Newsletter 4, July – August  Vintage 2006
Return to newsletter archive index Read about: v Record number of wines tasted on July tour, last spots available  for September vMouton Rothschild behind the scenes, a unique experience v 2006 vintage notes, a little early?		Dear wine lover, Hot, very hot, that’s what the weather is like here in Bordeaux. We surpassed the 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38-39 Celsius) yesterday, so I have been writing this July issue very early in the morning. Luckily the Château stays fairly cool but the pool is just too attractive to stay at my desk all day. We just finished a very successful Bordeaux Grand Cru Tour. You can read more about the record breaking number of wines we tasted on this tour. Among them many of the super vintage 2005. Given the temperatures it looks that 2006 will be of the same quality or might even be better. And of course I just have to tell you about a very special visit I had at Château Mouton Rothschild. With one of our guest, an American MW student from the London Wine Academy, I had a unique visit behind the scenes at Mouton. In August many of the chateaux in Bordeaux close to the public and so will we. My next newsletter will reach you after “The Grand Tour of Bordeaux” in early September. We’ll know more about the 2006 by then. I hope you will enjoy this newsletter as much as I enjoyed writing it, and I do hope you will keep sending me your feedback at Ronald@BXWINEX.com. Don’t drink anything I wouldn’t drink! Have a very good summer! Ronald Rens, M.Sc., Wine Master President

Record number of wines tasted on July tour, last 2 places for the September tours A record breaking number of 82 wines were tasted on our July Bordeaux Grand Cru Wine Tour. And if this wasn’t enough: 50 of them were Classified Growths. And to throw in a last statistic: we tasted 27 wines from the Dream Vintage 2005!!! Just before the start of this tour, we had some professionals over at Chateau Coulon Laurensac for a tasting of the exceptional vintage 2005. As a result we were able to offer our guests a unique tasting of this great vintage on the first evening of this tour. Therefore the number of wines tasted on this tour exceeds the number we will normally taste on a tour by at least 18 wines. Of course the number of wines tasted may vary per tour.    Although Bordeaux is famous for its red wines we started with a few whites. The white wine from Chateau Talbot was followed by the Laville Haut Brion and after that by the magnificent impressive Haut Brion Blanc 2005. People who have toured with me, know that I am not a big white wine lover but this Haut Brion 2005 was extraordinary. After the whites we returned to the wines Bordeaux is famous for: the reds. And the verdict on 2005 remained the same: great. The colour of most of the wines was inky black and the wines had a marvellous concentration and were thick and opulent.  Rich ripe and full aromas of black currant and raspberry. But the most remarkable of these wines for me is something I haven’t experienced before. These wines are almost drinkable like a “modern” wine but clearly have an exceptional aging potential. There are of course a lot of tannins, but they are not aggressive at all. There is a beautiful balance and the quality of the fruit is so impressive. You can see the list of wines we tasted on this tour by clicking here. Want to taste yourself? You can taste the 2005 vintage right from the barrel and you can see these top chateaux with your own eyes. Coming September we offer two superb wine tours here in Bordeaux and we just have a few spots available: 1. The Grand Tour of Bordeaux 2 September 4 - September 9, 2006 (6 days, 5 nights) Last 2 spots remaining (just one couple or two singles!). This ultimate wine tour for Bordeaux lovers is as good as it gets: Tastings and visits at all five First Growths and Superior First Growth Chateau d’Yquem. You will have a sneak peek at the 2005 dream vintage in Bordeaux. Add to that the best of Pomerol and Saint Emilion ànd three gorgeous meals in Michelin Starred Restaurants. This tour is your chance to get an insiders view of the best Bordeaux has to offer. 2. The Bordeaux Grand Cru Tour September 18 - September 23, 2006 (6 days, 5 nights) Last 2 spots remaining (just one couple or two singles!). This excellent wine tour for wine lovers will get you into four First Growths! This is your chance to get an insiders view of Bordeaux and its most famous appellations. Most probably you will see the harvesters at work and taste the grapes of the 2006 right from the vines. You will taste the dream vintage 2005 with us in Bordeaux. Mouton Rothschild behind the scenes, a unique experience The many guests that visited Mouton Rothschild with me, all agree: the visit there is very special. There is a beautiful winery with its impressive wooden vats and the Great Barrel Hall designed in 1924 as such that Baron Philippe de Rothschild could see his entire harvest in one room but there is more. Visitors to the chateau are without exception impressed by the tour of Mouton’s private wine museum with its priceless art collection. And there are the famous labels each with a work of art by a contemporary artist. But as interesting as each of these aspects of a visit to Mouton is, this is not what I want to tell you about. On every tour at Mouton we are shown the Private Cellar of the Baronesse. Shown from behind bars that is, as these 60.000 bottles are well protected. The Chateau Haut Brion 1891 is the oldest bottle in the