A few more items
I had my first visit to the Puzelat houseThierry and Jean-Marie are great guys doing really interesting work, much of which I like a lot. I was a little distracteda VC kept calling me, and Id go out in the yard, where the dog would bark so much that I couldnt have a business conversation. Anyhow, I missed some wines and some news Im sure.
I was very interested to learn that they sell half their production to Japan, where no- or low-SO2 wines are a very big deal. Thierry says he sees his stuff even in local shops in Kyushu. He loves going to Japan to sell winehe made a gesture of slapping himself, saying that it is so utterly different from his usual life. Seeing the peaceful farmhouse in the village a few miles from Blois, I can easily understand that Tokyo might induce a little whiplash.
Thierrys comment on 06 was that it was good for their early varieties, but later ripeners like chenin and CF were caught by the rain. 2007 was their best mildew harvest ever, costing 40% of their crop. We only tasted 1 wine from 2007 from Tue-Boeuf, the Touraine SB still in cuve. Its still cloudy, but done. Earthy, mineral, good stuff that was denined the AOC for oxidation. Thierry continues to struggle with the AOC, although for him at this point it is more a question of the convenience of his distributors than a real issuehe sells his wine whether it gets the AOC or not. His natural yeast fermentations are slower and funkier than his neighbors, and the April timing of AOC submissions may find his wines still fermenting while the others are done, showing his to a disadvantage. In 2007 they submitted at the December time, when the difference is not so stark. He said there are new EU rules coming that could relax some of the draconian consumer-unfriendly regs such as forbidding the vintage date on the label of declassified VdT, which would be a good thing for everyone. I asked how those obviously consumer-unfriendly rules had been installed in the first place, and the word was that the AOCs wanted to dominate the competition.
The 06 Frileuse (one who, like Shawn Mead, feels the cold) should have been Cheverny blanc, but no AOC is forthcoming. Its a wild thing, 14.8* and 17 g. rs. 40% chard, 60% SB (1/3 of which is sauvignon gris). But its clean and aromatically fine, if otherwise OTT.
The 06 pinot gris (formerly common locally, but replanting in the 1960s left only two growers with vines, so they were written out of the AOC. Its currently a bit volatile for me, but Thierry feels it will improve with age. He thinks the va is from a particular yeast strain active at low temperatures. I was tempted to ask him whether he thought this was a good argument for using cultivated yeasts, but my phone rang again.
The 06 Buisson Pouilleux (vv SB) is a monster too15.3%, 20 g rs (no AOC, duh). Its clean but crazy, and you really feel the heat on the finish. Thierry said they got sugar ripeness early, but had to wait for flavor maturity. Brian Loring, are you there? I didnt ask whether he had the wrong variety planted in this site for such a warm climate. Fortunately the 2007 is back to 12.5%.
We jumped around a bit more. The 05 Brin de Chevre (menu pineau with 40% petit meslier and 2% petit verdot) is greenish-yellow, pretty, but toasty and rich, showing some EtOH, plush and full, I miss a little more acid.
The 07 reds are all 11.5-12.5%, whew. The just-bottled Touraine gamay has a very Touraine spicy gamay nose, its quite light on its feet and eminently slurpable. The AOC Cheverny rouge (85 gamay/15 PN) from a small first bottling is bright, fresh, not complex but tasty. The Cheverny Rouillon from cask is a little reductive, bright, with good acid. The Cheverny Gravotte is all PN, darker, gamy, still showing CO2 on the tongue, but is quite varietal, with more tannin, but again a drinkable wine with nice acidity. A different Cheverny PN clay over limestone site whose name starts with C but is illegible in my notes shows its limestone in its grippy mineral finish, but retains good acid and shows a bit more tannin.
We also tasted some of the negoce wines that Thierry does. In 2007 they are all biodynamic. The Touraine SB is just bottled, but even so is pretty and varietal, lightly mineral, might it have a little rs? Fine stuff, but I dont adore it. The 06 of the same is showing a bit oxidized, some browning and some va. It has sweet slightly oxidized fruit, its big (13.8%), with somewhat low acid, some roasty skin flavors. He held some CO2 in the wine for more freshness, a good idea.
