Jacqueline Friedrich: The Wine Humanist

WINE BY PEOPLE, FOR PEOPLE

As of February 2008 all wine tasting notes will appear on this page. They will be organized by date. As time permits, I'll include an index -- by region -- in the margin.

April 24, 2008: Wine of the Week: 2005 Cahors Clos de Gamot: Jean Jouffreau’s domaine not only could be but has been the poster child for French Family Farms: in 1968 the domaine won first prize in the Ministry of Agriculture’s French Farm competition. The dog-and-pony show that followed brought the Jouffreaus to the lawn of the White House. The prize was well deserved. The eco-serious Jouffreaus have 12 hectares of vines in the Cahors appellation. The grapes for this wine, from 45 to 123 years old, grow on a terrace whose soils are composed of clay and silex. The grapes are hand harvested, at 38 hl/ha, vat for roughly 25 days (depending on the vintage) and the wine ages for 18 months in large old barrels before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. They say that the wine is austere in its youth and gains complexity and suppleness after 8 to ten years of age. I tasted this wine in the beginning of the month at Hostellerie Le Vert (see Out & About) and the word ‘austere’ did not figure in my tasting notes. Charm, however, was oft repeated. The wine was deeply colored, with heady aromas of black cherries and violets. Juicy black cherry flavors enveloped a core of solid stone. I imagine that, with age, the wine will develop spicy notes that would have married beautifully with the chef’s cumin-scented lamb but why wait? I couldn’t stop drinking it and believe that I harvested every bottle on every table in the room.

Cahors from Le Cedre was my Wine of the Week for October 4, 2007 (see below). And the Cahors from this property continue to to WoW me: the 2001 Le Cedre, from magnum, was fragrant, structured and complex, with seductive flavors of black cherry, blackberry and licorice; the 2001 GC, from bottle, was rich and spicy with notes of pleurotte mushrooms.

April 13, 2008

TASTING NOTES FROM PRESS TRIP TO MINERVOIS AND ST. CHINIAN IN JANUARY 2008 – among which you’ll find great vinous partners for the cassoulet at Comte Roger in Carcassonne as well as for good cassoulets anywhere. (See Out & About).

I’d like to point out several things about these notes: first, in press trips you don’t get to taste every wine from every winery. There are simply too many. The organizers divvy up the producers among the various press trips so that everyone gets a chance to shine. In the notes below I’ve selected my favorites. At the end of the post I’ve also added some personal favorites whose wines weren’t included in the press trip tastings.

MINERVOIS & MINERVOIS LA LIVINIERE:

Domaine de Barroubio: 2006 Minervois rouge: the simplest cuvee from this domaine is forthright and chewy, with lusty red fruit flavors. A food friendly red. 2004 Minervois rouge “Jean Miquel”: more serious, more ‘wine’, that the previous cuvee, this bottling has more dimension and serious flavor. Chiefly carignan with some grenache and syrah,it’s perfect with the cassoulet. 2005 Minervois rouge “Marie-Therese”: juicy flavors of brambles and red berries but a bit too oaky right now. Carafing would help.

Chateau du Donjon: 2005 Minervois rouge Cuvee Prestige: cassis, brambles and flavors of cherry jam,  a bit drying and oaky  but not bad.

Clos Centeilles: Minervois la Liviniere: fragrant, mingling aromas of ripe cherries, sweet spices and oak. Question of ultimate balance in terms of the oak. I’m optimistic here. A very good wine.

ST CHINIAN: (Included in these notes are white wines carrying the VdP d’Oc or Coteaux du Languedoc appellation. One tasting notes: I found many of the wines over-extracted but, with regard to the wines recommended, carafing (or aging) would smooth out any problems.

Domaine Bordes: 2006 St. Chinian rose: A direct press of low-yielding (28 hl/ha) cinsault and grenache noir, this is a structured, vinous, mineral rose. Very good indeed. 2006 St. Chinian rouge “Racio”: the simplest of the domaine’s reds, Racio contains 15% press wine (and is their only red with press wine).  It’s got good presence,  fresh, cool, juicy and gouleyant.

Domaine des Jougla: 2005 St.Chinian rouge “Signee”: this old vines bottling is rich and extracty, with plenty of oak and delicious fruit flavors. Carafe. 2005 St. Chinian rouge “Viels Arrasics:” This old vines cuvee aged in new oak. With its powerful flavors of new oak, black fruit, black peppery, blueberry concentrate and a whiff of green bell peppers, it’s a bit thick and demands aging or carafing.

La Madura: 2006 VdP d’Oc Sauvignon blanc – fresh and surefooted, an unusually good Languedoc sauvignon. 2003 St Chinian rouge “Grand Vin: a fragrant blend of mourvedre, syrah and grenache, the wine is dominated by oak at the moment thought age will surely curel that problem. It’s a serious, structured, masterly red with juciy black cherry flavors.

Viranel: 2006 Coteaux du Languedoc blanc: a fresh, floral blend of 95% grenache blanc and 5% bourboulenc, thhis is a nicely structured bistro white. “4321” St. Chinian rouge,a blend of four vintages, this is a relatively supple, pleasant repesentation of the appellation. 2005 St. Chinian rouge “V”:A selection of the best grapes (80% syrah) from top parcels, this is a suave, fragrant, balanced red.

FURTHER RECOMMENDATIONS (all of which I've described in the Languedoc-Roussillon chapter of The Wines of France): MINERVOIS & MINERVOIS LA LIVINIERE: Dom des Aires Hautes; Dom Borie de Maurel, Vignobles Lorgeril, Ch d'Oupia, Dom J-B Senat; Dom la Tour Boisee; Dom le Troubadour; Ch Villerembert-Julien. ST CHINIAN: Borie laVitarelle, Canet-Valette; Clos Bagatelle; Mas Champart; Dom Navaree; Dom Rimbert.

March 29, 2008

WHAT’S IN A NAME? Two 2007 Savennieres and an update on the Jo Pithon saga:

2007 Savennieres Chateau de Chamboureau: a pellucid wine, extremely mineral, fresh, racy and elegant. Simultaneously textured and ethereal, it combines flavors of zests, steel and slate. The finish is long, saline and mineral. Excellent.

2007 La Roche aux Moines Chateau de Chamboureau: mellower, yellower and richer than the previous wine, still ethereal but with a velvety texture. Oak is more of a presence than I would like, at least for now, but the wine is specific and racy. The finish is long, with appetizing flavors of herbal tea, lemon zests and slate. Very fine.

I tasted the above wines at Stephane Derenoncourt’s yearly primeur gala at the George V in Paris. Most of Stephane’s clients are Bordelais and the focus of all his consulting had been red wine until he was invited to work in Savennieres with Philip Fournier – in time for the 2007 vintage.

Philip Fournier, the president and general director of Afone, a telecom operator situated in Angers, is the man who owns Domaine Jo Pithon.  He purchased the property from a bank in June 2005 when Pithon proved unable to pay his debts. Pithon stayed on as general manager – a position he still holds.

At that time, the domaine had 12 hectares of vines in the Layon appellation. Fournier now has 22 hectares of vines planted in the Layon and, with the purchase of Chamboureau in October 2006, 23 in Savennieres, with a potential of 60 hectares in all. He has expanded the full-time staff though the team that worked under Jo in the vines and in the cellar remains the same.

Alexandre Forge, who had been Jo’s right-hand man, making the wine with him, since the spring of 2006, is now the cellar master. (Forge previously worked for Chateau Romanin in Les Baux after having studied viticulture, winemaking and wine marketing in Lyon, Angers, Switzerland and Portugal.)

 Fournier converted Chamboureau to organic viticulture. Under Derenoncourt’s guidance,  Fournier’s team planted rye between the rows of vines,  is experimenting with pruning systems and is changing the rootstocks. A new wine cellar is planned. Winemaking seems to follow the principles initiated by Pithon: wild yeasts, no enzymes, and so forth. Ten to 30% new oak is used. Malo is not systematic. (It was blocked in 2007.)

So where was the problem? Fournier wanted Pithon to spend less time at the winery and more time selling the wines; he would not be responsible for Chamboureau. Perhaps more to the point, Fournier ultimately wants all the wines under one label – FL – and plans gradually to phase out the Jo Pithon brand.

According to Fournier, when Pithon was informed of this he decided to leave. That was in January 2008. Pithon notified the wine world via email just before the Salon des Vins de Loire. The news came as a shock to just about everyone and, Fournier recalls, the Salon was not a happy time for him.

Given the quality of the wines tasted, the inspired choice of Derenoncourt as consultant and the philosophy underlying farming and winemaking, Fournier comes across as an Angevin version of Anthony Hwang, who purchased Huet. The wines, already great, will become ever greater. (Though Chamboureau always needed serious work and the 2007s described above are in a different planet from the former style.)

Jo and his wife Isabelle still own 2.5 hectares of vines in the Layon, “Les Treilles.” Fournier figures they’ll find a couple more hectares to rent or buy and continue to make their own wine.

Next week I’ll try to reach Jo and Isabelle to get their side of the story.

February 24, 2008

Here are my reflections on the wines served at the truffle meals. I chose them for several reasons. For one, I’m tasting wines from the Centre right now; and 2) where young Loire reds are concerned, I thought pinot noir (or pinot mixed with gamay) would be the best bets. All of the reds benefit from aeration and from light chilling.

2003 Sancerre blanc “Etienne Henri” from Henri Bourgeois: This cuvee is made from old vines on silex soils. It ferments and ages in barriques. Big, creamy and oaky, it approached late harvest in richness and ripeness. A stylish wine,it was less marked by terroir than I would have liked – which I take to be a function both of the extreme 2003 vintage and the use of oak. (The whites I die for from Bourgeois are, almost invariably, Jadis and d’Antan.) As it was so lush and nearly sweet, I decided it might make a good aperitif. And that’s when I served it. (The meal would start with the Tuscan white bean salad and I wanted something bracing and sprightly with that, ie the Quincys that follow.)

2006 Quincy Domaine Mardon: a fine, limpid sauvignon blanc with flavors of lime, stone and minerals., the wine had good grip, a lipsmackingly marrowy texture, and an appetizing bitter almond, lime and stone finish. It was so fresh that, when comparing it to the Sancerre , I called it fringant. (In French, fringant means frisky, high-spirited. Neither Bernard nor Nicole had heard the word applied to wine before and loved this particular application. It did, however, lead to a discussion of wine words – which ones are mere pretentiousness and hot-air and which, though hifalutin’ sounding, actually do mean something.

2006 Quincy Jean Tatin (Domaine de Tremblay): As fringant as the previous wine, this lively sauvignon blanc won a Gold Medal at the big Paris wine competition held at the time of the Salon d’Agriculture.won a gold medal at paris wine fair. Well-made and self-assured, it was full and fresh, with flavors of grapefruit zest and cassis buds and would be a perfect bistro sauvignon blanc. (The Domaine de Tremblay makes three additional cuvees of Quincy, my favorite being the racy Vieilles Vignes bottling with its etched, crystalline fruit.)

2006 Chateaumeillant rose from Domaine Lanoix: Annette doesn’t drink white wine (unless it’s Montrachet or something else worth the inevitable headache) so I opened this rose to go with the fish soup appetizer. Firm, dry, of some substance, with flavors of ash and light strawberry, it was a fine match.

2006 Coteaux du Giennois rose “Frenesie” Domaine de Villegeai (Quintin Freres): I chose this not only because it was yummy but because I knew Ilona would love the name. We drank it with cepe chips (small, round melba toasts) that Ilona had brought back from Latvia. Smooth, taut and focused, the wine had a lovely fluidity and went down all too easily. It had grace notes of strawberry but was dominated by flavors of stone and minerals. It wasn’t surprising that the wine won a Gold medal in the Salon des Vins de Loire wine competiton – as did the domaine’s red, Terre des Violettes, another charmer.

2006 Chateaumeillant rouge Cuvee du Chene Combeau, Domaine Lanoix: a firm, easy-drinking pinot noir with flavors of minerals and strawberries. Lots of charm here, too, and much too easy to drink. Perfect for a cozy late night supper bythe chimney but not bad at any time.

