Tag Archives: Europe

December 9, 2012 · 8:33 pm

Expressions of interest (Cote des Nuits, France – Day Two)

One of the true revelations of my journey has been to discover the four components of what makes a great wine which must all be present and in balance. The first is the vine (obviously), but more importantly the right variety for the place. The place is the second component; for lack of a better term the terroir or the environment, which includes the climate but not the weather. The weather is a part of the third component which is the vintage, and how the specifics of the entire year can influence the character. The final component is the influence that people have, which includes everything viticulturally, oenologically, philosophically, spiritually and financially. All four components have their own influence on the character of the wine and to be a great wine they must be all working together, however one or more of the four often stands out more than the others whether intentionally or not. The most common component to dominate is the human influence of winemaking and something I am beginning to realise is that this is true in every region, even here in Burgundy. Winemakers whether deliberately or not want to impart their signature on the wine through anything from skin contact, use of oak, fruit sorting, ripeness of fruit at harvest and even the type and amount of filtration. So even within a single vineyard you may have slightly (or very) different expressions of the other three components. My day consisted of three appointments, all north of the village of Nuits-St-George.
Water is an important resource for wine production

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December 9, 2012 · 8:01 am

Chalk and cheese (Cote des Nuits, France – Day One)

There is a very good reason that the part of Burgundy between Dijon and the beginning of the Cote Challonaise is referred to as the Cote d’Or or Golden Coast, and it’s not because of the colour of the leaves in Autumn. It’s because the greatest and most aught after wines in the world are from this mysterious and unattainable part of the world, crafted from only two varieties, either pinot noir or chardonnay. These are the benchmarks not only for wines made with these grapes but all wines, particularly cool-climate elegant wines. I visited here as part of my 2010 trip, only spending a total of three days which included one in Chablis. With so little time back then I ended up visiting three negociant style houses based in Beaune and only one small producer in Volnay, but none in the Cote des Nuits although I did taste wines from this area. When I drove back from Dijon to Beaune after my visits in Chablis I passed all the vineyards that have such mythical names, realising just how small the appelations are. Some domaines own many hectares of vineyards in a multitude of different appelations and buying fruit or wine to make up the difference, releasing 50 or more wines each year. Other domaines are pure proprietors who only make wines from their own meagre holdings less than 15 hectares, often within one village. The difference between these two types of burgundy houses can be profound as I discovered on my first day in the northern part of the Golden Coast.
They use these at Louis Jadot to indicate when they have tasted from a barrel and it needs topping up

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December 8, 2012 · 10:32 am

J.J. Confuron – 7/12/2012

2011 Cote des Nuits Les La Montagne
Dark sweet rum notes, toasty and black, a little brambly and minty. Robust full with some late sweetness, exuberant and dense but still fresh. On the extractive oaky modern style. Quite tight, needs some time.

2011 Nuits Saint Georges Les Fleurie
More floral but still dark fruits, spice and mint. Deeper richer tannins, fuller structure and round tannins, tight focused and fresh, balanced and bold with a lot of length.

2011 Chambolle-Musigny
Deep dark and rich, sweet black fruits. Deep full very earthy and soft, sweet round tannins, a little grainy and extractive, not aggressive but certainly powerful for the time being. Modern burgundy?

2011 Les Chaboeuf Nuits-Saint-George Premier Cru
Focused tight fresh and fine, round and extractive, dark notes, precise and dense.

2011 Cotes des Nuits Vignottes
Dark soft pure yet fresh, not too dense or heavy, good structure and tannin weight, forward and fruit expressive for the moment, minerality will come through later.

2011 Clos Vougeot
Quiet subtle and complex, less power and exuberance in fruit, also not as dark. Depth power and generosity with focus drive and freshness. Long on the palate, elegance but not silky velvety or opulent in style, will take more time.

2011 Romanee St Vivant Grand Cru
Pretty serious, very intense, powerful but assuredness and restraint, elegant and fine, wonderfully balanced nose. Supple rich and soft yet firm and confident, generous spicy fresh yet round and mouth-filling. Gorgeous expression, very feminine.
JJ Confuron barrel tasting

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December 8, 2012 · 10:08 am

Domaine Henri Gouges – 7/12/2012

2011 Nuits-Saint-Georges
Kind of soapy on the nose, pretty full and ripe, stalky and oaky, deep and earthy. Bright round ripe and dark, opulent but focused, nothing really standing out though. Robust maceration giving it darker and rounder tannins, soft and smooth but not silky or fresh.

2011 Clos des Porets Premier Cru
Deep and dark again, oak tending to dominate the other characteristics, dulling the wine somewhat. Fairly crunchy texture from the barrel, on the warmish side, Full and warm maceration, textured but not heavy or too aggressive.