Thierry has just purchased some vines in La Tesniere, a hamlet adjacent to Clos Roche Blanche but a 20 minute drive from chez Puzelat. They are 2/3 menu pineau and 1/3 chenin. The 05 has some color, is slightly cloudy, and is a big powerful ripe but slightly rough wine with elevated alcohol and some CO2 prickle. Its interesting, but you might want it to take its boots off before it stomps around the house. The 06 of the same wine from cuve is showing a little appley oxidation and less acid, but is not as big as some 06s. Its aging on the lees and will get some SO2 at bottling.
There is a VdT Romorantin (romo is not allowed in Touraine AOC) that was bottled in December. Some of the vines are 100+ years old, and one was planted in 1973 in franc de pied. The old guy who planted the fdp didnt have the cash for rootstock! This 2006 is a very interesting wine, a little toasty/roasty, the alcohol projects just a bit, but its interesting wine Id be glad to drink.
Thierry has a grower in Montlouis who picks and vinifies for Thierry, but as Chidaine noted, Montlouis has to be made in Montlouis, so Thierry can only bring the wine to his cellar after it gets the AOC. Chidaine is hoping to work in a single cellar with both Montlouis and Vouvray. Thierrys 05 Montlouis has a spicy nose, is showing a little color and cloudiness, has slight rusticity of texture, but shows a very interesting Puzelat take on the AOC. You would not mistake this for a Chidaine wine. It took a year and a half to ferment, bottled in 9/07. TP says that if the wine is in barrel long enough, you dont need SO2 or filtration.
The 05 Vouvray surely qualifiesit was 27 months in barrel. Its quite rich from lees and alcohol. It isnt oxidized, its dry, with good acid and texture. Not as pretty as the top wines from the AOC, but as with all these it is straightforward and honest wine.
The 04 Petillant natural is from 80 y.o. vines that are 75% menu pineau and 25% petit meslier. TP feels that meslier is a terroir-transparent peasant grape, which made more sense to me during the tasting than it does in recollection. I love this winetoasty yeast on the nose, great texture, refreshing acidity, some slight oxidation that works well in context. TP says the grapes were *just* ripe enough at 11.8%. The 05 of the same is from a different sourcethe previous guy couldnt be persuaded to go organic. These 40 y.o. vines are from a better soil, and they give a lighter wine with more finesse. The wine isnt as wacky and distinctive as the 04, but its really good. He had more natural ripeness in 05, the wines at 13.2%, if I could have chosen Id have dialed it in just a little lower, but you can serve this to me anytime. Interestingly, Thierry says that he seeks about 15g of sugar for the final fermentation in bottle (petillant natural uses the grapes own sugar for the fizz fermentation), but that he doesnt control which yeast will finish the fermentation and that he gets variable pressure of gas since some yeast are more efficient than others.
Quickly through the last reds. The 07 Telquel (as is, with the famous sausage dog) is slightly green, slightly herbal on its bright cranberry fruit, but with its zip and light tannins its swilleriffic. The 07 pineau daunis from La Tesniere is pale, but darker than a rose. It has classic pda pepper, its fresh, 12.5%, lean, reflects its vintage, cepage, and site, and is solid, real wine. The 07 Pinot noir from a mix of sand/gravel/alluvial stuff is a bit reduced, with vinyl/rubber flavors, a lean palate, good 07 acid, but I find it hard to judge. The 06 gamay Pouille (a little hamlet near Tesniere and CRB) is darker, slightly funkier, but with considerably more depth and intensity, a long zippy finish with a little tannin, its delicious, but warmer wine than the 07s. The 06 In Cot We Trust is dark, with raspberry flavors and furry cot tannins, its rich good wine (in context). The 06 Cot Clos de la Roche from 8 y.o. vines owned by Thierry is to be bottled soon. Its light purple, cloudy, nice enough, not too tannic for cot, good stuff. Its always a fair bit of work tasting at Puzelat, its like trying to visit the whole Met in an afternoon, except in a viticultural Touraine kind of way.
There was a big portfolio tasting with a bunch of wines and winemakers not from the Loire on my last day. I was a little fatigued (and I havent even written up all my notes), and so I didnt taste a bunch of what was on offer. But let me give a few of them.