2006 Coteaux du Giennois rouge “Premices” from Emmanuel Charrier: the label says “hand harvest “ which is often a good sign. And the wine captivated with cool, lean fruit, light tannins and a lively acidity. Like all these reds, this one should be served lightly chilled. And it should be drunk with pals, some charcuterie and a nice, week-old goat cheese just beginning to develop blue splotches on its rind.

2006 Menetou-Salon rouge from Domaine de Chatenoy (White Label): This is the domaine’s light red. Abundant upfront fruit, suave and smooth, with nice, light tannins and an appetizing note of bitterness, it was delicious. Not a single false step. ( I tasted the 2005 Black label, the more serious red, on another day and watched it evolve over the course of three days. Thanks to the vintage, it was bigger and riper and had more gravitas. As it opened, its fruit, somewhat skeletal (in the nicest sense) to start, fleshed out and revealed juicy flavors of dark cherry and blueberry. The wine had aged in barrel but the oak here was a support, not a crutch, an accent, not a mask. And the wine went very well with spinach-and-ricotta-stuffed tortellini.)

2006 Menetou-Salon rouge “Celestin” from La Tour St. Martin: Uh huh, a heavy bottle. A sure sign of oak age and higher price. Also higher ambitions. And it was an ambitious wine, suave, with attractive fruit, but it was too oaky for me. I prefer the domaine’s simpler, unoaked bottling, a firm, stony, light pinot noir. It might be too light a style for some, but I love it.

2005 Sancerre rouge “le Connetable” Joseph Mellot: An old vines cuvee in another heavy bottle, this wine was dominated by flavors of oak and vanilla. Food helped, however, and we had no problem finishing the bottle.

2005 Sancerre rouge “La Grange Dimiere” Jean-Max Roger: Both Roger and Joseph Mellot are large grower-negociant houses and make wines in Sancerre and Menetou-Salon. The latter, from both, are on my “taste next” table. The Sancerres will wait. I opened these two specifically for the truffles. This wine greeted me with a whiff reminiscent of the rind of a St. Nectaire, something I often find and which I don’t find disagreeable. ( I imagine some tasters would call it cellar smells.) It came across rather hard, withcool, lean fruit. Food helped immensely. No trouble polishing off this bottle either.

2006 Sancerre rouge “Antique” Claude Riffault: I watched this beauty evolve over two days. Delicious and admirable, it was a fresh, structured pinot noir with succulent flavors of griotte and black cherries. A perfect example of why I go ballistic when people claim Sancerre can’t make good pinot noir.

2006 Sancerre rouge Vincent Pinard: Another good argument for pinot noir in Sancerre, this wine was pure, focused and accurate, with light caramel notes and juicy cherry fruit.

January 10, 2008 :

Just a note to share with you my enthusiasm for the 2006 Sancerre blanc "Les Pierrottes" from Claude and Stephane Riffault.
The grapes come from silex-rich soils and the wine is far more mineral
and stony than it is varietal. I've often felt that really top
Sancerres are ringers for really top Chablis. Cepage plays a distinctly
second role to terroir. That's certainly the case here. The wine is
beautifully textured. I haven't permitted myself to look at the
winemaker's technical notes but, to me, the wine seems to have the
marrowy texture of a wine raised sur lie. It's rich but fabulously
fresh, with accents of grapefruit zests and gooseberry enlivening the
stone and mineral core. It's so fine and racy and thrilling I can't
stop drinking it!

December 22, 2007 My Wine of the Year for 2007 is the 1997 Chateauneuf-du-Pape Domaine du Banneret.

Owned by Marie-Francoise and Jean-Claude Vidal, the estate – which
comprises roughly four hectares spread out over five different parcels
– is an ancient one: existing documents date as far back as 1405.
Jean-Claude, an architect, decided to become a vigneron when he retired
from his day job in 1989.

Tradition – in the best sense of the word – is the operating principle
here. The vineyards, with a high percentage of old vines, are planted
to all thirteen varieties. The low-yielding vines are, of course,
harvested by hand, mostly by the extended Vidal (and Espinasse) family.

A blend of 60% grenache, 10% syrah, 10% mouvedre, with the balance a
mix of the other nine varieties, the grapes are not destemmed.They
ferment together in concrete tanks and then age in old Burgundy barrels
for 18 months. The wines are not filtered, they are bottled (with the
help of a pipette)and labeled by hand. 80% is exported to the USA.
(Vidal’s nephew, Jean-Marc Espinasse, is married to an American. Each
has a website: his is www.rouge-bleu.com; Kristin’s (his wife’s) is
www. French-word-a-day).

The texture of velvet, the wine – tasted in March 2007 – was a tapestry
of flavors – black cherry, cherry pits, eau de vie, sweet spices and
minerals. Its coherence and purity took my breath away. You could spend
an entire evening observing (and delecting in) its evolution in the
glass, now the dulcet syrup of grenache gently dominates, now provencal
herbs. The words ‘truth’ and ‘soul’ came readily to mind. Here was a
wine of discovery, a wine to bring tears to a winelover’s eyes, a wine
that makes you shake your head in awe -- to think that a cluster of
grapes could do this.

And it raises various issues: can a wine have soul? By me, no question.
I had been moved by this wine before I learned that the grapes had been
harvested a mere month before Vidal’s son died of cancer. Before I
learned that this was a barrel sample that Vidal, because of the wine’s
place in family history, was unlikely ever to bottle.

Another issue is the thorny one of tradition -- in its good, bad and
indifferent manifestations. Well, tradition and wine fads. Take the
issue of fermenting a red wine with the stems. This is not currently
the mode -- though it once was common practice. I hope to explore this
issue more thoroughly – though I’ll beg off for the moment; I've had
several shots of gin, I hear the village clock chime 7 and have dinner
to cook.

One more note before I log off: when and where I tasted this
unforgettable wine was also remarkable. That will be Part II of this
story.Happy 2008 from the Vidal-Espinasse family.

November 27, 2007: Harvest report from Philippe Blanck of Paul Blanck in Alsace:
Chère Jacqueline,

De retour des Usa , je vous envoie quelques premiéres impressions sur le

millésime 2007:

Millésime de référence:aprés un printemps prometteur , floraison précoce et généreuse, un orage de grèle s'est abbatu sur la vallée le 20 juin en faisant beaucoup de dégats ( 60% du vignoble touché de 20à 100 %)

Un été froid a paradoxalement aidé à la cicatrisation des plaies liées à la grèle. L'été indien a donné l'un des meilleurs millésime des quinze dernières années . une belle maturité avec des acidités mûres.Des journées lumineuses et des nuits froides aident à la construction du millésime .

Le botrytis s'est bien installé début octobre . Il a été très propre comme en témoignent les raisins mais aussi les moûts en sortie de pressoir. Certaines baies se sont concentrées parallèlement par passerillage, ce qui est très intéressant dans la mesure où ce phénomène concentre aussi les acidités, ce qui aide à équilibrer les sucres résiduels de ces vins. Il a été récoltés sans trop tarder car attendre plus aurait risqué de faire chuter les acidités mais aussi la pureté aromatique (en raison du développement possible de la pourriture grise).

Il faudra attendre les mises de l'automne prochain pour valider cette affirmation. Les grands Crus et VT SGN seront commercialisés dans quatre ans au plus tôt,

Donc , pas de précipitations pour une annonce en fanfare .

cordialement,

Philippe Blanck

Philippe Blanck

November 5, 2007: Wine of the Week: Champagne Drappier "Quattor": They call this cuvee ‘blanc de quatre blancs” as it’s made from equal parts of the first gentle press of Chardonnay, Arbanne, Petit Meslier and Pinot Blanc. Aged two to three years sur latte, the Champagne is, above all, elegant and fine, with a delicate stream of bubbles. Simultaneously fruity – with flavors of preserved lemon and Granny Smith apples -- and very dry and starchy, its dosage is rather high for my taste – at 8 g/l – but very successfully done here, adding to the wine rather than masking it. (The liqueur used aged for 25 years in oak.) On this side of the pond, it’s priced at an extremely reasonable 36,40 euros.
A note, in passing, on the 2000 Moet. This was served to me by Olivier Roellinger, whose Maison Bricourt in Cancale has 3 stars in Michelin. Usually Roellinger is a man who sticks with artisanal ingredients – wine included – and he claimed this was the first Moet he’d ever had on his list. I wasn’t impressed, finding the Champagne structureless and unfocused.

October 2007 Oct.10, 2007: Meet Bob de Bourg:
Once upon a time there was an adorable beagle named Bob. Except that this beagle didn’t really exist. He was dreamed up by the wine producers of the Cotes du Bourg in the Bordeaux region of France who wanted a new advertising campaign, one with an irresistible animal as mascot (as we are now all aware that animals on labels sell wines). Et Voila! Bob, as in Best of Bourg, and, henceforth a growing anthology of beagle-related labels and ad logos.
Now I am as susceptible to cute pictures of cute animals as any dog-deprived, always-on-the-road-professional. And I also happen to be quite fond of the wines of the Cotes du Bourg, the unfortunate producers of which were recently forced to hijack a beagle named Angela when I visited the region, just to give a semblance of truth to their ad campaign and to give me something to chase after, feed fancy hors d’oeuvres to and pet while tasting a range of rather serious, lipsmacking reds in a summer garden.
All of this by way of telling you about the Bob’s latest venture: a 5 litre- bag in box with Bob de Bourg, natch, prominently on the carton, sitting as if ready to bound after any bone or ball you might like to throw.
The wine inside the bag inside the box is a 2006 Cotes du Bourg, 85% merlot, 15% malbec, selected by a jury, from an individual property. The five-litre box costs 24 euros.
So how is it? Well, it’s the quintessential quaffer – supple, light and fresh, with good acidity, light tannins and dark cherry fruit. It’s a well-made beverage wine and it goes down very, very easily. The kind of wine you’d want on hand for a loud house warming party, Halloween party, office party. And the kind of wine that every café in France would do well to pour whenever anyone called for a glass of red.

Wine(s) of the Week: Oct. 4, 2007: Chateau de Cedre Cahors:

In The Wines of France (p 331) I said that I had never tasted the Verhaeghe’s deluxe cuvee – GC – of Cahors. The 2000 was presented at a tasting last spring but, alas, it was corked. So a bottle was sent to me and, last night, with autumn well and truly in the air and a nice pork chop in the fridge, I decided to taste it.
Chiefly malbec – average age of vines, 48 years – grown on chalky terraces, the wine ferments in open 500 litre barrels and ages gently in those barrels for another 24 months.
Now, as grape varieties go, malbec’s star was destined to rise and its ascent finally seems to be happening. But most of the attention goes to New World malbecs. This has not gone unnoticed in Cahors – which is now promoting its “black wine” by the name of its grape rather than its appellation – though the 2000 GC is a fine ambassador for both.
It’s a sleek panther of a red, mouthwatering, silky, suave and polished yet with a warm country soul. Initially it invites you in with aromas and flavors of sweet spices – primarily cinnamon and mace – and light balsamic notes as well as the accents of oak in the vanilla range. It’s surprisingly fresh for a red this rich, with appetizing bitter undertones and bass notes of eau de vie de quetsch. As the wine aerates, flavors of prune, black olive and black cherry emerge.
Now here’s the rub (actually two rubs): 7500 bottles were produced and none are left for sale. And the vintage now on sale – 2005 – is not cheap at around 61 euros.
The regular cuvee, at half the price, is better value and always delicious. I recall the wonderfully structured, richly berried 2000 that I drank with immense pleasure at Pimpernel’s, a restaurant in Bath. (You’ll find a review of that excellent restaurant in Article Archives/Bath.)
But is value the only consideration? (That’s rhetorical, of course not.) The regular cuvee is a yummy meal partner and a super delicious wine. Cuvee GC takes center stage. And if it shares that stage with perfectly roasted duck (crisp skin, succulent meat) and potatoes mashed with the best butter you can find, then, my friends, you’ve got a little taste of heaven.

