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three christmas wines (fevre m-gibourg mugnier)
Christmas lunch was a long, leisurely affair. First we took the 2002 Fevre Chablis Bougros as an aperitif, then with food took two Piesporter Goldtropfchens – a 2004 and a 2003 from St.Urbans-Hof – then a couple of new reds: 2002 William Fevre, Chablis Bougros Pale golden. The nose is a pungent mix of faint shoreline notes and heavy, lime-inflected fruit. Super minerality and intensity coupled to really good length. This seems much tighter than the last bottles – must be time to think about laying down for the future. An impressive bottle still. Rebuy – Yes 2004 Mugneret-Gibourg, Echezeaux Medium-plus cherry red colour. The nose shouts red berries, starting in a very soft, powdery red fruit way. Time adds faint cedar and a kind [....]
domaine des varoilles, 2003 la romanée
There are a number of La Romanées, and all have a good reputation. This one hides it’s light under a bushel as it’s a monopole of a relatively little-known producer – but take it from me, the quality is right up there with that of many better-known producers. The vineyard itself is at the ‘end’ of the same hillside that starts with the Clos St.Jacques if you walk with your back to the village of Gevrey. The last thing after La Romanée and Les Veroilles (which La Romanée sits above, and is also a monopole of the same producer) is a small strip of ‘village’ vines called La Bossière, then it’s only trees! 2003 Domaine des Varoilles, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er La Romanée At first glance and [....]
homeward-bound on airbus linked by boeing
This is a rather cool thing – I’m heading back to europe and am writing (and publishing) this at 30,000 feet in a Lufthansa Airbus but with broadband connection by Boeing. Until the end of the year this mid-atlantic high-speed connection is totally free – then it will be discontinued; seems Lufthansa are not impressed: Lufthansa deeply regrets Boeings intention to discontinue the Internet broadband service Connexion by Boeing (CBB). This will not have any immediate consequences on Lufthansa FlyNet users. Boeing has given assurances that it will continue the service until the end of the year. Lufthansa FlyNet is enjoying increasing popularity and has proved to be technically very reliable. The level of customer interest is indicated by figures of up to 40 users [....]
still travelling, more news on mortet
I’ve left New York behind and find myself in Philadelphia – well the airport Marriott anyway, and it’s definitely not grubby! The bar of the hotel throngs to quite a number of people cheering an (American) football team, on (as far as I can see) 6 TV screens in the bar area – maybe it’s a local team – turns out it’s Philly vs the NY Giants. Downtown Philadelphia looked like it might be quite nice with the sun setting on its tall glass buildings, but all I saw was the cab-ride from the quite impressive train station to the hotel ($46 just in-case you need to budget). Regarding the domaine Denis Mortet, it seems it is all-change again: The excellent Claire Forestier is once-more [....]
burgundy – the home of pinot noir
Apparently the ‘Brits’ like to name wines by their varietal. I’m not sure who came up with that statement, or how it applies to Chablis, Châteauneuf-du-Pape or ‘claret’ for instance, but someone was convinced enough to pay for a series of adverts in ‘lifestile magazines’ and the ‘colour supplements’ of the weekend newspapers in the UK and Ireland in the last months of 2006. Apparently the campaign “helps to simplify the Burgundian appellation system and so makes the wines more accessible to the British, while serving as a reminder of the unique quality conferred by terroir.”
New York with friends
Yesterday I started out from the red-brick station of Wilmington Delaware; almost 2 hours in the relative darkness of the ‘quiet carriage’, and 40 pages of the latest John le Carre later, my train arrived at Penn Station. New York is so vibrant, it can be grubby, high-tech, friendly or disdainful – but it’s seldom dull – where else would I find a taxi (cab, sorry!) driver called Ramon who sings along with every song the radio offers on our way to the hotel – he was particulary good on the Christmas songs! Home for the next 2 nights is the large Holiday Inn on West 57th Street – did I already mention grubby(?) – okay the room is actually pretty good, but don’t look [....]
