Tasting Bordeaux’s Finest
The world of Bordeaux’s classified growths is one of those rarefied, somewhat surreal places that exist only for a tiny subset of the population privileged enough to gain entry. Some say the greatest red wine in the world is produced within this slim stretch of real estate along the Gironde estuary, just north of the city of Bordeaux on France’s western coast.
We traveled with our client RdV to Bordeaux in May to capture branded content for an upcoming project. This coincided with the prestigious Maître de Chai gathering, an exclusive event for the cellar masters (or winemakers) of the great Bordeaux wineries, which RdV was invited to attend (a first for an American vineyard).
At Château Latour in Pauillac, France
The fermentation room at Château Latour
For wine neophytes like us, getting to taste samples from a Bordeaux first growth poured by its head winemaker took our levels of enological appreciation from one to 100. It’s almost too good to even comprehend. As with every trip we make into the field, the experience is invaluable in helping us to better understand our clients and their work, and how to guide their brand.
The inner courtyard at Château Latour
A tasting with Château Latour’s technical director, Hélène Génin
The library at Château Latour, housing every vintage dating back to the 1800s
The fermentation and tasting room at Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion in Bordeaux, France
For RdV’s Rutger de Vink, this trip was professional but also personal, as many of the people we met with are his good friends. We had the opportunity to go behind the guarded gates, see inside the facilities, and try the wines at the legendary Château Latour (cellar master Pierre-Henri Chabot and technical director Hélène Génin are both Rutger’s friends). Our journey included stops at other storied vineyards, including Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande and Château Cos d’Estournel. At Château Lagrange, we saw where Rutger worked years ago as an intern when he first learned the craft of winemaking.
Visiting the fermentation room at Château Cos d'Estournel, Saint-Estèphe, France
The cellar at Château Cos d'Estournel
Over the several days we spent in Bordeaux, we got a sense for the deep tradition and prestige that goes along with being a classified growth. The people we met, much like Rutger, live and breathe fine wine. After just a few years of working with RdV, our knowledge of wine has expanded exponentially—enough to know to savor (literally) each moment of an experience like this to the fullest. ⌁
Gathering with friends at Restaurant Le Saint Julien, Saint-Julien-Beychevelle, for a dinner prepared by chef Claude Broussard
An impressive selection of wine brought by Rutger and guests (including renowned Bordeaux oenologist Eric Boissenot, Pierre-Henri Chabot, Cellar Master of Château Latour, and Xavier Pallu, Cellar Master at Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande).
Visiting the village of Saint-Émilion on the Right Bank
Lunch at L'Huitrier Pie, Saint-Émilion
Saint-Émilion, France