Category Archives: France

Domaine Pierre Amiot et Fils Grand Cru Clos de la Roche 2010

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Opening bottles too soon was a bit of a theme this past weekend, and with this Burgundy I bring you the second of three tales of vinfanticide (the third bottle was a 2010 Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay — talk about tight). Unlike the Prüm I wrote about a couple of days ago, though, this opened up relatively quickly and provided more immediate drinking pleasure.

On opening, a high toned splat of a wine, with gorgeously specific savoury aromas of beetroot and flowers mixing with a streak of minerality and a good deal of oak. With a bit of air, this opens out somewhat but the wine’s character is fundamentally fine and light.

Structurally, this was much too firm initially, a hard palate structure giving admirable drive but obscuring some flavours. As with the nose, though, this opened up after half an hour or so of swirling, shedding its acidic stridency and softening to reveal a sophisticated, luscious mouthfeel. While it’s not a wine to convert lovers of McLaren Vale Shiraz to Pinot, this strikes me as everything that’s good about the grape in its most classical expression – light, intense, precise, focused. Everything’s here and I suspect it will be a thing of beauty in a few years’ time.

If drinking now, be patient. It’s worth a bit of glass time.

Domaine Piere Amiot et Fils
Price: $130
Closure: Cork
Source: Retail

Domaine Jean-Claude Bachelet et Fils Bourgogne Rouge 2010

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I’m getting old.

The last time I tasted this label was a few years ago when the 2005 was current. Re-reading my earlier note, much might apply to this wine save for a firmer acid structure, not surprising considering vintage conditions. The same light (and quite pleasing) colour, slightly confected red fruits and general air of simplicity. There are a few savoury angles too — a hint of undergrowth, some snapped twig, the suggestion of a child running through a favourite patch of forest — that add interest, although one would never accuse this wine of being overly complex.

This wine begs the question: what’s the point? As an Australian drinker with access to — at last — a selection of great local Pinots at reasonable prices, what’s the value of a cheap Burgundy that isn’t any great shakes in the distinctiveness department? I suppose this proves, at the very least, that small French producers can make technically sound wines at a reasonable price point, which hasn’t always been something to be taken for granted. Otherwise, as pleasant as this is, it lacks dimensions of character and intensity that might elevate it beyond an easy weeknight drink.

Domaine Jean-Claude Bachelet et Fils
Price: $A23
Closure: Cork
Source: Retail

Marc Brédif Vouvray 1985

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There are many ways one might frame a definition of “good friends.” For now, though, my working formula is:

People who save an evening from your bottles of disappointing white Burgundy and corked biodynamic Pinot Noir with a superb aged Vouvray and a few luscious, late-night glasses of Penfolds Grandfather Port.

Indeed, dinner yesterday was bookended by beautiful wines offered by my companions, the first of which I shall discuss in a moment.

To digress briefly, wine can be the most frustrating of things, and it sometimes feels as though those frustrations come in multiples. I rocked up to dinner with a couple of bottles that promised much pleasure: a 2010 Alain Chavy Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles — not previously tasted, but for which I had high hopes considering Chavy’s powerful ’10 Puligny-Montrachet Folatières and St Aubin En Remilly bottlings — and the ’09 Hochkirch Maximus, enjoyed several times previously.

The Chavy was only okay; surprisingly for a 2010 Burgundy, it’s quite blowsy through the mid-palate, its evident complexity of flavour undermined by indistinct articulation and a general sense of blurriness. The Hochkirch would have been delicious, I’m sure, were it not for a massive dose of 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (thanks, cork). And that was pretty much that.

Perhaps the disappointment wouldn’t have been so great had the first wine, this old Brédif, been less enjoyable. There’s something about old white wines in particular that I find fascinating and, in a way, more remarkable than old reds, because they are so unlikely. Chenin Blanc gives great acid, sure, but there’s an obviousness to many red wines, structurally, that makes ageability a foregone conclusion. By contrast, when a white wine grows old with grace, I can’t help but marvel a little at how it’s happened.

This is, surely, at its peak. There are subtle signs of oxidation now — a hint of flor sherry, some aldehydic nuttiness — that overlay core notes of baked apple pie and spice, creating a wonderfully complex flavour profile that moves between these primary and tertiary notes without skipping a beat. Indeed, this kept changing over the hour or so we tasted, with some luscious dried fruit notes creeping in towards the end. It’s in the mouth, though, where this truly comes alive. An off-dry style, this still has the acid structure to create brisk movement down the line and counterbalance a lovely swell of residual sugar through the after palate. Flavours range from savoury to sweet, giving some angularity to the wine but never robbing it of its comfort. Texturally, there are several dimensions, a slippery, waxy mouthfeel giving way to raspier textures through the finish. And what a finish; exceptionally long by any measure.