jadot 2004 clos des ursules
2004 Louis Jadot, Beaune 1er Clos des Ursules Medium-plus cherry-red colour. The nose is deep, soft red fruit, more berry than cherry – just a little high-toned estery aspect too. Sweet fruit, packed with effusive acidity and tannin showing a little grain. The overall aspect is just missing a little 1er cru intensity and the finish is only medium plus. Very well made with no unripe facets and just a small impression of oak. Just a little too understated I think, but given that I bought a six-pack I’m hoping that it gains a little something with time. Rebuy – Maybe
the results of the game
My ScoreGroup ScoreThe WineWine 219.2518.02004 Fourrier, Griotte-ChambertinWine 1119.019.01999 Hudelot-Noellat, Romanée Saint-VivantWine 819.018.32002 Hudelot-Noellat, Vosne 1er Les SuchotsWine 1419.017.72004 Fourrier, Gevrey 1er, Clos St.JacquesWine 718.7518.12004 Geantet-Pansiot, Charmes-ChambertinWine 1518.518.62003 Guyon, EchézeauxWine 1318.2517.82004 Haegelen-Jayer, Clos de VougeotWine 518.017.92001 Armand Rousseau, ChambertinWine 918.017.72002 Tollot-Beaut, Corton-BressandesWine 618.017.52002 Guyon, Vosne-Romanée Charmes de MazièresWine 1018.017.42004 Bachelet, Gevrey 1er Les CorbeauxWine 117.517.52003 Cornu, CortonWine 417.017.71999 Gros Frère et Soeur, RichebourgWine 1217.017.42004 Ponsot, Chapelle-ChambertinWine 316.016.62001 Comte de Vogüé, Musigny Vieilles Vignes Probably a few discussion points there! Anyway I ordered some Suchots so now have all the top 4 in my cellar…
the game part 5 of 5
We are now in the ‘home straight’ and things should be becoming clearer(?) For those that missed it, here’s part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4. Wine 13 Medium, medium-plus cherry-red colour. High tones overlay a nose of considerable depth – earthy and cedar aspects and a slightly ‘lifted’ impression – but throughout our time together the nose remains completely understated. This wine bursts with excitement; it’s intense and the forward acidity makes it difficult to hold the wine in your mouth. The tannin is very well covered and the finish only slowly fades. It’s not as long as the best here but it’s not too far behind. This is an excellent bottle. My mark: 18.25/20, group average 17.8/20 Wine 14 Medium, medium-plus [....]
the game part 4 of 5
For those that missed it, here’s part 1, part 2 and part 3. Now I’m starting to get confused because previous wines that I thought were ‘xxx’ cannot be, because surely some of these are those… Wine 10 Medium, medium-plus cherry-red colour. An understated and tight nose slowly becomes creamy with glossy fruit. The cream of the nose is paralleled on the palate with impressive density to the precise creamy fruit that has a licorice edge. Mouth-watering acidity and understated smooth tannins that just cling a little to your gums. There is just a faint edge of bitterness in the finish which I can’t quite decide whether it comes from the grape or oak tannin, but it’s a good length. Very young – certainly a [....]
the game part 3 of 5
For those that missed it, here’s part 1 and part 2. It’s not getting any easier… Wine 7 Medium-plus cherry red colour. A high toned and wide nose that mixes red and blue-skinned fruits. A wonderfully effusive wine with excellent acidity and super depth. There’s a real extra dimension of fruit on the mid-palate before going into a discrete but long finish. The tannins are completely buried by the fruit. A few of the previous wines are longer but this wine is a compelling ‘complete package’. I started with a score of 18.5 but given that I thought it better than some later 18.5′s I added a quarter. My mark: 18.75/20, group average 18.1/20 Wine 8 Medium ruby-red colour. The nose starts quite high-toned and [....]
the game part 2 of 5
For those who missed it, here’s part 1. I’ll avoid commenting too much on other people’s guesses – simply because it’s unlikely I can do so without giving clues. Anyway, here are the next three contenders: Wine 4 Medium-plus ruby-red colour, still with hints of cherry. Shiny red fruit on the nose with a black undertow and a little earth, eventually a little orange too. Sweet and concentrated with real mid-palate intensity. Soft entry, well covered tannin with a slowly fading good length that maybe even has a hint of licorice. Rather like wine #3 this displays apparently less ripe tannin when compared to others in its flight. My mark: 17.0/20, group average 17.7/20 Wine 5 Medium, medium-plus ruby-red. Quite an intense minerally nose that [....]
