Sometimes you just need to trust your friends on wine recommendations…especially if those friends have an outstanding palate.
I met Jay Gruber many years ago when we both worked for Sterling Cellars in Mahopac, New York. He then traveled the many twists and turns of the wine business, and eventually, to the good fortune of Sterling Cellars patrons, has returned to the excellent store on Route 6.
During one stop on his journey, Jay spend time as a wine manager at the first Total Wines store established in Connecticut. My first visit to that Total Wines location introduced me to their unique marketing model as well as to many wines that I had never experienced. Jay spoke glowing about a 2010 Chateau Lilian Ladouys St. Estephe Bordeaux. I bought a couple of bottles.
We stored the bottles in our New York cellar, and then packed them amongst the wines we eventually moved to the Low Country of South Carolina. A few nights ago we opened it. In a regular paradox for wine consumers…we are sorry that we waited to open it, and very glad we did.
This Cabernet based Bordeaux from the Medoc earned 94 points from the Wine Enthusiast and a 91 from James Suckling. It is unlikely that you will find any more 2010. However, every Lilian Ladouys vintage since 2010, and through the current 2018 release has been rated at 90 or higher by every rating agency from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate to Decanter Magazine. However, it is a little tricky to track down a Lilian Ladouys…more on this later in the post. But, first a little background on the wine, the winery, and the region.
Formed in 1654 under the name La Doys, by the 18th century the estate was controlled by the Barre family. The Barre’s managed the estate for a century and a half and was responsible for building the chateau that defines Lilian Ladouys today.
Unfortunately, the early 20th century was not kind to the winery, and it “fell into a dilapidated state”. Ownership was ultimately forced to sell vineyards to resolve debt. In the late 20th century the tides of fortune changed. The Thieblot family purchased the estate, changed the name to Chateau Lilian Ladouys (honoring the wife), and expanded the vineyards. In 2007, the estate was sold to Jacky Lorenzetti, who earned his fortune as the founder of Foncia. Foncia is a real estate management firm with control of nearly 500,000 rental properties.
Lorenzetti is committed to Lilian Ladouys. He has dramatically expanded the vineyard holdings. His winery team has also increased Merlot plantings (older vines – most over 40 years old). “This represents a major change in a vineyard that was previously dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon. Recent vintages of Lilian Ladouys have increased the Merlot in the blend to nearly 40% with a small quantity of Petite Verdot added. The 47 hectares of vineyards, twice the average vineyard acreage for the Medoc, average between 8-10,000 vines per hectare (which is average for the region), are picked by hand, and age their wine in 40% new French oak barrels for between 14 and 16 months.
The result is a serious wine produced by very serious people.
For the wine snobs amongst you…this is not a ‘classified growth’. For those of you who may be interested…some explanation.
In 1855 the French government classified the wines of France. The classification was largely done on the basis of price. The operating assumption in development of the classification was that the more expensive a wine, the better the wine. The ‘best wines of Bordeaux’ were rigidly classified in growths 1-5. The classification is so rigid, that in the past 150 years there have been only two alterations to the list. One of those changes was the addition of Mouton Rothschild as a First Growth. The price of Mouton Rothschild would have justified its inclusion as a First Growth in 1855, but the estate was excluded because winery had been recently purchased by an English group.
All of the 1855 classified wines were from Medoc with the exception of Haut-Brion from Graves. Petrus, generally regarded as one of France’s finest wines, was not included because it was from the ‘Right Bank’ and produced predominately from Merlot. ‘Left Bank’ (designated by the rivers that separate Bordeaux) wines are more than 50% Cabernet Sauvignon. Cheval-Blanc and Ausone, two of the most respected Bordeaux wines, were not included because they originated in St. Emilion.
What if your Bordeaux winery was not one of the fortunate 58 chateaus to be included in the 1855 classification? For nearly 75 years…nothing…but, in 1932 The Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce selected 444 estates as Cru Bourgeois. The term was granted to wineries a step below the classified estates, but still of high quality. And, although the status of these previously ignored wineries was never official ratified, many named estates printed the term Cru Bourgeois on their labels. However, there were multiple lawsuits from estates not ‘granted’ Cru Bourgeois status. The term was at first both eliminated and eventually reinstated throughout the early 21st century. In 2010 a program by which estates could apply for the Cru Bourgeois status (starting with their 2008 vintage) earned through an assessment of both the estate’s production quality and an evaluation of the final product.
French wines have a complicated history, and the competition between estates for status is fierce. Status is very important to sales. By way of illustration, there are 6,000 Bordeaux estates producing wine from less than 300,000 acres. By comparison, the United States has approximately 3,000 wineries drawing from more than 1,000,000 acres of vineyards.
The Lilian Ladouys has certainly earned the status of Cru Bourgeois. The 2010 was vibrant red, and the wood and fresh fruit on the nose continued onto the palate. The wine is velvety in texture and the finish lingered. Newer vintages, with equally excellent ratings, offer similar flavor profiles.
You can find Lilian Ladouys at Total Wines (where it is identified as a Winery Direct product) and is generally available at a price in the low $30s. And, interestingly, you can also find it at Sterling Cellars in Mahopac, New York at the same price point.
Track a bottle down…it will be well worth the effort.