BLUE’S NEWS: 2012 YEARLY ROUND-UP: THE SPRINTATHON

[gallery ids="1010,1011,1012,1013,1014,1015,1017,1019,1018,1022,1020,1042"]Where did the year go? Felt like 5 packed into one- must be the sleep deprivation kicking in!  For me, and many on our team, 2012 required the intensity of a sprint and the endurance of a marathon.Disclaimer:  read no further if you're allergic to punnification. But then again, you should have known better than to click through to something called Chenebleug! [For usually more frequent, and frequently less pun-filled updates please Like Chene Bleu on Facebook, it's a convenient way to keep in touch]  French update from Jean Louis coming soon.“MI-CHENE” CONTROL - PATROLLING THE CHENEBLEU-NIVERSE: So wonderful to watch our little Blue Acorn start to grow into a baby tree.  We’ve only begun to release our 2nd vintage of the flagship reds, and so I had a shock when I realised that it was already our 18th harvest—so many years of prep work in the vineyard and the winery, it’s quite exhilarating to see things starting to take a shape we could only dream of.  Getting people to know about our feisty little vineyard in the middle of nowhere is no small challenge. The process is always painstaking, often exhausting and sometimes painful, with lots of slogging it out and set-backs, that come with the terroir-tory when you undertake something new and try to do things differently. So, after  a year of perma-jetlag, perpetual tardiness and perennial email-lag it’s quite surprising and gratifying in December to tally up the breadth of positive developments.  I know I tend to bite off more than I can chew, then try to chew it anyway, with the occasional bout of indigestion— but it's all so interesting! I’m lucky Jean Louis, Benedicte, Xavier, Lizzie, Celine and our amazing team, being fundamentally much more sensible, are there to keep my Chene-Bulemia in check : )MEANWHILE BACK AT THE RANCH…

• At the winery, we continued to see excellent progress on the new plantings and are slowly managing to increase our yields, without affecting quality—the proverbial 25-year plan!  Our work with claude and Lydia Bourguignon is really starting to "bear fruit"! In fact, we had our first little Miracle on La Verriere Street: quantities were up nicely at harvest despite the Weird Weather year, and quality was nice too, per my harvest blog.
• We continued experimenting with blending new, exotic Cepages in our Top Secret underground laboratory [only joking, just our tasting room- this is just poking fun at a local rumour]… drawing on the collective expertise of our wine friends and advisors.  More on this another time, but all very thrilling…  Some plans afoot for Aliot and Heloise… and God knows I love blending. Laurent, our new cellar assistant, a promising young vigneron, joins us from the Jurançon region, where his family has vines.
• We’re reviewing our double-sorting techniques for harvest—effective but cumbersome. Hopefully should improve efficiency at this crucial time of year by Sept 2013.   If anyone has tried the new generation of optical sorting machines and cares to share their opinion, please get in touch.
• Soft-launched Astralabe, the baby of Abelard and Heloise (in real life), in March. Also set up chef Jon Chiri’s Tasting Platter lunches at the winery (Assiette-Degustation) to feed hungry hordes of temerarious travellers since we are so far from everything. Big success as we catered to many a Grateful Gourmand : )
•  Extreme Wine in June was a real treat for us as well—a delightful and completely international group: Turkey to Tunisia, Hrertfordhire to Hungary etc.
• Chien Bleu (pun courtesy of resident punster Lizzie): Heden, a beautiful Weimaraner with Blue-grey eyes like our tree, joined the family—we are all Heden-ists now.

MI-CHENE-ARIES AND ZEALOTSMore and more we find that our little Planet Chene Bleu pulls into its orbit the most wonderful, interesting, passionate people from so many different walks of life, drawn together by a belief that we all carry within us the desire to pursue excellence.  Some people have been luckier than others to be able to unleash the forces within.  But deep down, many of us just want to be the best that we can be, whatever shape that takes and whatever price there is to pay. It's what drives a tempura chef in Japan to spend 5 years just learning to massage a shrimp to perfection, or a vigneron to do one last pass-through just to find those last few clusters. We refer to it half in jest as the Fraternity of the Blue Oak, a brothersisterhood (sorry, I went to Vassar, I’m idealistic and believe in Liberte’ and Egalite’ de Fraternite’) that unites people loosely around these shared values. They are not afraid to be mildly subversive or defiant when approporiate, or at least non-conformist. They take the world around them seriously but don’t take themselves too seriously.  More on this another time.CHENE BRAG (“MI-CHENE” ACCOMPLISHED)No yearly round-up would be complete without a Brag-zone, so here it goes (details on the website).

• For every competition we entered we won prizes again: International Wine Challenge, Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, Decanter and Decanter Asia.
• Our first presence the Aspen Food & Wine Festival: Abelard selected as the Grenache of choice by critic Anthony Giglio, which he presented to the US foodie establishment, with super feedback.
• It was then selected by Michael Greenlee to be paired with Eben Sadie’s Columella (one of my big-time  heroes!) at a poshywoshy dinner in a Newport “Cottage” (read "mansion") at their annual Food & Wine Festival.

