While in Savigny les Beaune I also met with more courtiers (brokers) that assured me that getting 1er Cru fruit and above is quite likely in this economic landscape. I have been looking at a few very interesting vineyards in both the Cote de Nuits and the Cote de Beaune. One vineyard in Nuits Saint George is quite interesting. The vineyard lies on the side nearest Vosne Romanee, very rocky soil, certified organic, vine age of around 45 years old generally and the owners flat out know what is best for the vines and soil. The vineyard is Village level, though the wine should be fairly interesting. I also checked out a 1er Cru in Aloxe-Corton in bold reddish orange soil, huge stones laying on the topsoil, peaking through and buried a good way below. The vines are said to be just a bit older than those at the NSG parcel I viewed just before. It’s not certified organic, but this is the first year they have been doing things organically, and the soil has been responding well with a bunch of topsoil growth.
While we were in the vineyards, the courtier stayed in the car due to a bit of rain making the soil damp. It was interesting to see how the different soils reacted to the same rains. Holding the soil in your hands on a less than perfect day gives you a better idea about what you are working with than simply looking at a photo or asking someone what they saw while visiting the site. I’m digging in deeper to see what else can turn up. Once I have my negociant number setup I will be able to access more fruit options. This should take possibly two more months.
2006 Patrice Rion, Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Prieur
Medium colour. A caramel nose that almost completely hides the nice red cherry fruit. Nice acidity and plenty of sweet, ripe fruit. Nothing obviously ‘gevrey’ today; faint astringency to the tannin and a decent length. Very tasty indeed, but I’d like a bit more connection with the village – it just needs a little time for that as many young wines need to shake off their elevage. Anyway it’s a good value bottle. Rebuy – Yes
Before visiting Burgundy, one question bugged me. ‘If I do find grapes, where in the world am I going to make the wine?’ The production of wines in Burgundy are so low that you cannot expect to find much room if any to make wine short of buying a domaine with a cellar, which is actually hard to find. I was after something a bit more difficult still. I wanted to find a facility that I could share while using some of the equipment such as sorting table, vibrating table, destemmer, etc. I was open to whatever humble facility that would be actually sound for quality wine making.
As it turns out, Olivier Leflaive connected me with a good friend that has room in his facility in Beaune Centre, and is allowing me to rent space for everything from harvest equipment to room to store my wines below in the cellar after making the wine above in the winery. The facility is quite large and the equipment is top notch. A few offices in the front are being taken down to expand the space of the winery. I’m not quite sure I can mention the winemaker’s name just yet, but I am quite thankful for this opportunity to work in the same cellar as this talented and generous fellow. I seriously couldn’t be happier with a different location and team to work with in the cellar. I will be sure to fill in more details when I can. 😉
Part deux of my small report on Saturday’s dinner. High-quality wines throughout, and only one corked wine that I can remember – but fortunately for us it wasn’t from our table. Despite it being a level playing field for all, this is where we begged the use of better glassware – these wines would clearly have benefited from it. 1995 Lafarge, Volnay
Medium ruby-red colour. The nose is deep, meaty and leafy – one to keep sniffing. In the mouth there’s plenty of acidity and it’s followed by plenty of action too. Good persistence of flavour and whilst rather unruly, it’s definitely a wine with personality. Rebuy – Maybe 1996 Engel, Vosne-Romanée 1er Les Brûlées
Medium-plus colour. The nose is deep, showing plenty of leaf, undergrowth and a nice spicy element. Very nice acidity and flavours that burst across the mid-palate, then a wave of tannin before fading in the finish. This is a lovely wine and not ‘too’ 1996. Rebuy – Yes 1996 Arnoux, Vosne-Romanée 1er Les Suchots
Warm and sweet are main thoughts as you bring your nose to this, very pretty if not stunningly effusive. In the mouth it’s sweet and intense – tannic still – and has nice complexity. I don’t find the ‘cut’ and excitement that was evident in the Engel Brûlées, so would much rather drink that today but this is clearly no slouch. Rebuy – Yes 2000 Dujac, Bonnes-Mares
The nose is wide and surprisingly mineral with understated red fruits – no obvious stems showing here. In the mouth the personality is of a medium-bodied red-fruited wine with tannin that’s hardly worth a mention. Despite its very understated acidity it is both long finishing and not a little mouth-watering. I found this a very good and very approachable wine, though several steps below the quality I might expect given the pricing of more recent vintages. Rebuy – Yes 1998 JF Mugnier, Musigny
Opened 2 yours before the first pour. Medium colour – ruby but still with cherry-red accents. The nose is deeper and darker than that of the Bonnes-Mares, but less wide. Slowly in the glass the aromas gain width and dimension – I would say very fine. In the mouth my first impression is that it’s a little hard and tight; in tandem with the nose it slowly unwinds, softens and adds width. Another wine where the tannin hardly warrants a mention, though the quality of the wide and creamy finish was streets ahead of the Bonnes-Mares. In this context it was a fine wine, but one that didn’t ‘wow’. Rebuy – Yes
Favourite of the night? Not easy, but on reflection I’d give it to the Engel for its sheer personality.
