In the beginning everything needed an explanation.
Monday, 25th January 2016
Attending:
Chris
'Jay'
David (Sydney)
Grant
Rachelle
Malcolm
Peter
Irving
Wines:
Regis Flinioux NV Brut Champagne
'nice yeasty nose leads to a full fruited palate with some Pinot meatiness and yeasty complexing characters. Good length.' - Chris
'toast and honey. Clean fruit palate with balanced acidity' - Grant
'straw, nutty, yeasty, little phenolic, medium weight' - Malcolm
'gold yellow in colour, strong nose showing soy, almond and slight oxidative notes. On the palate medium acid, lemon, granny smith. Good texture in the mouth with fine bubbles in the glass. The wine had a medium length. Very enjoyable and a surprise for a NV champagne that had been in cellar for 8 years' - Peter
2009 Franck Bonville Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs ‘Azure’
'very fresh and effervescent as you'd imagine from the vintage. Can be drunk now enjoyably, but ideally needs a year or two in the cellar to develop.' - Chris
'bright, youthful. Everything needed to cellar well.' - Grant
'straw, nice bead, lively' - Malcolm
'clear dark lemon. Nutty notes on the nose and lemon. A much younger wine. Higher acid but not out of balance. Lemon and apple on the palate. Good but not showing as much complexity as the first wine.' - Peter
2008 Jean-Claude Bessin Valmur Chablis Grand Cru
Valmur
AREA: 11.04 ha
SIGNIFICANT OWNERS: Robin, Bessin, Fevre, Droin, C. Moreau, Moreau, Raveneau, Moreau-Naudin, Collet, Vocoret, La Chablisienne.
Valmur lies north west of Les Clos, above Les Grenouilles. Only a small part reaches down to the main road. The aspect is south west. Valour is a firm, full bodied wine; properly steely, it should be backward and austere in its youth, rivalling Les Clos in the time it needs to mature.
- Clive Coates MW [The Wines of Burgundy]
Domaine Jean-Claude Bessin
LOCATION: Chablis; cellars in La Chapelle Vaupelteigne
6.15ha (total) grand cru in Valmur, premiers cru in Fourchaume, Fourchaume Vieilles, Vignes, Montmains, La Piece du Comte; Chablis.
Jean-Claude Bessie's cellar lies underneath the church in La Chapelle Vaupelteigne. Here he retains the yield of the old vines he share crops. His father-in-law's portion is sold off in bulk. In 2000 he started using older barrels for the maturation of his wines: "a la Raveneau", as he puts it. Low yields (45-50 hl/ha).
- Clive Coates MW [The Wines of Burgundy]
'granny Smith apples, minerality and acid. I love this.' - Rachelle
'apples and pears. Youthful and restrained with great balance. Very good' - Grant
'classic Oyster shell, minerality and taut lemony fruit. Plenty of mid palate fruit in the relatively austere Chablis style.' - Chris
'pale straw, bright, minerals' - Malcolm
'clear pale lemon. Clean nose of lemon, almost peach? ... mineral on the palate medium acid and good length. Tasty!' - Peter
2001 Domaine Cornu Cote de Nuits Le Clos de Magny Villages
Domaine Cornu
LOCATION: Cote de Nuits; Magny-les-Villers.
7.7ha (total) including grand cru, premiers cru and villages (details could not be found)
Domaine Cornu is a small family owned Burgundian Estate located in Magny les Villers, a small village between Nuits-Saint-Georges and Beaune. This village enjoys an exceptional location in the heart of the Cote D'Or, between the famous Cote de Nuits and Cote de Beaune.
Domaine Cornu is a family business, with four generations of experience. Colette and Claude ran the business for 40 years, Claude left a prestigous position at Domaine Romanee Conti to start his own label. Today Alexander leads the vineyard & winemaking whilst Isabelle (his sister) the commercial and administrative management.
