I learned at this Salon from the Chef Cousin and from tasting that one of the great differences in domains is not from where the grapes come as many domains share the same parcelles, nor is it how they pick the grapes or even how they are handled after that, but when the winemaker put his or her particular skills to work. Do they ‘work’ the juice or the wine? Allowing the fruit to macerate longer will produce a bigger, chewier wine at a younger age. Letting the wine rest alone in casks produces wine that needs time in the bottle to be fully appreciated.
Good examples of 'worked' juice are Domaine Michel Magnien and Domaine Guyon. Michel Magnien is a younger son of a well-known Burgundian family. Négociants, eleveurs, producers, the Magnien have done and do all. The majority of the wine produced by Michel is made from purchased grapes although he does grow some in the Morey Saint Denis appellation. His production is exceedingly well done but has a mature taste even when young that arrives from macerating the fruit longer. The wine is round and filled with fruit. There is no tannin struggling against the fruit so often found in the young wines produced by other Burgundy producers. The Gevrey Chambertin could be best described as 'big and jammy,' not a positive remark in my mind.
Domain Guyon is a similar producer who is a supplier of the Chef Cousin. Guyon, located in Vosne-Romanée, produces wines from that area - Gevrey, Vosne, Nuits-St-George, and an Echezeaux Grand Cru that in 1999 received a 91-93 from Robert Parker (which just goes to show that Parker likes his Burgundy too young). The Chef Cousin buys several of Guyon's wines because there are people, in addition to Parker, who like Burgundy younger and for the price at Guyon one can buy very round, balanced, full, ready to drink wine from very known appellations.
At this point we found ourselves not just at another booth of one of the Chef Cousin’s suppliers, but behind their counter, holding glasses and bottles. So much for sip and spit! It was Domaine Dubois, a family domain making excellent wines. It was a pleasure to taste so many of Dubois’ reds at one time. I have now purchased some of them to put down for a few years. The structure of the 05’s probably will survive many more years of cellaring than the same wine from a different year. The problem is, however, the year is so good I am afraid I will want to open the bottles sooner rather than later. Their Chorey-les-Beaune and Savigny-les-Beaune 1er Cru Clos de Guettes were particularly good. We were drinking 2002 and 2005 Chorey and 2003 and 2005 Savigny. Again, the difference was striking. In comparison, the 2002 and '03 seem almost finished. We also tried an Aloxe-Corton 2002 that had promise and even though the Chef Cousin said no, I think it would improve with time. It maybe noted here that most producers work with one or the other of the wines of Bugundy - either the feminine or the masculine, rarely both, and Dubois is no exception.
2005 is the perfect year in Burgundy. A mythic one like this does not come around often. When it does it is characterized by the balance of fruit, acid, sugar and tannin from the beginning. Naturally, the growing season has to be perfect – not too much rain or sun, or heat or cold – and the harvest cannot be too large (because as we all remember, right, dear Audience, the production amounts are limited by law for Grand and Premier Cru and smaller harvest yields mean more concentrated juice). An interesting effect of the legal limitations to production is that excess juice from Grand and Premier Cru grapes is not wasted, but is allowed to ‘trickle down’ (forgive the pun) into village appellations and even Bourgogne Blanc and Pinots, improving the quality of all wine produced that year.
After our little drinking spell at the Dubois stand, we headed across the exposition floor in search of sandwiches, not, as you might imagine, stale white bread with iceberg lettuce and meat product sandwiches, but fresh pate and cheeses on baguette. Mmmm, even le sandwich has been improved by the French Touch! We did eat standing, so not French, and wandered around this section ogling the produits de terroir for sale here – much honey and jam – as well as the wine accoutrement available – wine glasses, wine refrigerators, wine cellars, and wine insurance! The latter seemed silly until I realized that spending a upwards of 100 euros per bottle adds up quickly in a several thousand bottle cellar, not to mention that replacement costs are always higher than when purchased young.
