Tuesday – No Romance here…this is work!

By billn on September 28, 2004 #vintage 2004

tortochotIt’s just after Lunch and we have already had a full day. And Lunch is no fast food dive here…They go all out. More food than you can possibly eat and just when you can’t eat another bite, out comes Le Fromage. And of course what’s a meal without wine. Today’s lunch included a great Chardonnay from Jura. It’s early afternoon and boy do I want a nap. No time for that though, it’s back to the vineyards.

Picking grapes is much of what you expect or hope, but much much more. And lots of singing too. I don’t know the words, but who cares, I sing along anyways. Every evening meal begins ends that way. And I am catching on… especially to the harvest favorite, “A glou, a glou…” Last night I lead a rendition of “DO WAH DITTY DITTY DUM DITTY DO” which everyone seemed to love. Who knows maybe I started a tradition. We’ll see tonite.

Any ways, about picking… it was quite an adventure but it’s back-breaking work! Jean Luc Joilllot, the winemaker and owner of the vineyard, is very selective about the fruit he uses for the final wine. Much time and attention is given, even prior to sorting, to select only the best grapes. Not a difficult task really except that the key is to do it quickly. I certainly didn’t want to be labeled the slow American. Not that I would have known it. There’s a lot of pressure on you when you’re picking for the reputation of your entire country, you know. And it is essential to watch your fingers…those clippers are sharp! Well about 2 hours in, it happened. I was zipping along and snip – Ouch! Of course I didn’t say anything… don’t want the label of the wimpy American either. So there I am, snipping away, blood dripping from my hand and thinking to myself, “This cut is going to get infected, I’m going to get gan green and my arm is going to have to be amputated.” But at least I will have proof of being Burgundy for the harvest. A great story to tell my grand kids. By the way, grape acid is a good antiseptic… I hope.

So we picked quite a few grapes. Chardonnay and a little Aligote, not Pinot. And the grapes looked like a post card. A little rot here and there, but that’s to be expected. Later today we head to the “Hautes Cotes de Beaune” (or upper slopes of Beaune) to continue picking Chardonnay. There are some great wines made from grapes grown there; Parker calls it some of the best value wines in Burgundy. Jean Luc’s is stellar, if you haven’t tried it. And this year I helped make it.

The weather is perfect for harvest. Cool, slightly overcast, and dry. And the forecast is good all week. Harvest ends Friday with a big party. My plane leaves Saturday Morning; I hope I’m on it.

Tonite we will again gather for dinner, taste some wines, and of course, sing. I’m sure there will be a request for Do Wah Ditty. Who knows maybe I’ll lead everyone in a round of “Take me out to the Ball Game.”

Until tomorrow,
John in Pommard

Pommard & Gevrey

By billn on September 27, 2004 #vintage 2004

...It was a long, fun day today in Pommard; The weather is right for picking as it is overcast, cool, and no rain. This is good news for some folks as August weather was not too kind to those in some villages as they were hammered by periods of hail. Villages of Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey St. Denis, Pommard, and Volnay experienced some severe hail that damaged a few of the vineyards causing rot in on some of the vines. Interesting though, was the randomness of the hail. Not only did some villages experience littlle or no hail, some vineyards had experienced hail only in small portions. this was the case for example in Clos Vougeot. I spoke with Chantal Tortochot yesterday as we helped her sort grapes. “The lower portion of Clos Vougeot”, & she said, “received heavy portions, while the upper level received no hail at all”. She went on to say that even with the damage they are harvesting some great
grapes.

Quite a conrast however from the 03 vintage. Late cool weather has been a problem for some. The grapes show great acid levels but fully ripe grapes are not found on all clusters. But most producers are very pleased with the harvest. Jean Luc Joillot, in Pommard is very happy with his harvest. “The grapes are well balanced,” he told me, “many vineyards like Les Rugiens qnd Les Charmots, received no hail and the fruit is nice. With the more difficult vineyards, we are just taking more time to sort the grapes and remove the bad stuff; The grapes that survived the damage are going to make some great wine. We shall soon see. As always in Burgundy, challenges are a way of life. You just do everything you can to allow the wine to make itself. But we’re certainly having fun here trying to stay out of the way. My back hurts, but the wine is soothing that each night.

Tommorow we are off the sorting tables and in the vineyards; Photos and reports to follow.
From Pommard
John (Goldenslope)

The harvest report for 2004

By billn on September 16, 2004 #vintage 2004

Hopefully this will be fun and at the same time informative. Roving reporters from domaines and harvest teams giving you the realtime news.
Cheers, Bill

Bugger!

By billn on August 11, 2004 #travel

ze frog

Currently at home admiring the wildlife in/on my pond.

I should be on holiday with wife & dog walking in the mountains around Arosa. They are there, but I am not.

I injured my back on Saturday so can hardly get up the stairs never mind a damn mountain. It’s the sacroiliac that’s the problem, but no physiotherapists for me – they make it worse – or at least that’s my experience to-date, osteopaths are okay but I don’t have one local.

It’s enough to drive one to drink! More tea vicar?

Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod.

