On reflection, I was rather too dismissive of this wine on first tasting for, although I clearly enjoyed it, I pegged it as a “drink now” wine, something it certainly was, but it’s now showing some bottle age to distinct advantage too. A wine not to be underestimated, then.

My earlier note stands, except now there’s both more volume and better integration. Any hint of restraint on the nose is gone; this is a minerally delight, complex and distinct and etched all at the same time. It’s still a lean wine in terms of its aroma profile, preferring angularity to flesh. There’s also a depth to it, in the way layers of glass can have depth as well as brilliance.

The palate remains powerful but has lost the boisterousness of three years ago that suggested a slight clumsiness of flow. This is now very much in the groove, with strong, clear melon fruit tumbling over firm acid and a range of savoury notes. The winemaking is here most evident, with a range of oak and lees derived notes, from oatmeal to cashews and more. The after palate fans out most pleasingly, and the finish is well extended.There’s no obvious bottle age here. The wine has simply relaxed and learned to express itself without angst, earning a sense of poise it lacked as a youngster.

Quite delicious.

Domaine Dublère
Price: $A63
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Retail

It’s new year’s eve and I’m cracking open the good stuff.

A striking mix of lean minerality, powerful citrus fruit and well-controlled winemaker input. The nose is reticent for now, allowing mere wisps of prickly slate, freshly cut pear, grapefruit rind and green nuts to escape its grasp. If drinking now, best not to serve it too cold; allow it to warm and release as much aroma as it is willing. I sense a slow strip tease, one that may unfold over several years and whose narrative will only resolve at some uncertain point in the future, if ever.

The palate confirms what the nose only hints at: this is a wine of confident power and effortless complexity. What’s immediately obvious is the sustained thrust of the fruit; it really explodes on entry and carries right through the finish. This is, however, a wine made in a restrained mould, so one doesn’t get slutty gobs of peachy fruit. Instead, there’s a crisp steel mineral line that underlines the whole, challenged and softened by citrus and white peach fruit that seems to float above the more angular flavour components, not exactly integrated but rather acting as counterpoint. This wine isn’t about harmony, but nor is it about noisy contrasts. It sits somewhere in between, each side of its character pulling and pushing the other, creating tensions right along the line and never letting go their grip of the drinker. In objective quality terms this wine has the stuff: intensity, structure, line. But it’s the aesthetics on show that fascinate me and that elevate this wine above others of a similar level of technical accomplishment.

A beautiful, challenging wine.

Domaine Alain Chavy
Price: $A78.50
Closure: Cork
Source: Retail

With Burgundy, it’s a truism that producers make all the difference. So, the same premier cru may vary wildly in reputation based on who has grown the grapes and made the wine. All of which seems sensible, until one places it on the context of terroir and the defining place Burgundy seems to hold in terms of this idea of wine. In the immortal words of Michael Veitch, there’s a lesson in that for all of us.

Domaine Alain Chavy
Price: $A81.40
Closure: Cork

The best thing I can say about this wine is that, alongside its many sensual charms, it prompted a conversation that ranged from the irony of Burgundian terroir to the application of Bloom’s The Anxiety of Influence to winemaking. Some people’s worst nightmare, no doubt, but Heaven to this particular wine tragic; I love wines that are larger than themselves.

Domaine Dublère
Price: $A90
Closure: Cork

Interestingly, this domaine is owned and run by an American, Blair Pethel. According to Ross Duke’s catalogue notes, Mr Pethel was formerly a journalist before turning his passion for wine into a career. None of this has anything to do with his wine (although it may explain the Stelvin cap); still, it’s always nice see someone follow their dreams.

Flashes of green in amongst light straw goodness. Lovely nose of choux pastry and minerals, with just a hint of lean stonefruit. It’s straightforward and extremely comforting at the same time, rich without heaviness. Very nice. The palate shows a level of intensity and drive that’s not evident from the aroma. It’s one of those wines that sneaks up on you; a slippery slidey mouthfeel and delicate entry lead to a mid-palate of considerable presence. To be sure, it’s not a knock ’em down sort of wine, but it rises above the relaxation suggested on the nose and attack. More stonefruit and funky minerality wash over the tongue here, along with a suggestion of vanilla essence. It’s not an elegant wine, but it’s generous and true, and deceptively complex too. Clean fruit on the after palate shows more citrus than anything else, adding a fresh lift to the wine, although it also loses density and hence impact. The satisfying finish displays butterscotch tendencies that outlive fruit flavours by some margin.

A drink-now white Burgundy of significant deliciousness.

Domaine Dublère
Price: $A63
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: November 2008

At $A55, this is the most expensive white Burgundy so far amongst the 2005s recently tasted by me on Full Pour, and approximately equivalent (with the dollar the way it is) in price to the Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard tasted by Chris the other day. Unlike that wine, this is classified as village-level. We’re still playing at the lower end of the price scale as far as these wines are concerned, but at twice the cost of some wines tasted earlier in this series, one could rightly expect a corresponding increase in quality.A fresh, relatively full nose of round citrus and melon fruit, and a hint of caramel. There are also powdery notes, part floral and part mineral, that add a whole layer of high toned complexity. It’s altogether very attractive, though tight and coiled too.  Entry is clean and crisp, with a lovely fresh mouthfeel and bright acidity counterbalanced by impressively intense fruit that builds towards the mid-palate. There are some subtle winemaker inputs here (a hint of butterscotch and spice) but it’s primarily a fruit-driven wine. The tasty fruit is all about grapefruity citrus flavour and, as the after palate begins, the fruit explodes out of its focused centre to coat the insides of the mouth with surprising, quite pleasing aggressiveness. The effect, combined with the wine’s acid structure, is mouthwatering. Nice focus through the finish.It’s a little austere at the moment, but this wine is clearly a good one, with a nice line through the palate and good fruit. I’d love to see this in a little while, when hopefully the acidity will have integrated somewhat and allowed the fruit to flow more liberally. Domaine Alain ChavyPrice: $A55Closure: CorkDate tasted: May 2008