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Some Wines from a Swing Through France-Paris, Chablis, and Champagne

Tasted April 1, 2016 - April 9, 2016 by drwine2001 with 703 views

Introduction

These are just some miscellaneous notes on wines that we had with meals or otherwise managed to taste along the way. I have posted formal domain visits separately.

Flight 1 - Paris (27 notes)

White - Sparkling
N.V. Drappier Champagne Carte d'Or Brut France, Champagne
Yellow. Fine bead. Medium weight. Relatively simple, sweet citrus to start, a bit toasty, and decent back end soil but at the cost of some bitterness. Commercial.
Red
2012 Nicolas Potel Bourgogne France, Burgundy, Bourgogne
Medium center. Wood and black cherry. Simple, sweet dark cherry fruit that could have been a minor New World Pinot.
White
2012 Domaine des Huards (Michel Gendrier) Cour-Cheverny Romo France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Cour-Cheverny
Yellow. Quince and herbs. Full bodied, very Chenin-like feel. Just off dry, good acidity. Good.
Red
2014 Domaine des Huards (Michel Gendrier) Cheverny Rouge France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Cheverny
Light red. Pretty much marked and marred by brett from the nose through to the palate. Some tart fruit too. A natural winemaking mess.
Red
2011 Domaine des Huards (Michel Gendrier) Cheverny Ouvrage France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Cheverny
Deeper than the 2014 red cuvėe. Offputting camphor, resiny scents, equally green and fruitless in the mouth. Not my idea of Pinot.
White
2011 Alphonse Mellot Sancerre Satellite France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre
Light yellow green. Very grassy varietal nose that developed much more white grapefruit as it warmed. Not a big wine, and showing much less wood than when I tasted it in Sancerre a few years ago. Much more lively acidity and just a much more favorable impression this time around.
Red
2008 Château Bellegrave (Pomerol) France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Ruby. Excellent nose of gradually sweetening dark berry fruit, tobacco, herbs, and a strong olive finish. Harmonious feel, no doubt due to some wood, but this is very skillfully done. Rich but a nice acidic spine. Supple and very enjoyable now.
Red
2013 Domaine Joblot Givry 1er Cru Clos du Cellier Aux Moines France, Burgundy, Côte Chalonnaise, Givry 1er Cru
Light ruby. Mostly menthol, although some cherry peeks out with swirling. Light to medium weight. Tart red fruit, high, frankly excessive, acidity, cranky tannins. This is one of those 2013 reds about which I am not at all sold on the balance or buffering of its structure.
Red
2011 Domaine Jamet Côte-Rôtie France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Beautiful deep purple. There is no possible way of capturing everything that is going on in the nose-sweet black fruit, smoke, anise, and on and on. Wild, vibrant, and alive. Not a huge or strappingly structured Syrah, but oh my, how supple, open, and delicious this is now. In addition to all of the usual Syrah black fruit, an interesting twist of blood orange as well. I'm sure this will be outscored and outgunned by wines from more reknowned vitages, but make no mistake about it-this is the very essence of winemaking genius in Côte Rotie and an absolutely sexy beast.
Red
2014 Jean-Louis Dutraive (Domaine de la Grand'Cour) Fleurie Le Clos Cuvée Vieilles Vignes France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie
Light red. Beautiful aromatics of flowers, red berry, and herbs. Light and lively with cranberry fruit and lots of earth. Little tannin to preclude current enjoyment. Joyful wine.
Red
2012 Domaine Ghislaine Barthod Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Cras France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
Even ruby color. Pure red cherry and a touch of mint and smoke. Medium weight and alluring texture despite prominent acidity and some tannin. Nice citric twist in addition to the primary red fruit, and a long stony finish. Of course this is too young, but it is just about perfect, delicate Chambolle, the likes of which I could happily drink every day.

