A breath of fresh air in Paris

Long weekend in Paris, where most restaurants are like a broken record, churning out the same bistrôt classics with copycat wine lists (Côte de Brouilly, Côte du Rhône, Medoc, Saumur Champigny...).

No note, just a great wine. Château de Chamirey, Mercurey blanc, 2008.

The Fourrier 'spritz'

I've read lots about the Fourrier CO2 'spritz' but seldom experienced the frustration first hand. He makes great wines but if you didn't know otherwise you'd be forgiven for thinking they were average and poorly made. Fourrier himself suggests putting your thumb over the bottle and turning upside down a couple of times to release the CO2. Where does the CO2 come from? Fourrier doesn't rack his wines (move from one container to another), which would allow the CO2 - a by product of fermentation - to escape into the air. Indeed, the CO2 plays the same role as sulphur, which winemakers add to protect their wines from oxidation. The alternative remedy to shaking the bottle is to let the CO2 disappear with age as the wine matures. Nonetheless, if you can afford and obtain Fourrier's wines, once you've made it past the 'spritz', they sing with a purity of fruit, made possible by the CO2 protection. 

Morey St-Denis, Clos Solon, Domaine Fourrier, 2009

Beautiful deep beetroot and translucent ruby red core. Upon opening the nose was intense and captivating. However, after initial opening the nose disappeared, only to reappear 3 hours later with the rest of the wine. The palette is sheer silk in a glass with sublime balance. Some liquorice and spice initially and then black cherry and oak with a medium finish. Took a lot of time and shaking to lose the CO2 'prickle', which was finally gone (typically) by the last glass. A very good wine, but didn't live up to my admittedly high expectations. 4* 6/ 10

Of bishops and knights: Clos du Vignon

Sticking with the vineyard series, this time Clos du Vignon in the Hautes Côtes de Nuits. The locals of Marey-lès-Fussey have made wine from the vineyard (see photo above) since the twelfth century. The current owner, Domaine Thévenot Le Brun, make both a red and a white wine from the seven hectare Clos du Vignon. The Chardonnay is planted on the south-east slope while the Pinot is on the steepest slope, oriented a little more to the south. The bottle has the following sentimental quotation on its label...

"Et son vin dont les ceps unissaient leurs murmures, aux cloches des Couvents, aux frissons des armures, fut le vin des Prélats et des preux Chevalliers."

Which roughly translates as: "And its wine whose grapes joined their rustling to the bells of the convents, to the thrill of the suits of armour, made the wine of bishops and brave knights."

Whether the wine still evokes convent bells and suits of armour remains to be seen. Having just bought three bottles, I shall report in due course...

Diamond in the rough: Au Clos Bardot

Officially Côtes de Nuits Villages, the villages of Comblanchien and Corgoloin are not well known. Nonetheless, I have found them to be a consistent source of good quality, decent value wine. In his iBook, Inside Burgundy: Côte de Nuits, Jasper Morris remarks...

“Comblanchien... could be described as the marble village: here the vine has to take second place to the quarrying. The vineyards lie on both sides of the main road running the full length of the commune, finishing up against the premier cru Nuits-St-Georges Clos de la Maréchale at the northern end. To get a feel for the underlying hard limestone, it is worth taking the dusty road out of the southern end of the village up towards Villers-la-Faye for a look at the quarries which appear shortly on the left. Au Clos Bardot (0.67ha) [is] situated just below the D973 as you move from Corgoloin into Comblanchien, with a little sign in the vineyard to identify it.”

And now for a wine from Au Clos Bardot...

Bourgogne Clos Bardot, Domaine de Bellene, 2010

From vines planted in 1936! Beautiful colour with bright translucent crimson core. Wow, big and really complex nose. Lots going on: black cherries, cloves... I just don't have the adjectives to do this justice! Light with sweet tannins and vanilla core. Crunchy red currant fruit with sous-bois (just like fruits of the forest yoghurt) and an imaculate backbone of sweet strawberries balanced with just enough (balsamic?) acidity and oak. Medium but unpronounced finish. This is a really great little wine that punches well above its weight and, £11 per bottle duty paid, is great value too. This is the best wine I have drunk year to date. 2* 9/ 10

Call of the search!

