Guigal dinner at Christie’s – The La Las: La Mouline, La Turque, La Landonne

While they might sound more like a Telebubby than a trio of some of the world’s finest wines, people are going gaga for the La Las. La Mouline, La Turque and La Landonne, affectionately known as the La Las, are the three single vineyard wines of Guigal, the most famous and finest producer in the Côte Rôtie. 

Having clocked up more perfect 100-point scores from influential wine messiah Robert Parker than any other wine producer, Pétrus and Screaming Eagle included, the La La’s have become some of the most highly sought after wines in the world, not least due to their miniscule production. In 2007, the 2003 vintage of the La Las set a record for the most expensive Rhône wines ever released, with bottles selling for as much as £500. Imagine my delight then, dear reader, when I was invited to taste all three at an intimate wine dinner at the plush King Street HQ of Christie’s auction house.

Taking my place beside our affable Antipodean host, Guigal’s brand ambassador Brett Crittenden, we were quickly brought up to speed with the estate’s rich history over a glass of Guigal’s waxy, honeyed and intensely aromatic La Doriane Condrieu 2010. Setting out as a teen to earn a living picking apricots, having arrived in Ampuis, an ancient village in the Côte Rôtie boasting a 2,500-year winemaking history, entrepreneurial Etienne Guigal soon secured a job at Vidal Fleury, at the time the most powerful producer in the Rhône. Guigal’s rise through the ranks was meteoric, working his way up from cellar hand aged 14 to cellar master in the 1940s.

Before Crittenden proceeds with the story, we’re served a rich terrine of foie gras fragrant with white truffle oil and tempered by jasmine jelly. Tucking in, Crittenden continues… Having accrued sufficient experience, in 1946 Etienne branched out and founded his eponymous estate, E. Guigal, in Ampuis. In addition to the near-mythical La Las, Guigal produces wine from appellations across the Rhône, including around 45% of Condrieu’s annual production, but is best known for playing a pivotal role in raising Côte Rôtie's global reputation. 

Guigal shot to international fame in the mid ‘80s when Parker heaped praise on the La Las, commenting: “I have never seen a producer so fanatical about quality as Marcel Guigal.” The Maryland critic’s backing helped catapult Côte Rôtie onto the international stage, allowing it to emerge from Hermitage’s shadow.

 Gagging to try the reds, we begin with a comparative tasting of Château d’Ampuis 2003 and 2005. Made in vast quantities compared to Guigal’s single vineyard wines, with around 30,000 bottles produced each year as opposed to a few hundred cases of each of the La Las, while 95% of all Côtes du Rhône is based on Grenache, Guigal has always chosen to showcase Syrah. The inky 2005 had the edge over the spicy 2003, its dense, expressive nose showing notes of plum, pepper and blackberry, though both matched well with the accompanying, perfectly al dente, autumnal mushroom risotto.

Succumbing to blindness in 1961, Etienne handed over the reins to his son Marcel, who adopted a simple winemaking approach: low yields, organic viticulture and minimum intervention in the cellar. His relentless work ethic and dedication to quality has cemented Guigal’s place in history as the world’s leading Rhône estate. Snapping up Vidal Fleury in 1984, Marcel then acquired, restored, and in 1995 relaunched the wines of the aforementioned Château d'Ampuis. Today, Marcel’s son Philippe, a father of young twin boys, looks after winemaking at the estate. With 60 hectares in the Northern Rhône, he is custodian of the finest collection of old vine vineyards in the Côte-Rôtie.

With our roast duck main on the table, it was time to try the legendary La Las, each of which undergoes a staggering 42 months in new oak before bottling. Expectations were great. We sensibly begin with the most restrained of the three – La Mouline 2006. The intoxicating perfume of its exotic nose offered floral spice, wild herbs, bacon, earth, iodine, truffle, red cherry, minerality and hints of summer fruits, along with a polished palate of spun silk. Making its debut in 1966, La Mouline, a mere 400 cases of which are produced a year, is the first of the La Las to be harvested. Made from old vine Syrah and Viognier from a single vineyard in the Côte Blonde, the wine includes the highest proportion of Viognier of Guigal’s single vineyard wines (around 10%), and as a result, is the most floral, feminine and elegant of the trio.

Next up is La Turque 2006, described by Brett as having an “electricity” to it. Reigning from a parcel of old vines inside the Côte Brune, La Turque, meaning “The Turk”, is typically a blend of 93% Syrah and 7% Viognier. Displaying both the power of La Landonne and elegance of La Mouline, La Turque started out in 1985, and, like the other La Las, is aged in 100% new French oak for 42 months. Straddling both spheres, it is denser and more opulent than La Mouline, but less powerful, structured and tannic than La Landonne. The ’06 showed notes of damsons, blackcurrants and violets, and had an enticing vitality to it. Like La Mouline, production hovers at around 400 cases a year.

