The Tasting Panel magazine

PARTNERSHIPS Jean-Charles Boisset, Anthony Dias Blue of Blue Lifestyle/THE TASTING PANEL and Michael Appel, CEO of Baccarat North America. The Art of Life W JCB WINES AND BACCARAT FIND A PERFECT SYNERGY by Lana Bortolot / photos by Doug Young rapping up a glittering road tour with Baccarat as a travel com- panion, the JCB Wines collection is gearing up for a new year as it seeks to further acquaint wine drinkers with its unique concept. The glittering event, organized and hosted by Anthony Dias Blue and held at Baccarat's New York boutique on Madison Avenue, paired each wine with an hors d'oeuvre and a work of Baccarat art—a piece of jewelry, a decanter or stemware that reflected the personality of the wine.. The brainchild of Jean-Charles Boisset, the JCB Wines portfolio combines an Old World aesthetic with New World style. Many producers say that—but Boisset does indeed have the, shall we say, vineyard cred. From a leading Burgundian wine-producing family, Boisset is deeply invested in some of California's most enviable terroir. The Boisset family owns Raymond and DeLoach Vineyards, Lyeth Estate and Buena Vista Winery. His family maintains prestigious estates in the homeland. But instead of talking terroir, Boisset takes a higher-than-ground-level approach to the JCB offerings, describing their emotional qualities as much as their flavor. "It's very dif- ferent from the evolution of terroir," he says. "I wanted to portray a stylistic expression of a wine I want to drink day in and day out." And he wanted that expression to be Californian. "It really started as an objective to showcase to the world that we could make phenomenal wines in California," Boisset says. He, of course, is not the first European to thrust California into the world spotlight, but he may well be the most debonair. The style-minded winemaker, usually dressed in crisp black and white, gave the collection a numbering system that both demystifies the art of deciphering a label and, at the same time, creates an aura of mystery. What do the numbers mean? They signify personal moments and ideas in Boisset's life. No. 1, for example, represents his first foray into Cabernet Sauvignon; No. 81 Chardonnay is the first year he stepped foot in his adopted state of California. The collection may read as a roadmap to Boisset's life, but it also provides a way to lead an aspirational life of high style with classic underpinnings. These personal associations, he hopes, will attract similarly minded lifestyle consumers: modern, trendy wine-drinkers who appreciate that a good bottle is about taste, yes, but also emotional enjoyment. For this reason, Boisset partnered with Baccarat, not only on the road, but also in his two tasting rooms—the JCB tast- ing room in Healdsburg and the private, appointment-only JCB Lounge in Napa Valley. Both emanate style and sophistica- tion, transporting their guests from the typical tasting room into a world of fashion and elegance more akin to the luxury boutiques of Paris. Boisset, named one of Decanter's Top 50 Power Brokers in the global wine markets, and himself a carafe collector from an early age, says that the partnership is perfectly synergistic. "It was very important to com- municate very high-end values and the art of life," he says, "and how to serve wines." The JCB Wines carry numbers that signify personal moments in Boisset's life. The Baccarat boutique hosted the JCB Wines tour in New York. january/february 2012 / the tasting panel / 25

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