Degustation

pommard #2

By billn on November 03, 2006 #degustation

coche-dury pommard 04
2004 Coche-Dury, Pommard Vaumurienstry to find this wine...
Medium-plus cherry red. The nose is sweet ripe and only with time betrays the faintest trace of cedar. Wide and friendly, the aromatics are sweet oak with a creamy edge to the red fruit. One sip and you’re hit by fresh, crunchy red and black fruit and grainy tannin – quite the extrovert – given the nose I expected something much more plush. The finish is quite long for a villages, showcasing those grainy tannins. This improved in the glass and was quite a crowd-pleaser.
Rebuy – Yes

the first frost

By billn on November 02, 2006 #degustation#travel

november in savignyEverything was coated in a layer of frost this morning, and despite the perfect blue sky there’s more than a hint of chill to the breeze. In the Côtes, most of the vines have lost their leaves, but here and there, there are parcels that still reflect yellow and red in the sun – I’ll add a picture later…

This morning I visited Domaine Antonin Guyon in Savigny, for its size this is a seriously ‘under-the-radar’ domaine which produces good+ quality as its basic level and can hit wonderful heights – a full report in about 2 weeks in the November issue.

This afternoon (in an hour) I will taste with Carel Voorhuis at d’Ardhuy for appraising some 2005’s and to ask him about those pine-needles in the Pommard below…

😉

pommard & côte d’or

By billn on November 01, 2006 #degustation#travel

ardhuy pommard lambotsOnly a tenuous link in the post title – despite what it might look like! Tomorrow I head for a few days in the Côte d’Or, possibly for the last time this year, but with some good visits (I hope!) arranged. The weather has finally turned colder and we could have freezing overnight in the next days, but hopefully my camera is to be greeted with plenty of blue sky.

Pommard; I’m slowly embarking on a profile of the village and the degustatory research starts this week with 2004 which had a trying time due to hail:
2004 d’Ardhuy, Pommard Les Lambotstry to find this wine...
A shiny medium cherry-red. The nose is pure pine-needles and cedar – slowly a more fruit-driven effect comes into the mix but over about 20 minutes it is never more than a secondary characteristic. The palate is acid forward, seemingly it needs just an edge more ripeness. The best part of this wine is its texture – very nice finely grained tannins – the finish is not too bad and seems riper than the rest of the wine. Works reasonably well with food, but the borderline ripeness means it would be challenge on its own. Rebuy – No
[EDIT: This was picked at a natural 11.9°, though the pH is not too low at around 3.5]

alex gambal chambolle

By billn on November 01, 2006 #degustation

gambal chambolleVersus tasting from barrel I’ve had occasional reds from Gambal that seemed rather subdued – I’ve come to believe that they need a good deal more aeration than I was allowing, but this was excellent right from the bottle and way more interesting than the recent bottle from Fourrier:
2001 Alex Gambal, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Gruencherstry to find this wine...
Medium ruby-red. The nose has some oaky depth overlayed by dense, though initially not so intense, creamy black cherry; with time the oak fades and the creamy fruit comes more to the fore. Understated entry – apparently only moderately concentrated to start with – but this very well textured wine builds intensity in the mouth. The overal picture is of black-shaded fruit just edged with a little oak texture, but this will fade (the oak!) – the finish is a reasonably long one. I enjoyed this a lot.
Rebuy – Yes

magnum report pt.5 (last)

By billn on October 31, 2006 #degustation

clerget chambolle charmes
1999 Christian Clerget, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Charmestry to find this wine...
(From magnum) Medium-plus ruby-red colour. The nose starts very-much in a coffee/mocha vein, but bit-by-bit plums ever-more depth. Time takes the nose into a lovely core of tight, focused red fruit that eventually widens to give a redcurrant aspect – always my favourite. This has depth, intensity and an obvious extra level of tannin vs the older wines. A lovely wine. Rebuy – Yes
1999 Sylvie Esmonin, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Clos St.Jacquestry to find this wine...
(From magnum) Medium ruby-red colour. It’s a wide and mineral nose with an almost corky element. With time the corky element takes over – I never found it on the palate though – still, a shame.
1990 Lafon, Volnay 1er Santenots de Milieutry to find this wine...
(From magnum) Very deep colour – close to black. No obvious oak on the nose, but it’s so dense and unforgiving – perhaps this is a harsh adjective, but this wine is so fresh, linear and dense that it could be 2002 in presentation. The only clue to its age, is that the tannins have started to melt, but super concentration remains – it’s a tour-de-force – but wait for 2015. If there is one criticism, the wine doesn’t seem so long and is unlikely to gain length with extra age – but I’m still very, very impressed. Versus the Clerget Chambolle this has twice the depth & concentration, but the Clerget is significantly more refined – the choice is yours. Rebuy – Yes

