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antoine et rachel olivier 2008 santenay ‘les temps de c(e)rises’
A slight name-change since I last tasted a bottle from this domaine, but the quality is just as good. Maybe I should pay a visit. Anyway I like the sense of humour for the cuvée name! 2008 A&R Olivier, Santenay ‘Les Temps de C(e)rises’ Medium-plus, bright cherry red colour. The soft red fruit has width and impressive depth, a faint musty/stalky element to but it’s more complexity than a negative – it is anyway gone after 30 minutes of air. Full, bright, perhaps a hint petillant to start – I’ll let it settle for a while. Settle down it does; there is depth, impressive intensity and a clarity to the fruit that you don’t always find with Santenay. The acidity is just about covered, helped [....]
2000 clos des lambrays
A tasting recollection – drunk over dinner with friends on Saturday. 2000 Lambrays, Clos des Lambrays Medium, medium-pale colour. A little warmth of alcohol in the nostrils but chocolate, good stems and clean undergrowth too – it was very pretty. In the mouth there is sweetness, good balancing acidity and a tannin that just occasionally shows itself in the quite long finish. Dry stuff that description – often the problem with recollections – it doesn’t tell you that everyone around the table was oohing and ahing and saying the same word – ‘lovely’. Showing very well now but with the balance to last and last… Rebuy – Yes
grace kelly and foggy hill…
I bet no-one’s ever said that before! Info on the wires: Grace & Foggy
offer of the day – Henri Boillot 2009s
In brackets are the 2008 price and even the 2007 price from the same offer where available. DOMAINE HENRI BOILLOT – millésime 2009 (Subscription) VILLAGES BLANCS 2009 BOURGOGNE Chardonnay 75cl 22.00 (22.00) Swiss Francs CHASSAGNE-MONTRACHET 75cl 39.50 (40.00) MEURSAULT 75cl 42.00 (42.00 2008) (54.00 2007) PULIGNY-MONTRACHET 75cl 44.00 (45.00 2008) (56.00 2007) PREMIERS CRUS BLANCS 2009 CHASSAGNE-MONTRACHET Les Embrazées 75cl 59.50 (59.00) MEURSAULT Les Charmes 75cl 69.50 (68.00 2008) (85.00 2007) MEURSAULT Les Perrières 75cl 85.00 (78.00 2008) (95.00 2007) PULIGNY-MONTRACHET Clos de La Mouchère 75cl 72.00 (72.00 2008) (89.50 2009) PULIGNY-MONTRACHET Les Caillerets 75cl 79.00 (78.00 2008) (89.50 2009) PULIGNY-MONTRACHET Les Pucelles 75cl 79.00 (78.00 2008) (99.00 2007) GRANDS CRUS BLANCS 2009 CORTON CHARLEMAGNE 75cl 109.00 (109.50 2008) (149.00 2007) CRIOTS BATARD MONTRACHET 75cl [....]
nada…
It’s all tumble-weed around here at the moment – the shock and surprise at finally finishing typing the Summer report meant that my body decided it was a good time to catch a cold! Probably just as well, as aided by neighbours and friends I only seem to have left one bottle each of the Gambal 06 | 07 | 08 bourgognes – now how did that happen? – I’m not planning to go back until harvest too. Quel cauchemar!! Clearly no drinking around here for a a few days, so first, maybe a little Beaujolais 2009, then maybe you can learn something about Burgundy from Jamie Goode and his barking dog!