Sometimes you find a wine you like so much, you think "call off the search" because there is no point searching for anything better. This is one of those wines.

Saint-Veran, Les Chailloux, Domaine des Deux Roches, 2008

Bright and golden, showing some age. Big bouquet of ripe fruit and very Meursault. Lovely balance of tropical fruit, oak and acidity, with a rich but not overly cloying palette. Another layer of apricot stones? Long and vibrant finish. If tasted blind you'd be forgiven for thinking this was something much more expensive from Meursault! 2.5* 8/ 10

Vintage advice from Burgundy

Berry Bros's boots on the ground in Burgundy,  Jasper Morris MW, recommends which vintages to drink and keep... 

http://bbrblog.com/2014/02/26/burgundy_drinking_now/

Drink (red): 2001 & 2007

Drink (white): anything pre 2009 (except 2005)

Keep (red): 1999, 2002 and 2003 can be drunk now but will improve; 2006 and 2008 for a year or two; leave 2005 for a while

Keep (white): 2010 and 2011 can be drunk now but will improve; keep 2005 and 2009 for a while

Usual caveats regarding generalisations apply.

A lost chapter in Burgundy

Le Chapitre is an AOC Bourgogne climat in Chenôve, on the outskirts of Dijon. Despite its lowly appellation and location in the suburbs of Dijon, Le Chapitre was once considered one of Burgundy’s finest wines.  The wines of Chenôve were first documented by the Abbaye de Bèze in the 7^th century and by the 11^th century the Chapitre vineyard was recorded as part of the cathedral chapter of Autun, from whom the vineyard gets its name. Indeed, Le Chapitre was owned by the Dukes of Burgundy until the late 15^th century and in its 18^th century heyday it is reputed to have commanded a higher price than Gevrey. However, owing to an oversight of epic proportions in 1936, the communes of Chenôve and Marsannay refused to sign up the new  Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) system, thereby condemning their vineyards to irrelevance for the next fifty years.

 

Today, the majority Chenôve's wines are sold as AOC Marsannay, which was awarded AOC status in 1986. However, the 31 hectares of le Chapitre are sold as AOC Bourgogne. Indeed, the vineyard itself would be totally annonymous were it not for its heritage that allows it to keep the climat name on the label, an honour not normally awarded to the catch-all AOC Bourgogne. Therefore, as is common along the length of the Côte d'Or, the landscape and etymology of the vineyards reveal a rich tapestry of history and terroir. So, while the modern urban sprawl of Dijon has all but consumed the once rural village of Chenôve, the chapter house and its eponymous vineyard remain and hark back to more celebrated past. However, all is not lost. Chenôve is applying for AOC Marsannay status for Le Chapitre as part of a wider campaign to promote other climats in Marsannay to premier cru.

All along the watchtower

"All along the watchtower, there princes kept the view. While all the women came and went, barefoot servants too."

This wine comes form a vineyard named after the watchtower, or guette, situated within. The domaine, Pavelot, is one of the best addresses in Savigny-les-Beaune and from where I bought the wine last year.

Savigny-les-Beaune, 1er Cru Aux Guettes, Domaine Pavelot, 2009

Dark, almost like claret, with very dark rim and blood red core. Closed nose, nothing to report. Brooding palette, nice depth with very grapey fruit with soft, sweet black currant and plums. Very long finish of red fruits and well integrated, soft tannins and oak (suggests limited new oak for a wine so young). Overall, a really good wine with lots of complexity and delicious fruit. Definitely a cut above the usual Savigny, even the premier crus. 4* 8/ 10

Back to school, back to Bourgogne

As the nights start drawing in, it's time to make the move from rosé to red and uncork some Burgundy. So, I decided to revisit a new friend...

