France Against The World

Held at the French Embassy in Washington February 3rd, this was a clever and attractive promotion for French wines. What a great way to forget February and spend an enjoyable Saturday afternoon! It was sponsored by the French Wine Society (www.frenchwinesociety.org), a nationwide organization that promotes French wines, with assistance from the Washington Wine Academy. Wines were supplied by the reliable Schneider’s of Capitol Hill. All of the wines retailed for $35 per bottle or less, with discounts available for bottles purchased after the tasting. But breads, cheeses and sausage were there to calm the taste buds as well.

The event, billed almost as a prize fight, pitted the very knowledgeable Lisa Airey, Executive Director of the Society of Wine Educators, who represented French wines, against Jay Youmans, Master of Wine, who gamely upheld the “rest of the world” against French tradition and Lisa Airey’s erudition. There were eight blind pairings of wine, representing chardonnay, chenin blanc, sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, riesling, syrah, merlot, and a Bordeaux blend (largely cabernet sauvignon) against an Australian shiraz.

Not all of the blind pairings were comparable. A dry and flavorful Mulderbosch Chenin  Blanc 2005 fom South Africa, for example, was paired against the sweet dessert wine from the Loire Valley, Domaine des Bomard, Coteaux d Layon 2004, a very different reading of the grape. And mislabelings in the last two rounds led to some confusion. However, these were minor problems in an enjoyable and, should I say it, educational tasting event.

The event had been sold out within one week of its announcement. In fact, we were told that all tickets were  sold before even the promotional materials, including postcards, were back from the printer! No matter, provided you hear about further events in advance. A Burgundy wine pairing is set for March 21st with the same guest presenter lineup, and you may gather details and order tickets from the French Wine Society website mentioned earlier.

On to the wines. After each tasting, the room “voted” for their favorite of the two wines, and if I counted right (always doubtful after tasting 16 wines), France won. That is no surprise, given the excellence of the wines and the skill of Lisa Airey in presenting her case. The tasting did prove, however, that at this age level (all of the wines were quite young, a variable neither presenter explored) even a convinced lover of French wines such as myself had to admit that the “rest of the world” had indeed produced some wines worth trying. Oddly enough, we were not also asked in each case which was the French wine and which from elsewhere, polling in a blind tasting that would have produced some amusing results.

In the actual polling I preferred the French wine seven times. The exception was the Marimar Estate Torres Chardonnay 2005 from the Russian River Valley of California, which I clearly preferred to the Vincent Girardin Rully Vieilles Vignes 2004 from Burgundy. The California wine seemed rounder and also seemed to possess more promise of development. Since both bottles retailed for $24.99, either would be a quality buy.

The riesling round, which paired an Alsatian Albert Mann Grand Cru Schlossberg 2004 against a Koonowla Riesling 2005 from the Clare Valley of Australia, showed two fine wines. It was not the runaway in favor of the Albert Mann that I might have anticipated. Both wines had a nice floral aroma and showed well in the glass. The Alsatian wine was full of flavor, the Australian was more closed, with hints of layers of complexity to come. I was glad to note the Alsatian riesling seems to have recovered well from the 2003 vintage, where excessive heat produced one dimensional, rather indifferent wines.

The next round had a quite good Konrad Sauvignon Blanc 2005 from Marlborough, New Zealand, contrasted with a Domaine Fournier Pere & Fils Sauvignon Blanc 2005 from the Loire Valley. Both were rather thin, with the Loire Valley wine more flavorful.

The syrah round paired a Jean Louis Chave “Offerus” St. Joseph 2003 from the Northern Rhone against a blend, Worthy Sophia’s Cuvee, a blended 2004 California wine. The California wine was passable, but the Rhone was a smoother wine, full of sunlight, with nice black cherry highlights. Delicious, and at $24.99 retail, cheaper than its $29.99 opponent.

The Chateau la Commanderie Saint Emilion Grand Cru, clearly a blend, shouted Bordeaux, whereas the very forward and ripe Neyers Merlot 2004 from Napa Valley, was every French wine lover’s idea of California wine – forward, flavorful, but what happens over the years when that first explosion on the palate is gone?

Lisa Aisey warmed to this theme. For her, Bordeaux wine is “intellectually compelling – you ar forced to think about it, as there is a lot going on in a glsass of Bordeax, The flavors are understated at first, but then they build, like a rollercoaster.” That is a good shorthand notion of Bordeaux wines, which the audience seemed to enjoy.

They enjoyed less Mr. Youmans’s insulting personal rejoinder, for which he apologized to Lisa Airey after the tasting. It was surely meant to be funny, but his remarks were simply embarrassing. Oscar Wilde’s position as the preeminent English language wit is still secure, and we all hope that in future encounters, including the Burgundy tasting, also at the French Embassy on March 21st, both presentations will be as tasteful as the surroundings and the wine.

The premier red wine tasted came in the very last flight, and it was a 2003 Bordeaux, Chateau Haut-Bages Averous from Pauillac. Even tasted blind, it was obviously a fine Bordeaux blend, and of course in need of aging. The Oliver Hill Winery “Jimmy’s Section” Shiraz 2004 from McLaren Vale, South Australia, was “okay,” and frankly suffered by the comparison.

Lisa Airey made it clear that pinot noir must be grown in proper areas, such as Burgundy, or Oregon or the California coast. Despite the cult film Sideways, which implies otherwise (and which has installed pinot noir in the place of merlot as the trendy red wine), this thin skinned grape does badly in hot climates. Mr. Youmans said that the Amisfield Pinot Noir 2004 from Central Otago, New Zealand (where The Lord of the Rings was filmed) is such an area, and that wine was flavorful. However, the Domaine Chevalier Cote de Nuits Villages 2003 was more so, although the idea of paying $29.99 for a bottle of Cote de Nuits Villages struck me as appalling!

With the few exceptions noted, congratulations are due to everyone – including dozens of volunteers – who worked hard to make the event memorable. Let’s hope for more fine comparative tastings to come. They make wine education a pleasure.