As Ive mentioned, I was disappointed when LDM picked up Larmandier-Bernier, since it took away a wine that Id always loved and put an LDM label on it, meaning that I cant serve it as easily to Joe and Denyse. I still love the wines. The 12/07 disgorgement of the BdB 1er Brut is mostly from 05 wine, with some reserves, and its excellent, clean rich, > generous, guzzle this daily. It has 5 g dose, which qualifies it as Extra Brut in the endlessly sliding Champagne sweetness designations. The 12/07 disgorged Terre de Vertus is crystalline, long, refreshing, vigorous, really fine, and will find its way to my refrigerator. The 04 vv de Cremant will be an official vintage wine come 5/08. They had so little wine in 03 that they accelerated their releases and the wines werent stored long enough to be given an official date. This has a 2-3 g. dose (they seek 3 but are at the limits of calibration for the doser). I taste just a hint of oxidation, more richness and depth than the lean TdV, it remains excellent stuff that I will also drink.
Philippe Pacalet is pleased with the 06 vintage, since he feels it is more transparent to terroir than 05. Having tasted a set of his wines, Id have to agree. The style is consistent with his previous practicethe wines are spicy (from stems?), approachable, and frankly hard to resist young. He doesnt destem, so needs full ripeness. In 06 he added 30 mg/L of SO2 at the last racking, less than in 05. His newly bottled 06 Gevrey-Chambertin has round gamy fruit, lovely texture, fine tannins, and youd drink it. The 06 Pommard is blockier, more forceful, less pretty, and needs a different menu match than the G-C. The 06 NSG is a little cooler on the nose, a slight almost mentholated note, bigger tannic structure, but reasonably suave tannin. The 06 Pommard 1er has more depth and complexity, rounder richer, with even more spice. Nice. The 06 Chambolle 1er has sweeter cherry CM flavors, with a longer harder finish. Impressive but needs time to round out.
Pacalet feels that he gets different yeast from his different terroirs, and that the different yeast give rise to different fermentation temperatures, which he used to try to control but he now thinks that this is also part of terroir so he lets it go. I am a poor scribe for flavor descriptors, but this set of wines tasted like a little map of the Cote dOr, each quite distinct in its own way and you can easily understand why Pacalet likes the transparency of the vintage. Ill be saving a few ducats to try to get some of these wines.
Our own Eric Texier made the trip up to show us some new wines, its always great to see Eric, hes a shy retiring guy with only tentative opinions on any subject. But seriously folks, hes also a remarkably frank critic of his own wines.
For the first time, Eric in 2006 made a Pergault Brezeme blanc from 2 barrels of old Roussane. He says in the same spot some grapes ripen 10 days before others, that there is clearly a wide genetic diversity and perhaps even different varieties? They were brought from the Savoie after WW II. This is really interesting stuff, savory, rich, with moderate acidity. I look forward to trying it again.
Eric liked the 06 vintage a lot in the Northern Rhoneit was warm but the nights were cool enough, even in Condrieu.
The 06 Macon Bussieres vv was bottled 2 weeks ago. Its rich intense, long, has OK acidity but I find it a little heavy. Do you really want my opinions on chardonnay anyway? Eric prefers his 05 for its balance.
The 06 Brezeme was bottled last week. Its about 50% carbonic maceration (up from 20%), although the carbonic was not pure carbonic, more of a Beaujolais fermentation. Not sure exactly what the diff is. In any case, this is young primary syrah, still unsettled, an interesting gamy nose, the expected great acidity, he used 20 mg of SO2, a quite minimal level. He thinks this is the wine to drink now, and the Pergault to age. I would age the Pergaults except that they dont seem to stick around long in my house.
Eric likes the balance in the 05 St. Gervais better than in a lot of 05 Grenache, and so do I. Bright fruit, no compote, not heavy, good acid, tannins are balanced and in the background. Is that pizza here yet?
La Croix is a lieu-dit in northern St. Joseph in pure mica-schist that resembles that in the northern Cote-Rotie. The vines are old but were poorly tended and Eric is still working to revive the vineyard. The 05 is big and ripe, but delicious.
