Vosne 1er cru vertical!

Yesterday I invited a select group round for Sunday lunch with the aim of drinking two of my vinous treasures recently out of storage. Yes, it was time for a vertical tasting of the legendary Vosne Romanee 1er cru Reignots from Domaine Audiffred! The two vintages in question were 2010 and 2016, and I'd like to think we're probably the only people in the world who have ever carried out this comparison as these wines are so rare and quantities very limited.

G and I had polished off a bottle of Vosne Champs Perdrix 2016 also from Audiffred on Wednesday night, so that was still fresh in our minds. I'm a big fan of the Champs Perdrix which isn't a premier cru but feels like one, and this was no exception. It was a light to medium weight with a lovely perfume, beautiful autumnal fruit and sous bois, and some chocolatey tannins on the finish. It reminded us a little of Morey St Denis, never a bad thing.

On to the Reignots... this was famously the wine which ACC could smell from across the cellar the first time he visited Domaine Audiffred, and fortunately for us he was able to persuade Henri to supply some in very limited quantities. 

We tried the 2016 first. It was a significant step up from the Champs Perdrix. I'd opened it three hours earlier and gave it an hour in the fridge. Again it was medium weight but this wine was absolutely bursting with fruit and we went through all the different colours of currants - black, red and white. It was supremely elegant, with a wonderful finish. We felt it was at the beginning of its drinking window.

The 2010 was even better. The cork was very crumbly so I had to decant it. It was more savoury, and both beetroot and "high quality saddle" were mentioned, but not in a bad way - it was very complex. It had a wonderful core of acidity and every sip was a pleasure. There was no doubt that this wine deserved 10 points on the premier cru scale, while the 2016 was perhaps a high nine. The 2010 was drinking very well now but I don't think there would be any rush, not that I have any more. 

We also had a bottle of Don Zoilo 15 year old amontillado from Williams and Humbert, which came from the Wine Society. This was good stuff and very nutty and intense. It definitely needed food. Fortunately I had a mixed charcuterie board from the Dorset Meat Co and the amontillado went particularly well with the spicy chorizo. 

Finally, we knocked my last bottle of Smith Woodhouse 1994 on the head. This has always been lovely stuff with its notes of pontefract cake, and this bottle was no exception. 

In other news, last week G kindly invited me to attend the Lay & Wheeler 2021 en primeur tasting at Glaziers Hall over by London Bridge. It was an interesting event, especially as I haven't been to an en primeur tasting since January 2020, and am not very familiar with Lay & Wheeler's range of producers. It was noticeable that many of the wines we particularly enjoyed had no price listed but were either sold out or you were asked to register your interest. I gather from Jancis's article in the FT that the 2021 vintage was very challenging and quantities small. 

For me, the highlights were:

• the white premier cru Chassagne-Montrachets from Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard and Domaine Bruno Colin
• the Macon and Pouilly-Loche from Marcel Couturier which seemed to be exceptionally good value
• the reds from Domaine Comte Armand, which took me back to happy evenings at Caveau des Arches 
• the reds from Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg, although I suspect these are way outside my price range!
• the Vosne Romanee 1er cru Clos des Reas from Domaine Michel Gros, an old favourite
• and above all, the premier cru Nuits-St-Georges from Domaine d'Arlot which had a wild quality to them that I found very exciting. 

It was a pleasure to try these wines, even though my Burgundy buying days are coming to an end now, and thanks to G for inviting me!

Recent drinking round-up!

AduV is still alive! Just haven't been feeling much of an urge to write a cheery blog at the moment with everything that's been going on. But there's light at the end of the tunnel and some interesting booze has been going down. 

This will be a mostly pictorial report as I haven't been making detailed notes on the whole, with one notable exception below. 

In order of aperitif to post-prandial:

I randomly ordered this Cornish Pastis along with a rum order from BBR. I quite enjoyed it! It wasn't too sweet and G compared it to an ouzo rather than a pastis. It brought back happy memories of sitting outside at a bistrot in Lyon...

White Musar 2012.

This Bourgogne Rouge from Domaine de la Roseraie has been going down well - very accomplished stuff. 

What a treat! A half of 1996 Musar. For me, this was getting to the end of its drinking window. G noticed a lot of volatile acidity, and there was definitely a lot of brett. But it was a pleasure to drink and reminded us how much we like Musar.