We plunged back in to the fray, tasting at numerous stands, some good, some not, some memorable, some not. Sadly, some were memorable for the disappointment. I wanted to try some Rully and found large producer. The young men pouring were certainly charmingly louche but the wine did not match their attractiveness. For the same price, I much preferred the Petit Chablis at Moreau. A positive standout was the Beaune 1er Cru from Domaine Arnoux. Another supplier of the Chef Cousin, Arnoux also had several wines that I found far too tanic. We also tried several reds from Domaine Taupenot-Merme that were delicious, including a Corton Rognet Grand Cru that was wonderful even so young; however, the price was not so 'wonderful' so my bottle stayed at the Salon.
This Salon had wine from all parts of France. Although we concentrated on the Burgundy, we did spend time at two other of the Chef Cousin's suppliers - Domaine des Sanzay from Saumur in the Loire Valley and Domaine de Sainte Anne from Brissac-Quince (of course, everyone knows that is western France, near Anjou). I have tasted many of Sanzay's wines, grace of the Chef Cousin, but they also make several sparkling wines, Méthode Traditionnelle, as they say, which for the price need to be imported immediately into America. One, a Brut 400, was superior to many average Champagnes and greatly cheaper. They also make a sparkling red - one glass is amusing, not more!
The Domaine de Sainte Anne also produces some real suprises. Anjou red is a gamay grape wine that is normally drunk very young. This domain has begun to age some of their wine produced from certain parcelles in oak barrels and after tasting some 2000 and 2005, I was stunned. Rich, complex, well structured wines with great color and beautiful noses for a price that one buys a rosé wine in New York. I must find room for a few of these in the cellar.
Time to leave, time to go home, the guards are circling, but we are still hanging over Sanzay's stand finishing all the open bottles. Thankfully I took notes on the tastings, because I cannot remember how we got home.
Go and imbibe!!
Monday, December 17, 2007
Another Weekend, Another Salon des Vins, Part One
I must warn you dear Audience, that chronological order has been disturbed. I wrote this piece on the plane for Chicago but posted my ruminations on Chicago prior to finishing this one.
So it is the last weekend of November, and yes, le planning for the weekend is wine, but before Sunday at Porte de Versailles for the Salon, we had to have the Prince Consort’s birthday dinner en famille. Normally not too gruesome and with better than edible food, this evening proved to be no exception. Dinner was a blanquette de veau, particularly tender and the sauce was very light and delectable. Served with it was a 2002 Irancy that, combined with the blanquette, created one of those ethereal dining moments when everything just comes together. All I could taste, hear or see was my plate, my fork and the wine. Beyond that all was grey as if it had been dipped into the blanquette sauce.
Irancy is a thin elegant Burgundy that is one of the few red wines from that region which can be made from grapes other than the Pinot Noir. I must admit that I do not know if this particular bottle contained more than Pinot, but I would hazard that it did not from the taste. The village of Irancy is northwest of Beaune, near Chablis, and these wines have a higher degree of minerality than many red Burgundies. I find Irancy to be particularly good, but you, dear Audience, will remember that I enjoy greatly these thinner, feminine Burgundies. Here though, I must note here that the ‘femininity’ of Irancy is not that of the Chambolle or Volnay. There is none of the feeling of great power sheathed in a velvet glove as with those. No, I find simply a finesse or, well yes, an elegance that sets Irancy in a class with Fixin and only one or two other Burgundies.
The evening ran late and we struggled to wake up on Sunday in order to join the Chef Cousin at the convention center at Porte de Versailles for the 29e Salon des Vins des Vignerons Indépendants, or the Twenty-ninth Wines of Independent Winemakers Salon. The Paris Expo Center - Porte de Versailles is enormous with numerous buildings and wide avenues. It makes NYC’s Javits Center look like a Smerf house. The Chef Cousin had already spent Saturday there and had agreed to return primarily to accompany us around. Avid readers will remember that the previous weekend’s Salon had taken place on two peniches in the Seine. That gathering was child’s play by comparison to today’s expo. The listing of the weekend's participants filled a Zagat-sized book. There were rows and rows, and each row contained more than 40 booths on each side of the aisle.
