Dinner with Fabrice Amiot

Fabrice Amiot of Domaine Guy Amiot was in town for the Wine for Asia event and a bunch of us gathered to host him for dinner. Theme was Chardonnay and Pinot. Someone obviously did not read the memo, but otherwise the rest pretty much towed the line. All wines blinded of course, and we had lots of interesting stuff, from cult Aussies to an interesting American Pinot and, to top it off, a smashing 40+ year old village from Leroy.

• 2008 Mount Mary Chardonnay 92 Points

  Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley

  I thought that this was very good rather than great. That could well have been a function of drinking it far too young though. Indeed, the wine only started showing well after being in an opened bottle for an hour or so and having time to breathe in the glass for another half an hour. Even then, it had a rather tight bouquet - a bit of cream, some white mushromms, subtle scents of red apples and lime, but beyond that, it was deep pulls of dried earthy scents and bits of smoky flinty mineral that really marked the nose. The palate was bright, juicy and elegant, so much so that everyone thought it was Burgundy when blind. While there was nice depth of stone-fruit and lemon flavours, this came across neither sweet nor very ripe, lined as it was with a lovely ream of stony minerality and fresh acidity. There was oak too, but well-controlled and subtle - somewhat unusual for a top Aussie Chard. The finish seemed a bit tight and short at first, but it too opened up slowly with time, fanning out in a nice bit of creamy persistence. A yummy wine, still in its infancy, but I could not help but feel that it lacked the structure and substance to push it to anywhere near greatness.

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• 2001 Louis Lequin Corton-Charlemagne 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

  A pretty good wine, but when you consider its terroir, a bit disappointing. The nose was nicely developed, expressing itself in smoky oak notes, buttery, creamy nuances, a whiff of button mushrooms, white fruit, and then an underlying layer of chalky, seashelly minerality. I kinda liked it. The palate was not half bad either. More smoky notes on the attack, and then a midpalate with a lot rich depth in its yellow fruited notes, almost shading into tropical registers at points. However, this was underlined with a good amount of acid and mineral that kept it on its toes. With all that, it certainly had the depth and power of a good 1er Cru or a decent Grand Cru, but even then it was not quite a Grand Cru experience somehow - it just seemed a bit lacking in focus and detail of top Corton-Charlies and did not have the breadth of expression that you would expect from any Cote de Beaune Grand Cru. All in all, a nice wine, but nothing beyond that. Probably the right time to drink it now.

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• 2007 Domaine Amiot Guy et Fils Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chaumées 90 Points

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

  Good, but far too young. The nose was quite nice, showing notes of green apples and ripe lemons, a layer of oak, creme fraiche and smoky toast along with just a hint of mushroomy earth. Some complexity there for something so young. The palate was far tighter though - lots of acidity here, so that it was almost tart when drank by itself. So bright and zippy in fact that it almost masked the fact that there was a bit of alcohol and quite a bit of weight on this. It was not bad though, with lots of bright lemon and green apples flavours laced with a lovely amount of minerality tailing away at a long, creamy finish. All in all, good but a bit awkward in its extreme youth. However, there is an intriguing depth to this along with a nicely cut and defined balance that suggests that this may improve significantly in the next decade or so.

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• 1989 M. Chapoutier Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Bernardine 87 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  This bottle was clearly getting a bit tired. Still decently drinkable, but it has certainly seem better days. The nose was fine, attractive even, with notes of meat and herbs, dried prunes and plums, some violet flowers. Quite nice indeed. Unfortunately, the palate was rather less impressive. A pity, because a fine structure of fine tannins and fresh acidity was still there. However, the rest of the wine had begun to thin out somewhat, leaving a little layer of red fruit drizzled over a layer of stalks and earth moving into a ratehr hollow finish. There was just enough to make this drinkable, but I would not hold it for any longer. A bit of a letdown given the vintage.

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• 2008 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Volnay 1er Cru Santenots-Du-Milieu 91 Points

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

  Another baby, a rather brawny one this time - good, but far too young. Blinded, the first instinct said Volnay, what with the wafting floral scents, lovely dark cherry and red berry fruit and a earthy nuances on the nose. A rather obvious layer of oak made it seemed rather modern, but otherwise this was a really attractive bouquet. The palate came across as very, very young though. Still rather tight, quite unyielding when first poured, but there was a lot of quality with a depth of dark cherry fruit laced with fresh cut flower notes and balanced with lovely acidity. Quite astounding depth for a 2008 actually, I would never have guessed the vintage - it seemed more like a fresh 2006 if anything. The finish was impressive too, lingering away with a nice bit of mineral and hints of earth and spice. Good stuff. A bit sweet at the edges and maybe just a tad brawny, but otherwise I liked this - it just needs a lot of time yet.

