Two weeks in France
Tasted Friday, April 12, 2024 - Wednesday, April 24, 2024 by melvinyeowq with 561 views
Introduction
My first proper wine trip and glad to have met old friends from my university days and people who have spent time in Singapore, fellow Singaporeans who made the wine trip together, strangers in restaurants and bars with a common love for wine, as well as new wine friends from forums and Instagram. I rarely feel emotional, but coming back from this trip has reinforced my view that people always make the place. I lost count of the times when a simple sharing of a glass of wine or an open discussion led to beautiful experiences; at L'Âme Soeur where we practically closed down the restaurant, visits to so many vignerons that made us feel welcome, at the many wine restaurants / shops that allowed me to cherry pick wines that I would never have gotten access to in Singapore (of course I faced many other rejections!).
Looking back at my tasting notes, think I can classify them into four categories:
(i) Unequivocally the best wines of my life (that turned out to be all champagnes and whites): '18 Bouchard Creux d'Enfer, '20 Dureuil-Janthial Rully Gresigny VV, '15 Ente Meursault, '15 Ramonet BBM
(ii) Wines that are fair value in France, but not worth their current asking price on secondary markets: Roulot, Mugneret-Gibourg, Cathiard, Lamy-Caillat, Labet, Dancer, Gangloff, Faurie, Les Horées, Pierre Peters, Brochet, Lurquin, Ledru
(iii) New discoveries: Jestin, Vincey, Lancelot, Huré Frères, Gaspard Brochet (ok I tasted a bottle before for the latter two, but tasting across the range was an eye-opener for me).
(iv) Old favourites that I was lucky to have visited: Gonon, Balthazar, Gilles, Vilmart, Bereche, Georges Remy,
Flight 1 - Lunch at Au 14 Février (2 Notes)
Great way to start off my first day in France. Good food at lunch, and the somm Yusuke was incredibly knowledgeable when I chatted to him. He said that Lamy-Caillat reminded him for old Ramonet, which I put to the test at dinner.
Flight 2 - Dinner at L'Âme Soeur (4 Notes)
Was lucky to have found this restaurant off Star Wine List. A homely restaurant where everyone dining felt like family, with a love for good wine. Fantastic food as well, really reminded me of the restaurant where I did my workaway a few years back. Also glad to have shared these wines together with my leftover M-G, Lamy-Caillat and Labet from earlier in the day with my first couchsurfing host back in the day and Phil.
Flight 3 - Lunch at Le Passe Temps (1 Note)
Best meal of 2024 so far. Usually fusion can be tokenism or an utter mess but was very impressed by how the Korean elements were infused subtly, but clearly. All the dishes were immaculate but the desserts really surprised me. Was dubious about the comté cheesecake and the poached pear in ginger syrup but both turned out to be refined, elegant and understated like the other dishes. Also lucky to have chanced upon this Dancer.
Flight 4 - Lunch at Burgundy by Mathieu (2 Notes)
Clearly a wine list that had been pored over but these were still great catches, think the somm was jaded from Asians like me who wanted to cherry-pick off the list but opened up when I chatted to him more.
Also shared these two wines with Antoine, who generously hosted me for a night for a great dinner with his wife Isabelle. Also glad we managed to do lunch together the next day with visits to Rostaing and Gonon.
Flight 5 - Wines in northern Rhone (3 Notes)
More successful wine hunting in Rhone restaurants. Great food and service as well, the somms are always extra friendly if you show an interest. Will also combine my tasting notes from visits from here since I didn't do detailed notes for them.
First two tastings in northern Rhone were with two Cote-Rôtie stalwarts.
Clusel-Roch
Hosted by the very lovely Gaelle who brought us through 11 wines up and down their range. Highlights were undoubtedly the single vineyards La Viallière and Les Grandes Places; the former more elegant and the latter more structured. She also opened a 2010 Cote-Rotie (now Schistes) that was more open than the Grandes Places from the same vintage I had a couple months ago, but with less potential for further improvement.
