Domaine Felettig, Friday 31st October

On Friday morning, Alain le taxi collected us for another trip up to the Côte de Nuits. There was a top-secret assignation en route but the main event for the morning was a visit to Domaine Felettig in Chambolle-Musigny. Just the name Chambolle-Musigny lifts the spirits, I find.

We met Christine, and then Gilbert appeared along with daughter who we were told is learning English at school. I'd better watch what I write in that case... except it's all good. I also found out the use of the giant glass spotted in Athenaeum the previous day - Gilbert used one during the tasting and poured some wine from the tank or barrel into it to start with, then used a pipette to transfer some to each tasting glass. This was a very educational trip!

We tasted 15 wines from 2013 altogether so I shan't describe them all, but for me, the highlights at the different levels were:

Bourgogne Rouge - very charming nose, elegant, still a bit tingly (it had just been sulphured, I believe), a baby Chambolle.

Bourgogne Rose - this was exceptionally pale, and very aromatic with good weight and length. It will be lovely in the summer and I found myself thinking my mother would like it.

Chambolle-Musigny Clos Village - we had this after the village Chambolle, which I liked a lot, but this had more of everything, a more intense nose, it was more silky, and it felt like a premier cru to me. Apparently it's now a monopole.

Chambolle-Musigny 1er cru les Feusselottes - rude words were used in my notes, in a positive way! It was lovely, with good concentration, pure fruit, nice weight, and complexity. A winner.

Chambolle-Musigny 1er cru les Charmes - I have written "best yet!" and quite honestly I didn't want to spit it out. Gilbert said it was very rich, and it had a lovely weight and texture and lots of appealing fruit. Delicious.

Echezeaux grand cru - this is the pinnacle of the pyramid at this domaine and two barrels were made in 2013 and 2014 also. It was a great, complex wine and had great length. Come back in ten years...

After this, we went back upstairs to the tasting room where we tasted some other bits and pieces in bottle. The Hautes Cotes de Nuits 2012 made me very happy with its raspberry compote nose, and the Gevrey-Chambertin 2012 was also very much my kind of thing, a very elegant style of Gevrey with richness and depth.

All in all, it was a wonderful, comprehensive tasting, a veritable Chambolle-Musigny masterclass. For me, the wines of this domaine are serious, complex and refined. It's classy stuff.

In the spirit of full disclosure, Gilbert spotted me taking a surreptitious photo of a shelf of bottles of vieux marc de bourgogne and without any prompting gave me a bottle, with the words "Amatrice du Marc". This was very generous! I love this marc and it transports me back to happy days in Burgundy. Merci Gilbert!

SPNS dinner, 13th May

On a Tuesday evening a couple of weeks ago, we gathered in the Savile bar for the next Swiss Pinot Noir Society evening. Present and correct were D, P, G, myself and a special guest, none other than Baron McG himself. Sadly ACC and T were otherwise engaged. Miss it, miss out, as ACC is fond of saying...

We commenced with this bottle of Champagne Moutard provided by P - cue lots of inevitable jokes about mustard. This was well-received with the general verdict being that it was pleasingly mature, elegant and well-rounded. It's available for £20.99 from Naked Wines and at that price I consider it to be very good value for what it is, although it may also have benefited from a little extra time in P's cellar.

We went upstairs to the dining room and as there is often a lull in proceedings at this stage, I produced a Tio Pepe Fino "en Rama" to keep us going until the starters arrived. This is a special release, and it's extra fresh and unfiltered. It was bottled in April and you're supposed to drink it as soon as possible after release, certainly within 6 months. I'd had it about a week and if anyone had been snoozing at this stage, it would certainly have woken them up - it was sharp and zingy. I got mine from the Wine Society who sell it for £14.50 a bottle, but there are other stockists such as Adnams. I may just have to order some more while it's still available...

Then, with our starters, we moved on to G's contribution, this dry white from Madeira, Barbusano Verdelho 2011. G told us how previously he had believed there was no good table wine from Madeira but then had come across this in a restaurant and been pleasantly surprised. It was a refreshing, relatively light white wine, crisp, with good acidity. It went down well and made an enjoyable change from the sort of white wine I usually drink.

With our main course, we knocked my second and last magnum of Echezeaux 1971 on the head. This was made by Prosper Maufoux and we had the first one at a dinner with ACC and the Baron back in December, which I blogged about here. I was hoping very much that this one would turn out to be as good, as I have a history of bringing corked bottles to SPNS. It wasn't just as good, it was better!

It had a lovely fragrance and sweet, dark fruit. It was fully mature, dangerously drinkable, and generally delicious. We had no trouble getting through it. The only dilemma was what to eat with it since for some reason there was no red meat on the menu that evening! P and I ended up having a full English breakfast while D had tuna and G and the Baron had veal chops. I think we were all happy with our choices!

