For me a very short weekend, as on Saturday I took ‘advantage’ of the new, less stringent, requirements for UK entry – via France. Still, there was the modest matter of 1,300 km to drive over 17 hours: Hardly any people on the boat – maybe because the flexible return cost £400! – still, that was cheaper than the tunnel or flying and having a hire car for a week! I’m now double vaccinated, very tested, and at large in the UK for a short few days. But, returning to the theme of wine:

My first bottle showed the travesty of all my Nomacorked Alsace Grand Crus – I could use that word interchangeably with ruined!2000 Sylvie Spielmann, Riesling Bergheim, bought from Sylvie at the domaine circa 2002. The cork didn’t come out in one piece but it had done a good job; the wine deeper coloured but with no hint of oxidation – becoming a little tertiary and petrolly – but very clean and drinkable – yum.

2007 Comtes Lafon, Volnay 1er Santenots du Milieu
A robust cork that came out in one piece.
Great colour for the vintage – still plenty of depth and no overt look of age. A lovely nose, layered with red fruits – still a wine of youth – yet completely approachable. In the mouth there is a width of flavour that, like the nose, seems to melt over the palate in layers – texturally it’s very nice too. Good energy and clarity for this vintage with the merest frame of bitters that indicate a vintage of less easy ripening than we experience today but this counterpoint bringing a lovely extra dimension to my interest. I found this completely delicious and am happy to have a few more in the cellar – at least I think I have!
Rebuy – Yes

Three winners this weekend…

2008 Dubreuil-Fontaine, Corton Clos du Roi
Hmm, this is a 2008 but one with no lack of aromatic depth or concentration. There’s the first impression of some sous-bois in the mix together with a beautiful floral width – that’s lovely. In the mouth this has good impact and super width of flavour – there’s a stony element to the fruit but with flavours of great punch. Slowly, slowly lingering on a more mineral, slightly herbal finish. No shrinking violet and at the edges, you can see it’s from a cooler vintage though the core remains impressive and delicious.
Rebuy – Yes

2015 Laurent Tribut, Chablis
All the different parcels of the domaine assembled, some from above Beauroy, but mainly from near Forets.
An encompassing nose – faintly with a little apricot – no, peach. Lovely shape in the mouth, cool-fruited and more mineral than when young. A 2015 but clearly from Chablis – and delicious too. Lovely wine
Rebuy – Yes

2019 Antoine Sunier, Régnié Montmeronts
I bought some of this so had high hopes.
Plenty of colour. Vibrantly, sweetly perfumed fruit. I’m loving the energy here but it’s still a supple wine. The flavour has a slightly direct style but it’s also deeply flavoured. A wine that was drunk all too quickly – and that’s a great sign. Excellent!
Rebuy – Yes

2019 Jean-Charles Fagot, Bourgogne Côte d’Or Les Champs Huillier
Is Jean-Charles a restauranteur, a winemaker or drummer? – we should know! This from vines close to Chassagne
A very attractive citrus nose, green-citrus. A nice vibration of energy in the mouth, slightly saline and a little mineral too – refreshing and delicious!
Rebuy – Yes

2019 Céline & Frédéric Gueguen, Chablis 1975
Not the domaine’s oldest vines but they are separated into a cuvée because it’s the birth year of both Céline & Frédéric!
A more compact nose, still with citrus but the salinity is more to the fore here – as it should be! A wave of concentrated flavour and freshness in the mouth – at the same time it seems a more direct energy too. Delicious again.
Rebuy – Yes

2016 François André, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Aux Vergelesses Blanc
A much broader and more concentrated aromatic than the last two – though not even a suggestion of ‘heavy‘ only ‘more.’ In the mouth this is similarly concentrated with super-impressive depth and width of flavour too – so complex – bravo! Yet. For me, there’s still far too much creamy oak flavour in the middle and finishing flavours. Such an excellent wine but after 4 years in a bottle it’s still too oaky.
Rebuy – Maybe for my taste but yours may vary…

You could call the seals to the right the good, the bad and the ugly – but those names don’t tally with the physical appearances:

The clean-cut Nomacorc is the villain of the bunch – the first incarnation of this cane-sugar development was an utter disaster for all the wines I bought that were sealed with it – this Alsace grand cru is, I hope, the last Nomacorc in my cellar to be completely oxidised – far, far worse and much more consistently oxidised than with cork. Everyone tells me that the latest development of Nomacorc is working well – which I can accept – but I won’t forget all the bottles I poured away. The semi-rubble of the Pommard Epenots still did a proper job for 30 years so complaints. As for the Brocard DIAM – the Gautheron wears DIAM too – nothing to complain about, as usual…

So you already know that the Seppi Landmann Alsace Grand Cru was irretrievably oxidised and you’ve already seen a note for the Pommard. The 2019 Gautheron Chablis Emeraude remains consistent with previous notes and was delicious. The 2018 Brocard Chablis Boissinneuse is starting to come good – I initially found it a little too easy and insufficiently taut – I think it’s going to come around fine – assuming I have sufficient patience!

