2008 Burgundy: Colin & Jim on tour

Jim and Colin`s adventures in Burgundy on Twitter

Friday 6 November 2009

Up early for packing. The Yanks have arrived. We saw Allen Meadows in a restaurant last night and Stephen Tanzer is at breakfast, but we have our own agenda. So having treated myself to the first pain au chocolat of the week, we disappear up the A6 for the 100+ kilometres to Chablis. We roll up outside the Droin residence just as Benoit pops his head out of the gates. He is quite ebullient and indeed bullish about the 2008s. The Chablis was bottled in April and the Premiers and Grands Crus in August. Each of these latter wines represents some startling diversity in both soil and exposition and each of the single site wines are quite different from each other. The Vaillons has that classic Chablis oyster shell minerality. The Mont de Milieu, that they only took over in 2003, has an almost Condrieu-like character. An excellent tasting and a reminder of how these wines are good to drink young and age beautifully. Benoit thinks that 08 is like a cross between the richness of 02 and the freshness of 07.

So to Domaine Christian Moreau. Christian, who is now the figurehead of the Domaine, is in China leading a delegation. Fabien Moreau has been in charge of farming and winemaking for some time and his insights are valuable. For him the vintage is like a cross between the rich 2002 again and the structure of 2005. The 08s are superb and diverse, even Les Clos, which is a tank sample of a wine under construction. The 2007s are beautiful and pretty much drinking well now. We were then treated to a vertical of Les Clos going back to 2003; a real privilege and an experience in assessing wine. And that last point is really the theme of the whole week.

This has been a big learning experience for me. Jim and I were discussing this on the train home and agreed that the stage of development of the wines made tasting and assessing them much more difficult. Talking to experienced US amateur Claud Kolm on Thursday, it became apparent that some people have already tasted without taking the extraordinary lateness of the malolactic fermentation into account. It is important to realise how this changes the structure of the wines – not just the acidity, but the tannins as well. As to the old saw of whether this is a red or white vintage, well, I would just say wait and see. In six or more years time, we may be in a position to make that judgement. What I can tell you is that by our en primeur tasting in February we (and you) will be in a better position to taste the more or less finished wines. For myself, I am saving up to buy 2008s of both colours.

Thursday 5 November 2009

The weather is getting colder, the weather is not getting drier, though it feels as though the pressure is rising a bit. We are en route to Domaine Denis Mortet to see Arnaud who we first met when we stocked his father`s wine. After Denis` shocking early death, the Domaine naturally fell into some disarray and we missed a couple of vintages. The cellars are the antithesis of your typical Burgundian arrangement. They are new, spacious and purpose built and will allow for expansion in the future if possible. Arnaud is young - 28 - so has another 40 vintages ahead of him.

He has certainly become a man in the last couple of years and made some critical decisions. The first is to discontinue the wines which amalgamated different terroirs, which he says is consistent with what his father was trying to achieve. He has also begun to convert to organic viticulture. 2008 was not the easiest vintage to begin that journey. All the reds have brilliant fruit and depth and the tannins of the trip so far. The procedure is to cold soak for a week and then employ minimum extraction during fermentation.

So to Chambolle, to taste first with Louis Boillot, who seems to have parcels of vines in every Cote d`Or AOC, but whose 2008s far surpass the previous offerings I have tasted here. Ghislaine Barthod showed us her range and they were as successful as ever. Because the seasons were so cool and relatively damp a lot of work was needed in the vineyard both in terms of canopy management and applying treatments. The result is a line up of delicate, delineated, precise, light to medium bodied wines. Ghislaine gave us a 2000 Les Cras and it was a delicious, balanced example. If you have any of her wines from this vintage you might think about having a taste.

Some lunch and then to Meo-Camuzet. Most of the wines here have finished their malos, so tasting here isn`t as problematic as some. Jean-Nicholas himself takes us through the wines and lets us have some insights into life as a sharecropper and the sort of contracts that can be negotiated. Wines are suave, fruity and concentrated and he is optimistic. At the time of harvest he was worried by the very high acidities, but the wines have done well during their elevage.

