1 Jan 2011: We went on an outing to explore a bit of Cheung Chau, one of the outlying islands in Hong Kong. Of course, we made sure we did not miss out on a visit to Cheung Po Tsai's Cave, probably the most famous pirate in Hong Kong waters (technically, he was an officer to the famous pirate Cheng I). Luckily we both managed to worm our way through the dark and terribly narrow"passages" through the cave, even after our lunch at one of the seafood stalls on the island. Near the promontory where the cave was situated, with its strangely shaped rocks, were cacti and agaves, tropical plants that looked a little out of place here. It is odd that Cheung Chau reminded me of Capri in Italy, especially during our walk along Peak Road that gave us views of either sides of the island. I was just thinking how much more we could do with the islands of Hong Kong. It looked like the government made an effort in the mid 1990s but had kind of left the rest of the island development to commercial interests.....
With our supper, we had a delicious bottle of 2000 Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet, Domaine d'Auvenay. The wine displayed the rounded character and signs of the premature oxidation characteristic of white wine from the vintage. Distinct minerality, poise and elegance, with citrus, nutty and toasty character. Would recommend drinking now till 2014. 17.5/20
The 1993 Clos de La Roche, Hubert Lignier was a truly remarkable wine. Very closed still. It was only after almost 3 hours of decanting that the wine started to reveal itself to us. A rather subdued wine with a defined elegance and linear structure, still tasting very youthful. As the intensity of soft ripe red fruit, mineral and spicy character started to emerge, we could see the potential of this wine for the years to come. This wine will continue to evolve over the next 10 - 12 years. 18.5/20
And so we started 2011..........
Showing posts with label France. Show all posts
Showing posts with label France. Show all posts
Sunday, 2 January 2011
1947 Petrus - could it have been a fake?
31 Dec 2010: New Year's Eve - time to sum up the year. As luck would have it, we started the evening by being disappointed by a half bottle of Krug Rosé. Lovely salmon pink, creamy mousse and persistent and fine bubbles. Refreshing, with red cherry and redcurrant nose. Yet the finish was incredibly short - the taste just disappeared almost as soon as it left the mouth. 14.5/20
The half bottle of 2006 Le Clos Blanc de Vougeot, Domaine de la Vougeraie, delivered more pleasure. Pale gold in colour. An attractive nose of lemon curd, acacia, honeysuckle, marzipan, macadamia nuts, honey and a hint of toast. Rich in body, with a viscous texture. Balanced, robust in structure. A sweet finish. Bolstered by the small component of Pinot Gris, the wine reminded us very much of its New World counterparts. 16.5/20 (It was not the perfect accompaniment to prawns in marie rose sauce! Champagne or a racy Chablis would have been a better match!)
The half bottle of 2006 Le Clos Blanc de Vougeot, Domaine de la Vougeraie, delivered more pleasure. Pale gold in colour. An attractive nose of lemon curd, acacia, honeysuckle, marzipan, macadamia nuts, honey and a hint of toast. Rich in body, with a viscous texture. Balanced, robust in structure. A sweet finish. Bolstered by the small component of Pinot Gris, the wine reminded us very much of its New World counterparts. 16.5/20 (It was not the perfect accompaniment to prawns in marie rose sauce! Champagne or a racy Chablis would have been a better match!)
Friday, 31 December 2010
Pre-New Year's Eve Dinner
2010 has been a rather destabilising and challenging year in many ways, so many developments and changes, bringing some times joy and elation and other times despair, sadness and frustration. The comparison to a rolling stone resounds well and leaves me with emotions of under-achievement and frustration. Anyway, we got "here" and to mark the year coming to an end, we thought we would drink a bottle of one of our favourite wines: 1988 Vosne-Romanée Cros Parantoux, Henri Jayer - a wine that would evoke memories of a wonderful holiday in la belle France. We last drank this wine at the restaurant Michel Bras in the Auvergne, a long time ago. We decided to try it again to relive those magical sensations that we felt when we last drank this wine. We probably should have decanted it to let some of the old bottle mustiness escape and let the wine pull itself together in the decanter. Richard thought it was just as "imperial" as he remembered it. I rather thought there was just a very faint hint of bretty character in this bottle, which over the course of the dinner, became less and less evident. I also thought the wine tasted perhaps a little fragile on this occasion. I should hasten to add that perhaps my food was not a good match for the wine and such a great wine deserved a more appropriate match and perhaps more importantly, a more intimate setting.
My tasting note: A garnet ruby core. After a bit of aeration to refresh the bouquet (and shaking out some of what I thought was bretty character) and to give the wine time to recover from the shock of pulling the cork, we were treated to an intense and mesmerizingly enchanting bouquet of animal saddle, farmyard hay, leather, earthy and rose petal notes, complemented by some soft red cherry character. On the palate, the wine tasted very fresh and full of energy. An elegant and balanced wine, made in a classic style, showing a very fine structure and silky texture, this wine could still be evolving for another 3 -5 years to reach its absolute peak. Drinking very well now, and will be drinking well for another 10+ years. 19/20
Sunday, 26 December 2010
Christmas Day!!
25 Dec 2010: Christmas Day! We went round to Patrick and Debra's for a "casual" lunch. We knew it wouldn't be quite so casual, with Patrick in charge of the stove and wine cellar! We started with some smoked trout on blinis (with a touch of orange zest) and a glass of Cristal 1996, which tasted rich and well-matured. Then we sat down for a dish of angel hair with anchovy-flavoured bread crumbs, lightly garnished with chili and oregano. Such a simple dish, and yet so full of flavours and texture! This was accompanied by a 2001 Leflaive Chevalier Montrachet. A pure expression of terroir and vintage. Elegant, very poised, mineral, citrus peel, with some guava and melon. Drinking well now and for next 5+ years. 17.5/20
The star of the lunch was the 1990 Chambertin, Rousseau. This wine just tasted so "à point" and drinking at its peak now and for the next 5+ years. Ripe red fruit, complemented by aromas of leather, earth, herb and spice. Extremely well balanced, structure holding well with silky tannin and a good level of acidity. Exceptional length. 19/20 A fabulous wine that went so well with the rouladen dish! "Rouladen" is a German dish consisting of bacon, onions, mustard and pickles, wrapped with a thin slice of beef. Patrick made two versions, one the traditional way with veal and the other a deviation from the tradition, with string mushrooms with beef. Deliciously served with a rich mustard and mushroom sauce! So yummy!