A truly delicious wine.

Marc Brédif
Price: N/A
Closure: Cork
Source: Gift

Domaine Alain Chavy Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly 2010

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I’ve enjoyed many Alain Chavy wines over the years and value this producer for the straightforwardness of his wines. These are vins de terroir par excellence, quite reasonably priced to boot. His 1er Cru Puligny-Montrachets are especially fine, but I’ve enjoyed this wine, from the lesser village of Saint-Aubin, over several vintages, and this edition is one of the most pleasurable.

Forthright aromas of hessian, sulfur, white stonefruit and flint emerge immediately from the glass, even when served quite cold. There’s a good deal of complexity, in fact, which isn’t immediately evident because the fruit seems so up-front and voluptuous at first. With time, it turns increasingly savoury, a reductive influence becoming more prominent as fruit tightens into the grapefruit spectrum.

On entry, what’s immediately striking is the power and impact of the wine’s fruit. I’ve noticed quite a few 2010 white Burgundies from Puligny-Montrachet and surrounds share this aggressiveness, which seems to stem not only from solid intensity but also from firm acid. Perhaps there’s a tendency towards shoutiness, but I value the muscularity on show and feel it may achieve better balance with some time in bottle. The mid-palate is quite minerally, though with plenty of fruit too, and leads to an after palate of powdery texture and taut flavour. Quite long.

While it may lack the subtlety and nuance of a really fine white Burgundy, this is a lot of wine for the money. There’s plenty here to enjoy.

Domaine Alain Chavy
Price: $A50
Closure: Cork
Source: Retail

Domaine Denis Mortet Marsannay Les Longeroies 2009

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From the “value” village of Marsannay comes this lieu-dit by Gevrey Chambertin-based producer Denis Mortet. It was recommended to me and my dining companion by the affable Alan Hunter at E’cco Bistro. I probably would have glanced past this on the list, but Alan’s recommendation was spot on; this is why we love good sommeliers.

The wine itself is tremendously honest and full of flavour. Aromatically, it begins with rustic spice and undergrowth, joined quickly by some bright fruit notes, mostly in the red berry spectrum. I like the sinewy character of the aroma; it’s quite complex, with plenty going on, but there’s always room to move between notes, such that it never smells overwhelming.

In the mouth, a palate structure that complements its flavour profile perfectly. Here continues a run of berry fruit and lignified twigs, supported by a frame of tannin that feels expansive and textural. Although only medium bodied, the wine’s architecture is spacious and allows flavours to articulate cleanly on the palate. The overall impression is of a certain rusticity, which isn’t code for anything unpleasant, more a reflection of the wine’s straightforward character and lack of artifice.

Enjoyed this one a lot.

Domaine Denis Mortet
Price: $A200 (wine list)
Closure: Cork
Source: Retail

Georges Vigouroux Les Comtes Cahors Malbec 2011

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I’m not quite sure what I’m expecting from these inexpensive supermarket-sourced wines, but perhaps it shouldn’t be a complete surprise when I come away disappointed. To the extent that I opened this bottle with any sense of hope at all, it quickly diminished on seeing stubby plastic cork. Not a good start.

I’m not sure what to prefer: a cheap Madiran with a semblance of regionality but little sensual satisfaction, or this, a much more generous wine whose style, unfortunately, tends towards the generic. On pouring, it certainly looks the goods, showing a very dark hue and significant density of colour. Aromatically, my first impression is of sweet, vanilla oak that smothers aromas of sweet red fruit. The most obvious oak aromas blow off, though, and the wine ends up quite well balanced, if simple and a bit characterless.

Sweet red fruit is the name of the game on the palate and, for those who enjoy the Malbec flavour profile, this is an inexpensive way to get a fix. It’s medium bodied with a flash of fruit on the mid-palate and a generally disjointed set of components. A bit of acid here, some oak there, a tap of tannin brining up the rear. Very clean and bright, overall.

Not a bad weekday red for distracted drinkers.