'soft savoury nose. Soft palate. Quite enjoyable' - Rachelle
'savoury and interesting on the nose. Some soft fruit on the palate. Interesting but past its best' - Grant
'now quite tertiary - earthy, rustic, some sweet vinous fruit and mild acid finish.' - Chris
'pale brick, almost thin orange rim, light, little thin on the palate, a little floral' - Malcolm
'bricking almost all the way through but still clear. Big nose with strawberries, mushrooms and forest floor. The palate has more red fruit with medium acid and tannins. I left some in the glass and this had started to fall over by the time it had to be refilled.' - Peter
1999 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Cailles 1er Cru
Nuits-Saint Georges
Situated roughly halfway between Beaune and Dijon, Nuits-Saint-Geroges effectively marks the start of the Cote de Nuits, the greatest fiefdom of Pinot Noir in the world. Suits-Saint-Georges is a large commune, second in size in this part of the world to Gervey-Chambertin.
Nuits-Saint-Georges has no grands crus but an impressive list of thirty six premiers crus if Premeaux is included. These premiers crus cover 142.79ha and further 175.32ha of villages.
- Clive Coates MW [The Wines of Burgundy]
Les Cailles
Here, just as the commune, if not the wine, is about to overflow into neighbouring Premeaux, we have the greatest climate in Nuits-Saint-Georges, and two worthy princes of the blood. Les Vaucrains lies upslope at 260-280 metres, Les Cailles directly north of Les Saint-Georges at 245-260 metres.
Les Saint-Georges has more complexity in its soil structure. The Bathonian rock is of all three neighbouring types (Premeaux, white oolite and Comblanchien). The earth is very stony, so it drains well, though the slope at 7-8 degrees is gentle, and the clay is mixed with a little more soil than elsewhere. Across in Les Cailles things are similar except there is no Premeaux stone. There is also more sand.
- Clive Coates MW [The Wines of Burgundy]
Robert Chevillon
13ha owned and en fermage/en metayage. Nuits-Saint-Georges premier cru in Les Bousselots, Les Cailles, Les Chaignots, Les Perrieres, Les Pruliers, Les Roncieres, Les Saints-Georges and Les Vaucrains; village Nuits-Saint-Georges blanc et rouge.
With the sons of Robert Chevillon, Denis and Bertrand, now firmly in charge, this is a splendid domaine with a marvellous pallets of premiers crus and very old vines - 75 years in the case of Les Saint-Georges, Les Cailles and Les Vaucrains. Where else can you sample eight premier cru Nuits-Saint-Georges under one roof? A small percentage of stems are retained, there is brief cold maceration, the fermentation temperatures are held below 30 and 33C, and 30 percent new wood is utilised in the maturation. There is nothing special about the recipes, but the results are rich, classy, individual and more opulent than most. And there is that rara avis, Nuits-Saint-Georges blanc.
- Clive Coates MW [The Wines of Burgundy]
'gently aromatic dark fruits on the nose. Soft tannic structure underpinning black fruits. Nice complexity. In a very good drinking window now, fully reflective of good maker, vineyard and vintage.' - Chris
'dense, beautiful nose, black fruits' - Malcolm
'black fruits and sweet spices on the nose. Great mouthfeel with soft integrated tannins. Intense without overpowering. Lovely wine.' - Grant
'dark Garnet, sweet caramel on the nose, dark cherries and black fruits. Fine tannins and medium length.' - Peter
1996 Domaine Magnien Michel & Fils Morey-Saint-Dennis Clos de la Roche Grand Cru
Morey-Saint-Denis
More-Saint-Denis leads a schizophrenic existence and has never achieved the reputation of either Gevrey-Chambertin to the north or Chambolle-Musigny in the south, despite being the possessor of four and a bit grands crus - the bit being a small part of Bonnes-Mares, most of which lies across the border in Chmbolle.
The reason for this is simple: for generations, the local growers, abetted by the negoce, passed off their wines as Gevrey-Chambertin. And for generations, wine writers have tended to dismiss Morey as a sort of inferior halfway house, neither Gevrey or Chambolle and not as good as either.
This is unfair, for the village possesses an impossibly large number of tine premiers crus - only three out of the twenty are larger than three hectares, and of these, Monts-Luisants, is planted with white grapes as well as red; consequently, these lack definition in the minds of all but the most experienced locals, and despite the are of village appellation having been extended across the main road to the east the wines of Morey do have character and distinct personality, and they can be just as fine as all but the very very best of either Chambolle-Musingy or Gevrey-Chambertin.