Deeper, more complex, and still fabulously fresh after being recorked overnight. This is quite a wine.
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White
2014 Domaine Ostertag Riesling Muenchberg France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru
Pale. Full of fascinating aromas of tea, herbs, and distilled beverage. Light to medium weight but high intensity stuff-orange peel, spice, tremendous acidity. Transient sensation of sweet entry, then completely dry. Outstanding Riesling now and for the next 10 years.
Red
2014 Domaine Charvin Châteauneuf-du-Pape France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Red. A little of the Charvin red berry fruit, but much more in the way of green olive and lavender. Medium weight, elegant, just a tad of heat. Not special.
White
2000 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Blanchot France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
Yellow-remarkably light for its age. Right off the bat, floral and lemon aromas that smelled like a wine that was 5 or 6 years old; gradual expansion to show beautiful hazelnut, truffle, and salinity over the next few hours. Not large scaled at all on the palate, an exemplar of delicacy, but again, great evolution of citrus to pear fruit and some iodine. What remained constant was the superb acidity. One might criticize this wine for a slight lack of Grand Cru concentration. My guess is that that is due to the vintage, but for me, this was breathtaking, almost mature Chablis that just kept revealing its layers at age 16-fantastic!!
Red
1999 Domaine Marquis d'Angerville Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Ducs France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru
Half bottle. Fully ruby almost to the rim. A blast of portiness right out of the bottle that reappeared after it had been open for about 2 hours. After this initially receded, blackberry and licorice. Medium to lighter weight. The overripe nose did not translate into sweetness or surmaturité in the mouth until most of the bottle was gone. In between, more classic, lean Angerville flavors, replete with black fruit, outstanding acidity, and superb stoniness. Having had this before, it was easy to see that that this was an atypical bottle that was less than pristine. Too bad, since apart from that, it certainly seems to still have a lot of life.
Rosé - Sparkling
N.V. Jacques Selosse Champagne Brut Rosé France, Champagne
Disgorged April, 2014. Light salmon color. Only lightly effervescent. Exuberant aromatics of pure strawberry, tangerine, and less herbal essence. The attack here is amazing, just so intense for the medium weight of the wine and full of zingy acidity and all things mineral. Then some creaminess, black cherry, and tannic bite. What a singular wine, so alive and dynamic. Sure to improve, but hard to resist now even with its more rough hewn edges.
White
2010 Domaine Guiberteau Saumur Blanc Brézé France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur
Light tulip. Vanilla, hibiscus, and some orange peel. Good lord, this has tooth rattling, lemony acidity at its core, and I mean this in the most flattering way since it is not at all screechy or out of place. Around this is the citrus and more exotic fruit with a medium weight for Chenin Blanc but an expanding glycerine texture and waxiness it warms. I look forward to resampling it after it sits overnight, but this is pretty exciting now and seems to have the structure to carry it forward for several decades.

Still going strong with its killer acidity the next night, but more earthy, herbal and reminiscent of Savenièrres at this point.
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Red
2009 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
Opaque all the way to the meniscus. Marvelous essence of Syrah on the nose and in the mouth. Pure black and blue berries, a whiff of menthol, and violets. Dense at first, it takes about 90 minutes to unclench and feel less syrupy. Despite its power, though, no overextraction or overripeness due to excellent acidity and superb underlying terroir. Bitter chocolate and smoky minerality underlying all the fruit. Tannic but the depth of fruit just sweeps by this to give a long, balanced finish. Tried later in the day, it had more green olive and showed signs of closing down. A truly monumental wine that is fantastic as an infant now and will be spectacular when it matures in several decades. Remarkable.

The next night, a lot of the baby fat had been stripped away, and it was much leaner and more olivey. The only downside is that a little alcohol peeked through.
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Red
2010 Lucien Le Moine Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Petits Monts France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
Ruby. Pretty strong impression of wood char plus spice and black fruit. Medium weight. More elegance and earth than the nose suggests with a combination of red cherry and black fruit, excellent 2010 acidity, and moderate remaining tannin. This does have a lot of Le Moine, but the vintage and site are strong enough to give an excellent wine that overcomes the vinification signature. Very approachable now, great promise for a decade of improvement.
Rosé - Sparkling
N.V. Lanson Champagne Brut Rosé Rose Label France, Champagne
Medium pink. Mixed red fruit. Serious, dry, mineral flavors.
White - Sparkling
2006 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut France, Champagne
Pale, very fine froth. Light, focused, lemony, and great length. Best vintage Comtes de Champagne I've tasted in a while. Terrific, very young.
White
2010 Domaine François Cotat Sancerre Les Monts Damnés France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre
Light greenish yellow. A rich array of complex scents, mostly fresh cut green herbs, grapefruit rind, and increasingly, white flowers. Lighter weight than many Cotat wines, and completely dry, but ooh, does this have great acidic cut and intensity in the mouth. The fruit is more lemon than grapefruit on the palate. Very youthful and folded in on itself; tremendous young Sancerre which needs a lot of time. I don't see it evolving in as rich and exotic way as this producer's wines do ib bigger, riper vintages such as 2005.
Red
2005 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny Les Poyeux France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny
Ruby almost all the way to the rim-little visual signs of maturuty. Classic green olive aromas. Perfect light to medium Loire Cabernet Franc weight, this comes across as lean and linear without being thin or austere. As it sits in the decanter, some secondary perfume appears, and you can smell more than taste red fruit. Astonishingly mineral finish. This is an outstanding, uncompromising wine at an early point in its life span. Please do not apply if you seek sweetness or succulent fruit.
White
2008 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Valmur France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
Yellow. Very iodine, brothy nose that only picked up over time. Still young and tight, lemony flavors with plenty of minerality. Very little Raveneau hazelnut or beeswax. The only thing that surprised me was relatively less density and weight than I expect from this cuvée, but these may come over time. Approaching outstanding and should get there with more bottle age. In superb shape.
Red
2001 Domaine Jamet Côte-Rôtie France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Faded red. Beautiful secondary aromatics-perfume, mint, bacon. This is certainly not fruit-driven at this point. Medium to lighter weight, lean, delicate, a touch of chocolate, excellent acidity, minerality more than remaining tannins. So interesting to mentally compare this to the 2011 we drank a few nights ago; this clearly was a cooler, more structured vintage that is delightful now but will fade fairly soon given a slight lack of flesh, but I doubt the 2011 will develop the nuance and complexity of this wine over time.
White
2013 Ballot-Millot & Fils Meursault France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault
Medium yellow. Lively citrus nose and palate with fine acidity and focus. Less woodsy and heavy than many contemporary Meursaults. Truly excellent village wine for drinking over the next few years.
Red
2010 Domaine Marquis d'Angerville Volnay 1er Cru Champans France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru
Ruby. Wow-ripe black cherry right out of the bottle that seemed very fruity and somewhat unseemly for Angerville, but this was eventually joined by more typical pine needle, rose, and licorice. Similarly, unusually ripe entry, but again, some time allowed it to display firm acidity, a leaner feel, and fine soil. Bottom line-lots of baby fat still present, but it will be just fine in 5+ years as it reaches maturity. Still, not the wine for purists who crave the more austere Volnays from this domain.

