Wine Talk Hosts First Winemaker Tasting Session featuring Bertrand Sourdais

Wine Talk does it again…an enjoyable evening of wines plus an exclusive preview of new ones from France and Spain for its customers and Wine Club members



18 April 2015 – It is a rare event for a wine lover in this part of the world to meet the winemakers themselves. If you were in Germany, Australia, France, Spain or maybe Italy, you’d have good chances of meeting the talented men and women behind the art of winemaking process. But here in Malaysia, it would be a memorable occasion to enjoy a wine tasting session with the winemaker himself.

Wine Talk, headed by its CEO and sommelier David Stephan, recently hosted an indulgent session of wine tasting and Spanish tapas at La Bodega Lounge in Jalan Telawi, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. The tasting session featured 4 different wines from reputable winemaker, Bertrand Sourdais, who flew in to Malaysia that day for Wine Talk’s first winemaker tasting session this year.

Bertrand Sourdais talking about Chinon wines


Freshly landing an hour before the event started at 4pm, Sourdais was a breath of excitement and enthusiasm as he entered the cozy lounge of La Bodega. And the moment he started talking, one can immediately feel his passion for wines and the meticulous work involved in his winemaking process.


Sourdais with guests and David Stephan (in green apron)


Sourdais guided guests through 4 wines, which were all products of his lifelong passion for wines: Chinon 'Les Messanges De Pallus', Chinon 'Les Pensees De Pallus', Chinon ‘Le Grand Vin de Pallus’ and Bodegas Antidoto. The first 2 are already available in Malaysia, exclusively at Wine Talk, while the latter 2 wines are expected to arrive in June/ July. Sourdais’s Chinon wines are from France while the last one, the Antidoto, is from Spain.

4 wines tasted during the wine tasting session with Bertrand Sourdais


Bertrand became the 5th generation of the Sourdais Family to manage the estate when he took over in 2004. They are based in the village of Cravant-Les-Côteaux, one of the 2 villages encompassing the Chinon AOC, which produces mostly red wine, Cabernet Franc being the King Grape of the region. Since he took over, he has been slowly converting the estate towards a fully organic approach, and working parcel per parcel (some planted in sand, others in limestone) to make a more drastic selection for the 3 different cuvees. He does this to produce extremely refined and complex wines, which are friendly to drink now but can also withstand some ageing.

Passionate about offering the purest expression of the grapes only, Bertrand works with a very respectful and minimalist approach, growing grapes with an organic method, combined with slow and careful oak ageing.

As a grand traveler and lover of Spanish wines, Bertrand has also been making wines in Spain since the late 90’s, first managing the now highly-renowned Dominio de Atauta, and during this event introduced Bodegas Antidoto. Wine Talk customers and Wine Club members were the first ones to enjoy a glass of this much-awaited wine, together with Chinon ‘Le Grand Vin de Pallus’, which are both arriving in 2-3 months in Malaysia.

4 Wines by Bertrand Sourdais:
Aged in concrete tanks and stainless steel for over 6 months, the grapes come mostly from vines planted in sandy soils - Dark berry and fruity notes combined with capsicum, mild spice and herbal qualities, make this a great value wine – dry and addictive! Perfect with a wide selection of meat dishes, better served slightly chilled. Les Messanges is a pure expression of the Cabernet Franc: dry, fruitful & very friendly.

‘Les Pensées’ (name of a flower which is very present around the vineyards) is the Domaine Trademark-cuvée. It is the one that put them on the World Wine Map a few years ago, getting top-scores everywhere. Sourced from parcels surrounding the estate, planted dominantly on sand-limestone hillsides and pebbly sand parcels, the wine is oak-aged for over 12 months and a further 6 months in tanks.
This is a beautiful bold dry red with great depth, richness to the layers of capsicum, plum, black cherry and redcurrant fruit, accented by notes of bouncy pepper, savory and olive. Perfect with a nice grilled steak!

Coming soon, exclusively available in Malaysia via Wine Talk at www.winetalk.com.my

Sourdais set aside the fruit of his oldest vines to produce just 100 cases of this very special grand vin. Named Grand Vin de Pallus, this wine is a pure expression not only of a blessed terroir and a historic vintage, but also of  Sourdais' talent and his persistent passion to create a Chinon for the ages. This wine bursts with the essence of violets, combining rich black currant fruit with a bracing fraîcheur (this is a French word meaning freshness or coolness). As one of the guests described, this Chinon has an amazing flavor that “dances around inside your mouth”.  Sounds appetizing.

This Spanish wine is organically made from old Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) vines. Extractions are kept under control and second- and third year 225-litre barriques are used in order to limit oak influence. It combines 70% of old vines with younger vines, bringing a lively touch to the wine, resulting to fruit flavours of red berries, floral reminiscences, a racy acidity and considerable minerality while remaining juicy and dense on the palate. 

Bodegas Antídoto is a project designed by Bertrand Sourdais with David Hernando, an agricultural engineer and a former technical director of the winery Atalayas de Golbán, where he worked from 2004 to 2010.  Their objective is to produce fine, unique wines in the Eastern part of the Ribera del Duero region. Antídoto is a youthful project that started in 2009. Though it was not until 2011, the year in which the first Antídoto was made using grapes from the vineyards that they run in Soria, that the project truly gained momentum.







Guests had a great time with Bertrand Sourdais, David Stephan and the rest of the Wine Talk team. Aside from the beautiful wines and Spanish tapas, they also enjoyed special prices to buy or pre-book any of the wines they liked that day.

To the surprise of guests, David Stephan had a lucky draw at the end of the session and gave away a beautiful magic decanter. Sounds interesting? The magic decanter speeds up the process of traditional decanting, which normally takes half an hour or more, by decanting the wine immediately as the wine is poured through. And a lucky guest bagged the prize.

David Stephan and Bertrand Sourdais with the lucky guest




Gastrodome General Manager Sach Seelan (left) with Bertrand Sourdais and David Stephan

Wine Talk is an online wine delivery service in Malaysia, providing fast, efficient and easy way for people across West Malaysia to shop online for wines, wine accessories such as wine glasses and decanters, and now including selected spirits that French sommelier David Stephan has carefully handpicked for customers.

During this event, Wine Talk’s Wine Club members enjoyed the privilege of free entrance to enjoy exclusive wines from featured winemaker Bertrand Sourdais. The Wine Club, the first of its kind in Malaysia, is a unique service where members subscribe to a monthly or bi-monthly delivery of wines. Wine Club wine cases contain wines that David Stephan himself personally picks to send to its members. It is definitely a great way to discover more wines from around the world, not just labels that one can easily find in wine shops. After all, discoveries make wine appreciation even more pleasurable.

Wine Talk online site offers red wines, white wines, sparkling wines, rosé wines, Champagne, crystal wine glasses, decanters, aromaster and spirits, sent right to your doorstep with FREE delivery for any order worth RM120.  

For those who are interested to discover more about the Wine Club and its privileges, you may visit https://www.winetalk.com.my/wine-club.html




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