A short hop to Leeds – so a Yorkshire lunch – even if one of us didn’t have the fortune of originating from that county 🙂

(My) Lunch was French onion soup, venison Wellington and nibbling from a selection of cheeses. I can’t remember the last time I saw this soup – is it just a Paris thing? Not a large volume of food but with a few bottles to keep the three of us company it still required our attention for 4 hours!

1999 Rougeot, Meursault 1er Charmes
The label tells that this was recorked at the domaine in 2015.
Now that’s a very lovely nose, sweetly fruited but with a fine focus and just a little age-related complexity – that’s just lovely. In the mouth this is incisive but still concentrated; agile and mineral too. I’m liking the precision and minerality here – a lot! I guess that it’s my wine. Simply super wine!

2009 Comtes Lafon, Montrachet
There’s a bit more basso-profundo to this nose, still a suggestion of oak toast too, so it’s a surprise when it bursts over the palate with energy and a taut style yet is still so broad finishing. There’s a creaminess to this finish that I put down to age, rather than the barrel – I’m guessing a wine of the early 90s (93-95) – I should have taken more care with the colour! – but certainly grand cru from the breadth and length of this wonderful finish – it’s a better wine than the 1999 but not by as large a margin as the label suggests as it’s much less chiselled but given the vintage, no surprise… An absolute treat!

Served as a pair and we knew the vintage:

2006 de Montille, Volnay 1er Taillepieds
Modestly red in colour and very red-fruited too – only with time taking on some extra, saline, complexity. Round in the mouth and very accessible – deliciously accessible – though lacking any great intellectual rigour. Time in the glass showed a wine that was developing in multiple directions and becoming more complex though never losing the ‘easy’ tag for me. I guessed Cote de Beaune 1er but was surprised when the wine was revealed having always considered this cuvée to be something stricter…

2006 DRC, Grands-Echézeaux
Wow – immediately I’m thinking of fine structure and the great grand cru complexity of Cote de Nuits aroma. The first taste doesn’t disappoint either! Structural without pain, accessible but with no lack of complexity – mineral wine but without austerity. Yes it’s young and structured but it’s so drinkably delicious too, despite the authority of this performance. The minerality takes me in the direction of a top Clos de la Roche but never for a moment do I note anything of Vosne spice or the roses of whole clusters – but who cares – this is great wine!

And our last pair…

1996 Dominique Gallois, Charmes-Chambertin
The first wine I ever bought en-primeur!
Ooh – that’s also a rather good nose – of more structure and maturity than the DRC – but not by a lot. In the mouth, broad, fresh and energetic – clearly more acidity and tannin too – though never too much in either area. There are some parallels with the previous wine but that younger wine is clearly more sophisticated. Still, I’m very happy with this and the acidity tells me it’s my wine. Balanced and precise, the structural overcoat still has a few creases to iron out but for a, generally speaking, sometimes slightly bland (grand) cru – in comparison to its neighbours such as Latricières etcetera – here’s a wine with character in spades and I love it.

1997 Ponsot, Griotte-Chambertin
Here the nose is certainly redder and riper than the last – less chiselled indeed a little diffuse but with no lack of invitation. Broad, again red-fruited over the palate, almost disarmingly lush. Simply delicious wine but of this pair, give me the little extra rigour, the strictness and complexity combined in the 1996.

I’d call that a great lunch!

For me a very short weekend, as on Saturday I took ‘advantage’ of the new, less stringent, requirements for UK entry – via France. Still, there was the modest matter of 1,300 km to drive over 17 hours: Hardly any people on the boat – maybe because the flexible return cost £400! – still, that was cheaper than the tunnel or flying and having a hire car for a week! I’m now double vaccinated, very tested, and at large in the UK for a short few days. But, returning to the theme of wine:

My first bottle showed the travesty of all my Nomacorked Alsace Grand Crus – I could use that word interchangeably with ruined!2000 Sylvie Spielmann, Riesling Bergheim, bought from Sylvie at the domaine circa 2002. The cork didn’t come out in one piece but it had done a good job; the wine deeper coloured but with no hint of oxidation – becoming a little tertiary and petrolly – but very clean and drinkable – yum.