September 29, 2007: Harvest report from the Larmandiers (Larmandier-Bernier, p.152 in The Wines of France) in Champagne. Also, a postscript to Alain Hasard's Burgundy report, following his September 28th entry.

Bonjour,
We have finished harvesting (we were very lonely in the vineyards, most people ended several days before).
2007 was again a "different" year :
April was in summer, so bud burst was unusually early and at the beginning of june, it was expected that picking would begin earlier than ever before in mid August.
But the weather in june, july and august was wet, and cold for the season. We were pessimist for the vintage. The official date of opening harvest was decided early in august, not taking the bad weather in august into account. Since most people run when as soon as it is open...We decided to postpone our beginning, calling every pickers back several times. It was not very risky (we were in august !), but it is always difficult when you are alone...
Then the weather changed : since august the 24th, we only had nice weather : no rain (except 1 hour of small rain on september 3rd), a
north wind, it was good conditions because the grapes needed to concentrate. It was not too hot, so nearly botrytis was not a problem.
Finally we harvested nearly 100 days after flowering, (the last years, it was around 95 days).
We started picking in our own vineyards on september 3rd (except for 2 small pinot noir vineyards to make the Rosé and the Vertus Rouge that were ripe a few days before). Most winegrowers of the village began on august the 27.
Chardonnay are nice, but we had to sort the pinots noirs after picking (we've just bought a sorting table).
Ripeness is difficult this year for all Champagne areas especially when the volume of grapes is not controlled. And one more time people (in the Cote des Blancs above all) harvested too soon.
For us, thanks to our reasonnable yields and because we waited (and were lucky with the weather), we are happy with the results : our chardonnay are around 11, ph around 3, figures are not enough but the juices smell and taste very nice.
So we'll wait, taste and see, but this year may be worth making some vintages cuvees.
Best
Pierre and sophie

September 28, 2007: Harvest reports from Burgundy and Chateauneuf-du-Pape: The Burgundy report comes from Alain Hasard/Domaine des Champs de l'Abbaye (p. 93 in The Wines of France); the Chateauneuf report, from Michel Blanc at the Growers' Federation. If you'd like me to translate, send me an email.

Salut Jacqueline,

qq nouvelles des vendanges:

- De grosses disparités de maturité: un décalage de 3 semaines entre les plus précoces et les tardives.
- Des degrés alcooliques faibles: en moyenne 10-11% vol pour les rouges, avec une amplitude de 8 pour le pire et 12.5 pour les meilleurs. Au dessus, ce sont de gros menteurs-tricheurs...
- Pour les blancs, j'ai entendu parlé de 6 (pour des aligotés) et 14 (pour des Montagnys). En fait, les blancs ont mieux profité des beaux jours de Sept, pour ceux qui auront su attendre.
- Etat sanitaire: excellent pour les blancs, détérioré ( pourriture et flétrissure) pour les rouges précoces (Volnay, Pommard, Savigny), à excellent pour les tardifs pas trop chargés (Couchois, Hte Côtes) et une certaine hétérogénéité entre les deux. Tout dépend de la charge.
Inutile de dire que dans des millésimes-limite comme 2006 et 2007, la charge est une condition sine qua non de maturité/réussite.

En ce qui nous concerne:
- Une parcelle de Mercurey et dans une (bien) moindre mesure le secteur d'Aluze, nous ont donné bcp de travail: on a passé 2 jours à 10 coupeurs pour vendanger le 1/2 ha de notre vigne de Mercurey Les Marcoeurs!!! Et je ne suis pas sûr que nous ayons échappé au goût de raisin figué.
- Une réussite exceptionnelle dans les Côtes du Couchois: degré entre 11.5 et 12 mais surtout une maturité phénolique de grand millésime. Arômes riches, couleur noire intense, texture veloutée, et une bonne acidité... Juste un bémol: rendement de 10 hl/ha en moyenne.
- Des Blancs abondants et mûrs: 50 hl/ha pour les Mercurey etBge Blanc (13 % vol) et 40hl/ha (et13.5%) pour le Rully: du jamais vu pour nous!

Tu l'auras compris: on a vendangé à la carte (en 3 fois). Beaucoup d'ailleurs ont fait la même chose.
Et au final, je pense que nous avons bien joué le coup. Ce qui n'était pas gagné au départ.

Amitiés,
Alain

The 2007 vintage has occasioned a lot of vehement denunciations of organic viticulture amongst the chattering wine classes. I asked Alain, who adheres to biodynamics, what he thought. Here's his response.

Salut Jacqueline,

Tu fais bien de parler comparaison entre Bio et "autres"!

Pendant la campagne, toute le monde a souffert et surtout les vignes. Et je n'insisterai pas sur les ravages infligés aux terroirs par les énormes enjambeurs contraints d'intervenir en catastrophe dans des sols détrempés, provoquant souvent des ornières monstrueuses, ou obligés encore à ne prendre les rangs de vigne que dans le sens de la descente car incapables de les monter sous peine de glissade..!

Les BIO ont subi plus d'attaques et plus intenses que les chimiques. Mais en fait, tout s'est joué en fin de campagne!
J'ai vu partout en Côte d'Or et Saône & Loire, des vignes complètement ou partiellement défeuillées à la fin du mois d'août, alors que tout paraissait sain et bien vert le 15.
Les chimiques ont apparemment subi de plein fouet les attaques de mildiou mosaïque qui se sont produites durant la fin de campagne (suite notamment à l'orage du 15 août). Ce qui n'est apparemment pas le cas des vignes en BIO.
Les Bio ont surtout souffert en milieu de campagne lors de l'apparition de la maladie, avec des pertes sur grappes pouvant être significatives ( par ex chez Yannick). Mais ensuite, les vignes ont réagi et les viti BIO ont mieux géré la fin de campagne pour finir avec des vignes souvent en meilleurs états que celles de leurs collègues.

Pour mon cas:
Certaines de mes vignes sensibles au mildiou (terres légères) et très peu protégées (comme tous les ans) ont subi une grosse attaque fin Juin- début Juillet (jusqu'à 10 impacts de mildiou par feuille!). Mais j'ai réussi à contenir la maladie en resserrant la protection, en augmentant légérement les doses de cuivre et en rognant soigneusement à la main. Toutes les repousses (jeunes feuilles sur le sommet du palissage) ont été systématiquement détruites, qq "vieilles" feuilles ont été aussi affectées, et enfin qq grappes touchées par le Rot Brun. Par contre, pas de mildiou mosaïque!
Ainsi au final, toutes mes vignes ont gardé un feuillage efficient jusqu'au vendange, ce qui nous a permis d'atteindre systématiquement la maturité phénolique et une maturité alcoolique dans le haut de la fourchette du millésime. Il était même facile de constater que nos vignes étaient parmi les plus belles du coteau: feuillage vert clair, légérement jaunissant à la récolte (signe de maturité physiologique), grains noirs et fermes sans aucune pourriture.

Durant la campagne 2007, j'ai utilisé 2,3 kg de cuivre-métal par ha (alors que le maximum est de 3 kg en Biodynamie), ce qui est une performance dans le millésime. Néanmoins, je préciserai qu'Isa et moi n'avons pas cessé de travailler dans les vignes durant tout l'été!

Sur ces 5 dernières années, j'ai utilisé en moyenne 1.8 kg de Cu métal/ha/an. Pour te donner une idée de ce que ça représente, il faut savoir que:
Un viti en chimique qui fait un dernier traitement à la pleine dose de Bouillie Bordelaise, soit 15 kg/ha, utilise 3 kg de Cu métal/ha... Ceci est très fréquemment recommandé et pratiqué dans le cadre de la lutte raisonnée. En clair, en un seul traitement, il utilise en un passage, plus de Cuivre que moi en 1 an.

LE MILLESIME 2007 A CHATEAUNEUF DU

Des vendanges très saines suite à un été exceptionnellement sec et venté…

Avec seulement 35 mm de précipitations cumulées entre le 16 juin et le 15 septembre, on peut affirmer qu’à Châteauneuf-du-Pape l’été 2007 a été exceptionnellement sec. Selon les agro météorologues du Cirame de Carpentras, il s’agit même du plus sec de ces vingt dernières années, la normale s’établissant à 161 mm (station météo d’Orange).

Les pluies de ces derniers jours (environ 20 mm entre le 16 et le 18 septembre) ont donc été les bienvenues, leur faiblesse n’ayant eu aucune conséquence sur le bon déroulement des vendanges qui dans certains domaines commencent à tirer sur leur fin, précocité du millésime oblige (le ban a été proclamé le 4 septembre).

L’été 2007 a aussi été sensiblement plus venté que la normale (20 jours de fort Mistral entre le 1er juillet et le 15 septembre) et légèrement excédentaire au niveau de l’ensoleillement saisonnier (1.157 h contre 1.145 h en moyenne).

Malgré la forte variabilité des températures, avec 30 jours où les minimales ont été comprises entre 10 et 15°C, et seulement 7 jours où les maximales ont été supérieures à 35°C, les moyennes saisonnières demeurent conformes à la normale (léger excédent en juin et septembre et léger déficit en juillet et août).

Le bilan climatique de ces derniers mois permet donc de confirmer ce qui est visible dans les vignes : l’été 2007 a été particulièrement favorable à l’obtention d’une vendange de qualité, saine, dotée de bons équilibres aromatiques et de belles couleurs.

Dans les vignes, le tri étant ramené au strict minimum, les chantiers de vendanges avancent rapidement et en toute sérénité. Une sérénité qui autorise les vignerons à s’arrêter un jour ou deux dans la semaine pour attendre, si besoin est, la parfaite maturité de leurs parcelles et optimiser ainsi le potentiel du millésime.

Quantitativement, la récolte 2007 s’annonce légèrement supérieure à la moyenne décennale avec des rendements qui devraient se situer entre 32 et 34 hl/ha, pour un maximum autorisé de 35 hl/ha.

Un millésime qui se situe donc dans la lignée des 2003, 2004, 2005 et 2006.

Fédération des syndicats de producteurs de Châteauneuf-du-Pape

WINE OF THE WEEK: August 31, 2007: Herve Bizeul, the producer of Clos des Fees (see p.184 in The Wines of France), has formed a sort of cooperative. Working with several other vignerons – some of whom formerly sold their harvest to the local coop – he produces a wine called Walden. (That he takes his inspiration from Thoreau is evident from Bizeul’s pamphlet which includes lengthy quotes from Walden as well as atmospheric black and white photos of woodlands.)
Standards are (predictably) high: the blend is standard for the Cotes de Roussillon Villages appellation: 40% Syrah (youngish vines) and 30% each of Grenache and Carignan (50 to 90 year old vines). Yields are low; harvest is by hand and does not begin until the grapes fully ripened and they are transported to the cellars in small ‘cagettes’ and then a refrigerated truck. After a short maceration a froid, the grapes ferment in specially designed, thermoregulated stainless steel tanks and vat for three weeks. The wine is bottled the following spring after a light filtration. With a suggested price: 6e40, this wine is an excellent value for near to mid-term drinking.
2006 Cotes de Roussillon Villages: (13.5 alcohol): A fresh, exuberant nose of black fruit is followed on the palate by flavors of blueberry, blackberry, black cherry and licorice. The wine is fresh and it’s not heavy, even though there are some Port-y notes. It’s smooth, supple and soigne, with attractive stoniness and depth. It will probably improve with a bit of bottle age (no more than five years) and/or aeration.

June 2007

Domaine de la Madone Recent tasting.
Here’s a perfect example of why wine lovers should come back to Beaujolais. Actually, three perfect examples. The first, the 2005 Beaujolais “Le Perreon” is both a serious and a scrumptious red. It’s rich and delectable, with bright, ripe cherry flavors, an appetizing bitter-mineral streak and lovely freshness. Downright gourmand.
Its big brother, an oak-aged cuvee, adds notes of toast, plum and vanilla. For current drinking, I prefer the non-oaked – for its gaiety and freshness. But this wine is beautifully built and will evolve well.
Then there’s the 2004 Beaujolais Villages Cuvee Jean-Baptiste. Named for the vintner’s grandfather, it’s made from low-yielding (18 hl/ha) vines 50 years old and older, aged in oak (half of the barrels are new) and is bottled unfiltered. About as far as you can get from the caricature of Beaujolais – watery and smelling of bananas – this packs deep black and red cherry, and cherry vanilla and plum flavors, accented by herbs and dark notes of tar. The oak is perfectly integrated. It’s structured and serious and if you serve it blind to a wine snob, he (or she) just might take it for a pinot noir.
Domaine de la Madone also produces a fruity, full and mineral Bourgogne blanc.