Only the excellent Gevrey-Chambertin premier cru Les Combottes separates the Latricieres-Chambertin from Clos de la Roche, after which the rest of Morey's grands crus follow in a line above the Route des Grand Crus, which runs through the village until the climate of Bonnes-Mares overlaps into Chambolle-Misungy.
- Clive Coates MW [The Wines of Burgundy]
Clos de la Roche
'Clos de la Roche is an enigma. The vineyard dates from much later [than 1855] and has never been enclosed. Some writers have suggested - for why La Roche rather than Les Roches? - that it was originally the site of some Druidic religious ritual. Originally it covered a mere 4.57 hectares. Now, having absorbed several premiers crus, the last in 1971, it occupies 16.9 hectares'
- Henri Canard
AREA: 16.9 ha
PRINCIPAL PROPRIETERS: Ponst, Aujac, Armand Rousseau, Pirre Amiot, Coquard-Loison-Fleurot, Georges Lignier, Hubert Lignier, Pierazeau, Morey Cooperative, Leroy, Lois Remy, Guy Castagnier, Hospices de Beaune, Arlaud, Feuillet, Gerard Raphet, Michel Magnien, Lignier-Michelot.
Clos de la Roche has grown from 4.57 hectare in 1861 to 16.9 hectares today, absorbing the lieu-dits of Chabiots, Premieres, Froichots, Mauchamps and the bottom of Monts Luisants in the process. If that sounds greedy, a glance at the map or a wander along between the vines will show that there is nothing unnatural here. The extra territory is at the same altitude (270-300m) and of the same geological mixture - on a Bajocian limestone base, brown in cloud, mixed gently with clay and limestone rock scree, and in places barely 30cm deep.
There is a gentle incline, more so than across the border in Latricieres and Chambertin itself, which aids the drainage, and the aspect is firmly to the east.
It is the biggest and classiest of the Morey grands crus. But the structure has an inherent lushness to it. There is none of the austerity of Chambertin or muscular density of Bonnes-Mares. The fruit has an element of the exotic, with a splendidly seductive perfume of myrtille (bilberry, huckleberry), sometimes black cherry, violets and truffles.
- Clive Coates MW [The Wines of Burgundy]
Domaine Magnien Michel & Fils
9.75 ha owned and en fermage. Clos de la Roche; Charmes-Chambertin; Clos Saint Denis; Gevrey-Chambertin premier cru in Les Cazetiers and Les Goulots; Morey-Saint Denis; premier cru in Les Chaffots and Les Milandes; Chambolle-Musigny premier cru Les Sentiers.
As well as the extensive range of wines made from his own domaine, which he works alongside his father Michel, now retired, Frederic Magnien will offer you twenty five to thirty merchant wines, mainly red, and all from Cote de Nuits. These are made from bought fruit.
As you might expect the two ranges are very similar, distinctly oaky and rather extracted. While other have taken their foot off the pedal in this respect, Frederic Mangien's foot is firmly on the floor.
- Clive Coates MW [The Wines of Burgundy]
'a step up in power. Perfumed complex aromas of dark cherry fruit, Chinese five spice and the start of some sous-bois development. Good depth of fruit. Long, soft tannin length. Great drinking.' - Chris
'dense, red brick, complex bouquet, bit of barnyard, forest floor, perfume, beautiful wine' - Malcolm
'a lot going on. Intense dark fruit, spices and forrest floor. Hard to pin everything down. Great mouthfeel. Long and lingering. Amazing thought provoking stuff.' - Grant
'ruby garnet with bricking at the edge. Clean nose with a slight smokiness, savoury, sweet spices and blackberries. Lots going on. Chalky firm tannins, more dark fruit on the palate. Balanced acid and very long.' - Peter
2013 Domaine A. Et P. De Villiane Cote Chalonnaise La Digione Bourgogne
Cote Chalonnaise
The Cote Chalonnaise has long been a week-known "forgotten area", although this may seem paradoxical. While everyone acknowledges that it is worth investing, few merchants bother to go prospecting.
The Cote Chalonnaise begins at the southern tip of the Cote de Beaunne but on a different ridge of hills slightly to the east. The vineyards lie on the most favoured parts of a series of hummocky slopes, roughly following the line of the D981 road which runs due south from Changy down to Cluny. The main wine villages , each with it own seperate appellation contorlle, are Bouzeron, Rully, Givry, Mercurey and Montagny.