Flight 2 - Chablis and environs (8 notes)

White
2010 Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
Light yellow. Forward nose of orange mixed with seashell. Lively and bright citrus, medium weight, a hint of wood, really excellent fruit/acid/mineral balance.
White
2005 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Valmur France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
Medium yellow, very healthy for age. Much more complex nose than the Droin Clos with some low pitched citrus but more brothiness. Slightly weightier than the '08 Valmur tasted yest but not that big. Broader and lower acidity than that wine, good minerality. Excellent now without any excess fatness of the vintage. Will last but may be close to peak now. I have a hard time seeing this as an alltime great.
Red
2011 Nicolas Rossignol Volnay 1er Cru Ronceret France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru
Ruby. Licorice and black fruit. Medium to light weight. Young and peppery with green tones. Good but didn't love this bottle. I worry about it taking on too much green.
White
2000 Domaine Pinson Frères Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
Medium color, pretty pristine for its age. Started really oaky, but this steadily receded to show impressive remaining acidity and lemon. Excellent texture with some glycerine. Became more and more Chablisien over time. Not a great Clos but alive, interesting, and very, very good.
White
2005 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
Full yellow. Beautiful aromas of flowers, pear, and apples. Fresh as can be! Fabulous symmetry and feel, more than adequate acidity but certainly not mouth puckering. Beautiful finish as well. At its apogee, approaching Grand Cru level.
Red
2012 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques Vieille Vigne France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
Light ruby. Difficult to restrain, exuberant, alive aromas of red berry and blue fruit, spice, mint, and rising earth. Medium to lighter weight, gorgeous purity of fruit and excellent acidity. Wonderfully complete for its relatively light weight. Some tannins appear late, so it is not as ready as it initially seems. That being said, who would not drink this elixir now if given the chance??
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Red
2010 Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Cras France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
Deeper, darker color than the Fourrier. Intense black cherry scents, and much more soil and anise. Outstanding density for its medium weight, and superbly embedded acidity. Game, cocoa, and light green aspects compliment the fruit. Solid but unobtrusive tannins. Not nearly as unevolved as when I last tasted it in 2013. Superb, huge potential, and nowhere near its eventual peak. Ironically, we asked for the '09 but this was delivered by mistake-lucky us.
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White - Sweet/Dessert
1990 Roger et Christian Rousseau Bonnezeaux France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Bonnezeaux
Golden. Honeyed stone fruit, glycerine, long feel, pure sweet fruit, great acidity. Another outstanding unheralded Chenin from this great sweet wine Loire vintage. What a great find.

Flight 3 - Épernay and the Côte de Blancs (13 notes)

