Le Tour De France Des Vins

“Wilfried Sentex is born in Bordeaux, France and for sure his passion for wine comes from his home country. At present he is working in New York, at Bar Boulud, Daniel Boulud Wine bar. For more information you can reach him at willsentex@gmail.com"

Here we are back again in the Bordeaux area. Last time we talked about the “Left bank”, let's talk today about the “Right bank”. Also call the "Libournais", beacause Libourne is the major city situated in the middle of the right bank. The soils are composed of limestone, clay and sand. One of the particularities of this area is the landscape, which is very diversified, you will find some plateau and terraces, slopes and valleys, and can have the effect on the quality of the wine. The climate, like in the left bank has the influence from the ocean, with good hours of sunshine and a good humidity that helps to regulate the temperature.

The grapes in this area are quite similar to the “Left bank”, but Merlot is the most used one, with the help of the Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon (the latter is used in small quantities). Merlot will make a round wine, complex, fruity and voluptuous. As the palate, you will discover a large variety of red fruits (strawberry, raspberry) and black fruits. The wine could be jammy too depending on the vintage. Also some spices, flowers (violet, rose) and some prune and leather could appear during the ageing. Blending with Cabernet Franc is important for the ageing and to bring some fine tannins. Cabernet Sauvignon will balance the wine and make it round and calm down the tannin power of the young wines.


The “Right bank” is composed of 3 majors families of appellations: Saint Emilion, Pomerol and Fronsac, including 10 AOC (Appellation D'origine Controlee): Saint Emilion, Saint Emilion Grand Cru, Lussac Saint Emilion, Montagne Saint Emilion, Puisseguin Saint Emilion, Saint Georges Saint Emilion, Pomerol, Lalandes de Pomerol, Fronsac and Canon Fronsac. This area represents only 10% of the Bordeaux .

Those 3 families of appellations are not included in the classification of 1855, which included only the Grave and the Medoc. In 1954 the "Syndicat Viticole" decided to do a classification of the Saint Emilion, that was supposed to be updated every 10 years, but in fact it was updated only in 1969, 1985, 1996 and 2006. The 2006 St-Emilion classification has been suspended, because of the complaints of several Chateaus who have been demoted. In the end it was devided and to go back with the 1996's one. So now, in Saint Emilion there are 3 categories of classifications, Premier Grand Cru Classe A (Chateau Ausone and Chateau Cheval Blanc) Premier Grand Cru Classe B (11 of them) and the Grand Cru Classe (55 of them). But for the moment there is no classification for the Fronsac or the Pomerol wines.

The next step of this Tour de France des Vins will be the white wines of Bordeaux. Huumm can't wait for it...

Le Tour De France des Vins

"Wilfried Sentex is born in Bordeaux, France and for sure his passion for wine comes from his home country. At present he is working in New York, at Bar Boulud, Daniel Boulud Wine bar. For more information you can reach him at willsentex@gmail.com"

France is a wonderful wine country with a great variety of grapes, climates and soils and some talented and devoted winemakers. For a better understanding of French appellations and different wine styles I decided to do a Tour de France Des Vins (France's wine Tour).

As a native of Bordeaux I wanted to start with this part of France. Bordeaux is divided in two parts, known as The Left Bank and the Right Bank, due to the two rivers ("La Garonne" and "La Dordogne"), which separate the vineyards from Bordeaux in two Banks. In Bordeaux a variety of different grapes is planted, such as Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot for the reds and roses and Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Muscadelle for the whites and sweet wines. In Bordeaux there are also 57 appellations and 6 main classifications.

But let's talk today about the Left Bank which is divided in two parts, the Medoc and the Graves. Set between the ocean and the Garonne river (following the river for 150km) and protected from the sea air by big pine forests, the soils are mostly composed of gravel (graves) and pebble (galet), but you can also find some sand and limestone. Because of the location and the climate, the soil gets warmed up faster during the day and can keep the heat during the night, therefore the vines will not suffer from the day and night temperature differences.

As for the grapes you will mostly find Cabernet Sauvignon (often blended with some Merlot) and maybe some Malbec and Petit Verdot (the last two in small quantity). Cabernet Sauvignon gives a tannic and aromatic wine (black fruits, rose and licorice) but blending it with Merlot will bring some structure and power to the wine. Those wines are usually better drinking after a few years depending on the vintage but it could be either 3 years or 20 years old after the stockage factor is playing.

Medoc is situated on the north and consists of 8 appellations: Medoc, Haut Medoc, Listrac-Medoc, Moulis-en-Medoc, Pauillac, Margaux,Saint-Julien and Saint-Estephe. Graves region includes the Pessac Leognan.

In 1855, for the Universal Exposition, Napoleon asked for the classification of the Bordeaux wines. Following his order, the wines were classified by the following criteria: reputation of the Chateaux and the price of the production (which at that time was directly related to the quality of the wines). In this classifications 88 wines were selected (61 reds and 27 whites) in importance from the First to the Fifth growth. Only 4 wines were classified as First growth: Chateau Lafitte Rothschild, Chateau Latour (both from Pauillac), Chateau Margaux (from Margaux) and Chateau Haut Brion (from Pessac Leognan). In 1973 two more wines were added, Chateau Mouton Rothschild as First growth and Chateau Cantemerle as Fifth growth.


