Early to the market, breakfast, two coffees then a walk in the vines – we were already back home by 10h30 – now that’s a rarity on a Saturday 🙂
Here some views from this morning in Beaune 1er Les Grèves:
A tour in the Côte de Beaune: all is very dry here, and the first signs of hydric stress in some of the very rocky parts of Puligny-Folatières is being noted. Otherwise the vines are largely in rude health, though a little powdery mildew can be found in some chardonnay plots. Rain would be a nice present for the growers, one of whom told me today “The harvest date is potentially coming forward – If we get a little rain, we could even be starting to harvest whites between 05-10 September.” That could be up to a week earlier than most reports – but rain will be needed for that.
Friends from NZ in the house – we did 2 vintages together in Beaune, where we head later today. A bunch of the usual suspects, often drunk in these pages – for which I won’t offer any notes, but there were a couple of others that might be of interest:
2016 Burn Cottage, Burn Cottage Vineyard
Medium colour yet also quite a bright colour. Ooh, that’s such an interesting nose, fresh, full of whole cluster references but also lovely bright flower notes – that’s so inviting! Nice volume, fresh flavour, a little acid-led structure and fine finishing bitters. Ripe yet at the same time, less ripe – very floral – and attractively phenolic. I like it a lot, though the fine floral purity of aroma all-but disappears after an hour-or-so.
Rebuy – Yes
2011 Camille Giroud, Beaune 1er Aux Cras
One of the rare 2011s that I bought and this is showing beautifully.
Relatively pale colour, not totally bright/clear either. The nose – oh the nose, that’s so great – floral, complex fruit, some whole clusters, just gorgeous! The palate has good shape and volume, nice acidity too – not a wine of power or concentration, but jaw-droppingly delicious! A great 2011!
Rebuy – Yes
2005 Carrick, Cairnmuir Terraces EBM Central Otago Chardonnay
(EBM – Extended barrel maturation) A low yielding vintage – 3-4 tonnes per hectare (25 hl/ha) then 18 months in barrel.
Ooh, that’s a deep colour, but yellow, not golden. The nose too – pow! Very ripe, waxy lemon with a hefty whiff of pepper too – subtle it’s not – but it’s still good! Plenty of mouth-filling volume, that ripe citrus, with almost a spiced pear and a touch of caramel in the finish. I almost find a grain of tannin in the finish and slight bitters too. More than impressive for its age, but a long way from elegant if that’s what you’re looking for. Yum! A powerful and impressive wine.
Rebuy – Yes
Just in case you hadn’t see it – the May 2019 Burgundy Report has been online since Sunday 😉
Hot off the press today:
The Boisset family announces that it has entered into exclusive negotiations with a view to acquiring the Alex Gambal estate subject to compliance with the usual regulatory provisions.
Alex Gambal, founding owner of the Burgundy estate of the same name, announces his decision to sell his estate to the Boisset family.
The American Alex Gambal, newcomer to Burgundy and passionate about wine, created his ‘Maison’ in Burgundy in 1993, then his ‘Domaine’ in 1997, followed by a rapid development of his exploitation. Today with a dozen hectares of prestigious vineyards in Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits.
The pursuit of excellence will continue, in particular by maintaining the special attention paid to vineyard work and biodynamic viticulture practices.
It is envisaged in these discussions that Alex Gambal will continue to participate in the development of the estate alongside the Boisset family.
It seems that so many people knew that these discussions were taking place, that JC Boisset decided today to make it public Рeven though the final contract is not yet signed. As I alluded to here, three months ago Рit was a surprise sale of Domaine Dubl̬re, as I and others were expecting another US-owned domaine to be sold Рi.e. this Boisset/Gambal announcement!
Yes, I know I can be a bit of a classicist, but after yesterday’s Meursault, why not a little Vosne-Romanée today?. Here some views from in Aux Malconsorts. It was hot today!
The grapes are growing quickly, but here, at least, they are far from uniform. The yield looks lower than last year and some of the clusters have a little coulure, others already have have a little sunburn on the side of the the afternoon sun.
Honestly, it’s taken me a few days to drink these – and with help too! The hot days of the last week-or-so have seen me reaching for bottles of water, direct from the refrigerator, rather than for wine. I’m predominantly in need refreshment right now, and if I were to cool the wine more then I would just drink it far too quickly than would seem appropriate for the cost of the bottles! Oh well – but you can at least see that I’m trying!
2014 Dampt Frères, Bourgogne Tonnerre Le Clos du Château
Open, attractive, very citrussy sweetness, even suggesting a little white flower blossom. I always like the mouth-filling volume and energy from this wine, and apart from one that had a bit of mustiness (probably) from the cork, all remain, bright and attentive. Long, incisive citrus fruit for a finish too. Excellent.
Rebuy – Yes
2017 Alice & Olivier De Moor, Bourgogne Chitry
Some of the first bottles seemed to have some aromatic padding, but this seems to be becoming more incisive with time – I like! Modestly mineral, melting flavour that has a becoming sweetness. Just a delicious wine!
Rebuy – Yes
2017 Domaine Faiveley, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Champ Gain
This starts with plenty of barrel – sweet, creamy, almost vanilla barrel – and a very unusual impression of banana – clearly not my ‘thing.’ I defer to my bottle of water. On day 2 (overnight in the fridge) this has improved massively – no oak, no banana and a fresh and direct, slightly citrus invitation now comes from the nose. I like the shape in the mouth – cut, definition, and fine energy. Growing in stature in the middle and already showing a great finish. I might not have loved the start, but the finish is more than promising. Yum!
Rebuy – Yes
Breakfast at 2,362m today – but we took the train up to the Niesen, rather than walk or jog – or we would have been too late for breakfast! My favourite place for breakfast and the first visit this year. If you are in the neighbourhood, look up the Niesen!
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