Recent Wines

[Ian Fitzsimmons]

2002 Huët Vouvray Pétillant Brut 6/2/13

First release bottle. The Petillance is diminished, true, but the flavors are very good: still bready, slightly yeasty, a touch of caramel (good), Excellent, refreshing acidity. No oxidative notes. Accompanied a thrown-together paella nearly to perfection.

2009 Pépière Muscadet Clisson 5/31/13

Drinking nicely with a short decant to aerate and warm. Tangy, transparent, savory, round and balanced. The 09 Pepiere wines appear to be prematurely approachable in all their renditions. Second day, less interesting; headed to a mute phase? Abv 13.2%, per Joe, or 12%, per label?

2005 Nicolas Potel Volnay Vieilles Vignes 5/31/13

Grabbed a bottle in desperation, when the Thevenet was off. Dark and extracted-looking. Robust, slightly drying tannins. Okay fruit beneath, but lacks the intense acidity I hope for in good Cote de Beaune, and has a slightly burnt taste. Not sure what to make of it. Lafarge Bourgogne beats it by a mile.

1999 Colombier Hermitage 5/26/13

Pleasantly beefy: decent heft, moderate depth, spicy, slightly smokey; good acidity and correct balance. A bit of complexity develops after overnight in the fridge. Solid wine with a good steak, but not especially interesting. It's hard to imagine this is all good Hermitage should amount to.

2006 Chandon de Briailles Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Fourneaux 5/26/13

Approachable now, with a decant (say, an hour) showing the stoney quality of some 2006 Cote de Beaune wines, but with enough acid sizzle and just enough fruit to keep the wine interesting. Leftovers don't improve. Well-made minimalist wine in the austere CdB mold; not especially flattering.

2008 Éric Texier Côtes du Rhône-Brézème Domaine de Pergaud 5/19/13

Decanted about 12 hours. At 8 hours, still closed giving nothing but tannins and dirt. At 12, with pork tenderloin medallions, modest fruit raised its head above the soup of tannins, a bit rustic, but clear, honest, and pleasing.

2010 Domaine aux Moines Savennières Roche aux Moines Domaine aux Moines 5/19/13

"Klasse," as the Germans might say: very nice, with good depth, though complexity has not had time to develop yet, Very pleasing minerality, sappy acidity tugging at the back-of-the-tongue salivary glands. Roundness of the texture hints at some residual sugar, but 14.5% abv hints at dry fermentation. Not inferior to the fashionable Chidaine Vouvray and Montlouis.

2010 Domaine Tortochot Gevrey-Chambertin Les Jeunes Rois 5/12/13

Youthful red, densely colored. Muted aromatics, flirty hints of pinot-cherry. On drinking, surprising vigor and acidity for a village CdN, tons of energy and character. Texture is nicely rounded, with appealing viscosity. The various parts are not entirely harmonious, but each is quite good on its own. A pleasant surprise, since the 09 was not very interesting at the same age.

2007 Alice et Olivier De Moor Saint-Bris 5/9/13

Drank our last magnum at a spring picnic with company. The wine has smoothed and increased in the refinement of its presentation, now offering a quite fine, cool, minerally profile with enough heft and body to take seriously, but not too seriously. Very good wine and added to the pleasure of the day.

2009 Vissoux Fleurie Garants 5/5/13

Way young, with plenty of rough and stoney substance, just softened by a residual layer of youthful fruit. Hold. This wine is supposed to be made from grapes grown in the same area of Fleurie as Coudert's and, similarly, formerly classified as Moulin.

2007 Bize Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Vergelesses 5/1/13

From a 375: open enough to enjoy with a reasonable decant, though I'd say plenty of room for more development. Lovely clarity, slightly ravishing texture of fine tannins and fresh acidity, decent weight and heft, good grip and some depth. Not much complexity now. Liked this wine a lot.

NV Patrick Piuze Champagne Cremant de Bourgogne Non-Dose Val de Mer 4/20/13

Dry and broad-shouldered, but with a sneaky thread of sweet chardonnay fruit. Nicely balanced, well-proportioned. Lacks the poise, finesse, and complexity of a good champagne, but among the best $20 Chardonnay-based fizz I've tried.

2002 Baumard Savennières Clos du Papillon 4/14/13

Drinking very nicely, sappy acids, pungent Chenin stoniness. Leftovers lacked vitality. I would drink up my remaining bottles over the next year or two, if I had any.

2011 Thivin Côte de Brouilly 4/14/13

Muted aromatics, pleasantly high acidity. Tannins suppler, less imposing than remembered from past years. No stereotypical Gamay flavors, one of the things I like about this bottling. Good potential.