In addition to tasting wine from the Chef Cousin’s suppliers, I had one or two names that I had picked up from the time I spend glued to the French wine auction sites. In particular, I was intrigued to try a Chablis producer whose late ‘90s Premier Cru I had watched sell recently, not cheaply but fairly priced. Armed with the map of the Salon and a list of names, we headed of to taste white wine first. The Chablis producer was our first stop. By the name of Moreau Naudet, they have a reasonable sized production including a Petit Chablis, two different Chablis villages, four Premier Cru named for their parcelles - Vaillons, Montmains, Forets, and Montee de Tonnerre, and a Grand Cru "Valmur." We tasted 2004 and 2005, but by the second day of a well-attended Salon, there remained only one or two of their wines to try. This is no great surprise because we all know now that 2005 is one of those mythic, perfect years that everyone must taste, if not also own. The Petit Chablis 2005 was a nice balance of mineral and tannin; the price to quality ratio was very good. In 1er Cru, we only tasted the Forets which was pleasant if not a bit austere for my taste. I was interested also in the Vaillons, and although there was none to taste, the winemaker described it as fruitier that the Forets. I will watch for their wine to appear again at auction.
From Mordet, we headed to Guillemard Clerc, a husband and wife domain in Puligny-Montrachet. I had recently purchased six bottles of their 1999 Puligny-Montrachet Les Reuchaux but have not had a chance to taste it. I wanted to learn a bit more about them, hopefully to know whether to watch for more of their production at auction. It was a bit shocking to observe how this couple interfaced with the public. Now intime members of the Audience will know that I do not find the French very focused on service and niceties. I can only imagine that French became the language of diplomacy more by default (the sole solid monachy with language that is so flowery that one can speak for hours without saying anything) and less because crisis were resolved. Nevertheless, the Clercs took 'French Service' to a new level; faced with diminished stock thanks to the well-attended Salon, the couple (looking like throw-backs to the ‘80s including her carefully applied heavy blue eye shadow and bleached blonde hair) were simply and obviously lying to wishful ‘tasters’ who did not meet approval following a not-so-subtle up-and-down regard. We had passed muster – something about the Chef Cousin’s boyish demeanor gets him past many guards – and as we stood there tasting a variety of whites and reds, numerous others were turned away with a “No, we have nothing left…” We had the pleasure of tasting several Puligny-Montrachet (one 1er Cru and two Villages), two different Beaune Premier Cru - 2004 and 2005 - and a Clos de Vougeot. The latter is always a Grand Cru and I find it difficult to extrapolate from such a young wine how it will mature over the next ten - fifteen years, but I did appreciate it. Interestingly, the 2004 Beaune seemed almost drinkable. Maybe theirs will not age very well. Drunk next to the 2005; however, the 2004 paled by comparison. It was much less concentrated and missed much of the body already apparent in the 2005.
[more follows]
So it is the last weekend of November, and yes, le planning for the weekend is wine, but before Sunday at Porte de Versailles for the Salon, we had to have the Prince Consort’s birthday dinner en famille. Normally not too gruesome and with better than edible food, this evening proved to be no exception. Dinner was a blanquette de veau, particularly tender and the sauce was very light and delectable. Served with it was a 2002 Irancy that, combined with the blanquette, created one of those ethereal dining moments when everything just comes together. All I could taste, hear or see was my plate, my fork and the wine. Beyond that all was grey as if it had been dipped into the blanquette sauce.
Irancy is a thin elegant Burgundy that is one of the few red wines from that region which can be made from grapes other than the Pinot Noir. I must admit that I do not know if this particular bottle contained more than Pinot, but I would hazard that it did not from the taste. The village of Irancy is northwest of Beaune, near Chablis, and these wines have a higher degree of minerality than many red Burgundies. I find Irancy to be particularly good, but you, dear Audience, will remember that I enjoy greatly these thinner, feminine Burgundies. Here though, I must note here that the ‘femininity’ of Irancy is not that of the Chambolle or Volnay. There is none of the feeling of great power sheathed in a velvet glove as with those. No, I find simply a finesse or, well yes, an elegance that sets Irancy in a class with Fixin and only one or two other Burgundies.