So, to the two Beaujolais:

2019 Frederic Berne, Régnié Aux Bruyères
The first vintage of this wine chez Frederic…
There’s a little more fruity oomph about this nose than I saw at the domaine but still the pretty dark fruits are in play. Good initial impact and a sophisticated delivery of texture and flavour. I see a little less energy here than I remember but, all the same, it’s a completely delicious wine – yum!
Rebuy – Yes

2019 Clos de la Roilette, Fleurie Clos de la Roilette
The classic cuvée of this domaine…
Instantly attractive nose. The impact and silk of the last wine with just a little more energetic zip. Mineral, mouth-watering depth of very fine fruit – yes, Fleurie fruit – this is already showing better than when I bought a six-pack at the start of the year. Bravo!
Rebuy – Yes

1992 Vaudoisey-Creusefond, Pommard 1er Les Epenots
This cork required some dexterity – one major piece but with multiple fissures and plenty of smaller parts – only one larger one dropped into the wine and it was easy to ‘fish’ out…
Medium colour and obviously a wine with some age to that colour. The nose has a little mustiness to start but that fades with air – there’s still fruit here – even a little strawberry! In the mouth, this starts direct and mineral – structural – but I keep my concentration on the sweetness of the unfolding flavours – again a little strawberry-tinged now graphite minerality and an appealing width of ‘sweet but not too sweet.’ The finish starts better than the start but the start keeps getting better – as Donald Rumsfeld might have said! Thats a lovely wine, still vigorous and one that slowly transitions from subtle to ever-more impressive with air. Lovely!
Rebuy – Yes!

2019 Jean-Claude Lapalu, Alma Mater
JC’s amphora cuvée – he’s been playing with these containers since 2009. All is gamay from Brouilly or Cote de Brouilly – or both – and it’s labelled as Vin de France. This wine also nbeeded some dexterity on opening – this time it was the modest disc of red wax over the cork that fractures into hundreds of pieces!
The nose starts a little dissociated but in only 5 minutes we have beautiful purity of fruit – the aromas redolent of the best of pinot with fruit and flowers – but the flavour is not that of pinot. Vibrantly pure, still framed with a modest texture of tannin but almost juicy finishing too. That’s a beauty!
Rebuy – Yes in a shot!

2007 L&A Lignier, Gevrey-Chambertin Les Seuvrées
This colour starting to add a little browner cast to the rim. The nose starts with a little white mushroom which fades to show that slightly sauvage Gevrey feeling, still with some faint barrel cream showing through – there’s a lot to find in here – eventually a balsamic/red-cherry fruit – lovely. Compared to more recent vintages there’s an off-ripe leading edge to the generous fruit and, here, is a more overt slug of creaminess from the oak. The finish is narrow but has fine length – minerally accented. The mid-palate oak is a little excessive for me but otherwise, this is a wine where I’m finding a lot to like.
Rebuy – Maybe

Tasted today with a virtual connection to the winemaker of J.Moreau & Fils, Lucie Depuydt.

J.Moreau are one of the most export-oriented labels of the JC Boisset group of Nuits St.Georges, because of that, this label is much less well known in France than their export markets. Here was a chance to catch up with Lucie and some early-bottled 2020s and a couple of later-bottled 2019s.

This producer makes wine from 250 hectares on contracts from all around the Chablis region. Lucie says that she has a slight preference for the southern side like Chichée and Courgis but that, amongst other, Béru and La Chapelle de Vaupelteigne also bring nice aspects to the quality of their wines. “We have about 30 partner vignerons on long contracts – we really do consider each other as partners and each of those producers brings with them the histories of their parcels.

“We press the largest part of the grapes ourselves but some from Courgis and Beru, for instance, all come as must as that’s the easiest way for those suppliers… We try to keep the maximum amount of sediments during our elevage, not just because it helps against oxidation but because I also like the extra richness that the lees can bring. Our fermentations are initiated with a ‘pied de cuve’ which are of course the local yeasts. I think the extended contact with the lees and keeping the lees in suspension does is really important and it doesn’t have to be the same as the mechanical process of batonnage. The extra protection afforded by the lees coupled with the full malolactic fermentation brings very good stability to the finished wine too.”

The Chablis and Petit Chablis are made in stainless steel with an elevage of 6-10 months, vintage dependent. The crus, some part can be with barrel elevage with various barrel sizes from 228 to 500-litre for 14-18 months – so relatively long. So all four wines tasted below were bottled at roughly the same time, despite there being two different vintages represented. The first two wines utilise the new version of Nomacorc and the team here are very happy with the performance, to date. It’s cork for the 1er and grand cru wines.

I also asked Lucie about this year’s 2021 vintage so far:
“Well, we have perfect weather for both oïdium and mildew as, so far, it’s been a wet vintage and this weather, of course, follows on from the frost of April. We are waiting for a period of dry weather that will help rid us of the mildew, if, probably, not completely the oïdium.”

