The next four posts will deal with my yearly trip to France with my friend David Raccah of the Kosher Wine Musings blog. I have to say – this was a VERY hard trip to make. Until the day before I left, I was considering canceling due to the situation in Israel and feeling that it was not the right time to leave. That, coupled with the frightening news out of France of rising antisemitism left me with little desire to go. And to be honest, I was feeling fatigued. The news has so bleak and there was so much stress at the time, that I decided the night before, to not cancel my flight and meet David as planned. Luckily, he had not downgraded the room, and everything proceeded mostly as planned.  My flight ended up being delayed by a few hours, and so the plans we had for the first day were trimmed a bit. This trip, unlike all of the trips prior, we decided that it was time for me to see France. Up until now, I had never seen the Louvre or the Arche de triumph or even the Eiffel Tower. All of that got corrected that first day when we packed in as much as we could in the time we had.

But this is not a tourism blog – it is a wine blog. So, let’s get to it. This trip basically consisted of four parts (outside of the touring above): Royal, IDS, Domaine Roses Camile (and all related wines) and the wines we tasted in the hotel. At this stage, I can basically close my thoughts on the 2021 vintage. It was just a big mess in Bordeaux. As noted last year, the small wines were pretty much uniformly disappointing with crazy green jalapeno notes in wines that were more often than not simply unpleasant to drink. Well, while the big wines faired far better, overall, it was still nothing to write home about. 2021 is just a big miss overall. Now, the real question is about 2022. Over the course of the last year, people have been talking about the 2022 vintages as being one of the absolute best. Reading the advance tasting notes of the big Bordeaux producers by the various well-known writers, it seemed that 2022 was universally lauded. So far, only the small wines for 2022 have been released. While Royal makes a few, most of what we tasted was in the hotel and will be covered by my wrap-up post. But – here’s a spoiler – for the small wines, while 2022 was MUCH better than 2021, it was no runaway success. We struggled to find wines that we could classify as winners. But that is for later.

Let’s get started with what is always a highpoint of my trip – our visit with Menachem Israelievitch of Royal wines. It is always a high point because Menachem isn’t only a professional, he is also a HUGE mensch. While presiding over the largest and most professional kosher production in Europe, he is also a warm wonderful down-to-earth guy, who it is a pleasure talking to and spending time with. Simply a pleasure. This year we tasted a staggering number of wines, 37 in all – I think that is a record. Here are the notes:

2022 Philippe le Hardi, Clos De La Chaise Dieu, Monopole, Bourgogne Cote-D’Or – 13.5% abv – This is a new appellation (sort of), encompassing all of Cote D’or.  For me the best part of this wine is that it is a clean expression with not a lot of oak at all. On the nose, you get nice ripe apple and some stone fruit followed by hay. In the mouth, you pretty much get more of the same golden delicious apple, some nectarine, a little mineral, and saline. Overall, it’s a nice enough wine with just enough acid to keep it in check. Simple with not a lot of depth – but again nice enough.  89-90

2021 Chateau Gazin Rocquencourt, Blanc, Pessac-Leognan – 12.5% abv – (Mevushal) – Unfortunately the warehouse sent the mevushal version by mistake. On the nose the wine is full of gooseberry, grapefruit, and a bit of paraffin. It is very nice from a profile point of view. And the mouth basically repeats the nose.  Where the wine suffers is the finish, which drops off. This might be from the mevu process. Would love to taste the non-mevushal version. Otherwise, there is acid there to balance out the fruit in spades. Very nice indeed. I do love old world SB, and this is a tasty wine, even though the finish really does bother me. 89

2022 Chateau Riganes, Malbec, Bordeaux –12.5% abv – (Mevushal) – On the nose, you have ripe dark red fruit. In the mouth, you get again dark red fruit like cherry and plum. Overall, it is varietally true but very simple and ripe – but for me there is enough acidity to make it work as a low-end varietal expression. Very simple. But nice enough.  88

2022 Chateau Riganes, Merlot, Bordeaux –13.5% abv – (Mevushal) – Overall you get the same notes as the Malbec. Same profile on the nose. In the mouth, you have a bit more acid. Again, overall varietally correct. Very nice acid. Very basic.  This one has a short finish though. 87

