other styles considered trendy. This is sommelier-driven, and Bordeaux producers and merchants are not always aware of how old-fashioned and stuffy their offerings appear to sommeliers (and their clients) in search of novelty rather than reliability. It’s hard for individual châteaux to promote their wines worldwide since they don’t know precisely who is buying their superb wines. In contrast, their Napa Valley equivalents stage auctions and other events targeted very precisely at super-rich clients and social media. Australia has its highly regarded agricultural shows, awarding medals that confer more prestige than most medals from wine competitions.  Bordeaux doesn’t have such marketing opportunities at its disposal, which is why generic marketing campaigns, prestigious tasting events, and the assiduous wooing of the media are such necessary tools. Whether they will continue to be effective as they have been in the past is undoubtedly open to question. On Bordeaux: Tales of the Unexpected from the World’s Greatest Wine Region – an anthology of writing on Bordeaux with a foreword by Jane Anson – is published by Académie du Vin Library and available now.  Explore more Editorial 

Bordeaux and Burgundy couldn’t be much more different. In this extract from Académie du Vin Library’s new publication On Bordeaux, Stephen Brook considers how the two regions market themselves – asking whether wooing the world’s press is enough to keep Bordeaux in pole position

Stephen Brook considers how the Bordeaux and Burgundy wine regions market themselves 

Bordeaux, Burgundy wines and building the hype

Bordeaux, Burgundy and building the hype

Looking out across the Côte d’Or, the astute might notice a few more gaps amongst the rows of vines than normal. Dig a little deeper, listening to nervous murmurs in cellars around the region, and you’ll hear that there’s trouble below the surface – with a once-favoured rootstock the culprit.  We like to imagine the life of a Burgundian vigneron as one of the happiest in the world; a bucolic existence in the vineyards, or else surrounded by casks, vats and bottles of their gorgeous bottles. We rather enjoy the product ourselves – despite the occasional irritations of a corked or otherwise flawed bottle resulting in a failed experience. Still, the only loss is of that specific bottle. Sometimes there can be clouds in a vigneron’s life, storm clouds. A hailstorm might destroy the crop in one sector of a vineyard: that cuvée disappears off the map for a whole year, the vigneron’s work for the season destroyed in a single half hour. Or, though we have not seen this for many years, an entire vintage may be compromised by torrential rain throughout the harvest. It is hard to imagine what it can be like to lose a whole year’s crop in one go, but how much worse must it be when there is an existential threat to the life of the vine itself. Two recent threats have been the disease esca, known as the black goo in some parts of the world, and flavescence dorée. Both can bring rapid mortality to individual vines, but can be treated. Now there is a new and insidious problem to contend with: one of the key rootstocks widely used in Burgundy seems to be giving up on the job. The 161/49C rootstock has been the favourite for a generation here. The C stands for Couderc, specifically Georges Couderc who bred this rootstock as far back as 1888, shortly after it had become apparent that only vines grafted on to American non-vitis vinifera rootstocks could resist the phylloxera beetle. It is a Berlandieri x Riparia cross, designed to be relatively resistant to active limestone (very important in Burgundy), and is not over-productive: indeed, it has been such an obvious choice for producers looking for quality over quantity that it has been exceptionally widely planted in Burgundy of late. But 161/49C is giving up on its job. The failures were first seen in the south and south-west of France, and are now widespread in Burgundy. The damage was mostly done with more recent plantings: which may have given rise to the theory of the rootstock having intrinsically degenerated. However, another explanation has emerged, that the younger vines do not have deep enough root systems to be able to search out underground water, whereas the old vines with established root systems appear to be able to carry on serenely. The story is still unfolding and I doubt that we have all the answers yet. I learn from Pl@ntGrape that 161/49C is theoretically relatively resistant to drought, a view which may very well be changing. Whereas discussions with vignerons a few years ago were based around the assumption that this rootstock which had been so good was suddenly failing, as if it had run out of energy entirely or else the mother plant had contracted some sort of disease, the view most commonly heard is that this rootstock cannot manage the new hotter, drier conditions. In almost every cellar, a question about 161/49C yields a glum response. Yes, we are suffering. At first vignerons pulled out damaged vines and replaced them individually, but when each following year the losses multiplied further, the bullet of ripping out the whole plot has to be bitten – demoralising, expensive and with repercussions for years to come. You need to leave the plot fallow for at least two years (wise old heads say five to seven years) before replanting. The first mini-crop arrives three years later and the vine does not really reach maturity for 20 years. Antoine Jobard is pulling out a plot of Meursault Genevrières that he only planted in 2017. Cyrielle Rousseau adds an additional nuance: a plot of Clos de la Roche recently replanted with three separate clones, all on 161/49C rootstock is suffering much worse in relation to one of the three clones compared to the others. A further headache is that it is not clear what to plant instead. Among its close siblings – other Berlandieri x Riparia crosses – are 420A, 5BB and Teleki 5C which are all now being widely trialled in place of 161/49C: but the worry persists that these too may develop the same issues. Others are looking at 41B – quite widely used in Chablis – which dislikes drought but does not die of it according to Roger Saumaize (Pouilly-Fuissé), or 3309 which is tricky where there is a high active limestone content. François Lumpp in Givry has switched to 363 Montpellier though he noted pithily (and I have cleaned it up a bit!), “When you buy stuff that’s rubbish, you find out too late: whether it’s the cork, the barrel or the cuttings from the nursery.” Solutions will be found: a rootstock that can cope with drought, doesn’t mind a bit of limestone, is later rather than earlier ripening, and allows the vine to deliver fine quality grapes. Auditions are being held now! One thing is sure – smart producers are going to hedge their bets by settling on a mix of different options, to avoid having all their grapes in one basket. Jasper Morris – the man behind Inside Burgundy – is a Master of Wine and leading Burgundy expert, living, working and writing in the region.