Finally, D's contribution was this 1969 Moscatel de Setubal which is a Portuguese dessert wine. I have to confess I'd never heard of it until now! It was grapey, with good acidity. D detected spice and honey, while the Baron declared that it was amazing with his sticky toffee pudding. All in all, an excellent way to round off the meal. Thanks to everyone for another excellent evening!

Dinner at mine, Sat 7th Dec

Last Saturday, ACC, Baron McG and G joined me for dinner. The date had been in the diary for a long time!

We kicked off with a bottle of blanc de noirs Cremant de Bourgogne from old favourite Domaine Felettig, and some Roka cheese crispies. Public transport problems added excitement but fortunately G and I managed to exercise self-restraint and there was still some fizz left for our guests when they arrived. We thought this has really come on since we bought it, and is developing nicely, and G suggested that I should set up a cremant ladder and store it for an additional year or two before drinking. Tempting!

With our starter of wild Irish sea trout, we had this bottle of Chassagne Montrachet 1er cru les Caillerets 2002 from Lequin-Colin. I got two bottles at a recent auction and G and I had drunk the first on an earlier occasion and considered it impeccable. Fortunately the second bottle was too, and it was everything you look for in 1er cru Chassagne, very classy and a great match with the sea trout. Definitely a 10 on the Premier Cru Project scale.

Then it was on to the piece de resistance, this magnum of 1971 Echezeaux from Prosper Maufoux, which was another auction find and quite a steal. The level looked promising, and the label was authentically filthy.

What can I say about this? It was everything I'd hoped for. The nose was very sweet and remarks about "hint of the sugar bag" were made (by me), but ACC thought this was unfair, and that 1971 was just a really great year for red Burgundy. It was absolutely delicious and went really well with the slow-cooked leg of lamb and gratin dauphinoise which I cooked. Baron McG was pleased to see there was some redcurrant jelly to go with it, and the wine and the food did go very well together.

Then it was on to the cheeseboard... these were mainly from Beillevaire on Montpelier St where the delightful shop assistant guided me to something which she called a Chablis (I think this must actually have been an Affidelice au Chablis) and the most amazing 2 year old Comte, as well as a Selles-sur-Cher which was practically climbing up the wall, and the saltier of the two Roqueforts they have. We also had some Stichelton from Selfridges - two blue cheeses because we were drinking port. As it was a special occasion, I'd also made some of my signature exfoliating hardcore oatcakes...

A few weeks ago G had tipped me off that Aldi of all places were selling a 30 year old tawny port. As there are no Aldis round here, I asked my parents to look out for it. Resisting the temptation to launch into a lengthy comparative socio-economic analysis of the north Northamptonshire / south Leicestershire region, it turned out that Kettering Aldi didn't sell it, but Market Harborough Aldi did! Thanks Dad for getting two bottles for me. It came in a hilarious extra-bulky and heavy decanter and wooden box. Given the price, £30, less than most 20 year old tawnies, we thought it was very respectable, and it did indeed come across as more complex than a 20 year old. I shall enjoy drinking the rest of it, and it has the added advantage that it will keep for a while after opening, so doesn't have to be guzzled in a hurry.

Alongside this, we had an unexpected treat from ACC, some 1997 Quinta da Roeda from Croft. He served this to us blind, so we had the usual couple of minutes of inaccurate guesses before its identity was revealed. When we found out what it was, it made sense - it had felt as though it might be 15-20 years old. It was fun to contrast the two styles.

We rounded off with an assiette de chocolat created by G, including some lovely Prestat chocolates supplied by Baron McG. All in all, a really fun evening. I hope 2014 brings more of the same!

Domaine Felettig, Monday 9th Sept 2013

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of this domaine. G and I have got through industrial quantities of their cremant, bourgogne rose, and particularly the vieux marc de bourgogne which is our "house marc". G visited back in May 2009 but this was my first visit. Alain le taxi took us to Chambolle-Musigny and dropped us off at the domaine where building works were in progress ahead of the harvest. Fortunately the dog was asleep. I believe this isn't always the case.

We met Christine, and then Gilbert gave us a tour of the cellar. We mainly tasted wines from 2012 which were still in barrel. Altogether we tasted 15 wines and then a couple of older vintages in bottle, what a way to start a week. Generally they seemed to be showing very well and I came away with a very positive impression of the 2012 vintage.

I won't give a blow-by-blow account, but for me, the highlights were the Bourgogne Rouge which was very stylish, the village Chambolle-Musigny which jumped out of the glass at me with its succulent fruit, the Chambolle 1er cru les Feusselottes which had an amazing richness, the Chambolle 1er cru les Charmes which I described as "beautiful, truly charming" and the Vosne-Romanee 1er cru which is a combination of three different premier cru parcels - Reignots, Petits Monts and Chaumes - and had lovely intense berry fruits. My kind of Vosne!

A mention must also be made of the Echezeaux grand cru. There was just one barrel of this. It was sensational, so much so that G didn't spit his out, disgraceful behaviour. It's probably out of my reach price-wise but it was a real privilege to be able to taste it. Thanks to Gilbert for a fabulous tasting!