2022 Chateau Riganes, Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux –14% abv – (Mevushal) – This one has a very similar profile to the first two wines – but adds some vegetal notes. It’s weird – each of these wines shows as a basic varietally-true wine – even though the notes are more or less the same – the “package” is a bit different. This one is a bit heavier. I have to say though, that for whatever reason, this one is my least favorite of the bunch – I can’t put my finger on it – perhaps it’s the ripeness combined with the fuller body. I will say that the finish is nicer than the Merlot.  86

2022 Chateau Riganes, Bordeaux –13.5% abv – This is the NOT mevushal version. It is a blend of all of the above (plus Cabernet Franc which we didn’t have). For me this is proof that the whole is not always greater than the sum of all of its parts. The flavors aren’t there – which is surprising, because each of the components has a very similar profile. It’s a muddy wine. The acid is there but barely.  Sorry – this one a is a miss. 85

2022 Chateau Riganes, Bordeaux –13.5% abv – (Mevushal) – Now this was a surprise. Rare is the case where the mevushal process dramatically improves the wine. Here it seemed to burn off some of the ripeness, if that’s possible – letting the acid that is present play better and more clearly. It therefore shows as balanced more than the non-mevu. The flavors do sort of come through here. Is it enough? Not really – it is still somewhat muddied, and while the acid does come through, it’s still not enough – it’s just better than the non-mevushal version. 87

2022 Clos Triguedina, Malbec du Clos, Cahors – 13% abv – (Mevushal) – Royal has added this new top producer from the Cahors region – really the birthplace of Malbec (the Romans were drinking Malbec from Cahors). Three wines were made – the other two are currently in barrel and will not be mevushal)’ – This is a near perfect expression of a base level malbec although it is very closed. In fact, it took a good five hours to fully open. The nose here is great with black and blue fruit, tar, and smoke. With time, more floral notes come out as well as a healthy dose of leather. In the mouth, you eventually get rich blackberry, and black plum with nice smoke and earth. The wine is not overly complex, but there is enough there to put it over the top. I’m really looking forward to the other two wines! 91

2021 Les Lauriers des Rothschild, Montagne Saint-Emilion – 12.5% abv –– We tasted the mevushal and non-mevushal wines side by side, blind. For the first time in a long time, I got it wrong – and for the simple reason that the mevushal version (like the Riganes above) was superior. Here are the notes for the non-mevushal. The nose here is very ripe – with smoke up front followed by black and red fruit, toasted herb and floral notes. In the mouth, you get the very rich ripe profile much like the nose with the acid barely there to balance. But I would say overall it just makes it. The finish is long but ripe, and here is where the lack of acid really shows. It just feels heavy. 87

2021 Les Lauriers des Rothschild, Montagne Saint-Emilion – 12.5% abv – (Mevushal) – As mentioned above, this was tasted blind with the non-mevushal version and was far better. The profile is identical – which makes sense – it’s the same wine. But overall, it’s brighter across the board. On the nose, it just doesn’t feel as ripe or brooding. In the mouth, the acidity shines through and totally brightens up the wine. This one I can get behind. 90

2021 Chateau de Parsac, Montagne Saint-Emilion – 12.5% abv – (Mevushal) – This wine starts out really nice. Good nose with red fruit and toasted herb primarily. In the mouth, also very nice with raspberry primarily and more roasted herb. Nothing complex, but nice enough. Problem here is on the finish. It is non-existent.  87

2021 Chateau des Laurets, Puisseguin Saint-Emilion – 13.5% abv – This is a VERY nice wine for the vintage made up of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. Bright tart red and black fruit, nice herbal notes.  No green at all. In the mouth, very clean and crisp with really nice acid. Nice tart blackberry and raspberry, some sweet oak that plays off the fresh herb, and nice minerality, with a little bit of smoke on the finish. Nice tannin. Good acid. Very balanced. Simply a nice wine. 91

