Burgundy-Report | the region | its wines... » Diary

take a break…

billn — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:10:24 +0000

The mid-fourteenth century was a time of maximum distress across Europe. The Black Death struck in 1348, though it was by no means the last irruption of the bubonic plague. France was about to descend into the bear pit of the Hundred Years War with England, and the Holy Roman Empire was in uproar over the Golden Bull of 1356 and the introduction of a consolidated imperial constitution and electoral procedures. Thanks to the papal schism, there was one Pope in Rome, and another in Avignon. Those few parts of the Kingdom of Burgundy which had not been lost were often disputed amongst neighbours. To cap it all, mind-boggling crises of succession erupted simultaneously in the Kingdom of France, in the Duchy of Burgundy and [....]

take a break… from Burgundy-Report...

du pavillon 2007 beaune les epenottes

billn — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:10:21 +0000

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 [....]

du pavillon 2007 beaune les epenottes from Burgundy-Report...

just so very smelly…

billn — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 23:22:15 +0000

When the fraud squad raided Verget from Verget on Vimeo. just so very smelly… from Burgundy-Report...

just so very smelly… from Burgundy-Report...

bourée 1972 gevrey villages

billn — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 23:10:19 +0000

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! [....]

bourée 1972 gevrey villages from Burgundy-Report...

jf mugnier nuits 2006 1er clos de la maréchale

billn — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 23:10:28 +0000

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 [....]

jf mugnier nuits 2006 1er clos de la maréchale from Burgundy-Report...

xavier monnot 2006 pommard les vignots

billn — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 23:10:53 +0000

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. [....]

xavier monnot 2006 pommard les vignots from Burgundy-Report...

saturday links…

billn — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:01:57 +0000

Hot from the presses this weekend: Some newish producer recs from Jancis Australian ‘grand cru’ whites Thibault on holiday! Thinking about listing links like those above, you may, or may not, be interested in how some people end up here, or hereabouts. To the right is a summary of last year’s referrals (links) to this site. If you were to drill down on the ‘search engines’ you see what an effective monopoly of searches Google has; Yahoo and Bing combined reach a measly total of about 2,500 views. Twitter, despite media-darling status, was way down the list with 308 views. Maybe I should consider using it more – but then I never was much of a ‘pusher’! saturday links… from Burgundy-Report...

saturday links… from Burgundy-Report...

offer of the day – Jacques Prieur 2010…

billn — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:10:12 +0000

Vins blancs PULIGNY-MONTRACHET Les Combettes 75cl 66.00 Swiss Francs MEURSAULT Perrières 75cl 99.00 CORTON CHARLEMAGNE 75cl 129.00 CHEVALIER-MONTRACHET 75cl 209.00 MONTRACHET 75cl 399.00 Vins rouges BEAUNE Champs-Pimonts 75cl 29.80 VOLNAY Santenots 75cl 56.00 VOLNAY Clos des Santenots 75cl 69.50 CORTON Bressandes 75cl 109.00 CLOS DE VOUGEOT 75cl 118.00 CHAMBERTIN 75cl 179.00 ECHEZEAUX 75cl 179.00 MUSIGNY 75cl 249.00 Historical pricing (2009-2007) you can see here. It’s a strange combination of almost okay prices (Puligny, Volnay, Beaune) plus overly optimistic prices: but who am I to criticise if they sell(?) offer of the day – Jacques Prieur 2010… from Burgundy-Report...

offer of the day – Jacques Prieur 2010… from Burgundy-Report...

pascal marchand 2007 morey 1er clos des ormes

billn — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:10:17 +0000

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 [....]

pascal marchand 2007 morey 1er clos des ormes from Burgundy-Report...

last weekend on the slopes

billn — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:14:23 +0000

Just a few dodgy pics from my phone from last weekend in Mürren. PS Did I mention that I shook hands with the legend that is (Sir) Steve Redgrave on the finish-line at this race(?) Kudos for leaving the ‘Sir’ off his name on the race bib. He beat me by 40 seconds – over 16 minutes – bugger! last weekend on the slopes from Burgundy-Report...

last weekend on the slopes from Burgundy-Report...

FWOB book review #1

billn — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:46:06 +0000

An overgenerous review from Jamie Goode of the world-renowned wineanorak site. I have to say that I laughed when I realised that he correctly spotted that the domaines are all listed in the index under ‘d’ because they start ‘Domaine…’! FWOB book review #1 from Burgundy-Report...

FWOB book review #1 from Burgundy-Report...

duchet 1982 corton-charlemagne

billn — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:53:42 +0000

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 duchet 1982 corton-charlemagne from Burgundy-Report...

duchet 1982 corton-charlemagne from Burgundy-Report...

le moine versus de croix

billn — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 23:19:17 +0000

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) [....]

le moine versus de croix from Burgundy-Report...

a few links

billn — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 23:10:43 +0000

Some links that are maybe of interest to: Photographers Potential Oregon pint-drinkers EP Buyers Those pricing the wine in their cellars Those who believe in the resurrection (somebody should tell them!) We all know that’s enough now!!! a few links from Burgundy-Report...

a few links from Burgundy-Report...

back from the frosty côtes

billn — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:51:57 +0000

Just back from one and a half days in the Côtes, and maybe this is already a good time to discuss the weather. The landscape this week was quite magical – in fact my photos don’t do it justice; freezing mist but still with about 400m of visibility, sometimes more as glimpses of the hillsides made appearances. The temperature was about -5°C causing the moisture in the air to crystallize onto all available surfaces; the vineyards looked like there had been snow. As for those temperatures – about time too! For weeks after the 2011 harvest the Côtes had warm temperatures and dry, sunny weather, in fact 2011 was one of the driest on record, despite intermittent rain through the summer. This was perfect for [....]

back from the frosty côtes from Burgundy-Report...

le moine 2008 meursault perrieres and M&M 2009 pulignys

billn — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 00:00:44 +0000

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 [....]

le moine 2008 meursault perrieres and M&M 2009 pulignys from Burgundy-Report...

1st ski weekend

billn — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:44:36 +0000

Day 1 was pretty awful – less than 20m visibility – when you can’t tell up from down; that makes me nauseous, so I gave up. Saturday and Sunday, however, were picture perfect – if a tad cold. There was even some wine, but more of that tomorrow I think… 1st ski weekend from Burgundy-Report...

1st ski weekend from Burgundy-Report...

negociant of the year…

billn — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 08:51:50 +0000

http://www.larvf.com/,trophees-du-vin-2012-le-negociant-de-l-annee,10337,4025185,5 Congratulations to Gregory Patriat, and of-course the rest of the team: JC Boisset is the RVF negociant of the year. One of the most talented winemakers in th Cote d’Or – the award has found a safe home. negociant of the year… from Burgundy-Report...

negociant of the year… from Burgundy-Report...