May 2007

(I hope to get back to Rhone Decouvertes soon but, in the meantime:)

May 22, 2007 : Bandol Update

The following are notes from a Bandol tasting held in April 2007. The featured wines were the 2004 reds and the 2006 roses. The tasting – and the following lunch – were held in Drouant, an historic Paris restaurant. (I plan to write something very positive about it in FrenchFeast.) I’ve included a handful of additional notes where appropriate. (I think it’s worth noting that rose production continues to rise – at the expense of reds – and now accounts for 70% of Bandol production.)

DOMAINE DES BAGUIERS:
2004 Rouge: healthy, rich garnet, vibrant fruit mixed with plenty of what seems like new or newish oak. Stylish, though the finish is somewhat drying (food would help). Fine for an upscale bistro.

LA BASTIDE BLANCHE ‘CUVEE ESTAGNOLE’:
2004 Rouge: deep, black cherry color; a whiff of gameyness on the nose; some freshness but rather raw, rustic and tannic, with a slightly bitter, licorice-tinged finish. 2006 rose: a bit flat but, if served colder, might be pretty nice.

CHATEAU DES BAUMELLES:
2004 rouge: dark color and saturation, very closed and slightly reduced; on the palate, smooth, rich, with black olive notes. Some depth and gravitas, Worth following. Seems to be same property as La Bastide Blanche though this wine is much superior.

DOMAINE DE LA BEGUDE:
2004 rouge: deep, dark color and saturation. On the palate, rather Rolland-esque with lots of flashy, juicy fruit and new oak flavors. Quite stylish. 2006 Rose: Full and structured, less terroirte than, say Sorin, but good and savory.

DOMAINE DE CAGUELOUP:
2004 rouge: deep, dark color and saturation. Curiously contradictory wine – with hints of strawberry and cotton candy in nose and on palate as well as abundance of dry tannins and sour finish. Not without issues but not without interest. Try by the glass.

DOMAINE LE GALANTIN:
2004 rouge: relatively lean, smaller scale and slimmer than most of its counterparts but fresh, restrained, savory and food friendly. It even has a hint of elegance. Also, notes of black olive and Provencal herbs. 2006 rose: hard candy aromas and flavors – which will probably pass – light, fresh, with pleasant citrus notes.

DOMAINE DU GROS NORE:
2004 rouge: Deep, dark garnet. A serious red with a core of fleshy, ripe fruit and spices. Well-structured and fresh. Very promising, real substance, style and sense of place. Mourvedre likes the sea. 2001 Rouge: (Note: this wine was presented at the Bandol lunch. I also served it wine at home, with pesto. Not what you might imagine would be the perfect marriage but this wine is very adaptable. I tasted it with ‘crostini’ spread I’d made from rabbit livers, red wine and capers and it was delicious.) Pungent, potent and masculine; more youthful than the 2002 Domaine du Tempier (qv) which I served at the same time. Strong flavors of licorice and Provencal herbs, It’s just great with highly flavored foods. Real sense of place. What one seeks in Bandol.

DOMAINE DU PEY NEUF:
2004 rouge: Reduced and somewhat prickly but interesting, with flavors of both green and black olives, a nice sense of place, suppleness and fluidity. Seems very much a work in progress.

CHATEAU DE PIBARNON:
2004 rouge: rich garnet; slightly reduced but supple, velvety attack. Oak enters the picture, as do tannins and flavors of dark, ripe fruit and Provencal herbs. Well-structured, fresh, with some depth. VG. 2001 rouge: concentrated, extracted and slightly hot. Not bad but not my favorite.

CHATEAU SAINTE ANNE:
(Biodynamic winemaking; low so2, indigenous yeasts. They are currently selling 2000.)
2004 rouge (bottled three weeks ago.) Matte black cherry color; flavors of black cherry and cherry pits; very dry, a bit raw, seems atypical – though I hate to see myself using that word. To follow. 1995 rouge (father’s last vintage): fluid and savory with intruiging licorice notes. VG. (Additional notes from tasting in Angers in February 2007: 2005 blanc: vinous but that’s about it; 2006 rose: ditto; 2003 rouge: gamey and tannic; 2001 rouge “Collection” Mourvedre VV – quite bitter but also very interesting. Bacony finish.

CHATEAU SALETTES:
2004 rouge: supple, savory, smooth and fluid. Both spicy and fresh, almost thirstquenching. Extremely food friendly, with no jagged edges and a touch of elegance.

DOMAINE SORIN:
2004 rouge: dark black cherry-black olive color; good focus, all of a piece, seems somewhat Old World in the best sense. Also, fine sense of place. Quite appealing, good freshness, bacony finish. Delicious. 2006 rose: excellent – savory, terroirte, and fresh. 2001 rouge: spicy, coherent, a real sense of place and a total pleasure.

DOMAINE DE SOUVIOU:
2004 rouge: healthy, evolving color; spicy, a bit raw and rustic even though there’s good freshness and balance. Some heat in finish. A hearty bistro Bandol.

DOMAINE TEMPIER:
2004 rouge: matte black cherry color; fair focus, somewhat tart finish. Seems somewhat closed at this stage. Tasty and three dimensional but a bit disappointing, given the house. 2006 rose: VG, nuanced, focused and structured, a thread of co2. (2002 rouge – served at my house, with pesto): sweet spices, leather, licorice, hot red pepper and sandalwood. Nicely balanced and fresh, a good, savory Provencal red.

DOMAINE DE TERREBRUNE:
2004 rouge: spicy, lightly animal and somewhat raw. Surprisingly disappointing. Which is why judgements must be based on more than a single tasting.

DOMAINE DE LA TOUR DU BON:
2004 rouge Cuvee St. Ferreol: black olive-garnet color; spicy, tannic, some depth and nuance and good freshness. A Real presence, a definite sense of place – and of Mourvedre. VG.

CHATEAU VANNIERES:
2004 Rouge: oaky (too), supple. Despite the oakiness and the touch of heat in finish, I like its fluidity and depth. It’s an admirable and tasty wine. More Derenoncourt than Rolland.

DOMAINE DE LA VIVONNE:
2004 rouge: Frank, spicy nose, tannic, seems a bit thin for the amount of oak but I like the savory quality. Food would help a whole lot. 2006 rose: somewhat hard candy – bonbons anglaises – but, if served very cold, would be nice with food on a patio.

Tasted and Considered: La Cadierenne; Ch Jean-Pierre Gaussen (the wine seemed unfinished and may not have been bottled yet); Dom de l’Hermitage (wine too reduced to taste accurately); Dom de la Laidiere; Dom de l’Olivette; La Roque “Grande Reserve”; Dom du Val d’Arenc.

May 11, 2007 : See FrenchFeast for Entre-Deux-Mer tasting notes.

April 2007

April 24, 2007

DECOUVERTES IN RHONE: PART FOUR: CORNAS AND ST.PERAY

DOMAINE BALTHAZAR: 07130 CORNAS; 04.75.80.01.72; balthazar.franck@akeonet.com
2005 Cornas ‘Chaillot’: (BS: No destemming, neither fined nor filtered, aged in demi-muids.) Tannic, hard, black olive and blackberry, tons of character. Start approaching in 2010.

DOMAINE CLAPE:
2005 Cornas: (BS) Fragrant, mingled nose of deep red fruit and oak. On the palate, silky, rich, ripe tannins, dark, profound fruit. Very racy and very promisng.

MATHIEU BARRET/ DOMAINE DU COULET:43 rue du ruisseau, 07130 Cornas, 04.75.80.08.25: domaineducoulet@tele2.fr (NB: See also write-up in February 2007):
2006 Cotes du Rhone “No Wines Land” (From a parcel between two ACs): Pure, charming syrah fruit, minerals, tart but, curiously, lacks freshness. Still, it’s good and tasty.
2006 Cornas “Brise Cailloux”: Rich, plummy, syrah fruit; succulent, mineral, chalky. Very promising.
2005 Cornas “Les Terrasses du Serre”: Rich, velvety, oaky and extracty. Needs time but very promising.
2005 Cornas “Billes Noires”: deep nose, intense, tannic, oaky and concentrated. Massive.

DOMAINE COURBIS:
2005 Cornas “Champelrose”: (Just bottled.) Fresh, juicy, quaffing Cornas (if that’s not a contradiction in terms).
2005 Cornas “Les Eygats” (BS, grapes from high hillside parcels.) Fresh, powerful, tannic with deep black cherry flavors and the sense of airiness, of having come from a well ventilated slope. Very good.
2005 Cornas “La Sabarotte”: (BS. lieu-dit): Rich, concentrated, extracty and oaky. Promising but needs time.
2004 Cornas “Champelrose”: slightly gamey, lacks the charm of 2005 but worth following.
2004 Cornas “Sabarotte”: Very rich, very tannic, lots of licorice flavors. Very much worth following but a bit opaque right now.

YVES CUILLERON: FIRST YEAR IN CORNAS AND ST. PERAY.
2006 St. Peray “Les Potiers” (BS. Pure marsanne.): Still fermenting – still fermenting, but a real core of minerals underneath. To follow.
2006 St. Peray “Les Cerfs”: (BS: old marsanne vines on a hillside.) Focused, mineral, terroir-driven. Should be very exciting.
2006 Cornas : (BS): Pitch-purple, focused, plummy, succulent fruit, rich core of minerals and stone. Terroir-driven. Another exciting wine.

DOMAINE DE FAUTERIE, 07130 SAINT PERAY, 04.75.80.04.25; www.domainedefauterie.fr
2005 St. Peray: (Label with white background): Rich, vinous, a bit heavy.
2005 St. Peray : (label with peach colored background.) More serious, more structured and layered. Quite mineral. Finish is hot but wine is worth following.
2004 Cornas : Smooth and fluid though seems rather closed. To follow.
2005 Cornas : Richer, a touch hot, also smooth. Not perfect but, again, to follow.

GUILLAUME GILLES:
2004 Cornas : Slightly gamey, fluid, seems less ripe and more dilute than my favorites, also somewhat sour. But it’s not uninteresting. Try by the glass.

DOMAINE BERNARD GRIPA:
2005 St. Peray : hot, vinous, and heavy but has lots of characters and minerals.
2005 St. Peray “Les Figuiers”: (Barrel fermented, raised on lees, oldest vines.) Vinous, fresher, oaky but layered and savory with ample mineral flavors. Very good.

PAUL JABOULET AINE
2005 CORNAS “les Grandes Terrasses”: Big, tannic, oaky, lots of flavor but drying finish. Less convincing than Hermitage La Chapelle but worth following.
2005 Cornas ‘Domaine de St. Pierre’: Rich, tight and racy, smooth though lightly hot, chalky. Impressive and promising.

DOMAINE MICHELAS SAINT JEMMS
2004 Cornas ‘les Murettes”: Dark, dark fruit, black olive, truffle and provencal herb flavors. Very tasty. Would be perfect for a wine-serious bistro like Paul Bert. Or a good daube anywhere.
Cornas “les Murettes”: Meaty, oaky, rich fruit with plum and black olive flavors. Good freshness. Needs time but promising.
2005 Cornas “Terres d’Arce”: (Old vines, newer oak.) Pitch-purple, tight and concentrated, with good acid balance. Needs serious time. They say two to three years. I think longer.

DOMAINE DU TUNNEL/ STEPHANE ROBERT:
2005 Cornas : Sumptuous syrah fruit, smooth, tight, chalky and seductive. Very promising.
2005 St. Peray: Fragrant and mineral. Very real and very good.