Bourgogne, Pinot Noir, Olivier Guyot, 2010

Lovely deep colour for a bourgogne and indeed a pinot noir. Ruby red and translucent with a deep beetroot  core. Sweet vanilla and clove nose. Light palette, with crunchy acidity (just like biting into a Braeburn apple). Surprising that none of the sweetness of the nose is present on the palette. A long and savoury (?) finish with dry tannins. A good wine that improved after two hours but, for me, the palette fell short of my expectations. 2.5* 6/ 10

Here today, gone tomorrow

After a week of sunshine, here endeth the case of Bruno Clair's Marsannay Rosé.

Marsannay Rosé, Bruno Clair, 2010
Bright pink. Initially very pinot nose and palette but then receded and ended up fairly tasteless. Aren't most rosés like that? 2* 5/ 10

Chez Pavelot, Savigny-les-Beaune

The Aux Guettes vineyard overlooking Savigny-Les-Beaune

The return leg of our trip to the Alps gave me the chance to visit a domaine I have always wanted to visit in a village that has become my favourite on the Côte d'Or. Domaine Jean-Marc et Hugues Pavelot is on the northern edge of Savigny-les-Beaune, next to the lieu-dit 'Guetottes' and produces a range of wines, mainly from within the Savigny appellation. We tasted a range of wines from the 2010 vintage...

Bourgogne Rouge €9
From a vineyard in lower Aloxe-Corton from 50 year old vines. Pleasant fruit driven nose. Drink immediately after vintage. A bargain, bursting with bright fruit. 2* 8/ 10

Savigny-les-Beaune €13
From a variety of parcels in the village and 40 year old vines. Not much more than the Bourgogne, with very similar nose and a short finish. Drink 2-3 years after the vintage. 3* 6.5/ 10

Savigny-les-Beaune, 1er Cru Aux Guettes €20
From a vineyard with 25 year old vines opposite the domaine, named after the watch tower (tour de guet) in the vineyard. An instantly captivating nose, definitely a step up from the village wine. Slightly deeper fruit while still maintaining the house style (or was it the vintage style?) of pure, bright fruit with a touch of mineral tension. Drink 5 years after the vintage. 4* 8/ 10

Savigny-les-Beaune, 1er Cru La Dominode €24
La Dominode comes from a section within the premier cru Les Jarrons, and is named after a previous owner, a Monsieur Domino from Pommard. The vines are on average 35 years old and up to 80 years old. Madame Pavelot told me that only four growers make wine from this vineyard (I make it five: Bruno Clair, Jean-Marc Pavelot, Louis Jadot, Chanson Père et Fils, and Jean-Claude Boisset). A similar nose to Aux Guettes with extra depth on palette from velvety fruit. The tannins, although not huge, need a couple of years to mature and bring balance to the wine. The Pavelots recommend drinking this wine from five years after the vintage but say it can be kept for up to 15 years. Finally, at €24 a bottle, this is a serious bargain both relative to other cellar door prices (Bruno Clair's La Dominode is €46) but also relative to what you'd pay for it in the UK (it's 45% cheaper than the £37.50 Berry Brothers sell it for). 4* 8/ 10

These were all very good wines characterised by their translucent, yet dark cherry colour as well as very pure fruit (blackberries, raspberries & cherries) and sublime balance with little evidence of oak.

Marsannay

I've been hearing increasingly good things of Marsannay, the northernmost appellation of the Côte de Nuits. So, before stopping at Morey-St-Denis for the night, we paid a visit to a couple of domaines in the village, guided by the ever-reliable Bill Nanson.

First up was Domaine Olivier Guyot, where we tried the Bourgogne Rouge and the Marsannay Les Favières. It was snowing outside and the cellar was very cold, which meant that the wines were definitely on the chilly side. The cold temperature masked the tannins and meant fruit was the dominant sensation when tasting. That aside, these were both very pleasant wines.

