The Wines of St. Julien

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When I was in college, there was a popular book that told you what to do when someone else was monopolizing the conversation, holding forth on some political or foreign policy subject and getting everyone’s attention. You had to look knowing and when there was a pause, simply nod and say, “But not in the south, of course.” It worked fine, as I recall. There is a similar ploy when your local wine snob starts talking about Bordeaux wines — his point charts and his vintage books and his wine cellar. All you have to say is “That’s all well and good, but acre for acre, the very best Bordeaux wines come from St. Julien.” That should redirect the flow of conversation, showing YOU to be the real connoisseur. How can this be so, when there are no first growths in St. Julien, while its northern neighbor Pauillac has three and of course Chateau Margaux lies to the south? St. Julien is a small communal area, with a generalized excellence. Further, the general view that St. Julien combines the subtlety of Margaux area wines with the robust balance of many Pauillac wines has an element of truth. Bottle for bottle, you stand an excellent chance of fine quality with any St. Julien wine. St. Julien contains 11 classified growths, and 5 of these are second growths (Chateau Leoville Lascases, Chateau Leoville Barton and Chateau Leoville Poyferre, plus Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou and Chateau Gruaud Larose). There are 2 third growths (Chateau Lagrange and Chateau Langoa Barton), and 4 are fifth growths (Chateau Beycheville, Chateau Talbot, Chateau Branaire Ducru, and Chateau St. Pierre). Local wine growers believe that the prime Medoc growing locations face the riverbank. Driving south from Pauillac, Chateau Leoville Las Cases and Chateau Leville Poyferre are followed by Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou and then Chateau Beycheville, all of which have this favored location. Chateau Leoville Barton (and Chateau Langoa Barton) face the other Leovilles across the little D2 “route des vins.” Chateau Branaire Ducru faces Chateau Beycheville across the same road, while Chateau Gruaud Larose is further inland, not far from Chateau Talbot. Chateau Leoville Lascases from its favored location and its two Leoville sibings were once part of the same large Medoc estate. They all produce superior wines and sometimes surpass the first growths. The old timers, for example, consider Chateau Leoville Poyferre 1929 to be a legend. Lascases is probably still the finest of the three, although the gap is closing. You can have a fine wine tasting with these three St. Juliens alone. Just pick the same vintage year, and your tasting will give room for real consideration of what wine quality means. Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou (“pretty pebbles”) is the outstanding residential chateau of the Medoc. It is a glorious residence, with excellent promenade and a sweeping view of the Gironde River. The owners tell the story of a previous owner who thought so highly of the pebbles for which the property was named that he had some polished and sewn into a coat for wearing for grand occasions! This superior wine is, for me, the “Chateau Lafite Rothschild” of St. Julien. Well made, elegant and distinctive, it is a connoisseur’s wine in the best sense. I’d go farther and say the more a taste for wine develops, the greater the appreciation for Chateau Ducu Beaucaillou. Chateau Beycheville’s fourth growth classification frankly used to mystify me. It continues the same prime location of its neighbor, Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou. I was told by the winemaker that the reason for the classification was that one parcel of vines owned by the estate is in an area that was not well regarded in 1855. The owners of Chateau Beychevelle in that year, however, adamantly refused to sell off that holding, and I am told they retain it today. Speaking of earlier vintages, I once tasted a 1929 Chateau Beycheville. It was somewhat faded, but extremely elegant. My notes said that I hoped all wines would age this smoothly. Chateau Branaire Ducru, across the street, is a good traditional St. Julien, with an odd distinctive chocolate and cedary quality about the wine. The property also has an elegant orangerie, where in past days the owners raised oranges and other tropical fruits. Roald Dahl’s short story “Taste,” worth looking up in your library, is one of the finest fictional accounts of a wine I’ve ever read. It concerns a bottle of Chateau Branaire-Ducru. Chateau Gruaud Laose and Chateau Talbot are hallmarks of fine quality. The former has some of the finest wine production and storage facilities that I have ever seen, and the wine is full and elegant. Chateau Talbot is a sturdier wine that I have always savored. It is named for the last English commander, Constable Talbot, whom the French defeated in 1453 at the Battle of Castillon, ending the Hundred Years War. This property is said to have been Talbot’s hunting lodge then. And so, the quality is supremely high, and so is the reputation of St. Julien. There are not that many classified growths, and so you can pursue your interest wine by wine. A visit there would be greatly rewarding, and the region is not so far from Bordeaux, easily reachable by train or air. We’ll take a look at the Margaux region next month, and then I’ll tell you how to make arrangements to visit these fine wine properties. For more on Bill Shepard see his biography. Copyright © Paris New Media, LLC To read or share thoughts about French wine, visit our Restaurants, Food and Wine Forum!.
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