2021 Chateau Royaumont, Lalande de Pomerol – 13.5% abv – Another 2021 winner. Another Merlot (70%) and Cabernet Franc (30%) blend. This is the NON-mevushal version of this wine. On the nose, we do have green fruit – but luckily no jalapeno. You do get green pepper, fresh herbs (basil, oregano and mint are all very clear), with red and black fruit. I was warned that this wine would need time to come together, so we let it sit for about an hour and a half. What you get is a really bright wine with great acidity that balances out the fruit. There is nice tart raspberry, cherry, and dark plum followed by baking spice, fresh and toasted herbs, excellent mineral, rich earth, and a hint of chocolate. The acid really does the job here of balancing things out. The finish is long with bakers’ chocolate, toasted herb and baking spice. I like this a lot. 93+

2021 Etoiles de Mondorion, Saint-Emilion – 12.5% abv – I had tasted this wine in Israel a few months back.  No real change. This is a wine that is a pure victim of vintage, as the initial 2019 release is a favorite of mine. The wine is 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. On the nose there is a significant amount of Jalapeno here followed by red and black fruit and more green notes. In the mouth, it is watery and thin with the jalapeno really overwhelming things. There is also raspberry, plum, herb and spice. But the Jalapeno simply is too much for me. 84

2021 Chateau Montviel, Pomerol – 13.5% abv – This was another wine that I was warned about regarding needing time. Here we left it for about three hours before it started showing well. The wine is made up of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. After giving the wine the time it needs, the nose is nice and mostly herbal, followed by red and black fruit, mint and baking spice. In the mouth the acidity really shines here. You have nice black cherry, black plum and some ripe red raspberry, followed by herb and baking spice. The finish is long and nice with toasted herb, tobacco, spice, and some more green notes. Overall the wine comes together with time. This may not be the best vintage for Montviel (2021 is not the best vintage for ANY of these wines) – but it is still nice. 92

2021 Barons Edmond & Benjamin de Rothschild, Haut-Medoc – 13% abv – (Mevushal) – This wine is a problem. Very metallic – no finish. Something is off here. We tasted two bottles. I am going to assume we got unlucky. Will try to retaste at some point in the future. NA

2021 Chateau Malmaison, Moulis-En-Medoc – 13% abv – Another Merlot (90%) & Cabernet Franc (10%) blend. There are NO green notes here at all. What you do have is a ton of really ripe red fruit, sweet oak and chocolatey notes on the nose. In the mouth, you get VERY ripe red raspberry and cherry, sweet milk chocolate, and a hint of vanilla and sweet tobacco. I know when reading this, you are saying, this is not a wine Avi is going to like – but you are wrong. What saves this wine is the acid. It totally balances out the crazy ripeness. I really enjoyed this. 92

2021 Chateau Clarke, Listrac-Medoc – 13% abv – This wine is made up of 70% Merlot & 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. The nose here is great with intense red and black fruit and some herb. In the mouth, you get VERY ripe boysenberry, blackberry and raspberry, dill and chocolate. Yes, it’s ripe but balanced. Well, maybe it could use a touch more acid. But that’s not the problem. The problem is this wine takes a jump off the top of the Empire State Building. There is NO FINISH. Forget about finish – there is no middle. And as nice as the opening is, there is literally nothing to follow. 84

2021 Chateau Lamothe-Bergeron, Haut-Medoc – 13% abv – I am not going to waste a lot of space here. This is a candied green and red mess whose finish is watery. Best part of this wine is the price – it is inexpensive at about $25 – but even at that price, I wouldn’t buy it. 82

2021 Chateau Fourcas Dupre, Listrac-Medoc – 13% abv – Another victim of the 2021 vintage. It has some red and green fruit and some herbs on the nose – but wow does that smell ripe. In the mouth, you get candied raspberry and cucumber, sweet dill, sweet jalapeno, some smoke and tar. A barely there finish that is not worth mentioning even though I did. A rare miss for Fourcas Dupre. 85

2021 Chateau Tour Seran, Medoc – 13.5% abv – Yes we are getting into repetitive territory here. You get some candied green and red notes on the nose – but in addition, you also get mint, tar, and graphite, with some nice complexity. In the mouth, outside of the weird cucumber, the profile is pretty classic. But the problem for me is that cucumber, which pulls down what otherwise would have been a really nice moderately priced bottle. 89

2021 Chateau Rollan de By, Medoc – 14% abv – Here finally we get no green – no cucumber, no jalapeno  – nothing but nice good tart red and black fruit with a bit of smoke. In the mouth, you get more of the same with blackberry, raspberry, plum tar, and some lead, with nice earthy notes in the background. Nothing complex, but it hits the spot. The acid and tannin provide a nice core. Everything is simple but balanced. A pleasure. 92

