Don’t worry – no April 1st posts here. (oops…!)
Okay I’ll tell you about decanter tomorrow… 😉
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Entries from 2010
koch to sue christie’s
d’angerville 2001 volnay 1er clos des ducs
There was hail in Volnay in 2001 – some producers declassified their best wines – I don’t remember how badly d’Angerville’s Clos des Ducs was affected, if at all, but this is not up to their usual overachieving standard – I respectfully suggest that it was also a candidate for a different label…
2001 d’Angerville, Volnay 1er Clos des Ducs
A good medium, medium-plus colour. It’s an ever-changing nose, though not particularly in a good way: it starts a little diffuse and harsh, then there is a period of absolute red-fruited Volnay beauty followed again by diffuse and slightly green notes. You go through this cycle each time you top up your glass! In the mouth the fruit has a very nice perfume, reasonable density and there is some real persistence of flavour – yet the overall effect is slightly tart and certainly has a little ungainly tannin. It contains some great Volnay references, but it’s far from a great Clos des Ducs…
Rebuy – No
2000 méo-camuzet clos st.philibert + remoissenet 92 chassagne 1er morgeot
Well shiver me timbers – first a HCdN that was actually a far nicer drink than the 01 Jadot Criots of last week – ouch! Then a ’92 Chassagne that was even better!
2000 Méo-Camuzet, Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits Clos St.Philibert
Medium straw/gold. The nose is warm and faintly savoury with perhaps a little honey too. Vibrant, ripe, quite enough acidity to balance the ‘fat’. This wine is now ‘just right’. Neither super complex, nor super intense, but very tasty all the same.
Rebuy – Yes
1992 Remoissenet, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Morgeot
From a jeroboam with dinner! Golden but not oxidised – savoury, biscuity. Much more mineral and muscular than I expected – no ‘ample’ 1992 here – complex, balanced and very satisfying. I ‘needed’ 3 more glasses…
Rebuy – Yes
offer of the day – Bouchard Père et Fils 2008…
DOMAINE BOUCHARD PERE & FILS 2008
VINS BLANCS
MEURSAULT Genevrières 75cl 56.00 (69.00 in 2007) Swiss Francs
MEURSAULT Les Perrières 75cl 59.00 (75.00)
CORTON CHARLEMAGNE 75cl 104.00 (119.00)
CHEVALIER-MONTRACHET 75cl 178.00 (229.00)
CHEVALIER-MONTRACHET La Cabotte 75cl 309.00 (399.50)
MONTRACHET 75cl 355.00 (429.00)
VINS ROUGES
VOLNAY Caillerets Ancienne Cuvée Carnot 75cl 49.80
BEAUNE Grèves Vigne Enfant Jésus 75cl 75.00
NUITS-SAINT-GEORGES Les Cailles 75cl 63.00
LE CORTON 75cl 69.00
CLOS DE VOUGEOT 75cl 109.00 (139.00)
ECHEZEAUX 75cl 109.00 (129.00)
CHAMBERTIN 75cl 154.00 (189.50)
CHAMBERTIN Clos de Bèze 75cl 149.00 (169.00)
BONNES-MARES 75cl 178.00 (228.00)
Some reasonable price movement here versus their 2007 offer – I’m sure I bought the Volnay and Meursault Perrières at those same prices in the 2002 vintage!
Whilst I still find the ‘baby Jesus’ a little expensive, I see real value in the premier crus if you are happy to drink the whites young, and of-course their Le Corton if you can afford to wait 20 years 😉
a dinner in the château!
Thursday night and it’s dinner in the Château du Clos de Vougeot, but before dinner, 40 grand crus to taste from the 2008 and 2002 vintage. It’s the second time I’ve been invited – I know, I’m a very lucky boy. Perhaps I’m also a bit more humble than one heavily accented voice I heard complaining in English about this that and just about everything – that will have been the person here on somebody else’s dollar no doubt – there are too many of those people in the world I’m afraid!
Back to the ‘Château’; It’s hard not to marvel at the magnificence of both the place and it’s setting, even when the security asks ‘do you have one of these’, I say ‘I don’t think so’ then he says ‘well I’m sorry then, you must park outside the walls of the Château’. Oh-well!
