Can you tell a First Growth claret from a Bordeaux Supérieur?

That was the challenge launched by one Swedish wine importer (Bibendum) recently. Main challenger was Yves Vatelot, who was there to present his wine from Château Reignac, a Bordeaux Supérieur in the Entre-deux-Mers region. Vatelot bought Reignac in 1989 and in spite of the modest appellation classification he decided that he wanted to make top-of-the range wines, since the soil in his vineyards is similar to the one at Château Lafite-Rothschild, according to Vatelot. He relishes in arranging blind tastings with his wine and wines like Cheval Blanc, Lafite-Rothschild and other top Cru Classé wines. 20 journalists had been invited to the Bibendum Reignac tasting in Stockholm.

The wines we tasted (blind) were: Reignac Rouge 2002, Cheval Blanc 2002, La Mission Haut Brion 2002 and Lafite Rothschild 2002. So how did it go? Well, not very well. Or very well, depending on what perspective you have. 11 of the tasters liked Reignac the most, to the great satisfaction of Monsieur Vatelot of course. And considering that Reignac only costs a fraction of the other wines, maybe the 11 should be happy too. Good for your wallet! One comment can be that the high percentage of Merlot makes the Reignac more accessible at this young age than the other wines which are mainly Cabernet based. And some of the wine making techniques that Vatelot uses can also have an impact, like microbullage (micro-oxygenation), partial fermentation in barrels, and ageing in 100% new oak. More on Château de Reignac at www.reignac.com, Yves Vatelot, Château de Reignac, 33450 Saint-Loubès