Nobody Told Me There’d Be Days Like These

I’ve said it often, but I don’t think I can ever say it enough:  “I love my job.”  This is no suck-up, just a point of fact.  Sue me.  I get to sell wine for a living.  I talk about it, taste it, I am pretty much swimming in the stuff, which I would do all day, every day if I could (uh, wait, I do that already).  Like the time I got to meet Pauline Lurton and try the wines of Chateau Haut-Bages-Liberal from the Pauillac in Bordeaux.  I mean, anytime I get to try some Bordeaux – the paternal and maternal home of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc – it’s a good day.

Pauline is the sixth-generation of wine luminaries from the Lurton family, whose cousin, Gonzague co-owns the group behind Haut-Bages-Liberal (as well as Margaux’s Chateaux Durfort-Vivens, La Gurgue and Ferrière, Saint-Estephe’s Chateau Domeyne and Acaibo, the first California venture for the family in the Alexander Valley AVA) along with his wife, Claire Villars-Lurton. The Lurton family is a prestigious one in the wine world, a lineage that is pretty intimidating if you stopped to think about it.  And yet, you’d never know it as Pauline was simply exuberant and enthusiastic about her family’s wines.

Pauillac de Haut-Bages-Liberal 2010.  The second label of Haut-Bages-Liberal, this exceptional value in red Bordeaux gives you 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot for a fresher, younger wine, with juicy red and black fruits, mineral, pepper and firm tannins.

Chateau Haut-Bages-Liberal 2014.  Impressive red.  Tight but showing off loads of blackberry, cassis, tobacco and earth notes.  This is a fantastic value from the Pauillac.

Acaibo Red Wine 2013.  A brand new project for Haut-Bages-Liberal from California’s Alexander Valley – its property is adjacent to the highly revered Verité.  Spectacular blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc.  Black fruits, spice and subtle oak nuances captured in this lush, concentrated blend.

These were dynamite wines with a great backstory and a great value.  And as a retailer, bringing these in are a no-brainer.  

Most of the time, whenever I taste wine these days, I’m quiet, pensive, much to the chagrin of my boss.  I’m in pokerface-mode, trying my best not to go full fanboy and gush profusely.  I’m constantly fighting my urge to rant and rave, combat my William Shatner-esque speech patterns, and otherwise, come out sounding like a full-on rube.  So I sit.  I sip.  I ruminate in my own thoughts and I listen.  Listen to what the winemaker has to say.  The stories they tell, and their take on the wines.  I listen to my boss, and his take on the wines.  Every-so-often I interject with a simple “I like this” or “that’s really good.”  It’s not that I don’t have anything analytical to say about the wine; I’ve got plenty to say.  I could easily fall into critique, but I’d say 99% of the time, the wines are really good, no doubt.  My job is to help determine whether or not there is a place in the store for these wines, and whether or not we can sell them.  It’s all about what the customer wants, not impressing the winemakers and ordering a ton of wine.  You’ve got to believe in what they are selling, otherwise, you aren’t going to get it done with the customers.

You can get caught up in the nuance.  You can get persuaded by the gladhanding that goes on in this business.  And you can be awestruck by winemakers – rock stars in our realm.  But what really comes down in the end is, “is it in the bottle?”  With wines like these, the question is answered without even thinking about it.  This is a family that delivers the goods, no doubt.  Life is short.  Treat yourself.  

Needless to repeat, but I will anyway.  I love my job.