Not sure how many of the “130 Castles in the Union” of Bordeaux Eddie and I tasted at the Union des Grands Crus Bordeaux 2022 tasting event, but taste we did! We go to this preview of newly released Bordeaux wines every year – we missed a couple as everyone did when events went on hiatus through Covid – so we were thrilled to attend this latest event.
The preview event we attended was filled with sommeliers, journalists, and restaurant and wine shop owners – as it has been in the past – so it was nice to reconnect with many of my peers after such a “dry spell”. We were also blessed with seeing some of the same winery representatives across the table we hadn’t seen in a while – and some Chateau owners too! Again, as it’s been a couple of years, everyone just seemed so relieved to finally meet again over fine wine that came across the ocean to be shared. (The evening’s event, open to the public, would be filled with wine lovers, aficionados and collectors.)
Appellations represented include Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, Pauillac, Sauternes and Barsac, Pessac-Leognan, Graves, Pomerol, Listrac-Medoc, Moulis-en-Medoc, Haut-Medoc, Medoc, Margaux, Saint-Julien and Saint-Estephe. There was enough wine to fill two rooms of excited tasters.
You can see the story in my public photos here or read on. We appreciated everything we sampled! In general, I felt that many of the 2019s were good to drink now and didn’t necessarily require a lot of aging, the blends were well done, there was a buzz about the Merlots and the Cab-based Bordeaux from Pauillac.
Again, and just in general, some of the reds were dark, tannic and brooding while others were fresh and lively which to me means there was a lot to appreciate no matter what blends you normally lean towards.
The whites – Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Sauternes that I enjoyed – benefitted from great fresh fruit and winemaking skills. I enjoyed almost every single one I sampled.
Though we didn’t come close to tasting everything, we would recommend that you seek out these stellar 2019: Chateau Lynch Bages, Chateau Phelan Segur, Chateau de Chantegrive, Chateau Beau-Sejour Becot, Chateau Leoville Barton, Chateau Leoville Poyferre, Chateau Gloria, Chateau Fonreaud, Chateau Dauzac, Chateau Talbot, Chateau Rauzan Gassies, Chateau Croizet Bages, Chateau Prieure Lichine, Chateau Gazin, Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte, Chateau Pavie Macquin, Chateau Clinet, Chateau La Tour Figeac, Chateau Grand Mayne, Chateau Pape-Clement, Chateau Latour-Martillac, Chateau Grand-Puy Ducasse, Domaine de Chevalier, Chateau Haut-Bergey, Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron, Chateau Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Chateau Larrivet Haut Brion, Chateau Bouscaut, Chateau Clos Haut-Peyraguey, Chateau Doisy Daene and Chateau Sigalas-Rabaud.
A complete list of the UGC members can be seen here: https://www.ugcb.net/en/members
Keep up with UGC news and events here: https://www.ugcb.net/en/home
Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), a “certification in the first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), Level 1 Sake Award from WSET, was the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video (over 16k views), authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Long Beach Grand Cru and the Global Wine Awards. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits.
This is the second time that the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation has been lauded by this highly regarded industry publication. In 2006, the Ahnala Mesquite Room received the “Award of Excellence,” recognizing the restaurant’s wine list that featured a well-chosen assortment of quality producers along with a thematic match to the menu in both price and style. The fact that the tribal nation has now been granted two Wine Spectator awards for excellence – an achievement rare among tribal casinos – affirms their commitment to delivering an exceptional culinary experience.
“We are very pleased to be working with the United Sommeliers Foundation, helping give back to the sommelier community that has been so good to us over the decades that we’ve spent hosting wine events in many cities worldwide,” said Acker Chairman, John Kapon. “We hope collectors will reach into their cellars, even for just a few bottles, to benefit the sommeliers who help us, in business and in pleasure, during the regular course of our lives. So much of our business is done in the great restaurants of the world, and so we will be accepting consignments to benefit their grant program, assisting wine professionals whose livelihoods have been affected by this ongoing global health crisis. We look forward to doing our part to support efforts like these, and to return to their restaurants to share a glass together soon.
Our 10 Year Anniversary, The Nth 2020, will be hosted at the Wynn Las Vegas on April 24-April 25, 2020. Save the date now!
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The big winner of the auction was Burgundy with the top 26 prices realized in the auction. A 1990 DRC Assortment was the top lot of the auction at $49,000 against a pre-auction estimate of $38,000-$55,000. Next was two magnums of the exceedingly rare 1988 Roumier Bonnes Mares VV, which realized $44,100 against presale estimates of $24,000-36,000. All told, DRC accounted for 16 of the top 25 wines in the auction, proving once again that DRC is the king of the hill at a Zachys auction.