The 06 Brezeme vv Pergault is from barrel and the nose is a bit suppressed, but its a delicate clean syrah, with lovely balance and harmony. The typical Brezeme acidity carries the substantial texture and depth of this wine well through its long finish. Quite suave.
Eric finally got the AOC for his 2006 Cote-Rotie (his wines arent big enough, he doesnt use enough new wood, etc., so he has trouble in a place where the model tends to be Guigal, which his decidedly does not emulate). The 60 y.o. massale vines are from La Villaliere. I find it early to judge this wine, but it is a promising Texier CRnot a monster, but a wine you want a second glass of, and perhaps a third.
Damn, I took too many notes on this trip. Rather than quit, let me just name a couple of wines. I really liked the 06 Crozes and St. Joe from Dard and Ribo, and I really didnt love several of their other wines that I found funky, furry, and weird. Too natural for me, Im afraid. Oxidized, low acid whites, that sort of thing. But the top wines are great for current consumption.
JP Brun is a lovely guy, and an amazingly sincere dedicated guy. He was also hilariousnone of his 07s are in bottle yet. Keven asked him why, he said, 35 hour week. (Brun is notorious for doing nothing but work). 07 is promising for these from an early harvest that started September 8th in the crus and the 15th at the domaine. But again, these are lighter wines with pale colors and good acid. Some may be a little lean. 06 Cote de Brouilly is in a good spot now. I usually dont love the pinot noir, and this remains true in 06. The 07 FRV is still working, estery, with the acid it needs, but the flavors are currently great. There is also an FRV white (sic) in 07, and I found that the structure and finish got lost a bit in the rs, I prefer the pink.
We had some good stuff at lunch, Ill note the 99 JPB Lancien, which was just brilliant. What a great thing this is. Also the Puzelat 05 Pineau dAunis Tesniere from magnum was in a great place.
I wish I could have stuck around after the tasting but I had an early flight and had to head out to the lovely CDG Sheraton and an evening full of negotiations with people 8 time zones behind me. I suspect there might have been a party, and the afternoon was simply gorgeous. But duty called, it was back to work.
I had my first visit to the Puzelat houseThierry and Jean-Marie are great guys doing really interesting work, much of which I like a lot. I was a little distracteda VC kept calling me, and Id go out in the yard, where the dog would bark so much that I couldnt have a business conversation. Anyhow, I missed some wines and some news Im sure.
I was very interested to learn that they sell half their production to Japan, where no- or low-SO2 wines are a very big deal. Thierry says he sees his stuff even in local shops in Kyushu. He loves going to Japan to sell winehe made a gesture of slapping himself, saying that it is so utterly different from his usual life. Seeing the peaceful farmhouse in the village a few miles from Blois, I can easily understand that Tokyo might induce a little whiplash.
Thierrys comment on 06 was that it was good for their early varieties, but later ripeners like chenin and CF were caught by the rain. 2007 was their best mildew harvest ever, costing 40% of their crop. We only tasted 1 wine from 2007 from Tue-Boeuf, the Touraine SB still in cuve. Its still cloudy, but done. Earthy, mineral, good stuff that was denined the AOC for oxidation. Thierry continues to struggle with the AOC, although for him at this point it is more a question of the convenience of his distributors than a real issuehe sells his wine whether it gets the AOC or not. His natural yeast fermentations are slower and funkier than his neighbors, and the April timing of AOC submissions may find his wines still fermenting while the others are done, showing his to a disadvantage. In 2007 they submitted at the December time, when the difference is not so stark. He said there are new EU rules coming that could relax some of the draconian consumer-unfriendly regs such as forbidding the vintage date on the label of declassified VdT, which would be a good thing for everyone. I asked how those obviously consumer-unfriendly rules had been installed in the first place, and the word was that the AOCs wanted to dominate the competition.
The 06 Frileuse (one who, like Shawn Mead, feels the cold) should have been Cheverny blanc, but no AOC is forthcoming. Its a wild thing, 14.8* and 17 g. rs. 40% chard, 60% SB (1/3 of which is sauvignon gris). But its clean and aromatically fine, if otherwise OTT.
