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GORDON STIMMELL
GORD ON GRAPES - Toronto Star
It was war of the wine worlds.
Orson Welles was
not present, but 55 top wine journalists, buyers
and sommeliers in Toronto had invaded the upper
chambers of the Rosewater Supper Club for a much
touted tasting.
Pitted against
one another blindly were renowned reds from three
regions: Bordeaux, Tuscany and Chile.
The organizer was
Eduardo Chadwick, president of Vina Errázuriz,
a prominent Chilean winery, who bravely put his
best reds against legendary Château Latour,
Château Margaux, Château Lafite (all
from a great 2000 vintage), as well as top "Super
Tuscans" Sassicaia and Tignanello.
This was to be
the Toronto replay of "The Berlin Tasting"
of January 2004, when two of Chadwick's New World
wines, Viñedo Chadwick and Seña,
bested Château Lafite and Margaux in a blind
tasting. This has come to be regarded as "a
milestone in the history of the Chilean wine industry."
Helping comment
was Steven Spurrier, a long-time British wine
critic who organized a Paris tasting in 1976 that
blindly put California's best whites and reds
against France's most amazing Bordeaux and Burgundies.
The Californians beat some great names that day,
and once results were announced, the French wine
judges cried foul and wanted a rematch. It was
the global coming out for Californian wines.
So Chadwick has
been touring the globe, trying to do the same
for Chilean wines, with tastings after Berlin
in Tokyo, Santiago and São Paolo. Would
his Chilean upstarts prove themselves proud in
Toronto?
First, let me say
none of these wines is cheap. The Errázuriz
entries include Seña (launched in 1997
as a joint venture with Robert Mondavi), Viñedo
Chadwick and Don Maximiano Founder's Reserve.
All run $79. Italian stallion Sassicaia is $159
and Tignanello over $100. The Château Latour
is $895. The Margaux and Lafite are in the same
lofty price pantheon.
My wine friends
who used to buy an occasional Latour or Lafite
back in the 1980s all stopped purchasing these
great First Growths in the late 1990s when the
prices spiralled out of control. Wine critic Robert
Parker gave all three of these 2000 Bordeaux a
100 rating, which propelled prices even higher
after he tasted them en primeur (from barrel before
bottling). Today, they are ridiculously overpriced.
A hush descended
on the room as the assembled experts swirled and
ogled, sniffed and spat for nearly an hour of
intensely concentrated tasting. To my palate,
there were three on a plateau high above the rest.
Number 9, a gorgeous fusion of finesse and power,
I rated 96. It turned out to be Château
Margaux. On its heels, rating 95 with lifted minty,
smoky prowess and complexity was Château
Lafite. My third winner was an elegant, complex
red with sustained power, rating 94. It was Château
Latour. My notes rated the Chileans at a range
of 89 to 92, and the Italians between the Chilean
and French victors.
However, when the
results of the room of 55 guests were tabulated,
the finish was Margaux, then the Latour, then
the Don Maximiano 2003. The room rated the Lafite
extremely low, behind all the Chileans. All I
can say is, always double back to the first wines
tasted in such a contest because your palate does
not calibrate properly until the third wine is
tasted. Fourth spot went to Tignanello, fifth
to Seña 2003, sixth to Chadwick 2000.
Why did the French
win so handily in Toronto but not in Berlin? Spurrier,
I think, nailed it. When tasted in 2004, the 2000
Bordeaux were still far too young, he said. Time
has worked wonders on the Margaux and Latour.
They are evolving as powerhouses now, with the
Margaux taking first in São Paolo (in 2005),
and the Latour winning in Tokyo (this year). In
other words, they taste better today than they
did in 2004. Great wines often go through numb
or mute phases, but when they awaken, watch out.
Still, Chadwick
deserves a medal of honour for having the bravery
to go against some of the best. And he has certainly
emerged as the leading global ambassador for Chilean
wines. His premium reds are offered in the current
holiday Vintages Classics Catalogue.
Noviembre 2 de
2006 |
