Last week was also my last week of tasting in Burgundy this year – mainly ‘maisons’ for the December Report but a few not bad domaines slipped in there too. The red domaine report – i.e. the November 2017 Burgundy Report will be online in the next 48 hours…
1993 Lafarge, Volnay Vendanges Selectionée
A spongy cork that didn’t come out in one piece – rather two – but the second part came out cleanly. Bought direct from this merchant a long time ago! The nose is decadently sweet, tending to soy with dark, macerating plum below. Mouth-filling, a little leather and silk but really a multi-dimensional wine that finishes with a long, slow wave of intense, delicious flavour. I’m torn – on its own this could be enough for lunch!
Rebuy – Yes
Almost a perfect Saturday – breakfast taken watching the passers-by in Place Carnot, a wander around the market, then a little typing followed by lunch. The afternoon saw a jaunt around Maranges, Le Rochepot and Chassagne-Montrachet – dodging the rain-showers. The evening with some Puligny Referts and Vosne Beaux Monts – plus finally something good on Netflix!
Enjoy yours too!
My timing was excellent – taking a mid-morning walk in both Vosne and Vougeot, because the afternoon and evening were a complete washout – very wet! I think my jogging shoes will take some time to dry out!
1993 Jayer-Gilles, Nuits St.Georges Les Hautes Poirets
A great, long, cork – my thanks for that!
Deep colour – not too old-looking either. The nose is deep, almost exciting dirty, reeking of undergrowth, stems and old wood – despite how that may sound, it was fabulous – time (and air) brought more silk and elegance to the aromas. Wide, fresh, super intensity but with nothing sharp – almost a crescendo of perfumed, cushioned, dark-cherry, flavours. For a villages, simply fabulous!
Rebuy – Yes
1998 Camus, Chambertin
A far less impressive cork, but it’s done the job.
A really elegant and finely floral perfume – a great invitation to drink. Silky fruit, with plenty of volume in the mouth – good freshness and intensity. Lovely wine with an elegantly endearing quality and subtly delicious finishing complexity. Just a super wine with less impact but more of everything else versus the Jayer-Gilles – seamless elegance – you won’t find the tannins of the vintage, here they are nothing more than a distant memory…
Rebuy – Yes
Image cite: http://maisonilan.com/
Often an epitaph is used as a form of honour – and that clearly shouldn’t be the case here – I simply choose to use this word in the context of remembering something has, eventually, officially, died.
The wheels of French justice are certainly not the fastest – it has taken 18 months – but Maison Ilan is now officially being liquidated. This means that despite the piecemeal promises of its former owner to those whose money he took, they will see nothing in return. Okay, perhaps there may be a few cents on the dollar / pennies on the pound – but that assumes somebody will buy what remains. The bottles – as many as 3,000 of them – will without doubt find a buyer, somewhere, but the barrels of 2015, 2014 and even a couple of 2013s? It’s equally likely that the administrators will have to pay to dispose of them.
Think what you will of the former owner most recently choosing to blame his children; his wife; racists; personal vendettas; bit-part bloggers; defamers; stalkers; moles; #FrenchCustoms; oh and himself – if only in part – I’m sorry if have missed a few…
Only because he’s a friend, and you might be able to get your hands on some, here’s a Christmas in magnums offer received today.
There will be no kick-backs (he doesn’t know that I’ve posted this) as I already have my Christmas magnums prepared:
1992 Francois Jobard, Meursault Genevrières
1997 Lamarche, La Grande Rue
2010 Pascal Marchand, Fixin Clos de la Chapitre
Oh – I suppose that you will need a link…
Cheers!
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