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.
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Bertrand Sourdais talking about Chinon wines
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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.
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Sourdais with guests and David Stephan (in green apron)
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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.
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4 wines tasted during the wine tasting session with Bertrand Sourdais
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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!
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.
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David Stephan and Bertrand Sourdais with the lucky guest
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Gastrodome General Manager Sach Seelan (left) with Bertrand Sourdais and David Stephan
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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.
