Recent reds report - Cote de Beaune

Things have been looking up here - am just back from a few days in Norfolk with my family, during which the news broke that the US travel ban is being lifted in November. It feels like a cloud has lifted and soon I'll be on my way back to Pennsylvania.

Meanwhile, a report on some reds from the Cote de Beaune, descending from north to south. 

Here we have a Ladoix 1er cru Les Basses Mourottes 2014 from Gaston & Pierre Ravaut. It was quite dark in colour with a pale rim. We enjoyed the nose, which was full of dark things from underneath a hedgerow - truffle, mushrooms, blackcurrant and what G described as "elderly sheep dropping" although I'm unsure whether he was speaking from experience. It was all very interesting. On the palate, it was a little light on fruit and a bit rustic, but nevertheless I recorded that I seemed to have drunk it without noticing, so it was clearly quite enjoyable. We felt it was fully mature and needed no more time, and gave it an 8.

This Pommard 1er cru Fremiers 2012 from Nicolas Rossignol was the first of two recent Pommards. It was a nice garnet colour and had a lovely nose of summer fruit tart. There were some chunky tannins on the palate, or "matiere" as G described it - reminiscent of plum skins and cocoa. Somehow we doubted it was 13% as claimed. We felt it was a posh wine, exuding quality and I described it as a good wine to take to a dinner party, as it would be bound to impress. We thought it needed another 5 years to reach its full potential, and gave it a low 9 but with the potential to go higher. I note that the domaine is based in Volnay, and indeed it did have a certain similarity to Perrin's wines. It was quite pricey at £83. 

Then we have this Pommard 1er cru Clos les Arvelets 2014 from Mark Haisma. This had an engaging fruity, sweet nose with some nice raspberries going on. It was silky with lots of fruit on the midpalate and some chocolatey tannins on the finish. I sometimes find Pommard a bit heavy and brooding but occasionally I find one which really ticks my boxes (Maison Romane's Argilliere being the prime example) and this was almost in that category, with more finesse than some. "A lighter way to enjoy Pommard" as G put it. The 2014s seem to be giving us a lot of pleasure at the moment, and we felt this was drinking perfectly now. It was a solid 9, but then again it did cost £85.

Moving on down the map, we come to Santenay. This was a 1er cru le Beaurepaire 2017 from Jean-Marc Vincent. It was an attractive ruby colour but had a slightly dumb nose. On the palate, it was juicy and fresh, and a little bit croquant. We thought it was designed to be drunk young, and wasn't a particularly serious wine, unlike say the Santenays from Choupette which need more time to come round. On the other hand it was only £36. We thought it was a quintessential 8.

A quick detour to the west takes us to Maranges, which always brings back happy memories of the somewhat dilapidated maison de maitre we found on a property website a few years ago, with a lovely view over the vineyards. This was a Maranges 1er cru Le Croix Moines 2016 from Camille Giroud. Got to love that font, which is even on the cork! It looked glossy and inviting, with massive legs, and a really fabulous heady nose which reminded me of black cherry clafoutis. On the palate it was congruent and for me it still had black cherries while G got bramble. It went really well with our crispy duck and pancakes, and positively evaporated. We felt it was completely ready to drink and gave it a 9. At £33, it was fantastic value. 

Finally, we venture down to Mercurey where we had three examples of the genre recently. This Mercurey 1er cru Clos L'Eveque 2014 came from Romain Chapuis, whose low sulphur wines are a particular favourite of mine. This was glossy and looked young, and had a wonderful nose of wild strawberries which G described as feral. I loved it. It was relatively lightweight with immediate charm and good acidity, but didn't really feel like a premier cru, more a vin de plaisir. We gave it a high 7.

The other two Mercureys both came from P&M Jacqueson, with their immediately-recognisable squiggly font. First we have the 1er cru "Les Champs Martin" 2015. This had a fruity nose and was juicy and croquant, delicious lightweight pinot, with a slight hint of wine gums. It was crying out for a baguette and a bit of cheese and pate. I found it very enjoyable and we thought it was the sort of wine that would do well in hot vintages. We gave it a solid 8.

