2011 Simple Series VIII: Dinner with Mark Roberson of Goedhuis (again)

Mark was back in town again and we gathered for a midweek meal at one of our old haunts. He generously provided most of the wines and sprung for the meal when our backs were turned - hospitality from a guest in our own home turf. Great stuff though, we had a mixture of really interesting wines. While all were good, I thought the whites especially shone on the night. Wines were all blind as usual.

• 2008 Louis Carillon Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Champs Canet 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru

  What a great start to the night. The last time I encountered this wine was when it was still undergoing malolactic fermentation in Domaine Carillon's cellars back in 2009. It is a great testimony both the the Domaine's abilities as well as the wine's ability to transmit terroir that we finally (after a few guesses) narrowed this down correctly to a Carillon Champ Canet, and what a wonderful wine it was too - I remember thinking this was everything a top drawer 1er Cru should be. No pretensions at Grand Cru weight or depth, but just about as good as you would expect from a Puligny 1er. I must say that it was surprisingly forward for a 2008 though. Beautifully minerally on the nose, it started with lovely flint and granite scents floating around sweet appley notes ringed by a halo of daisy flowers. Very pretty. The palate was wonderfully drinkable too. Fresh, bright, almost zippy, yet the balance here was pitch perfect - never strident or tart, the acid played a perfect counterpoint to pure apple fruit notes touched with a bit of grapefruit and another ring of flowers. Plenty of depth, lots of presence, yet ever so elegant in typical Carillon style. The wine had a beautiful finish, stretching away in a classy slide of minerality. So defined, so focused, yet wonderfully drinkable. I loved this.

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• 1997 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru

  A wonderful Meursault. Indeed, on a night of many good wines, this shone as one of its brightest stars. - as good as the Carillon Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Champ Canet that preceded it was, this just put it in the shadows. We had another beautiful nose here. Rather richer than the Puligny, this showed touches of cream, mushrooms and ripe apple framed by a layer of yummy butterscotch scents that showed the wine's age, and then a lovely minerality that made me guess it as a Meursault Perrieres rather than a Genevrières. The pretty little flowery touches on the edges of the bouquet should have pointed me in the correct direction though, but this was all so well integrated that it was a bit difficult to pinpoint where exactly it came from. The palate was lovely. 1997 may not be the most heralded of white-wine vintages in the Cote d'Or, but this wine was showing very well at 14 years of age. It was perfectly balanced and wonderfully integrated, with little rivulets of acidity running through incredibly pure notes of ripe apple seasoned with drops of citrus lemon and drizzled with a touch more of the caramel and honey tones of a mature Burg. The wine was quite deep with some Meursault fleshiness to it, but one would not exactly call this rich - in fact, it carried its weight so effortlessly that it would almost have seemed lightweight for a Genevrières if not for the sneaky bit of persistence and presence that the wine carried. Zen-like, someone said - I thought that was a spot-on description. The finish was wonderful as well, it went on and on and on with bits of white fruit, chalk and flinty mineral, again showing in a gentle, subtle way rather than with in-your-face power. Lovely stuff - this bottle was emptied in record time. At a beautiful place now, though it could probably go on for some time yet.

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• 1971 Château Coutet Barsac 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

  The third of a trio of lovely white wines, this was a delicious Barsac at a very nice place. Starting out with a wonderful nose, it showed lushly attractive aromas of honey and molasses, pineapples and apricots and a sprinkle of sweet spices. How beautiful. The palate was drinking wonderfully for a wine approaching its 40th year. It still had lots of sweet, honeyed depth on the attack, yet it was never cloying, mellowed as it was by its age and balanced by dollops of fresh acidity. On the midpalate, there was a specturm of delicious flavours, from preserved plums to lemons and dried apricots, sweet, yet subtly savoury in a dried-fruited fashion as it wound its way into a wonderfully well-integrated finish. Really delicious and, quite as a bonus, a perfect pairing for a heavily flavoured Cantonese dish of stewed fish-head in claypot. A very nice wine indeed.

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• 2009 Domaine J. Chamonard Morgon Le Clos de Lys 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon

  Third bottle - this was popped and poured rather than decanted as the first two were, and it suffered for it. While still showing quite a bit of quality, easily matching a Faiveley 1er Cru Gevrey Cazetiers for example, this was came across a bit austere, especially when drank without food. It still had a very lively nose, with lifted violet notes mingling with high-toned aromas of red cherries and strawberries and a toss of earth - perfumed and lovely. The palate was fresh, detailed and focused, but also very structured with lots of fine tannins running through its sweet, lifted notes of cherries and red berries. The dark fruit on the midpalate ran on into a touch of spice, earth and powdery herbs at the finish. A bit tight, not the friendliest in spite of its ripe fruit, this needs a lot of time yet. A good wine, but not quite as impressive as the last two bottles I had.

