The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| Bordeaux ‘second wines’ offer first-class bargains Posted: 18 Oct 2011 07:19 AM PDT  Barrels of wine are stored in the cellar of Chateau Larose Trintaudon in Saint Laurent Medoc, near Bordeaux, southwestern France, in this file photo of October 28, 2008. If you can't afford a top bottle of Grand Cru from Bordeaux, most leading chateaux also make less expensive 'second wines'. – Reuters pic In the quest for quality, Bordeaux vintners such as Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, Chateau Latour and many other famous names have become more selective in order to obtain a signature taste and avoid vast differences between various vintages. Bordeaux wines are blended wines and a vintner composes a vintage by using various grape varieties in changing proportions and increasingly keeps the juice from specific parcels apart up to the mixing stage. There is also a difference in age of the barrels used for ageing. New oak leaves a different imprint on the wine than older wood. That means that a large part of the "unfinished" wine production does not end up in the main label bottles. Rather than selling all this in bulk to the wine trade, the best of the leftovers is bottled on the grounds with a different label. Often these so-called second wines mature less well than the first wine and need to be drunk at a younger age. They can also use grapes from younger vines than those destined for the main wine as a result of regular replanting in the vineyard. Sometimes, the estate may also decide a vintage does not make the cut for a first wine and presents it as a second wine. Chateau Rauzan-Ségla did not sell a first wine in 1987 and the best juices went to its second wine Ségla. Rauzan-Ségla, a Margaux Grand Cru, celebrates its 350th anniversary this year and marked this with a label designed by Karl Lagerfeld for the 2009 vintage which was bottled this year. Among the first Chateaux to present a second wine were Château Léoville-Las Cases with Clos du Marquis in 1904 and Château Margaux with Pavillion Rouge in 1908. Baron Philippe de Rothschild decided a less-than-excellent 1930 production would not be sold under the Chateau Mouton Rothschild flagship name and in 1932 he bottled the wine as Mouton Cadet. Philippe was the youngest brother, called cadet in French. Demand for Mouton Cadet was so great, however, that in following years the château had to mix with wines from other estates and the label went on to become one of the biggest commercial success stories of Bordeaux. Since 1994 the 'real' second wine is called Le Petit Mouton de Mouton-Rothschild, made from younger vines and with a limited production. A FRACTION CAN STILL BE A LOT Of the 60 Grand Cru wines of the 1855 classification, excluding the Sauternes wines, only Chateau Saint-Pierre has no second wine. This Saint-Julien wine estate is part of Domaines Henri Martin with Chateau Gloria, Chateau Haut-Beychevelle Gloria and Chateau Bel-Air. Henri Martin, a former barrel-maker, bought Saint-Pierre in 1982 when he was 78. He died in 1991. "We do not make a second wine because of the small size of our vineyard and because the development of Saint-Pierre was a long-term project and we focused entirely on the brand and the main wine, the rest of the harvest we sell in bulk as Saint-Julien," said current owner Jean-Louis Triaud, Henri Martin's son-in-law. The second wines of the top five Grand Crus have taken flight of their own accord because some investors prefer these assets over other names in Bordeaux. Chateau Lafite-Rothschild has as a second wine the Carruades de Lafite-Rothschild named after a hillock on the grounds. The 2003 vintage of the Chateau, with a top-rating by Robert Parker, sells for some €2,100 (RM8,996) per bottle. The Carruades of that year fetches a modest €575 by comparison. Chateau Latour 2003 sells for just under €1,500 and a bottle of Les Forts de Latour of that year is for sale at about €250. Chateau Beychevelle is a so-called Fourth Growth – out of the five – among the Grand Crus. Now the property of Japanese brewer Suntory and French drinks group Castel, the estate has three wines. Next to the main label there are Amiral de Beychevelle as a second wine, while the Brulières de Beychevelle are made from parcels belonging to the estate but not within the Saint-Julien appellation area. According to the estate's published history, Beychevelle traces its roots back to Jean-Louis Nogaret de la Valette (1554-1642), Duc D'Epernon and Great Admiral of France. Hence the name 'Amiral' and the sailing ship on the label. A Chateau Beychevelle of 2003 sells for €165 and the Amiral costs €25. Managing director Philippe Blanc said the second wine is "less emblematic" than the first but the estate puts a lot of effort and care into Amiral in order to serve loyal customers. "In 1982, four per cent of the harvest went into the second wine, now it is 40-45 per cent," he said. – Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Fukushima victims: Homeless, desperate and angry Posted: 18 Oct 2011 12:08 AM PDT  The tsunami-crippled No. 3 reactor of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO)'s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station is seen in this