France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
Blair Walter is the winemaker at Felton Road and a serious drinker of red Burgundies. I'd heard that he'd not been impressed with the 2011s he's had to date, so I was keen to show him something good on my visit ... I served the wine blind (although the closure made this bottle obvious as a Fourrier), popped and poured. Bright ruby colour. A gorgeous nose, more musky than spicy (although some of the muskiness blew off over the hour). Aromas of dark roses, violets and other old dark florals, said Gareth. Blair detected old Gerwurztraminer-type florals, while I was getting rich plums, mature red fruits and some saline minerality. An intriguing, lifted bouquet. A beautiful, slightly sweet entry to the palate. Relatively forward. Warm, savoury and musky across the mid-palate. Clean, harmonious and balanced, fully ripe, the tannins a little soft. The multi-layered flavours are red plums, game meats, warm clay and dry brushwood with minerals and chalk on the finish. Gareth's only negative was a little too much 'woody char' but I was happy with the oak handling (20% new oak, I understand). On the reveal, Blair could not believe that a wine of this quality was a 2011. The best 2011 red Burgundy I've had to date. Superb now, hold for 8+ years, if you can.
Blair served this wine blind. A deeper, darker colour than the Fourrier. Darker spices and a more dark fruit spectrum - blackberries, dark cherries and plums - than the Fourrier on bouquet, with notes of damp, dark, peaty soil. In the mouth, meaty, bloody flavours, with rich beetroot reduction and dark earth, as well as black berries. Tight in the mid palate, like a coiled spring, but the wine is not shut down, it is relatively accessible. There is serious fruit weight, power and structure here and grippy tannins, albeit fine grained. I had the wine as a young 1er Nuits St Georges, not a Volnay. The wine is a little firm and rustic on the finish, at this stage. I'd cellar it for 10+ years. (A winemaker from this Domaine - the wine was labelled 'Domaine Jean-Marc Bouley' - had worked vintage at Felton Road. Blair described the difficulties and low yields of the house's 2012 vintage in Volnay).
2011 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Combe aux Moines Vieille Vigne 95 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
Blair Walter is the winemaker at Felton Road and a serious drinker of red Burgundies. I'd heard that he'd not been impressed with the 2011s he's had to date, so I was keen to show him something good on my visit ... I served the wine blind (although the closure made this bottle obvious as a Fourrier), popped and poured. Bright ruby colour. A gorgeous nose, more musky than spicy (although some of the muskiness blew off over the hour). Aromas of dark roses, violets and other old dark florals, said Gareth. Blair detected old Gerwurztraminer-type florals, while I was getting rich plums, mature red fruits and some saline minerality. An intriguing, lifted bouquet. A beautiful, slightly sweet entry to the palate. Relatively forward. Warm, savoury and musky across the mid-palate. Clean, harmonious and balanced, fully ripe, the tannins a little soft. The multi-layered flavours are red plums, game meats, warm clay and dry brushwood with minerals and chalk on the finish. Gareth's only negative was a little too much 'woody char' but I was happy with the oak handling (20% new oak, I understand). On the reveal, Blair could not believe that a wine of this quality was a 2011. The best 2011 red Burgundy I've had to date. Superb now, hold for 8+ years, if you can.
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2012 Domaine Jean-Marc / Thomas Bouley Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chênes 92 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru
Blair served this wine blind. A deeper, darker colour than the Fourrier. Darker spices and a more dark fruit spectrum - blackberries, dark cherries and plums - than the Fourrier on bouquet, with notes of damp, dark, peaty soil. In the mouth, meaty, bloody flavours, with rich beetroot reduction and dark earth, as well as black berries. Tight in the mid palate, like a coiled spring, but the wine is not shut down, it is relatively accessible. There is serious fruit weight, power and structure here and grippy tannins, albeit fine grained. I had the wine as a young 1er Nuits St Georges, not a Volnay. The wine is a little firm and rustic on the finish, at this stage. I'd cellar it for 10+ years. (A winemaker from this Domaine - the wine was labelled 'Domaine Jean-Marc Bouley' - had worked vintage at Felton Road. Blair described the difficulties and low yields of the house's 2012 vintage in Volnay).
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