The star of the lunch was the 1990 Chambertin, Rousseau. This wine just tasted so "à point" and drinking at its peak now and for the next 5+ years. Ripe red fruit, complemented by aromas of leather, earth, herb and spice. Extremely well balanced, structure holding well with silky tannin and a good level of acidity. Exceptional length. 19/20 A fabulous wine that went so well with the rouladen dish! "Rouladen" is a German dish consisting of bacon, onions, mustard and pickles, wrapped with a thin slice of beef. Patrick made two versions, one the traditional way with veal and the other a deviation from the tradition, with string mushrooms with beef. Deliciously served with a rich mustard and mushroom sauce! So yummy!
Pre-Christmas Celebration Dinner
Perfect Match: 1989 Château Margaux and Stir-Fried Glutinous Rice, with Chinese Sausage
2002 Chablis Grand Cru Bougros, Côte de Bouguerots, William Fèvre
2006 Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru, Faiveley
1990 Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru, Bonneau du Martray
2006 Clos Saint Denis Grand Cru, Pascal Lachaux
1989 Château Margaux
1983 Château Mouton Rothschild
Sunday, 19 December 2010
Commanderie de Bordeaux Dinner
17 Dec 2010: Debra and I decided to join the annual BYO Commanderie de Bordeaux dinner, at the Grand Hyatt function room. Each guest was greeted with a lovely pink glass of Delomotte and some really delicious amuse-bouches. As ususal the GH team did a great job with the food and service, kudos to my neighbour, the hotel's F&B Manager who himself was gettting inducted on the same evening. Each table was allocated a bottle of 2007 Cos d'Estournel Blanc and a bottle of 2003 Cos d'Estournel Rouge. However, we were all encouraged to bring a bottle each and what fun we all had in sharing and enjoying the wines at our table!
I thought the 2007 Cos d'Estournel Blanc (80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Semillon) while displaying charming aromas of pineapple, mango, figs, honey, toast, nutty and faint buttery character with refreshing acidity, was a little weak on the palate and the finish was rather short. Perhaps the Semillon content needed more time to fill out? I gave it 15.5/20 on this occasion. The 2003 Cos d'Estournel tasted a little fruit forward for me. I found the rich palate of stewed fruit, blackberry preserve, warm spices with a hint of cedar and tobacco a little tiring, and I was looking for a bit more energy and character in the wine. I scored this wine 16/20. It was also perhaps not that well complemented by the lobster starter, which was delicious, but probably would have gone better with a white burgundy in my view!
Around the table, we sampled these wines: 1990 Ducru Beaucaillou (brought by me), 1989 Pichon Baron, 2003 Pavie, 2001 La Conseillante, 1983 Montrose, 2005 Talbot and 1994 Vieux Chateau Certan. A brief comment on the wines:
I thought the 2007 Cos d'Estournel Blanc (80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Semillon) while displaying charming aromas of pineapple, mango, figs, honey, toast, nutty and faint buttery character with refreshing acidity, was a little weak on the palate and the finish was rather short. Perhaps the Semillon content needed more time to fill out? I gave it 15.5/20 on this occasion. The 2003 Cos d'Estournel tasted a little fruit forward for me. I found the rich palate of stewed fruit, blackberry preserve, warm spices with a hint of cedar and tobacco a little tiring, and I was looking for a bit more energy and character in the wine. I scored this wine 16/20. It was also perhaps not that well complemented by the lobster starter, which was delicious, but probably would have gone better with a white burgundy in my view!
Around the table, we sampled these wines: 1990 Ducru Beaucaillou (brought by me), 1989 Pichon Baron, 2003 Pavie, 2001 La Conseillante, 1983 Montrose, 2005 Talbot and 1994 Vieux Chateau Certan. A brief comment on the wines:
Sunday, 12 December 2010
2000 Raveneau and 2002 J.J. Confuron
11 December 2010: Just finished an afternoon of teaching to find a glass of 2000 Chablis Vaillons, Raveneau waiting for me. Compared to 2001, which showed more roundness and richness, 2000 was a year marked by more austerity and firmer acidity. Rain came late, just before harvest, after a warm summer, and the vines soaked up the additional moisture rather rapidly, and this in some way might have played a part in diluting the flavour concentration of the wines. This Chablis Vaillons showed a character of fennel, green fruit, mineral, with just a hint of nutty, toasty and brioche notes. Light in body, racy acidity, and lacking in concentration of fruit character, this wine tasted as though it could do with just a little more stuffing out. Will further time in bottle help this wine round out the texture and soften the acidity? 15.5/20
2002 Romanée Saint Vivant Grand Cru, Jean-Jacques Confuron. Garnet ruby. Nose of red cherry, red fruit, wet leaves, saddle leather, dusty earthy minerality and a very faint hint of tobacco. Balanced, elegantly textured, but somehow lacking in intensity, depth of character and length that one would expect for a Grand Cru. A little disappointing. Wonder if the wine is going through its shut-down phase, while waiting for more tertiary character to come through to fill out the wine. 16.5/20
2002 Romanée Saint Vivant Grand Cru, Jean-Jacques Confuron. Garnet ruby. Nose of red cherry, red fruit, wet leaves, saddle leather, dusty earthy minerality and a very faint hint of tobacco. Balanced, elegantly textured, but somehow lacking in intensity, depth of character and length that one would expect for a Grand Cru. A little disappointing. Wonder if the wine is going through its shut-down phase, while waiting for more tertiary character to come through to fill out the wine. 16.5/20
Sunday, 28 November 2010
1997 Lafleur
28 November 2010: Ruby-garnet hue. Magnificent bouquet of blueberry, figs, violet, rose, tobacco, leather, chocolate and cedar. Sweet fruit on entry. More liquorice, spices, leather, cedar, eucalyptus and chocolate on the palate. Tannin much softened but still not yet fully integrated, showing some acidity. Balanced and complex. Lacks the concentration and persistence of the wine from this chateau from a great vintage but nonetheless a well-crafted wine with some very attractive and classic elements. Ready to drink now, and for next 6-8 years. Best to decant it for 30 - 45 minutes as the wine gains weight and complexity in the glass.