magnum report pt.4

By billn on October 30, 2006 #degustation

geantet pansiot
1993 Géantet-Pansiot, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Les Poissenotstry to find this wine...
(From magnum) Deep ruby-red colour. Even at 13 years-old the nose still has some fall-out from the toasty oak of its youth; mixed with sweet, predominantly black shaded fruit and a little coffee – it takes some time in the glass to lose the oak, but it becomes ever-more primary with a strawberry/raspberry impression. Instant impressions are of concentration and very good acidity but only average length. Despite the length, this very youngly presented wine is certainly the most interesting Géantet-Pansiot I’ve ever had, all that I tasted from 2000-2002 seemed too soft in the middle. Expanding well in the mid-palate I even get the impression that the length improves with time, but following the hights of the ’93 Rousseau Clos St.Jacques this is very-much on a lower level. Rebuy – Maybe
1993 Bertrand Ambroise, Nuits St.Georges 1er Rue de Chauxtry to find this wine...
(From magnum) Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose is quite estery, masking any real depth – at least at the start – very slowly this lifts giving a 20 minute window of nice red fruit and the start of a cedar note, but later becomes very high-toned again. The palate has a fresh yet concentrated stance with a heavy emphasis of nice black fruit. The finish is understated but long. An interesting wine that for me – apart from that 20 minute window – was spoiled by the aromatics. Rebuy – No.

magnum report pt.3

By billn on October 29, 2006 #degustation

1997 Mugneret-Gibourg, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Feuselottestry to find this wine...
(From magnum) Medium-plus colour. The nose is surprisingly meaty and spicy, opening ever-wider and at the same time denser red fruit and a more mineral, cedar note comes through. The palate is very fresh and interesting for a 1997 – no dodgy acidity here – though perhaps only medium-plus length. Like the nose, the red fruit on the palate is rather dense and wall-like (like some ’95’s) – little in the way of delicacy is available and I’m not sure if more time will bring it, but this is quite young and almost impossible to pick blind as 1997. It’s still a fine young wine. Rebuy – Yes
1993 Armand Rousseau, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Clos St.Jacquestry to find this wine...
(From magnum) Medium-plus ruby-red colour. A deep, intense, meaty nose that starts with a slightly diffuse width. There is also a faint oaky component to the depth, but it’s mainly consumed now – with time the fruit really tightens and focuses. In the mouth this wine is still immensely youthful – 10 extra years would provide ample benefit – the acidity is like a roller-coaster into the finish, and a very impressive and intense finish it is too. Bravo, but still a baby. Rebuy – Yes

magnum report pt.2

By billn on October 28, 2006 #degustation

dujac roche1995 Dujac, Clos de la Rochetry to find this wine...
(From Magnum) Medium, medium-plus ruby-red, and a little brighter than the 75cl bottle that I last opened. The nose takes time to get into it’s stride; starting with faint smoke and a slightly estery width, but there is an ever-sweetening and intensifying core of red fruit that eventually becomes more floral – though it’s a heavy rather than refined scent – impressive and moreish all the same. The slowly intensifying fruit on the nose is mirrored by the taste, always building in the mouth, just a transient petillance too. Good acidity and dry but not blocky tannin and long with a dark-fruit aspect to the finish. The stems don’t seem to engender the fresh purity of some wines, but the complexity is there for all to see. Very impressive. Rebuy – Yes. (No question, I already did!)
1995 Méo-Camuzet, Nuits St.Georges 1er Aux Murgerstry to find this wine...
(From Magnum) Medium-plus ruby-red. A dense and intense nose of meat, earth, blood and eventually red fruit – some of the effect is wood-driven, but it’s impressive all the same. Well-balanced palate of good acidity and relatively good texture for a ’95 – the tannin is well-controlled. This is a very young wine that was never embarassed for density vs Dujac’s Clos de la Roche though by comparison was missing both complexity and a little length. A very young wine that definitely surprised on the ‘upside’. Rebuy – Yes

magnum report pt.1

By billn on October 27, 2006 #degustation

The first from a magnum dinner – it will take me a few days to get them all to you…
2001 Ambroise, Bourgogne Blanctry to find this wine...
Medium yellow. The nose is quite reticent; sweet and creamy with well-absorbed wood and an almost sherbet top note. The palate is reminiscent of a 2004 with tight acidity that’s hardly covered by the extract. The finish is a little rough, but given that I don’t have an idea of the price I would say (overall) not bad, maybe even almost good if it’s cheap enough! Rebuy – Maybe
1997 Hospices de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru Charmes Cuvée Albert Grivault try to find this wine...
(From magnum, Maison Ambroise) Golden colour. The nose starts in a relatively forward and creamy way with a little oak-toast in the background. Slowly the aromatics get wider and more fruit-driven, providing a real extra dimension. The palate is quite fresh and just a little petillant to start (this is soon gone). I find a faint oxidative element but the length is rather good. There is certainly a bitter element in the finish which is oak-derived and which I would have expected to have melted by now – though perhaps the magnum-size makes the difference. It’s a good if not great 1er cru that gets better all the time from an aromatic perspective, but remains relatively static from a taste perspective. Rebuy – Maybe
1997 Bonneau du Martray, Corton-Charlemagnetry to find this wine...
(From Magnum) Medium golden. The nose starts both wider and deeper than the Meursault, but less intense, eventually settling into a very mineral expression of better intensity, but neither the finishing depth nor sweet width off the Meursault. The texture is not the smoothest but in the mid-palate there is a real extra dimension vs the Meursault – a clear burst of interesting concentration. Once more there is the suggestion of a little oxidation – though only when first poured. This is a long, very mineral wine – perhaps more than one has a right to expect from 1997. From this format we have a very young wine. Rebuy – Yes

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