Wednesday 30 March 2011

Bordeaux 2010 UGC week

Posted by Tom Jenkins, Bordeaux Buyer
It’s very nearly that time of year again – this weekend we’ll be packing our cords and Sensodyne and heading south to taste the latest barrel samples from Bordeaux. There are a few changes to the program: sadly, our annual cricket match against the Bordeaux XI has been cancelled, and following a request/demand from our Chairman – we will be turning our schedule on its head. We will be taking on the Right Bank first, followed by the Medoc. Hopefully the rest of the trade will stick to the conventional slog through the Left Bank on Monday and Tuesday and leave us to taste Pomerol and St Emilion in relative tranquillity...

We will cover more than 200 samples and visiting almost 50 Chateaux over the five days. @Justerinis and @BordeauxBuyer will both be blogging from the Espace (but not whilst at the wheel), and when the tastings have finished, we’ll be spending our evenings blogging and facebooking. So, whatever your choice of social media, you’ll be able to keep up to date with our progress and discover the highs and lows of this fascinating vintage.

Tuesday 29 March 2011

"Outstanding" wines from 2008 - The wines

Posted by Julian Campbell, Buyer
Chevillon, Robert

Nuits St.-Georges “Les Chaignots”: from a 1.5 ha parcel that blends 40+ and 60+ year old vines
A spicy and wonderfully complex nose of red berry liqueur, violets and earth notes, the latter of which continues onto the pure, refined and poised middle weight flavors that possess outstanding balance and excellent length. This is really quite lovely if entirely serious and I admire how fine the tannins are. Note that this will require at least a decade to be at its best. 91/100, drink from 2018+
12 x 75cl - £365/case in bond

Clair, Bruno

Savigny-lès-Beaune “La Dominode: from vines planted in 1902
A ripe and dense nose of high-toned red pinot fruit cut with ample amounts of plum, violets and Savigny-style earth that are very much in keeping with the rich, full, delicious and serious medium weight flavors that finish with fine intensity and plenty of sappy extract. The old vines and low yields are very much in evidence because in addition to the impressive intensity and sap, there is very good phenolic ripeness. 91/100, drink from 2016+
12 x 75cl - £360/case in bond

Gevrey-Chambertin “Les Cazetiers”: from 40+ year old vines
A classic Gevrey nose of superb complexity displays distinctly sauvage notes on the intensely earthy and underbrush-suffused red berry fruit aromas that also show a hint of crushed leaf character merge seamlessly into very rich and full-bodied flavors where the tannic spine is prominent and firm on the strikingly long finish. Though patience will certainly be required, there is enough extract present that this should not be unduly austere once it begins to mature though note that it is very austere and backward at present. 92/100, drink from 2020+
12 x 75cl - £645/case in bond

Gevrey-Chambertin “Clos St. Jacques”: from a 1 ha parcel of 40+ year old vines
An ultra elegant, cool, refined and layered nose of stone-infused red pinot fruit from crushed leaf aromas complements to perfection the textured, gorgeously detailed and driving middle weight flavors where the wonderfully persistent though presently austere and linear finish seems to be constructed over a firm base of minerality. Terrific. 93/100, drink from 2020+
12 x 75cl - £785/case in bond 6 x 150cl - £810/case in bond

Chambertin – Clos de Bèze: two-thirds of the vines were planted in 1912 and the remainder in 1973
Discreet wood influence surrounds the intensely spicy and earthy nose that is at once elegant yet animale and this sauvage character extends to the very rich, powerful and well-muscled flavors that possess a seductively textured yet firm finish of imposing length. This is a big but focused Bèze that has already begun to shut down. Patience will be required. 94/100, drink from 2023+
12 x 75cl - £1095/case in bond 6 x 150cl - £1120/case in bond

Gouges, Henri

Nuits St.-Georges “Les St.-Georges”: 55+ year old vines
A more elegant but cool and reserved nose of exceptionally pure red berry and plum aromas also possesses notes of earth and underbrush that transfer seamlessly over to the rich, full and focused medium weight plus flavors that are actually quite supple and round but where this really distinguishes itself from the Vaucrains is the seriously impressive depth on the moderately austere and mildly herbal but hugely long finish. Like the Vaucrains, this will need plenty of time. 92/100, drink from 2018+
12 x 75cl - £695/case in bond 6 x 150cl - £710/case in bond

Grivot, Jean

Nuits St.-Georges “Les Boudots”: from 70+ year old vines
This is a classic Boudots with its half Vosne from half Nuits personality as the aromatic profile is both ripe and spicy, offering an herb-infused mix of red pinot and plum fruit notes that complement the rich, powerful and serious full-bodied flavors that possess solid dry extract level that confers a textured mouth feel by virtue of buffering the very firm and mouth coating tannins. This will require patience. 91/100, drink from 2018+
12 x 75cl - £625/case in bond 6 x 150cl - £645/case in bond