Finally, here we have the 1er cru Les Velley 2016. This had orchard fruit on the nose, but was richer and heavier on the palate, with quite a lot of oomph, and was fresh medium-weight pinot. It was slightly tart on the finish in an enjoyably mouthwatering way. I might have thought it was a Santenay if I'd been tasting it blind. We also gave it a solid 8 and my opinion of this domaine continues to be very favourable. I think we've been finding that Mercurey and perhaps also Rully deliver considerable pleasure at a not exorbitant price, and are perhaps coming into their own with the hotter weather in recent years. 

As always many thanks to G for supplying these and keeping the Premier Cru Project on the road! I'm happy to report that a modicum of social life is on the agenda in the near future, with D visiting from the Finger Lakes next week and several exciting tastings lined up. Bring it on!

Recent reds

Feeling a bit more cheerful here at AduV Towers with things starting to open up in London now and a sense that things might get back to normal soon. It was great to see ACC and the Baron in real life last Saturday after five months, and I'm looking forward to seeing other friends soon and getting back to tastings, lunches and dinners like the good old days!

Meanwhile, G has been keeping me company and we've drunk some pretty good stuff over the past few weeks. Today's report is on the reds only, in descending date order.

We recently acquired some halves of En Gregoire 2012 from Emmanuel Giboulot, and G located the 2018 vintage of the same wine in bottle, so naturally a vertical tasting ensued!

They were a fairly similar colour but the 2012 had a slightly paler rim. The 2018 had a pretty nose with exuberant ripe fruit, and was big and juicy with notes of black cherry. It came in at 13% and certainly ticked my boxes. Young, but why wait? The 2012 had more sous bois and was a little earthy - less fruity, more serious. It was only 12%. But there was a close resemblance between the two, indicating a strong sense of terroir. It was hard to say which we preferred. I think for G the 2012 was a narrow win, and for me the immediate deliciousness of the 2018 had it. 

The other night we had this Rully 1er cru Preaux from P&M Jacqueson. I had some trouble deciphering the curly font on the label! It was a pretty colour and looked young and fruity. The nose was fresh and pretty although G detected "an enticing whiff of rot", and the wine was light, succulent and delicious with stone fruit. It was quite high-toned and mouthwatering, and the word "croquant" sprang to mind - there was a kind of plum skin note. For me, it was the kind of wine that would be delicious at lunchtime with a baguette and some pate. It was perhaps a little on the frivolous side but there's nothing wrong with that. We gave it a 9. I see that we've actually had white wines from Jacqueson before (2007 vintage!) and thought they were pretty good. Definitely a domaine to look out for especially as Rully is relatively good value compared to more prestigious villages. 

There follow a trio which we had at my place where I failed to take photos. I've been getting better at making notes lately, but apparently not at remembering to take photos. 

The first was old favourite Terres Burgondes 2011 from Giboulot. This had a lovely nose of tinned strawberries and was congruent, sensual and pretty. It had some interesting notes of forest floor and wild fruit. Not too serious, obtained at an advantageous price (thanks ACC!) and very much my kind of thing. If it had been a premier cru, we'd have given it a 9. 

Back in mid-April we had some Chassagne-Montrachet 1er cru Morgeots 2011 from Domaine de la Choupette. This had a glorious nose of black and red cherries and was elegant with blackcurrant on the palate. It was rich upfront but lighter on the midpalate and finish. It went well with our venison fillet, and we gave it an 8. Not quite as good as the 2010, but I always love red Chassagne.

Another recent acquisition was Ladoix 2010 from Domaine Parent. This was very much in the style of the domaine and if I'd been tasting it blind, I might have thought it was a Pommard. It was powerful, polished and rich with a long finish of black cherries. "Quite a serious wine from a minor village" was G's verdict. It definitely needed some red meat to go with it. 

