Jean-Marc Millot 2009

Next up was the modest and talented Jean-Marc Millot. Except that he wasn’t there – he was in the far East showing his wines. It’s a reminder of the growing interest in Burgundy and the very finite volumes available. If the 20,000+ cases of Ch. Lafite produced every year can cause a scramble by the Chinese, what about 200 cases of a top Clos Vougeot? I fear it’s only a matter of time…

We were met by Jean-Marc’s doppelganger assistant, Brice. We assumed it must be his son, but he smiled politely (having obviously been asked many times) and said no.

Jean-Marc is another rising star in the Cotes de Nuits. Over the 8 years that we have been working with him, his wines have steadily improved (although they were very good back in 2002) and his confidence has increased hugely - he even has a silly ringtone on his phone now! The house style here is to exhibit more savoury, open-knit fruit characteristics (different to the “pure” Mugneret fruit). The results are wines that are very friendly in youth, and that then develop good tertiary flavour characteristics in the medium term. They are wines of pleasure.

The Cotes du Nuits Villages is always a great bargain. The 2009 barrel sample had a lovely floral nose escaping from a core of sweet, savoury fruit. On the palate, the smooth, but firm, tannins were there to give it backbone and structure. The phrase “raspberry yoghurt” came from Miro and encapsulated the combination of sweetish style fruit with creamy complexity. His Vosne Romanee 2009 had more cloves and spices on the nose and plenty of violet-infused fruits on the palate – a pleasure to taste. The Vosne 1er Cru Suchots is always one of the most floral on the nose, with herbs and white pepper. It was dark, rich with great length.

Jean-Marc owns a largish chunk of vines in Echezeaux (itself a large appellation) and produces (by Burgundian standards) good volumes at a reasonable price. The barrel sample was very open on the nose – very flattering – but with a meaty, chewy, more complex palate that was definitely more blackberry fruit that red fruit. Even smoky bacon came to mind – the meat, not the fries.

In the same open style, his Clos Vougeot Grand Cru 2009 had a rich, toasty nose – I called it “friendly” which is unusual for a Clos Vougeot at this stage of evolution – and it had ripe almost sweet-cherry-style fruit and an overall creaminess thanks to the new oak. Very good – and just a touch over 13.5% alcohol which was surprising given the “warmth” and richness of the sample.

Overall, a very impressive, lovely set of wines.

What I Read When....

.......I’m supposed to writing our Blog! Well, it’s always very tempting, and of course interesting, to read other people’s Blogs. Generally the most intresting and opinionated are written by people to who don’t have anything to sell!

One that has become a real must read is David Strange’s “The Elitist Review”. It can be a bit jaw-dropping (both good and bad) at times, but I wish I could write like that man! He doesn’t mince his words. It’s not just all about wine……or food. There was the very real – and very distressing - incident over Christmas where David posted his own goodbye message on his Blog….

http://elitistreview.com/2010/12/25/now-it-is-time-to-say-good-night/

Most of us try and write generally positive things about wine – I suppose because we are in the business of selling it. David is good at this aspect – indeed, stonkingly good (as he might say) – but he excels at the absolute and total destruction of a producer or a particular wine. Consider his recent profile of Northern Rhone wines – the positive stuff is great – but the negative stuff halfway through is…. well, pretty negative – to say the least!

http://elitistreview.com/2011/01/08/a-glance-at-the-northern-rhones-best-producers/

And there was his review of a high scoring Australian “fruit bomb”…now, I don’t think you’ll see this in the Irish Times….

http://elitistreview.com/2008/09/10/i-was-tricked-i-tell-you-tricked/

And just in case you messed up on the Turkey at Christmas, this particular favourite Blog will sort you out for next year…

http://www.cookingissues.com/2009/11/25/turkey-time-part-3-how-to-cook-it/

Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg 2009

When we started working with the “Three Ladies” in 2001, the estate rather confusingly went under two names: Domaine Mugneret-Gibourg and Domaine Georges Mugneret – a result of the vagaries of French inheritance law. About two years ago they consolidated everything into Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg – at least I think so – I’m possibly still confused!

