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Droin + Bordeaux Offer + Domaine Leflaive + Te Mata Tasting Saturday 29th 3pm-6pm

by Annandale Cellars

Droin

Jean-Paul and Benoit Droin represent the 13th generation of family winemakers, with a history that spans over 4 centuries in Chablis. Jean-Paul started to work for the business in 1965 at the age of 14 while Benoit joined the estate in 1999 after completing his studies at the Wine College in Beaune and National Oenology Diploma in Dijon. Together they have worked with re-building the cellar and replanting of vineyards. Today, they are one of a total of 4 producers in Chablis to be awarded with 3 stars by La Revue du Vins de France, an accolade shared by Chablis legends Vincent Dauvissat and Raveneau.

“The terroir of Chablis brings to its wines a multitude of mineral nuances”

Droin farm vineyards across all levels of the Chablis hierarchy: from Petit Chablis through to Grand Cru and therefore have a great understanding of the terroir and how to handle the different grapes from different parcels. They attach importance to transcribing and enhancing these nuances to demonstrate the richness and diversity of the 16 climats that they work with. They accompany their wines without overpowering them. All of their wines are marked by generous body and mineral precision - their most important task is to find a balance between power and finesse and to produce the best expressions of their terroirs.

We've managed to get out hands on some Premier Cru Chablis bottlings from Droin at a ridiculously good price. We of course have the classic '22 'Chablis AC' which is a excellent wine and a good introduction to their overall style. In just the last few days we have sold through the ‘Montee de Tonnerre’ and ‘Cote de Lechet’ Premier Crus but we have the '21 'Montmains 1er' for even cheaper than the AC Chablis at the moment which comes from 45 year old vines on a SE-facing slope on Kimmeridgian marls. There is also the '21 'Mont de Milieu 1er' from 50 year old vines on a south-facing slope. These are some sensational and classic Chablis wines at prices that are too good to pass up. Snatch these up before someone else does!

 

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Bordeaux

Bordeaux - a classic wine region that is steeped in history and many iconic wines that has unfortunately fallen out of fashion with many newer buyers these days. Bordeaux is the home of classic grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot where they are used to make some of the most powerful, graceful and age-worthy wines the world has ever seen. The main reason Bordeaux has fallen out of fashion these days is due to the fact that there is quite a lot of it - there is no shortage of even the best wines in the region which makes some people not feel as special when they drink it, unlike the overpriced extremely allocated Burgundy that they are drinking instead. Part of the reason is also because people misinterpreted the famous “I’m NOT drinking Merlot” comment from the movie Sideways, but that's neither here nor there. We still believe that there is plenty to be excited about when it comes to Bordeaux and there is still some relative value to be found in the region when the bottles of respected châteaux can be picked up with some age for the same price that village-level Burgundy sells for on release these days. We’ve recently re-stocked the Bordeaux section of our cellar with some fantastic wines with various degrees of age on them which make the perfect bottle to drink now or even to hang onto to let develop slightly further in the bottle.

We will elucidate the differences between left-bank and right-bank below for those that are keen to learn more about the region. Those of you that are already familiar with the wines of Bordeaux will see what we have and know that some of these are steals.

LEFT-BANK

The left-bank of Bordeaux is situated on the left of the Gironde River that separates the left from the right. This is where Cabernet Sauvignon is dominant due to the higher proportion of gravelly soils that retain and reflect heat to aid the ripening of Cabernet which typically needs more warmth than Merlot. The left-bank is home to famous appellations such Pauillac, St-Julien, St-Estèphe, Margaux and Pessac Leognan. The famous classification of 1855 applies to the wines of this left-bank region, also known as Medoc; which sought to rank the chateaux into 5 tiers based on average sale price and reputation. This classification is no longer 100% accurate as a lot has changed since then but the “First Growths” are more or less unanimously still agreed to be the best: Château Latour, Château Margaux, Château Haut-Brion, Château Mouton-Rothschild and Château Lafite-Rothschild. There are many other fantastic châteaux that can, in certain vintages, make wines that rival or even surpass some of the top wines for a fraction of their selling price which is why it can help to be familiar with what these producers are doing and the nature of certain vintages. Unfortunately there isn’t enough room here to provide a full comprehensive study of these but feel free to reach out for assistance with selecting Bordeaux. For now, enjoy the vast collection listed below.

