life
wine On The Grapevine
The Châteaux Master
Wine tasting at the vinyard; John Kolasa
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The Scotland-born vintner entered the Châteaux business with no knowledge, no understanding, and no experience. Kolasa spent his younger days in London as a teacher
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and left for France in 1971. “I looked for a job in France and ended up working in the wine business. I was so prepared to do anything. I worked very hard and in the end became very passionate about wine,” he says. “The luck of my life began when I met some fantastic people so passionate about wine, people who were willing to share with me their knowledge. That was how I learned and experienced things,” he continues. Throughout 1990, Kolasa worked his way up to the position of director at Château Latour; then, in 1993, he was offered to work at the Rauzan Ségla, which is owned by the three brothers of the Wertheimers, the bourgeois, wealthy family that controls the House of Chanel. It took three months for Kolasa to ponder before he finally took the offer. Situated at the entrance to the village of Margaux, Château Rauzan-Ségla occupies 55 hectares of vineyards, which produce 54%
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Commanderie de Bordeaux, Jakarta Chapter, is part of the 70 chapters of the Grand Conseil du Vin Bordeaux (GCVB), an international wine society representing the winemakers of Bordeaux. Jakarta was selected as the first city to host of the 2011 Commanderie De Bordeaux, with Manila, Singapore, and Shanghai following suit.
donny a. leonardi, doc. châteaux canon
Flying all the way from Bordeaux, France, to Jakarta, John Kolasa, spoke to Tyara P. Hansel about the story of wine-making at Commanderie de Bordeaux’s 6th anniversary
“The most important thing in winery is its cleanliness. It’s like a kitchen” Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, and 1% Cabernet Franc. In addition, a quality-control mechanism ensures that work at the vineyards is carried out with the greatest respect for the environment. Although the Château was built in 1903, it wasn’t until 1994 that the complete renovation of the estate returned the vineyards and grounds to their original splendour. “We renovated it to respect the history. We did the old building, grew some climbing rose bushes and hydrangeas, put in some air conditioners, and transformed it into a clean place to go,” he explains. Through the lenses of Kolasa, the most important thing with winery is that it has to uphold a high standard of cleanliness. “It’s like a kitchen. When you walk into a restaurant that doesn’t smell good, chances are you won’t eat there,” Kolasa says. Every château has its own story. The different plots of vines has a total of 22 hectares of very uniform soil types, and this becomes the first hint that Château Canon is unusual in relation to the rest of the Saint-Emilion area.
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The subtle combination of limestone containing fossilised starfish, covered by a thin layer of clay left behind by a prehistoric lake, constitutes an ideal environment for the grape varieties, comprised of the 70% predominant Merlot and the lesser proportion of Cabarnet Franc. For Kolasa, his challenge from time to time is to maintain the quality of the vineyards. “In my business, we believe in the soil, the structure, the individuality, and the character of the vineyards.” According to him, the soil structure can affect the produce of grape varieties. “Soil is important to create good grapes, and with good grapes, you’ll eventually make good wine.” And when it comes to the aging of wine, Kolasa is not dogmatic. “It is such a personal opinion. I can have my taste, and you can always have yours. So if you want to drink something young, you drink it young. If you want to wait, you wait. However, from my point of view, to really get a true expression of the Château, you have to wait at least ten years to consume the wine,” he concludes.
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Bordeaux flavour from top:
Wine harvest; the Segla’s vintage; winemaking process