Steven Spielmann
Steven Spielmann
I spent the holidays abroad this year with my family and thought I would share some drinking-related anecdotes.
First, there is drinkable and fairly inexpensive Merlot-driven Bordeaux in France that I generally don't find stateside. 10-12 euro for really enjoyable palate fruit coming out of say Montagne or Lalande or Canon-Fronsac was multiply repeated, albeit with advice from the knowledgeable. These were not life-changing bottles but they were great talking with friends about burnt chairs at the Pompidou or how the colors pop in Chagall wines, especially with the later courses. Usually 12-13 degrees and pretty well balanced too. I would drink a lot more Bordeaux if I lived in France I think. I'm a tougher sell on Cabernet but even there I can mention a delightful Margaux from an estate I never heard of (and didn't write down). Probably that was more than 10 euro though, I wasn't around for its purchase.
Second, the Cotes de Provence is depressingly full of Bordeaux knock-offs. These were actually pretty good renditions of Cabernet Sauvignon many of them, again for good prices, but they made me sad anyway. Surely there's some weird local grape they could be growing instead. (And going broke, probably. The lust for Cabernet among the masses seems unquenchable.)
Bellet, on the other hand, is older and well-priced and there's no Cab in the AOC, although some folks sneak Grenache in I think. A 2008 Chateau de Bellet Cuvee Baron G. was a pretty spectacular bottle, Folle Noir and Braquet. It (we had two bottles, actually) had both force and elegance, fruit and spice, and I wish I'd brought one home to share. I think it might have been even better in 2012 but after a little more tannin taming I suspect it's a 'keep forever' rather than 'evolve' kind of wine, although I'm not speaking from direct experience. If I return to Nice in better weather I am going to drive out to the AOC and make appointments with some of the producers out there.
Notes on some highlights:
Metras Fleurie Printemps 2008: very integrated wine, great texture, medium body and concentration. Possibly could use another year but not a vin de garde and not made as one. Strawberry nectar without sweetness; telltale Fleurie crystals on the attack; very nicely done. One of my Bordeaux protagonist companions even allowed that this was the first Beaujolais she'd enjoyed in a very long time.
Cossard Volnay 2008: Elegant medley of light berry flavors and soil, iris on the red-inflected nose. Unmistakable and surprising northern Rhone characteristics on the finish: Syrah capsicum and spice, delivered with great elegance. In fact, the most Rhonish Burgundy I've ever had, although texturally it feels like Pinot Noir. Midpalate needs some time to settle down - this is not really ready even for early drinking for another year or two I think. But the intellectual pleasure is considerable, and the wine's not bad either.
Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet 2008: Holy Toledo! Pale color, flowers and fruit, richness without concentration, balanced, non-overdone hazelnuts. Some lemon. Tastes like Chassagne. The finish is insanely long and really beautiful, this wine just goes on and on and on. I loved this.
Ladeveze Armagnac "Grand Age" Tenareze Folle Blanche 1993 (disgorged October 2010). 45 degrees. High-pitched, impressive, reminiscent of Boingneres, although maybe not quite as much going on in the mouth. But, the nose (evanescent floral quality and great purity) and finish (dramatic and vibratory) are outstanding. Really tightly wound, would like to have seen it get another decade or two in the cask before bottling I think.
Those four bottles were all sold to us by Caves Auge, to which I made my first pilgrimage. We had gotten out of the Monet show at the Grand Palais to establish our petit-bourgeois cred (although, Monet kicks ass, no matter how many times they put his water lilies on bathroom wallpaper) too early for dinner and too late to do anything else, so I suggested a trip out that way. When we emerged from the Metro silver dollar-sized snowflakes were falling everywhere. We trundled up the street and accidentally wandered into a champagne tasting: Jacquesson, Larmandier-Bernier, Seve, Gimonnet, Prevost, and Colin, with I believe mostly the actual vignerons pouring.
Surely, I thought, Sharon Bowman is around here somewhere.
With my six year old daughter's hand in mine she caught snowflakes on her tongue while I caught them in my glass, sipping drinks in the Parisian storm. Everything was delightful - how could it not be in such conditions? - but I must report my assessments nonetheless. Ulysse Colin's BdB is very, very fine, as it always has been: if you are looking for something safe to serve to anyone with real balance and quality it's hard not to recommend. But, with that partial exception, Prevost's Les Beguines stole the show - wildly complex and interesting, each bubble a sharp burst of fruit. It's possible - in deference to VLM - that the tasting conditions made this wine seem better than it was, and I am generally suspicious of side by side wine comparisons, but nonetheless - among all these many delicious champagnes the Prevost was the one that stole my palate. Regardless, sipping champagne on the street in a snowstorm is the best memory from a wonderful trip.