VINS DE VIENNE
2005 Cornas “les Barcillants” Juicy, accent on minerals rather than on extraction, very good.
2006 St. Peray : Tight, fragrant and vinous.
2006 St. Peray “Les Bialeres”: (BS). Fermentation flavors, lightly hot but textured and mineral. Worth following.
St. Peray “Les Bialeres”: Oaky, vinous, rather hot. Not my favorite wine from this group.

DOMAINE VOGE:
2005 St. Joseph rouge: (Voge’s first vintage in the St. Jo AC.) Structured, meaty, truffley, somewhat hot, tannic and tight. Very promising though finish is raw and dry.
2005 St. Peray “Harmonie”: Vinous, floral, tight, rich, should be very good.
2004 St. Peray Cuvee Boisee: Textured, oak nicely integrated, a bit hot but impressive.
2004 St. Peray “Fleur de Crussol” (70 year old marsanne from south-facing slope, barrel fermented.) Textured, layered, potent, blankets the tongue. Racy, with licorice accents. Impressive.
2005 Cotes du Rhone rouge “Les Peyrouses”: (syrah from lieu-dit.) Fresh, lean and juicy. Very agreeable.
2004 Cornas “les Chailles”: chewy, nice acidity, promising save for a whiff of gameyness.
2004 Cornas “les Vieilles Vignes”: Meaty and lightly gamey, provencal herb notes, tannic and tight. Definitely not bland. To follow.
2004 Cornas “Les Vieilles Fontaines”: Rich, extracty, plenty of ripe fruit with attractive sweet spice notes but comes across somewhat chunky and blunt.

April 12, 2007

DECOUVERTES EN RHONE: PART THREE: CROZES-HERMITAGE

DOMAINE BELLE: 26600 LARNAGE, 04.75.08.24.58; domaine.belle@wanadoo.fr. (I did not include the domaine’s Hermitage though I did admire the whites, particularly the 2003.)
2005 Crozes-Hermitage rouge Cuvee Louis Belle: (Partially destemmed, barrel aged.) Oaky, tannic and extracty. Needs a good three to five years. To follow.
2004 Crozes-Hermitage rouge “Les Pierrelles”: Rich, fat fruit, oaky, simultaneously smooth and beefy. An oomphy red for a noisy bistro.
2005 Crozes-Hermitage rouge “Les Pierrelles”: Quite thick and tannic, some freshness but needs time.
2004 Crozes-Hermitage rouge Cuvee Louis Belle : Tannic, hot, extracty. Needs time.

DOMAINE LES CHENETS: CROZES-HERMITAGE: 26600 MERCUROL; 04.75.07.48.28; etienne.berthoin@wanadoo.fr.
2005 crozes red Cuvee Mont Rousset: (35 year old vines aged in newish barrels.) Pitch purple, oaky, tannic, fresh and extracty. To follow.
2005 Crozes-Hermitage blanc: (unoaked, pure marsanne.) Supple, fragrant, vinous and easy, with a bitter almond finish. It is a bit hot and a tad cloying. Food would round off the rough edges and fill in the blanks.
2005 Crozes-Hermitage blanc Mont Rousset : (Vines planted in 1964, barrel fermented, three year barrel rotation). Lots of oak but it’s largely integrated, textured, stony, rich, with a good, bitter almond finish. Good +.
2005 Crozes-Hermitage rouge: (Younger vines, newish barrels.) Vibrant, juicy and plummy. A delicous and serious vin de plaisir.

DOMAINE DES ENTREFAUX: CROZES:
2005 Crozes-Hermitage rouge “Les Pends”: (Young vines, aged on its lees in barrels, neither fined nor filtered.) Pure but not perfect, somewhat raw and horsey but it’s got a lot of assets and tons of stuffing. Give it time.
2005 Crozes-Hermitage blanc “Les Pends”: On the cusp of over-ripeness, textured and fragrant. The finish is hot but chilling and food – preferably something slightly exotic – would finesse that nicely.
2005 Crozes-Hermitage rouge : Vibrant, mineral, very pure, very appealing, very syrah and very seductive.
2005 Crozes-Hermitage rouge “Les Machonnieres”: (Vines 20 to 50 years old.) Velvety, focused with refreshing acidity, mineral and rich with well-upholstered tannins. Very good.

FERRATON PERE ET FILS: Crozes:
2005 Crozes-Hermitage rouge la Matiniere : (partially oak aged.) Fresh, plummy, rich, tight and nicely tannic. A yummy Rhone red.
2004 Crozes-Hermitage rouge le Grand Courtil: (Selected parcels). Terroir-driven, chalky, elegant and racy. A fresh, racy red with lovely fruit and spice flavors. Very good.
2006 Crozes-Hermitage blanc La Matiniere : (TS). Perfumed, mineral, promises to be very good indeed.

DOMAINE MICHELAS SAINT JEMMS:
2005 Crozes-Hermitage rouge “Terres d’Arce”: tight, fresh, plummy and chewy. A tasty, characterful red to drink on the fruit.

DOMAINE POCHON: CHATEAU DE CURSON, 26600 CHANOS-CURSON, 04.75.07.34.60.domainespochon@wanadoo.fr
2005 Crozes-Hermitage rouge : smooth, relatively lean, somewhat dilute but not bad.
2004 Crozes-Hermitage rouge “Chateau Courson “: ( A selection of the best lots.) Tannic, concentrated, spicy, a solid bistro red.
2005 Crozes-Hermitage blanc: Vinous, pleasant.
2004 Crozes_Hermitage blanc “Chateau Curson”: relatively rich, vinous, mouthfilling, good meal white.

DOMAINE DES REMIZIERES: CROZES:
2005 Crozes-Hermitage rouge “Cuvee Christophe”: rich fruit and oak flavors, thick, extracty, with medicinal, balsamic notes. Needs time.
2005 Crozes-Hermitage rouge Cuvee Particuliere: rich fruit and oak. It needs a bit of time but it’s got plenty of character and smacks of authenticity.
2005 Crozes-Hermitage rouge ‘Autrement’: (Old vines, vinified in barrel): rich and oaky but sapid, with lots of stuffing. Very promising.
2005 Crozes-hermitage blanc Cuvee Particuliere: Vinous, textured and quite appealing.
2005 Crozes-Hermitage blanc Cuvee Christophe : Richer than previous and more textured, with ample oak and mineral flavors. Some heat in finish but otherwise very tasty. Promising.

GILLES ROBIN: 2005 Crozes-Hermitage rouge “Cuvee Alberic Bouvet”: a vibrant syrah, juicy, lightly tannic and fresh. Bistro ready.

April 3, 2007

DECOUVERTES IN RHONE: PART TWO: HERMITAGE:
Sixteen producers showed their wines at the Hermitage. I tasted at every stand (except as specified below) but I’m only including the ones I recommend.

CAVE DE TAIN L’HERMITAGE: (As I know the wines from the Cave fairly well, I saved their stand for the last. As luck would have it, the line was three-deep when I approached. And I had to leave for Cornas. So, because the Cave controls 25% of the Hermitage AC, I’m including my notes from a December 2006 dinner here.
2004 HERMITAGE BLANC “Au coeur des Siecles : (Pure, old vines (106 years) marsanne fermented in 400 litre oak (Vosges) barrels: Big-boned, deep, sense of the roots from those old vines digging deeper and deeper, slightly floral, also slightly salty, with notes of caramel and pineapple. Young but extremely promising and pure pleasure right now.
2003 Hermitage Blanc : (Fermented in oak (Allier) barrels.) Limpid, crystalline, pineapple on a base of stone, racy but doesn’t have quite the profundity of those very old vines. Still, very, very good and very well made.
2004 Hermitage rouge “Ultra Premium”: (Actually, this cuvee, which is considered a higher level than Gambert de Loche, doesn’t yet have a name. 2004 was the first vintage in which it was made and it will be made in every good vintage, harvested by tri on parcels owned by the cave on Le Meal and L’Hermite. It is lightly filtered and amounts to about 1500 bottles.) Statuesque, pedigreed and sapid. Full of ripe, elegantly expressed fruit and lots of oak – which needs to be digested. Extremely promising and hard to stop drinking, even now.
Hermitage rouge : richly fruity, somewhat jammy but very fresh and quite oaky. Truly nice Hermitage for a bistro gourmand.
2001 Hermitage rouge “Gambert de Loche”: (Old vines, from the best parcels, aged in new oak.) Surprisingly acid but elegant and streamlined with prune, mineral and spice flavors.
’99 Hermitage rouge “Gambert de Loche” : Nuanced bouquet, inextricably mingled aromas and flavors with hints of bacon and leather. I’d start drinking.
’99 Vin de Paille: (Made from Hermitage blanc, late harvested old vines, air dried for 2 months and aged in barrel for 30 months. Fermentation stops at about 16 degrees alcohol, leaving about 100 grams residual sugar per liter.) Nectar-like but still fresh, layered and sinuous. A real treat.

MICHEL CHAPOUTIER::
2004 Hermitage rouge “La Sizeranne”: Smooth and supple with focused berry fruit. Seems as if will be ready to drink in near-term.
2006 Hermitage rouge “La Sizeranne”: It’s hard to get more than oak and cranberry juice at this stage, though the wine is admirably fresh.
Hermitage rouge “Le Meal”: : Relatively deep, fruity and meaty aroma, fresh, tannic and racy. Very promising.
2004 Hermitage rouge “Le Pavillon”: Sense of freshness, layers, pedigree but flavors are blocked by reduction.
2004 Hermitage Blanc “Chante Alouette”: Oaky, layered, mineral, a bit heavy. To follow.
2006 Hermitage Blanc “Chante Alouette”:: Rich, appley, hot, dominated by fermentation odors.
2004 Hermitage Blanc “De l’Oree”: Rich, oaky, mineral but a bit hot, heavy and overstated.
2004 Hermitage “Le Meal”: Fresh as a cleansing breeze, very mineral, layered and racy, very promising though lightly hot and the abundant oak needs to be digested.
On Sunday the 18th, Chapoutier through a party in his officers. They were pouring Hermitage from Methuselah. First came a ’97 Hermitage blanc Chante Alouette – rather fat, obvious, with a kind of New World “in your face” bluntness; then the very fine, though fat and still youthful 2004 white from De L’Oree; and best of all, the ’94 white from De l”Oree, a crystalline wine, both racy and elegant. I left before the big bottles of red came out as Monday was a school day – Cote Rotie and Condrieu, no less – for me.

DOMAINE JEAN-LOUIS CHAVE:
2004 Hermitage Blanc: Creamy, oaky, unctuous yet fresh, tight, with a long bitter almond and mineral finish. A future great.
2004 Hermitage rouge : Rubies and spices, smooth, racy and fresh, with focused, jewel-like fruit, plenty of oak to digest but expect another future great.

YANN CHAVE:
2004 Hermitage rouge: Relatively light and fluid, with strong truffle aromas and flavors. Site specific although less regal that I’d have expected. Still, nice drinking.
2005 Hermitage rouge : Fragrant, velvety and relatively racy. A bit extracty and tannic but still very good.

DOMAINE COLOMBIER: HERMITAGE AND CROZES HERMITAGE: 26600 MERCUROL; 04.75.07.44.07; FAX: 04.75.07.41.43; (A new domaine to me. Most of their vineyards are in Crozes-Hermitage – whose tasting I missed – but the small amount of Hermitage made by this domaine was sufficiently interesting to make me want to know more about it (and them).
2005 Hermitage blanc: (ts) Though quite reduced, the wine is very mineral, steely, tight and riveting. Worth following.
2004 Hermitage rouge: Also reduced, but the wine is fresh, lean and focused. Also worth following.

DELAS FRERES:
2004 Hermitage blanc “Marquise de la Tourette”: smaller scale than producers like Chave and Sorrel but fresh, mineral and vinous with an attractive bitter almond and cream finish.
2004 Hermitage rouge “Marquise de la Tourette”: relatively lean but pleasingly fresh, supple, and smooth with good fruit and subdued oak flavors. Again, smaller scale but fluid and pedigreed.

