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• More than seven years after Sony Pictures optioned Benjamin Wallace’s then yet-to-be-published Billionaire’s Vinegar for the big screen, we’re finally getting a sense of what will likely be the biggest wine flick since Bottle Shock is going to look like. Deadline.com has reported that Matthew McConaughey has signed on to star in the film, produced by Will Smith, Todd Black, James Lassiter, Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch (the team behind The Pursuit of Happyness), and based on the book that follows publisher Christopher Forbes’ purchase of the infamous Pres. Thomas Jefferson 1787 Château Lafite bottle, wine collector Bill Koch’s purchase of similar 18th-century Bordeaux bottles connected to Jefferson, and Koch’s subsequent investigation into their authenticity. German wine merchant Hardy Rodenstock purportedly discovered the Jefferson bottles in Paris in 1985; upon discovering that the bottles were likely fakes, Koch sued Rodenstock for fraud, but the suit was dismissed in 2008 on a lack of jurisdiction. It’s unclear yet which role McConaughey will play in the on-screen version of The Billionaire’s Vinegar, but the smart money is on Rodenstock. (Anticipated McConaughey delivery: “That’s what I love about these fake wines, man … I get older, they stay the same age.”) The contents of the script, of course, are still mere speculation, which is one of Unfiltered’s favorite hobbies. Other possibilities include McConaughey as Koch himself (“Sold! To Bill Koch.” … “Alright, alright, alright!”), as Koch’s investigator (“I’ve been investigating wine fraud since long before anybody paid me to do it. I didn’t do it to be cool … I just liked it.”), as Pres. Jefferson (“You can’t buy this wine in the United States? … You could be making a fortune out of this!”), or as the bottle of Jefferson Lafite itself (“The law says you cannot touch! But I see a lot of lawbreakers up in this house tonight!”).
Nick Jonas Delivers
• Worlds of unexpected happiness collided in Los Angeles this past weekend when Nick Jonas showed up at the doors of a select few with alcohol and an acoustic guitar. The singer/songwriter/actor/model and one-third of The Jonas Brothers teamed up with the new alcohol delivery app Saucey to generate some priceless publicity by going out on the town for one night to personally fulfill orders for a few unsuspecting users of the app. Saucey, which offers home delivery of wine, beer and spirits, was looking to generate some buzz. Mission accomplished. Jonas, himself barely old enough to drink at age 22, didn’t just drop off the goods. According to TMZ, at one stop he went so far as to open up the wine, pour, enjoy a glass himself (at the behest of his no-doubt insistent hosts), and even broke out his guitar for a few impromptu songs. Unfiltered can only imagine that if “Jealous” wasn’t one of the songs he played, then it was surely running through the minds of a few Saucey users greeted by lesser delivery boys.
Arkansas Loses a Game of Chicken with California Wine
• State legislatures, our "laboratories of democracy," are not so different from the "laboratories of chicken" where birds pump out eggs in states like Arkansas. One example: In 2008, California voters passed a law prohibiting the confinement of farm animals in spaces too stifling to allow them to turn around, lie down, stand up and extend their limbs; the legislature then extended that standard to out-of-state eggs. Arkansas has no such legislation, so California stopped bringing in Arkansas eggs this year. In a bold act of retribution, Arkansas State Rep. Dan Douglas introduced a bill designed to potentially block the import of California wine into the state, where 90 percent of the wine consumed is Golden State juice. Literally saying he did not expect the measure to pass, Douglas instead watched his peers eat it up like a heaping plate of BBQ chicken wings: 57 ayes to 19 nays. "We have to put a stop to this. We have to show the state of California, they cannot force their standards on us," said Douglas. "Enjoy your California wines this weekend, while you still can," Douglas chirped uneasily after the bill's passage on the house floor.
"My gut reaction was, 'The first thing I would do is open a liquor store across the border in Oklahoma,'" Rep. Justin Boyd, who voted nay, told the Times Record. "They would end up collecting the tax instead of my home town of Fort Smith. It didn't make sense to do that." With his lark resolution passed and the prospect of wine in Arkansas actually drying up, ol' Rep. Douglas realized he done put himself in a tighter spot than an industrial chicken coop! And so, before the bill could hatch in the state senate, Douglas pulled it from review before the Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee. "That bill doesn't need to be passed into law," Douglas told the AP. "We made a point with the state of California." (The point is that Arkansas' effort to stick it to California wine has been debeaked.)
