a few views from the last days…

By billn on November 21, 2022 #travels in burgundy 2022

weekend 45 2022…

By billn on November 16, 2022 #degustation

I missed telling you about a couple of nice ones at the weekend:

2017 Roland Lavantureux, Chablis Vauprin
Plenty of colour here but there’s not even a hint of anything oxidative. Broad and fresh with a little caramel padding – the oak is still visible in this one. In the mouth – who switched all the lights on?! – such energy and fine architectural shape – then there’s the delicious flavour. As a purist, I should discount this wine because, like the nose, it still has some barrel caramel in the flavours – but it’s just so damn delicious. And hey presto – the bottle was empty – how did that happen?
Rebuy – Yes

2008 Dubreuil-Fontaine, Corton Clos du Roi
I think this is the last bottle from a mixed case of 2008s that I bought at the domaine about 10-12 years ago.
Medium colour. What an elegant, nay, beautiful nose! So perfumed. In the mouth there’s some fat – I’d go as far as to say generosity – and beautifully perfumed flavour. Blind, I don’t think that I’d ever guess this the be a 2008 – bravo – finesse personified!
Rebuy – Yes

some midweekers – including just your average 1984!

By billn on November 10, 2022 #degustation

week 45 wines - 2022!

Leftover boiled ham joint, diced and added to a fresh risotto – yes!

2018 François Gaunoux, Meursault Le Clos de Tavaux
Cork-sealed. A young colour with plenty of aromatic freshness. In the mouth, this is young – slightly structural – a good sign in this high volume vintage. Tatsy wine with fresh structure and just enough intensity. I think it will only get better if the cork plays along…
Rebuy – Yes

1984 Pierre Guillemot, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Serpentières
I tasted at the domaine on Tuesday, and when we had finished the range of 2021s, Vincent Guillemot pulled out a blind wine: Forward, in fact amazingly forward underbrush / sous-bois aromas, almost a cep-mushroom complexity to this but ultra-clean too – wow! If I’d been poured this wine blind in a restaurant and was told it was a 1970s La Tâche I’d have simply said thankyou! Vincent was making a point that the early commentary on 2021 was not that favourable – but only from people who had not tasted any wines! He didn’t tell me the vintage – I guessed that it was a wine from the mid-80s but not 85 as that vintage has a more obvious ripeness and ‘fat’ texture. I’d hardly ever tasted any decent 1984s so I guessed 1986! Not bad but still wrong. 1984 was a vintage with a lot of rot – but Vincent explained that his father had triaged this fruit to death – the result is in the bottle – bravo! When we parted he gave me the bottle to drink at home – he’d used a Coravin at the domaine. Back in Bern:
Very clean colour though obviously with a little browning at the rim. A nose that was exactly as on Tuesday – you could smell this before the nose was in the glass – so clean, so complex – so large-scaled! In the mouth it’s broad and obviously fresh but not in a sharp way – just a way that brings mouth-watering energy. Deeply flavoured wine – that even the domestic management enjoyed – and she doesn’t like ‘old wine!’
Timeless, brilliant wine from a long forgotten ‘poor’ vintage!

1997 Bouchard Père, La Romanée

By billn on November 09, 2022 #degustation

1997 La Romanée

1997 Bouchard Père, La Romanée
My last bottle, but what a way to go out!
Ooh – that’s a beautiful nose – reeling me in with complexity. Mouth-filling – an extravaganza of flavour that’s even more punchy than the nose. A bottle about 5 years ago was still showing some youth – this much less so – but the bones of fine structure remain as does its freshness and seemingly endless, ravishing, finish. Captivating is a word that could have been coined to describe this wine – its actual age and vintage seem immaterial – it is (was!) simply a great wine. Bravo!
Rebuy – No Chance

2022 Beaujolais Nouveau – as good as it gets!

By billn on November 08, 2022 #annual laurels#beaujolais#degustation

The 2022 vintage:

2022 Beaujolais NouveauThe 2021-2022 winter was long and, compared to most of the recent years, relatively cold. Frosts were commonplace until the beginning of April so probably because of that, budburst – in the second half of April – was relatively late. At this time, the domaines were already noting a lack of rain in the vineyards.

May was a warm and dry one: 50% less rainfall than normal plus more sunshine than usual – it was the warmest May on record since 1959.

The vines grew quickly and flowering took place in ideal, if early, conditions. Despite the dryness of May, there was sufficient rain in June to avoid issues with the vines even if the quantity of rainfall remained much below the average. It was in July that (not just!) the Beaujolais saw successive waves of hot weather – again lacking rain – it was the driest July for 33 years with 8mm of rain instead of an average of 68mm! This meant that the sanitary conditions of the vines couldn’t have been better.

The harvest was very early – from the middle of August! The hot weather had reduced the amount of malic acid in the grapes but concentrated the amount of tartaric acid. Despite a little more rain in the area of Beaujolais Villages, the wines were concentrated and volumes were modest, so unlike in 2020, it was rarely possible for domaines to ‘take advantage’ of the volumes on offer – so there is a consistency in the concentration and ripeness in these 2022s.
Many thanks to the team at Château du Moulin à Vent for some of their vintage insight.

The best wines:

I just hope that you have some chance to find such domaine wines. Last year my local (Swiss) coop had only one, which was bottled just for them – no producer info – and that was probably just as well because it was rubbish!