2007 Comtes Lafon, Volnay 1er Santenots du Milieu
A robust cork that came out in one piece.
Great colour for the vintage – still plenty of depth and no overt look of age. A lovely nose, layered with red fruits – still a wine of youth – yet completely approachable. In the mouth there is a width of flavour that, like the nose, seems to melt over the palate in layers – texturally it’s very nice too. Good energy and clarity for this vintage with the merest frame of bitters that indicate a vintage of less easy ripening than we experience today but this counterpoint bringing a lovely extra dimension to my interest. I found this completely delicious and am happy to have a few more in the cellar – at least I think I have!
Rebuy – Yes

Three winners this weekend…

2008 Dubreuil-Fontaine, Corton Clos du Roi
Hmm, this is a 2008 but one with no lack of aromatic depth or concentration. There’s the first impression of some sous-bois in the mix together with a beautiful floral width – that’s lovely. In the mouth this has good impact and super width of flavour – there’s a stony element to the fruit but with flavours of great punch. Slowly, slowly lingering on a more mineral, slightly herbal finish. No shrinking violet and at the edges, you can see it’s from a cooler vintage though the core remains impressive and delicious.
Rebuy – Yes

2015 Laurent Tribut, Chablis
All the different parcels of the domaine assembled, some from above Beauroy, but mainly from near Forets.
An encompassing nose – faintly with a little apricot – no, peach. Lovely shape in the mouth, cool-fruited and more mineral than when young. A 2015 but clearly from Chablis – and delicious too. Lovely wine
Rebuy – Yes

2019 Antoine Sunier, Régnié Montmeronts
I bought some of this so had high hopes.
Plenty of colour. Vibrantly, sweetly perfumed fruit. I’m loving the energy here but it’s still a supple wine. The flavour has a slightly direct style but it’s also deeply flavoured. A wine that was drunk all too quickly – and that’s a great sign. Excellent!
Rebuy – Yes

2019 Jean-Charles Fagot, Bourgogne Côte d’Or Les Champs Huillier
Is Jean-Charles a restauranteur, a winemaker or drummer? – we should know! This from vines close to Chassagne
A very attractive citrus nose, green-citrus. A nice vibration of energy in the mouth, slightly saline and a little mineral too – refreshing and delicious!
Rebuy – Yes

2019 Céline & Frédéric Gueguen, Chablis 1975
Not the domaine’s oldest vines but they are separated into a cuvée because it’s the birth year of both Céline & Frédéric!
A more compact nose, still with citrus but the salinity is more to the fore here – as it should be! A wave of concentrated flavour and freshness in the mouth – at the same time it seems a more direct energy too. Delicious again.
Rebuy – Yes

2016 François André, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Aux Vergelesses Blanc
A much broader and more concentrated aromatic than the last two – though not even a suggestion of ‘heavy‘ only ‘more.’ In the mouth this is similarly concentrated with super-impressive depth and width of flavour too – so complex – bravo! Yet. For me, there’s still far too much creamy oak flavour in the middle and finishing flavours. Such an excellent wine but after 4 years in a bottle it’s still too oaky.
Rebuy – Maybe for my taste but yours may vary…

You could call the seals to the right the good, the bad and the ugly – but those names don’t tally with the physical appearances:

The clean-cut Nomacorc is the villain of the bunch – the first incarnation of this cane-sugar development was an utter disaster for all the wines I bought that were sealed with it – this Alsace grand cru is, I hope, the last Nomacorc in my cellar to be completely oxidised – far, far worse and much more consistently oxidised than with cork. Everyone tells me that the latest development of Nomacorc is working well – which I can accept – but I won’t forget all the bottles I poured away. The semi-rubble of the Pommard Epenots still did a proper job for 30 years so complaints. As for the Brocard DIAM – the Gautheron wears DIAM too – nothing to complain about, as usual…

So you already know that the Seppi Landmann Alsace Grand Cru was irretrievably oxidised and you’ve already seen a note for the Pommard. The 2019 Gautheron Chablis Emeraude remains consistent with previous notes and was delicious. The 2018 Brocard Chablis Boissinneuse is starting to come good – I initially found it a little too easy and insufficiently taut – I think it’s going to come around fine – assuming I have sufficient patience!

So, to the two Beaujolais:

2019 Frederic Berne, Régnié Aux Bruyères
The first vintage of this wine chez Frederic…
There’s a little more fruity oomph about this nose than I saw at the domaine but still the pretty dark fruits are in play. Good initial impact and a sophisticated delivery of texture and flavour. I see a little less energy here than I remember but, all the same, it’s a completely delicious wine – yum!
Rebuy – Yes

2019 Clos de la Roilette, Fleurie Clos de la Roilette
The classic cuvée of this domaine…
Instantly attractive nose. The impact and silk of the last wine with just a little more energetic zip. Mineral, mouth-watering depth of very fine fruit – yes, Fleurie fruit – this is already showing better than when I bought a six-pack at the start of the year. Bravo!
Rebuy – Yes