Vive les garagistes!

WINE:How a group of outsiders transformed one of France's most famous – and traditional – wine-growing regions, writes JOHN WILSON

THERE ARE VERY few outsiders who manage to break into the select circle of the elite Châteaux of Bordeaux. The sale of a prestigious property is rarely advertised and they almost invariably remain in French hands. But for a brief period in the 1990s, a small group of outsiders shook the foundations of traditional Bordeaux with a series of very modern and very expensive wines.

Jonathan Maltus, a successful Anglo-Nigerian businessman, bought Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Château Teyssier in 1994. “To be honest,” he says “we bought it because it was a pretty house. The frosts of 1991 in Bordeaux meant property values were going down, so prices came within budget for mere mortals such as myself. We were lucky.”

Two years later, he found himself in the offices of Huw Blair, then wine buyer for bespoke London wine merchant Justerini Brooks. Blair took a phone call offering him his annual allocation of Le Pin, an exclusive new property in Pomerol. It amounted to all of two cases for the year, but he jumped at it. Maltus realised there might be a market for such wines and headed back to Bordeaux determined to create his own super-Bordeaux.

“The big change that allowed this came through Robert Parker , who managed to effectively democratise the right bank of Bordeaux,” says Malthus. “His approach was simple: I don’t care if you are a count or if you have owned the property for 600 years; if I like the wine, and I think the punter will enjoy the wine, then I’ll mark it.”

Parker was the catalyst for the so-called garagistes, producers who made tiny quantities of incredibly concentrated lush, ripe wine. He and other critics adored it. The traditionalists were less enamoured. Wine critic Clive Coates memorably dubbed them “lumpy grape juice”. However, within a short time, droves of fine-wine drinkers flocked to buy the wines, even at the extraordinary prices they charged, often more than those of the elite first growths of the Médoc. The rarity appealed to collectors, but also the heady rounded style meant they could be drunk very young.

Maltus argues that the group changed the whole region. “Saint-Émilion became an engine for change in fine wine-making, and all of the clever ideas that are used by everyone now, such as double-sorting, vibrating tables, micro-

boulage and double-oaking, came out of that period. There are just three of us who have lasted, and maintained their price ratio: Valandraud, Mondotte and [his own wine] Le Dôme. The first two are Merlot-driven but Le Dôme is 80 per cent Cabernet Franc, which makes it the biggest expression of that grape in Bordeaux.”

Maltus is a natural businessman; I suspect he would succeed in any field. He sold off his engineering company in the early 1990s so he could spend more time with his family. They moved to Cahors in south-west France. “The idea was to buy a ruin, do it up and have a holiday home.” He became interested in wine and worked for a neighbouring winery free of charge for two years. “1992 and 1993 were not great vintages,” smiles Maltus, “so I learnt with his money and not mine. But he did teach me how to run a vineyard and to make wine.

“Wine making,” he says, “is not rocket science. The essentials are having a vision of what you want the wine to taste like, where you want to position it and an absolute eye for detail. The basis on which expensive wine is rated by critics and punters is computed on a minuscule percentage. Ninety per cent gets you to a glass of wine, the other 10 per cent is the really hard work.” Maltus has never been part of the traditional Bordeaux system. “When I went to the négociants in the 1990s, they told me to piss off. So we now sell directly in 40 countries. I have a team of three sales people and myself.”

Maltus is a controversial figure in Bordeaux but success tends to drown out the critics. His wines may be expensive, but they sell. He has also brought many new, wealthy wine-drinkers to the region. He would certainly see Le Dôme as his greatest triumph, and the key to his business success. (I have refrained from making it wine of the week, as it retails at €150-€200 a bottle.) But others argue his greatest achievement is Pezat, his least expensive wine – a shining example of how a basic Bordeaux should be. In an ocean of mediocrity, it stands out as one of the very best.

BOTTLES OF THE WEEK

Pezat Bordeaux Supérieur 2006, 13.5%, €19.99Made from vines just outside Saint-Émilion, but using the same rigorous methods, Pezat is unmistakably Bordeaux, with a modern take. It has plenty of fine dry tannins and good acidity, backed up with lovely ripe, supple, plum fruits sprinkled with black pepper. At just under €20, this is a bit of a steal.

Stockists: Cellar’s Big Wine Warehouse,

Naas Rd; Higgins, Clontarf; Fallon Byrne, Exchequer Street, Dublin 2.

Gilbey's G Le Garagiste Saint-Émilion Grand Cru 2005, 13.5%, €25Made to celebrate the anniversary of its Irish importer, this is essentially Château Teyssier in another guise. 2005 was a great vintage in Bordeaux, and this is an outstanding wine. The nose is floral and seductive, the palate long, ripe and concentrated with a lovely bite on the tail. This wine, balanced and filled with youthful dark fruits, is one to enjoy now or keep a year or two.

Stockists: Donnybrook Fair, Dublin 4; Ardkeen Superstores, Waterford; Eldon’s, Clonmel; The Vintage, Kanturk.

TWO UNDER TWELVE

Domaine Millet Oppidium 2007 Sauvignon Blanc Chardonnay, Vin de Pays des Côtes de Gascogne, 12% €11Sauvignon does not always age well so I was a little wary about tasting. However, it is drinking nicely, with fresh pungent aromas, and a nice mix of peach and lime fruits on the palate. It certainly appealed to the female side of the family, who polished it off with great gusto. Stockists: Wines Direct, Mullingar winesdirect.ie, 1890-579579.

Heartland Stickleback Red 2008, South Australia, 14.5%, €10.65Made from an eclectic array of grapes, including Shiraz, Cabernet Docletto and Lagrein, this is a step above your average €10 Aussie red. Rich, concentrated, dark forest fruits with a lip-smacking twist on the finish, and a lovely smoothness throughout. Stockists: Liston's, Camden Street, Dublin 2; The Wine Boutique, Ringsend, Dublin 4; Gibney's, Malahide; Claudio's Wines, Newtownmountkennedy;

The Mill, Maynooth; Market 57, Westport; Drinkstore, Dublin 7; Morton’s, Galway;

Next Door, Rathangan; Next Door, Ennistimon; Harvest Off Licence, Galway; Next Door, Enfield; Next Door, Raheen; Mac’s, Limerick; Searson’s, Monkstown, Co Dublin.