Rostaing
Tour was done by a friendly American who has been working with the family since 2019. Unfortunately most wines (Cote Blonde ‘20, ‘21, La Landonne ‘21, La Viallière ‘19) were way too young. Powerful, tannic wines with concentration; good to garner points but don’t think I could drink more than a glass of. Think the Rostaings that I’ve loved had age and came from cooler vintages like ‘04 and ‘06.
The following visits were to four brilliant, passionate winemakers - Balthazar, Barge, Gilles and Gonon - who generously shared their time, knowledge, and wines. I mentioned to a few friends that I wanted to prioritise northern Rhone (and champagne) for my first wine trip since I didn’t have any contacts but still wanted to meet the winemakers rather than a commercial face, and it was still possible to do so with an email in these regions.
Barge and Gilles are two producers who should be familiar to northern Rhone fans, so glad to have seen them in the flesh. Stylistically they were quite similar with fresh, elegant and pure red fruit that was almost Pinot-like.
Barge
Had some time to kill so we dropped by Barge for a visit, which turned out to be a great decision. Julien was so passionate and shared candidly about his philosophy and vision, and the sacrifices to get there such as a recent large outlay on big barrels (~3500l if I heard correctly).
Wines were in contrast to Rostaing, they were so fresh and elegant despite the warmer recent vintages. The 2020 Coeur de Combard was an absolute knockout, and the 2021 St Joseph Clos de la Ribaudy a hidden gem. Loved the red-fruited nature of the wines here, and will definitely be seeking out more of his wines.
Gilles
One of the most underrated producers around and one that I have been following for some time, so was glad to taste through the ‘23 and ‘22 vintages with him (even though I felt bad for my friend that it was all in French). Everything here was so fresh, with pretty, slightly candied (in a good way) cherry fruit. Wines were so restrained that they were almost Burgundian, especially the Combeaux Massardières made from Gamay. Both Les Peyrouses and the Nouvelle R Les Rieux were approachable, but can go easily for 10 years based on previous experiences. Was lucky to taste the ‘23, ‘22 Chaillot from barrel, and ‘21 from bottle which were primary and tight, but have no doubt that they will integrate with time.
Two of the best visits in Rhone
Gonon
Good to see Jean again after meeting him at the POB event in HK, possibly the most gentle man on earth. We tasted through his ‘22 and ‘23s, but thanks to his generosity (he kept saying ‘je cherche’ and returned with more wines 😅), we got to try a few older vintages too. Said that his wines were always so consistent and thus easy to tell when blind, and he responded that it was reassuring to him. I also asked when did he find his style, was interesting to hear that he said it had been a long road of refinement since they didn’t have access to the big names when they were younger.
Onto the wines - ‘23 and ‘22 were warm vintages; the former was uneven and interspersed with rain, which resulted in juicy and fresh wines, whereas the latter was more uniformly warm that I found more structured. In contrast, consistent with my previous experiences, the ‘21 was more open-knit. Jean also kindly opened 2016 which I luckily nailed blind since it was warmed and structured (definitely one of my clutch guesses). My first experience with the 2013 which was cooler and more resolved with mellow olive notes. First time trying the whites too which were enjoyable and refreshing, unlike most Rhone whites.
Balthazar
Again glad to meet a familiar face after seeing Franck in Singapore last month. Tasted through his ‘23s and ‘22s. All I can say is to buy his ‘22s if you can find any - crazy purity of fruit with a linear drive. To be honest I didn’t understand the incense note on the nose before, but I did after this tasting. Similar story with the no sulphur cuvees (sans soufre and cuvee hommage), they definitely showed better from what we tasted in Singapore. Loved the pure, fresh raspberry fruit from all the cuvees. Also was no surprise that he revealed that he was good friend with Gonon - two men of the same ilk; honest, down to earth and absolutely mind-blowing wines.
