"We don't make Chardonnay, we make Chablis"

Yesterday evening G and I met up outside my office, finding each other easily despite the much-publicised haze of smog that was apparently covering London, and made our way to the Perseverance in Shroton Street for yet another Burgundy Portfolio event, a dinner with Nathalie Fevre of Domaine Nathalie et Gilles Fevre in Chablis.

Our visit to this domaine, in Fontenay-pres-Chablis, was one of the highlights of our trip to Burgundy in September last year (more about this here) and we have vivid memories of Nathalie showing us round her spotless winery, providing a massive basket of gougeres to go with the tasting, then taking us out for for a very nice lunch followed by a tour of the vineyards. So we were looking forward to this evening!

In the beautiful upstairs dining room, the table was laid for eleven, and we were greeted by ACC with a cold glass of Petit Chablis 2012. This makes a wonderful aperitif and the 2012 vintage seems to suit this wine. We said hello to Nathalie and I regretted that I'd forgotten to bring along my prize souvenir of the little fossilised moule which she gave us last year.

Two large plates of gougeres were handed round and were rapidly devoured as usual. We then moved on to the Chablis 2012, which has a snazzy yellow label, and the difference between this and the Petit Chablis was very clear - even though they are vinified in exactly the same way, the terroir expresses itself, and the Chablis is more complex with white flowers on the nose underpinned by that steely mineral quality. The Baron told me that he has some of this in halves and it's been going down a treat.

Sitting down at the table we discovered that each place setting had one of these. I wondered if it was a coaster and the Baron speculated that it was some kind of parking permit, but then Nathalie explained that it's a "drop stop" - you fold it up and stick it in the neck of the bottle and then when you pour the wine, it stops it from dripping. I look forward to using ours!

With the food, we moved on to a pair of premier crus - Mont de Milieu 2012 and 2010. ACC said that it was quite controversial that we were tasting the 2012 so soon, as it was only bottled in November, but it was very interesting to compare them and enabled us to see how the wine would evolve over time. The 2010 had knitted together, while the 2012 would take time to do so. Nevertheless I think the 2012 vintage is wonderful and already staked a claim to a case of it at the en primeur tasting back in January.

Our starter was a ham hock terrine with some cornichons and a little dollop of remoulade - delicious and a great accompaniment to the wine.

I forgot to mention that the 2010 was served en magnum, and there was some lively discussion about the best format for these wines. There's no doubt in my mind that they develop best in magnum, it's just a case of being patient and finding the right occasion.

Here we have, from left to right, the Petit Chablis 2012, the Chablis 2012, the Mont de Milieu 2012 and the Mont de Milieu 2010. It's hard to see from the photo but the two premier crus were noticeably more golden and had more body.

With our main course of guinea fowl (which was so delicious that I forgot to take a photo before I'd started eating it) we moved on to the premier cru Vaulorent, which the domaine's leaflet describes as its "flagship wine". This vineyard is in a very special location, next to the grand cru vineyards, and the nature of the soil and the south-west exposure give it fantastic concentration and complexity. With our final course, 2 year old Comte with some lovely soft oaty biscuits, we had the 2008 vintage of the same wine, which is wonderful. Only a few bottles remain and I'm delighted that I have three sitting on my rack. Nathalie did let slip that she still has some magnums of it, and G immediately started putting in for some.

Once again it was a real pleasure to get to try the range from the Petit Chablis up to the jewel in the crown, the Vaulorent, and to see how they developed both moving up the scale and as they gained greater maturity. It was particularly enjoyable to drink them with food which had been carefully chosen to complement them. Thanks again to Nathalie for taking the trouble to visit London and tell us about these wines, to the Perseverance for putting on yet another very fine meal, and to ACC for organising it all.

Chateau Latour, 1958

Last night it was time for a bottle of Chateau Latour, a much-anticipated quarterly indulgence, and the 1958 was stood up in preparation. A decent level, considering its age.