2011 Le Saint Georges Premier Cru
Expressive powerful dark and intense, more earthy, struggling to pick the difference between the appelations. Fuller deeper and more intense, increase in texture and warmth, black fruits and black olives. A product of vintage, appelation or winemaking, or a combination of the three?

Les Pruliers 2010 Premier Cru
Rustic extractive reductive.

Le Saint George 2010 Premier Cru
Deep dark soft and lot’s of ripe black fruits and black olives. Some nice spice, liquorice and a little mint for good measure. Nice and firm but focused and balanced, quite intense and very young, but integrated. Extractive and warm on the front but built to last and designed to be kept. Give it time.

Bourgogne Pinot Blanc 2011
Quite tight and fresh, very mineralic in fact. Intense bright and fruity. Very clean and light, nice mineral structure, purity of fruit, soft round and approachable, might actually be interesting in a few years.

Domaine Henri Gouges

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December 7, 2012 · 9:25 pm

Domaine de la Vougeraie – 7/12/2012

Clos de Roi 2009 Beaune Premier Cru
Nice intense but delicate complex nose, bright fresh red fruits, a little earthiness, heavily clay influenced, dark and fruity. Fresh and bright but also intense and soft, wonderfully balanced tannins and fruit, very lively but well structured. Not tight but very focused.

Les Cras 2008 Vougeot Premier Cru
Softer and more restrained, refined and elegant, floral perfumed, a touch closed at the moment, showing a little minerality. Looking very lovely and lively now, fresh but not to brisk in acidity, generous but still firm and focused tannins, broad but not fat heavy or simple, extremely well balanced. Supple and subtle but still plenty of time to develop silkiness.

Clos de Vougeot 2007 Grand Cru
More rustic and classic Burgundian nose, lot’s of mushroom earthy forest floor dampness, round fruit in the red spectrum, subtley stinky. Quite rich and intense, quite powerful but nor necessarily dense or heavy, expressive and explosive. Very fine delicate tannins, wonderfully elegant structure, but plenty going on that will soften and complexify with age.

Clos de Prieurie 2007 Monopole
Quite rich and intense, lots of fruit but not in a simple aromatic kind of way, showing plenty of oak mineral and lees complexity. Rich texture and viscosity, big style of white burgundy, very full and creamy, ripe stone and tropical notes, Amazing wine but also the reason I choose Chablis.

Le Clos Blanc de Vougeot 2007 Premier Cru
A little more intense in minerality, slightly more lofted flinty more citrus fruit aromas, slightly brighter on the nose. Rounder and more complex but not as heavy and ripe, more subtle creaminess and sweetness from oak. Slightly more gentle and better integrated, a more elegant expression.
Domaine de la Vougeraie

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December 6, 2012 · 7:11 pm

Domaine Bertagna – 6/12/2012

Bourgogne 2010
Quite a bold robust and concentrated nose, intense dark red fruit but also some funky meaty characters, perhaps some bret? Quite rustic in style, very young, quite light and fresh very delicate. Not atypical old-world style, some complex meaty characters. A touch wild and unique, not sure about the style. Perhaps a little reductive

Clos de la Perriere 2010 Vougeor Premier Cru
Brighter tighter, slightly subdued at the moment, perhaps an oak issue, some nice spicy notes too. Quite tense and dense, some sweet tannins on the back, nice purity of fruit, a touch heavy on the maceration, but not aggressive, well balanced oak and alcohol, nice concentrated fruit. Robust and round, pleasing to many people, perhaps a touch simple? Appealing to certain tastes? Needing more time to develop? Improving as it opens up.

Le Murgers 2009 Nuits Saint George Premier Cru
Light but quite robust colour, ripeness and maceration. Bright intense and full fruit, a product of vintage without question. Intense freshness and bright fruit on the front, very generous in structure and weight, a little sweetness from the oak, round, soft and full tannins and fruit character, very gentle and long, good structure. A peoples burgundy. Super drinkable now.

Les Beaux Monts 2010 Vosne-Romanee Premier Cru
Denser and more concentrated, quite tight and a little on the oaky side, brooding masculine style, tenseness. Full robust and generous, very concentrated, certainly oak character, on the savoury side, tannins and oak dominating, good structure but lacking a little finesse and a soft touch. A style is emerging. Classic modern burgundy, very lingering tannins.

Grandes Lolieres 2010 Corton Grand Cru
More subtle and closed, complex and gentle, floral notes coming through with the dark small berries, oak still sitting over everything possibly dulling the other aromas. Robust and earthy, missing a lot of the elegance and terroir because of the heavy maceration and oak regime, great wine for certain palates but not the kind of burgundy I would choose on a wine list. Very young, requiring a lot of time.