handout photo taken September 24, 2011 and released to Reuters on October 1, 2011. — Reuters pic They are furious at the red tape they have to wade through just to receive basic help and in despair they still cannot get on with their lives seven months after the huge quake and tsunami triggered the world's worst nuclear disaster in 25 years. Shouts fill a room at a temporary housing complex where seven officials, kneeling in their dark suits, face 70 or so tenants who were forced to abandon their homes near the Fukushima nuclear plant after some of its reactors went into meltdown after the March 11 quake struck. "We don't know who we can trust!" one man yelled in the cramped room where the officials were trying to explain the hugely complex procedures to claim compensation. "Can we actually go back home? And if not, can you guarantee our livelihoods?" About 80,000 people were forced to leave their homes by the nuclear crisis. While the owner of the plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co, has made temporary payments to some victims, it was only last month that it finally began accepting applications for compensation. But the procedure is so complicated that it seems to just make things worse. After claimants have read a 160-page instruction manual, they then have to fill in a 60-page form and attach receipts for lodging, transportation and medical costs. "It's too difficult. I'm going to see how it goes. I don't want to rush and mess up," said Toshiyuki Owada, 65, an evacuee from Namie town, about 20km away from the plant. Owada is one of many who still has not applied for compensation even though they have lost jobs or businesses and are running out of cash. Complex and unfair The complexity of the task is one deterrent. There is another — the perception that Tepco is not playing fair. Confidence in the authorities is low. The government is seen as having bungled its early response to the crisis and being secretive about what was really happening. Tepco is accused of failing to take sufficient safety measures at the Fukushima plant even though it knew the risks and then deliberately underplaying the extent of the accident. It is also seen as insensitive. One clause in the original instruction booklet telling victims they would have to agree to waive their right to challenge the compensation amount in order to receive payment provoked a public uproar. Chastised by the government, the company promised to drop the clause, issued a simplified 4-page instruction booklet and assigned 1,000 employees to Fukushima prefecture to help victims with the process. "There may be times when the content is difficult to understand or in some cases our employee in charge may not grasp it fully, but we would like to explain and respond as carefully as possible," said Tepco spokesman Naoyuki Matsumoto. A government panel overseeing the compensation scheme estimates claims are likely to reach ¥3.6 trillion (RM144.15 billion) in the financial year to next March. Few claimants But so far just 7,100 individuals have applied to Tepco for compensation out of the 80,000 it send forms to. And of the 10,000 businesses in the Fukushima area, a mere 300 have submitted claims. The company expects a total of 300,000 claims from businesses given that the impact of the radiation crisis has been so widespread. Victims can sue but that is rare. Junichi Matsumoto, a Tepco official, said the utility faces about 10 lawsuits so far. He declined to disclose details but said some were seeking more than the firm deemed appropriate. Yuichi Kaido, an attorney and the secretary-general of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, said lawsuits are considered a last resort in conservative rural northeast Japan. "In the end, many lawsuits could take place," he said. "But the majority is thinking of first speaking with Tokyo Electric or seeking mediation . " Sense of resignation The final compensation depends on whether and when victims will be able to return to homes within a 20-km evacuation zone. That question remains unanswered, breeding a growing sense of resignation among evacuees. Some said they doubt they will ever be able to go home and suggested their entire towns simply be relocated and many worry about long-term health effects of radiation. An Asahi newspaper poll showed this month that 43 per cent of evacuees still want to return, down from 62 per cent in June. For many, what is now on the table — reimbursement for moving and transportation costs associated with evacuating, compensation for damage to health, lost jobs, and psychological suffering — only deepens frustration over what they have lost. Tokyo Electric said it will pay about ¥100,000 a month for the period to end of August as compensation for psychological trauma. After that, the sum will be halved. "Evidence that we have lived our lives is completely destroyed and for that, we are told that we will be compensated ¥100,000 for our psychological suffering. That's it?" said 75-year-old restaurant owner Sumiko Toyoguchi, who had to leave her home in Namie. "What's at the root of our frustration is that we cannot see what our tomorrow will be like." — Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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