Tag Archives: France

April 9, 2013 · 1:05 pm

Domaine Paul Blanck – 24/02/2012

Muscat 2011
Unmistakable musk aroma, but without the viscosity and oiliness you can sometimes get with the variety.

Gewurztraminer 2011
Reminded me of the lolly teeth I used to eat when I was young, sitting somewhere between musk sticks and spearmint.

Schlossberg Riesling Grand Cru 2011
Very floral and white peach aromas, and was more intense and balanced in the texture and acidity.

Furstentum Riesling Grand Cru 2011
Richer, fuller and broader on the palate, showing more tropical citrus notes and more texture.

Furstentum Riesling Grand Cru 2005
Wonderful mineral kerosene nose riesling gets, with ripe pineapple and pear fruit on the palate.

Domaine Paul Blanck

Domaine Paul Blanck

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April 9, 2013 · 12:42 pm

Kuentz-Bas – 24/02/2012

The 2010 Tradition wines (Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer) were all very fresh and consistently high-quality varietal examples, showing texture and food-friendliness.

The Collection wines (Riesling 2010, Pinot Gris 2008 and Gewurztraminer 2008) I tried were all exceptionally good, with the Pinot Gris the standout showing slightly smoky reductive pear notes on the nose, and restrained richness and creamy earthiness.

Of the Trois Chateaux wines I tried (Riesling 2010 and Pinot Gris 2009), the Riesling stood out with its salty earthy minerality on the nose and palate, with great concentration and texture, but without weight and overt fruit.

Pfersigberg Grand Cru Riesling 2010
Closed and far too young, but had wonderful complexity and length on the palate.

The Eichberg Grand Cru Pinot Gris 2010
Very dark floral honey nose, had wonderful density and savoury complexity, but was very elegant and harmonious.

Long tastings in Alsace

Long tastings in Alsace

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April 3, 2013 · 6:30 pm

Domaine Ott – 16/05/2012

Chateau de Selle Rosé 2011
A gorgeous pale colour with the slightest bronze hue, a juicy vibrant mineralic fruit nose of red berries, slightly creamy and savoury, and on the palate had a bold yet elegant structure and great purity and freshness.

Chateau Romassan (Bandol) Rosé 2011
Darker colour with the same bronze hue, on the nose was slightly wilder and more impetuous, showing fruits of dark cherries and candied pomegranates, and expressed more tannin texture and depth on the palate.

Clos Mireille Rosé 2011
Significantly more subdued in all aspects compared to the other two, which can possibly be explained by the fact that this wine is only a recent addition to the range, the estate being more traditionally used for the white wine. What it does have in spades is the crispness and freshness of a youthful rosé wine, with balance and integrity, but not showing true personality yet.

Blanc de Blancs 2010
Blend of 70% semillon and 30% rolle, and aromatically had a fascinating combination of pineapple, green peach, spice and saltiness, very expressive indeed. On the palate the wine had a creamy and nutty texture, almost like coconut skin, and had some complex oxidative notes from the maturation in large mature oak casks.

Chateau Romassan Bandol Rouge 2009
51% mouvedre, and aromatically showed blackberries, lotus, spice and some rustic fungal notes, and on the palate had vibrant but brooding fruit and tannins, still managing to keep things fresh and yet complex.

Some of the Domaine Ott wines

Some of the Domaine Ott wines

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April 3, 2013 · 6:22 pm

Domaine de Triennes – 18/05/2012

Domaine de Triennes Rosé 2011
Blend of mostly cinsault and Grenache, with a little merlot and syrah to lend some colour. Classic Provence pale colour, aromatically expressing floral spicy strawberry and banana freshness, and on the palate was clean and fruity with some very focused acids and a little residual sugar fruit sweetness.

Les Aureliens Blanc 2010
chardonnay-rolles blend. On the nose has some battonage derived lees characters, combining with orchard fruit and citrus blossom notes. On the palate the wine has texture, integrity and freshness, without obvious fruit, some apricot kernel and biscuity savoury notes.

Sainte Fleur Viognier 2009
Aromatically spicy and herbal on the nose, expressing very subtle fruit, and on the palate had drive and warmth, with good mouth-filling fruit and viscosity.

Sainte Fleur Viognier 2010
More complex salty minerality and shellfish characters, more subtle fruit with some honey, and at the moment was very quiet.

Les Aureliens Rouge 2009
A blend of cabernet sauvignon and syrah, quite dominant in the cabernet elements, showing earthy dusty cassis and very toasty tannins on the palate.

Sainte Auguste 2008
Introduces merlot to the blend, and this wine showed more of the syrah notes, as it was more plummy and juicy, with more pepper and spice elements.

