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bookending the 2007 harvest
My cold has intensified so no bottles, I just round up a few loose-ends. If it carries on, by Tuesday I’ll have to cancel my appointments in Burgundy, set for Friday Anyway, I thought I’d ‘book-end’ the 2007 burgundy harvest report with a round-up of some producer reports. We have here the last of the reports from Domaine de la Vougeraie and interestingly for a predominantly négociant, Alex Gambal who had the luxury for many cuvées to pick his own harvesting dates, turns out to be one of the latest of the late pickers – so a great summary of not just the process, but also here the trials and tribulations of the decisions from Alex too, amongst a few memorable quotes I particularly like: [....]
2005 nuits 1er clos st.marc – bp&f
I’m starting with a cold. Today it’s only a sore throat but it might be my last bottle for a few days if it spreads to my nose. Context notwithstanding, this is a wine I’ve been looking forward to open, particularly after tasting the 2006 with Patrice Rion. Here is the last of the run of Bouchard Clos St.Marc cuvées, the 1998 was stunning on it’s last outing – I’m just sad that there’s only one more of those 1998′s in the cellar. This bottle is expensive – 70 Swiss francs – it’s not particularly great value at that, but there is certainly quality and it’s hardly one of those shy, retiring 2005′s right now… 2005 Bouchard Père et Fils, Nuits St.Georges 1er Cru Clos [....]
full-on 05, daniel rion vosne 1er beaux-monts
After three 2005′s tinged with a measure of disappointment, normal service is resumed. 2005 Daniel Rion, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux-Monts Medium-plus cherry-red colour. Initially a nose of deep, soft and sweet medium-toast oak and a little peppery dark fruit, time bestows more caramel and red fruit. Mouthfilling and concentrated yet remaining athletic rather than fat, the tannins are buried beneath the fruit. The mid-palate is expanded in the mouth by lush acidity. Finally it’s a very low-key, but long finish. Here is a 2005 that is not yet guarding its wares. An out-and-out bargain at the en-primeur purchase price of 43 Swiss francs per, that’s 26 Euros. Who says there is no value in Burgundy? Rebuy – Yes How the Robert Parker Wine Dogs [....]
another reluctant 2005 – bouchard père’s savigny 1er lavières
If I look back to my note from my tasting together with Christophe Bouchard, from a value perspective, this was an easy ‘buy’ for me: 2005 Bouchard Père et Fils, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Les Lavières 28th Feb.2007 With almost 4 hectares of vines, Bouchard P&F own close to one quarter of this vineyard. Bottled at the beginning of February (only 3 weeks before this note), this wine initially shows an understated and nicely floral aspect, slowly it builds on flashes of dark fruit and eventually some caramel barrel notes. Sweeter fruit than the previous wines, again with some grain to the tannin, but the purity of the fruit presentation is excellent as it expands over the mid-palate. I will check a few prices as this [....]
05 lignier-michelot chambolle-musigny VV
2005 Lignier-Michelot, Chambolle-Musigny Vieilles Vignes Medium, medium-plus cherry-red colour. The nose starts with a forward mix of red and black cherry plus a rather mineral note. The longer it stays in the glass, it becomes redder and finer but with much less volume. The palate is mainly about balance – reasonable concentration and a sneaky extra cherry dimension that goes into the palate too. It’s quite lithe, not too muscular and again a little mineral. Today it’s a classy if slightly anonymous bottle – a very good bottle for sure, but one that I hope will become even better. Given it’s lowly en-primeur purchase price of 29 Swiss francs it remains an easy and bargain rebuy, if you can find some for that… Rebuy – [....]