Robert Parker scored this wine 88. Based on my recent experience of this wine, I would score it 16.5/20 or around 91 using the 100 pointer system.
Robert Parker scored this wine 88. Based on my recent experience of this wine, I would score it 16.5/20 or around 91 using the 100 pointer system.
White Truffle Dinner - Take 2
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| 2003 Yquem |
For this evening, we did not pair the dishes with Italian wines....instead, we opted for Bordeaux, one white burgundy and one champagne....our wines were:
1997 Haut Brion Blanc: Amber-gold colour. Marmalade, dried apricot, honey, biscuity. Full body and rich. Good acidity. Excellent with the risotto with foie gras. Drinking at peak now, if you like this wine with a fair amount of oxidative character. 16/20
1990 Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlemagne: Peach, melon, nutty, mineral, spicy (ginger, pepper), firm acidity. Fresh, rich, complex. Drinking well now, and for next 10+ years. 18/20
1996 Haut Brion: smokey, tobacco, gravel, mineral, blueberry, blackberry, blackcurrant leaf. Elegant, structured, very fine. Soft tannin. Builds weight and complexity in glass. 18/20
1989 Pichon Baron: herbaceous, bell pepper, mineral, tobacco, blueberry, violet, spicy. Grainy tannin. Silky texture, but a little weak in terms of concentration and depth. 17/20
1989 Palmer: much more elegant, showing character of chocolate, cedar, black fruit, but generally quite reticent for the evening. 17.5/20
2003 Yquem: pale golden colour. Complexity of peach, melon, honey, raisin, dried apricot, orange peel, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, brioche, caramel. Full body, fantastically balanced. Drinking perfectly now, not cloying at all, harmonious and pure. Just perfect. 20/20
Day of Reflection - Day 5 of Visit to Burgundy 2010
21 November 2010: After a fortifying breakfast of scrambled egg and rice pudding, we took to the road and headed for Lyon Airport. Our trips to Burgundy always feel a little too short. I was really sorry not to have time to visit Jean-Philippe Fichet on this trip. Jean-Philippe is our winemaker for our Meursault Les Clous. For me, Jean-Philippe represents a modern force in Burgundy, a generation fending for their existence and working hard to build something of their own. Chapeau! I would have liked to meet more winemakers like Domaine Lejeune, who represented what we found endearing about Burgundy in the first place….the modesty and dedication of the people, the rural charm and rustic quality about the cuisine and the culture.
As we drove towards Lyon, we found ourselves intrigued (and perturbed) by the thought of this land of men and terroirs succumbing to the powerful forces of commercialization, joining the globalization bandwagon. Should we shudder at this thought??
As we drove towards Lyon, we found ourselves intrigued (and perturbed) by the thought of this land of men and terroirs succumbing to the powerful forces of commercialization, joining the globalization bandwagon. Should we shudder at this thought??
Dinner at Lameloise, Chagny - Day 4 of Visit to Burgundy 2010
20 November 2010: What I love most about Lameloise (a hotel and restaurant) may not be its cuisine, but the warmth of the charming dining room, the ambiance, the very personal and professional service of the waiters, many of whom have become very familiar with us over the years, the perfectly-sized bedrooms and bathrooms!
For dinner I just went for a simple green salad, followed by a piece of very fresh turbot, with a sauce vierge and some razor clams. Richard had a langoustine and crab salad, which was not very convincing and a beautifully cooked first service of poulet de bresse. The second service was a rather redundant dish, a little clumsy in the presentation……The best part was actually the amuse bouche of steamed foie gras wrapped with potato slices, served with a rich truffle sauce. It went perfectly well with our half bottle of 2006 Chassagne-Montrachet Les Caillerets Fontaine Gagnard. The 2007 Charmes Chambertin David Duband unfortunately did not live up to the expectation of our sommelier who recommended it to us over our other choices. The wine had a metallic taste to it which only became more prominent with time in the glass. Probably slightly embarrassed, the sommelier offered us a half bottle of 2005 Nuits Saint Georges Les Saint Georges de l’Arlot. Tannin still a little astringent, this showed a modern approachable style wine, with lots of ripe fruit, spicy character, balsamic and wet leaves. Perhaps a little too fruit-forward for me….but nonetheless an improvement on the David Duband. No cheese this time, just two scoops of vanilla ice cream, for Richard!
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| Steamed foie gras wrapped with potato slices, in a rich truffle sauce |
Tasting at Domaine Roulot, Meursault - Day 4 of Visit to Burgundy 2010
20 November 2010: Fuelled by a couple of gougères being served at the Hospices de Beaune, we left Beaune promptly at 11:15 am to head over to Domaine Roulot, where we were again joined by a large group of keen tasters of the domaine’s wines. The 2009 vintage was another success for Jean-Marc, who spoke very good English and was very patient in answering all our questions. He started the harvest on 1st September with the Poruzots vineyard, with Les Luchets being the last to be harvested.