Leading Burgundy expert and Inside Burgundy author Jasper Morris MW investigates a rootstock causing trouble in Burgundy

Jasper Morris MW on rootstock in Burgundy

The root of the matter

Steven Spurrier might be approaching 80, but his wit, quill and tongue are as sharp as ever. While – as is now the norm – we spoke on the phone, there is no doubt in my mind that the voice at the end of the line was immaculately dressed – with due attention paid to every detail. Spurrier has a critical eye, both precise and unfailingly honest in his assessment of whatever crosses his path. “People do go on about the Judgement of Paris,” he laments. “It’s stuck to my back. I can’t do anything about it.” Instantly, I feel grateful for the phoneline, as I blush, knowing that I will join the cohorts of pesky interviewers who can’t not ask about the 1976 tasting that flung both Spurrier and Californian wine into the limelight. The blind tasting – pitching the best Bordeaux and Burgundy against California’s finest – paved the way for the New World, challenging the fine wine status quo, and creating a template for almost every other region to follow as they looked to prove their worth.  It is this, Spurrier feels, that was the real mark left on the wine trade – opening people’s eyes to the power of blind tasting. “I just happened to put it on,” he says modestly of the event. Certainly, there is an element of coincidence that has ensured the tasting’s place in the history books: if journalist George Taber hadn’t attended – writing up the event for Time magazine with its now iconic Judgement of Paris title – and Spurrier’s wife Arabella hadn’t thought to take a few pictures, the occasion might have been remembered only by the few. At the time Spurrier was running a wine shop and school (L’Académie du Vin) in Paris, being
one of few Englishmen bold enough to try and teach the French about wine. He’d started his career just a few years earlier at Christopher’s – then London’s oldest wine merchant. Returning to the UK in 1988, he made the switch to writing and consulting on wine. The rest, as they say, is history: today he is one of the most famous names in the world of wine. That might be achievement enough for most people, but Spurrier isn’t most people – and he’s certainly not resting on his laurels.  In 2009 he and his wife Arabella planted their first vines on their Dorset property. Steven had long thought the chalky soils and the natural amphitheatre could make for a good vineyard, but it took a while for him to take the plunge. More than anyone, he knows how true the old adage is that the wine trade is the best way to make a small fortune – if, of course, you start out with a large one. Nevertheless he’d been fascinated by England’s sparkling potential – ever since he was served a glass of Nyetimber Blanc de Blancs blind in the mid-1990s. Soon after the first vines took root at Bride Valley, he was at a black tie dinner at Château Lafite-Rothschild, talking to Baron Eric de Rothschild, he mentioned that he had planted a vineyard. Baron Eric put an arm round him and said, “Welcome to the club.” At the time he felt he was being congratulated; now he knows it was an element of commiseration. He’s 100% over budget on the project but is confident things will turn out ok. And, on the upside he hasn’t had cause to buy a bottle of Champagne for five years. The wines are made by Ian Edwards (of nearby Furleigh Estate), with Spurrier involved at both blending and dosage. At
first the project was focused on sparkling only, but now they’re making still wines too – something about which he is very excited, particularly in the wake of the superb, warm 2018 vintage. A lot has changed since he joined the wine trade in the 1970s. Although he’s not necessarily enthused about everything (“I think natural wine gets away with a lot”), Spurrier thinks we’re in “a golden age for the wine drinker”, with a kaleidoscopic offering for today’s consumers. I ask him what of everything he’s tasted has stood out recently: like most people, he’s been spending a lot of time on Zoom – and one bottle from a recent online tasting stood out, 2017 Volnay Premier Cru Santenots from Faiveley, a close rival for the best Volnay he’s ever had (from Comtes Lafon).  But while wine might have filled his days, art seems to permeate every aspect of his life. It
is, he says, an “addictive passion”, ever since he bought his first Stubbs etching at Sotheby’s 63 years ago. “I’ve got about 3,000 bottles of wine in the cellar, and I’ve got a list of what’s there. I think about them in vague terms, what one might drink tonight and so on,” he tells me, “but they don’t play a part in my life.” His home is full of fine art – paintings, sculpture and sketches. Unlike wine, he feels that “art speaks to you,” he says. I ask whether he ever thinks about the path not taken – working in art, rather than wine. The answer – despite the fact that things have, at times, gone “exceedingly badly” – is, in short, no. “Life in the wine trade was so captivating, so encompassing, with the ups and the downs,” he says with a touch of nostalgia. “Although I would have lost less money in the art business,” he knowingly chuckles. Most importantly, he notes, “I’ve never been bored in the wine trade.”  This feature was originally published before Steven Spurrier's passing in March 2021 Read more Editorial  

