I had the great pleasure to visit Comrade Brézème’s home and cellar for the first time in January. Cool spreads, both. The cellar is particularly aristocratic, with elegant high ceilings. Not to disparage the fine home, of course.
A number of the wines were newly bottled, so some of the notes might mislead. I’ll just give some general impressions.
His 2010 Macon Bussieres VV had just been bottled, but its relatively full flavors belied its under 12% abv. Classic lines, not too decorated, good drinking. The 2011 Brezeme Roussane had finished MLF. The younger vines lost 1/3 of the crop to oidium. The JV wine is light on its feet, it has pleasant Roussane grip on the finish and decent acidity. The 2010 VV Roussane (Rousette cultivar) has been bottled. It has more of everything—it’s richer, more intense, long, good 2010 acidity, wonderful stuff. Spent 20 months in old wood, there are 3 barrels for the world. The regular Brezeme rouge 2010 was just bottled the day of tasting (!), so forgive it if it might be out of sorts, but it seems a fine vintage, good fruit, good acid balance. The 2010 St Julien en St. Alban will be bottled in March. It’s dark but not at all heavy, with beautiful aromatics, nice but not obtrusive structure, plenty of fine tannin. It’s better balanced than the 2009. ET notes that “all the 2010 syrahs are very dark,” but this doesn’t translate into overripeness, the flavors are cool. The VV Brezeme 2009 is opaque. The VVs are only massale. It’s dense, intense, powerful stuff, with a long finish and major tannic grip. Throw away the key on this stuff. Lovely acidity. The pH is 3.15 (!, in 2009!). He added no SO2, but wound up with 19 total and 10 free. This is a bit perplexing, but there you are. I told him to recalibrate his SO2-meter. The next day we made a quick visit to the cellar before I had to start the long series of events that would allow me to do my 3-hour conference call by the side of the road. The 2011 JV Brezeme from cask is bright and earthy, with more structure than the 2010, more acidity than the ’09, nice stuff, with good fruit and grip. The ’11 VV Brezeme had a deep, intense syrah nose, beautiful balance at a high level of intensity, early complexity, good acidity, plenty of fine tannin, it’s a winner. We finished with his crazy rose from the Fukuoka community plot in Charnay. It’s about 11%, currently fairly reduced, but it has a lovely fruity finish. Eric thinks the 5% moscato has something to do with that, but the acid is good and a racking should see it on its way. There are fewer than 400 bottles of this to sell, so you’d better get to that barstool and ask Pascaline for some right away.
Speaking of the Maconnais, I tasted some other cool wines from that part of the world. “What does he know or care about chardonnay?” you may rightly ask. Not much, I might answer, but I tasted some things I liked. Pierette and Marc Guillemot-Michel’s Macon from Quintaine, for instance. OK, the dude’s general level of hairiness was distracting, but his 2010 Vire-Clesse had a wonderfully complex nose, and the whole wine was remarkably alive and mobile. Acid and fruits chase each other around your tongue, throwing limestone at every turn. A very long wine, with fabulous acidity and calcareous minerality. Who knew? Another potent anecdote for biodynamics and no wood.
There was also quite a crowd around the Domaine des Vignes du Maynes next door. I quite liked the 2010 Macon-Village. The fruit was present but not objectionable, minerals, check, acid, check, all the parts are there. The 2010 Macon-Cruzille is riper, maybe it has a little botrytis, it currently shows less integration and more phenolics. Seems like good stuff but needs more time. The 2010 Macon-Cruzille ‘Aragonite’ is from a site with extremely shallow soil (25 cm) over the eponymous mineral. This takes minerality in chardonnay out the door and down the road for me. It is the type sample of calcareous stuff. Has anyone had older vintages? I’m extremely curious to know how it ages. There isn’t much, though, only 8 barrels. He also has a very good cremant. The area has been in vines roughly 1000 years, and this year they made a “Cuvee 910” from cofermented gamay and PN that is supposed to represent the wine made a millennium past. They collected the grapes in oxcarts, did a foot stomp, vinified in barrique. Aside from the methodological conceit, it’s great stuff, fresh and delicious. Reminds me of J’en Veux. In 2010 there is another, much more structured gamay called ‘Manganite.’ I’m not sure if that mineral is also present, but apparently this is an old cultivar of gamay with thicker skins. It has unusual crusty tannins, but I find it delicious. There is also a good Bourgogne rouge in 2011, PN of course, but pinot fin in this case. Not crazy complex, but also quite good.
The de Moors were at an adjacent table with some great wines. The aligote in 2010 has a pretty, ripe nose, and is moderately hard in the mouth as you might expect. The basic 2010 Chablis also has aromatic ripeness, along with some earthiness. Light-bodied, with good acidity, if they put enough SO2 in this it will be excellent fb-bait. The minerality goes up a prong or two in the 2010 Bel Air & Clardy, it’s racier and stonier, very good stuff. The Rosette is riper and warmer on the nose, very long in the mouth. It will reward time in the cellar. I am often fond of St. Bris, or maybe it is a sampling error and we only see the good producers? Anyhow, I like this 2010—a subtle rocky SB nose, balance among phenolics, acid, moderate alcohol, it won’t please you if fruit is your thing, but it brings the rocks.