Clos de Vougeot: 50+ year old vines
A discreet touch of wood frames strikingly complex, ripe, fresh and quite densely fruited earth suffused red pinot aromas that lead to rich, full-bodied and textured flavors that exude an overt muscularity on the equally explosive finish where the integrated tannins confer a dusty mouth feel to the moderately austere finale. This is an extremely impressive effort but note that even more patience will be required. 94/100, drink from 2023+
12 x 75cl - £750/case in bond 6 x 150cl - £770/case in bond

Clos des Lambrays

Clos des Lambrays: produced from two large parcels of differing vine age - one that is approximately two-thirds of the blend and is now 45 years of age and a second, smaller group of vines that is approximately 20+ years of age)
The deeply pitched nose evidences obvious earth and floral influences on the mostly ripe red pinot fruit aromas that complement the rich, pure and detailed medium weight flavors that culminate in a dusty and mouth coating finish where the supporting tannins display a clear stem influence. This is an excellent wine though it may not be to everyone’s taste due to the obvious stem character. 93/100, drink from 2020+
12 x 75cl - £770/case in bond

Mortet, Denis

Gevrey-Chambertin “Lavaut St. Jacques”
An expressive nose of herbal, plum and wet stone merges seamlessly into fresh and pure flavors that are really quite fine detailed and supported by equally fine tannins on the classy, tension-filled and moderately austere finish. I quite like this but there is enough austerity present that it won’t be for everyone. 91/100, drink from 2016+
12 x 75cl - £810/case in bond 6 x 150cl - £830/case in bond

Clos de Vougeot: from a .32 ha parcel of vines just below those of Château de la Tour in the lower middle of the slope
This is the ripest of this group of ‘08s with a very earthy nose of plum, cassis and mocha hints that lead to reserved big-bodied flavors that enjoy excellent mid-palate concentration as there is ample extract that buffers the firmly tannic spine on the powerful and long finish. 92/100, drink from 2018+
6 x 150cl - £1670/case in bond

Mugnier, Jacques Frederic

Nuits St. Georges “Clos de la Maréchale”
A distinctly earthy and anise-infused mix of sour cherry and blue berry fruit that displays whiffs of crushed herbs and pepper merges into detailed, pure and almost delicate middle weight flavors that possess a sophisticated mouth feel and fine length. I should point out though that while there is no rusticity present, the very firm tannins are not as refined as those of the Fuées. 90/100, drink from 2016+
12 x 75cl - £410/case in bond 6 x 150cl - £420/case in bond

All notes are taken from Burghound issue 41 (2011).

Monday 28 March 2011

"Outstanding" wines from 2008 - The Allen Meadows verdict

Posted by Julian Campbell, Buyer

Allen Meadows, aka the `Burghound` is celebrating 10 years of his online publication devoted to all things pinot, particularly, as the title suggests, Burgundy. Amongst the furore of the 2009s, it would have been easy to miss Monsieur Meadows' reassessment of the 2008s. He doesn't have the temerity to suggest that they usurp their more precocious siblings, but as we've said all along, there are some excellent 2008s out there that may well prove more appealing to Burgundy connoisseurs than said `09s.

` The best '08s are fresh, intense, bright, vibrant and very terroir driven - in short it's a classic Burgundian vintage. And as I noted in my vintage analysis last year, it is on the whole more interesting than either 2007 or 2006. And in a few cases, the wines are truly brilliant so don't overlook them`.

Much like Bordeaux, 2008 is something of a miraculous vintage in the Cote d'Or. Initially all interest focussed on the exceptional Chablis and white wines from the Cote de Beaune, however, tastings defy the meteorologists' findings. 2008 was another sad summer in Burgundy. September once again proved pivotal to the success of the vintage. As in 2002, a cool North wind blew and brought dry sunny conditions. This combination concentrated the grapes and averted the risk of rot. As is customary with this region, it was not a simple case of thanking Mother Nature, there was much work required if vignerons were to produce great wines. Canopy management was key to allowing aeration and exposure to light, whilst de-selection played a vital role for quality focussed domaines.

2008 is not a uniform vintage; consistent Burgundy vintages are about as rare as hen's teeth. This is a good old fashioned, labour intensive vintage, where the good and the great shine and the others are best forgotten about. We have selected a few of our favourites that have achieved the coveted `outstanding` rating (90-94 points, ` worth a special effort to purchase and cellar and will provide memorable drinking experiences` - AM). We agree, the charm, focus and poise of these wines, combined with the noble flavours and exquisite balance make these worthy additions to the cellar.

For those more au fait with the American critics who cover Bordeaux, it is worth pointing out that Mr Meadows is notoriously mean with his scores. Only a very select group of wines ever breach the 95 point mark: La Romanee, La Tache, Romanee Conti and the top wines from Leroy, Rousseau and de Vogue occasionally manage this feat...