Lifestyle Asia Logo
Style
Food & Drink
Travel
Culture
Beauty & Grooming
Living
Gear
Most Trending
These are the most iconic luxury watches worn by James Bond
Most Recent
Fashion Obsessions: Vetements x Star Wars, Fendi’s scented Baguette bag, and more
  • Fashion
  • Watches
  • Jewellery
Most Trending
Shirmy Chan is Bartender of the Year, Bar Trigona bags several accolades, and more at The Bar Awards KL 2019
Most Recent
Take your night to new heights at AVENUE Lounge, Marina Bay Sands’ sophisticated secret
  • Dining
  • Drinks
  • Reviews
  • Discover Johnnie Walker
Most Trending
Giveaway: Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park is a respite for business and leisure
Most Recent
Six Senses welcomes a new property along the Bosphorous Strait, Istanbul
  • Destinations
  • Hotels & Resorts
  • Exploring China with SQ
Most Trending
Classic Blue: Pantone Colour of the Year 2020 is a comforting and constant shade of blue
Most Recent
State of art: 5 exhibitions to catch in KL this December 2019
  • Entertainment
  • Architecture
  • Events
  • Art & Design
Most Trending
Holiday Gift Guide 2019: Makeup gift sets for beauty enthusiasts
Most Recent
Be a Man of Many with the BOSS Bottled cologne of choice
  • Grooming
  • Makeup
  • Skincare
Most Trending
Holiday Gift Guide 2019: Makeup gift sets for beauty enthusiasts
Most Recent
Be a Man of Many with the BOSS Bottled cologne of choice
    Most Trending
    Holiday Gift Guide 2019: Last minute ideas for your Secret Santa gift exchange
    Most Recent
    Seek mindfulness and recharge at these digital detox retreats in and around Malaysia
    • People
    • Wellness
    • Property & Interiors
    • Luxe Living Asia
    Most Trending
    Q&A: Kurechii on being the first Malaysian game developer for Apple Arcade
    Most Recent
    Bentley launches 15 units of a new-edition Continental GT
    • Tech
    • Motoring
    Most Trending
    Q&A: Kurechii on being the first Malaysian game developer for Apple Arcade
    Most Recent
    Bentley launches 15 units of a new-edition Continental GT
      • kl
        • BK
        • PAR
        • PAR [CN]
        • KL
        • SG
        • HK
        • IND
      • Search
      Can a new world wine be Grand Cru? Winemaker Gerald Gabillet responds
      Sort & Filter
      Close Filter
      Sort By
      Date
      Relevance
      Filter By Category
      All Categories
      All
      Style
      Food & Drink
      Travel
      Culture
      Beauty & Grooming
      Weddings
      Living
      Gear
      Apply
      Filter By Location
      kuala lumpur
      All Countries
      Take your night to new heights at AVENUE Lounge, Marina Bay Sands’ sophisticated secret
      Food & Drink
      Shirmy Chan is Bartender of the Year, Bar Trigona bags several accolades, and more at The Bar Awards KL 2019
      Food & Drink
      All the dining events in KL you don’t want to miss this December 2019
      Food & Drink
      Lifestyle Asia Logo
      kl
      Can a new world wine be Grand Cru? Winemaker Gerald Gabillet responds
      Back
      All  Style
      • Fashion
      • Watches
      • Jewellery
      Back
      All  Food & Drink
      • Dining
      • Drinks
      • Reviews
      • Discover Johnnie Walker
      Back
      All  Travel
      • Destinations
      • Hotels & Resorts
      • Exploring China with SQ
      Back
      All  Culture
      • Entertainment
      • Architecture
      • Events
      • Art & Design
      Back
      All  Beauty & Grooming
      • Grooming
      • Makeup
      • Skincare
      Back
      All  Living
      • People
      • Wellness
      • Property & Interiors
      • Luxe Living Asia
      Back
      All  Gear
      • Tech
      • Motoring
      • Kuala Lumpur
      • Paris
      • Paris [Chinese]
      • Hong Kong
      • Bangkok
      • Singapore
      • India
      • Facebook
      • Twitter
      • Instagram
      Sort & Filter
      Close Filter
      Sort By
      Date
      Relevance
      Filter By Category
      All Categories
      All
      Style
      Food & Drink
      Travel
      Culture
      Beauty & Grooming
      Weddings
      Living
      Gear
      Apply
      Filter By Location
      kuala lumpur
      All Countries
      Food & Drink
      20 Sep 2018

      Can a new world wine be Grand Cru? Winemaker Gerald Gabillet responds

      PohNee Chin Associate Editor
      Standard Article Hero
      Picture: Cheval des Andes
      Trending Now
      Style
      Fashion Obsessions: Vetements x Star Wars, Fendi’s scented Baguette bag, and more
      Read More
      Culture
      State of art: 5 exhibitions to catch in KL this December 2019
      Read More
      Style
      These are the most iconic luxury watches worn by James Bond
      Read More
      Gear
      Bentley launches 15 units of a new-edition Continental GT
      Read More
      Created with Sketch.
      Sign up for our newsletter to have the best news and reviews from Lifestyle Asia delivered straight to your inbox.

      Traversing wine terminologies can be almost as intimidating as stepping into a whisky bar not knowing the difference between a Scotch and Bourbon. How is an old world wine different from the new world ones? How much does terroir affect the resulting taste of the wine? (Plenty, apparently) What in the world is a Grand Cru, and is it only reserved for old world wines? Now that is an answer that Cheval des Andes winemaker Gerald Gabillet may be able to provide.