The first 2009 wine we tasted was one of the 4 Climats du Coeur, a Meursault wine assembled from different vineyards and estates. This was a charity group founded by Anne-Claude Leflaive of Domaine Leflaive, Jacques Lardière of Maison Louis Jadot, Véronique Drouhin of Maison Joseph Drouhin, Aubert de Villaine of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Erwan Faiveley of Masion Faiveley, Jeremy Seysses of Domaine Dujac, Jean-Marc Roulot of Domaine Roulot and Louis-Fabrice Latour of Maison Louis Latour, to make use of a portion of the plentiful supply of 2009 vintage in Burgundy to vinify the grapes assembled from different estates and then sell them in cases of 4 magnums of Premier Cru wines to raise money for local charities in Burgundy. The 4 magnums are Gevrey Chambertin, Vosne-Romanée, Meursault and Puligny Montrachet. The Meursault that we tasted was vinified using grapes from Maison Louis Latour, Dom Roulot, Dom des Comtes Lafon, Maison Deux Montille Sœur Frère, Maison Albert Bichot, Maison Bouchard Père et Fils, Maison Olivier Leflaive, Dom Albert Grivault and Dom Bitouzet Prieur. I thought this was a great wine and at EUR 1,000 a case (including VAT), it would make a very meaningful contribution towards some very good causes. For more information, please visit: http://www.climats-du-coeur.com/.
This was followed by the domaine’s Bourgogne Blanc (production of 20,000 bottles), Les Vireuils (nutty, melon, mineral), Mes Chevaux (240 -250 m altitude vineyard), Les Luchets (a lot of minerality), Les Tillets( ripe fruit, very persistent, still very closed), Les Tessons (more flesh and more persistence), and then the 4 Premiers Crus: Bouchères, Poruzots (more weight than the Bouchères), Charmes (nutty, creamy, less concentrated than the best Charmes as his Charmes is from the Charmes Dessous) and finally Perrières (smokey, ripe fruit, lots of minerality, subtle and complex, very refined, only 6 barrels were made for 2009, roughly 1,600 bottles). Jean-Marc said the domaine does not have the best plot for Charmes but certainly the best for Perrières. My favourites amongst the 2009 were Perrières, Les Tessons and Les Luchets.
After the barrel samplet tasting, Jean-Marc very generously took us through some bottled samples of back vintages: 2008 Les Tillets, 2007 Tillets (much more evolved), 07 Luchets (tighter on the palate, more substance in this wine), 2004 Tillets (full body ,very lively acidity – 2004 produced very lively wines according to Jean-Marc), 2003 Meix Chavaux (already a mature style showing nutty, honey, burnt sugar, smoke and ginger), 2002 Perrières and 1996 Tessons (great structure and complexity).
Jean-Marc started working in the domaine in 1989. He said that he had been following organic viticulture practices for 10 years but he had only just passed the first level of certification recently. He is not yet convinced about biodynamic viticulture at this point. He talked a bit about his winemaking and viticulture practices, such as no green harvest, but early and rigorous pruning (including shoot pruning), only bâtonnage for healthy grapes, etc. We even asked him about his activity in the movie industry and he divulged a tiny bit about his latest movie!
A member of the tasting group, Frank, then produced a bottle of 1961 Meursault from the domaine as a present to Jean-Marc. He said it was probably produced by his father, under supervision by his grandfather. Probably a Meix Chavaux, although it was not clear from the label. Frank was generous to share this with all of us. The wine was suddenly shocked into existence, from its deep slumber. After a bit of aeration to shake out the mustiness, it was a richly developed nose of barley sugar, toffee, marmalade, dried figs, dried apricots, marron glace and tobacco. Still well structured and an interesting wine, even if the prominence of acidity was highlighted by the absence of fruit character.
We waited till the rest of the group had left to try the wine from our barrel of Hospices de Beaune Corton Charlemagne, which we entrusted to Domaine Roulot for the élevage et mise en bouteille. Jean-Marc said it had been a very challenging project and he had difficulty balancing the acidity, as the Hospices team picked quite late and the wine did not quite have the right level of acidity that he would have preferred. He also had a few problems with residual sugar! Anyway, we said goodbye to Jean-Marc, assured that our wine is in good hands until it is in bottles!
We got back to Chagny before being blockaded by the marathon organizers. What brave people to go for a 42-km run in this miserable rain and winter chill! Reasonably inspired, Richard and I went on a 2-hour walk to get our appetite up for dinner at Lameloise, my favourite hotel and restaurant in the region.
The first 2009 wine we tasted was one of the 4 Climats du Coeur, a Meursault wine assembled from different vineyards and estates. This was a charity group founded by Anne-Claude Leflaive of Domaine Leflaive, Jacques Lardière of Maison Louis Jadot, Véronique Drouhin of Maison Joseph Drouhin, Aubert de Villaine of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Erwan Faiveley of Masion Faiveley, Jeremy Seysses of Domaine Dujac, Jean-Marc Roulot of Domaine Roulot and Louis-Fabrice Latour of Maison Louis Latour, to make use of a portion of the plentiful supply of 2009 vintage in Burgundy to vinify the grapes assembled from different estates and then sell them in cases of 4 magnums of Premier Cru wines to raise money for local charities in Burgundy. The 4 magnums are Gevrey Chambertin, Vosne-Romanée, Meursault and Puligny Montrachet. The Meursault that we tasted was vinified using grapes from Maison Louis Latour, Dom Roulot, Dom des Comtes Lafon, Maison Deux Montille Sœur Frère, Maison Albert Bichot, Maison Bouchard Père et Fils, Maison Olivier Leflaive, Dom Albert Grivault and Dom Bitouzet Prieur. I thought this was a great wine and at EUR 1,000 a case (including VAT), it would make a very meaningful contribution towards some very good causes. For more information, please visit: http://www.climats-du-coeur.com/.