- Clive Coates MW [The Wines of Burgundy]
Domaine A. Et P. De Villiane
20.6 ha Mercurey, Les Montos, Rully, Clos Les Saint-Jacques, Burgogne Rouge "La Digione"
Aubert de Villiane produces some of the best generic wines in Burgundy, and if anything were proof that there is something special in the Bouzeron soil, not just for Alight but for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, it can be found in his wines. Viticulture is biologuque, and the wines are largely matured in wooden foundres. They all have the elegance and concentration of fruit, if not, of course, the volume and staying power, of much more illustrious growths.
- Clive Coates MW [The Wines of Burgundy]
'very young and elemental. Pretty florals and some white pepper to smell. No great fruit depth or length - having no previous experience with his estate wines, not sure if due to youth or appellation.' - Chris
'salmon red, fresh red fruits, bit confected, could have sworn it was new world, red fruits' - Malcolm
'sweet red fruits and confectionary. Not great deal of complexity. Palate soft and sweet. I have little experience with Burgundy but this smells and tastes of new world.' - Grant
'bright purple in colour. Red and blue fruits on the nose. Quite sweet. Fine tannins and cranberry on the palate.' - Peter
2009 Domaine Michele & Patrice Rion Nuits St Georges Clos Saint Marc 1er Cru
Clos-Saint-Marc
Within the Premeaux, a number of growers boast monopolies over a particular subsection or clos. Others are sold under main names. Among these latter vines can be numbered the following: the Chateau Gris, a 2.8 hectare enclosure within Les Crots; the Cos-Saint-Marc, which lies in the Corvees and is a monopole for Michele & Patrice Rion.
- Clive Coates MW [The Wines of Burgundy]
Michel & Patrice Rion
6.50 ha owned, under contract, and en farmage. Bones-Mares, Chambolle-Musingy, premier cry Amoureuses, Fuees and premier cru tout court; Nuits-Saint-Georges premier cru in Clos des Argillieres and Clos Saint-Marc (monopole) and Terres Blanches; Chambolle-Muigny premier cru Les Charmes
After a fight with his brothers (Domaine Daniel Rion), Patrice set up his own domaine in 2000. He also has a negociant business. The fruit is destemmed and the wine fermented at 32C, and there is 50 to 100 percent new oak. The wine making equipment is up to date here, and the wines are round and elegant.
- Clive Coates MW [The Wines of Burgundy]
'reasonably four-square for mine. Fruit mainly on the front palate, and maybe needs some time to flesh out and build weight.' - Chris
'mid deep red garnet, slightly thin rim, soft oak on the bouquet, soft acid, red black fruits, soft.' - Malcolm
'mostly dark fruit on the nose and light vanilla oak. Fruit driven palate with soft integrated tannins. Solid wine now. I would guess it may develop complexity with a few years behind it.' - Grant
2009 Domaine Jean Grivot Vosne-Romanee Villages
Vosne-Romanee
Vosne-Romanee is the greatest Pinot Noir village on earth. It is the last of the hors concours communes of the Cote de Nuits - in the sense that it contains grand cru climats - as one travels south toward Nuits-Saint-GeorgesbIt posses six of the twenty-four great growth vineyards of this part of the Cote.
In addition to the fine climats and great terriors in Vosne-Romanee, todays village contains a very large number of estates, from the large and majestic to the discreet and modest, which produce excellent wine. Some are long established. Others have only begun to battle seriously in the last couple of decades or so. But today, given a successful vintage, the consumer can hardly go wrong.
The Vosne-Romanee style is for wines which are rich, austere, sensual, masculine and aristocratic.
- Clive Coates MW [The Wines of Burgundy]
Domaine Jean Griot
15.5 ha owned (the domaine is fermier for the Grivot family vineyard). Richebourg; Clos de Vougeot; Echezeauz; Vosne-Romanee premier cru in Les Beaux-Monts, Les Brulees, Les Chaumes, Les Suchots, Les Reignots, and Les Rouges; Nuits-Saint-Georges premier cru in Aux Boudots, Le Pruliers and Les Ronccieres.
Run by Etienne Grivot and his wife Marielle, this is one of the great domaines of Burgundy. Everything is done in the vineyard with respect for the quality and life of the soil. Though not biodynamic, the viticulture is as natural as possible, involving the Polcher energy system of bringing vigour to the environment.