The last of my red Meursault 1er cru Cras 2009 from Latour-Labille. What lovely stuff this has been. Reminiscent of a very good Volnay or I might even have thought it was Cote de Nuits with its black fruits. 

I think this was also the last of the Vosne Romanee Champs Perdrix 2010 from Audiffred, which has also been a complete delight and I'm delighted that I have three more vintages in my cellar!

A highlight just before New Year - G splashed out on this 2015 Auxey-Duresses from Coche-Dury. One of my desert island wines, the bottle has gone into the hall of fame on top of the kitchen cabinets. This had a heady, sweet nose of poached cherry - clafoutis or even Bakewell tart. "The fragrance arising from warm fruit" pronounced G. On the palate, it had a velvety texture and was sensual, rich and harmonious with a very long finish. It was bursting with flavour and certainly drinking now but we thought it would keep. Sweet berry compote heading towards summer pudding. A real treat and thanks to G for spoiling me. 

This half of Warre's 1983 wasn't too shabby either! I failed to make notes but do recall that for me it was on the drier side and quite fascinating - not as much fruitcake and dried fruit as some ports, but some interesting darker flavours like leather, tobacco and chocolate. I enjoyed it very much.

I plan to get some more wines out of storage fairly soon and look forward to seeing how they have been getting on... watch this space!

Another recent drinking round up

Towards the end of January I got some wine out of storage, which is always an exciting occasion!

First up was this Vosne-Romanee 2010 from Domaine Audiffred. Having seen Henri the previous Monday evening, I'd asked his advice about decanting this and the verdict was not to decant in advance, so we opened it, decanted and began drinking right away! This wine was medium weight, deft and poised with a lovely burst of fruit acids on the finish along with a touch of cocoa. It made my mouth tingle. There was some debate about what the fruit reminded us of and in the end we settled on "hedgerow fruits". It felt like it gained a little weight over time, and was beautifully rounded, easy to drink and just very enjoyable.

A couple of nights later we had this Hautes Cotes de Beaune 2012 from Maison en Belles Lies. This was quite a pale colour and a little cloudy. It was lovely, lightweight, pretty pinot noir, just 12% alcohol, with vibrant cherry fruit, juicy and succulent. One of my favourite styles of wine and, as G said, it wasn't pretending to be something it wasn't. I was surprised it was still so fresh at almost 8 years old, and it positively evaporated from our glasses!

Finally, to round off the week, we had this Pernand-Vergelesses Les Combottes 2013 from Pascal Clement. This was an amazing golden colour with hints of green, a surprisingly vibrant colour for a village white. It had hints of stone fruits and white flowers on the nose, then bracing acidity on the palate. It was big and juicy, with a lot of lemon along with a savoury edge. Really remarkable stuff and we agreed it would be a 9 if it we were scoring it as a premier cru, so it was certainly playing at a higher level than its appellation would suggest. It was relatively expensive for a village Pernand but definitely worth it.

I'm looking forward to drinking more of these three very soon...

Recent drinking round-up!

And so the blog limps in belatedly to 2020 with the first entry of the year! I've finally had a chance this weekend to review my notes and photos of what has been drunk here over the last couple of months.

First up, a couple of Cabernet Francs from the Finger Lakes. It seems that I forgot to take a photo of the first, which was a Ryan William Vineyard 2012. This was my kind of cab franc, dark in colour, with lovely earthy and herbaceous flavours, ripe and not stemmy. G detected plums on the finish. We thought it was drinking very well now and needed no more time. It was apparently 12.7% alcohol so no hangover, and at $22 including tax one can hardly argue.

The second was this Kelby James Russell 2017, coming in at a mere 12.2%. This was paler in colour and I probably would have guessed it was a pinot if I'd just been looking at it. It had some sweetness on the nose and was relatively lightweight with, to use D's expression, good acid. G said "you could (expletive deleted) buzz a bottle of this on your own at lunch" which is praise of a kind. It certainly went down very easily and again it was around $22.

On to more serious stuff. Here we have a 2009 Vosne 1er cru Les Chaumes from Francois Lamarche which I brought back from Burgundy some time ago. We think I paid around 75 euros for it back then and it now costs £100, so quite a top-end wine by my standards!

