By billn on February 7, 2012
2009 Camille Giroud, Corton Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose is at first reticent but the array of pretty red and black fruits is certainly enticing. Eventually there’s a more savoury soil note which isn’t so nice – I hope that’s just a phase. Silky entry, with good freshness. There is a wiry strength to this, linear until the flavours grow in the mid-palate then decay in a subtle but long finish. Overall this has quite a mineral personality and largely submerged tannins – but it’s certainly less involving than the 2008 was at this time last year. A good wine but with a question-mark over the aromatics…(?) Rebuy – Maybe
Posted in Degustation, Rebuy - Maybe |
By billn on February 6, 2012
2008 Michel Niellon, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Les Chevenottes A faint creme brûlée floats over green and yellow citrus notes – you have to wait some time before the classic Chassagne green herbs finally appear – it’s a tight and ripe at the core. The entry is silky but quite understated, indeed indifferent, but the mid-palate just launches you into the next dimension with minerals, agrumes fruit, mouth-watering acidity and really super intensity. You’re left with a long line of finishing flavour. This is really super. Rebuy – Yes
Posted in Degustation, Rebuy - Yes |
By billn on February 3, 2012
2007 du Pavillon, Beaune Les Epenottes Medium, medium-plus colour. This has a nose that starts with quite a bit of vanilla – it’s also reflected in the early flavours – not my favourite but it just about avoids excess; behind is a raspberry coulee, and very nice that is! In the mouth this has the weight of a 1er cru Epenottes and a good ripe aspect to the fruit which lingers on an understated but fine line of acidity. If told this was a 1er cru from Beaune I don’t expect you’d quibble – though you might reject the barrel vanilla. Over 2-3 hours the unneccessary vanilla make-up fades significantly from both the aromas and flavours but underneath is a wine of excellent value. Rebuy [....]
Posted in Degustation, Rebuy - Yes |
By billn on January 31, 2012
Bottle number two from this stash; the first was so impossibly balsamic that I couldn’t even finish a glass. 1972 Pierre Bourée, Gevery-Chambertin This one has about 7cm of ullage and a cork that crumbles – c’est la vie… Here is also some balsamic aroma but it’s just a trace, there’s a little beef broth too – neither are my favourite. Slowly both of those components fade to reveal a wine of clarity, silky intensity and a lovely extra creamy dimension of flavour in the mid-palate and into the bright finish. There’s a result! The fruit aromas are of alcohol macerated cherries and oranges. I started to make a coffee in the first few minutes this was opened – I never did finish making it! [....]
Posted in Degustation, Rebuy - No Chance! |
By billn on January 30, 2012
Another 2006? Well it seems perfect to compare a Pommard with a Nuits – in reality less-so in this case; a Nuits 1er made by Fédéric Mugnier in the Chambolle style – maybe it’s his yeasts! I also remember the Nuits / Vosne area to be the peak of 2006s so I’d anyway expect a little more from an 06 Nuits versus an 06 Pommard. This may not be a great comparison, but it’s a great bottle! 2006 JF Mugnier, Nuits St.Georges 1er Clos de la Maréchale Medium-plus colour once more. Here the nose is really about pinot (oops – Nuits! – well, maybe…) with a top to bottom elegance, plenty of floral, violet, references too. In the mouth this has extra sweetness and also [....]
Posted in Degustation, Rebuy - Yes |
By billn on January 29, 2012
2006 Xavier Monnot, Pommard Les Vignots Medium-plus colour, still with purple highlights. The nose is reasonably forward but a bit burly and bulky with hints of cola, only after the bottle has been opened a couple of hours do you start to get some clear, clean and quite pretty fruit notes but it’s only from the last drops in the glass. Like the nose, this a broad-shouldered wine and it wears it’s tannin without a hint of reserve – but the tannin is ripe and not too grippy. There’s a nice breath of fresh acidity and a reasonable length, but I’m missing some excitement – not sure if it’s this wine or also a bit of 2006 thing – will have to check on some. [....]
