Learning aromatic persistence

It’s been years since I did my French wine tasting course, in Bristol, if I remember correctly. I’ve drunk a lot of good (and bad) French wine since then so I was especially excited to visit the Médoc region of France last week, for a short tour and tastings of some fabulous wines. We spent longest at the home and vineyard of one of the Grands Crus Classés, Château Haut Bages Libéral‎ of the Pauillac appellation. Just five minutes’ walk from our delightful hotel in Saint-Lambert, it was the perfect choice: modest and friendly in nature and yet a Cinquemes Crus, one of the 18 estates making the cut in this classification. In total there are 60 Grands Crus Classés in the Médoc, a classification of wines dating back to 1855, at the time of the Universal Exhibition, when Napoleon III wanted his outstanding wines to be recognized and celebrated. Once designated, this classification can never be changed, no matter how superior, or inferior, the quality of vintage. The fierce pride and competition between the famous families and their wine houses means that the market controls and maintains its standards. On more personal tasting note, whilst in the lovely land of Merlot and Cabernet-Sauvignon, I re-learned the skill of ‘aromatic persistence’. That’s when, after checking the colour of the wine, breathing in the aromas of fruit, flowers, tobacco, spices and the like, you sip the wine and roll it around your mouth to ‘let it linger on your taste buds’. May I suggest this process is only worthwhile with a wine of some merit – otherwise just drink it down!