2010 Chandon de Briailles Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Ile des Vergelesses 4/8/13

Shows pretty good inner energy, but is otherwise shut down already. Typical CdB stoniness, pale-ish, lean and lithe, but reticent of expression, olfactory or gustatory. Okay as a learning bottle, but not much fun - fell well short of the 2010 CdB PV les Vergellesses we opened a few weeks ago in terms of interest. A surprise.

2010 Frantz Saumon Montlouis-sur-Loire Minéral+ 4/6/13

Limpid, unusually light and graceful for a Touraine Chenin-based wine; really a fine touch, excellent mineral cut, sappy acids in balance with the wine's lithe overall weight and body. Very refreshing and an ideal spring evening wine to sip out by the grill while roasting chicken. Time in the decanter gives a bit more weight and pushes back the finish slightly, which on opening is attenuated. 12.5% abv.

2002 Luneau-Papin Muscadet Excelsior Clos du Poyet 4/4/13

Flavors are still slightly walled-in on opening, but with 30-40 minutes decant, the wine relaxes completely, releasing a kind of stony pungency reminiscent of an excellent dry Riesling, with a slightly lighter touch. Lemony, expressive, delicious.

 

[MarkS]

Not inferior to the fashionable Chidaine Vouvray and Montlouis.

A smacking endorsement!

Do you think the 09 Clisson should continue to be cellared, or would you start popping corks? (I admit, I like aged muscadet)

 

[Rahsaan]

2005 Nicolas Potel Volnay Vieilles Vignes 5/31/13

Dark and extracted-looking. Robust, slightly drying tannins. Okay fruit beneath, but lacks the intense acidity I hope for in good Cote de Beaune, and has a slightly burnt taste. Not sure what to make of it.

I'm not sure what to make of it either. But FWIW, I went through maybe 7-8 bottles of the 2002 Potel Clos des Chenes and the bad bottles were somewhat similar to what you describe in terms of the darkness and extracted feel (adjusted for vintage characteristics) but the good ones were absolutely lovely and harmoniously juicy. And yes, they went in and out of those stages.

2010 Domaine aux Moines Savennières Roche aux Moines Domaine aux Moines 5/19/13

"Klasse," as the Germans might say: very nice, with good depth, though complexity has not had time to develop yet, Very pleasing minerality, sappy acidity tugging at the back-of-the-tongue salivary glands. Roundness of the texture hints at some residual sugar, but 14.5% abv hints at dry fermentation. Not inferior to the fashionable Chidaine Vouvray and Montlouis.

This is interesting. I don't remember the older vintages having anything close to the texture of residual sugar, and I also don't remember them being anything close to the fashionable-ness of Chidaine. But things change.

Side-note, I always get a laugh because my local wine store says "If Huet is the JJ Prum of the Loire, you can think of "Aux Moines" as the Egon Muller" which makes absolutely no sense. But I suppose that is to be expected.

2010 Chandon de Briailles Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Ile des Vergelesses 4/8/13

Shows pretty good inner energy, but is otherwise shut down already. Typical CdB stoniness, pale-ish, lean and lithe, but reticent of expression, olfactory or gustatory. Okay as a learning bottle, but not much fun - fell well short of the 2010 CdB PV les Vergellesses we opened a few weeks ago in terms of interest. A surprise.

What was the surprise here?

 

[SFJoe]

originally posted by Rahsaan:
"...JJ Prum of the Loire, you can think of "Aux Moines" as the Egon Muller"

I agree, that tells me nothing.

But it's interesting that your local store thinks that analogizing to the MSR will help explain the obscure Loire to their customers.

 

[MLipton]

Yes, I've always considered Miles Davis to be the Igor Stravinsky of hard bop.

p.s. Ian, I mean absolutely no criticism by this question, merely idle curiosity, but why do you open so many very young bottles of vin de garde? Is this in the interest of scientific inquiry or are there just not enough aged bottles chez Fitzi?

Mark Lipton

 

[Keith Levenberg]

originally posted by Rahsaan:

2010 Chandon de Briailles Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Ile des Vergelesses 4/8/13

Shows pretty good inner energy, but is otherwise shut down already. Typical CdB stoniness, pale-ish, lean and lithe, but reticent of expression, olfactory or gustatory. Okay as a learning bottle, but not much fun - fell well short of the 2010 CdB PV les Vergellesses we opened a few weeks ago in terms of interest. A surprise.

What was the surprise here?

I was equally surprised when I opened my 2010 Ile. The last few vintages have shown great on release, and the Les Vergelesses 2010 is impressive too as Ian mentions.

 

[Marc D]

originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:

2008 Éric Texier Côtes du Rhône-Brézème Domaine de Pergaud 5/19/13

Decanted about 12 hours. At 8 hours, still closed giving nothing but tannins and dirt. At 12, with pork tenderloin medallions, modest fruit raised its head above the soup of tannins, a bit rustic, but clear, honest, and pleasing.

