A sworn oath

Poor Alain Gayda (managing director of Sieur d'Arques)! So much unfair criticism! How could you possibly expect the ex-President (1998-2004) of the Union des Œnologues de France to know the difference between Pinot Noir and Merlot or Syrah or, indeed, Trebbiano?

Pinot Noir and Trebbiano: almost identical...

Here are the 11 commandments of l’Union des Œnologues de France. As formal French can be rather flowery and opaque I have provided a translation in plain English.

Les onze commandments de l’Œnologue

Selon le code de déontologie de l’Union des Œnologues de France

(The 11 commandments of the French Union of Œnologues)

01 De consacrer mes compétences à la recherche d’une qualité du vin et de ses produits dérivés en respectant leurs authenticités, leurs qualitiés organoleptiqués et nutritionnelles.

To buy Merlot, Syrah and any other varieties you can get hold of as cheaply as possible and pass off as Pinot Noir to American clients.

02 De m’abstenir de tout acte ou propos de nature à déconsidérer la profession et de n’exercer aucune activité incompatible avec la dignité professionnelle.

Always wear a tie in the office.

03 De m’attacher à résourdre les problémes relevant de ma competence dans le respect de la légalité.

Resolve never to read regulations and remain in complete ignorance of the region’s viticulture.

04 D’agir en toute honnêté envers mon employeur et mes clients.

Assure American clients with a straight face that this is Pinot Noir.

05 De faire connaître et respecter les obligations et prérogatives de ma function.

Make sure you don’t get caught defrauding Americans and other foreign clients.

06 De ne pas délivrer de bulletins d’analyses ou de toute autre attestation de complaisance.

Apply the highest standards when faking documents.

07 De respecter le secret professionel

It wasn't me – I wasn't there!

08 De respecter et d’appliquer correctement les réglements.

Rules? What rules?

09 De collaborer et d’agir avec loyauté avec mes confères.

Support Pierre Murk and make the oenologist, who handed the email to the police, redundant.

10 De faire prevue de la plus stricte objectivité et de m’abstenir de dénigrements.

Who are these bastards calling for my resignation?

11 D’eclairer de mes conseils et de mon experience les generations d’ Œnologues a venir.

To teach students not to ask awkward questions and, when the shit hits the fan, to declare “I know nothing”.

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I find the commandments are best appreciated while watching the famous contract scene from the Marx Brothers – A Night at the Opera. Also copy of the script here.

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Recent developments in scandal

• Gallo, Sieur d'Arques and Ducasse sued in US.

• US authorities may take action against US importers of fake Pinot Noir.

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21st 'Torts et Cachées (sorry Toques et Clochers)* 27th - 28th March 2010

This annual festival based around the Chardonnay of Limoux will be held at Couiza near Limoux. At least two members – Hervé Lalau and Marc Vanhellemont – of Les 5 du Vin will be there, so we can look forward to some in-depth comment from the management of Sieur d'Arques.

Some details of the 2010 Toques et Clochers event here.

*: Aussi: ou les « Toqués et les Cloches », les toqués qui le vendent et les cloches qui les achètent ou encore les Cloqués et les Toches, cloqué c’est enceinte et toche, on dit une vieille toche, çà d'une vieille moche.

Genuine Pinot Noir, Sancerre, October 2008

It has now emerged that Constellation was the other US company which bought the fake Pinot Noir.

This is reported in the Independant (Perpignan):

'Ce négociant (referring to Ducasse) avait fait passer d'autres cépages pour du pinot et avait revendu ce vin à la société de commercialisation "Sieur d'Arques" qui, en bout de chaîne, le livrait aux Etats-Unis, en particulier au groupe américain E&J Gallo.

'Gallo n'était probablement pas le seul destinataire. Le groupe indiquait mercredi soir qu'il avait "importé moins de 20% du total" de ce faux pinot noir. En outre, un passage du jugement indique que la société Sieur d'Arques était "détentrice d'un marché important avec les clients américains de la cave (les société Gallo et Constellation), portant sur une quantité significative" de cépage Pinot. Constellation, propriétaire de Mondavi, est numéro un mondial du vin.'

Also in the Wall Street Journal:

'Constellation Confirms Pinot Noir Purchase

Constellation Brands Inc. confirmed Thursday that it purchased pinot noir from a French supplier involved in a massive scheme to sell a phony version of the wine variety, but the company said it believes the product it bought was genuine.

Constellation, the world's largest wine producer by sales, said it 'purchased pinot noir from Sieur d'Arques between 2006 and 2008.'


The WSJ also reported that Constellation said that the wine 'was tested internally after the French court case began and found to be pinot noir'.