Ahead of the publication of his memoirs in 2020, the wine merchant turned writer Steven Spurrier spoke to Sophie Thorpe about a life dedicated to wine and why he couldn't stop buying art 

Wine merchant turned writer Steven Spurrier on a life dedicated to wine and why he couldn't stop buying art 

Steven Spurrier's life in wine

Steven Spurrier: a life in wine

Dalmore, Mortlach and Macallan fetch tens of thousands of pounds at auction today – but they likely wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for an independent bottler. In times of great economic hardship, Gordon & MacPhail provided cash-strapped distilleries with much-needed capital when they secured new-make spirit to mature and bottle as a single malt, rather than a blend. “The world was so focused on blends in the 1970s that to get the financial return on the malts was really challenging,” Gordon & MacPhail’s Director of Prestige Stephen Rankin says. To put that into perspective, a bottle of 35-year-old Macallan from 1937 that would fetch approximately £32,000 in today’s market would sell for a mere £4.54 then. A top-end blend might sell for £2. Rankin says if it wasn’t for his forebears’ patience and foresight, 50-, 60-, and 70-year-old bottlings wouldn’t be available today. “It’s not just matching spirit with oak,” he explains. “It’s actually matching the spirit with the oak and then time and the patience.”   The Gordon & MacPhail name has endured where countless others have not. Today, the fourth generation can pull out samples dating back nine decades from more than 100 distilleries. “It’s that lineage that stands us apart,” Rankin says. “As a company we have had this incredible respect for whisky and depth of relationships forged from 1895.”   “Business was done on the strength of a handshake when my father started the company in the 1940s,” Fred Hamilton Laing – Douglas Laing & Co Chairman and second-generation family member – says. “And so many of our filling programmes still continue today because there was a trust given and a confidence that there would be no abuse of the stock.” If it wasn’t for the “fairly substantial” stocks Laing’s father had built up since the 1950s then the Scottish independent blenders and bottlers might not have survived the 1990s financial crash in Asia Pacific. “All of a sudden our blended business was made very difficult to continue. We were constantly adding to our stocks of grain and malt whisky for these blends, so it was a survival instinct that took us into the single cask business in the year 2000.” This business proved to be “very good” and steadied the ship. Laing says it was with great delight the company was able to come back into the blending business with Big Peat in 2009, much to the dismay of the “crusty old men in the industry”. This launch, looking at younger, slightly more rebellious whisky consumers heralded a new era for the company and brought them full circle. It was the filling programme’s breadth of stock and the relationships with the distilleries that allowed Douglas Laing to carry out the same process for Big Peat and Scallywag into the Scottish Highlands for Timorous Beastie, into the Lowlands with the Epicurean, into the Campbeltown area with the Gauldrons, onto the Island distilleries with Rock Island and introduce the Remarkable Regional Malts. “It’s a busy game,” Laing adds.  