Flight 6 - Day 1 in Champagne (2 Notes)
Vilmart
Fantastic array of wines up and down the range as expected. We saw how the production was organised and it really shows in the wines - clean, precise and refined. The entry-level wines see bigger barrels, and the opposite for the higher-level bottlings. Most people should already know Vilmart’s idiosyncratic practices of oak, high dosage and no malo but the wines always turn out to be perfectly coherent and harmonious. Undoubtedly the star of the show was the ‘19 Grand Cellier d’Or that reinforced what a great vintage 2019 was, while the ‘16 Coeur de Cuvée and ‘15 Rosé Emotion were still reticent. Glad to have introduced my friends to Vilmart as I think their top cuvees remain a relative bargain.
Huré Frères
Fantastic tasting with François who gave his honest takes (which were absolutely on point). Don’t think there was a more fun visit this trip, but the wines were a superb discovery too since I didn’t have much experience with them before. Most of the range are under the Huré Frères label, other than the 4 Elements single vineyard, single varietal bottling under that is under Pierre and Francois Huré label. Clearly more grower in style than Vilmart - wines were crisp, refreshing and precise. Liked the L’Instantanée the most which continued to improve and gained richness over the next few days.
And after dinner at Chez Nous without any wine (a famous potato place in Reims apparently!), Phil and Sylvain retired to our Airbnb to share these two wines.
Flight 7 - Day 2 in Champagne (6 Notes)
Ruinart
As expected, quite a boring, generic visit to be honest other than the nice chalk caves. Didn’t like the wines either.
Georges Remy
Very lucky to have gotten in as Georges mentioned that he doesn’t accept many visitors. The tasting was completely in French but everyone enjoyed it; Georges was down-to-earth and candid in his sharing. Respect his decision not to be swayed by the hype and hike his prices despite his wines being sold out every year. Soft-spoken but a fountain of knowledge; he had worked in Bordeaux for many years before returning to the family domaine in 2014. Also was cool to have shared a glass with him at La Rotonde later in the same evening as the family was celebrating his daughter’s birthday.
Fantastic wines up and down the range - all zero dosage but the wines were perfectly balanced with superb tension and energy. All his wines are vinified in oak to give a rich texture. I’ve only tried the 4 Terroirs before so it was a great experience to taste through the single vineyards - my favourites were the stunning ‘19 Mont de Tauxières and Rosé Les Vaudayants. Also was my virgin experience for vin clairs, thought it was interesting that they are aromatic and floral almost like a Rhone white with more structure. Lastly, thought the red coteaux champenois had superb aromatics that could rival a Burgundy of pedigree.
Bereche
Was delighted to visit Bereche as it was another producer who I adore up and down the range. Was hosted by the lovely Emma, and it was cool that Raphael popped in for a quick chat at the end of the tasting. Was saying that the Brut Reserve was probably the best entry-level champagne that you can find, and the Campania Remensis is definitely in my top 3 favourite roses. We also tasted Le Cran which I love but don’t buy many since it has gotten a little expensive, but it was by far the best wine of the tasting with signature green apple notes and salinity. I told Raphael that the Reflet d'Antan was one cuvee that I didn’t understand as it was always too oxidative for me, and he was kind enough to open a 2015 for me to taste which was singing. He said the more recent iterations have dialed back the oxidation as the perpetual reserve was refined. This cuvee is magnum only from 2017 onwards.
After visits, we dropped by La Rotonde for a bottle of Raveneau and the Glue Pot for dinner, where Phil and Sylvain joined us for post-dinner drinks.
The Glue Pot is an institution that all Champagne vignerons are familiar with as their watering hole. Almost all that we visited told us to look for the owners Stefan and Ambre, who indeed were so warm and gave us top-class hospitality. Food was absolutely delicious too.
Flight 8 - Day 3 in Champagne (2 Notes)
Philippe Lancelot
Fantastic visit with Philippe who was so passionate about his biodynamic philosophy. His wines are definitely natural-leaning but are more interesting for it. For lovers of a leaner, more red-fruited style; I could see some similarities with Leclapart. The wines were full of life, reflecting his fun, outgoing personality. Winemaking is mainly stainless steel but he has some small 110 litre barrels, and doesn’t stop malo. Tasted through Les Pommiers (100% Meunier), Le Fond Du Bateau, Les Hauts d’Epernay and Cramant. Liked the first two which were softer the best, whereas the latter two were a little too powerful for me (possibly because they see time in wood). Also was super cool to see a live disgorgement by Philippe. Thanks Phil for arranging!
