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One of the benefits of being a Master of Wine student is an "introductory" trip to Bordeaux, where students have the opportunity to meet the winemakers and learn more about the region.

In preparation for En Primeur 2012, I scanned my computer for some old notes from this visit. They are replicated here.

Chateau LaGrange

Our day began at Chateau LaGrange, where I had been invited summer of 2009 to tour the winery and attend a lecture by its General Manager, Mr. Bruno Eynard, given to visiting journalists. It was another gorgeous sunny day, and I enjoyed the tour of the facilities that included new stainless steel tanks.

Chateau LaGrange is one of the largest chateaux, with 115 ha.  As Mr. Eynard showed off his steel tanks, he said he would like to buy a stainless steel tank for each block and terroir. We tried the 2009 the winery created for En Primeur,

After the tasting, we enjoyed a 3-flight tasting of the 2006, 2003, and 2000 vintages in a presentation led by Sarah Jane Evans MW with wines procured by Sylvain Boivert, Director of the Conseil des Grands Crus Classes en 1855.

The objective of the exercise was to compare wines from the different regions and see if we could find a pattern that would allow us to map a taste to a specific terroir. It was a brilliant idea and quite useful. In a n ideal world, I could have spent the day taking detailed tasting notes for each wine (we tried them blind, then discussed). In reality, because of our time schedule and the very real fact that when taking the MW practical exam, one has a limited time to take notes and identify a wine blind, we were given two minutes each.

Prieure-Lichine

Afterward, we were off to Chateau Prieure-Lichine in Margaux for a tour, tasting, and lunch. It was a gorgeous little winery, where General Manager Mrs. Lise Latrille and her colleagues Ulrich and Antion took us on a tour and treated us to a lunch accompanied by their delicious wines, a 07 white and their top Chateau Prieure-Lichine red 2004 Bordeaux.

 Chateau Margaux

Next was Chateau Margaux, 1er Cru Classe for a visit, tasting, and seminar by General Manager Pontallier, who was incredibly eloquent. It was such a treat to see the interior of this fabled winery and drink its even more fabled wines. M. Pontallier was so generous to spend his time with us, giving us a tasting of his priceless wines and giving helpful explanations to student questions.

 Chateau Lascombes

The day ended at Chateau Lascombes, where we tasted their 2009 for en primeur, met general manager Dominique Befve, saw their excellent facilities which included a "disco style" first year barrel aging room (so deemed because of its electric blue lights).

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