▻ Omnibus XXXI
Brought to you by our Founder Sponsor SANTA RITA ESTATES.
Episode Summary:-
This month’s Omnibus is a smorgasbord of news, fake wine scandals, major wine estates and brands for sale, latest vintage reports, the revitalised Napa Valley Wine Auction, Harlan Estate’s 40th anniversary party… and all this before we hear about Elin McCoy’s evening of rubbing shoulders with Candace Bushnell, author of “Sex and the City,” and Naomi Watts in the Hamptons for the launch of Dom Perignon’s latest vintage.
And you thought it was just about the taste of wine!
Then, John Stimpfig reports on a major fake wine scandal breaking in Taiwan. Taiwanese billionaire Wood Chen has been linked to a fake wine scandal at the same time his brother, Pierre Chen, is in the process of auctioning off a major wine collection called “The Epicurean Atlas,” which could make £40 million through Sotheby’s. John points out that there is nothing to suggest a connection between the two, and Sotheby’s have robustly claimed checking of the wine’s provenance.
(Taiwan’s media outlet Business Today received a tip-off, claiming that Taiwan’s collectors had been caught up in fake wine transactions and many of the suspect wines originated from two Taiwanese wine companies, Top 100 Wines and UMC. When the suspected fake wines were traced back to Top 100 Wines, its owner, Huang Huihong, agreed to accept returns and revealed the suspected batch had been purchased from Wood Chen. Wood Chen is protesting his innocence; we will be following this story as it breaks.)
The weather watch report reveals that both the Rhône and Bordeaux have been badly affected by mildew, while hail has wreaked damage in Fronsac, Beaujolais and the Penedes, with hail the size of golf balls falling in Bierzo, NW Spain. In the Southern Hemisphere, New Zealand’s production dropped 21% with late frosts affecting flowering, Chile had its longest and latest harvest in recent times, Argentina is up by 25% on 2023 but 15% below the long-term average. In Australia, for the first time, white-wine production exceeded that of red.
Staying in Australia, Pernod Ricard sold off its wine portfolio to Accolade; John wonders, is this a good deal for Accolade, who already have multiple brands?
A new global non-profit organisation, the Libération Tardive Foundation, has been formed to promote the appreciation of older wine, as the vast majority of those buying wine have never tasted wines of over 10 years in bottle. Their first tasting was a vertical of Château Grillet, the rare and iconic white wine from the Rhône. John’s tasting notes can be found here.
Our US editor, Elin McCoy, has had a busy month, with news aplenty and some pretty swanky events to attend. The big news is that the Bouygues family, owner of Château Montrose in Bordeaux and Clos Rougeard in the Loire Valley, has bought a property in the US, and the surprising news is that it is not in Napa Valley but Virginia. The RdV Vineyards was established twenty years ago, and its aim was to make a “grand cru”. “It’s part of a lot of interest in Virginia as possibly being a really good place, given climate changes, no water issues, no wildfires,” Elin comments.
Other sales news comes in the form of the breaking up of the Vintage Wine Estates portfolio of brands, after the company filed for bankruptcy. There are 11 wineries going on the market, and 1,800 acres of vineyard. Elin reports that the whole workforce has been fired and wonders: Is this a reflection of people drinking less wine?
In the Napa Valley, Silver Oak Cellars, whose legions of fans include Oprah, has just launched wines from their new Oregon winery, Prince Hill Vineyards (which they bought from Dick Erath), a Chardonnay and two Pinot Noirs. The clones come from the Clos Vougeot vineyard, and Elin recommends seeking them out.
It has also been party month for Elin, as she attended the revived Napa Valley Wine Auction, the 40th-anniversary celebrations of Harlan Estate and the launch of Dom Perignon 2015 and Dom Perignon P2 2006. “This is the hallmark of the wine world, generous hospitality, sharing wine, sharing food, sharing friendship – that is what the wine world is about,” she notes.
Highlights from the events included someone bidding US$250,000 at the Napa Valley Wine Auction to sit next to Michel Rolland; an all-star wine-producer cast attending Harlan Estate’s parties; and Elin hanging out with Candace Bushnell, author of “Sex in the City,” in the Hamptons for the launch of the latest vintage of Dom Pérignon. The venue for that one was a property which had been on sale for $120 million. Though Elin was not allowed inside the house, she describes the unique tasting with specially composed music to match the theme of the vintage’s “tactility,” with the glasses placed on black sand, and the tasting columns overlooking the sea. “This is like no introduction of a wine I’ve ever been to,” she exclaims. Whoever could think the wine world is dull?
Running Order:-
-
0.00 – 19.50
“This is the hallmark of the wine world, generous hospitality, sharing wine, sharing food, sharing friendship – that is what the wine world is about.” – Elin McCoy
– Fake wine scandal in Taiwan.
– Weather watch: Northern hemisphere update.
– Southern hemisphere update. -
19.51 – 31.29
“Tasmania’s average grape price per ton is six times the rest of Australia.” – John Stimpfig
– Pernod Ricard sells wine brands to Accolade.
– Launch of Libération Tardive, a non-profit foundation to promote aged wine.
– News from Founder Sponsor Santa Rita Estates. -
31.30 – 42.58
“It’s part of a lot of interest in Virgina, as possibly being a really good place given climate change.” – Elin McCoy
– The Bouygues of Château Montrose buy RdV in Virginia.
– Bankruptcy of Vintage Estate Wines puts 11 wineries on the market.
– Silver Oak Cellars launches Oregon wines. -
42.59 – 01.013
“The wine world totally knows how to do events.” – Elin McCoy
– The revived Napa Valley Wine Auction.
– Harlan Estate’s 40th anniversary celebrations.
– Launch of Dom Pérignon 2015 and P2 2006 in the Hamptons.
Latest wine news and our experts’ views. This month: fake wine scandal in Taiwan, latest harvest reports, wine bankruptcies and latest winery sales, plus Elin heads to the Hamptons with “Sex and City” author Candace Bushnell to taste the latest Dom Pérignon.