By billn on March 4, 2012
Almost worked my way through the few 09 Bourgognes at home… This wine is a clear standout from the perspective of everything in the glass, though surprisingly it is still ‘pipped’ by the Bellene for absolute drinkability today – like the wine of Sylvain Pataille, this begs cellar time. Actually this really should be the clear standout; Cuvée ‘L’ is the code for the combination of the lees (at bottling time) of all C-G’s reds; villages, premiers and grands crus which is left in tank for a good few months more to settle out the fine lees. You would be forgiven for thinking (blind) that this could be a (slightly anonymous?) premier cru…
2009 Camille-Giroud, Bourgogne Cuvée L
Medium-plus colour. Ooh, depth, silky fruit and hints of violets. The texture starts with silk but quickly changes as the ripe tannin shows its face. Plenty of fruit and some minerality in the mid-palate too. Very good length. Clearly this is significantly above the standard suggested by the label, but given the contents of the bottle that’s surely no surprise. Another ‘Bourgogne’ that begs time to mature…
Rebuy – Yes
Posted in Degustation, Rebuy - Yes (2012) |
By billn on March 4, 2012
Well, It made me laugh. Thanks to Quaffable.
Posted in Other Sites |
By billn on March 3, 2012
Two atmospheric pictures courtesy of Caroline Lestimé of Domaine Jean-Noël Gagnard; spreading a little manure compost in their vines yesterday, in the mist…
Posted in Harvests, Vintage 2012 |
By billn on March 3, 2012
A super piece from Jancis in the FT today – great headline too!
[Archived]
Posted in Other Sites, The Market |
By billn on March 2, 2012
DOMAINE BONNEAU DU MARTRAY 2010
CORTON CHARLEMAGNE 2010 75cl 109.50 (Swiss Francs)
DOMAINE DROUHIN-LAROZE
GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN 2010 75cl 39.50
GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN Au Closeau 2010 75cl 59.00
GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN Lavaux Saint-Jacques 2010 75cl 68.00
LATRICIERES-CHAMBERTIN 2010 75cl 98.00
CLOS DE VOUGEOT 2010 75cl 115.00
BONNES-MARES 2010 75cl 119.00
CHAMBERTIN CLOS DE BÈZE 2010 75cl 138.00
DOMAINE CLOS DE LAMBRAYS
CLOS DE LAMBRAYS 2010 75cl 135.00
CLOS DE LAMBRAYS 2010 150cl 275.00
for infos…
Posted in The Market |
By billn on March 2, 2012
After the Maison Potel, here’s something made from riper fruit and certainly more concentration. Sylvain thinks so much of this plot that he only calls it ‘Le Chapitre’ – jamais Bourgogne! This is much more backward than Nicolas’s current wine from Bellene. Drink the Bellene, sell the Potel and cellar the Pataille!!!
2009 Sylvain Pataille, Bourgogne Le Chapitre
Medium-plus colour. The nose is hard to love at the start – it seems more like cola than wine – with time the cola slowly transforms to a musky, smoky, creamy red-black, almost blue fruit. Good concentration, plenty of freshness too. This wine is almost textured from the tannin but there’s hardly any astringency. Surprisingly (after the nose) this is far from the easy and sweet vernacular of 2009, it is a serious wine and I wouldn’t touch another for at least three years.
Rebuy – Yes
Posted in Degustation, Rebuy - Yes (2012) |
By billn on March 1, 2012
Okay – clearly we are not talking about Burgundy, but Chris Kissack’s series of articles about the experiments conducted by Château Margaux over the last ten years make for compelling reading.
Great work from Chris, who seems to have exclusivity on this (so far)…
Image copyright of (and stolen from) thewinedoctor.com
Remarkably, Pontallier confesses that he can’t see any differences between the biodynamic and the other vines; this is a fascinating statement as it is at odds with what I have heard from many vignerons in the Loire who have converted to biodynamics, who often describe increased vigour, greener leaves and thicker stems. It seems the biodynamic consultant that directs the care of these vines can see clear differences, but he is looking “with religious eyes” says Pontallier.