I did remember to take a pic of this Chambolle-Musigny Clos le Village 2010, or at least the bottle. The wine was glossy and 90% opaque with a pale rim. On the nose we got mixed forest fruits - blackcurrant, raspberry and redcurrant. G also detected a note of orange peel. On the palate, there were some chocolatey tannins, blackberry and blackcurrant. It was perhaps not altogether typical of Chambolle and reminded me more of a Morey. I gave it two and half hours in the decanter and it was drinking now but we thought it would be good for another five years. I have another five bottles so that shouldn't be a problem. 

One night at G's we had this Pommard les Croix Noires 1er cru 2009 from Domaine de Courcel. This had been decanted for three and a half hours and was a lovely garnet colour, a little brown at the rim. I found the nose a little brooding. On the palate, there were some dusty tannins which resolved to reveal some lovely ripe blackcurrant and finally some raspberries. It went well with steak, which helped to buffer the tannins. We thought this was starting to drink, but would be good for another decade, and gave it an 8 with the potential to become a 9 in time. Not a wine one would seek out in a bad vintage.

Finally, the oldest of the bunch: this Morey-Saint-Denis 1er cru Les Ruchots 1996 from Domaine Arlaud. It looked mature and had a fascinating nose of tinned strawberry, sous bois, dark chocolate and cherry. On the palate it was extraordinary, there was so much going on. An immediate 10 pointer, happy days! It had lovely berries, was very complete and harmonious, and had a long finish which changed all the time and delivered little bursts of fruit. It was magnificent wine, old school burgundy as it ought to be, not one to be rushed. G told me that 1996 was a good vintage but also quite tough. This was approaching the end of its drinking window, so I'm glad we had it when we did. One of those wines that reminds us why we love Burgundy. 

Recent drinking round-up!

The other day I indulged in a bottle of this Hidalgo Manzanilla Pasada Pastrana, which I got from Waitrose for the princely sum of what I remember being £11.99 although according to their website it's a mere £11.39. Said website (here) also describes this as "a light and fresh Manzanilla" which is absolute garbage. Were they talking about a different wine?

This wine is aged in oak casks for 12 years which is what makes it a pasada, as opposed to the normal "light and fresh" style of manzanilla which should be drunk young. It costs significantly more than your bog standard Manzanilla, but it's worth it. Powerful and pungent, a glass of this straight from the fridge after a hard day at work really hits the spot. The Wine Society have it for £9.95 - fair play to the WS, their sherry is excellent value. Majestic have also been known to stock it in the past.

Rully 1er cru Les Cloux 2007, Paul Jacqueson. I've blogged about Jacqueson before, who is one of the best winemakers in the Cote Chalonnaise. Previously we had a white Rully from him and gave it a high 8. This was a red, with a lovely light pinot colour, and blackberry and black cherry on the nose. On the palate, it was silky and succulent and had bags of flavour congruent with the nose. Once again we toyed with giving it a 9 but in the end decided it was a high 8. Good value though, because it was either 17 or 19 euros (I suspect the latter) from the shop in Meursault.

A couple of weeks ago we had this Marsannay 2005, Montagne, from Huguenot. I didn't make notes but it was very enjoyable and drinking well now. There are no premier cru vineyards in Marsannay but this was a reminder to self that this village, which is right up the top of the Cote de Nuits near Dijon, produces some very pleasing and relatively good value wines.

Last night I stuck a bottle of our old friend, the Dufouleur Cremant de Bourgogne, in the fridge as an aperitif. We're now on the 2007 vintage and it remains very consistent with a florality and hints of elderflower. Dangerously drinkable.

Last week I treated myself to a bottle of Latour-Labille Bourgogne Rouge from 2005. This wine tends to be very light and in some years I find it's not my cup of tea, but 2005 was a big vintage and one that suits the style very well.

