The last picture selection from Mark:
The first four pictures all coming off Bonnes Mares looking towards Morey:
The last four are the team at the end ! Me bottom right front row in 111 & 112 next to Amy Winehouse look alike Sandrine.
Mark de Morey
The lunch menu offered up a tantalising wine option – Domaine Leflaive Bourgogne Rouge – I never heard of it, clearly it was worth investigating. Of-course when the bottle arrived the mistake was clear, it was actually from Olivier Leflaive. Anyway the bottle was here so why not give it a whirl(?)
2006 Olivier Leflaive, Bourgogne Cuvée Margot
Medium cherry-red. The nose started red and a little powdery, the powdery edge slowly lifted to reveal simple but nice enough red berry aromas. The palate had reasonable balance, likewise the concentration was not bad for an 06 bourgogne. It’s only a few hours since I drank more than one glass but I can tell you little more. It was okay, but in a forgetful sort of way. Even if it was very cheap I can think of no valid reason to try it again…
Rebuy – No
Here’s an interesting report about what some people carry in their suitcases!
Serge is in the grey hoodie pening the large format bottle and with the cake. Lovely man.
The rest of the party are Herve Arlaud, Romain Arlaud (dark curly hair & plaster cast on wrist) and my domaine resident fellow vendangeurs including Sophie, la belge.
Mark de Morey
More photos from Arlaud. These are all from our first day, 27/9, picking Bourgogne Rouge grapes below the RN74. Herve Ar;aud is the grey haired guy in pale polo shirt on the right in No 12.
No 29 has one of the great larger than life characters amingst our crew, local Jean-Pierre Feral, with patron Herve Arlaud – the latter with atypical cigarette. J-PF & HA kept up a continual , ongoing banter about all & sundry even whilst we were in the vines which was the source of much constant amusement (except fully to me as I couldnt understand it unfortunately !!).
Mark de Morey
A super report on the ‘other’ Baron Thenard here.
Photos of cuverie and triage table.
Very impressive new build modern set up – must have cost a bit. 3 or 4 yrs old. The fork lift takes the metal ‘tub’ from under the sorting table and is able to rotate it to tip the grapes into the tanks.
In photo 20 Cyprien Arlaud is facing the camera foreground in the pale beige fleece. Stagiste Peter is in the black vest type T shirt and ‘above’ him is patron, Herve Arlaud – a really great guy.
Typical end of day wind down drink in the ‘refecture’ – the local vendangeurs before going home for the day. The collages on the walls behind are collections of photos of previous vintage vendanges.
The second two photos of 4 here, 16 & 15, are from the 3rd Oct just after we had ‘escaped’ the worst rain of the vendange that afternoon. I’m in the right foreground with green fleece over my waterproofs trying to stay warm – note my damp hair !! Next to me is Georges, one half of the incredible duo of two septagerian (? – seventy + yrs old both) brothers , Georges et Fernand.
Mark de Morey
‘Mark de Morey’ was eventually found – not at the bottom of the destemmer, rather with a full inbox in his Blackberry – de rigeur for pickers this year you know! Trying to fix both that and his cherished camera slowed him down a little, but unbowed, here’s the continuation of his story…
Domaine Arlaud Diary
Monday 29th Sept
My notes, now, several days later, tell me we did Morey Les Blanchards premier cru this morning and afternoon we did Morey Les Milandes premier cru although has been suggested we did the latter yesterday – your writer now confused.com !! By checking the Morey map in Coates latest tome am sure doing ‘Blanchards’ morning was correct – supported by one or two photos taken, including a couple of my fellow vendangeurs (male) pisse dans les vignes ! Recall the grapes looked very healthy indeed – large pendulous, clean looking, bunches from Milandes. Read more..
This relatively unassuming label delivers everything that the Girardin label promised but absolutely failed to deliver. Clearly there is a vintage difference, but in the final analysis, this tastes like pinot noir, and a very good one too. Aromatically much more interesting than the Foillard of the day before, though the Morgon had the edge in the mouth. Overall the Morgon is a slightly better package for drinking today, but a dead heat from an interest perspective.
2005 Pierre Morey, Bourgogne Pinot Noir
Medium, medium-plus cherry-red. The nose is deep and heavily scented, darkly fruited, edged with a little cream and with something just a little more floral above – very impressive. The palate is a little more linear than the nose, medium density with good dark fruit, slightly forward acidity and a nice extra dimension in the mid-palate. The reasonably grained tannin is in the background.
Rebuy – Yes
Need some 2006 bourgogne recommendations? Try these.
The packaging is great. The expectation it sets also; Pinot Noir Les Vieilles Vignes. The price is not exceptional for a bourgogne, in fact at 20 Swiss francs it’s far from cheap. Let’s be clear, this is a nice tasty wine but tastes like Beaujolais not pinot – and not a stunning Beaujolais – a top crus Beaujolais can be cheaper and certainly ‘better’. Incredibly disappointing, the laurels easily sit with the Beaujolais in this case.
2006 Vincent Girardin, Bourgogne Pinot Noir Les Vieilles Vignes
Medium, medium-plus cherry-red. The nose is fruity, a little gassy and smells like cheap Beaujolais. Sweetly ripe, quite well balanced with a small edge of dissolved gas. Good length. Tastes like Beaujolais. Rock-stable for 2 hours.
Rebuy – No
Clearly above I used the term ‘cheap beaujolais’ above as a negative, but that’s a) because cheap beaujolais is usually not so nice, and b) because I was expecting the Girardin wine to taste like pinot noir – come to think of it, not just pinot noir, but pinot noir vieilles vignes!
As a balm, here is a ‘real’ Beaujolais, admittedly costing 4 Swiss francs per bottle more, but it’s a great bottle and the additional investment is amply rewarded!
2005 Foillard, Morgon Cuvée Corcelette
The table-top is a mess; it looks great, but the red wax capsule is far from user friendly! Medium-plus cherry-red. Wide, faintly spicy, dark-skinned fruit. Quite big in the mouth and very smooth. The acidity creeps up on you because you’re initially engrossed by the sweet fruit, but it sweeps you into a good finish. There’s a fine intensity in the mid-palate. Super wine.
Rebuy – Yes
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