Probably here was once an opposing view, or perhaps ‘balancing’ would be a better word.
Posted in Other Sites |
By billn on March 1, 2012
A fair comparison versus yesterday’s wine? I really don’t care, fair or not, this trounces the last wine, and would easily be worth 2-3 times the price if the latter wasn’t such bad value. The decision is a clear knock-out to the new Nicolas..
2009 Domaine de Bellene, Bourgogne Maison Dieu Vieilles Vignes
Medium, medium-plus colour. The mose has a hint of sweet, smoky, musky red fruits; it pulls you in for a sniff and then an exclamaition of ahhhh… In the mouth this is really round, sweet fruit, decent underlying acidity and even a hint of tannin. This is all puppy-fat today but I perceive steel below the surface. I would have drunk a little more but everyone-else liked it so much that I didn’t get the chance…
Rebuy – Yes
Posted in Degustation, Rebuy - Yes (2012) |
By billn on February 29, 2012
Like we really need this… 
[Archive]
Posted in The Market |
By billn on February 29, 2012
The 2009 Bourgogne Chardonnay was frankly terrible, can the pinot be better? Yes, it can. It’s dinkable at least – but this is low-quality stuff if you look at the average quality of Bourgognes from good producers in 2009.
2009 Maison Nicolas Potel, Bourgogne Pinot Noir Vieilles-Vignes
A little green mint-leaf twists through the red fruit – it’s not a particularly ripe nose, even before you factor-in the 2009 vintage, but there’s nothing off-putting. In the mouth there is lots that is unripe, sone greenness to the flavours and although there’s not a lot of tannin, it has some astringency attached. Drinkable, but a long way from interesting…
Rebuy – No
Posted in Degustation, Rebuy - No (2012) |
By billn on February 28, 2012
VINS BLANCS
Meursault Genevrières 2010 75cl 56.00 (Swiss Francs)
Meursault Les Perrières 2010 75cl 68.00
Corton Charlemagne 2010 75cl 109.00
Chevalier-Montrachet 2010 75cl 209.00
Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte 2010 75cl 329.00
Montrachet 2010 75cl 398.00
VINS ROUGES
Savigny-Les-Beaune Les Lavières 2010 75cl 29.00
Volnay Caillerets Ancienne Cuvée Carnot 2010 75cl 55.00
Pommard Rugiens 2010 75cl 59.00
Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Cailles 2010 75cl 68.00
Beaune Grève Vigne de l’Enfant Jésus 2010 75cl 69.50
Beaune Grève Vigne de l’Enfant Jésus 2010 150cl 144.00
Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots 2010 75 cl 89.00
Le Corton 2010 75cl 75.00
Clos de Vougeot 2010 75cl 119.00
Echezeaux 2010 75cl 129.00
Chambertin 2010 75cl 176.00
Chambertin Clos de Bèze 2010 75cl 176.00
Bonnes-Mares 2010 75cl 219.00
Whilst value is (always) in the eyes of the beholder, and that must also include your taste for BP&F’s oak regime and recent conversion to plenty of of stems, the prices (in Swiss Francs) are at any rate, very much stable (at least with the 08 vintage) and still lower than their peak of the 2007 vintage. M-Perrières, Savigny and Corton offer plenty of value and the Jesus and Rugiens probably too.
Posted in The Market |
By billn on February 27, 2012
My memory is hazy, but I do remember some very tasty glasses coming my way. Starting with whites, towards the top were a couple of rieslings (1971 Auslese and 1995 Brand GC) and a brilliant magnum of Pur Sang (2003). Not to be forgotten was a 2005 Hermitage Blanc and a couple of executive Burgundies; Pierre Morey’s 2003 Batard-Montrachet, and, not surprisingly, Leflaive’s 2002 Chevalier-Montrachet was pretty good, even though left me bemused to start with as I thought I was drinking the 03 Bâtard and it tasted nothing like an 03 or a Bâtard!
Posted in Degustation |
