Impromptu Afternoon at Mood Indigo

Sometimes, the best events are the impromptu one. We were once again recipients of Alain's generosity when a group of us gathered at Mood Indigo to stoke up on some wine and Anna's great organic products. A few of the wines popped were from vintages that were not well-regarded upon release, but this really went to show how a good maker can do solid work with good terroir even in weaker vintages.

• 1997 Diebolt-Vallois Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut Millésimé 92 Points

  France, Champagne

  Probably the first 1997 bubbly I have had. This was a very easy-going, undemanding Champagne, but really delicious. It had a pleasant notes of apples and green strawberries and some fresh lemon scents, along with little complex nuances of mineral and yeast, some floral notes notes and a touch of green sage-like herb. Rather pretty. The palate was drinking beautifully. It had lovely, approachable flavours of sweet lemons and green apples and more of those green strawberry inflections picked up on the nose. It was nicely textured, with a creamy mousse, but all this held together by a firm citrussy backbone and fine acidity that gave the wine a good sense of grip. There was a nice minerality on the midpalate as well, just before a pretty finish with soft floral notes and a gentle spice set in. This was really enjoyable. It was very friendly, round and compact - a really nicely put together Blanc de Blancs, especially for something of this price range, and drinking beautifully at the moment too. I have bought myself a couple of bottles and am looking forward to popping them.

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• 2001 Domaine Amiot Guy et Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Demoiselles 92 Points

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

  Not the most elegant of wines, especially from a vineyard named "Demoiselles", but this was a nice 1er Cru that showed well on the day. The nose showed a rather savoury character, with cream sauce, bread and some earthy notes underlying more neutral white fruit and melon aromas. A very masculine nose if you could call it that. The palate had a nice strength and conviction to it. It was good depth and power and a nice freshness to its white fruited notes of apples and melons seasoned with more savoury notes of spice and earth and a saline, almost salty mineral background. This could almost have been a Chablis with its profile. The finish too seemed to take in more Northerly terroir, with bright acidity and almost bittersweet mineral notes filling the backpalate nicely. I thought this was a solid wine - one with good quality and an interesting bit of character. With time and air though, it softened quite rapidly and started losing a bit of focus. Time to start drinking up I think - I doubt it will improve much more in the bottle.

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• 2005 Domaine Roger Belland Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

  Very consistent notes with the bottle I had 4 years ago. Still clearly a good wine with real quality to it, perhaps just a little less in-your-face this time round, but still definitely on the more obvious side. 4 years down the road, and this still displayed a deep, sweet nose, with pastry cream and buttery aromas wafting out of the glass alongside ripe red apples and sweet floral scents. Attractive, but in a rather shouty way. The palate was equally deep and rich, with powerful pulls of sweet lemons and red apples covered in dollops of creamy flavours and textures. Boy, this was still primary. There was certainly quality on it though, with a good persistence and clarity to the fruit, along with bright citrus acidity that kept the wine fresh in spite of its weight. It was only on the finish where it flagged a little, with the structure on the back-palate collapsing slightly, so that the wine seemed to lack the focus and precision of a great white Burg. Still though, there was good length and depth and a nice moreishness to it. A good wine, even very good wine, but somehow just not capturing my fancy entirely. I am not sure it is going to get much better with time either, with the soft muddledness on the back-end especially worrying me.

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• 1997 Frederic Esmonin Mazy-Chambertin 93 Points

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

  This was lovely - yet another 1997 that is showing really well. It had such a beautiful nose, sweetly fragrant, with earth and meat, red cherries and stewed raspberries, herbs and a lovely floral perfume. The palate was not quite as strong as nose, but was still delicious and probably drinking at peak. There were soft, mellow flavours of dried cherries and berries on the attack, sowing rather higher-toned and less sweet than nose suggested, and then a little meaty midpalate and a nice spicy, brambly twang at the finish. Fine tannins provided a little chew, and bright acidity kept the proceedings lively. It was only a slightly drying character right at the very finish that marred the wine somewhat, but this was otherwise really enjoyable. A nice little Mazis-Chambertin indeed.

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• 1994 Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Cras 92 Points

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

  I thought this was very nice indeed - everyone really enjoyed it in spite of biases against both the house and the vintage. It had a great nose, full of loamy earth and wilted flowers, a touch of funk almost, and then slightly stewed cherries and berry aromas, some orange peel and a dash of spice - a lovely, complex bouquet. The palate was neither as rich nor as layered as the nose, but there was a lovely lacy purity that was very Chambolle, with clear flavours of red cherries and some lovely fresh cut floral notes laid over gentle, earthy spice notes. True to Roumier's style, there was still some extraction showing in its fine, grippy little tannins and a slightly drying finish, but the weaker vintage actually had seemed to have some benefit, with the wine showing less extracted, even lacier than I would normally expect. In fact, there was actually a nicely open, transparent feel to its, all the way into the backpalate, where little inflections of spice led into a rather shortish end. Very nice - this was really enjoyable on the day. A great showing for a 1994.

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• 1997 Domaine Jean Grivot Richebourg 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru

  A super-strong 1997, this had a tightly-wound nose, showing almost reticent notes of mineral, earth and meat, then sweet wood-spices coiled around deep-set tones of ripe blackberries and dark cherries, all growing richer, and sweeter smelling with air. This just grew and grew in the glass, until there were complex, shifting, but always subtle aromatics. The palate had all the strength and breadth one would expect of a Richebourg - indeed, a strength and breadth that belied its vintage, with savoury earth and mineral and little notes Vosne spice swimming around a deep core of dark cherries and blackberries. Very impressive indeed. This was a wine with pretty effortless power and depth, with beautiful fine-boned tannins and fresh acidity lending it a great sense of structure and backbone. It was still tight at the finish, slightly less giving and more tightly-drawn, even austere, with quite a grip from the tannins rearing up through notes of dried plums and figs and a ring of herb and spice. I got a feel that this was just starting to open up - it would have been quite a charmless beast when young. It still needs tons of time yet, but it should be Should be a great in when it finally opens up. Try again in 2018-2020.

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