G successfully got the cork out intact - now that's what I call a cork!

Food was prepared - wing rib from Turner & George who deliver on a Saturday morning, very convenient - and some roast potatoes, along with reading material in the form of the Weekend FT magazine, the New Yorker and Lucky Peach. 

As for the wine, it was the usual very dark colour, with a pale rim. We detected plum crumble and cigar box on the nose. On the palate, it had a wonderful softness, and was almost as caressing as cough mixture. It was smooth, intense and seamless, and relatively fruity. We thought it wasn't as majestic as Latour usually is, but this isn't necessarily a criticism - it went down very easily. "Good quaffing Latour" said G while I said "Gosh that's delicious" or words to that effect. I thought it was really excellent, fully mature claret, but not one of the greats. 

And finally, the cheeseboard. I walked over to Beillevaire in Montpelier Street to get something worthy of the occasion. Here we have some 2 year old Gruyere, some Bleu de Bocage which I'd not encountered before - it's a pasteurised blue goats cheese from the Loire which had a slightly weird grainy texture but was otherwise very nice, a Couronne Lochoise (the doughnut-shaped goaty one) which was quite fresh and lemony, and the finest Epoisses in London. Having bought a Berthaud Epoisses in Waitrose last week, which disappointed me every night I wheeled it out, this was the real deal, and memo to self, it's completely worth the 50% mark-up. To round off, we had some old Dutch gouda from Selfridges food hall, which reminds me that we must do an order from the cheese shop in the Nine Streets, Amsterdam soon. Brokkel de brokkel.

And so the first quarter of 2014 draws to a close. Fortunately there are some fun things ahead, including a dinner with the fabulous Nathalie Fevre next week which I'm looking forward to immensely.

Beaune Lulune 2010, Domaine Emmanuel Giboulot

A few weeks ago, I was idly surfing the Guardian website and found an article about Emmanuel Giboulot on the front page. Not often that happens! Unfortunately it wasn't good news - he was being taken to court in Dijon for failing to use a particular pesticide on his vines. The article suggested that he faced a prison sentence if convicted, but there was quite an outcry (a petition was organised which now has over 500,000 signatures) and the prosecution is now asking for a fine of 1000 euros.

I don't know the ins and outs of the argument, but it seems that this pesticide may not be very effective at killing the insect in question, and may kill other creatures which have a positive impact on the environment. It also seems that that plenty of other wine-makers don't apply the pesticide either, but pretend that they have done so in order not to get in trouble with the Ministry of Agriculture. I applaud Giboulot for standing by his principles.

His wines are very special, in my opinion, and I'm very happy that I have quite a stash of them thanks to the Burgundy Portfolio. I've had the privilege of visiting the domaine twice and attending the wonderful dinner held in London in May 2012 - more on that here. The other night G and I cracked a bottle of his Beaune Lulune 2010 and it was an absolute stunner. We last tried it in Feb 2013, when we felt it needed more time - it's drinking very nicely now but there's no rush.

As Giboulot's wines are biodynamic, they benefit from a lot of air, so we double-decanted for an hour and 45 minutes. It was quite pale for a red wine, had trademark tinned strawberries on the nose, and was very pretty on the palate, with lovely light fruit, elegance and finesse but also lots of flavour and juiciness. The character of the terroir really comes through, and we felt this was wine made from happy vines. It was scintillating - one hesitates to use the word "ethereal" but it really does apply in this case. G said it was one of the nicest things he's ever drunk, and I agree.

This isn't a premier cru, but it's a clear 10 on the premier cru scale. I think I like it even more than Yves Darviot's 1er cru Beaune Greves which is saying something. I hope Giboulot is able to make many more vintages without government interference and wish him all the best for 7th April when the verdict will be announced.

Lunch at mine, Sunday 9th March

Last Sunday, ACC, Baron McG and G joined me for lunch. It was a beautiful weekend and felt like the start of spring as the weather was sunny and warm.

