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Showing posts with label Grand Cru. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grand Cru. Show all posts

21 March 2015

Alsace: Grand Cru tasting by Olivier Humbrecht & Christophe Ehrhart

This latest slightly esoteric feature on Alsace is neatly stored HERE on a sizzling new page dedicated to the Alsace region:

"These are my notes and thoughts on a Circle of Wine Writers' tutored tasting (so forgive the sometimes nerdy detail weaved into the words) earnestly called "Beyond terroir - exploring the influences on Alsace wines." The audience was informed and entertained by two great speakers, who guided us through nearly a dozen ("this one goes up to 11" in fact) mostly delicious top wines: Olivier Humbrecht MW from Domaine Zind-Humbrecht and President of the Alsace Grand Cru association, and Christophe Ehrhart from Josmeyer and Vice-President of Alsace Grand Cru..."
My five favourite wines at a glance:
Domaine du Clos Saint Landelin Grand Cru Vorbourg Riesling 2012
Domaine Paul Blanck Grand Cru Schlossberg Riesling 2010
Gustave Lorentz Grand Cru Altenberg de Bergheim Riesling 2008
Josmeyer Grand Cru Brand Pinot Gris 2010
Hugel & Fils Vendange Tardive Gewurztraminer 2007
You can also buy this in-depth feature as a handy PDF supplement including other recent material on Alsace for just £2.50 (about €3.50 or $3.75). READ ON...

Olivier Humbrecht MW, left (from zindhumbrecht.fr)

11 December 2014

Burgundy: Henri de Villamont, Discover the Origin, Chablis etc.

This triad of Burgundy snippets was picked from three different tastings held in Belfast and Dublin this year, to celebrate the impending migration of all things Burgundy from WineWriting.com over to this site, which will eventually become an all-French wine mecca (if I can be bothered).

Henri de Villamont
This estate winery and broker owns 10 hectares (25 acres) in the Savigny les Beaune area (plots in a few sites from 'village' appellation to Premier and Grand Cru); and they also produce wines from across the entire region from Chablis to Beaujolais, filling out a substantial range covering no less than 45 appellations overall, so the blurb says. Here are three I liked anyway. More @ www.hdv.fr.

2009 Pouilly Fuissé Les Grumes d'Or (Chardonnay) - toasty and buttery nose, attractive nutty savoury development vs still has a hint of fresh acidity underneath, lush finish with lingering nutty flavours.
2011 Meursault Les Clous - hazelnut tones, rich and toasty palate with concentrated buttery mouth-feel vs tight acidity and long finish. Good stuff.
2011 Savigny les Beaune 'Le Village' (monopoly site) - touch of coconut grain with 'volatile' sweet/savoury fruit aromas, relatively rich palate vs still tight and fresh though with structured finish. Nice delicate style, needed a little more time when I tried it.

"Discover the Origin"
This slightly unusual joint-promotional campaign combining a handful of well-known European wine and food regions and produce - Burgundy wines, Port and Douro valley wines, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and Parma ham - just goes to show there can be harmony among EU member states! Especially when there's money coming from the big Euro pot to support it, presumably. In any case, it sounds like a good idea, although they don't appear to agree any longer since mysteriously the discovertheorigin.co.uk "site is now closed..." (obviously the budget didn't stretch to a sustained online presence). Here are my favourites and comments on a flight (expensive Air France of course) of Burgundy wines presented at a fancy tasting in Belfast, a few months ago now it has to be said. All the whites here are made from Chardonnay and reds from Pinot Noir, in that beautiful simplicity way that Burgundy does so well... Grape variety wise at least: it's just the myriad vineyard sites which are complicated!