2021 Aurore de Dauzac, Margaux – 13.5% abv. – (Mevushal) – This is the second wine of Chateau Dauzac – a new addition to the Royal lineup. It is a blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon and 37% Merlot. This is my third time tasting this wine but the first time in a proper setting. My feelings haven’t really changed. I like this wine. On the nose, you get nice, sweet herb and ripe red and blue fruit. In the mouth, you get rich ripe blueberry, raspberry, and plum followed by sweet herbs and milk chocolate with some tobacco on the end. There is enough acidity to keep things in check here – and I think this a very nice mevushal option. 91+

2021 Chavalier de Lascombes, Margaux – 13% abv – Here too we tasted the mevushal and non-mevushal versions of the wines side by side and blind (and to make these things interesting Menachem always throws in a  third glass whenever we do these side-by-side tastings – so you need to guess which two of the  three are the same and which of the 3 are mevushal. In this round, I got both items right.  Even though the wine profiles are identical, the mevushal shows itself in a more standard way here. Let’s start with the non-mevushal. On the nose you get dense black and dark blue fruit, some anise, and some cocoa. In the mouth, you get ripe blueberry, blackberry, black currant and some baking spice. Overall there is enough acid here to balance out the crazy rich profile that this wine has – and while not my favorite of the tasting, this is a well-made enjoyable wine.  The finish is long with more chocolate, baking spice and sweet tobacco. 91

2021 Chavalier de Lascombes, Margaux – 13% abv – (Mevushal) – For the mevushal version, you can basically see my notes above in terms of profile. What is different is the acid. Here the mevushal process seems to have played out as it normally does by muting the acid rather than burning off some of the ripeness. Therefore, all of that richness becomes a bit cloying. Still, not a bad wine – well made, just not something I am going to order. 89

2021 Gazin Rocquencourt, Pessac-Leognan – 13% abv – Another set of mevushal/non mevushal taste testing. Here I got the groupings right but reversed mevushal vs non-mevushal. Here the wines are nearly identical, made of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Merlot. On the nose, you get some floral notes followed by ripe red fruit and a bit of earth. In the mouth, you get ripe red raspberry, chocolate, a bit of cinnamon, and that basically is it. Nothing special, but not bad. 90

2021 Gazin Rocquencourt, Pessac-Leognan – 13% abv – (Mevushal) – See my notes above – this wine is pretty much identical -with perhaps fewer floral notes on the nose and the acid being a tiny bit more assertive. 90.5

2021 Pavillon de Leoville Poyferre, Saint-Julien – 13% abv – Note – this is the NON-Mevushal version of this wine.  This wine is made up of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon & 37% Merlot. This is an uncharacteristically green Pavillon – not surprising considering the vintage. That’s not a bad thing, but it’s not a good thing either. It simply doesn’t hew to the regular Pavillion style. On the nose, you get tons of fresh green herb and a little smoke. In the mouth, things improve and become more complex with raspberry and blackberry and a bit of red currant and warm spice. The finish kicks it up a notch with toasted herb, more red and black fruit, fresh tobacco, smoke, tar, and chocolate. Overall, not bad at all considering the vintage. 91.5

2021 Chateau Moulin Riche, Saint-Julien – 13% abv – Heads up, this is the value buy of this tasting. This wine is made up of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, & 1% Petit Verdot. This is a big dark wine. It is young and needs time to open – but wow, it delivers. On the nose, you get mostly blue fruit, tar, some floral notes, a hint of mint, and some cocoa. In the mouth, you get black plum, blackberry, smoke, rich earth, chocolate, some lead, more earth, and some tar. There is wonderful balancing acidity and mouth coating tannin. The finish is long and comes at you in waves with black currant, blackberry, smoke, tar, herb, mint, some nice lead, and bakers’ chocolate. This is a wine to stock up on. 93+