2011 Chambolle-Musigny
Nice and clean, quite pure, a little shy at the moment, but oak actually well managed and integrated. Bright fresh and intense, light with good acids, well structured, needs to come out of wood now in my opinion. Generous and soft.

2011 Vougeot
Showing some earthier olive notes, a little wild and old-school. Soft supple generous and rich, not heavy but fills the palate, perfect vintage for this style of burgundy. Nice length, pure but complex as well.

2011 Le Petit Vougeot Premier Cru
Denser more concentrated and showing newer more prominent oak notes, still very subtle and elegant however. Intense full, very powerful tannins for now, initially showing a little warm as well,

2011 Clos de la Perriere Premier Cru
Smoky and spicy, earthy and densely rich, savoury elements. Good purity and balance through the palate, soft and structured, nice firm well balanced tannins, good purity in fact, nice bright fruit and integrated oak.

2011 Le Murgers Nuits St George
Birght intense but delicate floral fruit characters. Soft full generous, again the perfect vintage for this modern style of burgundy, oak nor tannin out of place, well0-structrure and balanced.

2011 Les Beaux Monts Vonne Romanee Premier Cru
Dense tight slightly stalky style, a little spicy, a little herbaceous, small berries. Intense and concentrated tannins through the middle of the palate, locked up but precise, focused and straight, needs some more time to open out.

2011 Clos Saint Denis Grand Cru
Super intense, super exuberant, super complex nose. Really expressive concentrated fruit, lots of new oak, tight and intense. Concentrated low yielding, very high in acidity and also a little warm at the moment. Far from being integrated and balanced, but wow what amazing potential in the future.

2011 Corton Charlemagne
Really bright and fresh, lots of lovely intense fruit characters, a little tropical but also stone and citrus fruits, handling the oak quite well. Really beautifully balanced and rich, wonderful acids and minerality but the malo has gone very well, creamy and rich without being heavy cloying or fat, sitting in a beautiful spot.

Domaine Bertagna

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December 6, 2012 · 7:09 pm

Taupenot-Merme – 6/12/2012

2011 Saint Romain
Nice and bright, quite soft, dark cherries and blackberries, nice extraction and classic expression. Soft and fresh but plenty of flaviour, high mineral and acidity, pure and crisp, tight and light but approachable and with character. Good lines, plenty of time for it to open up.

2011 Chambolle-Musigny
More rustic and Nuits nose, more earthy density and masculine concentration, led bright and fresh characters. Light bodied, good freshness but a lot more savoury elements than the previous wine, nice concentrated firm tannins without too much weight or astringency.

2011 Gevrey-Chambertin
More refined and elegant, slightly more floral elements on the nose, not extractive or over-ripe, bright but not exuberant, more assured. Well balanced and integrated, a little closed at the moment, dense and more on the mid-palate, still very soft and supple, but will develop very interestingly.

2011 Chambolle-Musigny La Combe d’Orveau Premier Cru
A little brighter and more intense on the nose, good fruit but also savoury earthy green notes, nice powerful masculine aromas. Wonderful finesse and drive on the front and mid-palate, freshness and brightness of fruit, but builds on the palate and kicks in with tight concentrated tannins quite late. Very complex and will continue to evolve over a longer period of time.

2011 Morey-Saint-Denis La Riotte Premier Cru
Darker and certainly spicier and earthier, denser with nutmeg and some rosemary notes. Lighter but a lot less voluptuous and soft, bolder and fuller tannins, dense concentrated robust masculine characters.

2011 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru
Extremely subtle, very locked away. Wonderfully dense and complex, builds and evolves across the palate, refined yet mature tannins, structure balance and exceptional integration, a little full on tannins at the moment but it is far too early for this wine.

2011 Mazoyeres Chambertin Grand Cru
Dark soft round fruit, rich and inviting but also precise. Dense and straight through the palate, delicate and fresher, tight structure but not as heavy and bold. A finer style, much more my preference. Wonderful balance between freshness fruit acid tannin.

Taupenot-Merme

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December 6, 2012 · 7:06 pm

Comte Georges de Vogue – 6/12/2012

2011 Chambolle-Musigny
Lovely dark voluptuous nose, really full ripe black cherry pomegranate blood plums and violets. Lovely and fresh, very tight, great lively acids, very soft generous tannins, good structure, light and yet still penetrating. Excellent harmonious expression.

2011 Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru
Denser and more serious, darker fruit but not as exuberant and lively, less floral more mineral. Quite mysterious and deep in the woods, Hansel & Gretel. Wonderfully vibrant on the palate, lovely concentration, very late liquorice sweetness with some blackcurrant, excellent acids carrying everything, very gentle but assured tannins. Again, a nice bite to it, freshness and texture without weight, alcohol or astringency.