Bourgogne Rouge, 2010 (€9)
A darker colour than I expected with a deep purple core. The nose was very fruity, almost gamay-esque but also with some interesting Pinot complexity. The palette was initially voluptuous with plums and blackberries but short lived and gave way to a refreshing acidity and a short finish. It seemed odd that sensations of fruit and acidity weren't simultaneous and so separated. Nonetheless, this is a good wine, especially for the price, and there's plenty going on here to make you want to go back for more. The wine comes from the northern section of the Champforey vineyard in Marsannay itself. Olivier explained that Champforey is principally for pinot noir destined for either Bourgogne or Marsannay rosé. 2* 7/ 10

Marsannay, Les Favières, 2010 (€14.50)
Very similar to the Bourgogne but with more depth at all levels and a more seamless palette. Olivier makes reference to this being made from young vines. I think he is modest referring to 25-30 year old vines as 'jeunes'...

"Issu de jeunes vignes (25-30 ans) situées en bas de coteaux… Une robe rubis, brillante, un nez délicat, légèrement épicé (cannelle, vanille). Le terroir est bien marqué par sa finesse et son grain particulier. Bon équilibre et persistance en bouche. À boire dans sa jeunesse..."

Next up was Domaine Bruno Clair, where the welcome was as cold as the weather outside. Having tried to book a dégustation in advance, I was informed that I could only turn up and buy pre-ordered wine, and promptly leave. Had this domaine not had such a good reputation I wouldn't have bothered, but I couldn't resist buying their jewel in the crown, Savigny-les-Beaune 1er Cru La Dominode (€46), as well as some Bourgogne Blanc and Marsannay Rosé (which, like most rosé tastes pretty non-descript). Nonetheless, I look forward to opening the La Dominode in about five years time...

"Les vieilles vignes donnent un vin d'une richesse et d'une puissance peu commune en Côte de Beaune. 

La Dominode fait partie du premier cru Les Haut-Jarrons. C'est en fait le coeur de ce lieu-dit. Les rendements y sont naturellement faibles mais réguliers à cause de l'âge vénérable des ceps centenaires. L'exposition à l'est est idéale et la terre est un mélange de cailloux et d'argiles.

Je vinifie la Dominode depuis 1979 et il s'agit sans doute de la vigne la plus constante du domaine : rendements toujours faibles et belle maturité des raisins. La qualité de l'encépagement et l'âge [vines planted in 1902!] de celui-ci contribue à cette constance. 

Il y a bien sûr des variations annuelles apportées par les millésimes et le climat de ces derniers, mais l'amplitudedes variations y est moindre qu'ailleurs. La robe est toujours soutenue, les tannins sont pleins et riches.

C'est un vin qui demande toujours quelques années de vieillissement (souvent plus de 10 ans) avant de le déguster. Vin de grande garde."

Morey St-Denis

Visiting Burgundy while en route to the Alps... We stayed at Hotel Castel Tres Girard in Morey-St-Denis and drank this over dinner. Made from 50 to 60 year old vines from the Chenevery, Cognées, and Très Gidard vineyards. We tried to find the domaine the next morning but Morey is full of Ligniers and so we left confused and empty-handed!

Morey St-Denis, Veilles Vignes, Lignier-Michelot 2010
Dark colour with beautiful depth. Sumptuous nose and a voluptuous palette of cassis and just the right amount of oak to support the plentiful fruit. The old vines really shone through with deeply concentrated fruit. This is a great wine, full of expression and above its 'village' status. 3* 8/ 10

Aubin & Spills

The last time I tried this I was surprised by its muteness. So, I left it for two years to see if it would blossom from its adolescence...