Dinner hit a powerful note with Guigal’s beast of a wine – La Landonne 2003, crafted from 100% Syrah, making it by far the most tannic of the trio. Bottled first in 1978 from 20-year-old Côte Brune vines, the lack of the softening touch of Viognier makes it the most masculine of the La Las. The ’03 was packed with blackberries, black cherries, chewy tannins, tobacco and truffle notes, though refreshed by a mineral core. While taking much longer than the other two to mature, La Landonne, I’m told, rewards those patient enough to wait for it to reach its full potential. The 2003 was still miles off maturation.

Ending with a glass of La Turque 1994, which, while retaining the energy of its youth had mellowed magnificently, mirroring the elegance of La Mouline, I bypassed the selection of Rhône cheeses in favour of a midnight amble around the gallery on the lower floor, scattered with modern artworks worth millions still in their bubble wrap leaning nonchalantly against the walls. From a Damien Hirst dot painting to a cryptic quintet of Gerhard Richter doors, to see such valuable works in such a casual context was a rare and thrilling treat. 

Galloni: Screaming Eagle phenomenon unhealthy

All powerful US wine critic Robert Parker’s California taster Antonio Galloni has spoken out about the trading of cult wine Screaming Eagle on the secondary market, dubbing it  “unhealthy.” While researching a feature on cult wines for the drinks business, Galloni, who rates Californian wines for Parker’s bi-monthly publication The Wine Advocate, told me: “The Screaming Eagle phenomenon is not healthy. Very few people buy Screaming Eagle to drink it. It has become a pure instrument of speculation, which is sad, as it’s a great wine.”

The San Francisco Chronicle’s wine critic Jon Bonné had similarly strong views on Screaming Eagle, agreeing that the wine, made in Oakville in the Napa Valley, has become too mythical for its own good. “Screaming Eagle has become a unicorn that isn’t worth chasing anymore,” he told me. First released in 1995, Screaming Eagle continues to command high prices at auction, with a 75cl bottle of the 1997 vintage selling for £2,267 at Christie’s New York this April.

New releases of the wine quickly double on resale – Elin McCoy of Bloomberg believes that at least a third of Screaming Eagle’s mailing list customers immediately “flip” their bottles on the secondary market. Bonné meanwhile, is cynical about the pricing of Screaming Eagle and California’s other so-called “cult” wines. “To justify stratospheric pricing based on points and scarcity, and to claim that California is a bargain by Bordeaux standards is a big does of hubris that doesn’t do anyone any good,” he said.

Despite or perhaps because of their high price tags, both Screaming Eagle and Harlan Estate are doing well in China, favoured in wealthy circles for their rarity. “The combination of money and early curve interest that drives cult wines has migrated to Asia. “China wants Screaming Eagle, Harlan and Colgin as much as they once wanted Lafite and Latour,” believes Bonné.

While Chinese consumers are catching on to California Cabernet, there are signs that other grape varieties are being welcomed into the cult wine fold. “It’s not all about Cabernet anymore. Californian Syrah is starting to have its moment in the spotlight through the likes of Sine Qua Non and Saxum,” Mark Andrew of London fine wine merchant Roberson told me over the phone. Londoners are developing a thirst for Sine Qua Non, small parcels of which are selling well at Wolfgang Puck’s Park Lane steak venture CUT, and at auction.

Though despite this interest, competition is becoming increasingly tough at California’s top end. “Consumers have become much more discerning and value-conscious as a result of the financial meltdown. There will always be room for niche, high-end wines, but the competition is fierce,” says Galloni. Bonné agrees: “Look at wines that have traded hands, like Sloan or Merus; Napa just isn’t big enough for all the rich folk hoping to create the next must-have wine. It was a ludicrous model from the outset, and it’s just playing through the endgame now.”

The lifespan of a cult wine is decreasing, as access to the wines via Facebook, Twitter, blogs and bulletin boards is speeding up their democratisation. “Cult wines are just getting started, but the journey from embryonic cult to washed up has-been is getting shorter,” says Andrew. Love them or loathe them, cult wines are here to stay. 

Koch’s Jefferson lawsuit thrown out of court

Bad news this week for billionaire wine collector William Koch, who has lost his bid to reinstate a lawsuit against Christie’s that claimed the auction house “induced” him to buy counterfeit wine. As reported on db.com, the US Court of Appeals in Manhattan last week upheld a 2011 ruling by US district judge Barbara Jones dismissing Koch’s suit after finding that he waited too long to sue, agreeing that the statute of limitations had expired.

“For wine, timing is critical, the same is true for causes of action,” said US district judge John Koeltl, who was sitting on the appeals court for the case. “I’m very disappointed by the decision. The appeals judges dismissed the case for a technicality, although we know they got a lot of the facts wrong, but they’re the ones who decide what the facts are,” Koch said. “Christie’s got away with an incredible hoax,” Brad Goldstein, a Koch spokesman, told Bloomberg. Koch filed a lawsuit against Christie’s in Manhattan in 2010, claiming the London-based auction house had sold him counterfeit wine “for many years.”

