2008 A&R Olivier, Bourgogne Pinot Noir
Medium colour. The nose has more than a hint of borderline ripe herb and slightly alcoholic top notes but there is red fruit too. On the tongue, the acidity is not too bright, though as the flavour drifts into the finish there is some lip-smacking tartness. The mid-palate flavour-dimension is actually quite nice and below the sour is just enough sweet. This isn’t a wine I’d recommend, but it is quite drinkable.
Rebuy – No
2008 Alex Gambal, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Charmes
Medium-plus colour. From the first pour this is an excellent mix of deep dark blue/black fruit against a mineral background. Hmm, this has a real lithe character, plenty of acidity – though not out of bounds – and no padding whatsoever. There is a whisper of tannin that shows for a second or two at the end of the mid-palate, just before the wine slinks away into the finish. Perhaps slink is not the best adjective as the flavour, understated as it is, lasts very well indead. The fruit is super, if completely linear. This is gives the impression of being ‘slight’ yet at the same time shows plenty of intensity. It is a wine that demands cellar time. The acid-forward character of the vintage is clearly visible here if not overwhelming – at eight to ten years it might be worth checking whether it has filled out at all, but this is a 20+ year wine.
Rebuy – Maybe
2009 Joseph Voillot, Meursault Chevalières
Medium, medium-plus lemon yellow. The nose is round with hints of ginger and fuller base of fruit. Sweetness from ripe fruit and a lovely acidity that lingers, mouth-wateringly into the finish. The ginger on the nose is reflected in a spiced-bread flavour too. Rounder than same domaine’s Meursault Cras – possibly a more classic Meursault too. Anyway – lovely.
Rebuy – Yes
1998 Bruno Clair, Marsannay Les Longeroies
Medium colour. The aromas plumb a great depth of clean dark fruit and a little forest floor – occasional halves of these are showing VA, but not this full bottle. A narrow entry slowly widens; the tannin is almost all resolved but still delivers a little bitter chocolate in the finish. The acidity is just a hint prominent, but there’s nothing currently to worry about. The fruit has plenty of sweet maturity about it, particularly I like the strong note it holds in the mid-palate. No shame in drinking these now, and to my taste the last bottle about three years ago was better, but like most burgundy there’s no rush!
Rebuy – Yes
To make matters worse, an ongoing and increasingly bad-tempered dispute developed between two of my fellow Masters of Wine about a hugely important question for burgundy lovers.
Jancis in the FT
Sounds like one of them needed a kick up the arse…
Another achingly pretty bottle that sports a thick blue wax coating for a capsule – that’s two this week! Of-course the wax is a pain in the proverbial for clean removal, but for the hours, days, weeks, months, years you keep the bottle, it will make you feel good just by taking a look! Apparently one of 1,812 bottles, so that’ll be 6 normal sized barrels – assuming it spent any time in barrels – it should have done, it’s far from a cheap bottle (in the uk!) – I read that 600 litre barrels may be in use…
2007 Arnaud Ente, Bourgogne Aligoté
Medium lemon-yellow colour. The nose has a little of that aligoté savouriness and quite some depth to it’s concentrated core of fruit. I sense CO2 on the palate – I’ll let it aerate a little. Hmm, returning I have the aromatic impression of walking through tall, golden late summer grass plus a hint of cream. Lovely acid balance brings freshness but nothing tart, Clean, very pretty, laser-like flavours that include an occasional flash of cream that then quickly fall-away before holding onto an understated note, A very accomplished wine, regardles of grape!
Rebuy – Yes
Hmm, despite Claude underlying that Passetoutgrains (historically) should be kept a couple of years before approaching, I wouldn’t recommend it here. The 2009 version of this is jaw-droppingly gorgeous and I would drink it today without hesitation and equally feel confident that it has the quality to age – though probably retaining the perspective ‘but why bother waiting?!’* This, however, (and rather disappointingly!) really should have been drunk a bit younger.
2006 Lafarge, Bourgogne Passetoutgrains l’Exception
Medium-plus colour. The nose is fresh, slightly floral though bordering on a little volatile – but they are alcoholic tones rather than esters. In the mouth – wow – that’s dangerously close to ‘shrill’ – and that comes from a self-confessed acid-o-phile! The tannins are not totally sophisticated unlike the fruit that seems very high quality indeed. Despite looking askance with each sip, I have to say the bottle was easily drained so this wine is certainly not a total loss. The overall package is a let-down, and unless you are talking 20-years-plus, I don’t really see the acidity becomng seamless.
Rebuy – No
My wife gave me a dirty look when she tasted this one – I simply said it was ‘cheap’ – which dear reader, we know is not a word to really associate with Lafarge (I must have been talking generically about the appellation!). Her response after finding out that it was ‘a Burgundy’, was along the lines “well if you are going to buy cheap, why don’t you buy ‘proper’ cheap…!”