Sainte Auguste 2007
Much jammier and broader than the 2008, expressing plenty of power and weight with good drive and intensity.

Domaine de Triennes vineyard

Domaine de Triennes vineyard

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April 3, 2013 · 6:13 pm

Chateau de Pibarnon – 18/05/2012

The Bandol Rosé 2011
70% mouvedre and 30% cinsault, and had a ripe savoury cherry and pumpkin spice nose, with some complex aromas of cured salty meat, whilst on the palate had very fresh and vibrant texture and warmth, with great balance and acidity with some nutty and cheesy notes on the back.

Les Retanques de Pibarnon Rouge 2009
Fascinatingly complex nose combining spice, game, dark fruits and even some pickled red onions. On the palate the wine was quite light and fresh, with good intensity and spicy tannins.

Chateau Pibarnon Rouge 2009
Very wild and feral game nose with spiced dark cherry and rhubarb, and introduced some shiitake broth elements too. Impossibly complex on the palate with full and mellow tannins and spicy fruit, but in spite of the complexity was very approachable.

Chateau Pibarnon Rouge 2008
Even more complex, showing some nut and popcorn, cinnamon, cumin and red curry aromas with star anise and red liquorice. On the palate the wine had focus, drive and precision from the concentrated acids and fruit, showing the red cherry and pomegranate freshness with good savoury elements too.

Chateau Pibarnon Rouge 2001
Developing some floral elements over time, and on the palate was decidedly silkier in the tannins, but no less focused and driven, developing some delicious mature savoury notes.

Chateau de Pibarnon range

Chateau de Pibarnon range

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December 19, 2012 · 8:21 am

Impressions of France

This post has been almost twelve months in the making, as the first region I visited in Europe was Champagne way back in the third week of January, and my final one in Europe was Burgundy. Over the year I have made periodic visits to France which was not intentional but merely a product of its very central location in Western Europe, and the fact that most of the regions happen to be quite close to the borders of other countries. It is important to keep this in mind as I collect my thoughts and look back on my experiences on the most famous wine producing country in the world. It is also important to keep in mind that my visits to different regions in France have come at different stages in my experience and thus each new region I visited in France was actually a big jump forward in my development having focused on another country entirely (Germany, Italy, Spain etc.) By the time I got to Burgundy I had seen the best that the rest of Europe had to offer and had a significantly better understanding about wine production, viticulture and the concept of terroir. So without further ado, here are my impressions of France.
Day 1 in French wine country

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December 16, 2012 · 9:33 pm

Here endeth the lesson (Beaujolais, France)

Fourteen and some months after I left Australia I arrived at my last day visiting wineries, and it certainly has been quite a journey. As it turns out I am very glad to be finishing in Burgundy, partly because I generally love the wines and they are amongst my favourite in Europe, but also as Burgundy is such a diverse and often complicated region that I was glad to have had all the previous experience before visiting. Having already visited the Chablis and the Cote d’Or on my previous trip in 2010 there was very little that surprised me in these regions and it was more a question of familiarising myself further. South of the Cote de Beaune on the other hand was a different story, as not only did I know very little about these appelations but I had had almost no tasting experience with them. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to secure any appointments either in the Cote Challonaise or the Cote Maconnaise and had to be content with driving through parts of the area to see the type of landscape it is. One of the more famous appelations in the Cote Maconnaise is the village of Chardonnay, not because of the quality of the wines but because it is supposedly the birthplace of possibly my favourite white grape variety. Technically still part of Macon but a different appelation to the south is the famous Beaujolais which totally took me by surprise, and I was pretty happy to finish somewhere that did. The king of varieties here is gamay, and there are no other parts of the world that grow it in the quantity or quality they do here. There is a separate appelation for Beaujolais Blanc wines which are 100% chardonnay, but really it’s the gamay that makes this region what it is.

A cold day in Beaujolais

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December 15, 2012 · 10:48 am

Domaine du Vissoux – 13/12/2012

Beaujolais Blanc 2011
Nice bright fresh citrus and floral, crisp fruitiness, a little minerality but just nice and clean. Zingy zesty fresh not overly fruity or fat, extremely focused and fresh, clean mineralic acidity, lovely balance and extension on the palate, very complete, but clean and light. Great balance and harmony.

Les Griottes Beaujolais 2012
Lovely and bright and fresh, clean and straight, good acids but nice and short and fresh. Light and a little spicy with good fruit concentration. Cassis and myrtle.

Vielles Vigne 2011
A little stinky at first but blowing off and opening up, spicy and dark, good deep earth characters. Bright intense on the mid-palate, very fresh and great acidity, nice and savoury too, great concentration.