By billn on July 22, 2004 #travel

nizhny

Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod. It’s taken me some while to get round to putting the pics together, but I made this trip a few weeks back and really enjoyed it. The Russian people are great to spend time with and seem to know far more about their history and culture than we know about our own. The only barrier is having to keep up with the vodka and brandy toasts – particularly for someone like me who prefers a glass of red stuff.

Corkscrews for Surgeons!

By billn on July 12, 2004 #other sites

Looking more like a field-surgeon’s toolkit, it’s hard to believe, but this is an incredibly important resource for those of you with more than one corkscrew…

Peter Gabriel in Concert

By billn on June 13, 2004 #random

peter gabriel
The Romanée-Conti of popular music! I first saw Peter Gabriel at Manchester Apollo around 1982, his music is about skillfully woven layers of insight and genius. Despite lots of rain and a sky as black as a Rockford Shiraz the rain abated and we had a fabulous concert in Bregenz, Austria – the stage set on lake Constance.

I deposited lots of pictures here.

the farnsburg offline – May 2004

By billn on May 22, 2004 #degustation

There was no official scribe – so as I’d apparently managed to write something down for most of the night – I was deployed. Eleven lucky souls arrived late-afternoon Friday at Farnsburg – a restaurant and guest-house with a bit of a wino reputation… plus buffalo in the fields.

Eleven turned out to be a perfect number – no-one felt left out as the pours were relatively generous doubling the impact of the generosity of the participants – what wines!. We even had representatives of the London Rhône Fanciers Club in the shape of Charles and Nigel – who flew in that afternoon (I presume by private jet) to make it a true ‘offshore’ offline.

The notes will naturally reflect my preference for watery, thin, green and acidic Burgundy, but you should get the idea… 🙂

Apero im Grand Cru Keller
Amuses et mis en apetit
1982 and 1988 Krug Champagne

This cellar is a little bit special – this place is also doubles as a wine-shop – so many gems.
1982 Krug The nose is a little yeasty and animale; dried Italian ham, and high toned blood orange notes. The palate is a revelation for an ’82 – so young, sharp and fresh – lovely acidity. Tastes younger than a 1990 Winston Churchill I had in December. Lovely, complex champagne.
1988 Krug An obvious family resemblance on the nose, just shows a little extra high tones vs the 82. The palate is slightly fresher and has more intensity on the mid-palate – again lovely complex champagne.

Loup de mer auf Chardonnay Schaum
1982 Roumier and 1992 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne
1986 Domaine de Chevalier (Graves) Blanc
2000 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, La Tâche

A lovely dish – nicely presented too. The three whites were all served together La Tâche followed.

1982 Roumier Corton-Charlemagne Deep gold. The nose retains a hint of toast, un-salted butter and sea-shells. There’s admirable depth, it’s all tertiary now – I can’t pick up any fruit – but impressive all the same. The palate has some fat, perfect acidity and a creamy finish of good length. Shows quite young – only with time does the nose become more diffuse and eventually the palate goes too – but this was a super wine for 45+ minutes.
1992 Bonneau du Martray, Corton-Charlemagne Medium gold. The nose doesn’t have the depth of the Roumier but shows a wider horizon of creamy citrus fruit and a faint, high-toned soapy note. The palate, just like the nose doesn’t show the depth of the Roumier wine, but there’s a wider range of creamy fruit driven flavours – super length too. I like fruit – so I personally prefer this wine – despite it probably not being the ‘better wine’. Held up well in the glass – solid as a rock 2 hours later.
1986 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc Golden colour. The nose is typical aged white Graves – I hate it – sorry can’t help it, smells like estery, slightly oxidised paint stripper (I quite like young Graves!). Smooth silky palate that doesn’t have the impact of either of the ‘Charlies’. Seams quite a linear delivery – quite long though.
2000 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, La Tâche Together with a few 1997’s, this is one of the few wines you can really enjoy now that have been produced since 1995, despite it only being released a year ago. It was actually an hour before I started to taste this, I was just captivated by the scent. Medium ruby colour with a cherry red rm. The nose assaults the palate with an incredible green, spicy note – seems to have a lavender component – quite unlike the tasting just over a year ago. Slowly the ‘green-ness’ becomes more focused as cedar and amazingly becomes more intense. After 90 minutes there’s a whiff of smoke and finally white pepper, blood-orange and red berry-fruits – that’s closer to what I remember! The palate is impeccably balanced with intense fruit red and black berries. Very long. The palate can’t quite match the amazing intensity of the nose – but this is the real deal and a real honey. I think that even some of our ‘Rhône Monsters’ liked it!