Our weekend get-together, where I culled the notes for those super Remoissenet bottles, also included a ‘walk-round-tasting’ of bottles supplied by the attendees, followed (after a quick shower) by an evening dinner. Before we started dinner, I counted 21 bottles at our table – which sat 9 people I think! – though (memo to self) we sadly had a dearth of sweeter wines. Perhaps the glasses could have been better, but the company surely couldn’t. I only offer you here the burgundy notes from our Paulée-style evening, but be assured that our glasses were generously augmented by Germans, Australians and, amongst others, teeth-staining Bandols. This first installment offers you the whites, tomorrow (I’m a slow typist) the reds. 1993 Leflaive, Bourgogne Blanc
A medium, in fact quite young looking yellow. A little creamy, mature lanolin underpins the aromas of a younger wine. In the mouth it is linear and quite mineral until a small burst of interest in the mid-palate and a nice finish. Whilst the acidity is the defining feature of the wine, it has just enough padding that it doesn’t become jarring. Everyone around the room was sure it was a Puligny… Rebuy – Yes 2001 Leflaive, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Les Pucelles
A much deeper colour than the 93 bourgogne. The colour made me rush to smell – but no problems with oxidation here, only caramellised butter and hints of citrus for freshness – it was actually very nice. In the mouth it definitely needed time to unwind and I’m sure it never fully did, but the texture and impression is of density coupled to long, lingering flavours. Not much complexity today or even excitement come to that, despite all, it still made a strong impression around our table. Rebuy – Yes 2003 Louis Jadot, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Les Folatières
A few hints of oxidation on the nose, but it’s largely fresh and interesting. In your mouth this wine is all over the place and despite evident complexity and some additional dimension – not just oxidation! – in the mid-palate it’s frankly a mess. Poorly judged acidification or just an impossible vintage? I don’t know but it seemed to have plenty of acidity. Rebuy – No
2000 Veronique Drouhin, Vosne-Romanée 1er Lest Petits Monts
Medium ruby-red colour. The nose is lovely, slightly baked fruit, forward with a ginger edge and some deep herby elements. In the mouth there is sweet fruit but the acidity that comes along is bright indeed sharp finishing – it rather dominates the palate despite the slowly lingering flavours. I can’t get at much else as the problem with the acidity is so prominent. A badly stored bottle? I don’t know, but I can’t recommend this. Rebuy – No
Well, here we are. Burgundy, in the dead of winter. People are busy working in the vineyards, mainly burning clippings. Things are a bit more chilly than they seemed looking at Bill’s photos from my home in California. Suprisingly, our daughter has adjusted quite well to Burgundy at the ripe age of 7 months. Many of the people that I have read about, domaines which I have dreamed about are just a short stroll away from Puligny-Montrachet where we have been centered most of our time in Burgundy.
Everyone has been extremely helpful here. We have met with a great deal of established winemakers and courtiers and the possibility of working with quality grapes this year from the Cote de Nuits seem quite high…thank goodness!
Also, while we have spent some time with Olivier Leflaive, he has taken it upon himself to present our project to a few of his friends, which one in particular in Pommard might have a facility for us to use for the project.
Another note, speaking some French is better than speaking none at all. I can’t get close to counting the possitive comments I have heard from people in Burgundy for trying to speak the language. I beleive it has made a difference in how I have been recieived.
While I wish we could stay until harvest to go forward with the project right now, the trip has already paid for itself with the great experiences and contacts we have made. We have just over a week more in France and I intend to make the most of this opportunity in Burgundy.
Back from travelling in the UK and I thought I’d share with you my notes of some lovely wines that were presented to bunch of enthusiasts in Scotland at a meeting organised by Tom Cannavan. Our presenter was Bernard Repolt of Maison Remoissenet.
First – a comparison of Gevrey Cazetiers and Combottes
Mainly from vintages ending with a 9! The Cazetiers being the more sinewy/wiry and the Combottes showing way more width, not unlike a Chapelle or good Charmes-Chambertin: 2007/2005 Gevrey 1er Cazetiers
The 07 is just a little soft-focus due to the fresh oak showing on all aspects of the wine; nose, palate and finish but it is ripe and creamy with just a hint of astringency – should be a lovely, precocious drink but personally I’d wait 1+ years for less barrel influence – not too much to learn about Cazetiers at this age. The 2005 is an archetypal 05 right now; tight, acid-forward and a world away from the lush, mineral density of 12 months ago. Clearly more intense, but then there’s no obvious oak putting a soft focus on the acidity. Needs to sleep.
