Domaine Bart Marsannay Les Champs Salomon 2006

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.

Quite soft on the palate and a little shy on entry. Perhaps because the acidity is approachable, there’s not a lot of impact at first, and the wine takes its time to build fruit weight and presence. Build it does, though; the middle palate is deeply generous and fruit-driven, showing a flavour profile composed mostly of ripe cherries and spice. I don’t know that there’s much complexity, but it’s terribly well balanced for immediate drinking and I like its relaxed personality. Tannins aren’t very fine but descend sweetly on the tongue, reinforcing the wine’s plushness. A nicely tart thread weaves its way into the after palate, and the whole resolves cleanly through a satisfying finish.

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.

I was almost reluctant to taste this wine, as I wasn’t sure how its relative cacophany of aromas might translate to the palate. Certainly, oak-driven spice continues as a key thread in the mouth. There’s so much more here, though. The attack is alive with fine, firm acidity that seems to jolt the tongue, only to be replaced in an instant by a more plush, fruit-driven impression. Indeed, detailed red fruit flavours begin to the caress the mouth most seductively, taking in the oak’s savouriness plus a general sense of detail and creating, from it all, a lushly feminine coherence. Fragrant vanilla overlays an after palate of clean red fruit and brambles, possibly some tobacco leaf, and ultra fine tannins that dry the edges of the tongue. Quite a long finish that suggests cherry liqueur in its concentration and smoothness.
This is quite a wine. Complex, shapely, fragrant. I can’t decide if the oak is too prominent; I do know that its character complements the fruit exceptionally well, even if balance is arguably compromised. It is drinking very well now.
Update: drinking well on evening two, oak stepping back into the overall shape of the wine. One criticism I might make is that the whole remains hazy and never quite resolves to the level of clarity I would ultimately like. Still, a delicious wine.

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.

Case in point: this wine versus its 2005 sibling. Admittedly, these are Borgogne-level wines where vintage variation may not be instructive in terms of individual sites but, nonetheless, between these wines there are points of similarity and difference that make both worth tasting.

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

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.