At Domaine Jean Grivot, Etienne is ready for visitors, even having had a shave. This is a big cellar and full of wines displaying sweet, supple, elegant fruit and fruit coated tannins too. At every level, from the Bourgogne Rouge still finishing its malo, to the astonishing Richebourg, the wines are lovely. The 2007s we retasted are almost drinkable already and the Chambolle Combe d`Orveau and Pruliers are very pretty and plumping up nicely. The 2000 Clos de Vougeot is beginning to show the aromas of maturity but wonderful sweet fruit. The 1993 Richebourg was simply stupendous. Popped and poured, it took a few minutes to show much, then after we tasted the Chardonnay I went back to it and it had fantastic texture, density and complexity.

Christophe Drag greets us at Chauvenet. This domaine`s wines aren`t unique in Burgundy, but they have a style which is present in the 2008s. Here we have ripe fruit, a dark colour not seen since the visit to Mortet and real depth, richness and big structure. Yet this is achieved without any over-extraction or clumsiness. Christophe did say that the high malic acid at harvest had impacted the fermentation and caused him to perform delestage on a couple of his wines. Delestage involves completely emptying a tank of wine, thus exposing it to air, then refilling it. It helps to oxygenate the grape must and soften tannins as well as feed the yeast. The star for me was the Damodes, closely followed by the Bousselot.

 Wednesday 4 November 2009

Dawn`s grey and wet, funnily enough. Though the weather forecast is hinting at a change, there is no sign of it yet. A yet earlier start too. We get on our way and as we approach Pommard, there is part of a rainbow. We are at our first of a seven appointment day at 8:30 and the first wine to wash the toothpaste away is a sturdy Pommard with spice, depth, concentration, and oh yes, tannin. We are at Jean-Marc Boillot, where last year we saw his daughter and this year are in the care of the man himself. The reds are lovely; they all have that depth and concentration, without losing elegance. It`s a root day today yet the whites in particular show beautifully: lively, rich, fruity and delineated.

On to Lafarge, where father and son greet us and shepherd us into the goods lift down to the cellar. First up is the Raisin Doree Aligote with an extraordinary nose of almond tart and custard with good crisp acidity to back it up. Then the lemony fresh but weighty Meursault. A serious Beaune Premier Cru completes the trio of whites. But we are here for the reds really and they are magnificent. The Volnays, the Beaunes and the Pommards all have ripeness, structure and finesse and are all different of course, and show their origins. Then we tasted the 2007 reds from bottle and these are really attractive drinking already.

Back in the car and to Domaine Antoine Jobard; a change of name here denotes the successful implementation of a proper succession strategy. Wines here spend two winters in cask and though Antoine`s winemaking hasn`t differed very much from his dad`s, we detect a freshness and vivid fruity quality. The visit ends with a blind tasting. A gorgeous and complex honey full of creamy hazelnuts that turns out to be a 1995 Puligny.

The sun is out as we emerge from the cellar, but it is raining by the time we arrive at Thomas Morey. Another planned succession, Bernard Morey divided his Domaine between his two sons and Thomas is the whippet, all intelligence, lean and straining sinew. The wines are tense, coiled with wonderful precision and spring. Here, the 2008 harvest was three weeks later than 2007. The reds finished their Malos in June and will be bottled next week. Lunch.

Damien Colin leads Domaine Marc Colin after his brother decided to use his patrimoine to set up on his own. This extremely talented vigneron produced a great tasting for us with both reds and whites showing very well indeed. They all showed lovely fruit offset by good structure and restrained oak. This is another property where our assessment of the high quality of the 2007s was vindicated now that they are in bottle, with Fontenottes and En Remilly looking very good in particular.

Vincent Morey is Thomas` brother and is perhaps the labrador to Thomas` whippet. He makes serious wines with presence and weight. It is rare to sit down at all during a day of tastings, as most of them are held amongst the barrels. Apart from anything else, few have the type of tasting room seen in the New World. Conversely there is always the danger of sitting down and falling asleep, though not here as the wines are fresh, vivid full of energy.

Tuesday 3 November 2009

An earlier, greyer and damper start today, as we depart to Gevrey-Chambertin. Miraculously, we are early for our first appointment in the centre of the village. Even got through the Nuits-St-Georges traffic lights first go. Today`s first visit only proved how difficult 2008 could be to make, and how important it is to taste. Yesterday Jean-Baptiste represented the generational change and the positive benefits that can accrue from introducing youth into the mix. Young, trained and independently minded vignerons are often cited as a panacea for all the ills of wine regions. But here, it was as if the young scion of the family, in the process of taking over, rarely stepped outside the high gates and walls of home. Here, the wines lack charm and fruit; even ripeness. Perhaps they would suit some old school drinkers but they won't be appearing at Uncorked any time soon.