Another Fake-Wine Lawsuit Dismissed … and Dragging On
• Antique Wine Company, the U.K. wine merchant accused last year by Atlanta businessman Julian LeCraw Jr. of selling him fake bottles of collectible Bordeauxs, is running "victory laps," according to LeCraw's lawyer, now that an Atlanta judge has dismissed LeCraw's lawsuit. In April 2014, LeCraw asked for $25 million from AWC, to make up for his purchases of such rarities as a 1908 Château Margaux, a 1794 Lafite and a 1787 Yquem—the latter of which set LeCraw back $91,400. AWC denied the allegations and filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, citing the fact that the purchases are under the legal jurisdiction of English courts. The company has called LeCraw's legal battle an example of "opportunistic extortion." Last week, Judge Richard Story dismissed the case—not because he reached a decision about the issue at hand, but because he agreed that the case could not be heard in the state of Georgia—allowing LeCraw to pursue it in courts across the pond. He has 30 days to appeal the court's decision. Stephen Williams, AWC managing director, said in a statement, "Despite our success in this litigation, the Antique Wine Company still hopes to resolve any dissatisfaction that Mr. Lecraw Jr. might have with our company, just the same as we would any other client." LeCraw's lawyer, John O'Shea Sullivan, countered: "Mr. Williams is about to get sued again. Williams' offer to try to resolve Mr LeCraw's 'dissatisfaction' is laughable … Whether it is Atlanta or London, Mr. Williams will have to answer for the fake wine and the money he owes Mr. LeCraw for consigned wine."
You Can’t Get There on the Bordeaux Train from Here, for Now
• On March 30, the public commission charged with reviewing the $11.8 billion LGV high-speed train project, opposed by environmentalists and winemakers in Sauternes and Barsac, told the Aquitaine Prefet it was not in favor of the project. “We feel immensely relieved by this decision. This project is unlikely to be reactivated, at least under the same shape,” Bérénice Lurton, owner of Château Climens, told Unfiltered. “But it really has made us even more conscious of the richness of the Ciron Valley ecosystem and the necessity to struggle for its preservation, for its ecological diversity and for the sake of the Sauternes and Barsac wines.” The proposed train route would have cut through the Graves, and then the Ciron Valley. The commission found that the French railway company and their partners had not adequately considered alternative options for improving travel between Bordeaux-Toulouse and Bordeaux-Dax, nor had they adequately considered the environmental impact. While the commission was unimpressed with the argument that the construction and train route would endanger the production of noble rot wines, they did order an agro-climate study “to remove all doubt.” Over the coming months, the French railway and local mayors will have the opportunity to submit their arguments, at which point the entire dossier will be handed to the transportation minister for a final decision in 2016. “Some politicians seem to be ready to fight hard against the commission's decision,” said Lurton. “We must be very watchful, prepare a solid file and sharpen our arguments in order to be ready if there is a counteroffensive.”
Premier Classé A Pavie Premieres a Commemorative Bottle
• The day before the en primeur tastings for the 2014 Bordeaux vintage began, Gérard Perse, owner of Château Pavie, was optimistic. “Last year we had 430 visitors; this year we have 1,100.” It was the perfect time to unveil a commemorative black and bronze label for the 2012 vintage of Château Pavie, the first vintage of the wine to be classified Premier Grand Cru Classé A, St.-Emilion's top designation. (Pavie and Angélus were controversially elevated in 2012, joining Cheval-Blanc and Ausone.) “We wanted something classy but not gawdy,” Perse told Unfiltered. “It’ll be the only vintage bottled with this label.” A limited number of magnums will have serigraphed wood cases with leather handles, the bottle nestled in a black recess shaped like an A. “It’s extravagant. We won’t do it again.” Unfiltered is not one to begrudge anyone’s success, and Perse triumphed at the 2012 St.-Emilion classification. “I did what no one here could do: I raised Pavie to a Premier Grand Cru Classé A and Monbousquet to a Grand Cru Classé,” said Perse. Not that the local Château owners greeted him with open arms. And that still smarts. "It was my second career. If I had been younger, if I could have done it a little differently, I should have gone to California, but I arrived here, then I bought Pavie. I didn’t have an aristocratic title, I didn’t inherit the estate. I didn’t inherit anything. I got married at 21 and didn’t have a cent to my name. But here I was, in St.-Emilion, a Parisian from the supermarket business,” said Perse. He poured a glass of 2000 Château Pavie. “This is an amazing wine. Look how it’s aged. You can’t believe the grief I got for that vintage at the time, the criticism heaped on me. The worst was that it was a ‘technological wine.’ That hurt. They said it would never age well. They were wrong,” Perse said. Pavie, he said, is a labor of love. “Everything about Pavie is complicated—the slopes, the clay-limestone soil. But it’s magnificent.”