And finally, the jewel in the crown, a red Meursault 1er cru Les Cras 2007 from Latour-Labille. I got to taste the 2008 when I visited the domaine in January, and it was the highlight of the tasting. This was the first bottle from G's case of the 2007 which we have tried and although expectations were high, we weren't disappointed.

We gave it two hours in the decanter and when we poured it into our glasses, it had an amazing dark purple colour, I was surprised by how dark the colour was. On the nose it had wonderful dark fruit and a lovely perfume. G detected parma violets. I'm not altogether sure what parma violets smell like but I think I got the general gist. On the palate, it had a lovely mouthfeel, rich fruit, balance and poise. The finish went on for several minutes. We sat there using words like "remarkable" and "sublime" and there was no doubt that it was a 10. Hurrah!

Although it's drinking now, there's no rush as it has years in it and I hurriedly attempted to stomp on G's suggestion that he share some with a certain bunch of elderly claret-drinkers, by reminding him of my trump card, the Corton from Anne Parent...

In other news, the Wine Society produced their 2009 burgundy offer. "Three for the price of six" was how G described it, spot on. The Domaine Leflaive Bourgogne Blanc is £60 for three bottles, en primeur. Sod that for a game of soldiers.

Also, I have been giving some thought to this blog and have decided that I may broaden it out to include food and drink more generally. But I promise to save the cute kitten pictures for Facebook. Stay tuned!

Assorted bits and pieces

It's been a good week on the vinous discovery front!

Things kicked off on Monday when I cunningly put a premier cru Rully in the fridge. This was Rully La Pucelle from the 2007 vintage which is relatively early-drinking, and made by Paul Jacqueson, of whom I'd never heard. I'm pleased to say that we learned our lesson from the Chassagne debacle and decanted it, admittedly just before serving. It was still very cold as it had been in the fridge all day. Sorry about the blurry pic. I think I need to get a new camera or perhaps actually learn how to use the one I already have.

I must admit I didn't have very high expectations since Rully is not in the main bit of Burgundy but is in the south, the Cote Chalonnaise, generally considered to be a bit second rate compared to the Cote d'Or. However, this wine showed us that it can deliver. It was quite rich but was balanced by a zingy acidity, and again G detected lemon wax (this seems to be becoming a recurring theme). It was really quite charming and we thought it was at the beginning of its drinking window. We toyed with giving it a 9, but eventually decided it was a high 8. I was interested to see that Clive Coates in his Bible gives Jacqueson a star and says that he's the best maker in the Cote Chalonnaise. Thanks to ACC for finding this one for us.

Then on Wednesday, my brother and sister-in-law came round which was a great excuse to make gougeres. We had them with some Cremant de Bourgogne from Dufouleur, the second round spiced up a bit with the addition of some unexpectedly sweet Creme de Peche also from Dufouleur, a happy coincidence.

Then we moved on to this wine, La Grola, made by Allegrini who are located in Valpolicella. My father of all people splashed out on a bottle of this and raved about it so I decided to get a couple when it was in a recent bin end sale. It was really rather fabulous, with an incredible dense colour and quite a dry finish. Apparently there's something very special about the micro-climate of this vineyard. Also of note is that it comes in a thunking great big heavy bottle, the sort of bottle where you're sure it can't possibly be empty because it weighs so much, but unfortunately it is.

After that we moved onto the cheese so I wheeled out my Smith Woodhouse 1970 which we had decanted on Monday night (and tasted, just for quality control purposes of course). The bottle doesn't have a label but I trust my wine merchant! There's a splosh of white paint to show which way up it should be kept. As you can see on the left side of the bottle there was a lot of sediment left behind, so the white splosh method clearly works well.

G turned up just as I was serving it and my sister in law complimented him on his port radar. I've had this port before and love it. Smith Woodhouse are not in the premier league of port shippers but that's good news from a pricing point of view. Some of their vintages aren't to my taste but they got this one right and it has a lovely pontefract cake character.

Finally, on Thursday, we had another premier cru which scored a 10. I'm going to write about that next week as I need to procure further supplies before giving the game away...