2011 Les Amoureses Chambolle-Musigny
More savoury and earthy, even more brooding and full, earthy and mushroomy. Fuller denser rounder and more rich expression, less overt fruit, more tannin and structure to fill out the freshness and acidity, quite concentrated pure minerality. Precise and straight but also generous.

2011 Bonnes Mares
Floral and dark blueberries, quite exuberant and concentrated, quite sexy and in your face. Very subtle chocolate, heart on its sleeve. Voluptuous sexy rich soft , bold broad and full, still light but super round and generous. Still retaining lovely freshness but rolls around the mouth. A little bit heady…

2011 Musigny Grand Cru Vielles Vignes
Very intense, super minerality, really deep, powerful expression, don’t mess with me kind of seriousness. Subtle and soft, builds very slowly on the palate, powerful bold but far from heavy or extractive, exceptional balance and assuredness, PhD in burgundy.

Comte Georges de Vogue

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December 5, 2012 · 9:27 pm

Keep it simple (Chablis, France – Day Two)

If anyone has played competitive team sport in their life they may have heard of the KIS principle, which stand for Keep It Simple. Looking back on my trip I am finding it fascinating that many of the wineries and regions that I most connected with have this same principle in mind. Even more interesting is that this connection was regardless of red or white wine, but applied to philosophies and practices as well as style. The clarity purity and minerality of the rieslings I tasted in Germany blew me away, as did the gruner veltliners in Austria. Some of the best wines I tasted in Spain were those that were straightforward and approachable, such as the albarinos in Rias Baixas and the verdejos in Rueda. In terms of French wine, the simple white wines of the Loire Valley and Chablis have a special place in my heart, as the minimal intervention they make in the wineries means it is purely the expression of the variety in their particular terroir. In fact there are a number of similarities in terms of climate and soil composition between Sancerre, Pouilly and Chablis, but the latter chooses to express through chardonnay rather than sauvignon blanc. The minerality of these regions is legendary, but I am starting to see there are some different expressions that still follow the KIS principle.

Some of the characters of Chablis

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December 5, 2012 · 6:55 pm

Harmand-Geoffroy – 5/12/2012

Gevrey-Chambertin 2008
Quite dark and haunting on the nose, lovely and soft, woody small berries, very foresty and subtle, well managed oak. Wonderfully soft and yet tight, excellent acids without a lot of weight, purity focus and drive without anything sticking out. Elegance restraint, but also something unique in the expression. Much more refined and pure expression of the terroir, not easy to find in the Cote de Nuits.

La Bossiere Premier Cru 2008
Such a delicate elegant colour, very pure and light. Vibrant clean elegant yet fresh and intense, very classic pinot noir aromas, but also classic Burgundian. Delicate elegant restrained and super balanced, soft supple long and precise, soft-hands, minerality comes through, perfectly balanced ripeness, integration.

La Perriere Premier Cru 2008
Great combination of dark soft fruit, earthy deep minerality, starting to show some fungal notes, and even a little oak, all combining in a beautifully complex way. Rich and full on the palate but so delicate, still very fresh with excellent acids and restrained tannins, oak completely integrated and harmonious. Subtle supple and long, the kind of balance that will last for decades. Nothing stands out at all, it is so gentle yet so well structured.

Lavaux St Jacque Premier Cru 2008
Starting to get a little darker and a little denser, more haunting and elusive on the nose, pomegranate and raspberry. Unbelievably drinkable now for a premier cru burgundy this young, yet with so much potential for aging. So light and fine, it takes a very respectful and non-ego driven winemaker to make a wine like this. As a mature wine this will be incredibly complex. Firm tannin structure, quite long on the palate.

Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru 2008
Significantly more closed than the previous wines, earthier deeper and richer on the nose, slightly more brooding but not powerful or intense, very soft. Exquisitely soft and supple, one of the most cuddly wines, the definition of silky. Amazingly long, fades beautifully, I can only dream how good this wine will get. Still has freshness thanks to the great acids and bright fruit, but softly softly.

La Bossiere Premier Cru 2009
Darker fruit, slightly stinkier, more robust but still very delicate and elegant. Tighter tenser terser tannins, more aggressive at the moment, soft but less supple and silky. Preferring the 2008 vintage if I’m honest. Tougher tannins and fuller structure, yet to find balance in the bottle. Lots of potential but not a super long time.

La Bossiere Premier Cru 2010
So unbelievably complex and intense on the nose, yet wonderfully subtle. Almost wild and uncontrollable, a lot going on in there. Fragile to the nines, delicate structure, soft supple and insanely balanced, freshness life yet so assured. Firm tannins will keep this wine aging a long time. Suave confident wine, George Clooney but classier. Savoury as well, awesome food wine.

Domaine Harmand-Geoffroy

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