Final of the 2014 French Wine Tasting Championship

On 28 June, the final of the RVF 2014 competition took place in Bordeaux.

Find the tasting notes from a member of the Vins & Millésimes team!

FINAL OF THE FRENCH WINE TASTING CHAMPIONSHIP RVF BORDEAUX 28/6/2014

The wines tasted

Wine No. 1:
Grape varieties: pinot noir 66% chardonnay 34%
Appellation: Champagne Producer (château or estate): Bollinger
Cuvée name: Grande Année Vintage: 2004
The colour is pronounced, the nose toasty and complex with aromas of citrus and ripe apples… The attack is round, the mid-palate creamy, and the finish lemony, precise and lightly dosed..
This is without a doubt a Champagne and a beautiful champagne, quite powerful and evolved. We think of a blend with a slight predominance of Chardonnay from 2002, even if aromas of red fruits appear as the wine warms… It is a majority pinot noir, yet a champagne tasted several times over the last 12 months..

Wine No. 2:
Grape varieties: chardonnay
Appellation: Meursault
Producer (château or estate): Olivier Leflaive
Cuvée name (if applicable): 1er cru Charmes Vintage: 2010
Very precise, white fruits, citrus, wood — a lovely wine that needs time to integrate its oak. We immediately look to Burgundy on the Côte de Beaune; the precise and broad character makes us think of Meursault, and the acidity of a 2010 Premier Cru Perrières... Not a bad guess!

Wine No. 3:
Grape varieties: riesling
Appellation: Alsace Grand Cru Pfingstberg
Producer (château or estate): Valentin Zusslin
Cuvée name (if applicable): Pfingstberg
Vintage: 2008
Nose of candied citrus, smoke, petrol; powerful and acidic palate, almost dry, a very lovely wine. My partner leans towards Pinot Gris, I lean towards a Riesling... The wine's balance seems too precise for a Pinot Gris. We go for a Riesling Grand Cru Schlossberg from Faller in 2011…

Wine No. 4:
Grape varieties: viognier
Appellation: Côtes du Rhône
Producer (château or estate): Château Noël Saint-Laurent
Cuvée name (if applicable): Réserve Les Argentines
Vintage: 2011
A musky nose that reminds me of certain viogniers. The palate is powerful, very rich, with alcohol, dried fruits and a bitter finish... It is not really my style of wine! We first think of a slightly plump marsanne or roussanne.. Then the memory of that first nose leads us to reconsider our position and return to a viognier, in the Côtes du Rhône (Condrieu) 2012… A good call on the region and grape variety. Few teams chose Viognier.

Reds Wine No. 5:
Grape varieties: merlot 95% cabernet franc 5%
Appellation: Pomerol
Producer (château or estate): Château La Conseillante
Cuvée name (if applicable): Duo de Conseillante
Vintage: 2010
Medium and matte colour, slightly vegetal nose, light woodiness on the palate, acidity, very fruity, slightly smoky..
The colour makes us think of a Loire Cabernet Franc, but no trace of green pepper and a little too much wood. We think of a majority Merlot / Cabernet Sauvignon blend on gravel, from 2011 for the slightly vegetal note.

Wine No. 6:
Grape varieties: grenache 50% mourvèdre 40% syrah 10%
Appellation: Gigondas
Producer (estate): Domaine Brusset
Cuvée name (if applicable): Les secrets de Montmirail
Vintage: 2012
Pale and violet colour, nose of blackcurrant and violet… Supple palate, without excessive alcohol, easy-drinking.. which reminds me of a Crozes Hermitage 2012 from Maxime Graillot; my partner finds it more southern… He was right. We still score points on the vintage and the region.

Wine No. 7
Grape varieties: syrah 60% mourvèdre 20% grenache 20%
Appellation: Languedoc Terrasses du Larzac
Producer (château or estate): Domaine Montcalmès
Cuvée name (if applicable):
Vintage: 2010
First nose of Syrah (blackberries and floral notes), a hint of gaminess, a sensual palate, a very beautiful wine without excessive alcohol but which remains southern... We think of a Grenache/syrah/mourvèdre blend… In the Languedoc, we call to mind the domaine de Montcalmès..
In the end, we go for a Syrah Coteaux du Languedoc 2011... Not too far off... Many teams will place this wine in Burgundy... That says it all about how fine and delicate it is!

Wine No. 8
Grape varieties: grenache 70% mourvèdre 17% syrah 10% cinsault 3%
Appellation: Châteauneuf-du-pape
Producer (château or estate): Domaine Les Cailloux Cuvée name (if applicable):
Vintage: 2011
Very pale colour… nose of dried fruits, very floral and complex. The palate is more powerful with a lot of alcohol and relatively agreeable tannins...
We hesitate between Corsica (Nielluccio) and Châteauneuf-du-Pape — we go for a Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2011 in grenache. Well played!

We are 3rd out of 35 after the first 8 wines with 94 points, 4 points behind 1^st place, and rather pleased with ourselves. We are among the 6 teams continuing the competition on the podium. It is a speed exercise in which we are not very good, and it is a true disaster, with a "triple zero" on wines 9, 10, 11, and ultimately an honourable but disappointing 6th place given our performance on the first 8 wines.

FINAL SIX

Wine No. 9
Grape varieties: chenin
Appellation: Anjou
Producer (estate): Domaine de Juchépie
Cuvée name (if applicable): Le Clos
Vintage: 2011

Wine No. 10
Grape varieties: mourvèdre 100%
Appellation: Corbières
Producer (estate): Château Spencer La Pujade
Cuvée name (if applicable): Le Bosc
Vintage: 2011

Wine No. 11
Grape varieties: syrah
Appellation: Saint-Joseph
Producer (château or estate): Domaine Coursodon
Cuvée name (if applicable): L'Olivaie
Vintage: 2009

Wine No. 12
Grape varieties: sémillon 90% sauvignon 8% muscadelle 2%
Appellation: Sauternes
Producer (château or estate): Château Gilette
Cuvée name (if applicable):

Vintage: 1989