DOMAINE LEFLAIVE 2009 – Puligny-Montrachet (En Primeur)

BOURGOGNE 2009 75cl 35.00 Swiss Francs
PULIGNY-MONTRACHET 2009 75cl 59.50

PREMIERS CRUS
PULIGNY-MONTRACHET Les Clavoillons 2009 75cl 84.00
MEURSAULT Sous le Dos d’Âne 2009 75cl 89.50
PULIGNY-MONTRACHET Les Folatières 2009 75cl 118.00
PULIGNY-MONTRACHET Les Combettes 2009 75cl 118.00
PULIGNY-MONTRACHET Les Pucelles 2009 75cl 148.00
PULIGNY-MONTRACHET Les Pucelles 2009 150cl 301.00

GRANDS CRUS
BIENVENUES BATARD MONTRACHET 2009 75cl 228.00
BATARD MONTRACHET 2009 75cl 248.00
CHEVALIER-MONTRACHET 2009 75cl 315.00

For comparison, here are the 2008/2007 prices.

The same or a little higher than 2008, which were quite a bit lower than 2007. Expensive as they are, I tasted them from tank last week, and they are very, very good!

DOMAINE LOUIS JADOT 2009 – Subscription

SAVIGNY-LES-BEAUNE La Dominode 2009 75cl 34.00 (Swiss francs)
BEAUNE Clos des Ursules Monopole 2009 75cl 54.00
BEAUNE Clos des Ursules Monopole 2009 150cl 113.00

CORTON Grèves 2009 75cl 78.00

NUITS-SAINT-GEORGES Les Boudots 200975cl 78.00
VOSNE-ROMANEE Les Beaux-Monts 2009 75cl 89.50
VOSNE-ROMANEE Les Suchots 2009 75cl 89.50
CHAMBOLLE-MUSIGNY Les Baudes 2009 75cl 79.50
CHAMBOLLE-MUSIGNY Les Amoureuses 2009 75cl 199.50
GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN Clos Saint-Jacques 2009 75cl 109.50

CLOS DE VOUGEOT 2009 75cl 109.50
ECHEZEAUX 2009 75cl 138.00
CLOS SAINT DENIS 2009 75cl 199.00
CHAMBERTIN Clos de Bèze 2009 75cl 249.00
BONNES-MARES 2009 75cl 229.00

Comment? Pricing is mess. Let us at least start from the basis that 2009 is a very good vintage, and work from there. Savigny pricing is not cheap but ‘reasonable’, likewise the pricing of their iconic Beaune monopole leaves little real scope for complaint. Overall, there is little I can complain about in their Côte de Beaune pricing.

Côte de Nuits – oops – let us not forget that this is a subscription offer, theoretically therefore with advantageous pricing. Their premier crus are rather expensive, I assume the ridiculous price for Amoureuses simply reflects what the market will pay – and I also assume that they anyway don’t have many barrels. More pertinent, can Bonnes-Mares and Bèze really be worth double the price of their Clos de Vougeot and Echézeaux – no, clearly not. Assuming those two lower priced grand crus are not completely rubbish, I can only assume it is their pricing policy which is rubbish!

DOMAINE FAIVELEY 2009 – Nuits-Saint-Georges

Premiers Crus 2009
GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN Les Cazetiers 75cl 58.00 (58.00 – 2008) Swiss Francs
POMMARD Les Rugiens 75cl 59.50
NUITS-ST-GEORGES Les Saint-Georges 75cl 75.00 (75.00)
CHAMBOLLE-MUSIGNY La Combe d’Orveau 75cl 89.00 (89.00)
CHAMBOLLE-MUSIGNY Les Fuées 75cl 99.00 (89.00)

Grands Crus 2009
CORTON Clos des Cortons 75cl 99.00 (89.00)
CLOS DE VOUGEOT 75cl 105.00 (99.00)
ECHEZEAUX 75cl 105.00
MAZIS-CHAMBERTIN 75cl 129.00 (118.00)
CHAMBERTIN Clos de Bèze 75cl 179.00 (165.00)

Domaine Faiveley are going for ~10% increase over 2008 for grand crus, but not for most 1er crus – interesting.

Actually the two are not connected.

Back from holidays (I might later add a few photos) and hopefully getting around to opening a bottle or two this week. A nice ‘find’ while away was ‘Hotel Chocolate’ and their 65% dark, 120 hour conch Saint Lucia chocolate – mmmmmmmm…
It finished a little dry but was mighty fine. There was even a ‘tasting note’ on the wrapper:

A quick and intense flavour burst slowly opens up to reveal multilayered notes of raisins, figs, oaked wine, tobacco, honey and grapefruit.

Ah, adjectivists, not structuralists then!

A good read from Slate is the latest installment on the falsification of bottles. I have the impression that it makes a meal of the early connection of one RMP to the (alleged!) fraudsters, but then it might not be such an exciting story if ‘omitted’.

I note in my ‘holiday reading’ the following: There are sharks that take money for ‘investments’ and there are piranhas that disappear with en-primeur cash/orders. Now there is another kind of unpleasant individual – a sharp-suited barracuda perhaps – that tries even harder to suck the soul from wine:

The ‘short-selling’ of Chateau Lafite 2009 on Liv-ex has outraged some wine merchants, leaving others in the industry shrugging their shoulders.

The latest vintage of Lafite is being offered on the trading platform for £11,750 a case. The actual sale has gone through for £10,000.

The wine has not yet been released by the chateau.
Decanter, 1st June

Whilst these largely remain ‘Bordeaux things’ they cannot but chew at the edges of even the the most idealistic of producer-merchant-enthusiast relationships.

I see a bubble in the making; higher vineyard-land prices sustained only by higher ‘scores’ and ‘inventive’ marketing to ‘new markets’ – until a rainy vintage (or three) when the bills cannot be met – what then? Probably it will then be the critics’ fault for giving only 88pts….

Maybe in later life I will have to become a cheese aficionado to avoid such tripe….

“The new standard of excellence is Burgundy…”

Are wine-drinkers becoming restless? Is Burgundy becoming the new Bordeaux?

Let’s hope not, I might feel the need to defect – or burrow deeper into only St.Romain and Monthélie ! 😉