It was an intense deep ruby colour and very glossy. I described the nose as opulent, with blackcurrant and chocolate and it was uncompromisingly big on the palate, powerful, complex and very Cotes de Nuits. It had a wonderful intensity and went very nicely with beef stew. We thought it was at the beginning of its drinking window and would easily last another 10 years. We gave it 9 points on the premier cru scale.

I enjoyed this little map of the village on the back label!

One evening in November we drank this Rully 1er cru "Le Meix Cadot" 2014 from Domaine Vincent Dureuil-Janthial which G bought for apparently around £30. This was a pale gold colour and had a vibrant nose. On the palate, it was ripe with a touch of honey and a certain beeswax quality, then a wonderful zing of lemon zest as it went down. We served it very cold and it was wonderfully refreshing. G said if he ran a restaurant he'd put it on the wine list. This was apparently an excellent vintage and was drinking perfectly now. My notes finish "Yay! :)" which sums it up well.

Finally, two wines which we had a couple of weeks ago with ACC. From G, this Volnay 1er cru Clos des Angles 2009 from the Marquis D'Angerville. I failed to make notes but recall that it was exactly what you would expect of premier cru Volnay from this vintage. An expensive, superior bottle of wine.

Meanwhile, ACC brought along this Aloxe-Corton Les Valozieres 2013 from Domaine Audiffred. Although Aloxe is in the Cote de Beaune, the flavours are often more like those which we typically associate with the Cote de Nuits. Again no detailed notes were taken but it was a very fine bottle and certainly beginning to drink now. I tend to end up buying Vosne from this domaine because I love it so much, but this was a useful reminder that Henri's other wines are also reliably wonderful, and it was a pleasure to see him at the Burgundy Portfolio en primeur tasting on Monday.

Burgundy Portfolio tasting at Baker's Hall, 21st Nov

On Wednesday evening, I made my way over to Baker's Hall for a very exclusive wine tasting held by ACC of the Burgundy Portfolio. This was a relaxed, sit-down affair of the sort I enjoy the most.

We started with this sparkling wine made by Quentin Beaufort which was dry and complex with some good age on it and was definitely up there with champagne, despite being made from grapes grown just outside the border.

This Chablis 2017 from Domaine Gueguen has apparently mostly been bought up already as quantities were low last year, but was very appealing, with minerality and richness. ACC said it had a certain fleshiness reminiscent of a pink grapefruit. G thought it was drinking already, and I found myself thinking it would be great with fish fingers.

Domaine Les Champs de Themis is a new find and this Bouzeron is made from aligote doree. I found it very interesting - dry, floral and almost grapey. ACC described it as "gastronomic". Cassis not required!

I'd had a heads up that this wine was going to be shown, although as this was the only bottle in the country we had to be self-restrained and not guzzle it all. It's a grenache from Romain Chapuis, made from Rhone grapes, unfined, unfiltered, low sulphur. At £18.50 a bottle paid-up I couldn't resist grabbing a couple of cases, as past experience has shown that these wines have a habit of evaporating from the AduV cellar.

This Mercurey from Domaine Les Champs de Themis had an amazing fruity nose which reminded me of Ribena, and was charming easy drinking, not rustic like some Mercureys.

The Vacherin went down very well too

We then had the excitement of a blind tasting. On the left was a wine that was relatively light in colour and very fruity and pretty, with notes of tinned strawberries, while on the right was a dark, intense number which needed more time. I jumped to conclusions and foolishly guessed that the one on the left was a Cote de Beaune and the one on the right was a Cote de Nuits. Wrong!

The one on the left was actually 2016 Vosne-Romanee Chalandins from Henri Audiffred. This was quite a revelation for me as I always think of Vosne as being big and rich, whereas this wine was relatively light and fruity. ACC said it was likely to close down soon.

G had the advantage of having been to Burgundy recently and guessed that the wine on the right came from Domaine de la Roseraie, which as soon as he said it was incredibly obvious. It was definitely in that very serious style, made for the long haul. It appears I bought a case en primeur, so I shall make a note to look into it in 2023!

Finally, we tried this wine from Ventoux in Provence which was another low-sulphur number made from 40% marsanne, 40% clairette and 20% grenache blanc. I enjoyed its minerality and it was suggested that it would go well with chicken with morels, or with cheese. Sadly we had eaten all the cheese by this stage so were unable to put this theory to the test.