Proceedings commenced with a bottle of cremant de bourgogne from Domaine Felettig, and G produced an Israeli fig liqueur - which I'm glad to say he had been given, not paid good money for - to put in it. I think it was better without, but you have to try these things. The cremant went nicely with some pork scratchings from Turner & George (previously the East London Steak Co) who are firmly up there on my list along with the Ginger Pig. I hope everyone's teeth survived.

Then it was time for some serious food and drink. To start, we had this bottle of 2008 Puligny-Montrachet 1er cru Les Folatieres from Domaine Bzikot. I thought it was wonderful, but G was less convinced and felt it lacked acidity. No accounting for taste.

To go with it, I had made this chicken, apricot and pistachio terrine the day before which was a great success even if I do say so myself!

Then we moved on to the reds. ACC kindly brought this village Beaune 2009 from Domaine Audiffred, which was as wonderful as one would expect. You can tell it's a Beaune made by someone who is based in Vosne, but that's fine by me. To go with it, we had a beef stew - I'd planned the menu before the weather suddenly changed...  

The piece de resistance was this 1973 Beaune Greves from Moillard which ACC and the Baron gave me for my birthday last year. This was amazingly good considering its age and the alleged poor vintage. It was very fine and still had it all going on. Thanks very much to both of you!

Finally, we had this Clos-Vougeot 1982 from Domaine Lamarche, which G picked up in a recent auction. It was noticeable that this had not lasted so well and had baked characteristics but nevertheless was very interesting to drink.

I failed to take further photos, but honourable mentions must be made of les fromages most of which came from Beillevaire - the Epoisses in particular was absolutely perfect, and of the excellent Charbonnel et Walker chocs which the Baron brought along, just the thing with a post-prandial espresso. All in all, it was a lovely occasion!

Bony dinner, 25th Feb

On Wednesday G and I braved the Piccadilly Line to Knightsbridge to Chabrot Bistrot des Amis for an evening with Fabienne Bony, the winemaker at Domaine J-P Bony based in Nuits-St-Georges.

Proceedings commenced with a glass (or two) of Cremant de Bourgogne, which is primarily made from pinot noir, although she's thinking about doing some chardonnay next year. This made a very enjoyable aperitif.

Then we sat down and had some Nuits-St-Georges "Les Damodes" 2012 with our starter of pork terrine. I was reminded of my first encounter with this wine at the City tasting a couple of years ago, when we tried the 2010 vintage and it was the smash hit of the evening. On this occasion Fabienne thought it was served rather too warm, and I agreed, but nevertheless it showed well with an enticing fruity nose, good acidity and general succulence. Damodes is on the north side of the village, towards Vosne-Romanee, and most of the vineyard is premier cru. Fabienne's part isn't premier cru, but as far as quality is concerned, it could be.

With our main course of duck with honey on a bed of Puy lentils (which was delicious) we had the jewel in the crown, Nuits-St-Georges Les Pruliers 2010. Fabienne approved of the duck combo as she and her husband often drink these wines with duck. Pruliers is a premier cru, in the middle of a group of premier cru vineyards further south. For me, this had a massive hit of blackcurrants and was very smooth, really great. I sometimes find NSG hard work, but these wines are much more approachable and enjoyable to drink than most! They are in a softer, more charming style with plenty of finesse, rather than tannic monsters.

With the cheese, a Rocamadour supplied by my favourite cheese shop down the road, we had some Passetoutgrains 2009. This was very different from the NSGs, as you'd expect, and there was some controversy at the decision to drink this with the cheese, but I think it was absolutely correct - the "farmyard aromas" worked very well with the chevre, and this was packed with flavour. It's unusual for a Passetoutgrains in that it's 1/3 gamay and 2/3 pinot noir - the proportions are usually reversed. I thought it was fantastic and excellent value at £13.50 a bottle if memory serves - my order sheet was rapidly completed and handed to ACC...