The 06 pinot gris (formerly common locally, but replanting in the 1960s left only two growers with vines, so they were written out of the AOC. Its currently a bit volatile for me, but Thierry feels it will improve with age. He thinks the va is from a particular yeast strain active at low temperatures. I was tempted to ask him whether he thought this was a good argument for using cultivated yeasts, but my phone rang again.
The 06 Buisson Pouilleux (vv SB) is a monster too15.3%, 20 g rs (no AOC, duh). Its clean but crazy, and you really feel the heat on the finish. Thierry said they got sugar ripeness early, but had to wait for flavor maturity. Brian Loring, are you there? I didnt ask whether he had the wrong variety planted in this site for such a warm climate. Fortunately the 2007 is back to 12.5%.
We jumped around a bit more. The 05 Brin de Chevre (menu pineau with 40% petit meslier and 2% petit verdot) is greenish-yellow, pretty, but toasty and rich, showing some EtOH, plush and full, I miss a little more acid.
The 07 reds are all 11.5-12.5%, whew. The just-bottled Touraine gamay has a very Touraine spicy gamay nose, its quite light on its feet and eminently slurpable. The AOC Cheverny rouge (85 gamay/15 PN) from a small first bottling is bright, fresh, not complex but tasty. The Cheverny Rouillon from cask is a little reductive, bright, with good acid. The Cheverny Gravotte is all PN, darker, gamy, still showing CO2 on the tongue, but is quite varietal, with more tannin, but again a drinkable wine with nice acidity. A different Cheverny PN clay over limestone site whose name starts with C but is illegible in my notes shows its limestone in its grippy mineral finish, but retains good acid and shows a bit more tannin.
We also tasted some of the negoce wines that Thierry does. In 2007 they are all biodynamic. The Touraine SB is just bottled, but even so is pretty and varietal, lightly mineral, might it have a little rs? Fine stuff, but I dont adore it. The 06 of the same is showing a bit oxidized, some browning and some va. It has sweet slightly oxidized fruit, its big (13.8%), with somewhat low acid, some roasty skin flavors. He held some CO2 in the wine for more freshness, a good idea.
Thierry has just purchased some vines in La Tesniere, a hamlet adjacent to Clos Roche Blanche but a 20 minute drive from chez Puzelat. They are 2/3 menu pineau and 1/3 chenin. The 05 has some color, is slightly cloudy, and is a big powerful ripe but slightly rough wine with elevated alcohol and some CO2 prickle. Its interesting, but you might want it to take its boots off before it stomps around the house. The 06 of the same wine from cuve is showing a little appley oxidation and less acid, but is not as big as some 06s. Its aging on the lees and will get some SO2 at bottling.
There is a VdT Romorantin (romo is not allowed in Touraine AOC) that was bottled in December. Some of the vines are 100+ years old, and one was planted in 1973 in franc de pied. The old guy who planted the fdp didnt have the cash for rootstock! This 2006 is a very interesting wine, a little toasty/roasty, the alcohol projects just a bit, but its interesting wine Id be glad to drink.
Thierry has a grower in Montlouis who picks and vinifies for Thierry, but as Chidaine noted, Montlouis has to be made in Montlouis, so Thierry can only bring the wine to his cellar after it gets the AOC. Chidaine is hoping to work in a single cellar with both Montlouis and Vouvray. Thierrys 05 Montlouis has a spicy nose, is showing a little color and cloudiness, has slight rusticity of texture, but shows a very interesting Puzelat take on the AOC. You would not mistake this for a Chidaine wine. It took a year and a half to ferment, bottled in 9/07. TP says that if the wine is in barrel long enough, you dont need SO2 or filtration.
The 05 Vouvray surely qualifiesit was 27 months in barrel. Its quite rich from lees and alcohol. It isnt oxidized, its dry, with good acid and texture. Not as pretty as the top wines from the AOC, but as with all these it is straightforward and honest wine.