collection. And we are shown the “vinoteque”, the library collection of Mouton Rothschild starting in 1859. No visitors are normally allowed to enter into this sanctuary. In June, with one of our guest, an American MW student from the London Wine Academy, I had a unique visit behind the scenes at Mouton. We had the privilege to be shown around by Philippe Dhalluin, the Technical Director of the estate in a private tour. Not only were we allowed to enter in the private cellar, but we actually approached the Haut Brion 1891 while the guide held a candle to show us these 115 year old bottles! Mouton Rothschild has the unique library collection “le Vinotèque” to which Monsieur Dhalluin had the keys as well. Here we wandered through the “memory” cellar of Mouton. Each year Mouton enters into this part of the cellar 24 bottles, 6 magnums and 3 jeroboams. We fondly caressed the eldest bottle of Mouton the Mouton Rothschild 1859 with our eyes. The tour of the Chateau was concluded by a private barrel tasting of the d’Armailhac 2005, the Clerc Milon 2005 and of course the Mouton Rothschild 2005. After this experience the charming Monsieur Dhalluin took us in his car for a private tour around the Mouton vineyards. A truly memorable experience. 2006 vintage notes, a little early? The 2006 vintage in Bordeaux is heading for a second version of the blockbuster 2005. Official reports indicate very similar harvest patterns and projected yields. Harvest patterns such as bud-break and fruit set are very similar to those of 2005. Twenty years ago we had the excellent vintage 1985 followed by an even better 1986. What will happen to the prices nobody knows. Chateau Petrus (Pomerol) came out “en primeur” (on futures) for a staggering US$ 2940 per bottle. That is US$ 92 per sip. For me that is a bit too serious drinking… If everything turns out as the predictions Bordeaux will produce 400.000 hl more wine than last year. Of course there are still two months to go, but so far so good. We will keep you posted in our newsletters… Forward to a Friend I hope you enjoyed this newsletter. I even ask you to forward it to a friend, family member or colleague who loves wine! Please send it to wine lovers like you self! Please let me know your thoughts I'm really interested in your thoughts. So please tell me what you think: Ronald@BXWINEX.com. I read each e-mail personally. Don’t hesitate to ask any question you might have on our Bordeaux Tours, Weekend Wine Experiences or Bordeaux wine in general. I hope to see you with us here in Bordeaux! Cheers from Bordeaux, Ronald and Margaret Rens		Visit our website: Bordeaux Wine Tours www.BXWINEX.com
		2007 Wine Tour Schedule and a special offer (just  five couples per tour!) We proudly present the following Tours and dates for 2007: The Grand Tour of Bordeaux (May 28-June 2, 2007  and  September 3-8, 2007 The Bordeaux Grand Cru Tour (June 11-16, 2007 and July 2-7, 2007) These Tours are 6 days, 5 nights. Special offer: If you book now (in 2006), we will give you the 2006 prices for the 2007 tours. Itineraries will be like those in 2006. Avoid disappointment and reserve your place today and click here! BWE Wine weekends at Chateau Coulon Laurensac Weekend wine and Chateaux of Bordeaux at Chateau Coulon Laurensac (every weekend or any day of the week) Lovely dinner on the terrace at a gastronomic restaurant on the riverbanks of the Garonne River (4courses and wines) A guided tour of our private wine cellar. Visit at Saint Emilion Grand Cru  Wine Château the next morning, etc… For more information please click here Gala weekend Wine and Châteaux of Bordeaux "Grand Cru" A unique experience (25 November 2006) This unique wine tasting experience will start at half past three pm with an introduction to wine tasting with Classified Growths (Grand Cru wines), preceded by a guided tour in our private wine cellar. Pre dinner drinks (Champagne Grand Cru). Candlelit dinner (black tie) in front of the fireplace in the main dining room of the Château (5 dishes and 4 Grand Cru wines) etc… For more information please click here The Bordeaux Wine Experience Gift Vouchers An original gift idea is a Bordeaux Wine Experience Gift Voucher. These gift vouchers can be used for: § Wine Weekends, § Wine Day Tours, § Paris Wine Tours, § Full week wine tours. You tell us what you would like to offer and we will prepare a beautiful invitation card that will serve as gift voucher for the tour you would like to offer. Of course the card will be without any indication of the value of the package you choose. You just have to ask us to prepare a gift voucher and we will mail it to you so that you can offer it yourself. These invitation cards are much appreciated and are considered an original and elegant gift. Click here for more information.
		The Bordeaux Wine Experience Chateau Coulon Laurensac 1, chemin de Meydieu 33360 Latresne (BORDEAUX), France Tel: +33 (0)556 20 64 12 Fax: +33(0)556 21 79 44 Email : info@BXWINEX.com Web : www.BXWINEX.com Subscribe to this newsletter because you want to be the first to know!  Click here to subscribe Don’t want to receive this newsletter anymore? Click here to unsubscribe
	Copyright © 2006 by The Bordeaux Wine Experience. All rights reserved. The content, design and graphical elements of this newsletter are copyrighted. Please ask the permission of the author before copying or using this material. The Bordeaux Wine Experience is a Dutch company specializing in wine and culinary tours in the Bordeaux region for an English speaking international clientele.