As long as we’re talking limestone, I should mention the very tasty wines from Domaine Hauvette in Provence. They share an underlying minerality that is pretty dramatic. Not one of your chatty winemakers, though. Their 2010 rose ‘Petra’ is much more interesting than your usual Provencal rose. It’s 13.5, but not heavy, good acid, I like it. I usually prefer roses from cooler climates farther north, but this one you could drink. It’s 65% Cinsault with Grenache and syrah as well. (why does MSW capitalize some grapes for me but not others? Hmmmm.) There are some good whites done in eggs and I would mention in particular the Grenache/syrah/CS blends, ‘Cornaline’. They share the family limestone flavors with the ‘Amethyst’, from Cinsault/Carignan/Grenache. You can feel the sun on the white rocks in all these wines.
If you want a chattier winemaker, Franck Peillot is your boy. His wines from the Bugey also have some limestone under the clay, in contrast with similar cepages from the Savoie. 2011 got hot fast at the end of the summer, giving a harvest something like 2009. His 2010 fizz is pretty rich and full, though he mentioned that many of his private customers didn’t dig his 2011s—more structure than they were accustomed to. The 2011 Altesse has some unusual citrus in the nose, good vigor, and it’s a slimmer package than you might expect. Tasty, though. The 2011 PN has a very strawberry nose, and is a good refreshing quaffer. Aubert de Villaine can still rest at night. A tank sample of the 2011 Mondeuse has good spice in its fruit, and more acid and structure than usual. He does a pied de cuve, adds clusters with a foot crush, though many berries go unbroken. It’s an open tank, but it has some carbonic character early. Good company for food in 2011.
Farther east still, but yet again on calcium, Elisabetta Foradori continues to do amazing things with Nosiola and Teroldego from anfora. I can’t think of anyone making wines of more suavity and sophistication in this way. Those who might have been scoring at home will be interested to learn that the 2009 Nosiola was a single cuvee, bottled in 750s and mags. It never tasted the same, but there you go, these are live wines. I won’t belabor the point, but she reports starting in biodynamics in 2002 and feels that she has better balance in her wines as of 2009 and 2010. The 2010s are everything you would hope.
And that’s all the limestone (and some granite) that I have for you this morning.
A number of the wines were newly bottled, so some of the notes might mislead. I’ll just give some general impressions.
His 2010 Macon Bussieres VV had just been bottled, but its relatively full flavors belied its under 12% abv. Classic lines, not too decorated, good drinking. The 2011 Brezeme Roussane had finished MLF. The younger vines lost 1/3 of the crop to oidium. The JV wine is light on its feet, it has pleasant Roussane grip on the finish and decent acidity. The 2010 VV Roussane (Rousette cultivar) has been bottled. It has more of everything—it’s richer, more intense, long, good 2010 acidity, wonderful stuff. Spent 20 months in old wood, there are 3 barrels for the world. The regular Brezeme rouge 2010 was just bottled the day of tasting (!), so forgive it if it might be out of sorts, but it seems a fine vintage, good fruit, good acid balance. The 2010 St Julien en St. Alban will be bottled in March. It’s dark but not at all heavy, with beautiful aromatics, nice but not obtrusive structure, plenty of fine tannin. It’s better balanced than the 2009. ET notes that “all the 2010 syrahs are very dark,” but this doesn’t translate into overripeness, the flavors are cool. The VV Brezeme 2009 is opaque. The VVs are only massale. It’s dense, intense, powerful stuff, with a long finish and major tannic grip. Throw away the key on this stuff. Lovely acidity. The pH is 3.15 (!, in 2009!). He added no SO2, but wound up with 19 total and 10 free. This is a bit perplexing, but there you are. I told him to recalibrate his SO2-meter. The next day we made a quick visit to the cellar before I had to start the long series of events that would allow me to do my 3-hour conference call by the side of the road. The 2011 JV Brezeme from cask is bright and earthy, with more structure than the 2010, more acidity than the ’09, nice stuff, with good fruit and grip. The ’11 VV Brezeme had a deep, intense syrah nose, beautiful balance at a high level of intensity, early complexity, good acidity, plenty of fine tannin, it’s a winner. We finished with his crazy rose from the Fukuoka community plot in Charnay. It’s about 11%, currently fairly reduced, but it has a lovely fruity finish. Eric thinks the 5% moscato has something to do with that, but the acid is good and a racking should see it on its way. There are fewer than 400 bottles of this to sell, so you’d better get to that barstool and ask Pascaline for some right away.