This was followed by the domaine’s Bourgogne Blanc (production of 20,000 bottles), Les Vireuils (nutty, melon, mineral), Mes Chevaux (240 -250 m altitude vineyard), Les Luchets (a lot of minerality), Les Tillets( ripe fruit, very persistent, still very closed), Les Tessons (more flesh and more persistence), and then the 4 Premiers Crus: Bouchères, Poruzots (more weight than the Bouchères), Charmes (nutty, creamy, less concentrated than the best Charmes as his Charmes is from the Charmes Dessous) and finally Perrières (smokey, ripe fruit, lots of minerality, subtle and complex, very refined, only 6 barrels were made for 2009, roughly 1,600 bottles). Jean-Marc said the domaine does not have the best plot for Charmes but certainly the best for Perrières. My favourites amongst the 2009 were Perrières, Les Tessons and Les Luchets.
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| Jean-Marc Roulot |
Jean-Marc started working in the domaine in 1989. He said that he had been following organic viticulture practices for 10 years but he had only just passed the first level of certification recently. He is not yet convinced about biodynamic viticulture at this point. He talked a bit about his winemaking and viticulture practices, such as no green harvest, but early and rigorous pruning (including shoot pruning), only bâtonnage for healthy grapes, etc. We even asked him about his activity in the movie industry and he divulged a tiny bit about his latest movie!
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| 1961 Meursault Roulot |
We waited till the rest of the group had left to try the wine from our barrel of Hospices de Beaune Corton Charlemagne, which we entrusted to Domaine Roulot for the élevage et mise en bouteille. Jean-Marc said it had been a very challenging project and he had difficulty balancing the acidity, as the Hospices team picked quite late and the wine did not quite have the right level of acidity that he would have preferred. He also had a few problems with residual sugar! Anyway, we said goodbye to Jean-Marc, assured that our wine is in good hands until it is in bottles!
We got back to Chagny before being blockaded by the marathon organizers. What brave people to go for a 42-km run in this miserable rain and winter chill! Reasonably inspired, Richard and I went on a 2-hour walk to get our appetite up for dinner at Lameloise, my favourite hotel and restaurant in the region.
Hospices de Beaune Auction Tasting - Day 4 of Visit to Burgundy 2010
20 November 2010: A drizzly day. We started the morning with tasting of the wines for auction at the Hospices de Beaune. With a pen and the scoring sheet in hand, Richard and I went round the room, tasting the wines, organized into flights of 5. This is the 150th year of the Hospices de Beaune auctions and the organizers even flew to China to introduce to Chinese wine enthusiasts the diversity of the Hospices de Beaune wines. With the publicity it has already attracted, not least attendance by Chinese and French celebrities, one could only predict that the prices would go through the roof! So the tasting might just be as close as we could get to the actual barrels!
A bit of background on the Hospices de Beaune auctions. In 1443, Nicolas Rolin, then chancellor to Philippe Le Bon, the Duke of Burgundy, and his wife Guigone de Salins, set up the Hôtel-Dieu to look after the sick and the poor at a time of great famine and misery. The Hospital was fortunate to receive donations in the form of money, land, buildings and not least of all, vineyards. The first gift in the form of vineyard was donated to the Hospital in 1457 and this was followed by many over the centuries. The wine produced from the vineyards would be sold each year and the proceeds to fund the charitable activities of the Hospices. The sale by auction officially started in 1859. Traditionally, each lot was sold only after two flames (candles) had been extinguished. This tradition is now only applied to limited number of bids in the sale. Firmly established as the most famous charity wine auction in the world, the Hospices de Beaune engaged Christie’s to host the auction from 2005. 2010 marked the 150th auction with a couple of additions: a new cuvée Santenay Cuvée Christine Friedberg and the Corton Charlemagne Cuvée Charlotte Dumay renamed as Cuvée du Roi du Soleil, as a tribute to King Louis XIV.
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| Hospices de Beaune |
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| The tasting room |
A vertical tasting of 15 vintages of Denis Mortet Chambertin - Day 3 of Visit to Burgundy 2010
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| The vertical line-up |
19 November 2010: La grande journée – a vertical tasting of 15 vintages of Denis Mortet Chambertin, from 1985 to 2006! Not a great start for me….my nose was streaming and I was totally overcome with a severe cold. I rushed out to the pharmacy in anticipation of my cold worsening. At least I was able to participate in the tasting, nonetheless in a rather subdued state (so I did consult Richard about his tasting notes!). The domaine has a very small holding of Chambertin, 0.15 hectare and produces 2 -3 barrels of this wine a year….in other words highly sought after. Always a perfectionist, while he spared no effort in making wines that combined power, precision, balance and the ultimate smoothness, he was equally disturbed by the fact that he was unable to win the battle against nature - his wines were becoming much more concentrated than he had liked. He sadly took his own life in January 2006. 2005 was the last vintage he was involved in the making of the wines from his domaine.
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| The lunch spread |
This kind of tasting has become an annual tradition for Richard and me……however we couldn’t have made them happen without the generosity and help of a few people. David Boobyer for helping us transport the wines from our storage in the UK back to their birthplace, Burgundy! Jasper Morris for organizing the actual tasting. Becky and Russell for hosting and putting on a sumptuous lunch for us after the tasting. Also joining us this year were Anthony Hanson, Andrew Caillard and Bobby, his wife, Scott Paul, a winemaker from Oregon, and a couple of friends of Becky’s from Florida.
Russell cooked a delicious pintard au vin, accompanied by asparagus, a carrot and parsnip gratin and brussel sprouts. As Russell is a great cheese aficionado, no repas would be complete without a comprehensive cheese selection and he selected for us the following: le délice de Pommard, brillat savarin au truffe noir, reblochon, vacherin and salers! All very yummy! Thank you, Russell! (And please check out the problem at Abbaye de Cîteaux – such a shame not to be able to have even a morceau of this cheese on this trip!)
