A pick and mix collection of domaines with some lovely discoveries. Some images to follow, if I eventually find them!
The hosts are first in my list, as the event was held at the cellars of Domaine Gouffier in Fontaines – together with a pig roast too!
Domaine Gouffier, Fontaines
2014 Mercurey, La Charmee
Bottled in october. Since 2014 30% whole-cluster
Fine red-fruited core of aroma. Quite nice and wide on the palate, faint spice, faint salinity. Not quite medium bodied, but complex and agreeable. Yum!
40% whole cluster.
A little deeper colour. A deeper more concentrated nose, very inviting. Super texture, growing intensity of flavour, great fruited finish. This is excellent!
Domaine Gruhier, Epineuil
2014 Bourgogne Epineuil
A very bright nose, medium colour. A bright, indeed pronounced, quite pretty deep red fruit. Wide, nice texture, good fresh concentration, faint padding, faintly saline but sweet finishing. The flavour has a deep register. Tasty wine.
2014 Bourgogne Epineuil, Cote de Grisey
About 40% stem inclusion.
Deeper, but fresh dark fruit. Very direct, mineral wine, almost a little floral aspect too. Good length, though certainly less tasty/easy than the first wine today.
2014 Bourgogne Epineuil, Cuvée Juliette
100% whole-cluster, 30% new oak.
Deep, some herb with the fruit, slowly some florality too. Round, very nice in the mouth some mouth-watering sweet flavour, a little cushioning tannin too. Nice wine! Super finish!
2014 Bourgogne Epineuil, L’Ame des Dannots
Maybe a hint lighter colour, also 30% new oak and 100% whole-cluster.
High-toned fruit, almost floral. A good texture and really a growing, mouth-watering intensity of flavour – the tannin drags the texture a little, but the fruit flavour has a nice line bright finishing with a hint of astringency. Needs more time, but there’s fine fruit quality.
Domaine Robert Serol
2015 Serol, les Originelles
A narrow wine that opens out more and more – the finishing flavour is fine. The nose despite 40% destemming is quite a Beaujolais style. Already bottled
2014 Eclat de Granit
A deep nose, a certain vibrancy too. Also starts narrow, widening with a hint more padding and sweetness, a hint of bitter tannin, but tasty wine!
2014 Les Millerandes
Some freshness over darker fruit. Like the others, starts narrow but broadens, more intensity of dark fruit here. Strongly finishing too.
Next, the parcel selections:
2014 Les Blondins
1.9 ha, a south-west facing steep slope on granite.
A wider nose that’s rather fine. Wider to start, complex, some sweetness. This is yum – my favourite so far!
2014 Oudin
Direct south facing.
Pretty and complex – very nice! A little more silky and sweetly mouth watering. Not quite the same intensity, but very tasty wine indeed. Sweet finishing
2014 Perdrizière
Name of the place, but yes – for hunting Perdrix…
Deeper colour. Bright fruit aroma. Wide, full of energy, faintly astringent but lots of wine here, a fresh mineral impression too. Very young but the finish is fine!
Château Thivin, Brouilly
30-40% destemmed.
Pretty nose, floral, fine dark red fruit – it says ‘drink me’ – wide, fresh but concentrated and very tasty hmm very yum!
Also a nice, slightly sweet, slightly floral but deep fruit. Excellent. Good texture, a little more direct, but with a lovely mouth-watering, leaching sweet flavour – a red Chablis effect. Super!
South of the hill. Steep, higher on the hill, so less soil.
Lovely nose – deep, dark, fresh – realy really pretty. Mouth-filling, very fine texture, intense dark fruit. Super energy. Top!
2014 Les Griottes de Bruhlié
Deeper soil, lower down.
The nose is more mineral, less generous. Wide, good energy and texture – growing intensity – modest to start, great to finish. Overall just a little less attractive as a package, but not only marginally-so…
2011 Cuvée Zacharee
The name of and ancestor, a barrel selection each year.
Deep colour. Fresh and pretty dark fruit. Big, depth of flavour in waves, a suggestion of barrel vanilla, really a large-scaled wine. Super yum – but wait for the vanilla to fade…!
Pierre Naegon, Gevrey-Chambertin
2013 Marsannay Charmes au Prete Vieilles-Vignes
A bright, vibrant, pretty nose. After the Beaujolais this starts slowly but fills out with good sweet flavour. Gets wider and wider. Lovely!