Georges Vigouroux
Price: £8.99
Closure: Synthetic cork
Source: Retail

Vignobles de Gascogne Madiran Reserve des Tuguets 2010

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As much as I adore aromatic white wines and light, elegant reds, after several weeks in Germany I have developed unhealthily deep cravings for something big, tannic and slutty. I’m in the UK right now, so my usual game of restricting myself to supermarket wine holds. A recent visit to a Tesco the size of a small village resulted in this, a Madiran with some Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc in addition to the usual Tannat. Surely a combination to salve some of my tannin withdrawl.

And yes, it’s reasonably tannic. It’s also, initially, pretty mean, showing little lusciousness of fruit and, in its place, a bloody flavour profile that’s not metallic so much as sinewy and spare. There are big holes in the aroma and flavour of this wine, holes that are are partially addressed with air, but it remains a fundamentally lean, savoury wine even through extended tasting. To the extent there is overt fruit character, it’s bright and red, with some sweetness but little weight. Structure is more gratifying, with tannins that are well textured and acid that keeps things fleet. Yet I can’t love the balance of this wine, and the whole is akin to someone painfully skinny who isn’t, alas, especially handsome either.

At Tesco, I also purchased a Cahors I hope will provide more satisfaction.

Vignobles de Gascogne
Price: £8.99
Closure: Cork
Source: Retail

Bouchard Père et Fils Beaune Grèves 1er Cru Vigne de l’Enfant Jésus 2010

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I’m sitting down to a few exciting wines tonight, of which this is one. I was a little concerned about its youth but this is an immediately expressive, enticing wine.

Line and length; this has, above all else, tremendous palate structure and persistence. I often feel flavours are privileged in wine appreciation above other, arguably more important, aspects of wine like texture and architecture — those elements that give a wine its narrative. This has plenty of complexity within its savoury flavour profile: cherries, exotic spices, undergrowth, roasted meat. There’s also a decent whack of toasted oak to help things along, and I find the oak especially well matched to the fruit flavours here.

Yet the main events here are mouthfeel and line, one modulating through a series of textural moments as the other ushers each flavour and texture element onto the tongue. This is fascinating to taste because it’s so sinewy and light in the mouth, yet with such drive and length, and such variation too. It’s far from delicate — in fact, its flavours are quite masculine — but there’s real refinement and detail too.

An excellent Burgundy.

Bouchard Père et Fils
Price: $US100
Closure: Cork
Source: Retail

Louis Moreau Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 2010

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With so many producers in Australia ostensibly chasing Chablis-esque expressions of Chardonnay, it’s refreshing to go back to the source. Although a tight, linear wine, this is far from lacking in fruit and provides a nice lesson in what makes Chablis such a refreshing style.

The nose shows some free sulfur at first; as this blows off, sulfide characters and floral aromatics dominate, anchored by bassier notes of white peach. High and low, then, with a definite fleshiness on the aroma, promising a taut but generous palate. There’s a precision to the aroma that I particularly appreciate, each component dovetailing neatly as it gives way to the next. It’s cool, even slightly dispassionate, perhaps a wine for a particularly analytical mood.

The palate is linear and quite steely, with an initially dominant saline note that gives way to fruit, herbs and flowers. There’s a subtle thread of much riper fruit, almost raisin-like in character, that is unexpected. I like the weight and flesh this gives, but the flavour itself is one I question. A keen thrust of acid drives the wine fairly hard, with chalky texture descending on the after palate. This is all precisely put together, the flavours varied, structure fresh and texture just so.

Louis Moreau
Price: $NA
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Gift

Tesco Finest Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2011

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Marketed as part of Tesco’s Finest range, this sits at the upper end of what I’ve seen on the supermarket shelves here in the UK. The embossed bottle certainly looks the part, although for some (no doubt parochial on my part) reason it remains disconcerting to see supermarket own-brand wines. This was in fact produced by Les Vins Skalli.

The nose is quite pretty, showing clean red fruits, edging towards but not becoming confected in character, along with a bit of darker spice and even a hint of meatiness. It is very fresh smelling and well balanced, but lacks the sort of richness one might expect.

The palate highlights this wine’s lack of stuffing. There are more clean red fruits, a bit simple, surrounded by a framework of spice and vegetation. Palate weight is light to medium bodied, and the wine seems to lack texture, gliding across the tongue and not seeing fit to leave much of a trace either in mouthfeel or indeed persistence of flavour. What’s here is clean and correct, there’s just not enough of it.

Tesco Finest (but really Les Vins Skalli)
Price: £14.99
Closure: Cork
Source: Retail