Here are my very modest notes on these grand wines from this vertical tasting:L'Hostellerie de Levernois, 1952 Musigny Comte Georges de Voguë and a 2007 Coche-Dury
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| 7-hour lamb at Levernois! |
We started with a 2002 William Deutz Amour de Deutz. Refreshingly complex nose of pear, citrus,marzipan, acacia, honey and toast, with racy acidity and creamy mousse. A very fine champagne! 17.5/20
Our white wine of the evening was a 2007 Coche-Dury Meursault Chevalières. Despite its youthful and restrained existence, the wine was able to open up a little in the glass to add complexity of smokiness to a very taut citrus and mineral character. A long life ahead, 15+ years. 17.5/20
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| 1952 Musigy de Voguë bottled by Drouhin |
It would be a hard act to follow after the 1952 Musigny…..so we picked a 2007 Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Procès Arnoux-Lachaux to go with our cheese course. Youthful and fresh in character, red fruit, mineral, floral and earthy……..a very well-made wine indeed! 17/20
Tastings at Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux, Vosne Romanée and Domaine Lejeune, Pommard - Day 2 of Visit to Burgundy 2010
18 November 2010: We drove from Joigny to Beaune, this time on the autoroute. We timed our arrival at Vosne-Romanée so that we could enjoy a small picnic lunch of ham and cheese bread rolls on the slopes of Vosne-Romanée, amongst the vineyards, before turning up at Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux for a tasting. We arrived at 2:30 pm and we were told to wait in a wine bar area until Pascal finished his previous tasting. Pascal came and fetched us at about 3 pm, rather apologetically for the delay. This is an incredibly busy week in Burgundy and every popular domaine is totally inundated with visitors. Our group became rather numerous when we finally got started. We were joined by 10 other people, 6 of whom from New York and the other 4 from France.
The domaine renamed in 2009 to Arnoux-Lachaux is now run by Pascal and Florence (daughter of Robert Arnoux), a very charming couple, with a good deal of business savoir-faire. Pascal led us down the steps to the cellars, which were in such immaculate and organized condition. We started with tasting of 2009 wines from the barrels. The first was Bourgogne Rouge, which was a nice simple wine with beautiful fruit. Following were 2 Villages level wines: Vosne Romanée and Chambolle Musigny. The average age of vines for the Vosne Romanée was 50 years old. He would rack this wine around end December and transfer to a stainless steel cuve before bottling around end of February. 20% of new oak was used for this wine. Premiers Crus would have around 40-50% new oak and 100% new oak for Grands Crus. The Chambolle Musigny tasted more tannic than the Vosne Romanée. Pascal said that his Chambolle Musigny vineyard was situated below the Premier Cru vineyard and as a result the wine did not taste as refined. Also, for 2009, they suffered from hail which reduced the yield by 40%. The grapes were smaller and the greater skin to pulp ratio gave the wine more concentrated phenolics. Next we tasted a few Premiers Crus, starting with the Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos des Corvées Pagets, very elegant, floral and beautiful fruit. The Vosne Romanée Chaumes was very approachable already, in a slightly more spicy style. The Vosne Romanée Les Suchots was a big step up, much more “flatteur”, concentrated, complex in style, with a nice long finish. Only 5 barrels were made. The first Grand Cru we tasted was Latricières Chambertin, which would typically spend 15 months in wood. A much more mineral style, more power than the Suchots, with much firmer acidity. Pascal finished the 2009 tasting with the Romanée Saint Vivant which was simply stunning! Aromatically incredibly complex, with a lovely balance between the “puissance” and finesse. Already a very harmonious structure with the grainy tannin, firm acidity and beautiful ripe fruit. Only 5 barrels made. (It seemed such a shame to be spitting out this gorgeous wine!) My favourites? Definitely the Suchots and the Romanée Saint Vivant, and I thought the Vosne Romanée villages and the Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos des Corvées Pagets were very fine indeed!
We were then shown some 2008 from bottles. Echezeaux (very mineral in style), Suchots (powerful, spicy, quite earthy and tannic), and the Romanée Saint Vivant (harmonious, powerful, balanced, and in a lovely mineral style). Minerality seems to be a common style amongst the 2008, while the 2009 was already very approachable from barrels!
According to Pascal, 2007 was a vintage with less acidity, less austere, and in some ways more approachable now than 2006 and 2008. 2008 was more restrained, more “tendu”. 2006 was somewhere in between 2007 and 2008. Pascal believes that if one likes to enjoy young burgundies with plenty of fruit, then they are best drunk in the first 3 – 5 years of their lives, and for those who appreciate the mature characteristics, best to wait after 20 years of age……
From the immaculate cellars of Arnoux-Lachaux, we next visited a very small domaine in Pommard, Domaine Lejeune. We were received by the winemaker Aubert Lefars. It was very refreshing to meet someone like Aubert, who in all modesty and sincerity, told us that he’s a novice in the world of winemaking, how he had learnt everything from his father-in-law, a former professor at the Ecole Viticole in Beaune when he left the engineering firm Schenker 5 years ago. His wife’s family have been winemakers at this domaine for 7 generations. The domaine has holdings in 3 Premier Cru vineyards: Les Rugiens (the domaine owns 0.25 ha out of the 5 ha vineyard), L’Argillières (clay-limestone soil) and Les Poutures (more clay). They also own some village level vineyard in Trois Follots, as well as vineyard on the plain, for the making of Bourgogne Rouge. Total production is 40,000 bottles, 20,000 of which are Bourgogne Rouge. Aubert was very enthusiastic in sharing with us his father-in-law’s winemaking philosophy. The domaine uses a mix of alcoholic fermentation and carbonic maceration for their wines. This means that part of the grapes would be crushed (foulage) and part of the grapes would be left in whole clusters for the carbonic maceration which would be completed in 7 – 10 days. His father-in-law believed that this would help reduce the acidity in the wine, but care would need to be taken in avoiding over-extraction of tannins from the stalks in the whole clusters. Maceration would vary between 15 and 25 days depending on the year. 60% new oak would be used for Les Rugiens, 25-30% new oak for L’Argillières and Les Poutures. Bottling of the 2009 would take place between March and June 2011.