2021 Chateau Haut Condissas, Prestige, Medoc – 13% abv – Ultimately, this wine sort misses the mark for me. On the nose, you get tons of ripe red and black fruit and then these crazy dried floral notes – that I am not particularly a fan of. In the mouth you end up with more black fruit like blackberry, black currant and plum, notes of violet, and that’s about it. The acid doesn’t really come through here. Finish is of medium length at best. This one really doesn’t come together for me in the way you would expect from a Haut Condissas. 89.5

2021 Chateau Le Crock, Saint-Estephe – 12.5% abv – Here we have a blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, and 6% Cabernet Franc. This weirdly has black fruit on the nose followed by nice, toasted herbs and some smoke in a way you can smell the crunchy acidity. The mouth is VIBRANT; it likely felt more because of the low abv and lighter than usual body. You get red fruit in the mouth – mostly raspberry and plum, with a hint of smoke and tar and some herb. The finish is nice with more red fruit and herb, a bit of roasted meat and more herb. I really enjoyed this for what it is – a vibrant relatively light bodied red. Again, not your average Le Crock – but this really works for me. How often can you get a Saint Estephe that works with pasta? 92

2021 Chateau Tertre, Grand Cru Classe en 1855, Margaux – 13% abv – This wine was a bit of disappointment. On the nose you get Jalapeno, floral notes, and milk chocolate. In the mouth, you get more of the same with an actual Jalapeno spicy kick to it, which for me simply did not work. The wine is well made – it’s just a victim of a bad vintage. 87

2021 Chateau Dauzac, Grand Cru Classe en 1855, Margaux – 13% abv – As with its baby brother, this is a wine I have tasted a number of times before, but this is the first time in its fully finished form. The wine is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot. Interestingly, instead of pump over or punch down, they use an air pulse process (Pneumatage) for cap management during winemaking – which for the most part I believe is usually used in very large wineries, as it does a good job at heat distribution with large quantities. But that’s enough geek talk – on to the wine. The nose here has some floral notes, nice red fruit, roasted animal, toasted herb, and some smoke. In the mouth, you get some really nice red raspberry and cherry, followed by some floral notes, toasted herb, and some nice mineral. The finish is very long and extracted with rich red fruit, tobacco, herb, rich earth, baking spice and some smoke. I really enjoyed this. 93.5

2021 Chateau Giscours, Grand Cru Classe en 1855, Margaux – 13.5% abv – Ah Giscours. Always a high point, and this year is no exception. The nose was surprisingly green, though not overdone, with some floral notes followed by tons of red and black fruit and herb. In the mouth, you get everything you would hope for – tart red raspberry, blackberry, tons of toasted herb, great mineral, graphite, and some nice saline to keep you coming back for more. The acidity here is refreshing and keeps everything in check The tannin is mouth coating. Ultimately, this wine is the most balanced and well put together wine of the tasting. The finish is long with wonderful red fruit focus, more herbs, some tar, smoke, and that great saline. Great stuff. 94

2021 Chateau LaGrange, Grand Cru Classe en 1855, Saint-Julien – 13% abv – This wine needs time – and it’s actually time that we really didn’t have. The wine starts off very closed. But with enough swirling it gives way. On the nose, you get a ton of ripe black and dark red fruit and rich milk chocolate. In the mouth, thankfully you get the acidity to balance things out. It opens with tart raspberry, nice mint and herbs, rich earth, and very ripe plum followed by some nice leather. The finish is long with really nice herbal notes, graphite and mineral earth, and some tobacco. Good stuff! 92.5

2021 Chateau Pontet Canet, Grand Cru Classe en 1855, Pauillac – 12.5% abv – On the nose, there are those crazy Jalapeno notes again (scary!) with some nice roasted meat, tar and toasted herbs. In the mouth, thankfully that Jalapeno goes nowhere. Unfortunately, this wine is closed. Very closed. And the day has been long (at this stage we have been tasting for nearly seven hours straight with a 20-minute break for lunch. We did the best we could to get it to open. What I was able to get is some raspberry, toasted herb, tar, earth, and some grilled meat over charcoal.  I will say that the wine, while presenting as medium bodied, could have used more weight IMHO. In any event, the finish is long with hints of lead and tar and more herb. Will this wine improve with air and time? Likely. My score for now is a 93.

What a tasting! My thanks as always to Royal Wines and to Menachem for giving us so much of his time.  This was a full day of tasting after all. Next up in this series will be our tasting at IDS.