Burgundy 2011 Day 1: Lunch at Domaine Ludovic Belin

We were hosted for lunch by Ludovic and his wife, who just happens to be one of the most amazing cooks I have come across. How she managed to whip up a 5-star meal for us in that little kitchen of hers all by herself I will never know, but the food was great, wine was liberal and company fantastic - a great lunch treat.

• NV Sélection Ludovic Belin Crémant de Bourgogne l'Exception Blanc de Blancs 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Crémant de Bourgogne

  This was a really nice Cremant. The prettty nose showed white flowers, peach and fuij apples, all very inviting. On the palate, there was a fresh, bubbly mousse amd little hints of mineral, but past that, this was all about pretty flavours of appley fruit and dried flowery accents reminiscent of lavender and marigolds. Beautiful balance, nice amount of substance, I enjoyed this quite a bit.

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• 2009 Domaine Ludovic Belin Pernand-Vergelesses Belles Filles Blanc 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pernand-Vergelesses

  From vines only planted in 2003, this was a surprisingly good wine. It had a fresh, minerally nose, with sweet white fruit, a bit of musk, some grassy freshness and a light touch of toast. Rather nice. The palate was clean, well-structured, brilliantly balanced - it came across as a very finely made wine, soft, round and drinking nicely with rather neutral white fruit flavours and a little toast at the edges. An easy wine, not terribly complex, but neither was it simple by any means. In fact there was an almost shocking amount of stuff going on for such young vines, this was a complete package, with nothing missing or awkward. A nice wine.

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• 2009 Domaine Ludovic Belin Corton-Charlemagne Vieilles Vignes 92 Points

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

  From 80 year-old vines. A nice wine, but not quite up there with the top-rung Corton-Charlies. The nose was nicely earthy, funky, with a bit of cheese spread over yellow fruit aromas that showed the sweet ripeness on the vintage - some jackfruit and pineapple in there I thought, along with a bit of stony mineral adding interest. The palate was nicely proportioned, with good fruit framed by more of that nice stony minerality and very decent acidity. Still tight in terms flavours, but the mouthfeel was very round and open, very forward for a Corton-Charlie, although there is structure to suggest that it will improve with age. The longish finish had a good amount of melting acidity and lovely white fruit notes laced with a last little kiss of that lovely minerality. Really pleasant now, but it lacks the midpalate depth and structure of similar wines from the great domaines.

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• 2009 Domaine Ludovic Belin Entre Rouge et Blanc 89 Points

  France, Burgundy

  A really interesting wine, made from Chorey-les-Beaune grapes with a short 36-hour maceration. The nose was really perfumy, almost Gamay-like, with lots of strawberry, musk and rose-petals. Lots of bright, fresh fun on the palate too, which had pure red fruit and earth flavours wed to a beautiful zippy balance - nothing too complex, but this was a wonderful summer's day drink.

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• 2009 Domaine Ludovic Belin Chorey-les-Beaune Les Beaumonts Vieilles Vignes 89 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chorey-les-Beaune

  This was a really nice Chorey village. It had a lovely nose, full of ripe strawberries, redcurrants and spice, some Szechuan pepper here, along with a little hint of eraser rubber. On the palate, fine tannins and fresh acidity framed bright red fruited flvaours - more redcurrants and strawberries here, which were pepperd with spicy notes towards the finish. Simple, unpretentious, but well-made and very fun to drink.

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• 2009 Domaine Ludovic Belin Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Les Lavières Très Vieilles Vignes 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru

  I liked this quite a bit. A well-made, classic Savigny. Really pretty on the nose, it showed fragrant aromas of damp soil patted over dark cherries, strawberries confit, some dried cranberries, just a touch of spice and lots of perfumy flowers. The palate was very pretty too. Flowery attack, dark cherries on the mid-palate, all with a lovely sense of depth and a nice soft roundness. Approachabe now, but there was no lack of structure either, with the wine being carried by fine tannins into longish finish that showed a nice touch of spice. Great to drink with a good bit of substance to boot. This was a nice wine.

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• 2009 Domaine Ludovic Belin Corton-Renardes Vieilles Vignes 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru

  Very good indeed. This had a beautiful nose, full of dark fruits, black cherries, creme de cassis, earth, minerals with a metallic ring - a very deep bouquet. Given the terroir, the palate was unsurprisingly tight, young, but very impressive nonethless. It had a beautiful layered depth, with pure dark fruit ringing with the ripe sweetness of the vintage, but also lifted by very nicely-judged acidity leading into a long, mouthwatering finish with a touch of spice, black peppercorns, a gentle flowery perfume and a touch of toast. Fine tannins coated the whole package adding a sense of structure. This will not be the longest lasting Corton, it does not have the underlying material to go 30-40 years I think, but it should be really lovely to try in 10 to 15 years.

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