RIGHT-BANK

The right-bank is situated just across the Gironde River from the left-bank and is where Merlot is king, and to a lesser extent, Cabernet Franc as well. The main appellations of the right-bank are St-Émilion (limestone dominant soils) and Pomerol (clay-dominant with some gravel and sand). It is worth noting that in Pomerol, the average chateau holdings are only about 5 hectares and was the region that spawned the ‘garagiste’ movement with the likes of Le Pin, whereas in the left-bank, some chateaux have over 100 hectares. The wines of the right-bank on average tend to be more enjoyable in their youth due to the higher Merlot percentage which brings plush velvety tannins and rich, supple fruit flavours compared to the more drying chalky tannins of the left-bank. That being said, the best of the region can still easily age just as well as the best of the left-bank. There is no like classification for the right-bank as in Pomerol, it is universally known that Petrus is the king, and there have been attempts to classify St-Émilion which have been a controversial mess and can effectively be ignored for the most part. Vintage reports for Bordeaux will often separate the left and right-banks as they are dealing with different terroirs - what is considered a great vintage for the left-bank may not be the best for the right and vice-versa. 2012 is a recent vintage that comes to mind that is considered a weaker vintage (but by no means bad) for the left-bank but actually quite strong for the Merlot of the right-bank, and luckily we have plenty of 2012 from the right-bank.

Whether you are looking to get into the region, rekindle your lost love for it or look for a nice age-worthy wine as a gift, we have some excellent bottles here for you.

 

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Domaine Leflaive

Domaine Leflaive are easily one of Burgundy's greatest and most sought-after producers. You've probably seen people trying to show off photos of them drinking 'Les Pucelles' or 'Chevalier-Montrachet' online. Having conquered the Cote d'Or, Leflaive set their sights south to the Mâconnais region, following the footsteps of Comte-Lafon who had recognised the potential for Chardonnay in these otherwise neglected sites.

The terroirs of the Mâconnais region are geologically very close to those of Puligny and are often unfairly underestimated. The Leflaive team are working with a variety of different parcels within this region and have singled out certain little plots within villages that they believe deserve their own bottling. In the Village Mâcon-Verzé appellation, the Leflaive team isolated Les Chênes, a parcel facing due west, and Le Monté, due north but adapted to the new conditions of global warming. These wines can compete with those of Pouilly-Fuissé, the most prestigious appellation of the Mâconnais region that Leflaive also works in. Both the vines and the wines in the cellar are cultivated by the same team that works on the wines at the main Domaine in Puligny-Montrachet. All 25 hectares of vineyards will be certified biodynamic from the 2023 vintage and have been farmed biodynamically since 2014. The wines are aged for 18 months, compared to barely 10 months average of the appellation. This is to keep with the principle at Leflaive of two winters in the cellar so the wines stabilize naturally.

We have a range of 4 different wines from Leflaive's Mâconnais adventure to offer you. As mentioned above, we have the village level 'Mâcon-Verzé' as well as the single vineyard 'Les Chênes' from the same village from the 2022 vintage. We also have the '22 'Auxey-Duresses' and the even more prestigious '22 'Pouilly-Fuissé'. We actually have 2 bottles of the 2022 'Bourgogne Blanc' as well for those that want a taste of their famous Cote de Beaune reputation! These are some seriously well-crafted wines that speak to their terroir, made by one of the greatest winemaking teams in the world. These are barely a fraction of the price of their Puligny offerings so it would be foolish to let these slip by!

 

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Te Mata Tasting

Saturday 29th

3pm-6pm

Join us this Saturday for a tasting of Hawke’s Bay’s Te Mata!

Te Mata is responsible for putting the region of Hawke’s Bay from New Zealand’s north island on the international wine map and has managed to produce some of the best wines in the country. All of the wines that Te Mata produce are made from grapes grown on the estate in the temperate maritime climate of Hawke’s Bay. These are the wines we'll be pouring on the day:

2023 Te Mata Sauvignon Blanc

2023 Te Mata Chardonnay

2024 Te Mata Gamay Noir

2023 Te Mata Syrah

2023 Te Mata Merlot/Cabernets

These are some fantastic wines from one of New Zealand’s greatest estates - drop by for a drink!

Wishing you a great week from the team: Chris, Pete and Aaron.

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