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Wine talk with Jojo Madrid: 'If you're buying to age, just buy the good stuff'

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Marilen Fontanilla

<p>&quot;I am not a wine collector,” says Joseph “Jojo” Madrid kicking off our conversation. We are seated in the plush wine tasting area of Premium Wine Exchange, where habitués send warm greetings Madrid’s way.</p><p>“I don’t consider myself a collector,” he clarifies. “I have more wines than I need, and buy only those that are age-worthy.”</p><p>And so begins an engaging afternoon with this man who quietly introduced some of the city’s top businessmen to the world of fine wine, while also starting an outstanding collection of his own. Madrid’s burning passion for wine shines through with the words he uses to describe his journey. “Just as much as I enjoy tasting wines, I love talking about it. I can be infectious.&quot;.</p><p>One of the first bottles he had the pleasure of drinking was an Opus One 1991, when he was still working for a stock brokerage firm entertaining clients steeped in the wine world. This was back in the mid-’90s. Madrid realized he needed to delve more into wines if he wanted to establish relationships with Asia’s top fund managers—not knowing how it would influence his future path, but already understanding the deep impact it had on his psyche.</p><p>Like any fine wine, Madrid has gone through different phases in his wine journey, shaping him into becoming the wine connoisseur and advocate he is today.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/ancx/food-n-drink/2018/09/wines.jpg"/><figcaption><p>From left: the Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut 2009, only available at Monople, is a prestige cuvée of House Roederer; Burgundy wines, like the 2014 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Fixin, hold a special place in Madrid’s heart.</p></figcaption></figure></div><div><b>In search of great vinos</b></div><p>When he was starting out, Madrid was resolved to only drink fine wines—a decision that needed diligent research. When he felt that it was time to begin his own private collection in the late ’90s, he did so with focus and purpose. “If you are buying to age, just buy the good stuff. It’s utterly pointless to buy a lot of the ‘everyday’ wines because those will always be available.” He heeded the advice of Angelo Gaja, whom he sat next to at a dinner back in 2004: “Buy a case of 12 bottles. Open one bottle every year and see how the wine evolves.’”</p><p>He still recalls the first bottles in his collection: a Château Angélus 1989 Premiere Grand Cru Classe from Saint Emilion and a Château Haut-Brion 1990 Premiere Grand Cru Classe from Graves. “They were priced quite reasonably then. Since that time, the value has probably risen three or four-fold, as they continue to improve in the bottle,” Madrid says. The bottles still remain in his cellar, and he knows patience will be rewarded.</p><p>He was quick to interject that he is not into wine speculation. “I buy wines to be drunk,” he says, as we start to tour part of his wine collection housed in a private cellar somewhere in Makati. He hesitates to declare just exactly how many bottles are in his possession, but affirms the number is more than what he could consume in his lifetime.</p><div> </div><div><b>Understanding value </b></div><p>Madrid is a true expert, attuned to what he looks for and what he likes in his wines. There are a handful of producers that he passionately follows, and he makes it a point to buy their wines for every vintage that is re-leased. Many of these wines simply disappear from the marketplace, as quantities produced are miniscule. In such cases, he aims to purchase one to two cases of each wine.</p><p>We sample some of his prized bottles in the temperature-controlled space, including three rare ones of a 1928 Château-Chalon AOC Domaine Jean Bourdy. “These are virtually impossible to find unless you can coax the domaine owner to release some library wines,” he confides.</p><p>A lot of Madrid&#x27;s personal inventory is focused on wines with vintages from the 1980s or older. He knows where each bottle of wine, an 1800 bottle of Madeira for example, is kept in the rows and stacks he maintains.</p><p>He drew my attention to some other noteworthy bottles—wines that have not necessarily increased in price but are sought after by wine aficionados.</p><p>The 2005 Clos Rougeard “Le Bourg” from Saumur-Champigny was something he bought quite recently. “This is an iconic producer, very much sought after and requires quite a bit of effort to source. It may not cost an arm and a leg but would be near impossible to find a few years down the road,” he quietly notes.</p><p>The same holds true for the 1996 Denis Mortet Chambertin Grand Cru from Burgundy and the 1996 Giuseppe Mascarello Ca’Morrisio Riserva from Piedmont, both of which he explains would no longer be available in the world wine market today and would actually be considered collector’s items.</p><p>Other notable wines he has added to his collection: a 1968 Vega Sicilia Único from Ribera del Duero, a 1940 and 1948 Château d’Yquem from Sauternes, a 1989 Château de Rayas from Chateauneuf-du-Pape, a 1961 Grand Vin de Chateau Latour from Pauillac, and a 1961 Château Latour à Pomerol from Bordeaux.</p><p>Madrid admits he has slowed down considerably with his purchases, upon the realization that his inventory has become unwieldy over the years. In fact, he has happily let go of some bottles, without the usual reluctance. “Have I bought and sold wines and profited from it? Yes I have but that was not the intention. I have some friends who are interested in a particular vintage or it has a particular significance to them, so I was happy to let go of it.”</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/ancx/food-n-drink/2018/09/wines-2.jpg"/><figcaption><p>Just a few choice pieces in Madrid&#x27;s collection. He follows only a handful of producers and makes it a point to buy their wines for every vintage released.