White
Domaine Richard et Stéphane Martin 2012 Saint-Véran, Les Rochats (organic, aged in large vats, 13% abv) – attractive creamy nose with white peach fruit, aromatic and lightly buttery almost; quite soft palate with similar taste profile, fairly delicate with yeast-lees edges, has a touch of freshness although is soft and drinking well now. Like sunny Chablis. Good although not great value at £13 in the UK.
Domaine du Colombier 2012 Chablis Premier Cru, Vaucoupin (no oak, 13% abv) – toasty lees notes, a bit of sulphur dioxide (SO2) too; a touch fatter mouth-feel with nutty and creamy flavours vs a hint of steely bite and light yeasty tones, closes up on its tight and slightly awkward finish (when I tried it). Seemed to lack a bit of excitement at first, although it improved in the glass getting more buttery and that SO2/lees side dissipating. £15
Domaine Roux Père et Fils 2012 Saint-Aubin Premier Cru, Les Cortons (aged 18 months in barrel with 25% new oak, 13.5% abv) – toasted grainy notes vs hazelnut and buttered toast aromas, more full-on style on the palate with sweeter fruit and a lot more oak giving grainy vs buttery texture, weightier yet with crisp backdrop; quite chunky ripe and concentrated though to counter that oak, turning finer on the finish in the end with better balance of weight vs bite. £25
Domaine Maillard Père et Fils 2011 Corton Grand Cru (12-18 months barrel-fermented and aged with batonnage (lees stirring), 13% abv) – pretty toasted oaky start, fair punch in the mouth with toasty flavours then subtle hazelnut and lees, turning crisper and tighter on the finish; a little clunky perhaps with that toasted oak vs bitter twist, nice roasted hazelnut notes though and weight vs fairly steely combo; it's concentrated too but doesn't have great balance for this level, a bit over-made. £30
Red
Another wine from Domaine Maillard tasted elsewhere around the same time:
2011 Chorley-les-Beaune - showing subdued oak vs sweet berry vs meatier savoury notes; has a fair bit of grip vs lively yet savoury berry/cherry, concentrated towards rich even with coconut touches, turning firmer, fresher and more subtle on the finish; the tannins are a tad bitter perhaps but this had fair class. £20 DWS
Domaine Jean-Hugues et Ghislaine Goisot 2011 Bourgogne Côte d'Auxerre, La Ronce (open fermenters, 12 months ageing in 30% new oak) – aromatic cherry and redcurrant with wild strawberry/raspberry notes, has a smokier more rustic side too; fresh acidity and a touch of firmness, sweeter vs savoury side vs that fresh bite and bitter twist. Not bad, better with the Parma ham as a contrast, which was delicious, soft and savoury flavoured. £10-£12
Domaine Tupinier Bautista 2012 Mercurey Premier Cru, Le Clos du Roy (30% new oak) – a hint of sweet oak on the nose plus ripe cherry/berry and a smokier side; the oak is quite subtle, touch of bitterness and grip with some fresh bite too vs a bit of weight, turning slightly savoury vs dried red berry flavours; closes up with tighter finish, has good balance and a touch of class. £20
Domaine Brigitte Berthelemot 2010 Beaune Premier Cru, Les Grèves (“older vineyard,” 12 months in oak, 20% new) – maturing savoury side vs subdued oak vs firmer and bigger mouth-feel, more extracted too yet concentrated with nice sweet/savoury fruit, tightens up on the finish. Maybe it's a bit heavy-handed although has more substance and enticing maturing Pinot fruit, and did open up and soften with airing; good, could do better though for £20-£25.
Domaine Jacques Prieur 2009 Corton Grand Cru, Les Bressandes (21 months in cask) – showing a fair lick of toasted vanilla and coconut oak, quite big and extracted yet fairly rich and savoury vs dried red berry fruit with earthy edges; concentrated vs that toasted oak, a bigger mouthful of wine and again it's a little heavy-handed, but certainly has depth and style. c. £100
Palate-cleanser: 14 month matured Parmesan cheese – lovely and tangy and complex flavours, yum.

La Chablisienne: Chablis 'vertical'
Some more golden-hued notes that got temporarily 'filed away', this time from a Northern Ireland Wine & Spirit Institute tasting earlier in the year, focusing on five vintages of one of this impressive co-op winery's top wines. Their Chablis Les Vénérables vieilles vignes comes from old vine Chardonnay vineyards - averaging over 50 years with the youngest at least 40 - and is typically part-aged in cask (about 20% of the wine in two to three year-old barrels). You can read more about La Chablisienne and several other Chablis producers in my three-part Chablis supplement: click here to buy it.

