“Great company, food & wine” is the simplest way to summarize the evening! We were delighted to have Paul Goldschmidt with us to introduce and describe the personality and making of his 7 fine wines. Our tasting theme anchored on passion and terroir.
Passion:
Charismatic and friendly, Paul has an interesting background. Born into a Rothschild family with a double-link to Mouton and Lafite, he developed a passion for wine since an early age. His passion eventually led him to abandon his successful consulting career for the wine-making world (Paul was a managing director at Roland Berger).
Terroir:
Terroir is a critical word in the wine-making industry. Traditionally in many European wine regions such as Burgundy, terroir factors such as climate, soil quality, sun exposure, and water drainage, determine if a vineyard should be a grand cru or premier cru site. Baronne Guichard’s vineyards are in superior terroir (close to Petrus, La Fleur for the Pomerol; Troplong-Mondot and Pavie for the Saint-Emilion).
To sample terroir, one would have to compare wines from the same producers, with the same blends, but from different plots of land. This is a rare opportunity as most producers use different blending to give their wines different characteristics. Baronne Guichard’s 3 easy drinking wines (Délice, L’Enchanteur, and Plaisir de Siaurac) are made with 100% Merlot, allowing us to truly sample terroir’s impact on the wines.
The 7 wines have characteristics of wines from superior terroir. Rose de Plaisir is refreshing with crispy peachy notes on the palette; Plaisir is fruity and juicy; Délice is an amazing gem, exotically aromatic; L’Enchanteur is more complex yet delicate and balanced; Siaurac (Lalande de Pomerol) is hedonistic; Le Prieuré (St Emilion) is elegant and with a little flame to it; Vray Croix de Gay (Pomerol) is powerful yet in an attractive silky manner, and with beautiful notes of flowers and truffles.
Background of Baronne Guichard:
Paul, along with his wife Aline, were the owners of Baronne Guichard. The history of the Baronne Guichard goes back to 1800s. From 1832 to 1988, the Brisson-Guichard family brought the estates of Siaurac, then Le Prieuré (a St Emilion Grand Cru Classé), and finally Vray Croix de Gay. Each generation of the Brisson-Guichard family has played a critical role in the region’s politics. Aline’s father, Olivier Guichard, was a minister under De Gaulle.
In 1998, Olivier, Aline, and Paul started an extensive renovation on the 3 estates. Wine-maker Yannick Reyrel (from Petrus) and star consultant Stéphane Derenoncourt (Pavie-Macquin) were hired. With plot by plot management, Baronne Guichard now delivers ranges of outstanding wines that can be long-aging or enjoyed early.
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