1999/1989 Gevrey 1er Cazetiers
The 99 was fresh, full and ripe – started with a hint of mustiness on the nose but that soon disappeared – good intensity and length. This really surprised me as other 99’s I’ve had from the producer have been dull and unfocused. Still an astringent edge to decent tannins. Young, and whilst far from a great Cazetiers, it is verily a tasty beverage. The 89 showed more high-toned aromas and a little herb too. Less full on the palate and more secondary flavours coming through. Ripe, and brings a feeling of warmth, perhaps needing an edge more of acidity to give it sparkle but another tasty wine.
1979/1969 Gevrey 1er Combottes
The 79 displayed a beautiful dark chocolate, sweet nose that still seemed fresh. Really mouth-filling. Starts a little narrow but then really fills your mouth with broad panorama of flavour – very gevrey grand cru in style if (possibly) needing a bit more intensity for that badge – very sweet fruit but the acidity is balanced. Plenty of astringent tannin and slowly fading flavours – a gorgeous mouthful – and there’s no rush to drink. The 69, if anything, showed a younger colour. More mineral and medicinal aromas. In the mouth much more mineral and muscular – yet with the same panoramic, faintly astringent width as the 79. Faintly long and very sprightly. There is a perfect skeleton here for a longer life than the 79.
Afterwards I had a discussion with someone who he asked me if I thought the 69 was ‘adulterated’ as someone on his table said straight away that it was. Frankly I’ve had no more than 7 or 8 69’s, and all have shown in a similar way – darker colour than all other older (save 59!) wines I’ve seen and darker than most younger wines from the 70’s – including most 78’s! Maybe they were all adulterated, including the DRC’s! – though the La Tâche was beginning to fade! Anyway, I found nothing obviously ‘false’ about the wine, and clearly it came from impeccable storage. I also think that no more than a handful of people in the UK could say yes/no adulterated with a greater than 50% accuracy level – in this case I certainly can’t – and I don’t think any of these people were at our tasting 😉
Re the ‘gout Anglaise’, my understanding is that this manipulation was very common indeed and most obviously practiced in the cellars of UK merchants who had bought in barrel. Based on discussions with people in Beaune, except where a wine was clearly destined for the UK, it was more discreetly done in France (where done) because the bottles mainly ended up on French tables for French palates. Whilst far from irreproachable, wines destined to lay in a (french) cellar for 40 years were significantly ‘lesser targets’ for such practices.
Second – The Whites
I was lucky enough to taste all the 06’s in November 07 from barrel and even some gassy 07’s, so lovely to put that context next to the uniformly excellent bottles. On that day, the Bienvenue showed better to me than the Bâtard or even the Montrachet – we didn’t get to compare it to the Montrachet this time, but I still prefer it to the Bâtard. 2007/2006 Meursault 1er Charmes
A blast of toasty oak needs to fade on the 07 before I can get near it – but it only takes a minute or two of swirling – plenty of clean citrus aromas and good depth are the reward. Lithe, some fat balanced by vg acidity. I sometimes find Meursault 1ers a little too soft – but not here, lovely. The 06 has hints of lanolin on the nose which I normally find only on substantially older wines. I find a texture on the palate that implies some dissolved gas, but I also find fine complexity and good balance – very good for an 06!
2007/2006 Puligny 1er Garenne – from memory a blend of Garenne and Les Garennes
High-toned complex aromas from the 07. Lovely mouthwatering acidity plays with savoury elements and intensity. Lingers beautifully – really super wine. The 2006 shows denser aromas of riper fruit and initially a little yeast. Despite the riper aromas this has a nice mineral spine and again very good balance. I’d happily drink both, but would buy the 07…
2006 Bienvenues / Bâtard
The Bienvenues shows creamy, dense, very wide and complex aromas – wow. In the mouth there is fat and concentration, yet there are nicely clean flavours, delicacy and balance – thanks to fine acidity. The finish is very long but majors on barrel components right now. Simply super. As a contrast the Bâtard has deeper but much tighter aromas. In the mouth likewise, it’s hiding it’s complexity. If there is one area where this pulls rank, it is the intensity of the mid-palate, but overall this is showing in a very tight way so gives an ‘easy win’ to the Bienvenues for drinking today.
Like the 1995 Corton of about 1 week ago, this is far from satisfying, but certainly better than that wine. 1995 Joseph Drouhin, Clos de la Roche
Medium, medium-pale ruby-red. A little sweetness and minerality on the nose, faint red and orange fruit but for the first hour rather undemonstrative. On your tongue there’s perfect acidity and an intensity that builds all the more over time, though needs at least 1 hour to start becoming interesting. The tannin is relatively background and eventually a little fat develops. This becomes almost good without ever becoming really interesting. Rebuy – Maybe
Part deux of my small report on Saturday’s dinner. High-quality wines throughout, and only one corked wine that I can remember – but fortunately for us it wasn’t from our table. Despite it being a level playing field for all, this is where we begged the use of better glassware – these wines would clearly have benefited from it.