</p></figcaption></figure></div><div><b>Enriching the wine experience </b></div><p>The next phase in Madrid’s wine journey focuses on a different side of the industry, but one that he would be ideal for: wine education. He has been taking wine studies for the past three years, balancing his fine wine knowledge with a more theoretical approach to learning about the wines of the world.</p><p>“When one truly loves the wine journey he is in, he goes through certain phases in his life,” Madrid says. “He becomes more passionate about giving some of his knowledge back to people, like mentoring young people going into the wine profession or starting their own wine dream.”</p><p>Education is something he feels strongly about, believing it is key to the direction of the wine industry. He is comfortable talking to wine novices, imparting his knowledge with them.</p><p>“I feel that it is not enough that you are tasting wine and like how it tastes,” he stresses. “The experience would be even better if you knew or had wine knowledge. It is not enough to do just the tasting. It would be great when you tasted the wine, and you had an idea of how it was made and where it was made. That would make it more interesting. It contributes to my enjoyment of the wine.”</p><p>His passion for this calling is quite evident with his newfound ardor, which should bode well for future wine practitioners.</p><div> </div><div><b>A day in a wine lover’s life </b></div><p>Madrid still keeps himself busy shuttling between Manila and Canada.</p><p>He recently opened Cascadia Fine Wines in Vancouver with his brother, representing some top family-owned wine estates in the Pacific Northwest and finding them importers in the Asian region. “My brother is really the one more actively involved with this,” Madrid says. “We started one and a half years ago, to raise the visibility for Oregon and Washington wines with Asian consumers.”</p><p>In Manila, he juggles time between Premium Wine Exchange (PWX) and Monople. PWX, which he operates with three other partners, began in 2003. The common denominator among the partners is a fervent love for wine, which is showcased in the quality portfolio they carry. Madrid proudly boasts about their staff with WSET 3 and WSET 2 levels, ensuring an enjoyable wine experience in the shop.</p><p>Monople, which he owns with other partners, showcases the same care for wines with a curated wine menu that features hard-to-find reds, such as a 2014 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Fixin from Burgundy. This is a wine that Madrid had to wait five years for before he could receive an allocation.</p><p>He usually spends his downtime with his wine-loving friends, sharing bottles that suit the occasion, often disclosing his finds on the Vivino app. There, he goes by the handle of burgnut, a nod to his love for the Burgundy wine region. “I think I am in the top 30 in the world in terms of rank, along with my brother,” he reveals. </p><div> </div><div><b>By the glass </b></div><p>At the end of a day, Madrid says that Champagne would be his default wine choice. He has a number of Champagnes he has enjoyed in his lifetime. Recently, this included a Marie-Courtin Champagne Concordance Extra Brut, an Egly-Ouriet Millésime Grand Cru Brut 2005 and a Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut 2009. &quot;The first wine is an under-the-radar wine, very small-batch production which only wine geeks know about,” Madrid divulges. “The second wine is a vintage Champagne from a very highly respected grower in the village of Ambonnay, who is known for very long lees-aging for added complexity. The Cristal is only available at Monople, and it is the luxury cuvée of the house of Louis Roederer.”</p><p>Madrid’s desert island wine would be a Burgundy. “A Burgundy red, because top Burgundies combine power and delicacy,” he says. “The best reds are ethereal, delicately oral, perfumed, and earthy. When I drink it, it does not overwhelm the palate. It is like a ballerina doing the pirouette, just perfect on the palate, texturally light with such mind-blowing aromatics. It hits you without impressing you with concentration or power. It is elegance and finesse combined.”</p><p>And if he were to be remembered as any bottle, he harkens back to a special Rhone he recently enjoyed. “It would be a Thierry Allemand Cornas 2000, a whiff of which took me to the great terroir of the northern Rhone,” Madrid reminisces. “It is oral yet very masculine. The smell reminds me of violets, tapenade, and smoked meats, but on the palate, the tannins are fine grained and silky smooth. It is well balanced, harmonious, like an iron fist with a velvet glove.”</p><p>After two decades immersing in wine appreciation, the future is sure to uncover more facets to Madrid, a fascinating gentleman whose enthusiasm for this liquid passion equals the purpose with which he now steers towards a new and worthy direction. ­</p><p>“In the wine journey, it is not just about the wines but the people you meet,” he says as we wrap up. “It is not just those you drink with, but those who make the wine and can enrich the appreciation for each bottle.”</p><div> </div><div><em>Photographs by JC Inocian</em></div><div><em>This story first appeared in Metro Society&#x27;s Luxury Issue 2018</em></div>

<p>After two decades immersing in the fine wine universe, he has become an expert in rarities and vintages—and no one describes a bottle like Madrid: an iron fist with a velvet glove? A ballerina doing a pirouette? Now he's bringing his passion to a higher plane</p><p> </p><p> </p>

After two decades immersing in the fine wine universe, he has become an expert in rarities and vintages—and no one describes a bottle like Madrid: an iron fist with a velvet glove? A ballerina doing a pirouette? Now he's bringing his passion to a higher plane