We tasted the 2009 from barrels, starting with Les Poutures, which was in a supple style. L’Argillières was a more mineral style, more elegant, with firmer acidity. Les Rugiens was much more concentrated, complex, showing some spicy and chocolate character on top of the ripe red fruit. 5 barrels of Les Rugiens were made by this domaine. Yield for 2009 was around 45 hl/ha. 2010 was much lower, at 35 hl/ha.
We then tasted some wine from bottles including a 2008 Les Rugiens, which was really spicy, earthy and mineral, yet to develop its characteristic animal, gamey notes.
We actually visited Lejeune because we chose them as the éleveur for our barrel of 2009 Hospices de Beaune Pommard Cuvée Dame de La Charité, which we tasted from barrel. We were really pleased with the domaine’s work – the wine tasted very well, with a lot of finesse, suppleness, minerality and ripe red fruit wrapping around the soft tannins and firm acidity. Classy wine.
We drove away, very happy that we had just done two really good tastings at two very different domaines! One similarity was that they are now both run by a younger generation and both very impressive, in their own ways.
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| Pascal Lachaux |
We were then shown some 2008 from bottles. Echezeaux (very mineral in style), Suchots (powerful, spicy, quite earthy and tannic), and the Romanée Saint Vivant (harmonious, powerful, balanced, and in a lovely mineral style). Minerality seems to be a common style amongst the 2008, while the 2009 was already very approachable from barrels!
According to Pascal, 2007 was a vintage with less acidity, less austere, and in some ways more approachable now than 2006 and 2008. 2008 was more restrained, more “tendu”. 2006 was somewhere in between 2007 and 2008. Pascal believes that if one likes to enjoy young burgundies with plenty of fruit, then they are best drunk in the first 3 – 5 years of their lives, and for those who appreciate the mature characteristics, best to wait after 20 years of age……
From the immaculate cellars of Arnoux-Lachaux, we next visited a very small domaine in Pommard, Domaine Lejeune. We were received by the winemaker Aubert Lefars. It was very refreshing to meet someone like Aubert, who in all modesty and sincerity, told us that he’s a novice in the world of winemaking, how he had learnt everything from his father-in-law, a former professor at the Ecole Viticole in Beaune when he left the engineering firm Schenker 5 years ago. His wife’s family have been winemakers at this domaine for 7 generations. The domaine has holdings in 3 Premier Cru vineyards: Les Rugiens (the domaine owns 0.25 ha out of the 5 ha vineyard), L’Argillières (clay-limestone soil) and Les Poutures (more clay). They also own some village level vineyard in Trois Follots, as well as vineyard on the plain, for the making of Bourgogne Rouge. Total production is 40,000 bottles, 20,000 of which are Bourgogne Rouge. Aubert was very enthusiastic in sharing with us his father-in-law’s winemaking philosophy. The domaine uses a mix of alcoholic fermentation and carbonic maceration for their wines. This means that part of the grapes would be crushed (foulage) and part of the grapes would be left in whole clusters for the carbonic maceration which would be completed in 7 – 10 days. His father-in-law believed that this would help reduce the acidity in the wine, but care would need to be taken in avoiding over-extraction of tannins from the stalks in the whole clusters. Maceration would vary between 15 and 25 days depending on the year. 60% new oak would be used for Les Rugiens, 25-30% new oak for L’Argillières and Les Poutures. Bottling of the 2009 would take place between March and June 2011.
We tasted the 2009 from barrels, starting with Les Poutures, which was in a supple style. L’Argillières was a more mineral style, more elegant, with firmer acidity. Les Rugiens was much more concentrated, complex, showing some spicy and chocolate character on top of the ripe red fruit. 5 barrels of Les Rugiens were made by this domaine. Yield for 2009 was around 45 hl/ha. 2010 was much lower, at 35 hl/ha.
We then tasted some wine from bottles including a 2008 Les Rugiens, which was really spicy, earthy and mineral, yet to develop its characteristic animal, gamey notes.
We actually visited Lejeune because we chose them as the éleveur for our barrel of 2009 Hospices de Beaune Pommard Cuvée Dame de La Charité, which we tasted from barrel. We were really pleased with the domaine’s work – the wine tasted very well, with a lot of finesse, suppleness, minerality and ripe red fruit wrapping around the soft tannins and firm acidity. Classy wine.
We drove away, very happy that we had just done two really good tastings at two very different domaines! One similarity was that they are now both run by a younger generation and both very impressive, in their own ways.
La Côte Saint Jacques, Joigny - Day 1 of Visit to Burgundy 2010
Wednesday evening - a relatively quiet evening at La Côte Saint Jacques. Only 19 covers in one of the dining rooms. It was quite evident that the restaurant was less well staffed. We started with some canapés to go with our coupes de champagne. The most interesting one was the chef’s modification on jambon persillé – in a cube, with a soft boiled quail egg in the middle, which softened the sometimes aggressive garlic flavours for this dish. Richard had a glass of 1999 Pommery Cuvée Louise and I had a very refreshing glass of Louis Roederer Rosé Vintage 2006!