Les Griottes 2011
More closed and fresh, light and clean, more simple less concentrated fruit nose. Light fresh balanced good red fruits, a little earthy. A much more simple vintage, prefer the 2010 and 2012.

Cuvee Traditionelle 2011
Slightly closed and a bit reductive now, needs a little bit longer in the bottle to settle down, soft and subtle, nice dark fruits. Supple tannins with plenty of freshness and liveliness. More on the mid-palate with a little more extension. Integrated spice.

Couer de la Vendage 2011
The vintage isn’t expressing the different terroirs and styles well, bright intense, more tannins on the front but clean finish, very light but very tight, needs more time to open and express more. Very intense and quite concentrated.

Brouilly 2011
Deep dark spicy fruits with some dark salted chocolate and bramble. Soft and fuller, richer and heavier on the palate, intense full expressive tannins, tight and balanced, nice extension with potential for ageing. Lengthy tannins and tighter structure all around.

Fleurie Pensierre 2011
More whole bunch stalk maceration character, dark woody but crisp and intense. Soft and velvety, longer on the palate, fresh bright and light, nice dark red fruit characters, clean and appealing. Lovely and savoury spice.

Fleurie Les Garants 2011
Softer and fuller structure, more fruit less spice and savoury tannin. Round and long.

Moulin-a-Vent 2011
Dark full and round, denser and heavier in structure and darker in fruit, well managed maceration. For those liking fuller wines.

Moulin-a-Vent la Rochelle 2010
Really concentrated and spicy very floral as well, violets and dark marmalade. Deep intense masculine structured concentrated complex with some cassis sweetness on the back.

Extra Brut Cremant de Bourgogne
Crisp mineralic nose, nice lime and lemon aromas, a little autolysis but very fresh and light. Some spice and herb notes, quite complex and interesting, leesy and a little cheesy too. Some soy notes for complexity.

Domaine du Vissoux

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December 15, 2012 · 10:44 am

Paul Janin & Fils – 13/12/2012

Beaujolais Village 2011
Bright and spicy, dark red fruits, stalky, woody but not oaky, foresty. Full and soft, some structure and sweet tannins, some creaminess in the texture, round but still very fresh and not too full in fruit, good acid giving some brightness.

Moulin a Vent 2011
Darker fruit, earthier intensity, deeper more mature spice. Riper and fuller extension on the palate, still very light and fresh but deeper and longer. Still nice soft full tannins, certainly more savoury characters. Dark and stormy.

Clos du Tremblay Moulin a Vent 2011
Quite intense very mature and confident, subtle and aloof, distant almost. Serious fruit and minerality. Dense and very focused, really intense core of dark fruit, fine yet firm tannins, drive and extension with plenty of aging potential, tight and needing time for the more complex characters to develop.

Beaujolais Blanc 2011
Really lovely bright traditional English marmalade with some nice ripe florals. Carries through on the palate with just a little creaminess and some vanilla and lanolin texture.

Paul Janin & Fils

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December 15, 2012 · 10:40 am

Jacky Janodet – 13/12/2012

Beaujolais Blanc 2010
Very floral and fruity, bright pear and citrus cordial, quite intense and very fresh, very aromatic style. Bright crisp mineralic style, lots of apple and pear fruit, brisk clean limited oak or malolactic influence, perfectly fresh and crisp. Great aperitif but great with seafood as well.

Beaujolais Village 2010
Nice intense dark colour but quite light. Very quiet and delicate, fresh dark berries, cranberries and a little blood orange, also quite spicy. Very intense and fresh on the palate, spice comes through but is well integrated, expressive but bright crisp fruit, great acidity making it very food-friendly. Yes nice and peppery as well.

Chenas 2010
A little darker and more intense colour. Fuller earthier extraction, a little toasty and mushroomy, a little truffle influence. Quite fresh and wonderfully intense fruit, but great acidity and a very clean finish. Tannins are a little full at the moment for the structure, needs a little more time, very intense and concentrated. Maraschino cherry.

Moulin-a-vent 2011
Very rustic and stinky on the nose, somewhat oaky and perhaps a little bit over macerated, lacking brightness and freshness and fruit. Per haps even a little bit reductive. Very intense and tight on the palate, tannins are overwhelming things a lot, focused and intense through the middle palate with a touch of sweet dark fruit on the back, very spicy with acidity overwhelmed by tannin and fruit at the moment. Not alcoholic, just too young. Reduction blows away.

Jerome Janodet Saint-Amour 2010
Nice tight small dark berries, some pomegranates and even some dark radishes, quite fresh and spicy. Tight light and clean, very nice fresh fruits, cherries and strawberries, some good spice characters but showing some minerality as well. Clean and very light, might develop some complexity if given time in bottle. Very nicely balanced.

Jacky Janodet

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