Whatever they’re technically called, this by far our favourite Domaine to visit every year. Combine absolutely stunning wines with really nice people and good conversation and it’s a winner every time. Both Marie-Andrée and Marie-Christine (sisters) share the duties, watched carefully by their formidable mother, Jacqueline. There is a wonderful harmony and equilibrium to the wines and they have become a reference point for top-class red Burgundy.

Marie-Andree first updated us a bit on the recently completed 2010 vintage – generally good quality, but overall volumes down by about 30%. Not such good news as the wines are already on strict allocation to us, but at least there is the slightly more plentiful 2009 harvest first.

For 2009, they were really happy with everything – most of the wines have a PH of around 3.4 and there’s a great balance between tannins and acidity. Alcohols have been well nurtured and range from 12.5% to 13.5% with well defined ripeness backed by dense structure.

At this address, even the “basic” Bourgogne is a treat. The 2009 had the hallmark “fresh” fruit and a lovely balanced finish. The 2009 Vosne Romanee had lifted spices and flowers on the nose, but good concentration and depth of fruit on the palate. The Nuits 1er Cru Chaignots was denser and chunkier with more black-fruit character and a hint of chalkiness – and great concentration. The Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru Feussellotes is my favourite wine every vintage – and the 2009 didn’t disappoint. It was understandably closed and so didn’t reveal much of the classic elegant “feminine” style it normally exhibits, but showed great elegance and a long, long finish. In contrast, the Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru 2009 (younger vines planted in their plot of Ruchottes Chambertin) was meatier and smokier with savoury characteristics and a hint of cloves. A recent bottle of the 2002 we had back in Ireland was stunning.

We then dived headlong into the Grand Crus – the Echezeaux was classically dense, but in terms of “weight” vis-à-vis other examples, it had suppleness and subtlety that clearly hallmark it in a “refined” category. The Ruchottes Chambertin Vieilles Vignes was back to a meatier, more roasted style of fruit and minerals at the back of the mix. Amazing length. Finally, the Clos Vougeot was much more reserved, with a hint of spices and very fine tannins hidden below a thick core of black fruits.

Across the range, not one of the wines is aged in 100% new oak – they range from 30% to 70% - and again (in my opinion at least) this adds to the purity of fruit. Given our long discussions about acidity with the producers in the Cotes de Beaune, the subject came up again, but in the context of red wines. Freshness is definitely a hallmark of the Mugneret wines, and early harvesting also keeps alcohol levels down. But there’s a fascinating twist. Even in a “ripe” vintage like 2009, they will usually chaptalise – i.e. add sugar! Marie-Andree was so animated and excited when describing the process, you could see it’s something they consider an integral (and very positive) part of the process. Almost the equivalent of cooking – adding that last luxurious bit of sugar to a jam mix of fresh fruit and stirring the warm, bubbling pot. They will add a hint of sugar to the must prior to fermentation to bring the alcohol level up by a maximum of 0.5% - not because they necessarily need to bring up the alcohol, but because it adds extra complexity and a hint of a unique flavour to the wine. Listening to her describe the amazing aroma of warm, almost bubbling, grape must and stirring in the sugar slowly was wonderful.

Real proof that preconceived ideas about processes that are regularly chastised are often very wrong!

Anyway, back out into the rain…..!

Philippe Livera, Domaine des Tilleuls, 2009

Day Two of our trip and up and out early to the Cotes de Nuits. After the previous day of all whites, we were looking forward to some good, hearty reds - not only to seduce us with the charms of the 2009 vintage, but also to take the chill of the decidedly miserable weather that had descended on the region.

With windscreen wipers going at full belt, we peered ahead through the gloom on our way to Gevrey Chambertin. We started working with the Liveras just over a year ago when we stumbled across the Gevrey Chambertin Clos Village 2007 – an amazing wine for the price – everything you could want in a classic Gevrey – meaty, savoury, ripe cherry-fruit and wonderfully textured.