The next stop will be the Right bank with the Saint-Emilion and Pomerol.

The Young Connoisseur part 3

“David Grega is a certified sommelier and wine consultant living in the Napa valley. In addition to consulting and wine writing David made wine for his own label “Bellum Cellars” in 2008. E-mail davidg@wine16.com for more information."

A few rays of natural sunlight peer through the partly closed window blinds of an office at The Professional Culinary Institute (PCI) in Campbell Ca. The light almost seems to dance across the gleaming hard wood floors that wrap around the modern curves of this food and wine Mecca. I don’t believe I should be in this part of the building; I kind of snuck in when someone opens the electronically locked door. Curiosity has gotten the best of me I suppose. I knew even then, before my training had begun, that there was something special about this place. I had a feeling that my life would be changed here forever. I felt as if I had finally found what I always knew I was searching for. Class at PCI would begin for me in a week, but I felt a little reconnaissance was in order. Just then the door to the cellar and wine classroom opened. Out came David Glancy a Master Sommelier and wine department chair at PCI. I introduced myself and asked to take a quick peak at the classroom where I would be learning how to become a sommelier. The room was amazing to say the least. Three rows of seating where each student had his or her own sink and tasting station equipped with under lighting built into the desks. Flat screen TV’s hung on either side of the classroom and a giant projection screen in the middle. Facing the students on the opposite side of the classroom was a giant glass wine cellar that looked to hold at least a thousand bottles. This was going to be home for the next few months, this is where I would learn the art of the sommelier.

In any profession or craft it is important to seek out the very best mentors to learn from. To be the best you have to surround yourself with the best. At PCI a Master Sommelier David Glancy oversees the sommelier program. I opted for the night classes because I was driving from Sacramento to San Jose every week to get to class and wanted to make time for traffic etc. The primary night class instructor was a Master Sommelier as well, Catherine Fallis. Both Catherine and David are outstanding instructors who really seemed to be dedicated to the proper training and preparation of their sommelier students.

So what was a normal day like at PCI? Classes were broken up into modules, each module covered a separate area or region of wine i.e wines of Germany, wines of France. Those modules were divided up into smaller sections focused on important sub regions etc. Each day we began with a few hours of lecture on a particular sub region we were focusing on. These lectures were very interactive and entertaining to say the least. The hard data we needed for our studies was provided along with fun and interesting stories from our Master Sommelier instructors that added the comical and real dimension to learning. After the lectures were over, the class would run through practical trials of wine service. Opening Champagne bottles properly, decanting old wines from sediment using a candle and decanter according to the court’s standards and proper service of both. The day would end with a tasting of 8-12 wines from the focused sub region we were reviewing that day. The Master Sommelier instructors would walk us through the tasting and discuss classic characteristics of the wines and what made them standard representations of their respective regions. At the end of each module a final exam was given along with a blind tasting of any classic wine from any classic wine region. Upon completion of the final exam the students (which numbered around 20 per class) would sit down together and enjoy a meal prepared by the expert chefs and students at PCI’s culinary school. These meals would consist of the cuisine from the module we had just completed. As an added bonus the students were allowed to open any wine they wanted from the cellar to drink with dinner! Wine was certainly not the only focus of the program at PCI. All together we spent nearly four weeks studying liquors, spirits, beers and cigars. A sommelier must have a working knowledge of all these beverages and luxuries. The learning did not just happen in the classroom. We took a trip to both Cooper-garrod winery in Saratoga and Testarosa winery in Los Gatos. The winemakers were sure to give us a hands run through the wine production from the vineyards to the final product, as well as barrel tastings. Needless to say spending three days per week for 5 and a half months attending these classes was a pure immersion into the world of the sommelier. As part of an agreement with the Court of Master Sommeliers and PCI, the Level 1 and 2 exams were given to all students one after another at the end of the program. Thus is how I received my certified sommelier pin. I view PCI as a sommeliers boot camp in a way. The relationships I built there have continued to grow and benefit as the time goes on, from a networking point of view PCI is priceless for the young connoisseur.

I have the training; I have the pin on my lapel, now what to do? Dive into a sommelier position at a restaurant, right? I very well could have gone that way but I felt like there was still something more out there for me to learn. I felt that even though I had so much great training something was still missing. I wanted to learn more about the production of wine, something I knew little about. A friend of mine and a mentor Jason Moore of Modus Operandi wines in Napa asked me if I would come work a harvest for him after completing my sommelier certification. Without a second thought I said yes and moved to the Napa Valley. I haven’t looked back since. My time in the Valley as a young connoisseur has been full of beautiful moments, tasteful adventures and above all else food, wine, and the pursuit!

h