Once at the table, we were offered a small piece of smoked seabass which was very tasty. I skipped the first course while Richard enjoyed a green salad. For main course, I had a fusion creation: skate wing slowly cooked in a coconut milk and lemon grass emulsion, with some egg noodles underneath. I really enjoyed it - very fresh skate wing, refreshingly lightly-spiced broth, with wilted vegetables topping the fish and mopping up the sauce. My only criticism would be that the noodles were a little over-cooked, not so interesting texturally…….perhaps they could be replaced with courgette or cucumber spaghetti? Richard had the partridge, stuffed with truffle, foie gras and other goodies, cooked in a parcel of savoy cabbage. Perhaps a little undercooked, Richard thought the flavours were really intense and rich. Then we both had a cheese platter: the brillat savarin and the soumaintrain were both chalky but I thought the Brie de Meaux, Maroilles and Tomme de Brebis were all excellent. They served the cheese with these delicious preserved apricots and figs, bilberry jam and walnuts……which served equally well as dessert for me! Richard on the other hand, made a really good effort with the petits fours – I particularly liked the Dagmar – a signature chocolate here, mixed with caramel! Yummy!
My comment on La Côte Saint Jacques. Ideally situated along the river, with very well proportioned rooms. The chef, like all chefs in France, is keenly looking for ideas to add elements of innovation and creativity to his cuisine and the results have been quite impressive. Service was professional and reasonably attentive but the entire institution lacked energy and the dining room seemed tired and soulless. The waiters only seemed to be there to do a job, going with the motion - they did not quite carry with them a sense of pride, joy or ownership, hardly letting on a half smile. More disappointingly, we had tried on a few occasions to engage the sommelier in a discussion about the wine selection (or was it because we did not choose an expensive wine from the list??) and his views, without much success. He did not seem interested in discussing anything with us – which really surprised us. When I think about what it is about restaurants that leave a lasting impression on me: certainly the quality of cuisine matters, but it is also our interpretation of the service and ambiance – somehow I think the latter two are even more critical in giving us reasons to go back again and again……
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| View from our room at La Côte Saint Jacques |
17 November 2010: 17 November: Our annual visit to Burgundy. We landed this morning and picked up a hired car from CDG Airport. I input Joigny into the SatNav and we found ourselves meandering across the country along charming country roads (departmental roads)…..quite a change from the monotonous autoroutes. I have always found autumnal landscape mesmerizingly enchanting - a palette of rich and warm russet, golden and copper colours, enflaming the lush rolling hills, still green at this time of the year. This natural beauty has a magical power to lighten your heart and free the soul!
We stopped for a coffee-break at the town of Sens where we also bought a just-baked giant gougère from a boulangerie at a street corner. It was just one of those gratifying moments: biting into this warm cheese puff, crispy on the outside and slightly doughy on the inside……with intense cheese flavours……so yummy! It was our lunch! We arrived at Joigny and checked into La Côte Saint Jacques. With only a modest lunch, we are really looking forward to dinner at this 3 Michelin star institution headed by Chef Jean-Michel Lorain (who spoke very good English!).
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| Cocktail canapés |
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| Stuffed partridge, cooked in a parcel of cabbage |
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| Skate wing in a coconut milk and lemon grass emulsion |
Our white wine of the evening was a half of 2005 Beaune Clos des Mouches, Joseph Drouhin. It was made in a rich and slightly fat style, lacking the minerality that one would look for in a high quality white burgundy, the acidity level was also on the low side, to give the wine sufficient balance for the richness suggested by its full body and character layered with peach, lanolin, butter, nutty and honey. Almost New World in style. 15.5/20
The 2005 Volnay Taillepieds Marquis d’Angerville was well-made, lighter in style than the Champans or Clos des Ducs, fruit-focused, elegant and refined, without the complexity, fruit concentration and structure of an ageworthy wine. Raspberry, red cherry, hoisin sauce, balsamic, wet leaves and mineral. Very smooth mouthfeel. Middle palate was weak and finish was relatively short. Drinking perfectly well now and for the next 4 – 5 years. 16/20
Visit to Burgundy 2010
17 - 21 November 2010: Richard and I just returned from our annual visit to Burgundy and I have taken some notes........and have listed them based on the highlights of the day......
1947 Cheval Blanc and 1999 Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet d'Auvenay
13 November 2010: I came home after teaching for the entire afternoon. James just left the house after an early evening cocktail with Richard. I was greeted with a rewarding glass of 1999 Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet by Domaine d’Auvenay (Lalou Bize) – tiny production, only 292 bottles made with 0.06 hectare of vineyard. This rare wine, after having been opened an hour, showed much freshness, minerality and rather restrained character of lemon, spice, wrapped around with hazelnut and buttery notes. Further time in the bottle would probably add more weight , complexity and length to the wine. 17.5/20
Richard then sat me down to guess our red wine of the evening. Medium ruby core, garnet at the rim. Complex and mature bouquet of violet, rose petal, black fruit, blueberry, blackcurrant leaf, tobacco, lead pencil, cedar, cigar box and coffee. Silky tannin, reasonable acidity (perhaps with a little addition of volatile acidity from the age of this wine). Robust yet elegant, incredibly complex, and finishes extremely long. I was very pleased with my guess of Right Bank Bordeaux and eventually Cheval Blanc, but I was miles out in terms of the vintage…..1947. The wine still tasted so fresh that it was just incredible that it was more than 60 years old! Drinking at peak now, and will continue to drink well for the next 10 – 15 years? Class act! And it was bottled by a negociant (Calvet-bottled)! Apparently quite a common practice in those days. 19/20
Richard then sat me down to guess our red wine of the evening. Medium ruby core, garnet at the rim. Complex and mature bouquet of violet, rose petal, black fruit, blueberry, blackcurrant leaf, tobacco, lead pencil, cedar, cigar box and coffee. Silky tannin, reasonable acidity (perhaps with a little addition of volatile acidity from the age of this wine). Robust yet elegant, incredibly complex, and finishes extremely long. I was very pleased with my guess of Right Bank Bordeaux and eventually Cheval Blanc, but I was miles out in terms of the vintage…..1947. The wine still tasted so fresh that it was just incredible that it was more than 60 years old! Drinking at peak now, and will continue to drink well for the next 10 – 15 years? Class act! And it was bottled by a negociant (Calvet-bottled)! Apparently quite a common practice in those days. 19/20
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