But it was a long tasting, so we were only just in time for our next appointment in St Philibert, about 5 clicks east of Gevrey, to see Alexandra Roy. As we arrived, we got a text to say she was in Luxembourg so, off to Morey St Denis and Clos des Lambrays. We are obviously early and since it`s only drizzling (though there is a cold wind in the Trossachs), we drive up the Montagne past the Clos. We stop for some photography of rows of vines, autumn colours and other slightly out-of-focus or shaky, arty nonsense. Back in the car, with half the terroir sticking to my shoes - sorry Avis - we climb ever higher, until the decision is made to descend to the village on an old farmer`s track. We are truly `dans les vignes` to the bewilderment of some cold-looking and wet pruners. Slipping gently down the M-S-D argilo-calcaire and limestone terroir (in full control of the vehicle, of course), we make it through the deep chalk clay ruts, round a blind, walled and quite tight corner to confront a concrete drainage culvert, quite new and with an angle of 60 degrees. Where the track was 4x4 territory, this was strictly tractor, but we ploughed on (see what I did there?). Had the car been 3 inches longer we would still be there. As it is, there`s only a small scrape but the sump and exhaust survive.

Thierry Brouin greeted us at Clos des Lambrays. Last year our visit coincided with a bus load of Japanese and Korean merchants, so he was a bit stressed, but this year with plenty of time, he`s relaxed. Wielding his barrel thief, Thierry always makes a blend of wines from old and new barriques for us to taste as it`s more representative of the final blend. He is proud of his 2008s and having tasted his neighbour`s wines, is confident he is above the average. Certainly the wines here are suave, with fruit coated tannins, plenty of glycerines and ripe fruit. They will be bottled in January, so will have had 16 months in oak.

Our first choice for lunch in Gevrey is closed, and so we find ourselves in Chez Guy, with the great and good of the wine world, including Jean-Marie Fourrier who we see next and Arnaud Mortet, who we shall see on Thursday (not to mention half of London). If there is only time to see one man in Burgundy it would be Jean-Marie. He has thought about everything and has the answer to all our questions before we even ask them. Most of his wines have finished malolactic and have turned from ugly ducklings into lithe and elegant swans. `We understand more about the malo in the last five years`, he says. `Malo is like chickenpox, there is no escaping it, and we should all get it, but it`s not the best time to introduce your children to your friends.` He has moved his wines out of barrel and into tank to finish off, so he doesn`t make them too woody. All the bottling will be completed by March.

A two hour appointment with Fourrier becomes a 3 hour masterclass, so we are dreadfully late for Domaine Lucie et Auguste Lignier and can`t raise Kellen on the phone. She has waited for us and we escape with a good natured telling off and, though she is clearly tired, she`s generous with her time and tasting. I`ve tasted a few before, but never the range or at the domaine. They are sharecroppers with a rented cellar and the wines are really expressive. Kellen is using more and more whole bunch pressing for her reds and the resulting tannins are very elegant and fruit coated. She had some hail in 08, and had bugs that eat buds early in the season and this combination lost her over a third of production in some vineyards. As she is striving to be organic, pest control is a tough job. Until she can train her chickens to stay in the vines and eat all the bugs, she`ll continue to get low yields.

Out for dinner in the same restaurant where wine royalty in the form of Aubert de Villane of DRC. When he left, the place fell quiet, the buzz resuming only as the door closed.

Monday 2 November 2009

This year as we embark early the skies are grey, the temperature in single figures and the rain mizzling across the car park. It`s an improvement. This time last year we had snow on the Chalonnaise leg of the trip. When you drive through Chagny in the snow it`s hard to decide whether you need the D62a, D62b, c or d. This year it goes to plan and we are early. We are starting in Givry with long time favourite producer Francois Lumpp. Here virtually everything is done by Francois and his wife Isabelle and they were busy when we turned up. Isabelle took time off to show us round their small and utilitarian cellar and take us through the wines. They are preparing for bottling, which will take place at the end of November.

