Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/113109
At a Los Angeles dinner, we met up again with Count von Neipperg, Jim Knight, co-proprietor and import specialist at The Wine House, and Bruno Laclotte, owner of distributorship Regency Wines and Spirits. Tasting Notes O n a recent ���winter��� evening in Las Vegas, an intimate group gathered for dinner at Comme ��a in the Cosmopolitan Resort Hotel with a Count of Franconian aristocracy who can trace his ancestry back to the 12th century���one Stephan von Neipperg, the owner of ive Bordeaux wine estates. Over perfectly seasoned steak tartare, Stephan mused, ���Never make a wine you don���t like to drink yourself,��� as we sipped on his 2009 Ch��teau Soleil. The wine from Puisseguin on the Right Bank of Bordeaux, produced from vines 30+ years of age, is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc and shows generous red and black fruit integrated with cedar and spice. It was as gracious and elegant as the Count himself, who was impeccably dressed, sporting a lashy pocket kerchief and an orange sweater wrapped about his shoulders. If you assume that Count Stephan is merely a well-dressed ambassador of his wines, try talking phenolic science with him and he���ll dance grape stains around you, for he is heavily involved in production and knows intimately the many terroirs of his organically cultivated properties, such as Ch��teau Canon-la-Gaffeli��re, which was recently elevated to Premier Grand Cru Class�� B status in the St. Emilion AOC. Consulting vigneron St��phane Derenoncourt��(who is credited with helping elevate La Mondotte, one of the Neipperg properties, to high critical acclaim) works closely with Neipperg and together they share a vision to appeal to an international wine audience���only ive percent of the Neipperg wines are distributed in France, the rest are exports. Neipperg���s wines were met with high praise from those attending the dinner. Jamie Smith, a former wine buyer from the casino circuit, who is now consulting, remarked that he���s tasted, ���Just about everything,��� there is to taste and that the Neipperg wines are ���wellmade at a solid price point; they embrace the new while retaining solid tradition.��� Smith has carried Le Rival, noting, ���It is the most complete of all the wines [in the Neipperg portfolio] and the most international in style.��� The 2010 Le Rival is made from vines grown in clay-limestone soils in the Lussac-Saint Emilion AOC and at about $36 retail is a superb value wine with lots of depth and complexity. For Neipperg, sharing his wine over a meal is paramount. As the evening drew to a close and we were cracking spoons into the perfect cr��me br��l��e dessert, the Count spoke about American cuisine in his distinctly articulate, breathy and charismatically accented voice: ���In a culture of sweet and salt you have to be careful, and our wines are built for food. Wine needs acidity and acidity makes you healthy.��� We all raised a glass in agreement. 2010 Ch��teau Soleil Promesse, AOC Puisseguin, Saint-Emilion ($27) A superb value wine showing red and black cherry fruit, cedar on the nose leading to a round, plush mouthfeel on the palate, with generous red fruit and integrated, spice, tobacco and smooth tannins. 2009 Ch��teau Soleil, AOC Puisseguin, SaintEmilion ($39) 80% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc Made from 30-yearold vines grown on clay-limestone soil, the fresh and earthy beauty sings of chocolate and raspberry with a touch of sweet tobacco leaves. 2007 Clos de L���Oratoire, AOC Saint-Emilion Grand Cru ($60) Opulent red fruit, thyme and oak give way to good acid and a roundness on the palate, while hints of tobacco leaf, smoke and minerality emerge in a lengthy inish. 2010 Le Rival, AOC Lussac, Saint-Emilion ($54) A powerful, but structured wine with youth and muscle. Dark red cherry and jasmine aromatics resound in the mouth while gritty tannins comingle with red currants and mocha, leading to a lengthy inish. Wow! march 2013 / the tasting panel / 85