A very enjoyable evening all round and can't wait to get some of that Grenat in my cellar. Thanks ACC!

Dinner of decadence, 8th August

It's been a fun couple of weeks!

Not wine-related, but can hardly go unmentioned - D visited from Pennsylvania at the end of July! It was her first visit to London and we had a delightful six days doing touristy things, meeting friends, eating fish and chips etc. Good times.

J and her family arrived a few days later and we met up a couple of times this week. A particular highlight was dinner at the Savile which G kindly hosted for me, J and J's wife. This will mainly be a photographic record, as conversation was flowing and notes were not made!

The Billecart-Salmon 2002 Cuvee Nicolas Billecart arrived in the nick of time and made an excellent aperitif. I seem to be acquiring rather a taste for it...

Upstairs in the dining room, we had my last bottle of 2008 Corton from Anne Parent, the white this time. I was slightly anxious that it might not have survived its time in the wardrobe during the recent heatwave but it was absolutely singing. Those who had sea trout for their main course reported that it made a great accompaniment. The label had slipped a little in the ice bucket!

Trademark blurry photo of this 2011 Vosne-Romanee Aux Champs Perdrix from Domaine Audiffred, which was a lovely, elegant Vosne.

It was perhaps overshadowed by the Hermitage La Sizeranne from Chapoutier, provided by G, which was rich and powerful and was something of a crowd-pleaser, although one possibly wouldn't want to drink a whole bottle of it by oneself.

My tiramisu was a work of art!

And finally, a half bottle of Rieussec 1983 was the perfect size for four and gave great pleasure to all concerned. Festivities continued into the small hours. I'm very much looking forward to going to Grand Rapids in September to investigate J's cellar, but thank god she has a Coravin because I'm going backpacking with D two days later! Just as well I have seven weeks to get ready...

SPNS, Mon 9th April

On Monday night, I made my way over to the Savile Club this time accompanied by thumping trance music courtesy of Paul Van Dyk's excellent podcast.

T was sitting with a distinguished-looking bearded gentleman who on closer inspection turned out to be D! Apparently the pair of them had decided seconds earlier that quorum had been reached, and so this bottle of Cuvee Brut 2013 from Hermann J Wiemer brought over by D had just been opened. It was perfect timing.

G and ACC duly showed up and we cracked on. We tried this wine at the winery back in September and were favourably impressed on that occasion. The general consensus was that it was admirable, creamy and smooth, generally a classy drop which might improve with time. It certainly gives many champagnes a run for their money.

We moved to the dining room upstairs where I had this as a starter - trying to remember what it was now! The yellow thing is definitely pasta, and I believe the pink thing is beetroot and there was also some goats cheese involved.

My contribution was this Beaune 2010 Chaume Gaufriot from Henri Audiffred, which has been sparking much joy here at AduV Towers. On this occasion it took a few minutes to open up and seemed less tropical than previously, but was generally considered to be top notch classic white burgundy. I suspect the remaining stocks need to be drunk in the near future though. Quelle horreur!

G contributed two wines, the first of which was "Queen Charlene's Dry Rose" from Seneca Shore winery in the Finger Lakes. I wrote about this winery here and Charlene is the name of David's wife for those wondering where the name came from. This was a relatively uncomplicated easy-drinking, fruity pink wine.

I can never resist pork belly and scallops when they appear on a menu...

We moved on to two reds. First this Beaujolais Nouveau 2016 from Dominique Piron, provided by ACC who with typical modesty wrote "Amazing!" in the Chronicles. Everyone else agreed that it was punching well above its weight and was fruity and drinkable. Certainly not your average Beaujolais Nouveau.

This A.A. Badenhorst Brak Kuil Barbarossa 2015 provided by T was quite a contrast. It was a big, gutsy, South African red which could really have done with some red meat to go alongside. We doubted it was 13.5% as claimed on the label. G subsequently referred to it as "break skull" as we both found ourselves suffering the next day and this was suspect number one.

Can never resist Welsh Rarebit either...

Finally, we had this La Font Del Bosc Maury 2004 also provided by G. It was described as thick, gooey and sweet by T, which was spot on, and we had no problem dispatching it. Thanks everyone. I can think of worse ways to spend a Monday evening!