I didn't know there was a Pergaud VV bottling in 2008.
I missed out on getting it, but have bought it every vintage since 2005.
One of my favorites (of many) from Texier.

Agree about the Frantz Saumon Montlouis.
I love that wine.

 

[Ian Fitzsimmons]

originally posted by MarkS:
[...]

Do you think the 09 Clisson should continue to be cellared, or would you start popping corks? (I admit, I like aged muscadet)

Others posting here are better-qualified to opine, but I will lean to hold my remaining now for a bit. Even if this isn't a really long-termer, I bet it will improve from here after a respite to re-organize. Data for my supposition here drawn from experience with the 2006 Briords.

originally posted by Rahsaan:

I'm not sure what to make of it either. But FWIW, I went through maybe 7-8 bottles of the 2002 Potel Clos des Chenes and the bad bottles were somewhat similar to what you describe in terms of the darkness and extracted feel (adjusted for vintage characteristics) but the good ones were absolutely lovely and harmoniously juicy. And yes, they went in and out of those stages.

Grounds for guarded optimism; merci.

This is interesting. I don't remember the older vintages having anything close to the texture of residual sugar, and I also don't remember them being anything close to the fashionable-ness of Chidaine. But things change.

Well, there's a kind of textural richness that at first brings to my mind the idea of some sugar being present. But I gather this or a similar texture can come from other substances, giving the sensation of richness in a dry wine, which I presume to be the case here.

I didn't mean to draw a parallel between specific Chidaine wines and this one, but as to general quality and interest level, for me, this wine was at least on a par, at similar cost.

What was the surprise here?

I've gotten more information out of every other CdB wine I've opened, even young ones. So it was odd to be so stonewalled this time.

originally posted by MLipton:
[...] Is this in the interest of scientific inquiry or are there just not enough aged bottles chez Fitzi?

Mark Lipton

Yes. With respect to the former, it's worthwhile to see how some of these wines taste young, so I can link these impressions up with those arriving as the wines approach maturity. How else do you get a sense of how they develop?

 

[MLipton]

originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:

Yes. With respect to the former, it's worthwhile to see how some of these wines taste young, so I can link these impressions up with those arriving as the wines approach maturity. How else do you get a sense of how they develop?

Agreed, it is optimal to follow the trajectory of a wine over time. The only alternative is to vicariously follow its development through the published notes of a few trusted voices, which is the approach I often take with limited funds for wine purchases.

Mark Lipton

 

[Unknown]

originally posted by MLipton:

originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:

Yes. With respect to the former, it's worthwhile to see how some of these wines taste young, so I can link these impressions up with those arriving as the wines approach maturity. How else do you get a sense of how they develop?

Agreed, it is optimal to follow the trajectory of a wine over time. The only alternative is to vicariously follow its development through the published notes of a few trusted voices, which is the approach I often take with limited funds for wine purchases.

Mark Lipton

Function of time and place. In addition to opening an occasional 2010 red burgundy for inspection, about once every two weeks, I did three massive tastings of the vintage, one in January, one in May and the Paulee in between, in March. The most recent occasion marked an onset of weirdness, but this shouldn't really be a surprise, based on past experiences. Back across the pond though, transitions are somewhat smoother, I hear.

 

[Unknown]

originally posted by Keith Levenberg:

originally posted by Rahsaan:

2010 Chandon de Briailles Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Ile des Vergelesses 4/8/13

Shows pretty good inner energy, but is otherwise shut down already. Typical CdB stoniness, pale-ish, lean and lithe, but reticent of expression, olfactory or gustatory. Okay as a learning bottle, but not much fun - fell well short of the 2010 CdB PV les Vergellesses we opened a few weeks ago in terms of interest. A surprise.

What was the surprise here?

I was equally surprised when I opened my 2010 Ile. The last few vintages have shown great on release, and the Les Vergelesses 2010 is impressive too as Ian mentions.

only 40% destemmed, zero chaptalization.

That Les V should be more exciting at this stage is consistent with my notes from barrel. Two amazing wines, I thought.

 

[Ian Fitzsimmons]

I read somewhere the owner was thrilled with the Ile, but couldn't draw any conclusions myself. The les was rather fun, in a woolly kind of way.

The 07 Bize was delish: could drink wines like this all the time.

Group tastings are the smart way to build your experience base, and I thank Maureen for inviting me to a couple she's organized in D.C. the past two years. Where I am, out in the boonies, there's not enough wino density to get a good tasting group together, more's the pity.

 

[MLipton]

originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:

Group tastings are the smart way to build your experience base, and I thank Maureen for inviting me to a couple she's organized in D.C. the past two years. Where I am, out in the boonies, there's not enough wino density to get a good tasting group together, more's the pity.

Hey, you think that you're out in the boonies? Come visit and I'll disabuse you of that particular notion.

Mark Lipton