Chateau Malartic-Lagravière 1958

8 Aug 2014

The Bottle of Chateau Malartic-Lagravière 1958 (my birth year) finally arrived yesterday. It has gone back into storage now. I am considering opening it at my mom' 90th birthday, 7 years from now.

Where is Malartic: 
During the province of Quebec rural colonisation in the 1920-30, the church had a major say in the province what name would villages and towns be called.. therefore loads of towns, have Saints name after them. I guess eventually they ran out of Saints, then turn and to looked for names of important people of France, such as Malartic, a French Admiral of the 1700' thus the town where I grew up in North West of the province of Quebec was named after him.

The Chateau Malartic-Lagravière: 
Located in Léognan, France, Domaine de Lagravière, recognized since time immemorial for its excellent terroir, was purchased at the end of the eighteenth century by the family of Count Hippolyte de Maurès de Malartic. Serving the armies of the Kings of France, this Admiral fought against the English on the many seas of the world, showing special bravery in 1756 during the battle of Quebec. in 1792, defended L'ile de France, called today ile Maurice. Later Angèle Ricard took over the family tradition and administered the Estate. Her father in Law, Captain Laurent Ridolet also a great navigator, and Commander of the « Marie-Elisabeth » a three mast ship is now seen on the Malartic-Lagravìere label. 
The Marly family were the last of the Ricard ancestry to run the Chateau. Jacques Marly was estate manager from 1947 to 1990. Now the  estate is run by the Bonnie family. 

Where did I discovered Malartic: Back in the town of Malartic, Quebec, in the late 60, my father Normand Coulombe, as an active member of the community and local politician had the opportunity to meet with a MLA that went to France on a commercial mission, had Dinner with the President of France, and what did they served at that Dinner... Chateau Malartic-Lagraviere.
The quest for Chateau Malartic-Lagravière, red and white was on.

Over the years the wine has become extremely popular in Canada and I have had the opportunity to taste both the red and the white from Malartic-Lagravière. One of my best souvenir was the Malartic-Lagravière1966 that I took back home when i was serving in Germany with the Canadian Forces in the 80. 

Chateau Malartic-Lagravière

4 Aug 2014,

Hi wine friends,

I am patiently waiting for a Canadian friend of mine to return from France with a bottle of 1958 Chateau Malartic-Lagravière. (my birth year)  With the help of Maxime Varcelice at Comptoir des Millésimes located in North of France, just outside of Lille, we located this little gem. I have been looking for a Chateau Malartic-Lagravière 1958 for several years now and finally located one. It should arrive on this side of the world in the next few days.
So to celebrate the event, i will dedicate my next blogs to the history of Chateau Malartic-Lagraviere and I will spend some time explaining my interest in this particular wine. I will explore with you the interesting Wine Region of Bordeaux with a Pessac-Léognan angle.

Chateau Malartic-Lagravière 2001 Vintage label

Let's talk BC wine, La Stella

Fortissimo def. A musical direction meaning “to be performed very loudly"

(The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy)

I received my Fortissimo 2011 release from La Stella yesterday morning. It goes without saying that only eleven bottle would remain unopened by the end of the meal... Boeuf Bourguignon a l'orange. Idea from Jamie Oliver.

Located in Osoyoos, BC, La Stella Winery is on the west side of the river. La Stella wines have become my favorite Canadian Wine.. Very close second: Le Vieux Pin.  Last September we had the pleasure to taste several of their wines. The Domaine and the architecture makes you feel that you are walking into Northern Italy. 

The rows of Merlot were adjacent to the main building and Alex from La Stella, pointed out from the window where the wine that we were tasting came from. I felt the passion there let me tell you. Later on we walked between the rows where at 16:00pm, the warm sun was still hitting the 'Terroir'... Humidity, heat, sun, grapes.. you got yourself a perfect combo.
I may have tasted one or two grapes of Merlot..

Back to Fortissimo, I decanted the wine and had it oxygen itself for a good hour before tasting. La Stella recommend to decant for sediments as the wine is unfiltered. There was a bit of sediments remaining in the bottle, but nothing dramatic.

I really like the information provided  by La Stella.
Simple and right to the point,  variety of grapes use to create this wonderful blend, recommendation to decant, total production and alc/vol, 14,2% for the Fortissimo 2011,

LaStella cork on Fortissimo. 

The tasting:

Deep red in colour, the legs on the glass are very present. Rolling the glass, i noted the wine follows the glass like a red blanket.

1st nose:  Mineral, Dark Berries, light scent of vanilla, alcool is  very present
2nd nose: Cassis, fruits very present, mineral, spices

Attack: Tanin and acid are present very well balanced, feeling of smoothness, vanilla, lasting 30 sec+
90 minutes later, more vanilla taste and very smooth, acidity had disappeared. This is a fun wine to drink.


Chris on mojo rating: 93+

La Stella Fortissimo 2011. Note the Star.. La Stella on top of the label.