If Constellation bought the remaining 80% of the fake Pinot Noir or a significant proportion, then it would seem unlikely that it was all genuine Pinot Noir, although some of it may well have been genuine Merlot or Syrah. However, if Constellation's internal testing procedure is correct and what they bought was Pinot Noir (it does rather depend upon what vintage they tested), the mystery still remains – who bought the remaining 80% fake Pinot Noir.

 

Sept 2009 true Pinot Noir awaiting sorting@Sancerre late September 2009

E&J Gallo has issued the following statement on the fake Pinot Noir. 

Susan Hensley, Vice President of  Public Relations for E. & J. Gallo Winery:

"We are deeply disappointed to learn today that our supplier Sieur d'Arques has been found guilty of selling falsely labeled French Pinot Noir as recently as March of 2008. Based on the available information of the Pinot Noir that the French courts have investigated, Gallo imported less than 20% of the total and is no longer selling any of this wine to customers.  We believe that the only French Pinot Noir that was potentially misrepresented to us would have been the 2006 vintage and prior.  We want to assure our consumers that this is not a health and safety issue and that we will continue to work with the appropriate U.S. authorities to determine any next steps required for potentially mislabeled Pinot Noir in the marketplace."  

The statement rather raises as many questions as it answers. 20% of the total of the fake Pinot Noir is still 3.6 million bottles. If Gallo only bought 20% of the fake Pinot Noir, who bought the remaining 80%. As far as I can see there is no mention in all the reports of the court proceeding of any other company who might have bought the false Pinot Noir.

'We believe that the only French Pinot Noir that was potentially misrepresented to us would have been the 2006 vintage and prior. 'I love the 'only' and the 'prior' – just brilliant!

The scam started in January 2006 – for bulk wine this would have presumably been for the 2005 vintage. It continued through to March 2008 when it was discovered by the French Suppression des Fraudes. Thus it would have included wine from the 2006 and, possibly 2007 but much less likely as the Fraud Squad were onto the case probably before the 2007 was shipped. It does raise the question of from where in Languedoc was the 2007 Pinot Noir sourced if demand remained at the level of the previous vintages. Was there enough genuine Pinot Noir available in Languedoc to satisfy Gallos requirements?   

According to the Gallo site the 2005 was 100% Pinot Noir, 2006 contained 85% Pinot Noir, 10% Grenache and 5% Syrah, while the 2007 has 88% Pinot Noir, 7% Syrah and 5% Grenache. Under US varietal labelling rules only 75% of a single named varietal needs to be in the blend. For Europe and Australia it is 85%.   

See previous posting on the Red Bicyclette scandal.

Also posting on Constellation as the other buyer.

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True Pinot Noir: Sancerre

I see that the court in Carcassonne today passed sentence on those convicted in the fake Pinot Noir scam. Oceans of Pinot Noir were sold by various organisations including the cooperative Sieur d'Arques in Limoux and Ducasse, a négociant at 4 Avenue Thomas Edison, 11000 Carcassonne to E&J Gallo for their Red Bicyclette Pinot Noir. 

France's fraud department became suspicious during an audit at Ducasse when they discovered that Ducasse were buying Pinot Noir at 58€ per hectolitre when the normal market price for Pinot Noir was 97€, while local grape varieties could be bought for 45€. It also emerged that more Pinot Noir was being sold to Gallo than was produced in the whole of the Languedoc – around 50,000 hl a year. It is only in the cooler areas of Limoux that Pinot Noir can be successfully grown – the majority of Languedoc-Roussilon is far too hot for the Burgundian grape. Patches of Pinot Noir, however, can be found in various parts of the region. On 7th February 2009 Agrisalon reported that every year a company based in Limoux sold over 100,000 hls of Vin de Pays d'Oc Pinot Noir to the North American market.

The 12 defendants were found guilty of selling 18 million bottles (135,334 hectolitres) of fake Pinot Noir to Gallo. The fraud ran from January 2006 to March 2008 and during this time the defendants made a 7€ million profit. The court today handed down suspended jail sentences of between one and six months and levied fines of between 3000€ and 180,000€. Claude Courset of Ducasse received a six month suspended sentence and was fined 45,000€, while the Sieur d'Argues Co-operative was fined 180,000€. Sadly Sieur d'Arques used to have a high reputation and appeared to be a model co-operative.

There have recently been some suggestions that executives at E&J Gallo should have realised that they were being sold fake Pinot Noir. This seems to me to be terribly unfair – why should Gallo executives be expected to tell the difference between Pinot Noir and Carignan and Alicante Bouchet? Actually it was apparently Merlot and Syrah but given the size of the scam there might well have been some Carignan in it.

It is very sad that this scandal will have confirmed some people's view that wine is all about fakery and will hit all French wine, in particular the region of Languedoc-Roussillon. It undermines the efforts of many independent wine producers throughout France. The sort of producers that this blog hopes to play a part in celebrating and promoting.

See also Michel Smith's posting about the glories of Languedoc-Roussillon.