Petit et Bajan
Hosted by the lovely Veronique who took us through the five wines in their range. All their wines are vinified in tank and hence showed a laser-sharp acidity and precision. Some were a little strict and would benefit from more time. My favourites were the Obsidienne (assemblage) and the Nymphaea (rose). The latter reminded me of Bereche’s rose with fresh strawberry fruit, which is the highest praise that I can give.
Took the Vincey at La Gare for lunch, and the Bergère for dinner at La Grillade Gourmande.
Flight 9 - Day 4 in Champagne (8 Notes)
Hebrart
So glad to have visited Jean-Paul who gave an informative and passionate tour. My love for Hebrart is well-known; have said multiple times that the entry-level BDB and rose would be my house champagnes any day of the week so glad my other friends loved the wines too. Interestingly, the rose is 20% of the total production which is high compared to other producers. Also found it interesting that he served the Rive Droite Rive Gauche and Noces Craies after the Special Club, but agreed with the sequence as those were a cut above in terms of complexity. The Special Club’s composition depends on the year; difficult years such as ‘17 and ‘23 were 100% Chardonnay since Pinot is a more delicate grape. Another well-known fact is that Hebrart uses MCR for the liqueur de tirage, which he said that costs 7 times more. The visit completely reinforced my impression that these are some of my favourite wines that represent incredible value.
Michel Gonet
Think others didn’t like this tasting so much but I thought for a house-style champagne that is going for ~30 euros, the wines offered fantastic value. Liked the Chardonnay wines the best; rich, toasty but with clean, zesty green apple fruit and a good backbone of acidity. Think this is a house on the upward trajectory as the recent vintages showed much better.
Had the Faury and Coqueret at La Table Kobus for lunch, and the rest of the wines at Sacre Burger for dinner (absolutely fantastic wine list and food).
Flight 10 - Day 5 in Champagne / Lunch at L'Assiette Champenoise (6 Notes)
Final day in champagne where we spent almost all of it at a superb lunch at L'Assiette Champenoise with Benoit. One of the best meals of my life, and almost life-changing wines.
Flight 11 - Dinner at Clamato (3 Notes)
Adjourned to Paris the same evening, had to wait for the second seating at Clamato, but managed to meet a lovely Canadian couple while waiting at Septime La Cave. Shared these bottles with them over a lovely dinner at Clamato.
Flight 12 - Dinner at Petit Verdot (10 Notes)
Met up with a few seasoned French wine amateurs who were absolutely great company and shared so much knowledge and great wines with me. Also happy to have whittled down the wines I bought in haste with them, and impressively they managed to guess most of them.
Flight 13 - Other wines in Paris (5 Notes)
Paris wasn't so productive for wine-hunting compared to Lyon, Rhone or Champagne but managed to find these off the list of various restaurants.
2019 Lamy-Caillat Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Champs-Gain 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
(4/12/2024)
What was most immediately apparent about this wine was the concentration on both the nose and palate. Deep, perfumed nose of pure fruit without oak or reduction which isn’t common in Burgundy whites. Intense, mineral and ripe stone fruit with plenty of dry extract; had much tension that it felt like drinking battery acid. Tried the leftovers at dinner but didn’t show differently to lunch. Quite a singular wine which I think explains the prices, but not sure if it is fully warranted. Interestingly the somm Yasuke (who I completely trust after our conversations and apparently has the best palate in Lyon) said that Lamy-Caillat reminds him of old Ramonet.
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2017 Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Chaignots 94 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru
(4/12/2024)
So tight and dense at first, with the oak use and chalky tannins dominating. Dark red fruit that was rustic and earthy with some smoky spice. Was slightly disappointed by this as it was too powerful and robust; more NSG than Vosne. Thankfully when we revisited this after dinner it was absolutely singing; the power had integrated on both nose and palate to deliver a superb drive and finesse that was finally both M-G and 2017.
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