Editor in Chief TASTED magazine

Katharina Woitczyk was born in Langen, near Frankfurt, Germany in 1978. She obtained her Bachelor Degree in Foreign Languages and Literature (French, English, Italian, Spanish) at Johann Wolfgang von Goethe University in Frankfurt in 2000.

During the German chapter of her life, Katharina worked for 5 years as a freelance journalist for Darmstädter Echo, a local newspaper of her region, and realized several projects in communications and event management. At the end of 2000, the international chapters of her life began with a 9 month trip to Florence where she improved her Italian.

In 2001, Katharina moved to Bordeaux, where she obtained her French Diploma (Maîtrise) in Foreign Languages (Italian and English). Thereafter, she continued her studies to obtain a Masters in Journalism at the Sorbonne in Paris. Having worked in several restaurants in Bordeaux, to finance her university classes and travels, Katharina fell in love with wine, gastronomy, and of course - Bordeaux.

She is passionate about good food, travelling and wine, and loves to share her experiences with her readers. Katharina is the Editor in Chief of TASTED magazine.

GIORGIO CAVANNA

TASTED - During the summer 2008, the vintage was heralded by some critics as a rather mediocre one, what was the situation in your vineyards at the time?
Giorgio Cavanna - Often some critics manage to evaluate the quality of a vintage before the wine is effectively produced. A less ideal early part of the season (from meteorological point of view) is enough to «stamp» a mediocre adjective to a vintage. The judgment has, in reality, to be drawn once the wine produced and tasted. Underlining all the viticultural work achieved by these producers in order to always preserve the highest quality standard despite more difficult vintages. At that time, in our case, our vineyard was in a perfect sanitary condition and all the measures were taken (green harvesting, deleafing, etc.) to preserve that status until the end. This allowed grapes to perfectly mature until late September and it made-up for the necessary natural ingredients missed during summer time (sunlight and temperatures levels).

TASTED - Where there any specific measures you had to take to “save” the vintage, and if so what were they?
Giorgio Cavanna - There was not really anything particular, since we have generalised an «Haute Couture» approach to our viticulture from our arrival in 2000. We adhere to sustainable and environmentally responsible viticulture («lutte raisonnée»). We conduct 2 manual deleafings, a green harvest and are hand harvesting in small baskets by parcel and grape variety with an effective controlled yield (per vine). So let us put it this way, all this work is always paying off in so-called more difficult vintages.

TASTED - How did the harvest proceed?
Giorgio Cavanna - The harvest was regular and with sound and ripe grape handpicked. The effect of the relatively severe green harvesting produced a significant beneficial impact on the remaining grapes, maximizing the level of ripeness of the fruits, even though sacrificing some of the potentially good quantity

production. The particularly fragrant and fruity character has been preserved in all the three colours of Grand Enclos’ production (red, dry white and sweet). An excellent equilibrium (balance) between fruit and tannic content has been reached on the reds, thus providing a very good ageing potential and an already remarkable persistence on the palate.

TASTED - Which vintage would you compare 2008 with?
Giorgio Cavanna - Having purchased the Estate in 2000, (therefore with a 12 vintages overview), 2008 clearly confirmed the «Renaissance» of Grand Enclos du Château de Cerons with a fantastic expression in wines from all 3 colours: Graves red, Graves white and Cérons (sweet). We are still in an on-going growth process where every vintage brings a better definition to the wines and an increasing content of class, elegance and structure. We would compare the red 2008 as representing a good mix of characteristics of both 2006 (a classical and balanced Bordeaux vintage) and 2009 with its perfect balance of fruit, texture and suave expression.

TASTED - How did you feel about the price development of 2008 “en primeurs”, and how do you judge this today?
Giorgio Cavanna -The two last “En Primeur” campaigns featuring 2009 and 2010 did, to a certain extent, over-shadowed 2008 with a direct consequence on prices. This undoubtedly makes 2008 an even more interesting vintage to look at today, especially for the on-trade market. In our specific case and given our «re-birth status,» we basically started releasing our wines “En Primeur” with this 2008 vintage and have continued ever since. Without playing at the same price levels as the top Bordeaux labels, we still offer the same price advantage to our customers. Therefore, the “Primeur” sales remain another great opportunity to acquire the superb expression of a great terroir like Graves, at an unbeatable price / quality ratio. As a matter of fact, today our 2008’s are performing beautifully. This vintage was a fantastic benchmark for us in terms of quality recognition.

GRAND ENCLOS du Château de CERONS
Château MONDORION
T. +33 5 56 27 01 53
www.le-grand-enclos.com

Article available in TASTED's
Winter 2011/2012 edition