More of the tasting in the next Burgundy Report, but here are a trio of wines that were served with dinner – note, bravo to the service team as everything is served hot, they are most efficient – I include the notes for your interest.
2001 Jadot, Criots-Bâtard Montrachet
Given the deep colour I have a concern about oxidation, and there is an edge to the nose, but there’s also still enough detailed, pretty fruit to keep my interest. Across your tongue there’s plenty of freshness and a very good balance. The flavour is quite savoury in the mid-palate and it’s quite long too – detailed but no fireworks. Blind, I certainly wouldn’t assume this to be a grand cru that costs more than €100. Eventually my glass gives up more aromas of oxidation. My neighbour pulls a face when he smells my glass – he enjoyed his very much, but it was from another bottle. Bottle variation and some oxidation, I expect that this was a good (tax advantageous) opportunity to get rid of 100 bottles or-so…
Rebuy – No
1990 Joseph Drouhin, Grands-Echézeaux
Still deeply coloured. The nose starts with forceful aromas of freshly turned leaves, after 30 minutes it’s on a lower lever but my glass actually needed almost an hour to finally develop sweet and detailed dried red fruits, meat and herbs – the aromas were probably peaking as I was sleeping in my bed – but burgundians don’t decant do they 😉 In the mouth this is sweet and quite powerful. The mid-palate structure is actually a little rustic, but who cares when there are so many dimensions of flavour. Energy and character here, and it’s a long way from it’s peak – bravo!
Rebuy – Yes
1988 Bouchard Père et Fils, Le Corton
Hmm I had this two years ago – but at Bouchard. This also starts with quite leafy aromas of undergrowth. Much narrower, this ripples its muscles right from the outset, never really softening up – I only had it in my glass for 30 minutes. The core is of sweet, dark red fruit. Overall mineral and long, but probably drunk 20 years too soon 😉
Rebuy – Yes
two blind dinner wines…
1994 Chandon de Briailles, Corton (Blanc)
Rather deeply coloured, but a sniff shows that there is no overt oxidation. The nose has impact and power and reminds me very much of (a previously drunk) 83 Giroud Corton-Charlemagne, there is power and impact and some melting cream and lanolin in the background – I leave my guessing there! On the palate there is considerable power and quite some ripeness though it’s well-enough balanced (I think the 83 was much more mineral – but hey, it might turn out to be from Australia!). Very good complexity as it moves into the finish. Whilst not begging me to take a second (third!) pour – there are others to taste – this is rather good.
Rebuy – Maybe
1998 Serveau, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Amoureuses
All I know is that a burgundy shape half-bottle has been decanted. This is very pale, almost salmon pink. The nose is dominated by volatile acidity and esters, much more-so than my recent 72. In the mouth those aromas can still be tasted, but only as a pale backdrop to a sweet core of ripe strawberry fruit, nice enough acidity and almost no tannin to speak of. I don’t mess around – I think it’s a decent 78 Beaune 1er that’s heading for the downslope (assuming it’s not a rhone!). Well I got the ‘8’ and the 1er cru correct, but I’m amazed to see it’s a 1998. It’s tasty and doesn’t smell too bad as the VA moves into the background (~30mins), but clearly this is a wine to ‘drink-up’.
Rebuy – No
stunning burgundy desktops…
As of today am travelling in Burgundy for a few days – clearly that will be tough! But I thought I should leave you with this link; I’ve been enjoying the pics on my desktop (you need screen capture software) for weeks now – it’s almost a pleasure to switch on my work desktop.
Not all of them have a ‘watermark’ – not yet anyway 😉
http://www.panogeo.fr/ – enjoy….
offer of the day – Domaine Bonneau du Martray 2008…
CORTON CHARLEMAGNE Grand Cru 2008 75cl 109.50 Swiss Francs (119.00)
CORTON CHARLEMAGNE Grand Cru 2008 150cl 224.00 (243.00)
The 2007 price is in brackets and from this source was the same as 2006.
Particularly in this vintage I have to say that this price flirts with ‘value’ – unfortunately there’s still no reason to presume that it will live longer than 5 years in your cellar.
Question: What’s worse than a bottle of p.oxed wine in your cellar? Answer: A magnum…