      The world of wines always had a high barrier to entry, designed for the most matured and refined of taste buds. The changing of wine trends can also be confusing for the casual wine drinker. Once upon a time, old world wines were considered a luxury for royalty. But now, new world wines are also increasing in popularity. And then, there’s the other pressing question of old world wines using new world trends and vice versa.

      The Cheval des Andes winery in Mendoza, Argentina.. (Picture: Cheval des Andes)

      But before all that, let’s get the basics sorted out: the difference between old world and new world wine. Old world wine generally refers to wines originating from Europe and the Mediterranean region — places with a long history of winemaking. It doesn’t necessarily mean a generalised style of winemaking, but more of the traditional philosophies of winemaking and terroir — the environmental factors that affect the crop.

      In contrast, new world wine would generally encompass wines made from crops grown anywhere else outside of the old world wine territory — including Argentina, Australia, and the United States. While the old world style is to bank in on traditional philosophies when it comes to winemaking, new world wines tend to champion technology to make the crops work in their favour.

      Food & Drink
      Use these Malaysian herbs to enhance your homemade cocktails
      Read More

      Then again, there are some new world wine territories that take on old world philosophies. One such brand is Cheval des Andes. A brainchild of Cheval Blanc and Terrazas de los Andes, the brand combines the savoir-faire of the former in blending and the latter’s Argentine high-altitude terroirs. Together, they create Cheval des Andes, a Grand Cru of the Andes region.

      Gerald Gabillet is the newest winemaker to join Cheval des Andes. (Picture: Moet Hennessy Diageo)

      As one who hails from Bordeaux, part of the old world wine territories, Gabillet could see for himself the difference. “My generation is lucky because we had all the knowledge of terroir passed down to us by our forefathers,” he says. “But when it comes to new world territories, you have to create this knowledge step-by-step. We can see now that Argentina is starting to have its own history, yet we still have much to discover.”

      In the spirit of merging both old world and new world identities, Gabillet says that in Cheval des Andes, the new world element — that is, technology — lies more in the vineyard than in the winemaking process. “Our goal is to not intervene too much in winemaking,” he stresses. Instead, he says, they want to utilise the natural expression of the crops, hence why they intervene in the vineyard. “We want to enhance the quality of the fruit to have the best tannins. Then, winemaking becomes very easy.”

      Unlike most Argentine wines that are generally known to be intensely flavoured, Cheval des Andes wants to go the opposite direction. “Often, (at Cheval des Andes) we speak about research on the complexity rather than intensity,” says Gabillet. “We think about a quiet ageing process and not to add too much oak, to preserve the natural expression of the wine.”

      Cheval des Andes combines the savoir-faire of Cheval Blanc with the terroir of the high-altitude Andes region. (Photo: Mathieu Mamontoff/Cheval des Andes.)

      For old world wines, it’s very easy to determine which ones are certified Grand Cru. It’s a regional wine classification made for vineyards that are known for their good reputation for producing wines. But for new world wine territories, that certification is a little harder to come by because it’s just so young. How then, we asked Gabillet, do you determine this new world wine as a Grand Cru? The short answer: It’s how much details you can control.

      “When you think of producing a Grand Cru wine, you will want to include the natural expression of the place, the notion of terroir, its maximum disposition, and the very fact that the wine you smell and taste makes you think of a particular type of terroir,” he explains. This means knowing to control as many details in the entire winemaking process from the crops to the final blending process. Gabillet gives an example of how even a 10% difference in how much oak is added would change the entire process.

      “All these details will add up, creating a Grand Cru wine,” says Gabillet, by way of explaining the new world Grand Cru.

      cheval des andes
      cheval blanc
      mendoza wine
      argentina wine
      argentine wine
      new world wine
      old world wine
      PohNee Chin Associate Editor
      Poh Nee is the associate editor and writes about travel and drinks. When she's not living out her holiday dreams via Google Earth and sipping on an Old Fashioned down at the local bars, you can find her snug at home bingeing on Netflix and mystery fiction.
      Talk to Me About:
      Travel
      Drinks

      Up Next For You

      Food & Drink
      Sponsored Content
      Take your night to new heights at AVENUE Lounge, Marina Bay Sands' sophisticated secret
      Beatrice Bowers
      Food & Drink
      Shirmy Chan is Bartender of the Year, Bar Trigona bags several accolades, and more at The Bar Awards KL 2019
      PohNee Chin
      Food & Drink
      All the dining events in KL you don’t want to miss this December 2019
      Martin Teo
      Food & Drink
      All the new bars in December 2019 to ring in the New Year
      Wi-Liam Teh
      Sign up for our weekly newsletters to receive the latest food & drink news and reviews in your inbox.
      ×
      Where are you?
      Tell us so we can display what you want to see.
      • Kuala Lumpur
      • Paris
      • Hong Kong
      • Bangkok
      • Singapore
      • India
      Hong Kong Paris Bangkok Kuala Lumpur Singapore India
      Advertise About Privacy Policy Terms & Conditions
      © 2019 Copyright Lifestyle Asia
      To give you the best browsing experience, this site uses cookies. Find out more.I accept
      Cookies Policy

      Privacy Overview

      This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.

      Privacy Overview

      This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.

      Necessary Always Enabled

      Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.