Drinks with Mark Bright

E and I had a wonderful time hanging out with Mark, his fiance and a few friends around the fireplace in Saison after a wonderful dinner (see my notes for the wines over dinner as well). Company was fantastic, some great wines were opened, and conversation flowed into the wee hours of the morning - what a blast!

• 2010 Domaine Marius Delarche Pernand-Vergelesses La Morand Reserve 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pernand-Vergelesses

  I really enjoyed this village - it underlined for me just how strong a white vintage 2010 is proving to be across the Côte d'Or. It had a nice little nose, were fruity aromas of pear and apple and melon were wed to a nice whiff of flinty, cahlky, earthy notes. The palate was just as lovely. It had killer balance, with a good amount of acidity beautifully integrated into its still rather simple flavours of pears and melons. It should gain in complexity over time though - it certainly has the balance and structure to age well. A lovely long finish wrapped the wine up nicely with little nutty notes and a hint of spicy oak. Very impressive.

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• 2009 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly Blanc 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Saint-Aubin 1er Cru

  What a nice little St Aubin - and from 2009 too, a vintage that I generally try to avoid for white Burgundy. This had a lovely nose that brought to mind Chablis with its white fruited nuances cloaked in minerally scents of chalky earth and flinty seashell accents. Nice. The palate had that same minerality too, with more of those lovely shades of chalk and seashell, with an almost saline lilt on the attack, before the wine spread out into a much more Côte de Beaune-ish midpalate of sweet apple flesh on a ripe citrus backdrop. This was beautifully balance throughout, fresh for 2009 really, and had a really solid sense of grippiness on the finish. A really solid example, and while good now, I can see it getting even better with a few more years under its belt.

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• 1985 Sanford Pinot Noir 92 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

  This was quite beautiful - as good a new world Pinot as I have ever had, and at its age too! While not quite as lively or structured as one would expect from a 1985 Grand Cru Burg, this was every bit a wine that was alive and kicking. It had a really nice nose, with matured notes of sweet cherries and berries touched by a little hint of earthy, nuttiness. I thought it was something good from the Cote de Beaune on first sniff, and the palate did nothing to dispell the illusion. Sappy and delicious, yet silkily elegant and rounded by fresh acidity, this showed elegant proportions of sweet berries and cherries, with a matured note of haw flakes in the background as the wine glided into a longish finish with delicious little drifts of spice, all held in beautiful, positively Burgundian balance. Not the most complex nor the deepest wine at its age, but that would be nitpicking, this was absolutely delicious. At a great place for drinking now.

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• 2009 Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg Bourgogne 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Bourgogne

  Popped and poured from a magnum, this was an absolutely top-drawer Bourgogne - so good that I could not help but down glasses of this while other yummy wines waited at the side. Already expressive in its youth like so many 2009s, it had a lovely nose of black cherries seasoned with wood spice, earth and a light touch of oak. I liked that, but it was the palate that really got me. Perfectly balanced and beautifully structured, with fine, firm tannins and fresh acidity, the wine showed crystal clear flavours of dark cherries and plums along with more of that slightly dirty 'Vosne-ness" picked up on the nose - with notes of earth and wood spice and a savoury waft of meatiness playing up alongside the fruit as the wine pranced its way into a long, lacy finish. Such a beautiful little wine, drinking wonderfully too - I can hardly remember ever having such a good Bourgogne.

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• 1962 Château Gruaud Larose 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  A lovely showing from a solid wine - so fresh and young tasting that I guessed it was a 1975! A beautiful example of just how well these old Gruaud Larose's age, it had a lovely gravelly nose studded with bits of cassis, tobacco and a whiff of cigarette smoke. Really classic left-bank stuff. The palate was a real joy too. Not the most complex of wines at its age, but it had lovely matured flavours of hawthorn berries and dried plums couched in really bright acidity and firm, but very fine tannins. A real pleasure to drink. Nice finish too, very fresh and long, with little tobacco notes weaving in and out of subtle black fruit tones. A lovely, elegant wine with lots of finesse - so elegant in fact that it led me further south to Graves rather than the Médoc in my blind guesses. At a nice place now, but this bottle at least could still go on for quite a few years.

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• 2007 Domaine Jamet Côte-Rôtie 92 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  So young, but surprisingly drinkable and very good indeed. I really like Jamet's classic stylings. Unusually though, this wine had a very expressive nose even at this stage, with plum aromas and violet scents streaked with little notes of earth and spice and garrigue, with just a touch of sweet winter melon at the edges. Very attractive. The palate was still really primary, with lovely flavours of black cherries and blueberries and plums at the fore, and more violet nuances at the rear. However, true to house style, this was never about full-on fruit. In fact, it did not quite have the strength and oomph of greater vintages, yet it was perfectly poised and beautifully balance in its mid-bodied feel, with fine acid lifting and sculpting the wine in delicious fashion. Little dusty earth and mineral notes that emerged past the midpalate and towards the fine finish also added character and interest. A really nice wine, and surprisingly easy-drinking for a young Jamet. Nevertheless, this really does deserve time to flesh up and fan out. Give it 5 years at least, though this probably has the staying power to grow far longer than that.

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