Finally, dessert was a glass of cremant de bourgogne rose with little pieces of fruit floating in it. My phone had died at this stage but J kindly let my take this photo with his. By this stage I'd already eaten the floating fruit. It made for a very pleasant, refreshing end to the meal.

Thanks to Fabienne and to ACC of the Burgundy Portfolio for organising this event, and to Chabrot for the excellent food. Finally, for those curious about the Slovenian accordion music channel, G wasn't making it up - you can find it here. I don't think it's actually 24 hours a day as it doesn't seem to be working at the moment but hopefully it will be back in action this evening...

Madeira dinner 2014

Last Tuesday it was time for that annual highlight, G's Madeira dinner at the Savile Club. This year the theme was Terrantez, a rare grape variety. We tasted 12 wines altogether and I had the privilege of attending the pre-tasting a couple of weeks earlier so have two sets of notes to draw on. I didn't look at the first set of notes while writing the second, but I liked and disliked the same things both times. Good to know I agree with myself even if nobody else does...

This was the line-up - not as many novelty bottles this year and a disappointing absence of wicker baskets!

1. Henriques & Henriques 20 year old. On the nose G got figgy pudding while I got seville orange and wood varnish. It was very pleasant on the palate, perhaps sweeter as time went on, but generally not particularly sophisticated or complex. Still, I have to withdraw my snotty comment from years ago about non-vintange madeira not being worth drinking. At £55 from Tesco this was quite a bargain compared to some of what was to follow... We awarded it 3 stars out of a potential 5.

2. Justino's Old Reserve. G said "anecdotally 1930s" but there appears to be some doubt about this. At the pre-tasting I thought there was something not quite right with it, and not much seemed to be going on. It had improved slightly by the time of the dinner, and my notes say "not disgusting" but at £145 we won't be going back for more! G gave it one star which is his lowest rating. Fair enough.

3. D'Oliveiras Colheita 1988. This was bottled in 2011, so spent 23 years in barrel. It had a savoury nose, was quite dry on the palate and had a wonderful finish. More serious than 1, but not too different in price at approx £65. While G had given it only 3 stars I felt it possibly merited 4. T was also favourably impressed, which takes some doing where terrantez is concerned.

4. ABSL (Barros e Sousa) 1979. I found this very sharp on the palate both times, almost bitter - actively unpleasant. G tactfully said "not as immediately pleasurable as some of them" and gave it 2 stars, while for me it could only be one. It's not available here in the UK but retails for £85 on the island.

5. Cossart Gordon 1977. If I thought 4 was bad, this was worse. I took one sniff and it went straight in the bucket. It wasn't just bottle sick but smelt of actual sick on both occasions. At the pre-tasting, G made me have a sip and it didn't taste as bad as it smelled, but given that it costs £160 retail in the UK, my advice is avoid! It has to be said other people present seemed to be drinking it quite happily and appeared not to have noticed the vomit on the nose thing. G only gave it one star on this occasion. I'd give it nul points, if that was an option.

6. Blandy's 1976. This was more like it. G thought it wasn't terrantez, as it was quite rich and sweet, but it was enjoyable to drink at least. We polished the rest off with our cheese last night and again it went down well but I wouldn't have said it was worth anything like £160. Three stars.

We sat down to eat at this point, with the next two wines accompanying the chicken consomme, then the last four with pudding and cheese.

7. D'Oliveiras 1971. This was a definite step up in terms of quality. It had it all going on - dry and complex, with a finish that lasted for ages. I liked it very much both times. It's £110 retail in the UK but might actually be worth it. Four stars.

8. Blandy's 1969. This was slightly richer than 7, and very herbaceous - the real deal. It was excellent, well-balanced, again with a great finish. But the last time it was available it cost £300 so compared to 7, not such great value. Four stars.