St-Aubin, 1er Cru Sur Le Sentier Du Clou, Henri Prudhon, 2007
Garnet, translucent ruby red. More on the nose than last time with a little more depth. Like biting into a Braeburn apple - crunchy, with lots of acidity yet bursting with fruit. An hour later, more complexity. A core of dark fruits with liquorice and fennel seeds. A nice long finish of well balanced creamy oak and cherry blackberry fruit. A light but interesting wine 2.5* 6/10

2002 Burgundy face off!

A boef bourgignon on the table and two 2002 burgundies going tête-à-tête...

Beaune 1er Cru Montrevenots, Domaine JM Boillot, 2002
Tawny brick red colour with a stand out nose (cloves) that makes you sit up and pay attention. Showing age on the palette, with red fruits and even balsamic. A very structured and complex wine that reflects its proximity to Pommard and very good indeed. 4* 8/10

Savigny-les-Beaune, Les Bougeots, Domaine Simon Bize, 2002
A much more 'grapey' nose, reminiscent of fermenting wine in a cellar. Darker colour too, with blood like hues. It has that signature Bize meatiness and velvet texture with ripe acidity coating throughout the palette and a medium finish. Another good wine but the quality of the Beaune premier cru won on the day for its added complexity. 3* 7/10

Super Savigny!

During a visit to the domaine in 2006, Jean-Jacques Girard explained to me that the vineyard is named after the little streams of water that snake down the vineyard after it has rained.

Savigny-les-Beaune, 1er Cru Les Serpentieres, Jean-Jacques Girard, 2004

Showing its nine years with a deep brick red colour. A captivating nose of game, red fruits and very reminiscent of Savigny. On the palette, some crisp vanilla undertones and bright cherry fruit with a classic mature burgundy flavours and a decent finish backed by well balanced oak and acidity. A point, and a very good wine on fine form.

4* 7/10

Gevrey-Chambertin, Bouchard Pere et Fils, 2001

Appearance: dark hue with a slight tawny rim but limited sign of age

Nose: eucalyptus, cloves & creamy oak

Palette: needed two hours open up. Initially beet root & herbs, with fully integrated tannins and not much sign of age. The highlight is a bright acidity that perpetuates a long, taught finish of balsamic & strawberries with a little dry tannin at the end.

Conclusion: despite 11 years of age this is still  in the full flush of youth. However, I expected more given the appellation and bottle age. 3* 6/10

Pilgrimage to the Cote d'Or (part 2)

Having visited the Cote d'Or many times, I have learnt the hard way that villages such as Gevery-Chambertin and Puligny-Montrachet can be an expensive lottery, where high expectations are often dashed at great expense! Like its geographical location, tucked away behind Beaune, Savigny's wines are a relative backwater that sit in the shade of other more illustrious names.

However, do not mistake modesty for poor quality. There are other villages in the Cote d'Or that are more famous and make more prestigious, more expensive wines; but to my mind there is no village other than Savigny-les-Beaune that provides such consistently good wines at prices that represent such value for money.

Savigny is also home of one of the best domaines in the whole Cote d'Or, Domaine Simon Bize, whose door and wines I return to time and time again (see earlier blog entries). So, before stopping for lunch at la Cuverie restaurant (where I first encountered Monsieur Bize's wines in 2006) there was just enough time to sneak in a quick degustation.

The Domaine Simon Bize range

With only limited time, this was more of a 'speed degustation', tasting only the top and bottom of the Savigny range. We started with the 2009 Bourgogne rouge 'les Perrieres', which was outstanding given its rank and €11.50 price tag! This wine always has  incredible depth of flavour for a Bourgogne with deep, soft black fruit in keeping with the ripe 2009 vintage (2* 8/10).

I cannot recommend this wine highly enough. It is easily as good as, if not better than most producer's village or premier cru wine. Moreover, the wine is made from old vines planted in 1971 and 1974 and are over 40 years old! The vineyard itself is on a hill over looking the village of Savigny-les-Beaune.