bouchard père 05 mercurey
2005 Bouchard Père et Fils, Mercurey Medium, medium-plus cherry-red colour. The nose is high toned and very, very pinot with a faint oaky undertone. The palate is fresh with a faint astringency coupled to some grain from the tannins. Not so dense, but flavour-packed, though perhaps the acidity is just a little to the fore. A nice red-fruited complexion with a reasonable finish. Almost good, though factor in the price of 22 Swiss francs and it also stays only at ‘almost good’ value stakes – there are many bargains to be found in 2005, this doesn’t qualify. Rebuy – Maybe SF Gate yet another interesting article – this time by Alice
a.-f. gros 2005 vosne clos de la fontaine
2005 A.-F. Gros, Vosne-Romanée Clos de la Fontaine The cork seems surprisingly ‘spongy’ and pliable. Medium-plus colour. The nose is dark, spicy and shows a black oak toast and tar – eventually faint red fruits diluted by cream and faint ginger. In your mouth there’s a little fat and some silky texture – the tannin is quite fine. The mid-palate runs into quite a long finish – plenty of bitter-chocolate effect from the oak but some extra creamy fruit dimension too. This wine has plenty of dark oak character today but there’s more than enough density and material to balance – and it will fade with time, even in the glass, slowly there are redder fruits appearing. I’m not the biggest oak fan, but this [....]
g et p ravaut, 05 ladoix 1er le bois roussot
More sophisticated than this wine but less ‘upfront’. Today I have a slight preference for the initial joie de vivre of the previously tasted wine – it will be interesting to compare them over time. 2005 Gaston et Pierre Ravaut, Ladoix 1er Le Bois Roussot A deep cherry-red core. The nose is understated but deep – it remains so even after the last hints of dark oak have receded. This 2005 is one of the rarer wines from the vintage with an edge of black fruit in the mix – the last drops in the glass are, however, pure red. Smooth and soft – almost sweetly cordial like – it will keep this aspect for about another 2 years before becoming more ‘classically’ fresh. But [....]
f et d clair, 05 st.aubin 1er dents de chien
The second test from my delivery of en-primeur purchased 2005′s. Given the Indian Summer it had to be another white – it was too cold to drink much white this summer. Relative to other ‘Dents de Chiens’ this bottling is usually ‘only’ almost good to good, but wins for its bargain price, even in an appellation which is anyway good value – at 23 Swiss francs it’s cheaper than some bourgognes. 2005 François et Denis Clair, St.Aubin 1er Murgers des Dents de Chien Medium-pale lemon yellow. The nose needs a little while to widen, perhaps a little white blossom. The palate is intense and soft, sweetly ripe. The acidity seems quite understated – but there’s much more density to this wine than in most vintages, [....]
the burgundy market ‘spin’
“Even as we move out of a comparatively difficult period in terms of sales, Burgundy still has major assets as regards its reputation and power of attraction. Wine lovers place great confidence in the Burgundy “brand”, which conveys strong values of authenticity, a centuries-old historical legacy, quality and typical features. Moreover, Burgundy wine professionals have succeeded in emphasising the value of wines produced using historic know-how – an asset which was formerly neglected. This is the case for Crémant de Bourgogne, which has been remarkably successful over the past few years. Finally, Burgundy has also reorganised its Bureau. Various key departments have been set up that are fully operational and swift to act, thus providing Burgundy with an effective communications relay to make its voice [....]
2005 bouchard père chablis bougros
My first ‘bulk’ delivery of en-primeur 2005′s, all ordered from the Swiss co-op back in April 2006. I’ve only had a bottle of Bouchard’s 2002 Bougros before and it was a beauty, but sadly sold out before I could make a second order. This time I wasn’t going to miss out – so a full 12 were ordered at a mere 33 Swiss francs per. This was allowed only 24 hours rest before popping the cork, I wonder how long I can wait to open the reds… 2005 Bouchard Père et Fils, Chablis Bougros Medium-pale lemon yellow. The nose is forward and deep, a little vanilla-custard and maybe some background sulfur that seems to slightly dull a citrus edge. The palate is… well… wow! Super-intense. [....]
2001 drouhin vosne 1er petits monts
From the same source as the last two Drouhins. Whilst not so cheap at 62 Swiss francs, it’s a relative bargain as it’s about 65% of the initial price of the 2005 – which is anyway now sold-out. 2001 Joseph Drouhin, Vosne-Romanée 1er Les Petits Monts Medium-plus ruby-red colour. The nose starts wide, wild and fecund – very impressive – but within 25 minutes it’s a shadow of its former self; higher-toned, fresh and herbal – spicy but without the earlier power. The palate is lithe, linear and undemonstrative – somehow metallic tasting. On the plus-side there is excellent texture and an implied rather than overt power. The length is impressive if rather understated. If I’m honest, there’s nothing here today except potential and more [....]