Fledgling in comparison, That Boutique-y Whisky Company stormed onto the independent bottling scene in 2012 with their 50cl illustrated bottles. “We are all about throwing fun back into whisky,” Head of Whisky Sam Simmons says. “We take the whisky very seriously, but we don’t take ourselves seriously.” The goal here is simple: curate delicious whiskies you would never see from an official bottling. This disruptive attitude has led to a cult-like following which Simmons readily acknowledges “doesn’t speak to everybody”. The Boutique-y whiskies might originate from around the world, but they are all bottled in the Scottish tradition – bought direct from the distiller or from brokers and other independent bottlers. The retail price is always calculated from the cost of the liquid rather than market value or cost. “The kind of whiskies we want to bottle may not be delicious to everybody, but they are the kind of whiskies that make you say: you got to try this,” Simmons adds. When it comes to bottling exquisite liquids, few ventures are as compelling as “curators of the most remarkable spirits”, The Last Drop Distillers. “I really love the word remarkable,” Managing Director Rebecca Jago says with a smile. “Because it is not saying it is the oldest or the best even, but that it is intrinsically delicious. If I gave you a glass of something from The Last Drop, I would want you to find it as delightful as someone who has been nosing spirits for 50 years.” The company started by Rebecca’s father Tom and his long-term friend James Espey OBE in 2008 is somewhat unique in that it crosses category. The two drinks industry icons initially set out to bottle single malts, but that all changed when they tasted a certain 47-year-old blended Scotch. From that day onwards, the two men – who had previously developed the likes of Johnnie Walker Blue Label and Chivas 18 – broadened their brief to seek out exceptional old parcels of any amazing spirit. By the time the company was sold to Sazerac in 2016, The Last Drop had released seven remarkable liquids and both Espey and Jago’s daughters (Beanie Geraedts-Espey and Rebecca Jago) had joined the business. In addition to being a source of great pride for the two founders, the acquisition also brought new freedoms and opportunities for the team. The US drinks group backing enabled The Last Drop to source stock for immediate release, granted them a greater ability to lay down stock and create their own libraries of future stock, and gave them the opportunity to venture into liquid creation. “I think finding treasure is not just about uncovering it,” Jago says. “It would be disingenuous to suggest that we’re Indiana Jones in Scotland, going and hunting out that barrel that is hidden at the back of the cellar because it is not,” Jago says. As romantic as the image might be, every single barrel of Scotch whisky of any age, of any sort, is known about by HMRC.  “We can talk about some of the lovely discoveries that we have genuinely been party to,” Jago adds. “Going back to the very first release of three unassuming barrels of an old blend. The treasure in that was the liquid inside. It had perhaps been discounted or forgotten about.” Or the “genuine discovery” of a Cognac barrel that had been lying untouched in an outhouse for over 70 years that was happened upon by a family member doing renovation work at the distillery. “I think that is the sort of ultimate Indiana Jones story,” Jago adds, “not by us, but we were fortunate enough to be there and I suppose our story of making the liquid the hero is sufficiently compelling that they are prepared to let us put it in a bottle.” All four bottlers, whether in their infancy or maturity, are bound by a sense of honour and wanting to do right by the liquid. And everyone benefits.   Browse all Scotch whisky or read more Editorial 

From traditional single malt Scotch to the weird-and-wonderful and everything in between, there’s every chance an independent bottler had a hand in bringing this liquid to your lips. Holly Motion spoke to four bottlers about the important role they play in the spirits world

Exploring the history of independent bottling with Gordon & MacPhail, Last Drop Distillers, That Boutique-y Whisky Company and Douglas Laing & Co,

Exploring the world of independent bottling 

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