2008 vintage (12.5% abv) - has taken on a touch of colour but not much for its age, developing lovely savoury and buttery notes with yeasty edges vs greener fruit hints, complex nose; creamy vs still very steely palate, maturing oaty flavours vs fairly green apple crispness underneath and hints of celery too, just opening up really and getting richer. Very nice classic 'tight' vintage style that "needed patience," as Robin Kinahan MW put it, "well-balanced despite high acidity..." £18
2009 (12.5% abv) - a tad deeper colour, softer and creamier nose and palate; more developed, fatter and more oxidised, buttery flavours vs just a touch of acidity but it's quite forward and drinking well. 2009 vintage was "very ripe with lower acid, nice now and won't keep." £15
2010 (12.5% abv) - quite deep hues, fairly ripe and exotic nose vs subtle greener side; very concentrated and lush with tasty oat flavours vs crisp and classy finish, fat vs tight and long. "Upfront yet structured, delicious now but will keep," Robin agreed. £19
2011 (12.5% abv) - more closed up, lighter style with nice light buttery vs peachy fruit hints, coming out of its shell with a bit of bite and 'chalky' mouth-feel; attractive although lacks the depth and class, better than I remember though (there are quite a few 2011s reviewed in my special Chablis report). Robin described this vintage as "lower acid... with a late summer..." £15
2012 (12.5% abv) - not much on the aroma front at first, tight and 'mineral' mouth-feel with fresh acidity supported by gently creamy texture and peach / apricot fruit; tightens up on its long finish, concentrated and well balanced, needs 1 to 2 years to open up. "Another cracking vintage," Robin said, "restrained and classic." Thanks to the "long sunny yet cool late summer and early autumn."
Finally, he filled us in a little on vintage 2013, which was "very difficult before and during flowering. It was wet up to vintage then very hot... Not bad but turning a bit ugly... 30% down (in volume): there won't be a sub £10 Chablis soon," Robin concluded.
Plus a couple of young Beaujolais reds worth mentioning...
Cave de Château des Loges 2013 Beaujolais Villages - very aromatic with delicious summer pudding fruits: banana, blackcurrant, black cherry and berries; juicy fruity palate with fair depth vs a light bitter twist, tasty classic style Beaujolais with crunchy vs sweet fruity finish. £8
Cave de Château Chénas 2013 Fleurie 'Coeur de Granit' - similar nose but with richer cassis and more violet aromas; more concentrated and extracted even with lovely ripe vs crunchy fruit, has a hint of grip and fresh acidity too; more serious wine with good depth of fruit, firmer and longer. Lovely. £12

19 May 2014

Bordeaux: 2010

There's been more than enough verbal and written hot air generated about how great a vintage 2010 was/is in Bordeaux and how the top wines were blatantly priced for millionaire investors only. So I'm not going to add a single word more on the subject... Except to say here's a resurrected mini-retrospective of two dozen very tasty 2010 Grands Crus reds sampled in London last year, rather at random across a few well- and not-so-well-known appellations and properties.
Updated 28 May - new wine added at end.

From www.facebook.com/Chateau-de-France-Pessac-Leognan
Pessac-Léognan

Domaine de Chevalier – cedar, red pepper and 'inky' notes vs vibrant plum, cassis and cherry; quite soft tannins on a warming palate (13.5% abv), tasty now actually with nice fruit and light bitter twist on the finish.
Château de Fieuzal – richer and smokier with more coconut/cedar oak, quite concentrated and firm yet rounded too, nice sweet cassis vs light oak texture, a bit of weight too with good balance and style.
Château de France – quite opulent plummy and black cherry fruit vs cedar/coco edges, more extracted and firmer vs that vibrant fruit, structured vs rounded finish; quite seductive.
Château Malartic-Lagravière – smoky dark fruit with cassis and cherry and a vanilla coating, dry bitter chocolate bite but it's quite elegant and balanced with subtle concentration.

Saint-Émilion

Château Beau-Séjour Bécot – quite oaky vs attractive lively damson fruit, dry yet silky tannins, nice underlying depth and elegance although again a touch chocolatey at first.
Château Figeac – herby plummy cassis notes, light bitter twist of dry tannin vs again attractive sweeter berry fruit underneath.
Château Franc Mayne – cedary coconut tones vs fairly lush black cherry and plum, nicer tannins with dry vs silky texture, good depth of fruit vs chocolatey finish with bite.
Château La Couspaude – quite smoky and ripe, fairly concentrated and chunky, firm vs sweet oak and fruit; nice style, should blossom.
Château La Tour Figeac – quite complex, ripe berry with herby edges; fairly lush and silky vs dry grip, nice texture with chocolatey touches vs lovely fruit. Yum.