Les Perrieres, over looking Savigny-les-Beaune

At the top of the range, the 2009 premier cru Aux Vergelesses was definitely "mineral, intense, and complex..." as noted by Bill Nanson in his excellent book, The Finest Wines of Burgundy.  Like the Bourgogne, the wine is made from exceptionally old vines planted in 1939, 1949 and 1954! Although not cheap at €27 a bottle, this wine represents excellent value for money and would easily hold its own against other more expensive wines.

The 2009 Aux Vergelesses is likely to have a short initial drinking window as Mme Bize mentioned that in a hot vintage like 2009 and 2005 this wine tends to close down after two years, before reopening anything up to fifteen years later. I found it a well rounded wine with soft, black fruit and nervy mineral tension. Very good indeed! (4* 8/ 10).

Pilgrimage to the Cote d'Or (part 1)

Le Clos de Magny, courtesy of Google's Street View

The wines of Domaine Jean-Yves Guyard are unlikely to grace the pages of 'fine wine' literature. When tourists visit the Cote d'Or, they are unlikely to cross the threshold of this domaine for a degustation. However, the wines, especially the reds, are light, fruity, and reassuringly Burgundian.

Having tasted their 2010 Cotes de Nuits-Villages the night before at dinner, the next morning I made straight for Domaine Jean-Yves Guyard in Villers-la-Faye. The domaine has only 7 hectares in both the Hautes-Cotes de Nuits and the Cote de Nuits-Villages. The latter comes entirely from le Clos de Magny, a climat in the relatively unknown village of Corgolin at the very southern tip of the Cote de Nuits.

Le Clos de Magny (on the road to the Hautes-Cotes) 

9:30 am is a little early for degustation but, when in Rome..! The 2010 Hautes-Cotes was light, bright with fresh, crunchy Pinot fruit. The Cotes de Nuits-Villages (this time the 2009) had more weight with lusher, darker fruit. Price-wise the wines are reasonable value but not when compared to a top producer's Bourgogne, such as Bize's Bourgogne at €11. See below for cellar door prices...

Bourgogne Aligote 2009 €5.50
Hautes-Cotes de Nuits 2010 €8.00
Cote de Nuits-villages 2009 €11.00

Back in the UK, the Cote de Nuits-Villages tasted even better. I never thought I'd say this but much of the improvement was down to glassware. A larger glass aerated the wine better, releasing more flavours on the nose and in the palette. My (brief) tasting note is below.

Cote de Nuits-Villages, Jean-Yves Guyard, 2009

Appearance: bright & clear
Nose: light vanilla
Palette: round & fruity, cherry & cloves with some toasty oak, sweet recurrants & strawberries on finish.
Conclusion: A decent  & easily enjoyable wine that shows the fullness of the vintage 2* 7/ 10

Burgundy (slight return)

Savigny-les-Beaune, 1er Cru Les Peuillets in the flesh

Slight return: a move partially back in an artistic direction that was abandoned or forgotten. 

Despite taking up a large part of both my cellar and blog, Burgundy has been neglected recently. A recent rip to France and Bill Nanson's brilliant book, The Finest Wines of Burgundy, have conspired to reignite my passion for Burgundy and its wine.

Stopping off in the region on the way to and back from skiing, offered the chance to see the vineyards, meet the winemakers, and taste the wines. Burgundy is the very essence of terroir. Nowhere else, except possibly Barolo, is the link between vineyard and taste more acute. While the delineation of vineyards into hundreds of individual plots, each with their own terroir, can make Burgundy confusing, it is also what makes it the most fascinating wine region in the world. Where else can you find such a range of flavours from only two grapes, pinot noir and chardonnay?

Having spent years pouring over maps, trying to locate each wine's vineyard in maps, it is always inspiring to see them 'in the flesh'. So, having spent time in the Hautes Cotes de Nuits and Savigny-les-Beaune and tasted a variety of wines, Burgundy is back!