Coravin fun - Plundering the cellar

Well, ostensibly I went to get my nose (and palate) in shape for the big burgundy tasting but, alas, I slipped and raged out of control through a number of other wines in the cellar that I encountered on my Burgundy hunt.

This time it was the four Nuits St George with a Morey ring in. Nothing really excited me here with the Les Damodes 2012 being the pick of a fairly indifferent bunch.

• 2011 Domaine Chantal Lescure Nuits St. Georges Les Damodes

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges

  From Coravin. Horse sweat, boysenberry, raspberry, perfumed but with a herbaceous note that lends a gooseberry element. It's a bit green and tart on the palate but the red fruits are there. Finishes a little spicy on the medium length. Hmm.

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• 2012 Domaine Chantal Lescure Nuits St. Georges Les Damodes

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges

  From Coravin. Raspberry and strawberry, but (unsurprisingly) riper than the 2011, with some oaky notes; vanilla, over slight farmyard meatiness and spice. Nice nose. On the palate it's fleshy with savoury berry fruit that carries past the tannic grip. A little dilute but jolly nice.

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• 2008 Domaine des Perdrix Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Aux Perdrix

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru

  From Coravin. Red berry fruit tending to compote, quite rich with a perfumed top note that is strangely elusive. In the mouth it has berry notes with some mid palate grip and slight spice on the finish. It's also a bit oakier on the palate than I thought it would be. Okay.

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• 2010 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos des Porrets St. Georges

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru

  From Coravin. Savoury berry and cherry tending from red to black fruit underpinned by coffee, toast and earthy notes. Harder and more tart on the palate with just a hint of the sulphur note that I recollect from my last try. Time required and a bit 'approach with caution' for me still.

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• 2009 François Parent Morey St. Denis

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Morey St. Denis

  From Coravin. Earth, leather, red berry, cow shit, very farmyard. More fruity on the palate with bitter kirsch notes and fine textured tannic grip. Okay.

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I just wanted to run through these prior to a tasting in 2018 to see how they were all holding up. The answer is, other than the 2006, very well indeed.

• 1998 Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape

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

  From Coravin. Almost raspberry, even rhubarb compote, slight leather. With agitation there is a porty element, a touch of biscuit, cheese and sweet tobacco leaf. Some cherry elements here as well. Wonderful nose. More of the same on the palate, really good and very yummy. Best bottle of this vintage I've had by a long shot. Tannins are barely discernible and it's just beginning to stray into that Pinotesque territory - this one reminds me of the Copain En Haut Kiser I had - for some odd reason.

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• 2001 Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape

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

  From Coravin. Perfumed cherry, berry, spice. This is more lively than the 98 on the nose. Spicier, hotter and denser. Also some charcuterie here as well. Chunkier on the palate that the 98 unsurprisingly with alcohol warmth accompanying the berry fruit, leather and talc textures, slightly drying tannins. Spicy notes join on the long finish. Hmm.

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• 2005 Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape

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

  From Coravin. Rusk, berry and peppery spice. Quite rich with a touch of fruit crumble. Fleshy and considerably more spicy on the palate. Medium length. The tannins are present but not overtly intrusive. Nice if not a touch simple.

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• 2006 Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape

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

  From Coravin. Muted nose but with an ethereal perfume. Upon vigorous agitation, though, some peppery spice and farty fruit - actually this smells a bit mouldy. In the mouth it's much of a muchness. I'm not sure if this is a flawed bottle and, if it is, what the flaw is. Hmm. I'll try it again later and see how it shows up.

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• 2007 Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape

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

  From Coravin. Perfumed red berry, polished oak, baked earth and peppery spice. Quite primary with some farmyard on the finish and just the beginnings of leathery notes. Same on the palate and quite thick and structured with drying tannins. Needs time and feels a little disjointed on this showing. Hmm.

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Just grabbed these two as they were in a box I was rearranging. Interesting contrast. I really like the Fromm as a standalone but next to the Crozes it just felt a little underdone.

• 2010 Les Vins de Vienne Crozes-Hermitage Les Palignons

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage

  From Coravin. Green and black peppercorn over creamy blackberry with a slight herbaceousness, elements of crushed rock and some olive stone and soy. Perhaps even some black tea. Lots going on. In the mouth it's tartly juicy with peppery spice and drying gritty tannins encompassing a black fruit core that persists on the medium plus length. After that initial sour shock it's actually rather nice.

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• 2010 Fromm Syrah Fromm Vineyard

  New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough

  From Coravin. Savoury black fruit over peppery spice. with agitation the peppery note is more to the fore with a touch of stalky herbaceousness. This smells less phenolically ripe that the Palignons. Touches of wet stone. And so it proves on the palate. Initially it's slightly green and hard and lacks a bit of generosity. A touch of alcoholic warmth here as well. With time, though, it does begin to exhibit some black fruits backed with green and black peppercorn. Might just need a good decant. Hmm.

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And big guns for the last bracket. Again, more box sorting (Bordeaux unsurprisingly) saw these two just pop up. Again these are both wines ear marked to drink next year so it was interesting to see what condition they were in. Both of them felt like they would just blossom with a bit of a time in a decanter.

• 1998 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  From Coravin. Leather, biscuit, sweet spice, blackcurrant, touches of cigar box. With agitation the fruit blossoms, strutting arrogantly towards cassis and is joined by spiced and chocolaty oak. Rich. Lovely nose. More of the same on the palate but a tiny touch more savoury with touches of chocolate joining the fine and silky tannins. Long. Lovely. Yum yum.

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• 2002 Les Forts de Latour

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  From Coravin. Medium minus intensity aromas of herbaceous funkiness and touches of marmite but with (albeit considerable) agitation it slowly comes alive. That yeast extract note is joined by cassis, cream, sweet spice but also a perfumed elegance which kind of hints at (based on my rare encounters with it) Latour. On the palate it has savoury black fruits, yeast extract again, slightly drying but very fine tannins. Long. Perhaps it lacks a bit of generosity next to the Pichon Baron but it's still very nice.

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Well, that was an unplanned treat. I had planned to only taste Burgundy until the big tasting but fell spectacularly off that particular wagon. Oops a daisy.