But that was last year – this year it was the 2009’s that we would focus our attention on. Young Damien Livera, who has been making the wines for the past five years, met us at the cellar. In total, the Domaine farms 8.5 hectares, so is relatively large. On the way into the cellar, we passed a case of what looked like a still Rosé - it’s unusual to see a still Rose and Damien offered us a taste – surprisingly rich, but showing a little heat for the vintage.

In most cases, the grapes are de-stemmed and then have a cold maceration for about a week prior to alcoholic fermentation. This should result in quite “pure” and forward fruit flavours with elegant violet overtones. The 2009 Bourgogne, aged in 4 year-old barrels was good, but a little brawny. The 2009 Cotes de Nuits Villages was crunchy and fresh – in part as the malolactic fermentation hadn’t finished -over a year later! Damien claims to prefer a long malo – but heading into a long, cold winter, I’d be a bit worried about when it might actually finish!

The Gevrey Chambertin “Clos Village” was the first to offer some lovely floral fruit and dense, supple fruit. It is made from 60-70 year old vines in a small walled “Clos” literally just outside the cellar offering a yield of about 45 hl/ha (10,000 vines per hectare). This reassured us all and things looked up from then on. The Chapelle Chambertin Grand Cru – a tiny amount produced and aged in 100% new oak – was super-concentrated and offered great promise down the road. It also showed a hint of one of the challenges that 2009 presented – higher alcohol from higher sugars – in this case a fairly hefty 14.5%.

On the way out, Damien offered us a re-taste of the original 2007 Gevrey Clos Village – and it was as lovely as ever. We asked if he had any more – he did – and we immediately confirmed another small parcel! So much for the 2009’s – we’ll be back for them at another point!

Blind leading the blind....

Before moving on to the 2009 red Burgundies, a brief interval to highlight a “humble” wine punching well above its weight.

Every month or two Sarah and Davide of the very excellent Sage Restaurant (http://www.sagewestport.ie/) hold a food and wine evening – the last few came under the heading “Autumn Feasts” – plenty of good food, good wine, good fun – and a good fixed price. We rummage through the cellar for the wines and between us all, we try and come up with a different theme for each get-together. They are normally sold out in advance, so there’s a good fun, slightly wild atmosphere on the night!

A few weeks back we had a special Christmas evening. Sarah and Davide had just been informed of a very prestigious award – which they can’t say anything about until January – so we all decided to make a pretty special evening of it. Davide rustled up a menu of four amazing courses and we decided to try a rather unusual twist on the red wines. We selected 24 different red wines that would range in price from €20 to €85 on a restaurant list and then ran out and bought as much tin foil as possible – big demand just before Christmas for tin foil – and wrapped each of the bottles to hide their identity. Each pair of guests then chose a number from 1 – 24 and this corresponded to their “mystery” wine that was then put on the table for them to enjoy. Of course, if the next table’s wine seemed to be nicer, then the challenge for the guests was to try and convince them to swap. If a guest really objected to the wine they had received, then they could request a random replacement bottle – but again unaware as to what it might be.

During the meal, we wandered around (and of course ate and drank!) and asked guests to guess three general things about the wine they had: country, age and price they would be happy to pay in a restaurant.

As the various dishes were served, bottles were passed over heads and opinions exchanged. Semi-controlled mayhem (if there is such a thing!) ensued. Mature Aussies, Chateauneufs, Bordeaux and Burgundies all did the rounds. Two bottles from the initial bunch were rejected by their original recipients – only to find love from different diners! At the end of the evening, the “results” of the blind bottles were announced – to a raucous reception. In general, most wines were pegged around their potential list prices. A couple of the more expensive wines didn't fare so well, with one diner describing an €85 Beaune 1er Cru as “dogs pee” - he’s a vet, so he should know!

The star of the night turned out to be a wine of more humble origin – a very popular “House” red we import from Palo Masi in Tuscany that normally lists for around €20 in restaurants - Poggerissi Rosso. One guest – who had rejected an earlier bottle and would happily describe themselves as a wine aficionado, confidently pegged the Poggerissi as a French red that they would happily pay €65 for! Another said they would pay €45, and a third (there were only 3 bottles of it included) said €30. Not bad!