Whilst there were few ‘great wines’ in the equivalent tasting of 2021s, last year, those that were, clearly stood out from the crowd. In 2022 it was more difficult because the average quality was very consistent and as high as I have seen it – in this respect it reminds me very much of the 2019 vintage. From 100 wines there was one that was corked – the second bottle was fine – and only one wine where I directly said ‘NO!’ – I wouldn’t put this one in my mouth a second time!

Any complaints?
Actually, yes! Why so many heavy, statement, bottles? – ‘Prestigious cuvées?’ This is Beaujolais Nouveau for God’s sake. WTF!?

4 Great wines:
Dominique Piron: Beaujolais AND Beaujolais Villages
Domaine de Colette, Natur’Elle de Colette, Villages
Domaine des Nugues Villages

12 Excellent Wines – Beaujolais:
Jean Yves Sonnery
Anthony Charvet, Beaujo Beau
JM Aujoux, La vie est belle
Frédéric Berne
Domaine Perthuizet, Gégé
Trenel
Château de L’Eclair
Domaine des Prévellières
Julien Bertrand
Brossette Paul André et Fils
Agamy, Domaine du Solémy

8 Excellent Wines – Beaujolais Villages:
Château de Vaux De Vermont Yannick
Vignobles Jambon, Pure
Domaine Péchard Tano
David Berougon
Jean-Paul Dubost, Beaujolais Lantignié
Domaine du Clos du Fief
Château de Pougelon
Jean Yves Sonnery, Cuvée Elégance

Click on ‘Read More…’ below to see the full notes for 100 wines in the order that they were (blind) tasted:
Beaujolais
  Read more..

weekend wines – week 44 2022

By billn on November 06, 2022 #degustation

weekend wines wee 44 2022
Three very easy winners this weekend!

2020 Thivin, Côte de Brouilly Clos Bertrand
A deep nose, a wide nose, of pure dark fruit. I like this shape, direct in style but with fine texture and depth to its pure fruit – delicious!
Rebuy – Yes

2017 Thibert, Pouilly-Vinzelles Les Longeays
Broad, properly fresh but still ripe yellow citrus – faintly waxy. Mouth-filling, with just a little fat to this but it’s another wine with a fine, silky, texture. A width of beautiful, pure, clinging on for life, ripe citrus for a finish. Certainly a little padding but, frankly, ultra-delicious wine that just hints of the minerality to come with a couple more years in the cellar.
Rebuy – Yes

2019 Dominique Gallois, Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles-Vignes
Dark colour. A sweet core of dark fruited aroma, perfumed too. Mouth-filling, structural yet beautifully fluid despite a couple of mm of cushioning, indeed quite direct shaped. Juicy, long, silky, intense – slightly old-vine creamy in the finish. Fabulous.
Rebuy – Yes

it’s warm out there…

By billn on November 01, 2022 #vintage 2022

Saturday morning coffee - with a view...
Saturday morning coffee – with a view…

French average monthly temperatures (so far) versus the historical averages from Serge ZakaIt’s been an amazing last couple of weeks – over 20°C most days in Beaune and over 23°C for a few of those. Just see the effect on the monthly temperatures versus the average – right – from the redoutable Dr Serge Zaka

At home, I can jog in the mountains in November and there’s no snow right now at 2,300 metres – I did that yesterday – in shorts and a t-shirt – but it would have been the same today, i.e. November! One of my neighbours’ trees has some cherry blossom and returning to Beaune for a moment I’ve seen photos of vines developing new leaves! Of course, that may end with a bump at the end of this week when there maybe a chance of frost on Saturday.

The most obvious result of the year’s weather in Beaune is that the trees in the town are yet to shed their leaves – I’ve never seen so many birds coming to roost at night. It’s a very dangerous place to park right now – and doesn’t smell so great either – such that the local town council are becoming worried about the Hospices de Beaune wine auction in 3 weeks – there are lots of white tents in Beaune at this time 😉 They have reportedly considered trying to shoot some of the birds but there are literally thousands of them so this seems a no-starter. I have helpfully suggested that they could cut down all the trees 🙂

Back to Beaune today but for now, how about some nice (snow free!) mountain tracks/views between 1,500 and 2,100 metres from yesterday:

a new report online

By billn on October 28, 2022 #reports

Already online for a couple of days – here

June 2020 - Burgundy Report

“Mainly 2020s from 12 domaines, an important vineyard profile and a look at how the 1996 vintage for reds is coming along – spoiler – the Musigny was the best wine!”

a couple of mid-weekers…

By billn on October 27, 2022 #degustation

week 43 2022 - a couple of midweekers

Week 43, 2022 – already! And you can see that my cold has improved – right? 🙂

2017 Domaine Verret, Bourgogne Côte d’Auxerre Les Gaudiers
Young colour. A nose that is incisive to start but still shows plenty of creamy oak in the background. Just as incisive in the mouth – this has a great structural shape, intensity and concentration of lemon-citrus fruit – but again a lot of creamy, almost vanilla oak which seems to add excessive sweetness. A wine that’s seriously great in parts but, too much, resembles a lemon pie with too much creamy vanilla – in my glass, anyway – normally, I don’t decline lemon pie!
Rebuy – No

2019 Berthaut-Gerbet, Vosne-Romanée
Such depth of colour! This nose is deeply, darkly, red-fruited, but with such fine purity to that fruit. Supple, perhaps with a couple of millimetres of cushion to the silky flavours. Sweetly ripe but not in the ‘make-up’ style of the Verret. Very modest bitters in this finish but no overt tannin – just a silky texture. A wine that adds dimensions as it warms and takes in air in your glass. Far too easy to drink for such a baby and just beautifully proportioned.
Rebuy – Yes

Burgundy Report

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