The start of En Primeur and other things have got in the way of writing up the evening when 1 Thomas More Street hosted a seriously memorable Presentation Dinner. Two months of work by Adam, Bernadette and Davina saw the office converted out of almost all recognition – the entrance to the sales floor had a trio of musicians in it, the drawing room furniture had evaporated and two soldiers stood on guard at the entrance!! Even before crossing the threshold the change was appreciable from the flags – one British and one French. All this for as deserved an award as you can image in the World of Wine – Aubert de Villaine being “crowned” Decanter Man of the Year. Now we at C&B are very privileged to have the relationships we do but you could really see just how lucky from the wines on display that evening.

Before (and during!) the big group photo outside the office Salon 1997 was poured from magnum with Didier Depond in attendance. The 1997 was tighter (as you would expect) from magnum than bottle, a brilliant start to the evening and as much a wine as a Champagne as Salon always is.

As one of the pouring team, I am afraid that from here my version of events will be different from those that will no doubt appear in Decanter as we were behind the scenes checking the wines and then serving them. First up from the the cellars of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti was Le Montrachet 2003, now this I going to sound absurdly understated but it was gorgeously drinkable and balanced already. There was real depth but no hint of hot 03ishness (if that’s a word). The glass we poured changed through the evening and was spectacular throughout. From this most magical of starts we moved to the two reds – La Tâche 1991 & Romanée-Conti 1971 – both these and the Le Montrachet were direct from the Domaine’s stocks and had been shipped for the event. The Romanée-Conti 1971 had been re-corked at the Domaine in 1996 and was awesomely consistent across the bottles and quite honestly the best wine I have tasted with so much ripeness whilst being developed yet youthful, simply extraordinary. The La Tâche by comparison was younger tasting and more primary (everything is relative). The two wines next to each other just showed the Domaines prowess so well, one majestic example of basically “perfection” the other a brilliant example of the Domaine’s consistency and skill at making great wine in less glamourous (compared to it’s predecessors) vintages. After the presentation (another glass of Salon 1997 served – poor things!) we served together – Fine de Bourgogne 1991 and Fonseca 1963 – some people had both, some were more restrained and went for the Port. Both were cracking examples of their type, the Foncesa to my mind was still youthful but at the same time drinking brilliantly. The Fine – and I always think I shouldn’t be suckered into these things – was lovely too, elegant but not with out punch, ok so no a patch on the wines but a lovely thing to have at such a unique evening.

A note on serving, the wines were all just opened and poured from bottle, no decanting, except for the Fonseca which was decanted at 5pm. The temperature was deliberately cool to allow evolution in the glass.

The evening ended gradually with a few of the home team making use of the garden for a chat and a cigar (Petit Robusto from Hoyo de Montrerry – but I digress into one of my other passions) over a glass of the Fine. And that was that, a night that was without doubt the most unique since we moved to 1 Thomas More street and probably a lot longer…it will live long in the memory.

Read more about this event on Decanter, Jancis Robinson and Anthony Rose’s websites:
http://www.decanter.com/news/297988.html (additional filmed interview)
http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/a201005184.html
http://www.anthonyrosewine.com/journal/2010/5/man-all-seasons-aubert-de-villaine-domaine-de-la-roman%C3%A9ee-conti

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Anyway, enough of the venue, on to the wines. Sylvan Pitiot the manager of Clos de Tart had flown in specially to present this flight of wines. He joined the Domaine back in 1996 and is almost solely responsible for putting Clos de Tart firmly back on the map after a number of years in the wilderness. The history of this incredible piece of land is unique, having only had three owners since the 12th century. Today it is in the hands of the Mommessin family.