The 04 Petillant natural is from 80 y.o. vines that are 75% menu pineau and 25% petit meslier. TP feels that meslier is a terroir-transparent peasant grape, which made more sense to me during the tasting than it does in recollection. I love this winetoasty yeast on the nose, great texture, refreshing acidity, some slight oxidation that works well in context. TP says the grapes were *just* ripe enough at 11.8%. The 05 of the same is from a different sourcethe previous guy couldnt be persuaded to go organic. These 40 y.o. vines are from a better soil, and they give a lighter wine with more finesse. The wine isnt as wacky and distinctive as the 04, but its really good. He had more natural ripeness in 05, the wines at 13.2%, if I could have chosen Id have dialed it in just a little lower, but you can serve this to me anytime. Interestingly, Thierry says that he seeks about 15g of sugar for the final fermentation in bottle (petillant natural uses the grapes own sugar for the fizz fermentation), but that he doesnt control which yeast will finish the fermentation and that he gets variable pressure of gas since some yeast are more efficient than others.
Quickly through the last reds. The 07 Telquel (as is, with the famous sausage dog) is slightly green, slightly herbal on its bright cranberry fruit, but with its zip and light tannins its swilleriffic. The 07 pineau daunis from La Tesniere is pale, but darker than a rose. It has classic pda pepper, its fresh, 12.5%, lean, reflects its vintage, cepage, and site, and is solid, real wine. The 07 Pinot noir from a mix of sand/gravel/alluvial stuff is a bit reduced, with vinyl/rubber flavors, a lean palate, good 07 acid, but I find it hard to judge. The 06 gamay Pouille (a little hamlet near Tesniere and CRB) is darker, slightly funkier, but with considerably more depth and intensity, a long zippy finish with a little tannin, its delicious, but warmer wine than the 07s. The 06 In Cot We Trust is dark, with raspberry flavors and furry cot tannins, its rich good wine (in context). The 06 Cot Clos de la Roche from 8 y.o. vines owned by Thierry is to be bottled soon. Its light purple, cloudy, nice enough, not too tannic for cot, good stuff. Its always a fair bit of work tasting at Puzelat, its like trying to visit the whole Met in an afternoon, except in a viticultural Touraine kind of way.
There was a big portfolio tasting with a bunch of wines and winemakers not from the Loire on my last day. I was a little fatigued (and I havent even written up all my notes), and so I didnt taste a bunch of what was on offer. But let me give a few of them.
As Ive mentioned, I was disappointed when LDM picked up Larmandier-Bernier, since it took away a wine that Id always loved and put an LDM label on it, meaning that I cant serve it as easily to Joe and Denyse. I still love the wines. The 12/07 disgorgement of the BdB 1er Brut is mostly from 05 wine, with some reserves, and its excellent, clean rich, > generous, guzzle this daily. It has 5 g dose, which qualifies it as Extra Brut in the endlessly sliding Champagne sweetness designations. The 12/07 disgorged Terre de Vertus is crystalline, long, refreshing, vigorous, really fine, and will find its way to my refrigerator. The 04 vv de Cremant will be an official vintage wine come 5/08. They had so little wine in 03 that they accelerated their releases and the wines werent stored long enough to be given an official date. This has a 2-3 g. dose (they seek 3 but are at the limits of calibration for the doser). I taste just a hint of oxidation, more richness and depth than the lean TdV, it remains excellent stuff that I will also drink.
Philippe Pacalet is pleased with the 06 vintage, since he feels it is more transparent to terroir than 05. Having tasted a set of his wines, Id have to agree. The style is consistent with his previous practicethe wines are spicy (from stems?), approachable, and frankly hard to resist young. He doesnt destem, so needs full ripeness. In 06 he added 30 mg/L of SO2 at the last racking, less than in 05. His newly bottled 06 Gevrey-Chambertin has round gamy fruit, lovely texture, fine tannins, and youd drink it. The 06 Pommard is blockier, more forceful, less pretty, and needs a different menu match than the G-C. The 06 NSG is a little cooler on the nose, a slight almost mentholated note, bigger tannic structure, but reasonably suave tannin. The 06 Pommard 1er has more depth and complexity, rounder richer, with even more spice. Nice. The 06 Chambolle 1er has sweeter cherry CM flavors, with a longer harder finish. Impressive but needs time to round out.