FERRATON PERE & FILS: HERMITAGE: 26600 TAIN L’HERMITAGE; 04.75.08.28.65; eagranier@chapoutier.com:
2006 Hermitage blanc “les Meaux”: (BS) dominated by fermentation aromas and flavors.
2006 Hermitage blanc “Le Reverdy”: (BS, essentially from Le Meal, fermented and aged in demi-muids and barriques, 30% new) Racy, mineral, layered and rich enough to eat its oak. Impressive.
2004 Hermitage blanc “Le Reverdy”: Crystalline, racy and fresh. Layered and tight but approachable – though it will certainly flesh out with age. Impressive (again).
2004 Hermitage rouge “Les Meaux” : warm, supple and giving. Three dimensional. A fine choice for a bistro gourmand.
2004 Hermitage rouge “Les Dionnieres”: Deeply fragrant, intense aromas of crushed berries, velvety texture, absolutely delicious.
2004 Hermitage rouge “Le Meal”: Deep and deeply fragrant, velvety texture, ripe tannins, plenty of oak and lots of baby fat. Another impressive wine that should age beautifully.

PAUL JABOULET AINE: Hermitage: (A spokesman for Jaboulet said that the real changes here were made with the 2006 vintage. The 2005s had already been made by the time Jaboulet was sold. Only the maturing of the wines was affected.
2004 Hermitage blanc “Chevalier de Sterimberg”: rather reduced and a bit heavy but layered, mineral and racy. Promising.
2005 Hermitage blanc “Chevalier de Sterimberg”: Unctuous, fresh as a waterfall, real race here, all about pedigree, with flavors of minerals and accents of pineapple. Great promise.
2005 Hermitage rouge “La Petite Chapelle”: (CS) Fresh, focused and site specific. Very good.
2005 Hermitage rouge “La Chapelle”: (CS) Pitch purple and luminous; racy, complex, pellucid and grand. The most exciting La Chapelle I’ve tasted in a long time and a future monument.

DOMAINE DES REMIZIERES/CAVE DESMEURE: HERMITAGE:
2005 Hermitage blanc : Vinous, oaky, rich and mineral. Rather heavy but good.
2005 Hermitage rouge “Emilie”: Pitch purple, very concentrated/extracty and oaky but admirably fresh. I’m not getting the pedigree but it’s a very tasty wine.
2005 Hermitage rouge “Autrement”: (A tri vinified in open demi-muids and barriques.) Even darker shade of purple, profoundly saturated, tons of extract, same (essential) evaluation though even more of a toothstainer.

DOMAINE MARC SORREL: HERMITAGE: 26600 TAIN L’HERMITAGE; 04.75.07.10.07; www.marcsorrel.com.
2005 Hermitage blanc: (CS) Nose inexpressive, on palate, the wine is perfumed and mineral. Despite heat in the finish, the wine is very promising.
2005 Hermitage blanc “Les Roucoules”: (CS)Deep nose with evident freshness, rich, edging towards over-ripe, flavors of pineapple, minerals, slate and bitter almond continue through long, albeit somewhat hot, finish.
2005 Hermitage rouge : (CS): fresh, tart, bright fruit, lightly hot.
2005 Hermitage rouge “Le Greal”: (CS) Rich, focused, jewel-cut fruit with vibrant flavors of crushed raspberry and eau de vie. Chalky, racy. Oak is completely hidden. Greatly promising.

LES VINS DE VIENNE: HERMITAGE
2004 Hermitage rouge “Les Chirats de St. Christophe”: supple, chalky, lean, mineral and very interesting.
2005 Hermitage rouge: (CS) Focused, fresh, ripe tannins and flavors of licorice and crushed berries. I’m troubled by the heat in the finish and light gamey notes but the wine so many assets, it’s worth following.

April 2, 2007: A Peek at 2006 Bordeaux: Notes from Stephane Derenoncourt’s Tasting : Kiefer Sutherland look-alike Stephane Derenoncourt, currently perhaps the most sought after wine consultant in Bordeaux, accompanied by a large percentage of his clients, held a tasting of 2006s at the George V Hotel in Paris on March 30th. It was the first opportunity I had had to get enough of a glimpse of the latest vintage to form some sort of opinion. Caveat: as few of the wines came from the Medoc, my view – though intense – was far from complete. But it’s not my purpose here to determine whether 2006 is a Right Bank or a Left Bank vintage, nor whether Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon fared best in this very bizarre growing season. (Besides, you’ll be battered by torrents of words on these subjects over the next month, once the en primeur tastings now taking place in Bordeaux terminate at the end of this week.)
One generalization that I think can be made about the 2006 vintage throughout France is that it was a “winemaker’s” year. Don’t buy without knowing your producer: with record heat in July and record chilliness in August – to name just two factors --2006 was simply too dicey a year for schleppers. That said, there are some lovely wines in every region, as evidenced by some truly delicious examples presented at George V.
My overall impression was that of a much lighter year than 2005, producing fresh wines with a strong, lively streak of acidity. I suspect there will be a good amount of delicious wines to drink in the near term, wines that should be perfect for restaurants. Caveat #2: The good news only holds true for producers who didn’t “exaggerate”or push the wines too far, eg who didn’t over –oak or over-extract. When the vigneron worked with the vintage, the wines I tasted were charming, refreshing, not for the ages but for pleasure. I plan to describe many of the wines in this space. To give one example, why not use Derenoncourt’s own wine, from the Domaine de l’A in the Cotes de Castillon? The wine was a rich, healthy garnet, very juicy, with lots of wild berry and groseille flavors. It was oaky but had the structure and depth to support the oak.Far from a blockbuster, it was discreet and admirably restrained, specific and delightful. To be continued.

March 2007

DECOUVERTES EN VALLEE DU RHONE:
The Decouvertes en Vallee du Rhone takes place every two years in mid-March. The event lasts about 8 days, starting either in the northern Rhone appellations, eg Cote Rotie and working their way down to Chateauneuf-du-Pape, or vice versa. Heavy-hitters like these always start and end the Decouvertes -- undoubtedly to keep all of us around throughout the week to taste wines from less prestigious appellations like the Coteaux du Tricastin, Costieres de Nimes and generic Cotes du Rhone.
On any given day there will be three, four or five tastings, held in different -- and sometimes quite distant -- spaces. For example, the scheduled tastings for Saturday March 17th were Vacqueyras, Cotes du Luberon, Cotes du Ventoux, Beaumes de Venise VDN and Cotes du Rhone Villages, and Rasteau VDN and Cotes du Rhone Villages, held in four locations.
There is a lot to taste. In Vacqueyras, for example, there were 42 "exposants" -- each one offering samples from several different vintages and cuvees. It's not surprising, then, that few people make it to every single one of the tastings. (A pity, because it's a great opportunity.)
Generally there's a buffet lunch at each tasting location. This means that you are on your feet and battling crowds for tastes of both liquid and solid from 9AM to 7PM. Then there are usually several "soirees" from which to choose. These, too, are often buffets where, once again, you are on your feet and battling crowds for tastes of both liquid and solid. So much for glamor!)
(In the entries below, I’ve added contact information only when that is not available in my book. I have not included 2006s that still tasted (and smelled) more of fermentation than anything else. I’ve also left out producers whose wines I didn’t like.)

DECOUVERTES IN RHONE: PART ONE

CONDRIEU AND COTE ROTIE (Seems I’m following the LIFO principle: Last In/First Out: The Condrieu and Cote Rotie show was the very last tasting in a long week + of tastings. We were all pretty weary. And I had a train to catch in Lyon.)

Domaine Barge: 69420 Ampuis, 04.74.56.13.90; www.domainebarge.com.
2005 Condrieu “la Solarie”: Leaner than some of the other Condrieus tasted but fresh, perfumed, mineral and all of a piece. Very good.
2006 Condrieu (BS): (Barge thinks 2006 will be fresher and more elegant than richer vintages like 2005.) The wine, even at this stage, is a pleasure, quite perfumed, smooth, rich and, yes, fresh, and very promising.
2004 Cote Rotie “Cuvee du Plessy” : 5% viognier. Reduced but quite pure, with lovely fruit lurking in background, some bacon notes on finish.
2004 Cote Rotie “Cote Brune” : seductively fragrant, rich, textured, focused, lovely weave of fruit and minerals. Very good indeed.
2005 Cote Rotie “Cuvee du Plessy” (BS):`, jewel-like (ruby) fruit, gentle oak, great freshness, should be ravishing.

Domaine Bernard Burgaud, 69420 Ampuis; 04.74.56.11.86; bernard.burgaud@wanadoo.fr; http://coterotieburgaud.monsite.wanadoo.fr.
2006 Cote Rotie : smooth attack, lovely freshness and focus, nice acid presence. Very promising.
2005 Cote Rotie : I’m put off by the gameyness though there’s plenty to admire in this wine.

Domaine Clusel-Roch:
2006 Condrieu (BS): rich, textured, focused and mineral. Extremely good.
2004 Cote Rotie : silky attack, mineral, stony, limpid and pure. Downright regal.
2004 Cote Rotie “Les Grands Places” : If possible, more vibrant, more focused, more mineral than previous wine, also needs more time.
2005 Cote Rotie (BS): Rich and fatter than the 2004 but remains cool and svelte, with attractive blend of oak and minerals. Very good.
2005 Cote Rotie “Les Grands Places” (BS): Ample oak but this is a majestic wine with power and elegance. A future monument.

Yves Cuilleron:
2005 Cote Rotie “Bassenon: (granitic soils, some viognier in mix): rich and velvety but also tight and mineral and a nice “point” of acid. To follow.
2005 Cote Rotie “Madiniere”: schisty soils: pure, mineral and terroir-driven. Very promising.
2005 Cote Rotie “Terre Sombre”: (vines planted in 1963, no viognier, partial destemming, punching down, three week vatting, wild yeasts). I give some of those specifics because I think this might well become a wine of reference. Terroir-driven, extremely mineral, deeply impressive. Finish, for now, somewhat hot.
2005 Condrieu “La Petite Cote” : forward fruit but lots of minerals too, creamy, lightly hot finish.
2005 Condrieu “Les Chaillets (VV)” : heavy cream, mineral, perfumed, layered. A bit hot but excellent and riveting.
2005 Condrieu “Vertige”: (small cuvee from Coteaux du Vernon, 3000 bottles, fermented and aged in new and newish oak.) Fresh, oaky, mineral, some of viognier’s characteristic perfumes but very understated. Statuesque. Superb.

Domaine Pierre Gaillard:
2005 Condrieu : Thrilling freshness, great mineral depths, perfumed, with fruit blossom top notes and citrus zest finish. Stunning. Excellent.
2005 Cote Rotie : racy and classic in the best sense, a blanket of fine syrah fruit and minerals.
2005 Cote Rotie “Rose Pourpre”: airborn, fresh and deep; rich, mineral, well expressed oak. Very Good to Excellent.

Domaine Gangloff:
2005 Cote Rotie “la Barbarine “(BS): very pure, very mineral, very, very promising though needs time to flesh out and integrate oak.
2005 Cote Rotie “La Sereine Noire”: (BS): Focused, tannic and qutie oaky. Needs more time to evolve but extremely promising.
2006 Condrieu : although it is still fermenting, already manifesting purity, richness, texture and a ton of minerals. Also quite a bit of alcohol.

Jean-Michel Gerin:
2005 Cote Rotie “Champin le Seigneur” (BS): Oaky but gentle with seductive, plushy fruit and firm tannins. Very good.
2005 Cote Rotie “La Landonnne” (BS): ample oak, very rich, very mineral, needs time but very, very promising.
2005 Cote Rotie “Les Grandes Places (VV)”: rich, dense, focused with jewel-like fruit. Drying oaky finish for now but the wine is extremely promising.
2005 Condrieu “La Loye”: Rich, nicely textured, perfumed and mineral. A bit heavy, however. I’d like more freshness but it’s very good.

