billn
book: the finest wines of burgundy…
It seems that I am ‘outed’. With the title already listed on amazon (amongst other places) it’s time to come clean. Now you can see why my Spring Burgundy Report was a bit late and also why I was forced to taste so many wines in the last few months – pesky research eh…(!) Actually, and naturally enough, I loved the research, but committing everything to paper (okay, okay – typing!) now that’s something else; but alone, Jon Wyand’s photos are to die for. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to fully express my gratitude to the publishers for showing faith in such a non-establishment (perhaps not quite anti-establishment) author; or more correctly at the time, ‘potential author’; but it was paramount for me [....]
l&a lignier 2008 fixin champs vosgers…
2008 L&A Lignier, Fixin Champs Vosgers (blanc) Medium yellow. The nose is faintly sweet with an undertow of flowers and maybe a hint of sulfur. In the mouth this has a lovely bubbling acidity – I remember the 08 being borderline tart – bright and pretty but with a nice sweetness and extra width of flavour in the mid-palate. Lingering on a mouth-watering note. Many Fixins seem to me rather too savoury in their youth and whilst interesting, I wouldn’t be filling my cellar with them. This one avoids that ‘trap’ and begs a top-up to the glass. Yum. Rebuy – Yes
on a clear day, you can see mont blanc…
Some would have you believe it to be an urban myth – though most often it’s seen silhouetted in front of the rising sun – but yesterday a pic from the window of the Château Clos Vougeot looking east. By Arnaud Orsel of the Chevaliers du Tastevin
blue sky…
After a wretched end to last week – we start afresh this week. I’m sipping a simply lovely 2008 Fixin Champs Vosger (that’s a white wine!) from L&A Lignier whilst trying to decide where some of my Swiss EP purchased 09s, delivered today, should go. South to north; Pavillion Volnay Santenots, Bouchard Père l’Enfant Jesus, G&P Ravault Ladoix Le Bois Roussot and last, but not least, M&P Rion’s Chambolle Charmes. I suppose I should give them a week or-so to settle down…
dujac 1995 morey saint denis
After the Pousse d’Or failure – I’m glad I persevered with this vintage… 1995 Dujac, Morey St.Denis Medium rusty-red. The nose is a blend of stemmy perfume – and at this age it really is perfume – and a higher-toned fresh plum fruit that flirts with a floral dimension; it’s quite lovely and keeps drawing me back for another sniff as the fruit changes to cherry and even recurrant with time. In the mouth it doesn’t quite have that melt-in-the-mouth texture that you get with a perfectly matured wine, but there’s freshness and a structure that remains bright, indeed almost stern. The acidity is just about perfect, being the baseline for a beautifully understated but fine finish. Such a shame that I have only three [....]
a failed pick-me-up…
I was looking forward to this – though after much rummaging in the cellar I was surprised it was 1995 – I had in mind it was a ’93. Whatever, I knew it was the last one. Hmm, the cork was a bit pooey – but more rubber than ‘cork’ – I left it in the fridge a while, after-all it was 30°C outside. On my return the colour is good – not a hint of browning – but clearly there’s TCA on the nose, less so on the palate which has some sweetness and no overt tannin. I drank the whole glass, but didn’t take a second.
harvest – so sad…
No more reports from the home domaine this year. A treasured team member and friend was lost on Thursday night whilst heading home to Santenay; hit by a drunk driver near Meursault. The last fruit is coming in today, even the Hautes Côtes which was in theory going to wait another week – it’s time to close the door on 2011 at the domaine. So sad.
david clark 2009 bourgogne au pelson…
2009 David Clark, Bourgogne Au Pelson Does my nose deceive me? This smells of stems – not entirely smoky, more the slightly herbaceous version – it’s better if you keep it below 18°C. Very good freshness, intensity and length too but the flavour although there is some sweetness also has a borderline ripeness about it. The finish is very good. Although I don’t find stems ‘criminal’, this wine is far from it’s drinking peak today – based on my experience of other stemmy cuvées (I’m assuming that there really are stems within) this will have a great perfume, but only from 2014… Rebuy – Maybe Note: I checked David’s website, and this wine was actually 100% whole cluster. Just give it time… And bringing you [....]
harvest – 6th & 7th september
Tuesday was a relatively quiet day at the home domaine, lucky considering the loss of a team-member, so I chose to roll it into Wednesday’s report. Incredibly given that every day for that last 10 was forecast to rain (two days out) the team remain warm and dry – only the short shower of Sunday morning remains in the memory. There is still rain forecast, but most are now ignoring those forecasts. Tuesday: Pinot from Ladoix was the only delivery of the day; a very nice plot that’s 100% biodynamically farmed – maybe that’s why about 12% was eventually discarded for a combination of sins – rot or just clumsy bunches of grapes with questionable ripeness. It’s worth pointing out that (including those vines that [....]
2008 jc boisset côte de nuits villages le creux de sobron…
2008 JC Boisset, Côte de Nuits Villages Le Creux de Sobron The name is clearly a mouthful – fortunately the wine is very good mouthful. Ripe but fresh fruit on the nose – quite forward. In the mouth this has plenty of energy and fine acidity which could turn a little mouth puckering in a couple of years, but today it is just joyous. There is a little mid-palate muscle and good intensity too. A line of mouth-watering flavour lingers in the finish. Yum – and an absolute bargain… Rebuy – Yes And for those with an interest in books, I just pre-ordered this one – can’t wait.
harvest – the facebook bunches…
It’s become a bit of an ‘in-joke’ but let me introduce you to the concept of the Facebook Bunches. Many producers have cottoned onto the fact that they can keep-up a stream of contact with people interested in their wines; past visitors to the domaine or enthusiasts, etcetera. It also seems that this is good for business – though let’s be clear, they need to have a good product in the first place! I think it started in an understated way with the 2008 vintage; pictures of happy vignerons clutching a basket of perfect grapes or giving updates on the progress of their own vintage trials – initially it was for a close circle of friends but it’s expanded every year since then. Of-course we [....]