Almost as much marc as at A de V Towers!

Sunday lunch in Brixton, 12th Sept

Last Sunday G and I went round to ACC's pad in Brixton for lunch. It was an absolutely beautiful autumn day, and there were lots of goodies on the menu!

We kicked off with a comparison of two whites, my Bouzereau Meursault 2002 and an Auxey-Duresses 1995 from Domaine Veronique de MacMahon provided by ACC. The Bouzereau was its usual self and I have blogged about it before so won't go over it again. The Auxey was fascinating. It had a nose of lemon and honey. I think if I'd been tasting it blind I would have mistaken it for a riesling, as it had a core of lime juice acidity. Very vibrant and we all liked it. It made the Meursault seem quite fat by comparison. Check out the classy wax seal!

Then we had a comparison of two reds: a Chassagne-Montrachet 1er cru Abbaye de Morgeot 2006 from the Marquis de MacMahon provided by ACC versus an Echezeaux (grand cru) 1997 from Denis Thomas which I brought along.

The Chassagne was lovely - a gorgeous ruby colour. Very pretty and scintillating. It was classic Chassagne and reminded me why this is my favourite style of red burgundy, perfumed and elegant. We gave it a 9 for premier cru project purposes. Which, consulting my giant spreadsheet just now, is remarkably consistent as we had a half of the 2001 a couple of years ago and gave it an 9. Pleasing.

The Echezaux was rather a mystery as I picked it up for a bargain basement price at a recent auction. We weren't familiar with the producer but made the assumption that you don't get to produce grand cru burgundy unless you have some idea what you're doing (with perhaps one notable exception ahem) and it didn't disappoint. It was browner than the Chassagne, not surprising given its age, and more meaty on the nose. Rich, serious, delicious, intense, and mellow. That's probably enough adjectives. ACC liked the label and in particular the way the E of Echezeaux is in red. That's very classic, apparently.

Then we moved on to the hard stuff and in particular this old Bisquit cognac. At this point I was starting to flag and my handwriting becomes completely indecipherable except for "PRINCE BERNARD" which I clearly thought was an important point to note. Also "1956". Presumably the label detectives thought it was made then? It was very mellow and there was no fieriness left in it, which worked for me.

The food was great as always as ACC is very talented in that department - the smoked haddock and lentil terrine and tarte au praline were particular highlights. Thanks very much to ACC and we shall have a rematch in due course (better expand my terrine repertoire quick)!

Bruno Desaunay-Bissey

On Thursday I was very excited to get the chance to go to an impromptu tasting down in Battersea organised by ACC to try some wines from a producer he has recently found.

I somehow braved the new door entry system and found the new office which was just as full of enticing goodies as the old one used to be, if not more so (marc so he he).

We kicked off with a glass of cremant from Agnes Paquet which was perfectly nice but for me, less interesting than the Dufouleur vintage cremant, of which I'm eagerly awaiting a new delivery of the 2007 and will then blog up.

Then it was onto the reds, which were from Bruno Desaunay-Bissey who is based in Flagey-Echezaux. Flagey is in the heart of the Cote de Nuits, between Vougeot and Vosne-Romanee. The bottles we tried were all from the 2008 vintage.

First we had a village Chambolle-Musigny, which had a vibrant nose and was quite light, soft and elegant on the palate. We thought it would be drinking in about 2 years, so one wouldn't need to wait too long. A bit of a crowd-pleaser I would say. Am seriously considering treating myself to a 6 pack.

Consulting the excellent maps in Coates, I see that Combe d'Orveau, the vineyard, is right on the Flagey border, and part of the vineyard is classified as premier cru, although not this particular part. I smuggled the rest of the bottle home with me so here's a photo, showing a traditional style label. Also, it's only 12.5% alcohol which is a plus point as far as I'm concerned.

After that there were two premier cru Vosne-Romanees, one was Les Rouges and the other I can't remember as I've somehow managed to lose my tasting notes, duh! Was it Les Beaux Monts? Les Rouges had a lot of red fruit although as ACC said this might be purely suggestive as a result of the name - he got raspberry, while N and I got redcurrant. The other one was more typique, with darker fruits and more power and richness, and would probably need 4 years or so to come round.

Finally we moved on to a pair of grand crus, a real treat for me as I very rarely get to drink anything at this level. We had an Echezeaux and a Grand-Echezeaux. N turned to vintage car analogies at this point and suggested (I hope I got this right) that the Echezeaux was like an old Bentley while the Grand-Echezeaux was like something sleeker. Certainly it was a delight to drink, with all the qualities of elegance, finesse, and structure in place, and while I'm wary of acquiring a Grand-Echezeaux habit, it's very tempting to get a bottle, tuck it away in a safe place and come back to it in 10 years. This is the highest level of red burgundy, and the price seemed very reasonable considering that. All in all, an excellent addition to the EPW portfolio of producers.