Guigal:
2005 Condrieu: rich, textured, Black letter law, though the finish is rather hot.
2005 Condrieu ‘la Doriane’: quite ample, headily perfumed, somewhat heavy.
2005 Cote Rotie “Brune et Blonde”: rich, supple, oaky and quite classic though there’s a surprising, if not unwelcome, streak of acidity in the finish.
2003 Cote Rotie Chateau d’Ampuis : oaky, smooth, flawless, with a long, licorice-scented finish.
(The above wines were all that were on the tasting table. I asked if any of the single vineyard Cote Roties were available for tasting and was told I could choose one. I was also told that “La Turque” was the most expressive at the moment.)
2003 Cote Rotie “La Turque”: deep, mingled nose, quite oaky, very rich, very tannic, very concentrated and very, very promising. Should be excellent and is head and shoulders above the domaine’s generic cuvees. (At this point I was tempted to beg to taste “La Mouline” and “La Landonne” – in the name of research, you understand. But, at least in my case, research has a way of crossing the line into gluttony. So I retreated with my dignity intact.)

Domaine Jamet:
2004 Cote Rotie : Rich, simultaneously meaty and fluid, and despite a curious hint of green bell peppers, rather classic. Good +.

DOMAINE JASMIN:
2004 Cote Rotie : gentle, silky attack with a touch of oak; fine, tight tannins, a bit hot but should evolve beautifully.
2005 Cote Rotie “Grande Annee”(BS): limpid, deep and rich, with hints of licorice. Excellent.

Yves et Jocelyne Lafoy, 69420 Ampuis, 04.74.56.19.26; j.lafoy@chello.fr;
2004 Cote Rotie “Cuvee JYL” (JV): smooth, lightly reduced, firm tannins. Good.
2004 Cote Rotie “Cuvee RG “(VV ): (not destemmed ): pungent and potent, deep black fruit and black olive flavors mixed with licorice and newish oak. Needs plenty of time.
2005 Cote Rotie “JYL”: generous wine with some chalkiness and fine tannins. Nice.
2005 Cote Rotie “RG”: pitch black, pungent, tannic, epic, with light animal note. I’d love to retaste in ten years.

DOMAINE NIERO:
2005 CONDRIEU “LES RAVINES” : textured, perfumed, very nice indeed.
2005 Condrieu “Cuvee de Chery : Ampler, broader than previous cuvee, more fragrant, too, and mineral; very good thought the finish is slightly hot.
2005 Cote Rotie : oaky, tannic, a bit more earthbound than others.

Maison Alain Paret, 42520 Saint Pierre de Boeuf; 04.74.87.12.09; maison.paret@wanadoo.fr. All samples below from tank.
2006 Condrieu “les Ceps du Nebadon”: (from granitic soils, malo just finished): fresh, focused and mineral. Very promising.
2006 Condrieu “Lys de Volcan” (a lieu-dit with schisty soils): rich, textured, mineral, schist-born opulence. Very good.
2006 Condrieu “Sortileges” : (late harvest, grapes left to dry on the vine and then harvested grape by grape, 16 degrees alcohol, 84 grams residual sugar): nectar and marzipan. A delight. A “must try.”

Andre Perret:
2005 Condrieu “Clos Chanson (VV)”: very rich, very textured, plush. Very good.
2005 Condrieu “Chery”: similarly textured and rich, extremely mineral, with viognier’s perfumes floating above it all. Very good.

CHRISTOPHE PICHON: 42410 CHAVANAY, 04.74.87.06.78; CHRPICHON@WANADOO.FR.
2005 Cote Rotie: fresh, tannic and concentrated. Not the most majestic but tasty and quite good.
2005 Cote Rotie “La Comtesse en Cote Blonde” (BS) : Fresh, oaky, though quite fine of grain. A real step up in raciness.
2005 Condrieu : surprisingly, a bit thin, but I wouldn’t kick it out of bed.

Domaine Jean-Michel Stephan:
2004 Cote Rotie : non-interventionist style; pure, fluid but there’s a worrisome scent of bouillon.
2004 Cote Rotie “Coteaux du Tupin”: a gamey whiff here as well as strong balsamic/menthol and licorice notes. Hot finish. For a specific clientele.
Cote Rotie VV : unfiltered. Rather gamey though there’s a lot to admire as well.

Georges Vernay:
2006 Condrieu “Chailles d’Enfer”” very fresh and textured. Very promising.
2005 Condrieu “Coteau de Vernon” (BS): Terroir-driven with great freshness and minerality. Riveting.
2005 Cote Rotie “La Blonde du Seigneur”: complex nose, smooth, cool, elegant with long mineral-fruit finish.
2005 Cote Rotie “Maison Rouge”: nose as nuanced as the best of Guerlain, wild plum, black cherry. A lipsmacking wine, fresh, fine and totally gourmand.

Francois Villard:
2005 Condrieu “les Terrasses du Palat”: fresh, mineral and fragrant. Very good.
2005 Condrieu “Le Grand Vallon”: even fresher, richer, more mineral, with appetizing citrus zest finish.
2005 Condrieu ‘De Poncins’: airborn, fresh, stony, complex, gracious. Exciting. A beauty.
2004 Cote Rotie “Le Gallet Blanc”: light earthiness, nice structure, simultaneously friendly and pedigreed.
2005 Cote Rotie “Le Gallet Blanc (BS) : pitch purple, focused, very fresh, very concentrated, with flavors of black fruit, licorice and minerals. Could be epic.
2005 Cote Rotie “la Brocarde”:very fresh, lovely, well-defined fruit blended with oak. Another potential epic.

Les Vins de Vienne:
2006 Condrieu : perfumed, with flavors of citrus and minerals; promising though I’d like more freshness.
2006 Condrieu “La Chambee”: (Barrel fermented with 10% new oak.) Rich and textured, fresher than previous. Very promising.
2005 Condrieu : Citric, mineral, stony, fragrant and appealingly fresh.
2005 Condrieu “La Chambee”: Ample, quite mineral and creamy though the oak dominates at this point.
2006 Cote Rotie (BS) : reduced, tight, a fresh, mineral, svelte CR with seductive fruit.
2005 Cote Rotie (BS): Oaky, with vibrant fruit, rather statuesque. Very promising.

CHATEAU LA VERNEDE: 34440 NISSAN LEZ ENSERUNE, 04.67.37.00.30;www.chateaulavernede.com . This large (50 hectare) winery lies on the Terrasses de Beziers, halfway between Beziers and Narbonne. Eco-friendly, it’s managed with great professionalism by winemaker Jean-Luc Maurer (formerly of Chateau Fourcas-Dupre in Listrac-Medoc) and makes an encyclopedic range of wines – from Bag-in-Box, to fighting varietals, to Coteaux du Languedoc, to over-the-top eccentricities like a pure Syrah that weighs in at 17.82 alcohol and could take on all comers. (It would go quite nicely with blue cheese. ) For more on La Vernede, see Wine of the Week in FrenchFeast.

February 2007
Domaine du Coulet: Cornas: Mathieu Barret joined his grandfather on this family property in 2001. He converted the domaine – 10 hectares in Cornas as well as some land at the limits of that AC, in Cotes du Rhone AC – to biodynamics and started bottling his own wine rather than sell to the cooperative. I recently tasted four wines, all from barrel, and was mighty impressed. My favorite was the 2005 Cornas Les Terrasses du Serre which he, accurately I thought, considers the most powerful, elegant and age-worthy of his wines. It was all of those things and more. Velvety, desperately seductive and much too delicious. Like many biodynamic practitioners, Barret maintains low yields (an average of 20 hl/ha), uses indigenous yeasts, and very little sulphur. Wisely (I think) he ages his wines in used but newish barrels so syrah on this special terroir speaks, not oak. His other wines were delectable too though I found his most expensive wine, Cornas Billes Noires, a bit too concentrated and “sweet” for my liking. The Cornas Brise Cailloux, from 2006, was extremely juicy, vigourous and vibrant and the 2006 Cotes du Rhone, the simplest wine Barret presented, was almost as delightful, a delightful gourmandise.

January 2007
LAWS: THE NEW NOUVEAU BEAUJOLAIS:
The very first bottles of a new appellation – Vin de Pays des Gaules – are about to hit the market. Technically, they are not Beaujolais, which is an appellation controlee, not a mere vin de pays. But the legislation creating the category covers the entire Beaujolais zone, from Leynes, in the northern reaches of the AC (above Julienas and St. Amour) to the southern limits of the zone around Arbresle. Gamay (including two previously disregarded subvarieties, Gamay de Bouze and Gamay de Chaudenay) is the principal grape but eighteen others are allowed, including chardonnay, pinot noir, aligote, syrah, and viognier . You might think that the possibility of using typical Rhone varietals would complicate the picture and it does. Producers using syrah, for example, can opt to be Vin de Pays des Comtes Rhodaniens. So what does this change? Well, the name of one or two grape varieties can be specified on the labels and permitted yields are roughly double those allowed for AC Beaujolais, to wit: 85 hl/ha for reds and roses and 90 hl/ha for whites, compared to 53 hl/ha for Beaujolais. (Optimists hope that the creation of this category will encourage producers of AC Beaujolais to concentrate on quality.) So expect light, reasonably priced quaffers, that are not, for all their immediate drinkability legally “nouveau.” Bottom line rules here. Vin de Pays des Gaules cannot be sold until the 15th of December – several weeks after the customary release of Beaujolais nouveau on the third Thursday of November.

Correction:Provence: there's some inconsistency in the text concerning the appellation Coteaux Varois en Provence. (There's no "du" between Coteaux and Varois.)

Correction: Bordeaux: Ch Leoville-Poyferre: it is owned by Didier Cuvelier, not AXA. (Thanks, Eric.) The rest of the entry, notably the improvement in quality -- with the help of Michel Rolland -- stands as is.

Me: The book has won the Gourmand World Cookbook Award 2006 for best English language wine guide.

Rhone: Domaine Saladin, 07700 Saint Marchel d'Ardeche, tel: 04.75.04.63.20; domaine.saladin@wanadoo.fr : An organically farmed domaine run by two talented, beautiful young sisters, Elisabeth and Marie-Laurence. I was first impressed by Elisabeth in 2005 when she worked for InterRhone. I was part of a group of journalists who were being squired around the various tasting stops of the week of “Decouvertes” when Elisabeth replaced our official guide, a laconic, laid-back young man who perfectly embodied the French “no can do” spirit. Elisabeth, on the other hand, was bright, active and eager to please. She made everything – even the least promising dinner arrangements – turn out perfectly. Ok, she couldn’t prevent our valises from having been stolen from the trunk of the van but she dealt with the aftermath with compassion and efficacy. (My last tasting of that day – and the entire Decouvertes trip—was to have been Gigondas. With my concentration shot, I wanted to return to Paris and asked Elisabeth if samples could be gathered and sent to me. They were.) Long story less long: when I heard that Elisabeth and her sister were taking over the family’s 12 hectares of vines in the Ardeche , I was very interested to follow their progress. (Each sister has a long CV. Both did stints at Bonny Doon Vineyards; other highligts: Marie-Laurence worked with Guigal, with a biodynamic producer (Domaine Apollinaire) also in the Rhone, and at Michel Rolland’s lab in Argentina; Elisabeth, who studied at a prestigious business school in Lyon (and then in Edinburgh) worked in Chile for enologist Philippe Debru (Vina Batalcura), Ogier Cave des Papes in Chateauneuf-du-Pape, and with Inter-Rhone.) My chance to taste the wines came right before Christmas when an email informed me that the Domaine Saladin’s 2005s would be poured at Lafayette Gourmet. It was Marie-Laurence who was representing the domaine that day. (She’s almost the spitting image of her sister, though she has dark brown hair while Elisabeth is blonde.) All of the wines are hand-harvested, fermented using indigenous yeasts and bottling without being fined or filtered. All are Cotes du Rhone or CdR-Villages. But this being the Ardeche, they are cool, mountain wines, and extremely attractive. The first tasted was an unoaked blend of grenache, carignan and cinsault which sells (in France) for under 8 Euros. Partial carbonic maceration certainly accounts for the vibrant, upfront fruit in the nose. On the palate, this little country red comes across as mighty characterful, a terroir-driven wine with a backbone of stone and minerals. This is my style to a “T”. Haut Brisson, pure oak-aged grenache, was a cool charmer but a bit raw. To follow. At roughly 10 Euros, Fan de Lune, was a very good, bistro-ready red, a fresh yet meaty blend of grenache, mourvedre and syrah. Chaveyron 1422 is almost pure syrah from a rocky parcel which has been owned by the Saladin family since 1422 (according to printed documents). At around 15 euros, it’s the most expensive wine in their line up but it’s well worth the price: long and elegant, it is all about finesse and discretion, not about extraction. It is rather in the image of the girls themselves. I can’t help thinking of one of the photos Marie-Laurence showed me. This was of her “stomping” the grapes. Used to seeing snaps of big, hairy calves, I was amused to see Marie-Laurence’s ballerina-like feet covered with red wine juice. Suzanne Farrell couldn’t have trod those grapes more gracefully. In the works: chambre d’hotes and a small restaurant on the domaine’s property. Worth a detour in my book.