Prestigious press [full articles in the new stuff on our website]: About a hundred articles from around the world, including some flattering general reference pieces:

• Jean Louis & I interviewed in a BBC news documentary as standard-bearers for the fresh sprouts in wine biz in a Fast Track program entitled “The New France.”
• Our bottles were on display on French TV (TF1) at Viscount Linley’s now notorious property in Provence, as he graciously featured them in a photoshoot for Vogue.
• Appeal Magazine, Thailand, refered to Chene Bleu as "a rising star on the lips of every curious and cultivated oenophile”.
• Elizabeth Gabay MW, writing for Hungarian wine magazine, concluded CB “had the makings of a cult wine”, Hi!! Magazine Sri Lanka totally “got” the bigger picture. And more in Tasting Panel in the US, Point de Vue in France, Prestige Magazine Hong Kong, Vogue India.

And many kind words about the individual wines:

• A Good Year… for Rose’:  First Jancis Robinson “lost her heart” to our rose’ in the FT
• GQ's Jonathan Ray chose Abelard as the top pick for the ultimate Gentleman’s cellar

France woke up and smelt the roses:

• Michel Bettane called it “a great white wine that happens to be pink”.
• TF1 and L’Express separately called it “la belle rebelle” and “etonnant”.

NEW MARKETS AHOY– MI-CHENE IMPOSSIBLE?

• We are now spreading the “Bleuve” in a dozen countries and have had our first foray into a bunch of new countries, including Holland, Brazil and Switzerland, as well as effectively launching on the home market in France, a notoriously tough acorn to crack.
• Excited to get started in Florida with a sharp new importer, Rare Champagnes and Wines.
• An elegant Hamptons soft launch with Sherry-Lehman, a beautiful Greenwich soft-launch at the gorgeous family home of It-girl Suzanne Aaronson, with the help of Horseneck Wines.
• about 100 or so listings in our current list of stockists and restaurants.

EXPLORING THE EARTH: I’m waiting for that Christmas card from the International Airline Association thanking me for all the miles I racked up. Some highlights: the wine safari Sri Lanka, the Gala des Sommeliers in Monaco, Wine and Art pairing in a happening Zurich gallery, hot G-Night in Barcelona, maiden-visit to tres-chic Napa. Echansonnerie in Chateauneuf, Miami medley, Macau madness, and many more.  Disappointing recon trip to India—the market structure there is arcane but the will to change seems lacking at the top, too many vested interests it would seem-- someone please tellme that i'm wrong! Amazi-Lizzie reported live from the super Eurobloggers conference in Turkey.LOTS OF LOVELY LISTINGS:A few more Michelin-stars in our firmament, such as Ai Fiori in NY, Clovis on the Cote d'Azur, Brushtroke in NY, Saisons in San Fran, Searcy’s at the top of the Gherkin, The Ritz in Hong Kong.  In Paris, very happy about working with lovely Lavinia, and elegant Elise and Antonin.POSH-ZONE VS COOL-CATS:

• In London: Featured at Hedonism, the exciting new concept-wineshop in Mayfair, created exclusive Jeroboams for happening Bar Boulud, heard thru the grapevine that wine made into very Royal hands (that’s all we can say or we would have to kill you), as well as onto an AAA-list celeb yacht,
• Party at Ozone overlooking the Hong Kong harbour, bottle signing in Macau, crossing our fingers re the Jockey Club in Hong Kong
• Wine with Chocolate pairing with Comme des Filles haute-couture chocolats at Elise & Antonin in Paris
• KCWC event at the Royal Automobile Club in  London.
• and in cool restaurants venues, Bottle Rocket in NY, and Los Olivos Café near Santa Barbara, to name a few.

CHENE BLANECDOTES OF 2012

• Moved to tears when a lovely Extreme Wine participant showed up with a painting of our blue tree painted by her friend in Zurich because she felt inspired by our values and shared them.
• A memorable Umami pairing of Heloise with designer Japanese at Nobu.

LA VERRIERE:A buzzy bizzy busy season,  Hosted a number of interesting events including wonderful brainstorming powwow of President's International Advisory Council of Vassar focussing on, well, how to make the world a better place.  Saddened by the loss of Jaime Vich, a devoted friend of La Verriere, craftsman extraordinaire and ironmonger to Salvador Dali, a truly unique and magical individual.GRENACHE ACTIVITES:A good year in the life of the newly created Grenache Association.  Members were invited to show their wines G-Night at Vinisud, Pro-Wein, Barcelona, Lyon, Hospice du Rhone in Paso Robles. Did my part: presented the grape’s virtues in a Garnacha Masterclass at Alimentaria, joined forces with fellow Grenachistas at London International Wine Fair.  Very gratifying to see its reputation on the up&up.IN CONCLUSIONSometimes someone asks flattering how we we have come this far this fast:  I would answer, a great terroir and the willingness to accept sleep-deprivation as a way of life. Lots of miles and late hours to move everything forward on many fronts. And now, it's time to gather one's strength again for what lies ahead. Time to do something more contemplative over the holidays, like stare at a hybernating vineyard and ask Bacchus to be clement to weather and generous to winemakers next year.