Entirely destemmed, the must is cold macerated for a few days, with the length depending on the vintage; vinified at 26-33C; and kept in 20 to 50 percent new wood until the first and only racking. The entire domaine is run to transform the juice of ripe fruit into wine in as natural a way possible.
- Clive Coates MW [The Wines of Burgundy]
'oaky structure is there but fairly lean in the fruit department. Not sure about it developing as the colour is already maturing.' - Chris
'med brick red, cherry, very fresh.' - Malcolm
'earthy and somewhat lean. There is a subtle funk. A difficult wine to get the head around. It is neither stunning or poor yet remains attractive.' - Grant
2009 Domaine Bertagna Nuits Saint Georges Les Murgers 1er Cru
Les Murgers
I struggled to find much information on his climate. From the Bertanga website the vines are 48 years old and cropped low.
Domaine Bertanga
21 ha owned Clos Saint-Denis; Clos de Vougeot; Corton, Les Grandes Lolieries, Corton Charlemagne; Chambertin, Vougeot premier cru in Clos de la Perriere (monopole), Nuits-Saint-Georges premier cru Les Murgers, Vosne Romanee premier cru Les Beaux-Monts; Chambolle Misungy premier cru Les Plantes.
The Domaine Bertagna was acquired by the Reh family of Germany (owners of the excellent Trier based Reichsgraf von Keselslatt estate) in 1982. But it was not until 1988 that the wine was anything other than uninspiring. Since then, there has been a distinct improvement, particularly since the arrival of Claire Forrestier in 1999 (she left in 2006). The harvest has been reduced, and there is now more cold soaking and less new wood. The fruit is totally destemmed. There is automatic temperature control the fermentation, keeping the maximum below 32C, and bottling after 12-18 months.
- Clive Coates MW [The Wines of Burgundy]
'red fruits, soft tannic structure. Maybe just lacks depth of fruit to be any better than pleasant.' - Chris
'med red, red black fruits, some cherry, nice fruit' - Malcolm
'strawberries and currants on the nose. Medium weight with well integrated tannins. Fruit driven. A good wine but a fraction one dimensional.' - Grant
2009 Domaine Follin-Arbelet Aloxe-Corton Clos Du Chapitre 1er Cru
Aloxe-Corton
The sleepy little village of Aloxe lies half way up the hill away from the main road. It possesses neither bath nor village shop. Its inhabitants must make the 6km journey to Beaune for sustenance or conviviality. What it does have are some of the oldest cellars in Burgundy, dating from mosaic times, and several fine fine buildings decorated with the typically Burgundian tile grooves in different colours.
The remit of Aloxes vineyards greedily stretches more than halfway around the hill toward Pernand-Vergelesses, and way back up and behind the village Ladoix into territory that would much more logically be the fief of that commune, giving it the lions share of the grand cru of Corton and the premier cru vineyards which lie beneath it. Alex-Corton can be red or white, but the proportion of white produced today is insignificant.
Aloxe-Corton, not just because it has adopted the suffix of the famous grand cru, is a better known and rather more expensive wine that Pernand-Vergelesses and Ladoix. The vineyards are in general more favourably placed, oriented toward the south and south east. The basic limestone is softer here than further north, decomposing into a flaky rock known as lave. On top of this in the premier cru vineyards, the soil is quite deep, red in colour, and rich in iron. There is a high pebble content, particularly on the Pernand-Savigny side (Les Vercots, Les Guerets, for example), these stones having been washed down the valley of the river Rhoine, which flows out from the village of Savigny-les-Beaune.
This terrior gives a wine which is well coloured and nicely sturdy; it is a meaty wine with a rich, robust character and plenty of depth. The amount of premier cru vineyard, 38 hectares, is small however. The grand cru has absorbed most of the land on the slopes.
- Clive Coates MW [The Wines of Burgundy]
Domaine Follin-Arbelet
6ha owned and enfermage. Cotton-Bressandes; Corton-Charlemagne; Romanee-Saint-Vivant; Corton; Aloxe-Corton premier cru in Clos du Chapter and Les Vercots; Pernand-Vergelesse premier cru in En Cartadeux and Les Fichots.