Farnsburger Jungschweinsrücken mit Kartoffelküchlein
1983, 1985, 1990 Château Margaux
1962 Château Beaucastel

Quite the greatest cut of pork, thickly cut, pink, yet still with a ‘crackling’ exterior – they must be happy pigs – you can seem them free-ranging in the fields…
1983 Château Margaux Deep, deep colour. Heavy macerated fruit nose that somehow retains a sense of minerality, a hint of smoke too. Massive, slightly backward palate. Not fat, but there’s amazing focused intensity on the mid-palate. Super length. Showed well but definitely needs a few more years tucked away.
1985 Château Margaux Deep colour. The nose has deep, bloody fruit and shows higher tones vs the 1983. For me this shows much more accessible intensity and interest than the 1983. Don’t get me wrong the ’83 is a great wine, but this showed à point – perfect tonight.
1990 Château Margaux We had to have one – and it turned out to be this one! We were lucky that the taint was at a very low level so we had a ‘there it is’ then ‘it’s gone’ experience. The nose is thinner and higher toned than the previous two – similarly the palate doesn’t seem as broad or fat. It’s actually quite linear an concentrated and I still enjoyed drinking it.
1962 Château Beaucastel My first 1962 – and what do you know, there were four of us with ’62 as birth-year! We drank this one up pretty quick in case it fell apart – it looked fragile. Medium ruby colour with a trace of orange, quite hazy but I never worked out whether that was the wine or the handling. The sweet nose has hints of the sea-shore. Equally sweet palate with good length. We all agreed, this would be perfect with a medium-rare steak.

Gallowayrinds-Entrecôte an Syrahjus
1999 La Landonne 1999 La Mouline 1999 La Turque 1999 Rostaing… 1999 Ogier, Belle Helene 1986 Vega Sicilia, Unico

Dream meat – we gave it 99 points. The ‘Syrahjus’ was deep brown and very intense – but the wine was a perfect accompaniment.

1999 La Landonne Virtually saturated with a purple rim. The nose is incredibly similar to the La Tâche (which has been open for nearly 2 hours) – glasses side by side, the fruit of this shows just a little blacker with more pepper. Forward but very velvetty tannin. Long and really very, very fine.
La Mouline Same colour. Hint of gunflint with high-toned, red-shaded fruit. Less obviously tanninc that the Landonne – the balance seems close to perfect – a very glossy, well polished wine – I loved it. One of those that just slips down un-noticed – then you’re sad because there’s none left
La Turque Same colour again. Deep, deep nose – there’s a little creme brulee and subtle pepper accompanying the black fruit. The tannin wraps your mouth in velvet – fabulous wine – my second favourite of the three (like I’d complain if I ‘only’ had the Landonne!). Rostaing…. Don’t know what happened here – I seem to have missed this one (HIC!) Normal (ish) service is resumed…
Ogier, Belle Helene Dark, almost saturated colour. The nose is a deep red/black blend with sweet mushrooms, spice and a slow to develop tar note. This is really essence of wine – incredible intensity of fruit. For me the experience doesn’t have the ‘seamless’ plate of either La Mouline or La Turque. You can feel this wine going down like a digestif – really incredible.
1986 Vega Sicilia, Unico Deep ruby colour. A little fat on the nose. a compelling yet understated palate. All I wrote was – an Armani suit – no tie. Lovely wine that fit perfectly with the hour (was bottle 16!) – very impressive
1967 Fonseca Medium, medium-plus ruby red. Porty nose (not in a negative sense – this is Port!). High-toned with almonds and raisins. Admirable depth of fruit on the palate and very long. Too high alcohol for me though, so I donated it to a needy cause (Nigel I think).

Aprokosenjalousie
1990 Château d’Yquem
1998 Pincészete, Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos Muskotály Aszú

I think I liked the desert and I’m sure I ate it all…

1990 Château d’Yquem Remember my white Graves experience – well this is just a more complex (admittedly) slightly de-tuned “estery, slightly oxidised paint stripper” wine. The extra beeswax note doesn’t save it. Superb complexity and length on the palate. That’s two Yquems I’ve had ’83 & ’90 with consistent experiences. Taking the positive from this – I know I don’t need to worry about the cost…
1998 Pincészete, Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos Muskotály Aszú Being easily led by the slutty-types (wines) this restored my palate. The nose jumps at you with a gorgeous, unctuous marmalade and apricot mix. The palate was so balanced; concentration, acidity and sweetness that it actually came across quite simple. I loved it. We christened it an LA wine. Great front – not much behind

A Cheese selection came and went – don’t quite know where exactly…
The 1:00am Wine – Rainer felt we need the extra:
2003 Deidesheimer, Hohenmorgen Riesling Auslese – Pfalz Pale yellow. Lovely apple and pear sweet nose. Complex with baked apples and a nice attack. Light in the mid-palate with understated acidity and good length. This wine served an admirable purpose – those that were considering driving ordered a taxi after wine number 20 – even though it was only 10% alcohol

The Farnsburg breakfast was also rather fine – and much needed by some of the team. The sun was shining so Victor was going to 2003 German tasting in the afternoon(!) Biggest thanks go to Marc Breitenmoser for his organisation – smooth as clockwork – a special evening. Also big thanks to Andreas Putzi for the food, service with a smile and courses that coupled so well with very big wines.

Marvellous Montrachet

By billn on April 10, 2004 #degustation

drc montrachet
Do you think that three bottles was too much(?) I have to say my first tasting of the fabulous Montrachet from our old friends in Vosne-Romanée left an indelible mark on my palate – or at least on the ‘poor’ Echézeaux that followed it – more info on this tasting in July’s Burgundy-Report.

Burgundy Report

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