Pacalet feels that he gets different yeast from his different terroirs, and that the different yeast give rise to different fermentation temperatures, which he used to try to control but he now thinks that this is also part of terroir so he lets it go. I am a poor scribe for flavor descriptors, but this set of wines tasted like a little map of the Cote dOr, each quite distinct in its own way and you can easily understand why Pacalet likes the transparency of the vintage. Ill be saving a few ducats to try to get some of these wines.
Our own Eric Texier made the trip up to show us some new wines, its always great to see Eric, hes a shy retiring guy with only tentative opinions on any subject. But seriously folks, hes also a remarkably frank critic of his own wines.
For the first time, Eric in 2006 made a Pergault Brezeme blanc from 2 barrels of old Roussane. He says in the same spot some grapes ripen 10 days before others, that there is clearly a wide genetic diversity and perhaps even different varieties? They were brought from the Savoie after WW II. This is really interesting stuff, savory, rich, with moderate acidity. I look forward to trying it again.
Eric liked the 06 vintage a lot in the Northern Rhoneit was warm but the nights were cool enough, even in Condrieu.
The 06 Macon Bussieres vv was bottled 2 weeks ago. Its rich intense, long, has OK acidity but I find it a little heavy. Do you really want my opinions on chardonnay anyway? Eric prefers his 05 for its balance.
The 06 Brezeme was bottled last week. Its about 50% carbonic maceration (up from 20%), although the carbonic was not pure carbonic, more of a Beaujolais fermentation. Not sure exactly what the diff is. In any case, this is young primary syrah, still unsettled, an interesting gamy nose, the expected great acidity, he used 20 mg of SO2, a quite minimal level. He thinks this is the wine to drink now, and the Pergault to age. I would age the Pergaults except that they dont seem to stick around long in my house.
Eric likes the balance in the 05 St. Gervais better than in a lot of 05 Grenache, and so do I. Bright fruit, no compote, not heavy, good acid, tannins are balanced and in the background. Is that pizza here yet?
La Croix is a lieu-dit in northern St. Joseph in pure mica-schist that resembles that in the northern Cote-Rotie. The vines are old but were poorly tended and Eric is still working to revive the vineyard. The 05 is big and ripe, but delicious.
The 06 Brezeme vv Pergault is from barrel and the nose is a bit suppressed, but its a delicate clean syrah, with lovely balance and harmony. The typical Brezeme acidity carries the substantial texture and depth of this wine well through its long finish. Quite suave.
Eric finally got the AOC for his 2006 Cote-Rotie (his wines arent big enough, he doesnt use enough new wood, etc., so he has trouble in a place where the model tends to be Guigal, which his decidedly does not emulate). The 60 y.o. massale vines are from La Villaliere. I find it early to judge this wine, but it is a promising Texier CRnot a monster, but a wine you want a second glass of, and perhaps a third.
Damn, I took too many notes on this trip. Rather than quit, let me just name a couple of wines. I really liked the 06 Crozes and St. Joe from Dard and Ribo, and I really didnt love several of their other wines that I found funky, furry, and weird. Too natural for me, Im afraid. Oxidized, low acid whites, that sort of thing. But the top wines are great for current consumption.
JP Brun is a lovely guy, and an amazingly sincere dedicated guy. He was also hilariousnone of his 07s are in bottle yet. Keven asked him why, he said, 35 hour week. (Brun is notorious for doing nothing but work). 07 is promising for these from an early harvest that started September 8th in the crus and the 15th at the domaine. But again, these are lighter wines with pale colors and good acid. Some may be a little lean. 06 Cote de Brouilly is in a good spot now. I usually dont love the pinot noir, and this remains true in 06. The 07 FRV is still working, estery, with the acid it needs, but the flavors are currently great. There is also an FRV white (sic) in 07, and I found that the structure and finish got lost a bit in the rs, I prefer the pink.
We had some good stuff at lunch, Ill note the 99 JPB Lancien, which was just brilliant. What a great thing this is. Also the Puzelat 05 Pineau dAunis Tesniere from magnum was in a great place.
I wish I could have stuck around after the tasting but I had an early flight and had to head out to the lovely CDG Sheraton and an evening full of negotiations with people 8 time zones behind me. I suspect there might have been a party, and the afternoon was simply gorgeous. But duty called, it was back to work.