The other day, I had the chance to drink Les Forts de Latour for the first time in a long while. It was an old wine from a good vintage, 1996. As you know, Les Forts de Latour is the second wine of Chateau Latour in Pauillac, one of the five great chateaux of Bordeaux.

This second wine. In Bordeaux, even the less famous chateaux are now producing it everywhere. In fact, there are countless famous chateaux that produce third wines or lower.

In the late 1990s, when I was a big fan of Bordeaux wine, a lot of second wine was certainly being made. However, since Mouton-Rothschild, another of the big five chateaux, only started making second wine in 1993 , it wasn't yet the case that everyone was making it.

In addition, second wines were all sold in the same batch for 1,980 or 2,980 yen each. Even the second wine of Haut-Brion, one of the five great chateaux, Bern-Haut-Brion (now Le Clarence d'Haut-Brion), could be purchased for 2,980 yen.

The reason is simple: top brand wines were not so expensive. In those days, even the five great chateaux, such as 1984 and 1987 , which were off-vintage in the 1980s , could be purchased at department store wine counters for less than 10,000 yen. I once bought a 1992 Chateau Latour, also an off-vintage, for 5,000 yen at a sale at Ginza Mitsukoshi.

The author decided to pursue Bordeaux wines after being impressed by the 1984 Mouton-Rothschild wine he drank at "Le Maestro Paul Bocuse Tokyo" across from Suntory Hall in Ark Hills in 1994. As mentioned above, 1984 was a disappointing vintage, and Merlot in particular was not good that year. It is said that Mouton used 100 % Cabernet Sauvignon for this year's wine.

As you know, Bordeaux is characterized by blending multiple grapes, in contrast to Burgundy, which uses 100 % Pinot Noir. In the Medoc region, where the five great chateaux are classified, Cabernet Sauvignon is the main variety, followed by Merlot and Cabernet Franc, with Malbec and Petit Verdot used as supporting varieties. In addition, the wines of Libourne on the right bank, which produces Chateau Petrus and other wines, are mainly Merlot, followed by Cabernet Franc, with the other varieties mentioned above as supporting varieties.

Mouton uses a high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon in Pauillac, and more broadly in the Médoc, at around 80 %, but they also use Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot.

I don't know if the 1984 Mouton was really 100 % Cabernet Sauvignon, but it was exactly ten years old and was ready to drink, and the wine was in good condition because it was from a grand maison. It was quite delicious. And it was only 9,000 yen. Even at high-end restaurants, you could drink wine from the five great chateaux for less than 10,000 yen. Well, it's true that Le Maestro was particularly good at pricing their wines.

In other words, there was no need to drink the second wine. If you splurged a little, you could buy one of the five great chateaux or drink it at a restaurant. I remember drinking a good vintage 1978 Chateau Margaux for 25,000 yen in the main dining room of a certain hotel in Osaka. Nowadays, the latest vintage of Chateau Margaux costs 100,000 yen, so it's a completely different league.

The only exception to this was the second wine Les Forts de Latour. In fact, it was regularly featured on the wine lists of Grand Maisons. This is because it was said that in the case of great vintages of Chateau Latour, it would not show its true potential unless it was aged for 30 years.

Of course, Grand Maison would have 30-year-old Latour, but it would be very expensive. Furthermore, it would be difficult for mid-level restaurants to stock it, and the price would be unreasonable. To be honest, they can't wait 30 years, whereas Les Forts de Latour is ready to drink in just half that, 15 years.

Perhaps due to these circumstances, Les Forts de Latour has been produced since 1966 , and is brewed using two-thirds of the grapes from a different plot than the one called "Enclos" where Latour is produced, and one-third from the Enclos, so that the wine can be drunk early.

In other words, Les Forts de Latour should be considered a different wine from Latour, which was made for a different purpose from the start.

However, many people seem to think that they have a glimpse of the top brands by drinking the second wine. This is dangerous, and it is extremely difficult even for experts to predict the top brands from the second wine.

Clos du Marquis, which was the second wine of Chateau Léoville-Las-Cases, a second growth in Saint-Julien, is produced from a different vineyard and is now sold under a separate brand, with Le Petit Lyon, made from young grapes from Las Cases, being the second wine.

Now that top brands have become incredibly expensive, there may be cases where second wines are okay. In that case, I recommend drinking them with the understanding that they are different things. And, whenever possible, I recommend buying lower-ranked chateaux or bourgeois top brands that can be purchased at the same price. It is the top brands that best express the essence of the chateau and the characteristics of the appellation.

The 1996 Les Forts de Latour was a wonderful wine that could still be aged for a long time. It is a wine that makes the most of its fruitiness and allows you to enjoy its aging. Latour is a tighter, more tannic wine with a dignified presence like that of an old samurai.

In my opinion, no other second wine has such a unique presence as Les Forts de Latour.

This month's recommended wine: "Bordeaux-style wine from Tuscany - Bolgheri"

"Ferchiaino Rosso 2018 DOC Bolgheri Giovanni Chiappini" 6,900 yen (excluding tax)

 Just as there are two types of wine in Bordeaux, Médoc and Libourne, the wines of the Tuscany region, which is compared to the Italian wine of Bordeaux, can also be divided into two types: wines made from the Sangiovese variety that produces Chianti and its subvarietals (such as Brunello), and wines that use Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot to create Bordeaux-style wines.

Sassiaia was the pioneer of this Bordeaux-style wine. It seems that it began in 1944 when Chateau Lafite-Rothschild Cabernet Sauvignon was planted. At first, it was substandard and was treated as Vino da Tavola, but because it was expensive, it was called "Super Tuscan". Other famous wines such as Ornellaia followed suit, and in 1994 it became possible to call it DOC Bolgheri, and Sassiaia independently obtained DOC Bolgheri Sassiaia. It has come to play a part in this new style of wine in Tuscany.

This time we will introduce Bolgheri made by Gioanni Piacchini. The Piacchini family moved from Marche in 1954 and grew vegetables and olives until 1995 , but from that year they started cultivating grapes. They have been selling wine since 2000. The vineyard is in a good location next to Ornellaia.

"Felchiaino" is a varietal blend of 50 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 40 % Merlot, and 10 % Sangiovese. Many cantinas use Sangiovese and Syrah as secondary varieties for Bordeaux-style wines from Bolgheri.

A deep ruby ​​color, slightly redder than Bordeaux. The aroma is spicy and has a stronger sweet fruity aroma than Bordeaux. The complex flavor is voluminous and richer than Bordeaux, with a sweet aftertaste. It is delicious even when aged, but can also be drunk early.

Take this opportunity to enjoy the unique flavor of Bolgheri, which is like Bordeaux but not Bordeaux.

Biography
Osamu Seki Born in Tokyo in 1961. Currently a part-time lecturer at Meiji University and other institutions.
He specializes in contemporary French thought and cultural theory, and is a director of the Reefer Wine Association.
His books include "An Introduction to Beautiful Men" (Natsume Shobo) and "My Neighbor is Arashi-kun" (Cyzo), and his translations include "How Should We Read Foucault?" by Oksara (Shinsensha) and "Mr. Pydrow, What Use Is a Gastronomic Critic?" by Pydrowski (Shinsensha).
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