December 2006

Loire Updates: One new producer; two favorites extend their lines :

Philippe Alliet: Chinon: This consistently excellent producer has added a new arrow to his quiver, an exciting cuvee called l’Huisserie which takes its name from the vineyard situated across from Chene Vert (made famous by Charles Joguet). Alliet’s two hectares consist of young vines, merely five years old. But the first vintage, 2005,was so elegant you’d think the vines were much older, deeper, wiser. Velvety and cool, the wine is every bit the equal of Alliet’s stellar Coteau de Noire.

Didier Dagueneau: Sancerre: Poully Fume’s favorite vinous troublemaker has gotten 60 ares on the steep slopes of Chavignol’s Monts Damnes. His first vintage there was 2005. The wine is superb. The oak disappears completely in this grandiose expression of terroir. This is Chablis in Sancerre. (I’m waiting for someone to put on a tasting of great wines from kimmeridgean marl soils. Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc, they’re both upstaged by the terroir.)

Antoine Sanzay: 49400 Varrains; 02.4§.52.90.08; antoine-sanzay@wanadoo.fr.
Wines: Saumur-Champigny and Saumur Blanc.
Nady Foucault (whose 2003 Le Bourg is serious and excellent) told me to visit this promising, eco-friendly young producer who took over the family’s eleven hectares (in Le Poyeux) in 2002 after his father’s sudden death. A wine geek, Sanzay takes his inspiration from the likes of Coche-Dury and Clape. Not bad. For the moment he sells 70% of his wine to the coop but that will decrease as his name becomes known. He makes three wines: a Saumur blanc, an oak-aged Saumur-Champigny – neither of which I’ve tasted – and a ‘drink me up’ Champigny which I tasted this week at an Association de la Presse du Vin event held in a grand hall in the French Senate. It was an unoaked, lightly filtered 2005. Cool and rich, with nice balance and focus, it just demanded to be drunk on its succulent fruit.

November 2006:

Two Discoveries in Bordeaux

CHATEAU MARTET
33220 EYNESSE; 05.57.41.00.49 pdc@deconinckwine.com; www.chateaumartet com
Maybe it’s unfair to write about wines that aren’t yet available in the United States but there’s a method to my madness. First, you may find the wine on a trip to France; second, I’m firmly of the belief that if you want it, they will import it. Which is why I feel justified in enthusing about Chateau Marteau – a rising Bordelais star in the very minor appellation of St. Foy de Bordeaux. The 25 hectare domaine (on a mostly chalky plateau above the Dordogne) is owned by Patrick de Coninck who lives in Brussels and leaves winemaking and viticulture (eco-friendly) in the able hands of Louis Mitjaville (the son of St. Emilion’s Le Tertre Roteboeuf Mitjaviles). De Coninck bought the property in 1991, at which time it was heavily planted to cabernet. He’s been replanting and has lots of young vines. Volume today is 35,000 – insufficient to supply to the USA, De Coninck says – and will ultimately grow to 90,000 bottles. The chateau produces four wines of which two (the clairet and the 2nd wine “Hauts de Martet” were not ‘on show’ at the tasting I attended. The white, however, was being poured. A blend of semillon, sauvignons blanc and gris and muscadelle, it is fresh, pefumed, nicely structured and pleasant, though not what I’d call “site specific.”It could have been made by a concientious producer in any one of a handful of regions in France. (The Loire and Gascony come to mind.) What excites me is the red. Hand-harvested, lightly filtered, pure merlot, it spends 18 months in new oak. The 2000 was ever so slightly vegetal but impressive and ambitious. It made me want to know – and taste – more. The 2003 confirmed my enthusiasm. It was plush, beautifully ripe, nicely balanced and very succulent. On this side of the pond, it sells for about 22 Euros.

CHATEAU PETIT-BOCQ
33180 ST. ESTEPHE; 05.56.59.35.69; FAX: 05.56.59.32.11;
petitbocq@hotmail.com
Another Belgian implant, this one in St. Estephe, at this Cru Bourgeois Superieur near Chateau Marbuzet. Gaetan Lagnaux is a recovering Belgian doctor. He bought this property in ’93 as a family vacation home. At the time it was only five hectares and was planted in merlot. Lagnaux now has 15.5 hectares and he no longer practices medicine as he spends all his time in St. Estephe. Viticulture on the domaine’s 80 parcels is eco-friendly. Merlot still dominates the grape mix (at about 55%), followed by cabernet sauvignon (43%) and a whisper of cabernet franc. Grapes are hand harvested by successive passes through the vineyards – with yields at about 52 hl/ha – and given a short period of cold prefermentation. After aging in barrel (40% new), the wine (there is no second wine) is bottled unfiltered. The 2000, 70% merlot, was beautifully mingled and fragrant, with notes of dried fruit, camphor and cedar. It was supple, had lovely balance and a mouthwatering savoriness. It was what the French would call “gourmand” and it sold at a very reasonable 15 euros. The 2003, though only 60% merlot, seemed a younger version of 2000. In other words, very promising indeed.

This just in from Chateauneuf-du-Pape (I'll translate it later, maybe not before Xmas. I get many 'harvest reports' from various chateaux and committees but treat most of them with a grain of salt. This one comes from Michel Blanc who directs the largest Chateauneuf-du-Pape committee. I've got infinite faith in Blanc which is why I feel his report is worth passing on.)

LE MILLESIME 2006 A CHATEAUNEUF DU PAPE

Des conditions de maturation idéales malgré une nouvelle année déficitaire en terme de précipitations. Avec la récolte 2006, les vignerons de Châteauneuf-du-Pape signent une 8ème très belle année sur les 9 derniers millésimes !

DONNEES METEO

Du point de vue météorologique, les neuf premiers mois de l’année 2006 auront été marqués par une pluviométrie inférieure aux normales saisonnières et par un excellent ensoleillement.

De manière plus précise, le millésime 2006 se caractérise par de forts écarts thermiques entre les mois de juillet et août, par une pluviométrie plutôt faible mais bien ciblée (368 mm contre 450 en année normale, avec notamment des pluies mi-juillet et mi-août) et enfin par un excellent ensoleillement (2.378 heures contre 2.293 en moyenne). On sait que les écarts de température et les nuits fraîches à la fin de l’été sont un facteur favorable à la synthèse des précurseurs aromatiques et des composés polyphénoliques essentiels à l’élaboration de vins riches et équilibrés. Les très faibles précipitations de la période estivale (58 mm contre 99 en année normale) ont quant à elles permis aux raisins de mûrir dans d’excellentes conditions sanitaires.

Hormis quelques passages orageux suivis d’un fort Mistral courant septembre, on peut dire que les conditions météorologiques étaient cette année encore au rendez-vous pour permettre aux vignerons de l’appellation Châteauneuf-du-Pape de vinifier un excellent millésime.

CARACTERISTIQUES DU MILLESIME 2006

Si quelques parcelles de cépages blancs et de syrah ont été vendangées dès le début du mois de septembre, il aura quelquefois fallu attendre début octobre pour que les parcelles de mourvèdre et de grenache les plus tardives atteignent leur pleine maturité phénolique.

Il s’agit là d’un facteur particulièrement important pour la qualité finale des vins que les vignerons de Châteauneuf-du-Pape entendent maîtriser au mieux afin d’optimiser le potentiel de chaque millésime. Les derniers décuvages ont eu lieu fin octobre, les vins sont désormais quasiment terminés, y compris au niveau des fermentations malolactiques qui ont bénéficié d’une arrière saison particulièrement propice à leur démarrage. Les vins finis laissent apparaître une belle générosité, des couleurs profondes, des notes de fruits rouges et noirs, de bons équilibres et des tanins fondus et élégants. Les bonnes acidités naturelles des raisins leur confèrent une certaine fraîcheur. Il s’agit à n’en pas douter d’un millésime doté d’un très beau potentiel qualitatif que d’aucuns comparent à 1999 et qui, dans tous les cas, s’inscrit pleinement dans la lignée de ses prédécesseurs : 2003, 2004 et 2005.

Côté production, on s’oriente vers un rendement moyen de 30 / 32 hl par hectare, soit moins que le maximum autorisé par le décret de l’appellation (35 hl / ha).

See FrenchFeast for: Condrieu tasting notes;

September 2006

• Deception at Duval-Leroy??? Herve Gestin, the cellar master who brought the principles of Feng Shui and organic winemaking to this large Champagne house, has left--of his own volition or not. His assistant has succeeded him. Given Duval-Leroy’s lackluster past and the redoubtable character of Carol Duval-Leroy, the owner, Champagne lovers have reason for concern. All’s well for the moment, however, as both the thrilling 1996 and the mellower 1995 Cuvee Femme de Champagne are excellent. And Didier Bureau, an extremely exigent wine professional, is on board as the commercial director.

• Discovery in Alsace. No matter how many wines you taste, it’s difficult to taste them all. So it was with real pleasure that I sampled Emile Beyer’s 2004 Riesling from the Grand Cru of Eichberg in Eguisheim. Simply excellent, it was simultaneously steely and floral, with layers of complexity and majesty to spare. The domaine is eco-friendly, all its vineyards are in Eguisheim and the emphasis is on riesling.

• The much awaited reclassification of St. Emilion’s crus--which takes place every ten years--came to pass in early September 2006. There were a number of changes but few surprises. Overall, there are 61 crus classes in St. Emilion. Two are Premiers Grands Crus Classes A. They are Chateaux Cheval Blanc and Ausone. There are 13 Premiers Grands Crus Classes B. Promoted into this elite group in the new reclassification are the Chateaux Pavie-Macquin (a personal favorite) and Troplong Mondot. Eleven chateaux were axed from the Grand Cru Classe category (among them Yon Figeac, Villemaurine, Bellevue, Cadet Bon, Faurie de Souchard, Tertre Daugay and La Tour du Pin Figeac) and six were awarded entry. The lucky half-dozen are: Chateaux Bellefont-Belcier, Destieux, Fleure-Cardinale, Grand Corbin, Grand Corbin-Despagne and Monbousquet.

• Three Loire wine regions--or subregions--were promoted to Appellation Controlee status-- one deserving, two very questionable. The first is Chaume. Formerly a Coteaux du Layon Village, its upgrade, though long overdue, involved Dickensian local politicking. (Not rare in France.) In any event, Chaume is capable of making astonishingly long-lived, succulent, regal sweet wines from chenin blanc. The last two are Orleans and Orleans-Clery. Both were VDQS (Vin de Qualite Superieur), a step below AOC, and both are minuscule wine regions making minor--though often charming--country wines. French wine is currently in crisis mode. The doldrums are in part due to the superfluity of appellations, creating a structure so topheavy it leaves consumers totally bewildered. In such an atmosphere it seems ridiculous to create additional AOCs, particularly for wines are as marginal as these last two are.

• In the Languedoc, Pezenas has been given official subregion status which means that it can attach its name to that of the appellation, to wit: Coteaux du Languedoc-Pezenas. (Previously recognized subregions of the Coteaux du Languedoc include Pic-St.-Loup.) (The upgrading of Pezenas is part of a controversial revamping of the Languedoc's appellation structure.)