Chateau Souverain Merlot?

I tasted the Chateau Souverain Merlot Chairman's Selection last night and to me it was pretty blah.... There was just nothing there, some fruit, some earthiness, but nothing to say this is good. My question is: Is this the Winemaker's Reserve as advertised, or their regular Merlot? On the bottle nowhere does it say "reserve". I know this holds no meaning whatsoever but I want to know what I am buying. On the wine's website there is a "reserve" with a different lable and a regular merlot. The bottle I bought looked a whole lot like the regular merlot. Does anyone out there in cyber PA know the deal with this?

The overriding identifier is the PLCB code number, which is usually stuck on the bottle somewhere, often right on top of the UPC code. It's a 5 digit number. Once you have that, go to www.lcb.state.pa.us, click on product search, type in the code and that will tell you what the PLCB thinks you have.

That's not to say they're flawless... I ran into an inconsistency last summer with Sanford Pinot Noir: A store I visited (and presumably others)had the same vineyard bottling stocked twice on the same shelf about 5 feet apart, with different code numbers and prices for each. Sent an e-mail asking the deal, and I received a reply with an apology and explanation. They then deleted the code number for the cheaper version and reclassified the offending bottles with the other code and thus the higher price. Nice.

For what it's worth, I've enjoyed several vintages of Chateau Souverain's Chardonnay as well as their Winemaker's Reserve Chardonnay, and the reserve was always clearly identified on the label.

Ecola, this is looking like a huge catch on your part!

I spoke with the specialty wine buyer in my local store today and it is definitely NOT the Winemaker's Reserve that they are selling, although the big sign right above it says it is! I asked for an explanation and he was puzzled, but said he would send an e-mail and get back to me when he got a response. I'll be sure to post the answer.

Honestly, I think they've got a real problem on their hands. This is clearly false advertising, inadvertent or not. They have over a hundred cases of this around Western PA right now. Let's see what happens. In the meantime if you bought any I'd either take it back or save your receipt. FYI Gary Vaynerchuk just reviewed the 2004 regular release and said it was a "disaster" and to avoid it "like the plague." Granted he tasted a different vintage, but still... http://tv.winelibrary.com/2007/07/31/bringing-merl ot-back-episode-285/

Mark

Thanks for looking into that, maybe something can get fixed. I saw that WL episode and was glad I bought the Winemakers's Reserve....Let me know what happens with this.

-Eric

Well you can see the latest on the front page of the site. It's not looking good.

I don't think the Chairman's Selection Chateau Sourvrain is the Winemaker's Reserve. I purchased a bottle a couple of weeks ago and it was truely awful. I couldn't even finish the bottle. By the way, check out the case boxes that the wine is packed in - they also say "Reserve". Is this a case of false advertising on the part of the PLCB - or is it a collaborative effort between the PLCB and the winery to move an inferior product?

This is not the first time I have encountered false advertising in the Chairman's Selection program. I can say with 100% certainty that the Whitehall Lane Cabernet that was in the stores this past winter was not what the signs said it was. First of all, the 2004 Cabernet was just recently released, yet the Chairman's wine was a 2005 vintage. Second, the 2004 Cabernet has a list price of $40 - not the "quoted at" $45.00. Third - the labeling was different and unique to the Chairmans Selection program. Last, but not least, I am a big Whitehall Lane Cabernet fan. I have been buying it buy the case for years. There is no way that wine was anywhere close to W-L's regular cab. In fact I thought it almost had a burned taste to it.

My theory: Whitehall Lane lost some wine in the big warehouse fire in Napa last year. They were able to recover some of the wine but were not able to sell it under their regular label. So the PLCB took it off their hands. Whitehall Lane re-labeled the wine to maintain the reputation of their cabernet, and the PLCB falsely advertised it as the regular Whitehall Lane Cabernet.

At least we now what what we're buying. I didn't care for it much but give it a try if you want. Not my cup of tea.

Bug,

I believe the Whitehall Lane Cabernet you're referring to was a special bottling done specifically for the PLCB (it said "Chairman's Selection" right on the label). One person at PAWineTalk rated it here. I don't know how it was different from their regular bottling other than the fact that it was released much sooner so obviously not aged as long, presumably lowering their costs.

Other wineries have done similar special bottlings, including Ehler's Estate, Grant Burge and Silverado. Like the Whitehall Lane, the Silverado "Chairman's Selection" Cabernet was also released sooner than their regular Cab and also priced lower.

If you follow the link above for the Whitehall Lane rating you'll find another link to a review of the wine at PAWinePicks.com by Jeffery Lindenmuth who is a wine writer based in Allentown (although he hasn't posted any new reviews since February, unfortunately). He has been a vocal critic of the "Compare at/Quoted at/Regular" prices used by the PLCB when advertising Chairman Selections and I believe has helped push them to be a little more forthcoming -- and perhaps less "inventive" shall we say -- with some of their claims of savings. He stated in his review that he made a few calls to Whitehall Lane to ask about the Chairman's Selection bottling but couldn't get a call back.

Mark

I spoke with Rob Trimble (McIntyre Sq buyer) last fall about the WL 2005 and questioned its early arrival. He explained that while the conditions in 2005 made for a great vintage potential (especially Zins) the conditions also provided exceptional harvest volume, so much so that vintners were bottling significant quantities over and above their normal process to take advantage of the marginal costs. I gathered from this that any 2005 'special' releases, like our Chairman's Select, should be viewed with caution. I've got a bottle aside in case I feel real adventurous or just don't care what it tastes like.