Beaulieu Builds a Guesthouse

Posted 01/26/2008 at 10:09 AM by Ben

It looks like Napa Valley's Beaulieu Vineyards has finally figured out what to do with its celebrated Georges de Latour Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. It's building it a guesthouse. And a very nice one at that.

Beaulieu says it's creating a self-contained, state-of-the-art winemaking facility dedicated solely to the production of Georges de Latour Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, which has long been its flagship offering. Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines, the owner of Beaulieu, is laying out a cool $7 million for the project.

Georges' new digs will be developed within an existing building at the BV winery site in the heart of Rutherford. Plans call for the project to be completed in time for the 2008 harvest. A private tasting room will follow in spring 2009.

The new facility will include some pretty amazing technology, including barrel racks equipped with rollers to allow the barrels to spin in place. This dizzying prospect is said to foster gentle cap management during fermentation, yielding smoother tannins. These and other whizbang tweaks to the winemaking methods certainly sound like a good thing.

The real significance of the project, however, is not the technology, but the fact that Beaulieu is finally getting serious about reinstalling Georges de Latour Reserve in the upper tier of the Napa Valley Cabernet hierarchy. This is where it belongs, along with the Harlans, the Screaming Eagles, and all the other cult Napa Valley wines.

And not just among the Napa elite. When I think of Georges de Latour Reserve, I also think of great Bordeaux châteaux like Lafite, Mouton and Château Margaux. I'm not the only one. At auction, early vintages of Georges de Latour Reserve fetch prices comparable to these great Bordeaux wines. Vintages from the 1940s through the 1970s have aged like champs. Only a handful of Napa Valley wines have a track record to make that claim. And some of them, like Inglenook, no longer exist.

Unfortunately, Georges de Latour Reserve hasn't been at the top where it belongs for decades. The story is a long, complex tale combining elements of greed, soul-less corporate management, and a fair quotient of resting on laurels. This is a combination that will sink even the greatest wines in today's competitive, internationalized wine market.

By contrast, the story of why Georges de Latour Private Reserve deserves a place among the true Grand Crus of the world is simple and sublime -- -- it comes from two of Napa Valley's greatest vineyards. This is why it is destined to return to greatness.

The two vineyards are called,  unpretentiously enough, BV No.1 and BV No.2. They are located near each other in the best part of Napa Valley's Rutherford Bench. The soils are composed of gravelly, volcanic loam, ideally suited for growing the thick skinned Cabernet Sauvignon. Unlike most premium Napa Valley reserves and classified growth Bordeaux, Georges de Latour Reserve is made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.

BV No.1 was the first vineyard planted by the winery early in the 20th century. It also supplied the grapes for the first Georges de Latour Private Reserves. These wines were made by the late Andre Tchelistcheff in the 1930s in a conscious attempt to emulate the style of the best wines of Bordeaux. They were highly successful, and received kudos in France and elsewhere almost from the start. As demand increased over the years, grapes from BV No.2 were added to the blend. The quality of the wine continued to improve through the 1970s, climaxing with the famous 1974 and 1976 vintages.

Once again, the future for Georges de Latour looks bright. Although production may be moving into a new winemaking facility, Beaulieu has decided to retain the services of veteran winemaker Joel Aiken. This is a wise decision. Aiken has always shown a great deal of respect for distinctive character these great vineyards.

Now that the vineyards have been given the technical and financial resources to fully express their potential once again, I have no doubt that we'll be seeing -- -- and tasting -- -- great results from Georges de Latour Reserve over the next few years. Check back for my tasting notes on the latest releases of this extraordinary wine.

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