The tall lean somewhat unkemptly-bearded Frank Follin took over the vines of his father-in-law Andre Massoin in 1993 and has more than doubled his exploitation since then. He lives along the road to Savigny on the edge of the village, but stores his wine in a fine, cool, vaulted cellar in the centre. He de-stems completely, vinifies up to 35C, uses from 10-75% new oak and bottles without filtration. Fillin's wines show well in cask, and though I have had some disappointments when I have seen them in bottle, I know find the results more regular. This is an address to note.
- Clive Coates MW [The Wines of Burgundy]
'perfumed strawberry-raspberry fruit, some violets. Opened up in the glass. Enjoyable drinking and will probably improve further over the short term.' - Chris
'bright red fruits and some sweet earthiness on the nose. Lively palate. Opened up and offered more complexity with time. Well balanced, thought provoking without being outstanding.' - Grant
2005 Alain Burguet Gevrey-Chambertin Grand Vin de Bourgogne
Gevrey-Chambertin
With Gevrey we arrive at the finest sector the Burgundian vineyard. Gevrey-Chambertin is the largest of the great communes of the Cote de Nuits and can boast nine of the twenty four grands crus. It therefore vies with Vosne - which has six - for the title of most important commune: the apogee of Burgundy, the pinnacle of the Pinot Noir.
The wines are indeed - or should be - sumptuous. At the summit are Chambertin and Chambertin, Clod de Beze: immaculate and full, firm and rich, concentrated and masculine, similar but subtly different from one another. Ruchottes and Mazis are less structured, but pure and intense. Chapelle and Griotte show a hint of red fruit, cherries or raspberries, according to taste, and the velvet changes discreetly to silk. Charmes and Mazoyeres are softer and more feminine, Latricieres coarser and more spicy. But all can inspire. Meanwhile, the brilliance and poise of Clos Saint-Jacques, denied grand cru status forever points a finger at the errors of the appellation controlee ratings.
Gevrey is not only a large commune but also a large village, with some eighty families making a living out of wine. A great many of these now bottle their own produce and set up in competition with larger, earlier-established domaines. As two or three of these senior exploitations, are sadly, currently under achieving, these new enterprises are not without customers. The village is today a happy hunting ground for those seeking out good wine.
Gevrey-Chmbertin is a full and sturdy wine, rich and masculine, but with a touch of the fleshy and th exotic. Sensual and vigorous, it is more flamboyant than Vosne and more substantial than Chamobolle. Musigny can be said to be the queen, the epitome of delicacy and finesse, but the Chambertin is king: simply the complete Burgundy: "Tout le Grand Bourgogne possible," to quote the poet Gaston Roupnel.
- Clive Coates MW [The Wines of Burgundy]
Alain Burguet
5.35 ha owned and en fermaige. Gevrey-Chambertin premier cru Les Champeaux.
Alain Burguet is an example of how it is still possible to build up a domaine from scratch, without ample resources and without having to make a 'sensible' marriage, even with todays high prices of land. The man is in his late forties, and is short, solid, quietly determined, even grim. The wine is similar: full and masculine, uncompromising, sturdy, concentrated and long lasting.
The grapes are almost entirely destemmed and vinified at a high temperature. Cuvaisons are long. There is no fining and minimal filtration. Burguet is not seeking wines which are flatteur in their youth. These are deliberate vins de garde.
A decade ago there were two changes in Burguet's vinification techniques. Somewhat reluctantly, at least at first, he started to augment the amount of new oak. He also took over a cellar at the top of the village, enabling him to keep the wine longer cask. Hitherto, it had been bottled after 14 months.
Burguet's village vieilles vignes 'Mafavorite' is at least the qual of most growers premiers crus. If I were to pick one village wine as a yard stick, this would be it. The Champeaux dates from vines which were planted 1985. Fro 2003 Burguet commenced a negociant business. He now offers Chambertin Clos de Beze and Clos Vougeot.
- Clive Coates MW [The Wines of Burgundy]
'relatively deep in colour Earthy, ripe dark cherry-raspberry fruit on the nose. Ripe, sweet fruit in the mid palate. Reasonably good length.' - Chris
'forrest floor, cherries and sweet spices. Good mouthfeel, softening integrated tannins and a lingering finish. Enjoyable drinking.' - Grant
'very tasty!' - Peter
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