2007 chambolle les bussières – l&a lignier
I typed the last few sentences of the summer report while sipping on this. There’s no slacking here! 2007 L&A Lignier, Chambolle-Musigny Les Bussières Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose doesn’t have much width, but from top to bottom there’s plenty of depth with high floral tones and deeper dark red/black cherry in the basement, slowly a creamy width starts to fill out the nose. Silky texture, the flesh of the fruit is successfully hiding much of the acidity, then comes a really nice cream-edged fruit – this is very good. I’d drink it sooner or very much later, in-between I suspect the acidity might dominate for a few years. Enjoyed a lot today… Rebuy – Yes
fourrier 2004 chambolle-musigny
2004 Fourrier, Chambolle-Musigny Vieilles-Vignes Medium-plus colour. The nose shows herbal hints of mint and a faint cedar, but it’s hard to say if it’s part of the the 04 character, whatever, it’s on a very low level, overall a liitle floral and not too dense, eventually it delivers a nice acid cherry aroma. Fresh, with just a little astringency to the tannin. There is just enough sweetness to carry what would otherwise be mouth-puckering acidity. Not quite as clunky as the Clos St.Jacques currently shows and the good fruit flavour comes through well in the finish. Almost good. Rebuy – Maybe
1976 tortochot gevrey-chambertin clos des corvées
I’m a little slow mentioning this – it’s about 2 weeks ago that I opened it in Beaune with friends. The 1990 and 1985 had so thoroughly impressed this year that I though I wouldn’t be too unhappy if this was a failure…. 1976 Tortochot, Gevrey-Chambertin Clos des Corvées It was twilight and we were outside, but the colour seemed medium – maybe a little more. On the nose, just like the 1990 and 1985 this was very nice indeed; just a little more baked fruit but fresh, clean and very moreish. In the mouth I initially thought the acidity was too spiky, but 15 minutes later it and I were more in harmony – still the acidity was slightly in advance but nothing to [....]
ardea sealed: 2008 chézeaux/ponsot chambolle-musigny les charmes
Only one issue with this wine; the ‘cork’ really did need the strength of Samson to remove, at least with the chosen tool – the generally reliable L’Atelier du Vin lever corkscrew (pictured). 80 year-olds probably need not apply… 2008 des Chézeaux (Ponsot), Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Charmes Ardea sealed. Shiny, bright medium-plus colour. The nose starts a little disjointed, then 5 minutes later – wow! Faintly vanilla-cream tinged very dark red fruit, maybe a little blue-skinned and certainly a little fresh peach with cream – the nose has an almost satin shimmer. In the mouth this has a smooth, slightly narrow entry before spreading wide and panoramic across the tongue. Beautiful balance with a depth of fruit that creeps up on you. Incredibly long and [....]
New Zealand’s Rippon Pinot Noir Has Burgundy Pedigree
Nick Mills, who had picked up French in travels to France as a child with his winegrower father, Rolfe Mills, returned to Burgundy after a short-lived, injury-ending career as a world-class snow skier. He started as a cellar rat at Domaine Jean-Jacques Confuron, and stayed in Burgundy from 1998 to 2002, studying enology and viticulture in Beaune and working at some of Burgundy’s most celebrated domaines including Nicolas Potel, de la Vougeraie, and de la Romanee-Conti. Upon urgings from his mother in 2002, he returned to Rippon on the shores of Lake Wanaka in Central Otago, where some of the oldest Pinot Noir vines (some dating to 1985) in New Zealand are located. 80% of the Rippon vineyard is planted on its own roots and [....]
laurent ponsot’s new ‘plastic corks’…
So here we have (potentially) progress in Côte de Nuits Grand Cru seals – Olivier Leflaive has already used them for a year or two in the Côte de Beaune. I retain that hint of caveat as regards ‘progress’ because there are no 20, 30, 40+ year-old bottles to deliver proof-positive. That said, what we definitely have is no corked or oxidised bottles or otherwise ‘off’ aromas that are derived from the seal, we should also have absolute consistency between bottles – at least ones from the same cellar! Life is not plain sailing, however, use a standard style (right) corkscrew and the worm finds its way in more easily than with cork – though an extra push (or maybe that should be ‘pull’) of [....]
fourrier clos st.jacques – a triumph of hope over experience (part deux)
So, really a triumph in one way – I don’t find a bit the 2004 character – but it’s far from a great Fourrier CSJ. That said, at this age you have every reason to expect a wine to be rather tight, and this isn’t. Just the acidity and tannin in the finish are slight niggles, and there is a slightly monolithic mid-palate impression that makes me think to 1994 – though I hope not. Still, nothing green, it smells great and it’s a wine you can drink today! 2004 Fourrier, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Clos St.Jacques The wine is quite darkly (medium-plus) coloured – though far from young in shade, most 02s still look younger. The nose starts in that awkward slightly toasty oak way that [....]