Listrac-Médoc

Château Clarke – leafy berry touches, more 'claret' like, subtle depth of berry and cassis fruit, firm yet attractive tannins; not so in-your-face, elegant Médoc style.
Château Fourcas Hosten – plummier and richer, more chocolate/coconut too but has tasty ripe dark fruit with cedary undertones, firm and structured vs rounded tannins; quite concentrated, balanced in the end, good wine.

Margaux

Château Angludet – rich cassis and black cherry, quite concentrated and firm vs an elegant touch, sweet fruit vs subtle oak texture. Good stuff.
Château Cantenac Brown – perfumed with cedar/vanilla notes and berry fruits, firm palate in a leaner style, quite good in that way.
Château Labégorce – nice dry vs ripe texture, structured vs sweet berry with tight long finish, bitter twist vs rounded; closes up, should be good.
Château Lascombes – chocolate and coconut oak vs fairly lush fruit, extracted and concentrated vs ripe berry and cassis, pretty solid mouth-feel with herby/cedary tones vs lovely fruit, quite big too yet well-balanced; very nice wine.
Château Marquis de Terme – enticing sweet berry, cassis and cherry vs cedary edges; soft tannins and quite elegant vs nice intense berry fruit and dusting of cedary oak; good.

Saint-Julien

Château Léoville Barton – leafy cedary tones vs coconut/vanilla vs quite rich cherry and cassis, dry vs sweet texture, freshness vs power, very nice balance and style. Yum.
Château Léoville Poyferré – 'inkier' and smokier vs attractive sweet cherry and blackcurrant, firm vs silky texture; again stylish and balanced, very nice wine.

Pauillac

Château Grand-Puy Ducasse – leafy cedary tones vs cherry and berry, structured in a leaner firmer style, freshness vs power; perhaps not as 'generous' as some of the others.
Château Pichon-Longueville – quite tight and firm vs ripe almost dried cassis, structured and powerful with tight cedary grain, nice fruit vs grip vs weight too.
Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande – ripe cherry fruit with floral and cedar/coco notes, grippy tight mouth-feel vs nice sweet cassis fruit and fine dry tannins. Yum.

Pomerol

Château Petit-Village – quite lush and seductive vs firm and cedary, nice texture with grip and oomph; fairly big style yet still tight and structured.

Saint-Estèphe

Château de Pez – fair amount of chocolate oak, rich extracted and firm but it works, attractive tannins in the end, powerful but balanced with nice depth of ripe fruit.
Château Lafon-Rochet – again quite a bit of oak vs lush and extracted, ripe almost dark fruit vs cedary texture, grip and punch vs concentrated and ripe. Chunky and tasty, like the yellow wedding cake chateau...

Lots more Bordeaux stuff HERE.

UPDATED 28 May. Not a 'Grand Cru' Bordeaux but an equally good 2010 and considerably more affordable too:
Chateau Le Bonnat Jeansotte Graves (Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, 13.5% abv) - a new one I think from Marks & Spencer at £12.99: pretty "classic" Merlot dominated style although riper and fleshier vs quite firm / structured still with underlying cedar oak hints, fairly concentrated and classy for the price (still not exactly inexpensive though for sure).

02 August 2013

France: Alsace - Domaine Martin Schaetzel

The Martin Schaetzel wine estate spreads over 20 hectares (50 acres) of vineyards in the Ammerschwihr area, including several highly rated Grand Cru sites, and has been certified organic since 1998 as well as Demeter, the fearsome biodynamic controlling body. Their Kaefferkopf vineyard lies on a hillside to the south and west of the village made up of "granite, chalk and sandstone..." from the top down roughly. Eichberg ("oak mountain") and Pfersigberg ("peach tree mountain") are found to the southwest of Colmar and both enjoy a well-exposed warm microclimate. The family head is Jean Schaetzel these days, with his righthand man winery and export manager Michel Vié.

