As always, one of the highlights of my trips to France is our visit to IDS. For a number of years, I used to make a single trip in November, as this is when Royal released their wines – and with all due respect to everyone else, no one produces as much wine with such consistent levels of quality as Royal. So, November each year it was. But, while I was making annual trips in November, David Raccah of Kosher Wine Musings. who always organizes everything for all of these visits, was making an additional yearly trip in May – and this is when he would usually taste the IDS wines as they release a few months later than Royal. Therefore, when we would get there together in November, he had already tasted a bunch of stuff – and I would miss out. I corrected this mistake a few years ago – and if there was ever a reason to justify a second trip, this was the visit. 2022 was a special vintage with some truly awesome wines produced – but the top of the heap, perhaps the GOAT, is the 2022 Smith Haut Lafitte. My notes for that are below, but while tasting, I noticed something that I had ignored each time I had tasted an SHL -there is QR code on each bottle that attests to its authenticity. Each bottle has a unique code – and each case lists the bottles contained therein.
There is a time stamp showing when the bottle was activated and a separate timestamp on the case showing when the case in question was packed. This is something that has been going on for the kosher releases as far back as 2009. And if you look at the results, the kosher releases are given unique trackers – in other words, the inventory is carefully managed down to the bottle. In the kosher world, I believe this is unique to SHL and just shows you how much the brand puts into making sure its customers – kosher included – are getting the quality product they expect. Anyhow, enough wine-geekery – though I can say, if there was ever a wine that deserved high-end inventory control and tracking, it’s this one. On top of the SHL we have wonderful showings from Château Lafon Rochet (a QPR superstar especially in France) and Domaine de Chevalier. We only tasted six wines in total (one of which was not an IDS wine and so is not included here but will be included in my next post) – so this visit was relatively short, but super sweet! Here are the notes:
2024 Tokaj- Hétszölö, Sarga Muskotaly, Domaine Impérial Premier Cru Classé since 1772, Tokaji – 12.5% abv – Like the last vintage, I really like this wine for what it is. A very nice, clean, off dry wine. The nose has a nice profile of lychee, guava, citrus, and melon. The mouth has clean, bright lines of lychee, guava, nectarine, and clementine. The acid here is plentiful but not overboard. This comes off as a really nice well-balanced effort. The finish is long with really nice acid, tropical fruit and lanolin. 91
2022 Domaine de Chevalier, Blanc, Grand Cru Classe de Graves, Pessac-Léognan – 14% abv – This wine is a classic Bordeaux blend of 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Semillon. The nose here is beautiful with incredible funk and mushroom, followed by apple, stone fruit, mineral, and yellow flowers. The mouth packs a punch with really nice weight that does not come off as heavy due to the excellent acid. We get nectarine, apple, mushroom, funk, some smoke, great mineral, and really nice baking spice. Super complex. The finish is long complex and balanced with ribbons of minerality, more baking spice, apple, and more of those yellow floral notes. This wine is truly excellent. 94
2022 Château Lafon Rochet, Grand Cru Classé en 1855, Saint Estephe –14.5% abv – On the nose, the mushroom hits you like an iron fist in a velvet glove – it is intoxicating – followed by excellent mineral, lead, and rich ripe but tart black fruit. As good as the nose is, the mouth kicks it up a notch with blackberry and raspberry, tar, lead, mineral, and earth. It really does pack a wallop – in the nicest way. The acid comes in waves with the fruit – totally balancing and the tannin gives this wine a core that will likely take this wine well into the future. The finish is long and rich with beautiful tobacco, mineral, earth, tar, and some smoke. Great stuff! 94+
2022 Domaine de Chevalier, Grand Cru Classé de Graves, Pessac-Léognan – 14.5% abv – Now we are hitting the big boys…. This wine is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot. The nose here is rich, ripe, and layered, with ripe red blue and black fruit – almost brooding – with nice earth, smoke, lead and some tar. In the mouth, I wasn’t sure what to expect as the nose was very intense – but in the end it comes off as really nice and balanced with great acid keeping the juicy fruit tart with blueberry, blackberry, and some raspberry, with tar and lead and moist earth. The tannin is nice and firm. Basically, the mouth follows the nose to a T – but in a very balanced structured way. The finish is long with raspberry and blackberry, more lead, a little bit of smoke and more rich earth. Really great! 94+
2022 Château Smith Haut Lafitte, Grand Cru Classé de Graves, Pessac-Léognan – 15% abv – This wine is also a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot – but honestly that’s where the similarity to the Chevalier ends. Yes, the Chevalier is a great bottle, but it is not playing in the same league as the SHL. Now I’m gonna give away the ending here, but this is the best wine I personally have ever tasted. I mean we are splitting hairs here – and the difference in quality between the few 97’s I have given (I think there have been two or maybe three) and this wine are minimal – but they are there. If truth be told, I can’t comprehend what a more complete wine would taste like – and so one could argue that it should simply get a perfect score. But I might have said that about the 2019 Pontet Canet or SHL – until I experienced this wine. Let’s get to the actual notes. On the nose. you have crazy rich ripe dark fruit – but it does NOT drift into heaviness. In fact, it smells bright and fresh. David, when tasting this wine, kept repeating the word elegant – and he is correct. There is an elegance to this wine – specifically in how the fruit is controlled and balanced by the acid you know is coming in the mouth – in addition you have wonderful loam, tar, lead, and a hint of smoke. I am reading back what I just wrote, and I know I’m not doing this justice. But if the nose is special, the mouth is really where the wine just pushes to the next level. It really is the perfect storm. You get all of 2022’s richness but in a super controlled balanced and elegant package. It unfolds with tons of berry – blueberry, raspberry, and blackberry with some ripe red plum, followed by graphite, smoke and tar. It is opulent without being over the top. Again – I am not doing this wine justice. As noted, the acid keeps the wine feeling bright and expressive and perfectly balances out the rich ripe fruit without feeling like it is out of place or screaming. It just feels naturally part of the fruit – which is something that often doesn’t happen. The tannin here is mouth-coating and firm and provides a core here that should carry this wine for decades. The finish is almost never ending and rich with more blueberry and raspberry, tar, rich earth, mineral, smoke, and lead. This wine is truly stunning. 98
As always, my thanks to Ben Uzan and the rest of the folks at IDS for sharing their wines and spending the time with us –they are always super nice and accommodating, and it is very much appreciated.