9. Henriques & Henriques 1954. This was big, rich and smooth, with notes of fruitcake. Being in a pretentious mood, I detected panforte. "H&H are the bollocks" read my notes. It was a dramatic leap up in quality and a clear five stars. Not available in the UK but was £450 last time G saw it - ouch. Nice to get to drink it as I don't suppose we ever will again!

10. ABSL (Barros e Sousa) 1905. At the pre-tasting, the nose had a pungent, chemical quality reminiscent of something you'd find in the woodshed. Alas, it was also congruent i.e. it tasted how it smelled, which in this case wasn't a good thing. I didn't find it pleasant, and on re-tasting, again it wasn't really my bag. Disappointing. G gave it 3 stars but I thought it was only worth 2 max. It's probably no longer available but I can't say I'm shedding any tears.

11. Leacock 1881. Now this was a very interesting wine. The nose was big and enticing, while the palate was dry and had become razor sharp ("like sucking a stone") by the time of the dinner but there were also notes of creamy vanilla fudge. Seriously amazing, a clear 5 stars. Sadly no longer available and cost £750 last time it was, so a privilege to drink.

12. D'Oliveiras 1880. The final wine of the evening, this bottle was provided by D and as usual he came up trumps! It was much sweeter than 11, and I detected treacle toffee which led G to speculate that it had a rum base. Magnificent, delicious wine. "D'Oliveiras rocks!" I have written, over-excitedly. Another clear 5 stars. This costs £620 in the UK.

Once again, thanks to G for finding such an extraordinary range of rare wines for us to taste in one evening. I don't believe anyone has ever put together such a collection as this. As usual there was a spectrum, both in quality and style - the last two wines in particular were both wonderful but completely different from each other. Another fascinating tasting - roll on next year!

Two Perrins and a Parent

aka Recent Drinking Round-up!

No particular wine-drinking themes appeared in January but I've been making more notes in my trusty red notebook and so here are reports on three wines that we tried.

First, this Meursault Villages 2008 from Vincent Perrin. We first tried this when we visited the domaine on New Year's Eve 2012 and I was immediately sold. My kind of Meursault. Fortunately ACC procured stocks and so we're currently tucking into G's as mine are still in storage.

We decanted it just before drinking, and it was a nice pale gold colour. On the nose there was classic Meursault oak and butteriness but also lemon and a floral quality. On the palate it was very well-balanced and typique. The verdict: dangerously drinkable! We thought it would get a 9 on the premier cru project scale, praise indeed. It's ready to go and won't improve but there's no particular rush. I look forward to drinking the rest over the next year or two.

Also by Vincent Perrin, this Volnay 1er cru Les Gigottes 1998. We decanted it for an hour and a half. It took a few minutes to open up but when it did, succulent fruit emerged. We had a debate about exactly what colour currants were involved. G claimed there was some whitecurrant in there. I'm not sure I even know what whitecurrants taste like! For me, it wasn't the strawberry/raspberry kind of red burg, but darker fruit, definitely blackberry, and a hint of gaminess and leather. The tannins are fully resolved and it's very smooth. Again, a 9 on the pc scale. Admirable, mature burgundy. We've actually had this twice recently - the second bottle with my brother and sister-in-law on Friday - it went very well with slow-cooked lamb shanks. Now there's just one bottle left!

Finally, last weekend we drank this Pommard la Croix Blanche 2008 from Anne Parent. We gave it a couple of hours in decanter. It was a serious, intense, powerful wine ("tres Pommard") with hedgerow fruits according to G. We had it with steak, which worked well - it definitely needed red meat. It was clearly a wine of quality and a marked step up from Bourgogne Rouge. I have a case of the 2007 vintage and on the basis of this, I think I will get it out fairly soon, since '07 was a relatively light and charming vintage.

Some events are on the horizon including G's famous annual Madeira dinner on Tuesday. I shall report back!