Although there is only one vineyard in the Domaine, in some vintages (but not all) a second wine is produced, La Forge de Tart. We kicked off the tasting with the two most recent vintages, 2007 and 2008. Both were delicious and impressive but in very different styles. The 2008 has a wonderfully rich, succulent feel to it, bursting with bramble and sweet raspberry fruit with just a hint of spice. The 2007 was more floral and elegant and a little more closed after the exuberant 2008. It was then on to the grand vin. Again we tried first the 2008 and then the 2007. As with the Forge de Tart, the 2008 exploded out of the glass with a profusion of rich, sweet fruit, violets, roses and minerals. The 2007 was a more reserved, quieter, older sister but with wonderful depth and complexity. Having thoroughly enjoyed the two vintages of La Forge, one quickly became aware of it limitations when compared directly with the grand vin. The step up in concentration, intensity and depth was impressive.

The next flight took us back to the beginning of the century and 2001, 2002 and 2003 although not actually in that order. 2002 was first up. Still amazingly youthful, the fruit here was rich and sweet again but there was a hint of VA on the nose. Certainly the raw materials are all there for this wines’ future but it was just not on top form tonight. The 2001 by contrast was arguably the wine of the evening. Again young but absolutely singing with fruit, leather, game, violets a full orchestra or flavours and aromas. Sylvain mentioned that he believes the 2008 will turn into a very similar wine – wow. Last wine of this flight was the controversial 2003, a marmite vintage and a marmite wine. Hedonistic is the word that springs to mind when tasting the 2003. It is luscious and voluptuous and heady and totally atypical but somehow it works. Probably not one for the burgundy purist but if you are a pleasure seeker then you will be in paradise.

Our last wine was a visit to Sylvain’s first vintage at the Domaine, 1996. Such an amazing contrast to the 2003 that preceded it; paler in colour, more tertiary and savoury in its aromas and with more marked freshness and acidity. Wonderful wine though and a glimpse into what this wine can become.

We all departed in very good spirits having been captivated by this incredible piece of land.

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Kung Hei Fat Choy!!

Well, it is finally the end of the year of the Ox. This means it’s time to stop dragging that heavy plough and lighten the load so you can leap into the year of the golden tiger with grace and speed!  The year ahead will be a flighty one, but ultimately very rewarding – particularly for those of you born in the year of the Sheep, Horse and Dragon (I’m reliably told…sadly this doesn’t apply to me)

For me, still relatively new to HK, I have learnt the great pleasure of being able to celebrate New Year twice as well as getting a second chance at those botched New Year’s resolutions!

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Hong Kong has quickly become a major hub for fine wine in the world, thanks to the freshly eliminated taxes (from 80%) and fueled by China’s ever growing economy.

A new wine bar and/or merchant is opening every other day, and a wine-drinking revolution is afoot among locals and expats alike. Even a winery can be found on the 8^th floor of an industrial building in Ap Lei Chau!

For a wine lover like me, being in the middle of this revolution is an incredible place to be.

Friday night, for example, was Burgundy night, and white Burgundy at that (a real treat, given that the majority of wines consumed in HK are red).

After getting hideously lost outside Mongkok MTR (the tube, but not as you know it Londoners), a lovely security man rescued me and escorted me to the 8^th floor of the Langham Hotel.

Arranged on the tables were ten full glasses of delicious white Burgundy. Having done the meet and greet with Hong Kong’s wine enthusiasts and bon vivants, the tasting began.

Tasting wines

Raveneau: Chablis Les Montmains 2002

-Rather a stern, almost bitter wine which filled the nose with scents of lemon sherbet and pear drops. By the end of the dinner, the wine had blossomed with more integration and weight.

William Fevre: Chablis  Les Clos 2000

-A touch oxidized on the nose, but with minerally, sea shell nuances. Going back to it half an hour later, the scent of pear drops filled the glass. Good cut of acidity but somewhat austere and showing more maturity than I would have predicted.

Les Heritiers de Comtes Lafon: Macon Milly Lamartine Clos du Four 2004

-Floral, and faintly flinty. Brimming with rich, well weighted fruit; kept fresh with nice minerality running through it. Excellent for the money.

Colin Morey: Meursault 2004

-Toasty oak with hints of almonds. Missing something on the middle palate.