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• 2004 Joseph Drouhin Charmes-Chambertin 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru

  This had so many things going against it - from an unfashionable Grand Cru in a very difficult vintage - yet it was excellent. Rather advanced for its age, but it was drinking really well and, most importantly, with barely hint of 2004 green meanies. How unusual. There was perhaps just a tiny hint of vine stems on the nose, but otherwise this was very classic Gevrey, with lovely aromas of dark cherries and strawberries seasoned with bits of earth and spice. The palate carried on with the same theme, with very pure strawberry and red cherry fruit over a layer of slightly, meaty, earthy undertones. There was very decent, if slightly less than remarkable depth as well. No one had a doubt that this was a Gevrey when blinded, the only question was whether it was an over-performing 1er Cru or one of the lesser Grand Crus. Towards the finish, some slightly powdery tannins emerged, but this came together and integrated very nicely with the fruit and the fresh acidity that marked the entire palate, making for absolutely delicious drink. This seemed to many of us to be over developed for its age, but no matter really, it was yummy. A really nice Charmes that would not be out of place amongst any of the stronger vintages.

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• 2007 Picardy Pinot Noir Tête de Cuvée 93 Points

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Pemberton

  Wow - this was a surprise. I had the 2003 two years back and was singularly unimpressed. This, on the other hand, was nothing short of excellent. Even in its youth, it showed little of the sweet, sticky fruit I remember from the last bottle. Instead, when blind, no one on the table had any doubts that it was a Cote de Nuits Burgundy, and a very good one at that. For a start, the nose was very old world. A tiny touch of new-wordly rubbery notes aside, it showed lovely scents of earth, mineral and spice infused into a core of dark cherry aromas. Nice stuff, but even then it was the palate that really shone. Clean, clear and ringingly pure in its expression of dark cherries, it had nice depth, lovely acidity and elegantly velvety tannins making up a lovely noble structure behind the fruit. Past the midpalate and into the long finish, notes of metallic mineral, spice and just that final hint of rubber popped up alongside some cool, high-toned fruit. This was a very classy wine. Drinking far more readily than a Burg of its age would be I think, but vintage aside and served blind, I thought it was another young Gevrey Grand Cru, a Latricieres perhaps - and I was certainly not alone either. A really nice wine which should continue to improve with age. I would give it easily a decade more.

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• 1998 La Pousse d'Or Volnay 1er Cru Les Caillerets 93 Points

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

  Third of a trio of delicious pinots, I thought this was very good indeed. It perhaps benefitted from being the most developed given its vintage, but nevertheless, this was certainly a wine of quality. It had a knockout nose. Lots of mossy earth and undergrowth aromas, and then strawberries and dark cherries, and a wafting, lilting scent of musky flowers - lush and beautiful, this was everything you would imagine an archetypal Volnay bouquet to be. Developed though it may have been, the palate wad actually extremely young for a 1998, showing a bit tight at point. But even then, it was already giving such pleasure. It had lovely depth, not in a Grand Cru fashion perhaps, but it had almost Grand Cru-like purity and definition to its pure dark cherry flavours seasoned with hints of mineral earth and spice. It had really good bones too, with fine but structured tannins and really fresh, juicy acidity lending it a very nice sense of poise and balance as it moved into a pretty finish touched with dried flower petals. A beautiful wine. While drinking quite well now, this wine deserves at least another 3-4 years in the cellar, and will probably reward those with patience to hold it beyond that.

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• 1969 Maison Leroy Savigny-lès-Beaune 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune

  This was a real treat. It may not have been the best wine of the night, but it was certainly the most special. Do not get me wrong though - it was certainly no slouch either. This was a very nice bottle of Savigny indeed. It had a beautiful nose with plenty of age showing in its developed notes of winter melon, undergrowth, boiled herbs and stewed brown mushrooms set amongst still very bright aromas of strawberries, cherries and a sprinkling of dried flower petals. Lovely stuff. The palate was a bit of a disjoint after that. Not in a bad way, but just that it was still stunningly alive, full of pure red cherries, dried strawberries and fresh cut flowers patted down with a bit of earth. Super fresh and still held up by a touch of really fine tannins, we all thought it may have been a strong vintage in the 1980s. say 1988 for example, rather than something a good two decades younger. It kept developing too. After some time in the glass, typical Savigny notes of loamy soild and cooked meat started coming out to play. All in all, a lovely wine. A real shocker for a village past its 40th birthday.

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• 2003 Saintsbury Pinot Noir Brown Ranch 90 Points

  USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros

  Rather better than the last bottle I had - this was a very nice example of a good Californian Pinot. The nose here was certainly riper than anything that came before it in its rich aromas of dark cherries and berries, but it was certainly never confected nor candy-scented. Instead, the fruit was just nicely sun-kissed and well met by bits of earth, some meat accents and a hint of toasty oak. I thought it was clearly a American on first sniff. However, the palate sure made me waver. It seemed to be treading the line between the old and new worlds very nicely - while there was a sappy thickness to its cherry and berry fruit flavours that suggested new world, this was met with a good amount of acidity and a classy sense of poise and balance that seemed to suggest old world nous. All very plush and rounded and drinking nicely. Finish was decent too, with bits of spice sprinkling the fruit. At a good place now. It may improve, but I see little reason to wait far longer if you have more than one bottle.

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