Koch also said that Christie’s had “induced” him to buy four bottles of 1787 Château Lafite engraved “Th.J” that had purportedly belonged to American President Thomas Jefferson from German wine dealer Hardy Rodenstock in 1987 because Christie’s described the wines “positively” in auction catalogs during the 1980s. The wines were allegedly discovered in the mid-‘80s when Rodenstock claimed to have found a cache in a bricked-up cellar in Paris. Koch had the bottles tested in October 2000.

One of the purportedly fake Jefferson bottles

In dismissing the case last year, Jones said Koch knew the bottles were counterfeit and that he bought the wine out of a “desire to gather evidence against Christie’s.” Jonathan Lerner, a lawyer for Christie’s, told Bloomberg: “Today’s court ruling was clearly correct, Koch’s claims turned to vinegar a long time ago. The only hoax in this case was the allegation in the complaint that ‘no credible question’ had been raised about the wine until shortly before the complaint was filed.”

Koch should have made inquiries about the wine by October 2000, when a report was issued about its authenticity, the appeals court said. He filed his suit in 2010. A historian at Monticello, Jefferson’s former home in Virginia, issued a report in December 1985 that determined “no solid connecting evidence could be found between Jefferson and the Th.J wine.” While the report didn’t become public at the time, newspapers including the New York Times published articles saying there was “scholarly doubt” about the authenticity of the wine. Koch has previously sued Rodenstock and American auction houses Zachy’s and Acker Merrall & Condit for fraud.

Koch to revive fake Jefferson wine case

Billionaire William Koch has asked a US appeals court to revive a lawsuit against Christie’s in which he accused the auction house of fraud over the sale of wines allegedly owned by third American President Thomas Jefferson. As reported on db.com, on Wednesday, a federal appeals court panel in New York questioned whether Koch had conducted timely due diligence when doubts were raised about four bottles of 1787 Château Lafite engraved "Th.J" that were sold to him in 1987 by German wine dealer Hardy Rodenstock for $500,000.

US district judge Barbara Jones threw out Koch’s lawsuit against Christie’s last March, ruling that his claim of fraudulent concealment was barred by the statute of limitations – an enactment that sets the maximum time after an event that legal proceedings based on that event may be initiated. Koch, the founder of Oxbow Group energy company, appealed the decision, saying that Rodenstock and the long time head of Christie's wine department, Michael Broadbent, were associates in the purported fraud.

Christie's fought the lawsuit, arguing that Koch falsely claimed he did not learn about credible issues of the authenticity of the wine until 2005. Much of the questioning focused on the statute of limitations and the timeliness of Koch's investigations into the wine. Koch, who is worth US$4 billion according to Forbes magazine, sued Christie's on the grounds that it had agreed to promote Rodenstock's reputation and sell his wines.

The lawsuit also said Christie's had lobbied The Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello – Jefferson’s former home in Virginia, to vouch for the wine. The appeals court heard that a 1985 report by Monticello had raised doubts about the provenance of the wine and that there had been articles in the wine press in the early ‘90s reporting that no one had proven the wines were Jefferson's.

Koch's lawyer argued that the lawsuit should be allowed because more details had been revealed in a Monticello report from 2005, including the fact that Jefferson ordered an entire year's supply of wine in a single purchase. The orders from 1787 to 1792 were intact and none reflected purchases of the "Th.J" wine. The court did not immediately issue a ruling, but will give a written opinion at a later date. Koch has previously sued American auction houses Zachy’s and Acker Merrall & Condit, and German wine dealer Hardy Rodenstock for fraud.

Chinese names for Bordeaux revealed

Christie’s auction house has unveiled an official translation of the 61 châteaux in the 1855 classification, after a year of discussions with the estates. As reported on thedrinksbusiness.com, all but four of the châteaux have approved the Chinese translation of their names.

“We have confirmation from all but four châteaux that these Chinese translations are the agreed names for the whole Chinese speaking world,” said Simon Tam (above), Christie’s head of wine in China. “We are trying to make wine as accessible as possible for our clients. Language is the first barrier and we want to break down those barriers,” he added.

The auction house worked with châteaux to agree on a Chinese translation for the 61 estates. Though a small number of châteaux, including Cos d’Estournel, have decided not to take a Chinese name. The translations have been published on a poster (right), which will be unveiled to the trade during the 2012 en primeur week.

The posters will also be given to Christie’s clients and journalists. Tam is hoping that other auction houses and the wider wine trade will adopt the official translation. Christie’s is working on similar translations for properties in Sauternes, the right bank of Bordeaux and Burgundy, which it hopes to release later this year.