Chateau D’Issan with Emmanuel Cruse

Ian Hampsted

Ian Hampsted

Location
London
On Thursday night 67 Pall Mall arranged a Chateau D’Issan virtual vertical with Emmanuel Cruse and Jane Anson. The theme was a decade of Ch. D’Issan which included the 2019 vintage and five other wines down to 2009.

D’Issan only uses Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Emmanuel Cruse (henceforth EC) thinks Cabernet Franc is better suited to the right bank, but he is thinking of introducing Petit Verdot into the blend for the 2020 vintage.

We started off with the 2019 vintage. EC said it was a near perfect vintage and the wine was easy to make, after the difficulties in the first half of the 2018 growing season. There was plenty of moisture in winter, spring was nice bright and breezy, summer was very hot in the day but the nights were offsettingly cool, and being close to the river helped, while the autumn was perfect, with a few sprinkles of cleansing rain in September.

Too good to be true? Let’s try the wine.

The 2019 is a 70:30 Cab Sav-Merlot blend, 55% new oak and 13.4% abv. Bright hue with initial inkiness, then a spicey, seductive perfumed beautifully aromatic nose emerges. Perfectly ripe but not overripe fruit, purity, elegance, finesse and super fine tannins. Silky palate and fine finish. Glorious! I am hooked.

The 2016, 64/36 has identical 13.4% alcohol, has a bit more heft than the 2019, and is somewhat closed down, but has notes of licorice, cassis, spices and chocolate, and is more structured than the 2019, but not as racy or elegant. This will age well.

The 2015, 65/35 has 13.8% ABV and has a more advanced colour than the 2016, is more seductive, rounder, warmer, creamier, some vanilla oak with still noticeable tannins.

The 2014 had a 77/23 blend and is lighter, fresher and more classic than the 2015 especially but also the 2016. It is quite accessible now and of the three the one to drink now and the one that really grew on me. Absolutely lovely restrained claret. Buy this with impunity.

The 2010 with 61/39 it simply superb, serious, structured and perfectly balanced.

The 2009, 60/40 is rounder, more accessible and more seductive, rich and fabulous with emerging cigar box aromas.

This was a particularly fabulous line up of wines and it was difficult to pick winners and losers but all I would say is that my pecking order was 2010, 2019, 2014, 2009, 2016, 2015. The only one I own is the 2015 but the gap between the top and bottom is quite narrow.

The consistency and quality of these wines was impressive.

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Not a chateau I knew anything about at all before I watched it last night. I thought Emmanuel came across really well. Even without the wines to taste it was quite an engrossing talk. Some of these people are naturals for doing these wine zooms.
 
I still have a few bottles left of the '96, which I think must have underperformed the vintage, I certainly wouldn't have used any of Ian's descriptors at any time during its evolution in bottle. On the other hand I remember the '90s as being superb.

So I had earmarked this chateau as unreliable and stayed further North for my left-bank purchases, though it sounds as if things have, unsurprisingly, changed a lot - I looked at current prices - ouch!
 
Julian Seers-Martin said:
May I ask how the samples are being co-ordinated by 67PM?
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From the email:
We have spent a fevered week throwing padded boxes full of miniature samples around the office in order to perfect a method of getting 6 x 75mls of each wine out to Members in perfect condition. Glass was broken, there are stains, and the office now smells of a 2017 Chilean Merlot which we had kicking around in the office fridge, but we now have packaging which will get the wine to you safely.

Of course, the key to ensuring that the precious liquid gets to you in perfect condition is how it is cooled, checked, handled, bottled and packaged before getting sent out to you as fast as possible.

The next bit is a bit geeky (which is why it is in italics) but I have listed all the steps we are taking, so that you can see that we are serious about getting the wine to you in tip top condition. Skip past it if you prefer…

All people involved in the preparation of the tasting packs will wear appropriate PPE (mask, gloves, 2 meters apart, etc)
The wine will be decanted & packed at cellar temperature (13oC)
One of the sommeliers will Coravin a sample from each bottle and check it for faults.
The sample bottles will be washed in 99.9% IPA alcohol, and left until they are completely dry
The wine will be filtered using a micro sieve to ensure there is no sediment or tartrates in the wine sample.
We will blanket the sample in 99.998% Argon to ensure that there is no oxidation whilst in transit. Argon is heavier than air, so in doing so, any air is expelled from the sample bottle.
We will be putting a Telatemp strip on one of the bottles, which has three dots on it that will go red if the bottle has been above 20oC for 2h, 12h or 24h, to demonstrate to you that the contents get to you as the winemaker intended.
The tasting pack will also contain a suggestion about how long before a masterclass you should take the samples out of a domestic fridge and uncork them, such that they get the right amount of air.
Each pack will contain an A3+ tasting mat (unfortunately folded…) so you can pretend you are at the Club!
 
Johnny Richardson said:
I still have a few bottles left of the '96, which I think must have underperformed the vintage, I certainly wouldn't have used any of Ian's descriptors at any time during its evolution in bottle. On the other hand I remember the '90s as being superb.

So I had earmarked this chateau as unreliable and stayed further North for my left-bank purchases, though it sounds as if things have, unsurprisingly, changed a lot - I looked at current prices - ouch!
Click to expand...

Prices look reasonable to me Johnny given the quality which I would peg comfortably at second growth level on the strength on these, though admittedly, top vintages. Apart from my case of 2015, purchased in that campaign, I have a lone bottle of the 1985. I came close to purchasing cases of the 2008 and 2012 on the strength of tasting them and meeting Emmanuel Cruse at a Goedhuis event, but went down the Haut-Bailly route instead and in some ways they are quite similar wines. Thursday evening was a welcome reintroduction to this estate which has been somewhat overlooked as others in the appellation like Brane Cantenac and Rauzan Segla have stolen the limelight and the accolades.
 
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Thanks for this Ian, something I actually have in my modest cellar. I picked up the 2014 from an M&S sale and sent some to my brother also for his birthday last year.
Looking forward to opening a bottle now!
 
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