2009 Fixin les Hervelets Vieilles-Vignes
An open freshness, faint herb – it’s quite pretty. Deeper, moves well over the palate – a little tannin. Rather young, but a great finish. Yum!
Bottom of Gevrey.
Wide, detailed nose – this is particularly attractive. Very fine texture, a little growing weight of tannin, but super dimension of flavour. Excellent length too – bravo villages!
2010 Gevrey-Chambertin En Pallud Vieilles-Vignes
Between corbeaux and Mazis
High toned, less pretty nose. Lots of interest on the palate, complex, ever-changing fruit, good freshness and a weight of concentration. At the end, good flavour. Very good, in parts.
2012 Gevrey-Chambertin En Sylvie Vieilles-Vignes
Fresh concentrated dark fruit – super – big, plenty of tannin, but really, plenty of everything, muscular but a hint padded, deep fruited. Super flavour. Very yum in the finish with a nice dark-fruited sweetness.
2006 Chambolle-Musigny (6L bottle!)
Here is a dark oak note. Very silky in the mouth, nice dimension of flavour and a certain sweet, mouth-watering minerality. Tastes much, much nicer than the nose suggests…
2004 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Lavaux St.Jacques (6L bottle!)
Here is both freshness and depth, faintly cushioned with well-judged oak. Mouth-filling. A bit more oak flavour. Is it still masking pyrazines? Who cares – this is very, very tasty for an 04…
Wide, complex fresh – exciting, even! Big in the mouth, some texture, a hint of bitterness as part of a large overall complexity. Very young structure but a really fab finish – bravo! Super long.
Domaine Andrée, Beaune
2013 Chorey-lès-Beaune Tue-Boeuf
A little dark oak, freshening quickly with a hint of vanilla. Large-scaled, mouth filling, very tasty wine with freshness, waves of flavour. Very good dimension, finishing with a touch of oak. Super – attractive. Lovely finish.
2013 Beaune Montée Rouge
A little dark oak, plenty of tannin is the first thought, but as it slowly melts there’s a dark fruit, gets finer and finer to the finish.
2013 Savigny-lès-Beaune Les Connardises
A pretty, faintly spicy nose. Fresh, faintly oaked again, a little structure. Like the last, as it slowly sheds the structure and oak it becomes super pretty.
Pretty round, a little discreet but very inviting nose. Big, round, mouth-filling, lovely complex and mouth-watering flavour, modestly oaked in the finish. Bravo – super wine!
2013 Pommard, Vaumuriens
First vinification – ex Coche-Dury.
A frather discreet nose, larger in the mouth, but fresh, some tannin, nicely long. After the Vergelesses this is missing something – but then its not a 1er 😉
Domaine Fichet, Igé
2014 Mâcon Rouge
Bright, pert gamay nose of freshness, almost spicy carbonic impression. Bright, sweet, easy and tasty – but I’m no fan of the nose…
2014 Bourgogne Pinot Noir
A bright and wide nose, fresh in the mouth, but not with much interest.
2013 Bourgogne Pinot Noir Le Fraisière
A deeper, rounder pretty fruit. Plenty of structure, with a nice floral aspect breaking through. Much nicer, but needs some patience.
2014 Bourgogne Pinot Noir Le Fraisière
A wide, almost silkily pretty red fruit. Needs a little more succulence, but the overall impression is positive.
Domaine Arlaud, Morey St.Denis
2014 Bourgogne Roncieve
Pretty, wide aromas with a good freshness – attractive fruit. Round, good depth of tasty fruit, some nice concentration in the mid-palate and sweetly tastily finishing. Yum!
2014 Morey St.Denis
Fresh, dark red fruit, almost a hint of spice. Fuller, more innate concentration, lovely mouth-watering sweet fruit. This is really engaging wine. Yum!
2014 Morey St.Denis 1er les Ruchots
A little floral, modest but very pretty. Direct, a little mineral, growing, mouth-watering flavour as you head to the finish. Tasty wine, but today the mineral aspect makes this less tasty than the villages today – but it’s got lots of finishing presence. Despite some extra finishing tannin.
2014 Clos de la Roche
A very modest, borderline tight nose. Beautiful texture and depth of texture. Here is a modestly energetic wine, with flavour mainly leaching from a broad base of fine tannin. Pretty tight wine to be honest, but the mid-palate and texture are excellent. Little more to say today…