Recent drinking round up!

Using the word "recent" in a loose sense here... it's finally time to pull together all the scrappy notes that I've been accumulating over the past few months and record some drinking!

First up, Fratrie Gamay. I bought this in the serious wine shop in Beaune. It was just 12% alcohol but you'd never guess - it packed a punch. It had an amazing fruity nose and was very juicy. It went down real easy, but was definitely one for short-term drinking. There was no vintage on it but the cork said 17.02 so we guessed it was 2016. The guy in the shop told us to serve it cool, which was definitely good advice. A very vibrant, accessible wine.

Then, something a little more serious... Clos-Vougeot 1995 from Chateau de la Tour. This was a dark colour and had a rich, mature and cedary nose. It was elegant and powerful, with notes of chocolate and drinking really well now. Black forest gateau in a glass. It had a beautiful weight and an excellent finish and all in all, was top notch stuff.

One evening, G contributed a bottle of Duhart-Milon 1988 which I am informed is a 4th growth Pauillac. This had the classic cabernet sauvignon nose and was silky and ripe but not fruity. We thought it would probably have been quite unpleasant in its youth. It was almost textbook middleweight Pauillac. G described it as having "slim fetlocks" (he was pleased with that one) and it was precise and congruent but perhaps slightly old school and austere.

Back to Burgundy, a bottle of Beaune Lulune 2010 from Emmanuel Giboulot. We decanted this two hours in advance and put it in the fridge. It was a nose of poached strawberries and was incredibly smooth, vibrant, elegant and feminine. Another low alcohol wine at just 12%. It went really well with our 100 pound, sorry 100 day old chicken. For me it was a definite 10 while G considered it a high 9.

Another 2010 was a white this time, Beaune Chaume Gaufriots from Domaine Audiffred. G and I had the first bottle of this with fish fingers, and I had another one with the boys a couple of weeks ago. I honestly think this is the best white Beaune I've had since the good old days of Yves Darviot. It was particularly good in the first half hour, with a lot of tropical fruit - passion fruit, mango, pineapple. An exuberant wine, with a sort of line of acidity down the middle. My notes contain the phrase "died and went to heaven". Over time, it became more classically lemony. I believe I still have 4 bottles left - don't think they'll be hanging around for long!

In early February, G and I drank this Hosmer Cabernet France 2009 which we brought back from the Finger Lakes. This had a lovely fruity nose with rich berries and plums, and reminded us of fruit compote. It was silky, succulent and congruent, with a freshness that gave it a mouthwatering quality, and a good finish. We had it with a lamb tagine and couscous, which worked very well. It was juicy, glossy and accomplished, and not at all green. Surprisingly serious stuff and very attractive. I continue to rate this winery highly and would definitely buy this wine again.

Another evening in early Feb, G showed up with this sercial from Cossart Gordon. He thought it had spent 30 years in cask and the bottling was postwar, possibly from the 1950s. It smelled like sercial, but was sweeter than expected on the palate, and we thought it probably had a rum base. I was moved to use one of my Irish granny's phrases: "No harm in that!" It had caramelised nuts, a slightly herbaceous edge to it, and a great finish. Really lovely stuff.

On the same evening, we cracked this bottle of Beaune Greves 1er cru 2008 from Chateau de Meursault. This had been hanging around in my wardrobe for some time, in a huge and somewhat ostentatious bottle. The wine itself looked glossy and was pretty and typique, with a nice weight and the classic red Beaune perfume, and was drinking very well now. All in all, a decent 8 on the premier cru scale.

And finally, in late February, we had a bottle of Kylix Cuvee 2007 from Seneca Shore, also in the Finger Lakes. This was a dark purple colour and had amazing legs. It had a very cabernet franc nose, with menthol and blackcurrant, and was a lovely weight. G said it was frontal, a term which always makes me laugh, but I wasn't sure I agreed. The finish actually reminded me of mouthwash it was so minty. Somehow this bottle seemed lighter than previous bottles, so we wondered if it was getting to the end of its life. When we had it with food, however, in this case a beef stew, it seemed to gain weight. A pity they're not making it any more.

That brings us reasonably up to date and this week I took delivery of a couple of reds which have been in storage so will be writing about them soon...