The wines…

A few words from Lucie on these vintages too?
“2019 was quite a low volume vintage so these are concentrated wines whose aromas remind me of 2009 – actually I thought them a little meagre and lacking personality early in the elevage but they have really grown into a proper Chablis personality. For a time during the 2020 vintage, because of the heat, there was some blocking of maturitis so the wines are more intermediate in the style of their maturity.”

2020 Petit Chablis Les Petits Dieux
Was bottled in April – a large market is Scandinavia
Pale yellow. A nicely pure agrume nose. Wide, mouth-filling, mouth-watering with citrus style – there’s weight but also plenty of minerality that keeps the freshness. This is drinking excellently already and the finish is surprisingly long. Super…

2020 Chablis Gloire de Chablis
A May-June bottling. This the result of more than 80 parcels of vines.
Just a little more colour. The nose is rounder and concentrated but less fully open than the PC. More direct and higher-toned flavour. Great shape and juicy style – a more grapefruit style to this wine – perhaps with a faint floral/pyrazine top note. Wider finishing and just a little longer finishing. Nicely textured too. That’s a fine villages.

2019 Chablis 1er Vaucoupin
‘One of my favourite 1ers with a strong personality,’ says Lucie. ‘It’s amazing that there are vines here as there is practically no soil – just rocks but these are also old vine.’ This only in bottle for 2 months.
A width of sweeter aroma, faintly oak and acacia spiced. A mix of richness and minerality – direct in style but with no lack of width. Extra finishing growth of flavour – that’s a wine that impressively grows in presence in the finish. Still keep it back a couple of years as I sense (more than really taste) the barrel. Wait 2-3 years for this impression of the elevage to fade.

2019 Chablis Les Clos
Two parcels – both mid-slope – ‘an intermediate’ soil for the cru – these vines usually harvested early as the maturity comes quickly here. This was bottled this year at the end of April.
A larger nose, plump but not fat, ripe but not too much – a melange of fruits – this is really a wine of mouth-filling volume. Comfortably textured, round – almost too easy flavoured – but the finish is a big one, a little creamy and ripe – far too easy to drink today, but I’d keep this in the cellar for some time hoping for a little extra ‘strict’ in the style.

2019 Château Bellevue, Morgon Côte du Py
I didn’t like the smell of the cork and for the first hour, I also didn’t like the smell of this wine – all herby and reductive – I blamed the cork thought it wasn’t ‘corked.’ Fortunately with aeration it took on another dimension – just as well, as this was one of my recommendations from the vintage, such that I bought a case myself!
The nose finally cleans up to offer a silky, almost glossy, dark fruit with a growing level of floral perfume. Open and fresh – a vibrant energy though with plenty of concentration too. The finish is brilliantly layered yet fresh – wine of uncommon purity. Now I see why I liked it so much before it was bottled.
Rebuy – Yes – and for half the price of some Bourgognes too…

2018 Gueguen, Côteaux Bourguignone, Sacy
Good but not great – unless you factor in the price – then I’d say simply excellent!
The nose is airy and saline with a decent punch. The palate likewise – a very saline wine but in a positive way – blended with a grapefruit fruit – this combination is classic Sacy. Missing the cut and extra energy of the 2017 version but the saline grapefruit style is classic and still a great buy at the price.
Rebuy – Maybe

2005 Marchand-Grillot, Gevery-Chambertin 1er Les Perrières
Here the nose still has traces, reminiscences, of the creamy oak of its youth – but now it has faded into an impressive complexity – faintly with a leafy maturity, blood and earth – this is a proper Gevery-Chambertin! Concentrated, beautifully textured and like the nose showcasing a purity of fruit that’s framed with more earthy and still faintly creamy flavours. The last glass on day 2 had a trace of brett but I noticed none on day one – so don’t hesitate to drink this up on the day you open it – it’s really more than excellent!
Rebuy – Yes

Then a short pause to open something new:

2013 Françous Gaunoux, Meursault 1er Goutte d’Or
I am a very big fan of 2013 whites right now and here is a perfect example of that…
Whilst not overtly ginger-spiced, there’s a very fine and inviting – citrus-tinged – invitation to drink here. In the mouth we have an open, almost airy wine with lovely acidity – it reminds me of a 2010 in its open, accessible style with fine flavour clarity. It’s a simple measure of the quality – but this bottle emptied so quickly! One of the nicest whites this year!
Rebuy – Yes

2006 Mugneret-Gibourg, Bourgogne
Unlike the rather white (bleached?) corks of the Marchand-Grillot and the Gaunoux, here is a darker, seemingly less treated cork.
Untreated, but is it corked? My first sniff might suggest ‘lightly corked’ or ‘liégeux’ but thereafter I can’t smell it – only the suspiciously herby accent to the aromas. In the mouth, yes it’s corked but on a very low level. The texture and flavours are still rather good for the label – and I would say the wine is completely ‘ready’ – but once you taste the cork, you can’t lose it…
Rebuy – No – at least, not in the case of this corked bottle…