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2007 bonneau du martray corton-charlemagne
2007 Bonneau du Martray, Corton-Charlemagne Very pale yellow colour. Perhaps it was a little cold, but this was very tight to start with. Eventually the nose starts to give up fresh apple fruit backed by cold (trifle) custard. In the mouth this is absolutely linear, firing into an understated but very long finish that has a little sweet vanilla attached. Only if you keep the wine in your mouth do you appreciate the weight of extract and feel the mid-palate intensity. This is a very tight but very good wine – to be honest I’m impressed, but I really expected to be ‘wowed’! Rebuy – Yes
offer of the day – domaine ferret pouilly-fuissé 2006-2008
POUILLY-FUISSE Village 2007 37,5cl 18.00 (Swiss francs) POUILLY-FUISSE Village 2007 75cl 32.00 POUILLY-FUISSE Village 2008 37,5cl 18.00 POUILLY-FUISSE Village 2008 75cl 32.00 POUILLY-FUISSE Tête de Cru Les Clos 2007 75cl 42.00 POUILLY-FUISSE Hors Classe Les Ménétrières 2006 75cl 49.00 POUILLY-FUISSE Hors Classe Les Ménétrières 2007 75cl 49.00 Now part of Jadot, these wines have never been cheap, or should I say ‘as cheap’ as others from Pouilly, yet, based on what I tasted at Jadot I almost see some value here, if I forget Chablis for a moment…
two recent clos from fevre…
With all the bruhaha of p.ox surrounding wines from Fevre in 2002 – typically, a vintage I have something close to 12 bottles of – I suppose that I will have to make those bottles my house wine for 2010, despite strong competition from Gambal’s 2006 Bourgogne! Anyway a 2001 and a 2002 were opened last week, and those bottles were absolutely fine. The 2001 seems the more muscular and dense. The 2002 has a little more barrel vanilla and dimension in the mid-palate – it seems a little riper – perhaps that’s just the sweetness of the barrels(?) Both bottles were drunk over 3-4 days, left unstoppered in the refrigerator each night – the 2001 really did seem bullet-proof. Today I have a very [....]
white wines with a red nose…
Impressed with my dexterity in Photoshop? Actually it is just a moody (blurred!) image from my phone… Only a few days after a day-trip to Mürren we find ourselves in Klosters – well it is the season! Mainly blue sky, but getting a little warm with sticky snow by lunchtime – good for delivering the characteristic red nose though! The long-legged redhead went to ‘doggy-daycare’ with 12-13 other daytime-abandoned dogs, delivering the perfect evening example of ‘dog-tired’. A couple of evening wines – both 2003 whites – might be of interest for you. First up was the 2003 Vincent Girardin, Corton-Charlemagne which delivered an even better performance than this last bottle – whilst not ‘fresh’, I certainly wasn’t longing for more acidity. To follow, came [....]
weekend reading…
Something short and interesting: Are you one of the anti-flavour elite? You read it here first, didn’t you Something a little longer and a little picturesque – longer to download too as it’s 10.3mb – it’s from another place of-course, but then there wouldn’t be room for any of that in Burgundy would there(?)
michel lafarge 1997 volnay 1er
What a wine; 3 days, three different results. Drunk over three nights, whilst over-nighting in the refigerator. 1997 Michel Lafarge, Volnay 1er Cru Day 1. Medium rusty-red colour. Despite a certain 1997 ripeness to the fruit aromas, there is something of a cool edge and plenty of herbal notes – overall it’s ruff and gruff – not a lacy picture of Volnay. The leading edge is the acidity, though behind it the tannin is quite fine. The first flavours have a slight oxidised impression, but the best part of the wine is its extra dimension of very nice mid-palate flavour. Overall this wine lacks a lot of charm, and some aspects give me concern for further cellaring – still, this was my last. Rebuy – [....]
favourite olympic pic…
Nice that Whistler now has sunshine to go with the snow, and what a race yesterday! The ladies downhill – carnage – with poor Anja Paerson, unintentionally leaping further than Eddie the Eagle(!) and in the process losing a nailed-down silver medal I love this picture of Noelle Barahona of Chile disappearing underneath a barrier at the finish line – you may need to look twice Photograph: Clive Mason/Getty Images
2006 alex gambal bourgogne blanc
It’s not a proper tasting note I suppose, but I’m sure you’ll get the idea 2006 Alex Gambal, Bourgogne Blanc I might have written elsewhere that there’s a ‘deliciousness’ to chardonnay (sorry white burgundy!) that can really perk you up – particularly if you’re tasting at 9:00am! I recall a tasting about 1 year ago at Maison Alex Gambal, before we dived into the 2007s we tasted Alex’s most basic bourgogne blanc – a 2006 – it just hit the spot! For somebody of limited will-power there was absolutely no doubt that ‘on the spot’ I would order a case – not unexpectedly I have cases dotted around the Côte d’Or only waiting for my next visit – well, that and some cash of-course! I [....]
offer of the day – DRC 2007 & 09 en-primeur price-drop…
First there was Henri Boillot 2008, then Leflaive 2008 – though apparently the latter didn’t like seeing it in print here – now, fresh in it’s Louis Latour 2009. 20% sounds a lot, but it only brings prices roughly back down to (depending on who) vintage 2004 levels, and let’s not forget that some increased their prices already in 2002, 2003 & 2004 – a good vintage followed by two ‘short’ vintages. Many producers are ‘hurting’ and expect no respite until they launch their 2009s – who can blame them if EPs are ‘well-priced’ – many need the cash! Neither the harsh filter of youth nor the frequently traumatic growing season betray the irreversible beauty of these 2007s. They possess grace, a rare quality in [....]
new vines for méo-camuzet and champy…
News from the BIVB: THE MEO-CAMUZET ESTATE ACQUIRES TWO PLOTS IN CORTON In December, the Méo-Camuzet estate (Vosne-Romanée) acquired a beautiful 68-are plot in Corton Perrières and a 19-are plot in Corton La Vigne au Saint. Both are planted with old vines of fine Pinot Noir. The estate has been able to use grapes from these two terroirs as of its 2009 vintage, widening its selection of Corton reds. The Méo-Camuzet estate already owned an enclosed vineyard of 45 ares at Rognet-et-Corton. Its range also includes some of the most prestigious Côte de Nuits appellations: Clos de Vougeot, Richebourg, Echezeaux, Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru, etc. CHAMPY TAKES OVER THE LALEURE-PIOT ESTATE The firm Champy (Beaune) is currently finalising its takeover of the Laleure-Piot estate (Pernand-Vergelesses). This [....]
sunshine in mürren…
A lovely day in Mürren yesterday. Even the long-legged red-head didn’t get too cold – with her coat!