P.S. Get to Racines early or you'll miss your chance.
First, there is drinkable and fairly inexpensive Merlot-driven Bordeaux in France that I generally don't find stateside. 10-12 euro for really enjoyable palate fruit coming out of say Montagne or Lalande or Canon-Fronsac was multiply repeated, albeit with advice from the knowledgeable. These were not life-changing bottles but they were great talking with friends about burnt chairs at the Pompidou or how the colors pop in Chagall wines, especially with the later courses. Usually 12-13 degrees and pretty well balanced too. I would drink a lot more Bordeaux if I lived in France I think. I'm a tougher sell on Cabernet but even there I can mention a delightful Margaux from an estate I never heard of (and didn't write down). Probably that was more than 10 euro though, I wasn't around for its purchase.
Second, the Cotes de Provence is depressingly full of Bordeaux knock-offs. These were actually pretty good renditions of Cabernet Sauvignon many of them, again for good prices, but they made me sad anyway. Surely there's some weird local grape they could be growing instead. (And going broke, probably. The lust for Cabernet among the masses seems unquenchable.)
Bellet, on the other hand, is older and well-priced and there's no Cab in the AOC, although some folks sneak Grenache in I think. A 2008 Chateau de Bellet Cuvee Baron G. was a pretty spectacular bottle, Folle Noir and Braquet. It (we had two bottles, actually) had both force and elegance, fruit and spice, and I wish I'd brought one home to share. I think it might have been even better in 2012 but after a little more tannin taming I suspect it's a 'keep forever' rather than 'evolve' kind of wine, although I'm not speaking from direct experience. If I return to Nice in better weather I am going to drive out to the AOC and make appointments with some of the producers out there.
Notes on some highlights:
Metras Fleurie Printemps 2008: very integrated wine, great texture, medium body and concentration. Possibly could use another year but not a vin de garde and not made as one. Strawberry nectar without sweetness; telltale Fleurie crystals on the attack; very nicely done. One of my Bordeaux protagonist companions even allowed that this was the first Beaujolais she'd enjoyed in a very long time.
Cossard Volnay 2008: Elegant medley of light berry flavors and soil, iris on the red-inflected nose. Unmistakable and surprising northern Rhone characteristics on the finish: Syrah capsicum and spice, delivered with great elegance. In fact, the most Rhonish Burgundy I've ever had, although texturally it feels like Pinot Noir. Midpalate needs some time to settle down - this is not really ready even for early drinking for another year or two I think. But the intellectual pleasure is considerable, and the wine's not bad either.
Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet 2008: Holy Toledo! Pale color, flowers and fruit, richness without concentration, balanced, non-overdone hazelnuts. Some lemon. Tastes like Chassagne. The finish is insanely long and really beautiful, this wine just goes on and on and on. I loved this.
Ladeveze Armagnac "Grand Age" Tenareze Folle Blanche 1993 (disgorged October 2010). 45 degrees. High-pitched, impressive, reminiscent of Boingneres, although maybe not quite as much going on in the mouth. But, the nose (evanescent floral quality and great purity) and finish (dramatic and vibratory) are outstanding. Really tightly wound, would like to have seen it get another decade or two in the cask before bottling I think.
Those four bottles were all sold to us by Caves Auge, to which I made my first pilgrimage. We had gotten out of the Monet show at the Grand Palais to establish our petit-bourgeois cred (although, Monet kicks ass, no matter how many times they put his water lilies on bathroom wallpaper) too early for dinner and too late to do anything else, so I suggested a trip out that way. When we emerged from the Metro silver dollar-sized snowflakes were falling everywhere. We trundled up the street and accidentally wandered into a champagne tasting: Jacquesson, Larmandier-Bernier, Seve, Gimonnet, Prevost, and Colin, with I believe mostly the actual vignerons pouring.
Surely, I thought, Sharon Bowman is around here somewhere.
With my six year old daughter's hand in mine she caught snowflakes on her tongue while I caught them in my glass, sipping drinks in the Parisian storm. Everything was delightful - how could it not be in such conditions? - but I must report my assessments nonetheless. Ulysse Colin's BdB is very, very fine, as it always has been: if you are looking for something safe to serve to anyone with real balance and quality it's hard not to recommend. But, with that partial exception, Prevost's Les Beguines stole the show - wildly complex and interesting, each bubble a sharp burst of fruit. It's possible - in deference to VLM - that the tasting conditions made this wine seem better than it was, and I am generally suspicious of side by side wine comparisons, but nonetheless - among all these many delicious champagnes the Prevost was the one that stole my palate. Regardless, sipping champagne on the street in a snowstorm is the best memory from a wonderful trip.
P.S. Get to Racines early or you'll miss your chance.