From www.martin-schaetzel.com


2011 Riesling Kaefferkopf Grand Cru - apple and almond notes, turning quite rich and limey on the palate vs creamy rounded character, very crisp and mineral though with linear bite on the finish vs that oily textured/flavoured backdrop. Different. €16 cellar door.
2011 Riesling Eichberg Grand Cru - ripe lime fruit with exotic peachy edges, again crisp and mineral mouth-feel with very long piercing bite vs lightly oily and nutty side too; tight dry finish, needs time. Wow. €16
2011 Pinot Gris Eichberg Grand Cru - juicy honeyed fruit with spicy notes, pretty full-on powerful style with oily nutty texture/flavours vs underlying crisp bite too. Definitely a foodie (Chinese, Thai, Indian even...). €15.50
2010 Gewurztraminer Kaefferkopf "Catherine" - classic lychee aromas with pineapple, honey and dried fruits too; even more lychee on the palate, powerful yet with mineral bite, still very perfumed vs enticing maturing oily side. Good stuff. €19
2011 Gewurztraminer Pfersigberg Grand Cru - relatively subdued nose vs explosion of fresh lychee and kiwi on the palate, quite big ripe and punchy, less dry perhaps than the above, pretty powerful flavour and weight vs attractive bitter twist. €16
2008 Pinot Gris vendanges tardives (late picked) - complex developing nose, honeyed and 'musky'; sweet dried fruits on the palate vs lively acidity, tight and very long finish, still tasting young with a few years ahead of it yet.

Oodles more on Alsace HERE (goes to archive page).

04 April 2013

"Chablis on foot" part 1: Chablis Wine Awards

Stop press: Chablis: special focus report now available
"You can now get a handy PDF supplement featuring all three parts of my recent Chablis wine touring mini-series (see below), plus bonus pieces on a Chablis Grand Cru tasting and spotlight on M&S Chablis penned last year (and any of my other recent in-depth features). The full-works twenty-page Chabbers report in lovely PDF format emailed to you when you subscribe for just £10 (about $16 or €12) a yearOR BUY IT FOR £2.50 (about €3 or $4) - snap it up quick with PayPal!" Click on title above to find the PP buttons...

As a gentle warm-up to more in-depth reflections and my pick of wines and wineries from a recent tour in and around Chablis land (including a day's cellar hopping on foot, as is easy to do in Chablis town), we'll whet our appetite for the region's distinctive, possibly unique even, take on the Chardonnay grape by featuring all 22 medal-winners from this year's Chablis Wine Awards, which we sampled at a tutored tasted on 4th March. So, for what it's worth (as the fanfare has already been heralded), this is what I thought of them, mostly 2011 vintage wines plus a trio of Grands Crus from the excellent 2010. More info @ chablis.fr. And many more words on the Chablis area (including hotel and restaurant tips), vineyards, vintages and some of the podium-topping producers cited below (Fèvre, Moreau, Chablisienne, Geoffroy, Droin, Long-Depaquit, Bordet...) have now been cunningly packaged into another two enticing instalments: Part 2 and Part 3...

GET THE FULL PDF REPORT BY SUBSCRIBING NOW TO READ THE REST OF IT!

From chablisgrandcru.com
Hectares more on Chablis HERE (goes to archive Burgundy page inc. Grand Cru tasting and links to the rest of my "Chablis on foot" series).

05 April 2012

France: Grand Cru Chablis

Grand Cru Chablis tasting London 2012


"Or 'more posh Chablis' if you prefer an alternative title (that link subtly goes to a piece reviewing a few tasty M&S Chablis back in December). I've selected my two or three favourites from each of the 14 producers who aired their wares at the Union des Grands Crus de Chablis showcase a few weeks ago (conjures up images of heated members' meetings and not-so-secret ballots: "...Those in favour of a one-day strike in protest against the inclement weather, raise your hands..."). This tasting was a launchpad for their 2010 vintage wines with each winery also cracking open an older vintage or two ranging from 2009 and 2008 back to a remarkable 1999, as was the case for one estate (Domaine Servin), which provided a useful comparison benchmark..."
Click here to read my full-monty report (goes to a new Burgundy page in the "more wines words" section, where you'll find more links, words and wines to/on/from Burgundy). Featuring these top estates and wineries: Servin, Pascal Bouchard, La Chablisienne, Jean Collet, Drouhin Vaudon, Nathalie & Gilles Fèvre, William Fèvre, Laroche, Long Depaquit / Albert Bichot, Viviers, Malandes, Louis Moreau, Simonnet-Febvre, Gérard Tremblay...

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Header image: Château de Flandry, Limoux, Languedoc. Background: Vineyard near Terrats in Les Aspres, Roussillon.