Posted in Degustation, Rebuy - Maybe |
By billn on January 26, 2012
Having finally got around to picking up my 6-pack of the redoubtable 2008 Corton I noticed that they have a little wine-sales boutique chez Marchand. I really don’t know who will find it (going through the courtyard and in through the closed door) but this was a very well priced bottle. 2007 Pascal Marchand, Morey St.Denis 1er Clos des Ormes Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose is quite interesting; clearly a few stems that are partially obscuring violet flowers but the stems are far from gothic plus, if you swirl, you get a great punch of floral aromas. In the mouth there’s decent weight that despite being a little light on acidity never seems overly heavy. There is sweetness from the fruit, a little more than [....]
Posted in Degustation, Rebuy - Yes |
By billn on January 24, 2012
1982 Duchet, Corton-Charlemagne Deep golden hue. The nose started as an old (but correct) white does; interesting, a little diffuse but nuts an d a faint impression there may be some oxidation. In minutes it comes together, delivers more focus and adds a little caramel, some struck-match too. In the mouth, this is less sweet than the nose suggests – you even have the impression that there is a hint of tannic astringency. Quite long flavours and even a little more flavour development in the mid-palate. Certainly this is interesting and even a little rewarding but it will never be cosseting, nor ever was (probably) ‘great’. Rebuy – No chance
Posted in Degustation, Rebuy - No Chance! |
By billn on January 23, 2012
No, I know that wine is not a competition, but with chance to compare two bones what’s a dog to do? 2007 Lucien Le Moine, Beaune 1er Les Avaux The nose starts as pure oak but needs only a handful of minutes to start coming together in the glass, leaving a prominent but quite nice spicy dimension to the red fruit that has now come into frame. Here is an excellent depth of fruit flavour and a very nice intensity too. Clearly there is the carpenter’s hand here, but this is a wine that works very well indeed. The final twist of tannin gives a bitter-chocolate tang to the finish. Very tasty. Rebuy – Yes (only at a ‘normal’ price, there is no value here) [....]
Posted in Degustation |
By billn on January 16, 2012
The wines of Le Moine seem to have polarised opinion – at least the wines of their first few vintages. Yet I’ve heard many recent reports of their transparency that are at odds with early pronouncements of ‘spoofulated’ wines. I have hardly visited for one simple reason; the wines seem rather expensive. But I can’t just rely on ‘hearsay’ can I? Hence, biting the occasional bullet… On Saturday we started with a Mischief and Mayhem 2009 Puligny 1er les Pucelles and finished with their 2009 Puligny 1er Les Caillerets. It’s not long since I tasted these wines, and frankly I have nothing more to add to these notes, except that the Pucelles was more open. Sandwiched in-between was this wine from Le Moine: 2008 Lucien [....]
Posted in Degustation, Rebuy - Yes |
By billn on January 9, 2012
You may remember that I was mildly surprised by how good (or at least not bad) the quality of the Camus wines were: Well as the 2010 En-Primeurs are being rolled out, you might find you can buy this Chambertin for less than some ‘worthy’ producer’s villages Vosne, Chambolle or Gevrey – frankly ridiculous – assuming this Chambertin is any good of-course. It turns out (in absolute terms) to be a very good wine indeed! It would clearly lag behind some other Chambertin, but this wine is indeed redolent of that vineyard, and the latest vintage is yours for only Euros 47 ex cellar. Remind me again of the cost of the Mugnier, Cathiard, Rousseau, Grivot (et al) 2010 villages… 1998 Camus, Chambertin An auction [....]
Posted in Degustation, Rebuy - Yes |
By billn on January 6, 2012
Putting aside the fact that this wine costs approaching the double of what yesterday’s Jean Tardy set me back, what price can you put on contentment, or rather lack of contentment? Here is a wine that leaves you contented… 2007 d’Eugénie, Vosne-Romanée 1er Aux Brûlées Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose is deep and padded with a hint of musk, fine spice and a creamy crust to the dark fruit aromas. Soft entry, but it’s a little glycerol cushioning that provides the softness, not a lack of structure or flabby fruit; here is a beautifully delineated wine – for a 2007 – clarity of flavour and clean-lines from the understated cool acidity, and even a good base of minerality. There’s a late arriving bitter twist to [....]
Posted in Degustation, Rebuy - Yes |
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