Speaking of the Maconnais, I tasted some other cool wines from that part of the world. “What does he know or care about chardonnay?” you may rightly ask. Not much, I might answer, but I tasted some things I liked. Pierette and Marc Guillemot-Michel’s Macon from Quintaine, for instance. OK, the dude’s general level of hairiness was distracting, but his 2010 Vire-Clesse had a wonderfully complex nose, and the whole wine was remarkably alive and mobile. Acid and fruits chase each other around your tongue, throwing limestone at every turn. A very long wine, with fabulous acidity and calcareous minerality. Who knew? Another potent anecdote for biodynamics and no wood.
There was also quite a crowd around the Domaine des Vignes du Maynes next door. I quite liked the 2010 Macon-Village. The fruit was present but not objectionable, minerals, check, acid, check, all the parts are there. The 2010 Macon-Cruzille is riper, maybe it has a little botrytis, it currently shows less integration and more phenolics. Seems like good stuff but needs more time. The 2010 Macon-Cruzille ‘Aragonite’ is from a site with extremely shallow soil (25 cm) over the eponymous mineral. This takes minerality in chardonnay out the door and down the road for me. It is the type sample of calcareous stuff. Has anyone had older vintages? I’m extremely curious to know how it ages. There isn’t much, though, only 8 barrels. He also has a very good cremant. The area has been in vines roughly 1000 years, and this year they made a “Cuvee 910” from cofermented gamay and PN that is supposed to represent the wine made a millennium past. They collected the grapes in oxcarts, did a foot stomp, vinified in barrique. Aside from the methodological conceit, it’s great stuff, fresh and delicious. Reminds me of J’en Veux. In 2010 there is another, much more structured gamay called ‘Manganite.’ I’m not sure if that mineral is also present, but apparently this is an old cultivar of gamay with thicker skins. It has unusual crusty tannins, but I find it delicious. There is also a good Bourgogne rouge in 2011, PN of course, but pinot fin in this case. Not crazy complex, but also quite good.
The de Moors were at an adjacent table with some great wines. The aligote in 2010 has a pretty, ripe nose, and is moderately hard in the mouth as you might expect. The basic 2010 Chablis also has aromatic ripeness, along with some earthiness. Light-bodied, with good acidity, if they put enough SO2 in this it will be excellent fb-bait. The minerality goes up a prong or two in the 2010 Bel Air & Clardy, it’s racier and stonier, very good stuff. The Rosette is riper and warmer on the nose, very long in the mouth. It will reward time in the cellar. I am often fond of St. Bris, or maybe it is a sampling error and we only see the good producers? Anyhow, I like this 2010—a subtle rocky SB nose, balance among phenolics, acid, moderate alcohol, it won’t please you if fruit is your thing, but it brings the rocks.
As long as we’re talking limestone, I should mention the very tasty wines from Domaine Hauvette in Provence. They share an underlying minerality that is pretty dramatic. Not one of your chatty winemakers, though. Their 2010 rose ‘Petra’ is much more interesting than your usual Provencal rose. It’s 13.5, but not heavy, good acid, I like it. I usually prefer roses from cooler climates farther north, but this one you could drink. It’s 65% Cinsault with Grenache and syrah as well. (why does MSW capitalize some grapes for me but not others? Hmmmm.) There are some good whites done in eggs and I would mention in particular the Grenache/syrah/CS blends, ‘Cornaline’. They share the family limestone flavors with the ‘Amethyst’, from Cinsault/Carignan/Grenache. You can feel the sun on the white rocks in all these wines.
If you want a chattier winemaker, Franck Peillot is your boy. His wines from the Bugey also have some limestone under the clay, in contrast with similar cepages from the Savoie. 2011 got hot fast at the end of the summer, giving a harvest something like 2009. His 2010 fizz is pretty rich and full, though he mentioned that many of his private customers didn’t dig his 2011s—more structure than they were accustomed to. The 2011 Altesse has some unusual citrus in the nose, good vigor, and it’s a slimmer package than you might expect. Tasty, though. The 2011 PN has a very strawberry nose, and is a good refreshing quaffer. Aubert de Villaine can still rest at night. A tank sample of the 2011 Mondeuse has good spice in its fruit, and more acid and structure than usual. He does a pied de cuve, adds clusters with a foot crush, though many berries go unbroken. It’s an open tank, but it has some carbonic character early. Good company for food in 2011.
Farther east still, but yet again on calcium, Elisabetta Foradori continues to do amazing things with Nosiola and Teroldego from anfora. I can’t think of anyone making wines of more suavity and sophistication in this way. Those who might have been scoring at home will be interested to learn that the 2009 Nosiola was a single cuvee, bottled in 750s and mags. It never tasted the same, but there you go, these are live wines. I won’t belabor the point, but she reports starting in biodynamics in 2002 and feels that she has better balance in her wines as of 2009 and 2010. The 2010s are everything you would hope.
And that’s all the limestone (and some granite) that I have for you this morning.