A dark, rich red with edges of purple. This wine’s nose is like a bunch of dark cherries being greedily, juicily eaten by a feral animal. There’s some stink that comes in waves, but the overriding impression is of fresh juice and tart, split berry skins. At the edges, an appealing, icing sugar-like powderiness that adds some detail and presence in the higher registers. This seems a darker wine overall, though not serious so much as rich and generous. I’m not sure the animalé is entirely terroir-driven; it smells as much of boiled eggs as it does wild Pinot. Certainly within tolerable limits.
Domaine Trapet Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin Ostréa 2006
From memory, a deeper aroma profile than its predecessor, and slightly
Domaine Anne et Hervé Sigaut Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Noirots 2006
Immediately, powerfully fragrant and spicy. There’s so much going on in the upper registers it takes a while for a thread of rich, red berry fruit to begin asserting itself. I’d say there’s a reasonable amount of oak here, very much of the savoury, spicy variety. This isn’t a wine that sneaks up. Rather, it is a bold challenge, throwing complexity and savouriness in your face by way of a rather frenetic aroma profile. Yet it remains nimble.
Domaine Anne et Hervé Sigaut
Price: $A69
Closure: Cork
Christophe Vaudoisey Bourgogne Rouge 2006
Vintage variation’s a bugger if what you want is a reliable quaff, but picking apart this variation can be highly educational if you’re an obsessive wine geek. A magnum of Bin 65 for those who guess into which camp I fall.
Domaine Jean-Claude Bachelet et Fils Bourgogne Rouge 2005
A flashback to 2005; Bourgogne Rouge from a producer based in Saint-Aubin.
This wine looks more like a robust rosé than full blooded Pinot Noir, which is really not such a bad thing when you consider many rosés are spectacular to look at. Vivid red, little density of colour, and a bit hazy to boot. Personally, I think it’s very pretty and inviting. The nose is straightforward, with sweet red fruits that verge on confectionary, plus a tidy thread of savoury funk that enhances overall pinosity. No complexity to speak of, but what’s there smells good.
In the mouth, very clean and slippery, coming across (to the Australian palate familiar with our large volume, low price wines) as rather industrial. Actually, there’s a decent amount of fresh acid, but no tannins of significance, signalling firm suitability for immediate consumption. The flavour profile is as simple, and as pleasing, as the aroma, with sweet and sour red fruits dominating a background of caramel and a bit of funky spice. At first, I thought it was a bit dilute, but there’s actually plenty of flavour, and a perceived tendency towards angularity derives more from profile than volume. Most of this wine is packed into the entry and middle palate, with a falloff as it moves through the back of the mouth and on to the finish.
Very quaffable and varietally recognisable without much distinctiveness. Burgundy’s answer to De Bortoli’s Windy Peak Pinot, perhaps?
Domaine Jean-Claude Bachelet et Fils
Price: $A25
Closure: Cork
Domaine Jean Tardy & Fils Fixin La Place 2006
A village wine from the northerly Fixin appellation of Burgundy. Fixin reds are usually described as sauvage, feral, rustic, and so on, but the producer here is based in Vosne-Romaneé, an appellation typically known for its silky, sophisticated style. I’m curious to observe what this combination means in the bottle.
Meerea Park Alexander Munro Shiraz 1999
Pure Hunter Valley nose. It’s fragrant, earthy, clean, showing hints of aged sweetness and even a bit of iron. I find the aroma very detailed, almost like a fabric that, upon looking more closely, keeps resolving to a finer and finer weave.
Domaine Bart Bourgogne Rouge 2006
d'Arenberg The Stump Jump Grenache Shiraz Mourvèdre 2007
Bright ruby colour, very clean and not very dense. Bang, we’re in commercial red territory with the nose, and I mean that as only half an insult. Let’s face it, there’s something comforting about the easygoing aroma profile of a well made, mainstream red wine. This one has pretty aromas of sweet red berry fruit, grilled meat, an interesting medicinal note and subdued brambles, along with a hint of gentle oak. Everything in its place.
Mount Pleasant Elizabeth Semillon 2004
It’s customary to bang on about this classic label in terms of its value for money. To be sure, I love that I’m able to purchase a wine held back from release until its point of maturation for under $A15 (and I paid somewhat over the odds,too). It’s especially ironic that McWilliams persists with its release strategy across the Mount Pleasant range when other labels, including some premiums, are pushed out earlier and earlier, very much to the detriment of the consumer who might like to obtain at least a little enjoyment soon after purchase.