Just shows that blind tasting can be very levelling – and fun!

Domaine Buisson-Charles 2009

Next it was off to meet with Patrick Essa at his father-in-law’s Domaine of Buisson-Charles. Patrick has been making the wines here since 1981 and has his own very clear ideas about the style he seeks to achieve. He eschews maceration, harvests relatively early (started on 12th September for the 2009’s), never seeks more than 13 per cent alcohol and uses 30% new oak. They are also very reasonably priced.

I had tasted here a few years previously and the wines had both interested and, to be honest, confused me slightly. The barrel samples tended to exhibit pretty firm acidity and were what I would describe as a “very traditional” style – and yet any older bottles opened displayed wonderful freshness and great complexity – almost (and I know, it does sound strange) with aged Chenin Blanc-like complexity.

And so it was also this time. I was back in translation mode, so balancing a notebook, glass and dividing the brain between olfactory and translatory senses. Easy! As we tasted the barrel samples, the ripeness of the 2009 vintage was quite evident, although backed by pretty firm acidity. There was some “heat” in a couple of them – but the challenge (based on previous experiences) was trying to determine how they might evolve. The Meursault “Tessons” and the 1er Cru “le Cras” were both impressive and my favourites of the various samples tasted.

Patrick also produces some very tasty reds – a lovely rich and yet floral Pommard villages and then a 1er Cru “Santenots” from Volnay. My preference was for the Pommard.

To finish off, Patrick offered to open an older “mystery” bottle of Meursault Villages for us to guess the vintage. Unfortunately the first bottle he tried had a soft cork which disappeared back into the bottle, but undeterred he headed off into the dark cellar to return with one more. I guessed around the 2001 mark – about 10 years old. To all of our surprise it turned out to be a 1981 – almost 30 years old. It had amazing freshness and was very impressive. Patrick was on a roll at this stage, so next up was a 2005 Meursault 1er Cru Charmes – except that it had already been open for 10 days! Again, very impressive.

And therein lies the challenge with wines like these. The tasting re-confirmed my original opinion that these wines can be challenging in their youth – I hesitate to use the phrase “old fashioned” as I don’t think Patrick’s approach is in any way outdated. But he makes wines for the long haul – and again I use the example of an aged Chenin-blanc – that can take a few years to shed their austerity – but undoubtedly blossom into beautiful examples of wonderful Meursaults.

Pierre-Yves Colin Morey 2009

This must be the most drawn-out Burgundy report ever. Since the last report on Didier and Genevieve’s wines about four weeks ago, we’ve had the IMF bail-out, a Budget, the country skidding to a halt, and X-Factor winner and now the country running out of water….not bad for four weeks!

But back in the recent mists of time, Miro, Samo, Sinead and I were trundling towards Chassagne Montrachet. Prior to departing Ireland I had contacted a couple of new producers about visits to taste with a view to working with them. Unfortunately DRC said no (in fairness, Aubert de Villaine was away), but Pierre-Yves and I had exchanged emails and an appointment had been set. I had come across his name a number of times and the feedback was always universally positive. It was shaping up to be a good tasting.

The first thing to remember is that there are lots of Colins around Chassagne and nearby St. Aubin. Pierre-Yves is the son of the well known Marc Colin and his wife, Caroline, is the daughter of the local Chassagne Producer, Jean-Marc Morey. Pierre-Yves worked with his father from 2001 to 2005 – having previously done stints with other producers including Chalk Hill (California), Wolf Blass (Australia), Vacheron (Sancerre) & Ferraton in the Rhone Valley. However in 2005 he wanted more flexibility to start implementing his own ideas about viticulture and vinification and his father split the Domaine into four equal parts. Pierre-Yves acquired 4 hectares of various vineyards and 2006 was his first truly independent vintage under the Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey label.