*I see Berry Bros are listing the 09 as an en-primeur wine – at £10 each in bond – that’s not too bad I think, even if I wouldn’t want to save it…
Hmm – wacky packaging – I love it, right down to its seal of blue wax! I hear it may be be made with almost no sulfur – lucky it’s still winter then, I hope it passed the last months nice and cool…
2007 de Moor, Chablis Humeur Du Temps
Medium, medium pale yellow. Aromatically a little narrow – but no worry – there are heights and depths here, just a little agrumes at the core. In the mouth this seems a bit slight and acid-led for the first sip, thereafter I really warmed to it; borderline acidic yet coupled to super intensity for such a basic level. Slowly the flavours of flint and rock take on a yellow-fruited accent. Narrow entry, wider in the mid-palate I find this at a similar quality level to some 1er crus. Perhaps the zinging acidity is better-suited to the summer months – but yum!
Rebuy – Yes
A long weekend in the UK is to blame for the tumbleweed around here. Still, that didn’t mean I completely gave up imbibing…
Friday was a very early start indeed – actually more than a few in the UK probably hadn’t made it to their beds when my alarm went on Friday morning – ouch. The second ‘ouch’ was for the narcotics I had to take to enable me to sit for a whole hour on the plane (herniated disc – apparently!). First sight of the UK was rainy Gatwick airport at 7:00am – I don’t think I can quite capture the beauty of the scene!
Fast train to London and a smooch around Harvey-Nicks in Knightsbridge: chocolate-coated fire ants, barbecued worms – the usual fare! Their wine department is small but eclectic – for London the prices are almost good too. Despite a bank of refrigerators down one side, I felt the bottles on the shelves a little too warm – the fridges contained whites. A coffee with a friend before heading to a lunch at Don’s Restaurant near Cannon St. tube. And what fantastically benevolent hosts too – 2006 DRC Montrachet for lunch – the quality of the rabbit terrine and black pig done three ways was really secondary! Like most 06s it has lost some of its volume and a little texture too, no-doubt, but this medium-plus yellow wine had understated, but quite enough acidity for balance, such a width of complexity too – wonderful. Super hosts too, thank-you!
Late-afternoon train had me in the arms of friends for the weekend. A trip to Berry Bros in Basingstoke (to pick up some wines) on Saturday was a great success – their ‘outlet’ as they like to describe it was full of wines I would like to have bought – but there were too many and I was on a budget! Lamarche, Grivot, Serafin, Dujac, Fichet, Ente, H.Boillot, Bessin – I could go on – but all with 25% discount. Stocks change daily as I think they are mainly ‘end-of-lines’ but I was sad to leave with only 12 bottles! Lunch with old friends was tinged with only a slight disappointment; not the food, or their Pinot Gris from Luxembourg, rather that we didn’t get around to opening the 2008 Fleurie, La Roilette Vieilles Vignes from Metrat that I took! The evening started with 06 Chablis Fourchaume from Bessin – on great, chalky form and then 1998 Denis Mortet Gevrey. The Gevrey was on it’s best form to-date; the occasionally overwhelming ashy-oak now subsumed in a more fungus and rotting wood aroma – certainly better than it sounds! Now it’s more of a middle-weight with complexity – still marked by it’s wood but interesting and enjoyable in its own right.
Sunday was ‘just’ a delicately perfumed 1999 Barthod Bourgogne – precise, not much power, but lovely perfumed red fruit – probably more of a summer sipping wine than a winter warmer. Monday was only travelling, and then seemingly more travelling – pain again lessened by the ‘magic drops’. Still, I’m sure I’ll find something to open on Tuesday!
Phone pics – not great quality…
Whilst we are always ready to criticise when wines from the same vineyard are completely different, it still seems something to celebrate when wines from the same vineyard share their characteristics – at least based on the existing ‘Burgundy belief systems!’ – perhaps, or despite, only being as it should be. It does, however, seem like a double celebration is required when more than one producer is involved! I think the whites are too often overlooked at this domaine – I still love my 93s…
2009 Joseph Voillot, Meursault 1er Les Cras
Right from the start the aromas could be mistaken for the 08 Buisson-Charles Cras; there is a little more emphasis to the high-toned aromas, but otherwise remarkable similarity! The texture likewise starts similarly, the flavours too, yet the shape of the wine is quite different. Despite a waxy-smooth complexion this starts with a burst and slowly fades – but wait, there is certainly some CO2 at work in the mid-palate. I think I need to reserve judgement for 30 minutes on that shape! I return and the character of the wine if not completely the shape has changed; the nose has lost some of the higher-toned emphasis (CO2 now gone I suppose!) and in the mouth it is now smooth for its full length – the early upfront burst of flavour is more elegantly captured by the mid-palate. Similar length, but slightly less intensity versus the 2008 – I guess that’s the vintage acidity talking – another lovely wine.
Rebuy – Yes
For those of you with an interest, I recieved this in the mail yesterday.