Rosé - Sparkling
N.V. Bernard Tornay Champagne Brut Rosé France, Champagne
Medium pink. Slightly sweet. Average commercial rosé. Bleh.
White - Sparkling
N.V. Philippe Gonet Champagne Grand Cru Signature Blanc de Blancs Brut Mesnil France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
All 2008/9 fruit. Light color, very lively mousse. Yeasty. Light bodied. A bit of herbs and quite mineral. Very dry and less rich than the magnum tasted in the US several weeks ago. Excellent and fine.
White - Sparkling
N.V. Philippe Gonet Champagne Grand Cru Roy Soleil Blanc de Blancs France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Again based on 2008 and 2009 fruit, all from Le Mesnil. Deeper color and aroma with strong orange peel. Medium to lighter weight but oustanding palate impact for this weight. Low dosage, strong sense of soil through the mid-palate and finish. I've never had this-it definitely left a strongly positive impression. Preferred to the Signature today.
White - Sparkling
N.V. Jacques Selosse Champagne Grand Cru Lieux-dits Extra Brut Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Les Carelles France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Disgorged February, 2015. Deep yellow. Transient mousse. Nose of caramel, apple, and yellow flowers. Medium to full bodied, old vine leesy, creamy feel. Low pitched citrus in the mouth, ginger, tongue tingling acidity, and stupendous soil that carries the finish. Only a modest sense of oxidation. This is basically a great Grand Cru white Burgundy with (some) bubbles, no more and no less. Fantastic!!
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White - Sparkling
N.V. Jacques Selosse V.O. Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Disgorged November, 2014. Light color, very lively fine bead. Fresh nose of ginger and lemon. Light, lean, great acidity and grip without seeming austere in the least. Completely different structure and feel from the Carelles we had earlier today. Outstanding. By my recollection, I enjoyed this much more than the last time I had the VO.
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White
2005 Marcel Deiss Riesling Grasberg France, Alsace
Light golden. Slightly honeyed, exotic nose of yellow peach and orange. Almost Vendange Tardive weight. Rich, moderately sweet attack followed by surprising acidity and soil which arrive late. The two halves are not very well connected, though.
Red
2010 Domaine Parent Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chênes France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru
Lighter red. Quite forward, frankly wild aromas of game, black licorice, and red fruit. Lovely light Volnay weight. Packed with sour cherry, a ton of soil, and superb acidity. Plenty of wine here, drinkable now but probably much better after another 5+ years.
White - Sparkling
N.V. Jacques Selosse Champagne Grand Cru Lieux-dits Extra Brut Ay La Côte Faron France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Disgorged April, 2014. Full yellow. Lemon and green flowers. Medium weight, probably not the density of the Les Carelles. Still, some creaminess and pear and tangerine fruit followed by a tsunami of acidity, limestone, and soil which coats the palate for several minutes after you swallow the wine. Minimal dosage and very little oxidative quality. Another pretty amazing bottle which could use more time in the cellar.
White - Sparkling
N.V. Jacques Selosse Champagne Exquise Sec France, Champagne
Disgorged July, 2015. Very fragrant peach and citrus. Medium weight, fresh, and not as sweet as the ample dosage would suggest due to wonderful finishing minerality. Not quite as electric or impressive as some of the other Selosse wines we've had over the past few days, but it made a very fine aperitif wine.
White - Sparkling
2002 Jacques Selosse Millésimé France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Disgorged May, 2013. Deep yellow. A touch of sherry at first, really the most oxidative wine of all apart from the 1999. Very textural with an almost buttery feel, toast and caramel, excellent but not great acidity like some of the other wines. Somewhat disappointing at first especially after having tried the great 2005 and dynamite 2003 earlier in the day, but like all of these wines, it was remarkably alive and dynamic, gaining a second wind with more air and displaying more herbal tones. Who knows, maybe we just caught it during a bad hour on the biodynamic calendar. I would love to try it again at some point.
1 person found this helpful Comment
Rosé - Sparkling
N.V. Jacques Selosse Champagne Brut Rosé France, Champagne
Disgorged July, 2015. More fennel and others herbs on the nose than red fruit-very different from the bottle the other night that was disgorged in 2014. After an initial impression of medium weight, relatively light and delicate with zesty acidity and lemon. Blossoms strawberry flavors over time to complement the interesting herbaceousness. Rising mineral finish. I didn't like this quite as much as the earlier bottling, but one cannot deny its interest and complexity.
1 person found this helpful Comment
White - Sparkling
N.V. Jacques Selosse Champagne Grand Cru Lieux-dits Extra Brut Ambonnay Le Bout du Clos France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Disgorged February, 2015. Salmon skin color. Incredible blackberry and spice aromatics. Lean and laser like. Some strawberry and black cherry flavors. Wow-powerful minerality and stone, completely dry. While I have had the experience of Champagne mimicking the flavor and texture of white Burgundy, never before have I had the sensation that the bubbly in the glass was like drinking red Burgundy; with every sip of this, I kept thinking "Angerville Clos des Ducs", as its leanness and purity were that striking and the Pinot Noir character so intense. While it is hard to pick a favorite from all of the incredible Selosse wines we tried this trip, this was revelatory and a fitting one with which to finish.
Red
2008 Château Cambon Beaujolais "Le Cambon" France, Burgundy, Beaujolais
Noted as very old vines on the bottle. Quite a change of pace with cheese after the flood of Champagne today and tonight. Light muddled red. Nose of camphor, brettanomyces, and earth. Very light. Some sweeter fruit, but overall tastes herbaceous and underripe with bothersome acidity. Interesting but not very good tonight.
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