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• 2006 Faiveley Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Cazetiers 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  Good, but way too young. For all the talk of the new Faiveley regime shaping younger-drinking wines, this was certainly not easy. In fact, it was very tight, almost surprisingly so for a usually fleshy and forward vintage like 2006. It sure was attractive though, showng sweetly fragrant notes of red cherries, raspberries, and strawberres dusted with spice, earth and mineral on the nose. Classic Gevrey, but a little less woody and earthy than a Faiveley from this terroir would have been say 10 vintages back. The palate was rather tighter than the nose though, a bit one-noted really, but it showed quite a bit of quality, with woody tannins wrapped around deep flavours of dark cherry, spice and mineral moving into a long, persistent finish. Very fine, well-made and well-balanced, but this was a bit difficult to enjoy when drank without food, but it did show much better with our peking duck dish. A nice wine, but it needs years in the bottle before reaching anywhere near peak.

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• 1977 Chateau Musar 92 Points

  Lebanon, Bekaa Valley

  Not everyone agreed, but I enjoyed this very much. It may not have been the strongest wine of the night, but as with so many aged Musars, well-made, yummy and just bursting with character. It started with a very Musar-ish nose with horse saddle and barnyardy notes floating alongside musky dried flower petal scents and a bass of dried cherry and red berry aromas. Intriguing. The palate was full of character too - dried cherries again, strawberries, a toss of earth, some preserved plums, a bit of earth, some spice. Very developed, full of little savoury tertiary notes, yet balanced and wonderfully integrated and wrapped in such velvety tannins. It did not quite have the profound depth of a great wine, but it was complex and delicious. A lovely treat.

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• 2008 Fratelli Revello Barbera d'Alba Ciabot du Re 90 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d'Alba

  An impressive Barbera. Still young, still primary and rather modern, but it was certainly a good wine. I liked the nose - a bit of oak, sweet blackberries, cherries, a waft of Italian herbs - nice, ripe, a bit modern, but very attractive. The palate carried on where the nose left off, with flavours of sweet berries and cherries wrapped in a bit of oak, a touch of sweet rosemary and then some spice at the finish. Again, fleshy, ripe, but it was very well-balanced and nicely structured with a touch of fine tannins. I enjoyed this, and it should be even better in a few years' time.

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• 1996 Château Pape Clément 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Very nice without quite being great, but I did think it was just a bit better than the last bottle I had. This had a glorious nose - sweet and fragrant, with subtle tobacco notes, sweet spices, plums and dark cherries seasoned with toasty hints. Really nice. This could have been a 1998 right-bank on the nose. The palate swung my guess to a 1996 Graves though. It had the beautiful fresh balance of the the vintage, and although it did not quite have the depth of say the best 1996 Pauillacs or St Juliens, it showed lovely pure flavours of cassis and black cherries. These were sprinkled with bits of spice and tobacco smoke wrapped in really fine tannins. The finish was neither the longest nor the most powerful, but it was very yummy. Good enough when first poured, it got better after a short 15 minutes in the glass; while still a bit plush and quite modern with a touch of oak at first, it opened up a bit to reveal a more classic layer of Bordeaux flavours with time. Already more rounded, integrated and together than a bottle popped two years ago, I would say that this was actually not a bad time to drink this. However, it should be even better in another 3-4.

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• 2000 Domaine Anne Gros Clos Vougeot Le Grand Maupertui 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru

  Unusually for a 2000, this was actually very young, rather too young to fully enjoy actually, but nevertheless very good indeed. I liked the nose here - lush, thick, with musky flowery aromas, earth and a layer of lovely red cherries and berries spiked with little hints of rubber and spice - nice stuff. One got a feel that it was just starting to open up with an earthy complexity. The palate showed both the richness of fruit and a slight mushiness in its tannin structure that was very 2000, but it was accompanied by a lovely balance that belied its vintage, with fresh acidity lacing yummy flavours of red cherries and berries, spice and earth and just a hint of Clos Vougeot meatiness. For all its richness, this had a certain red-fruited purity that Anne Gros always manages to coax out of her plot in the Clos. Very nice indeed. Still young, still a bit tight, a bit monosyllabic, but this was actually a very solid wine, and a very good product of its terroir. While yummy now, this should be even better in 3-4 years.

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• 2008 Thibault Liger-Belair Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Gruenchers 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru

  Unusually for our group, this was yet another very young Burgundy. I thought it was quite lovely though - on reflection, the nose was telltale Chambolle though no one guessed it correctly save for the one lady at the table. Decanted for 2 hours, it had a beautiful bouquet - tons of flowers, cherries and raspberries tumbling out of the glass along with just a touch of green herbs. High-toned, perfumed and pretty. After that, the palate actually came across quite unexpectedly sappy and quite rich for a 2008, with a delicious but rather modern ring of sweet berries and cherries starting off on the attack and layering the midpalate. Not the most feminine of Chambolles given its textured feel, but this nevertheless had a dash of finesse to it. The finish was not the longest, but it was certainly decent enough, with ripe red fruit notes sprinkled with a bit of spice, all kept clean, pure and transparent with a nice bright acidity. Actually quite pretty. Primary at the moment of course, but this should prove a very nice Chambolle in the mid-term. I enjoyed this.

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