The evening ran late and we struggled to wake up on Sunday in order to join the Chef Cousin at the convention center at Porte de Versailles for the 29e Salon des Vins des Vignerons Indépendants, or the Twenty-ninth Wines of Independent Winemakers Salon. The Paris Expo Center - Porte de Versailles is enormous with numerous buildings and wide avenues. It makes NYC’s Javits Center look like a Smerf house. The Chef Cousin had already spent Saturday there and had agreed to return primarily to accompany us around. Avid readers will remember that the previous weekend’s Salon had taken place on two peniches in the Seine. That gathering was child’s play by comparison to today’s expo. The listing of the weekend's participants filled a Zagat-sized book. There were rows and rows, and each row contained more than 40 booths on each side of the aisle.
In addition to tasting wine from the Chef Cousin’s suppliers, I had one or two names that I had picked up from the time I spend glued to the French wine auction sites. In particular, I was intrigued to try a Chablis producer whose late ‘90s Premier Cru I had watched sell recently, not cheaply but fairly priced. Armed with the map of the Salon and a list of names, we headed of to taste white wine first. The Chablis producer was our first stop. By the name of Moreau Naudet, they have a reasonable sized production including a Petit Chablis, two different Chablis villages, four Premier Cru named for their parcelles - Vaillons, Montmains, Forets, and Montee de Tonnerre, and a Grand Cru "Valmur." We tasted 2004 and 2005, but by the second day of a well-attended Salon, there remained only one or two of their wines to try. This is no great surprise because we all know now that 2005 is one of those mythic, perfect years that everyone must taste, if not also own. The Petit Chablis 2005 was a nice balance of mineral and tannin; the price to quality ratio was very good. In 1er Cru, we only tasted the Forets which was pleasant if not a bit austere for my taste. I was interested also in the Vaillons, and although there was none to taste, the winemaker described it as fruitier that the Forets. I will watch for their wine to appear again at auction.
From Mordet, we headed to Guillemard Clerc, a husband and wife domain in Puligny-Montrachet. I had recently purchased six bottles of their 1999 Puligny-Montrachet Les Reuchaux but have not had a chance to taste it. I wanted to learn a bit more about them, hopefully to know whether to watch for more of their production at auction. It was a bit shocking to observe how this couple interfaced with the public. Now intime members of the Audience will know that I do not find the French very focused on service and niceties. I can only imagine that French became the language of diplomacy more by default (the sole solid monachy with language that is so flowery that one can speak for hours without saying anything) and less because crisis were resolved. Nevertheless, the Clercs took 'French Service' to a new level; faced with diminished stock thanks to the well-attended Salon, the couple (looking like throw-backs to the ‘80s including her carefully applied heavy blue eye shadow and bleached blonde hair) were simply and obviously lying to wishful ‘tasters’ who did not meet approval following a not-so-subtle up-and-down regard. We had passed muster – something about the Chef Cousin’s boyish demeanor gets him past many guards – and as we stood there tasting a variety of whites and reds, numerous others were turned away with a “No, we have nothing left…” We had the pleasure of tasting several Puligny-Montrachet (one 1er Cru and two Villages), two different Beaune Premier Cru - 2004 and 2005 - and a Clos de Vougeot. The latter is always a Grand Cru and I find it difficult to extrapolate from such a young wine how it will mature over the next ten - fifteen years, but I did appreciate it. Interestingly, the 2004 Beaune seemed almost drinkable. Maybe theirs will not age very well. Drunk next to the 2005; however, the 2004 paled by comparison. It was much less concentrated and missed much of the body already apparent in the 2005.
[more follows]
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