It was immediately apparent that there is a difference between Petit Marole and Crausot, their two Premier Cru Givrys. I have never had the chance to taste the wines side by side before and the two vineyards have their distinct personalities. The Marole at this stage is more restrained than the flashier Crausot. Crausot shows more minerality too. This is a small operation and a stern initial test for my French, which hasn`t been unpacked since I put it away after the last Burgundy tour. It seems to still be there. As we are leaving this brief visit, Madame Lumpp mentions, as an afterthought, a new wine made from a couple of hectares of land they have just acquired and are working hard to improve. None to taste, but we`ll try and get a sample. This is a very good and all too easily overlooked domaine making wines of interest, pleasure and note.

Next stop is Mercurey and the ever friendly, even jolly, Francois Raquillet. Here we have winegrower as artisan; he`s a real craftsman who doesn`t want to get in the way of what his vines are trying to express, so thinks carefully about how much extraction to do during fermentation and mostly lets the wines speak for themselves. Highlights for me were the Veleys in red and white and the Naugues rouge.

As Jim says, when you are in the Chalonnaise, you don`t want to drink anything else. Nuits and Gevrey seem like a different country. Francois` mum turns up during our visit to collect a couple of bottles of white and pass the time. She is as relaxed and twinkly as her son.

On to Rully and Jacqueson after lunch. Patches of blue sky now, but the sunnier it gets the harder it rains. Look in vain for a rainbow. Also wonder why the chef has decided to present the Jambon Persille in the form of cat food.

Marie Jacqueson shows us round. Though in charge of the business side, she admitted that time in the vineyard was her favorite thing, working on the vines in the growing season is her special delight. She lives the terroir, which you can`t do in an office.

Everything had been bottled in the last couple of weeks. Normally they bottle before the harvest, but in 2008 the grapes had high malic acid and a cold winter after the harvest and many wines are only just finishing their malolactic fermentation.

The whites here have always been amongst my favorite Chardonnays, and despite being a little muted by bottle shock showed well. The reds are just closing down too but still showed their trademark garrigue, so a good tasting and the biggest winery dog so far, a giant but placid Alsatian.

Next we went to see Jean-Baptiste Pontet, 29 years old, though he started when he was 20, he hurriedly reassured us. On that basis, we had a sneak preview of one of his wines at lunch. It was pretty good so we arrived in hope. We tasted from two vineyard areas never before encountered: La Fosse, and most impressive, Molesme. Previously at this Domaine all the wine has been sold to negociants and blended away, but Jean-Baptiste has taken over from his father and begun bottling. Despite some still coming out of malo, the wines showed very well and are beginning to reflect the work done in the vineyards. He is ploughing more, and vines need a few years to accommodate a change like that, as all the top roots are cut and the plant is forced deeper to look for minerals and water.

After this, the road led us to Chassagne-Montrachet and Alex Moreau. Alex has worked in New Zealand. If you`re French, you either hope Kiwis have short memories or are just plain brave. Anyway, time there means that he speaks a form of English. This makes life so much easier. Having raved about Chalonnaise wines, there is no doubt that Chassagne in good hands represents a big step up. The Moreau wines are fluid expressions of the vineyards, as transmitted by the grapes. They are mineral, but delightfully fruity. 2008 was hard work in the vineyard, with a lot of adjustment in the leaf canopy through the summer and some spraying needed.

The goal at this address is not to pick too late - they like freshness in their wines and not to filter at all. Alex fines lightly and precisely but doesn`t enjoy the uncertainty of filtration. The wines are mostly not bottled yet because of that late malo, so the reds are a little tough just now, but the tannins are fruit coated and supple and when they have put on a little more fat, will be delicious.

A good first day, I think, as we walk though the chilly rain to Le Benaton for dinner.

Sunday 1 November 2009

Getting there

`How on earth`, my mother frequently asks, `did we manage without mobile phones?` We often didn`t of course and we wouldn`t be managing here without the maps I printed on Saturday and had been reverently carrying round with me until I left them at home before the short trip to St Pancras. Fortunately a quick call and nippy driving rescued the situation and meant I was also reunited with my Smints. I like travelling Eurostar as all the time spent with them is moving, not queueing for security or sitting around in departure gates, but can't any longer say that I would choose them for the food. However after a trip to Gare de Lyons on the underground and an uneventful journey to Dijon we picked up our car and the tour had truly begun.

Friday 30 October 2009 10:48am

Jim and Colin are off to Burgundy, to brave the weather, the vignerons and Flipper.

Friday 30 October 2009 10:45am

Notebook: check; memory cards: check; batteries: check; weather forecast: check (bugger); camera rain cover: check; milk thistle: check.

/CW