Since then his star has risen rapidly. Although friendships don’t necessarily guarantee good wines, being able to call on Jean-Francois Coche Dury certainly isn’t a hindrance and Roulot is a pretty good role model to follow! Today he produces between 60,000 and 70,000 bottles annually and supplements his own vineyard holdings by buying in about 30% of his annual production in grapes – paying top prices for top quality material. He doesn’t differentiate between the two in terms of labelling – all are given the same careful elevage – and many of the different cuvees are only made in tiny quantities – for example only around 60 cases of Meursault Perrieres each year. The range is extensive – from a delicious St. Aubin “le Blanc” all the way to Corton-Charlemagne and both Batard and Chevalier-Montrachet. A nice cellar to spend a bit of time in!

Of course, we started by calling to the wrong address – it was a Colin, but not the right one! With the sleepy hamlet of Chassagne watching us four stragglers wandering around in the rain, we made our way to the correct address where Pierre-Yves welcomed us. The first bit of good news is that he has excellent English – so I could take a break from my translation duties and I could give full attention to the wines. And they certainly deserved attention.

From the very first taste of the 2009 St. Aubin les Creaux it was clear that this was going to be a great tasting. The common theme among all the wines was that of freshness combined with a wonderful precision. And the acidity? Well, for the first time this trip, the acidities seemed in perfect balance with the fruit. This set off an interesting discussion about the differences between “ripe” acidity and “unripe” acidity. Interestingly, Pierre-Yves tends to harvest a little earlier than others – and according to him, some others would say that this leads to an elevated sense of acidity in his wines. Certainly not to us – and that was the paradox – a slightly earlier harvest for purer, fresher fruit with good sugars produced a much more elegant wine than one with later harvested grapes at higher sugars that had then possibly been compromised by a different producer having to acidify. The St. Aubin les Combes was a little more precise and defined than the Creaux with nice minerality. It is on the Chassagne side of St. Aubin and certainly exhibits similar characteristics. Making our way through the St. Aubin 1er Crus of Chattenieres (very flinty, smoky and richer on the palate) and Remilly (on Puligny side and quite closed and reserved) we came across the St. Aubin 1er Cru of Champlots. Also on the Puligny side, this had amazing minerality intertwined with ripe, intense citrus fruits and that holy grail of natural “ripe” acidity.

In fact, all of the wines were outstanding examples of balanced and harmonious wines. It’s easy to make a “flashy” wine, but these were the opposite and therefore tended to catch us unawares with their elegant intensity and pure fruits. In the vineyards there is no stripping away of excess foliage during the growing season and no green harvest. It’s all down to the work put in at pruning in early Spring – only 4-5 buds per speron giving low (but not too low) yields that the vine can mature and ripen effectively without undue stress. All the St. Aubins are bottled after one year to maximise freshness, and the Premier and Grand Crus after 18 months. In recent years, Pierre-Yves has become a convert to the larger 350 litre barrels – the larger capacity reduces the overall wine-to-oak ratio and only 25% of them are new. Again, this subtlety is fully reflected in the purity of the wines. He does no battonage (stirring the juice whilst on its lees) – another “technique” that manifests itself in very precise wines.

We enjoyed a stunning (and relatively speaking “lowly”) Village Chassagne-Montrachet from the lieu-dit “Ancienierres” – lots of ripe lime fruits from 85 year old vines, and wonderfully balanced acidity on the finish. The Chassagne “Caillerets” was richer and more creamy – and will need more time to evolve. The Meursault 1er Cru Perrieres continued the theme with slightly denser fruit structure typical of Meursault and amazing length. Finally the Chevalier Montrachet Grand Cru provided all sorts of wonderful contradictions as often a Grand Cru does – reserved on the nose, but searing intensity and rich complexity on the palate rounded (and quite literally “rounded”) out with the, by now familiar, ripe acids!

All in all, a hugely impressive range of barrel samples and a very reassuring tasting in the context of concerns about the general ripeness of the 2009 vintage for the whites. We have been lucky enough to secure an allocation of the 2009’s and will be offering them in our Burgundy 2009 Pre-Arrival offer next February.