Chateau de Puligny-Montrachet: Meursault Les Perrieres 2004

-Creamed corn and rich, tropical ripe fruit…International in style. Well made, but lacking some refinement. Thankfully more subtle on the palate and rather good.

Carillon: Puligny Montrachet 2002

-TCA

Marc Morey: Puligny Montrachet  Les Referts 2006

-Opulent, rich, caramelly nose. Nice use of oak. Lovely acidity and stunning purity of fruit. Long, lingering finish. Delicious.

The winners of the night (and what do you know…two C&B wines!)…

Colin-Deleger: Chevalier Montrachet  2002

-Classic. Beautifully made. Rich, full and perfectly balanced. Wonderful steely minerality and a lovely finish.

Domaine Leflaive: Batard Montrachet  2001

-Sublime elegance. Nuts and rich caramel fill the nose. Oak is well worked into the background, but is in support throughout. Minerality elegantly provides a backbone to this complex masterpiece.

Bonneau de Martray: Corton Charlemagne 2001

-Subtle hints of vanilla, and dried apricots. Taut, but what a delicious and memorable finish.

***

Saturday, feeling a little on the delicate side, instead of nursing myself better the old fashioned way, I decided to head off to Middle Island off the South coast of HK Island to cut my teeth at Dragon Boating. Having never seen a Dragon Boat before, I had no idea what I was letting my sorry body in for. It’s a unique and truly amazing sport, each boat containing 18 paddlers, someone to steer and someone to beat a drum. Unlike rowing or sculling, the momentum is only generated by twisting one’s entire torso, holding the paddle in one of the most uncomfortable positions imaginable. It seems we were using muscles that most of us didn’t even know we had… until the following morning…and a further 3 days!

At the end of a very painful afternoon, all 40+ weary paddlers sat down to a sumptuous barbecue, sampling some of the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club’s Wine list. A list I hope to fill with C&B wines shortly…

Further Options

I thought the two wines were showing very well (you never quite know with cask samples) and for those lucky enough to get some 2007 I think there will be a massive amount of enjoyment over the years in comparing the two vintages as I feel the quality level is similar but the wine different in profile. To be crude I feel the 2007 will peak earlier and the 2008 is a “keeper” as below…

Les Forges de Tart 1er Cru 2008 – Pungent, spiced but very precise, gorgeous lanolin nose of good oak in the background. The palate is a more Pinot expression…good length and weight. Impressive and just begs to nosed time after time…for me an 18/20

Clos de Tart 2008 – Stylistically similar to the Les Forges but with more power, density and weight. A more broad-shouldered and masculine wine. Darker fruits but still that tell tale spice. Palate is dense and everything is there even if it shows less than the Les Forges (it should) at this stage. A keeper! 18-19/20

Not even time for 11′s yet…..

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For the first time I can remember (and amazingly this was my 11th vintage) the DRC Press Tasting was on a Monday. As is traditional now the wines are shown to the press just after bottling, which was done in the last two months. The Domaine de la Romanée-Conti wines are amazingly easy to taste at this young stage. I have always thought it would not be the case even as little as 3 months later when they start to become constrained by bottling. It’s always a massively exciting tasting regardless of the vintage as you are dealing with the very essence of terroir. The tasting takes a relaxed yet studious tone, there is very little talking at all, whilst Aubert is almost always in attendance, as he was again this year, there is no speech or presentation. The wines are “left” to do the talking themselves. The wines (no Vosne Romanée 1er Cru Duvault Blochet this year) are tasted in the order below with the Montrachet never shown (more of that later!), the notes are my own and brief – I’m not a massive fan of scores so there aren’t any – each wine taken on its merits, it’s not a competition after all:

Echézeaux – Beautifully “Pinot”, red fruits, elegant and feminine, good acidity and poise, long finish…very impressive.

Grands Echézeaux – Immediately less obvious than Echézeaux, fruit red again with a hint of something darker, a leafy note and more impressive on the palate than nose at this stage.

Richebourg – As with last year tasted before the Romanée-St-Vivant, Richebourg was more gutsy with a masculine edge, serious and more brooding to me.

Romanée-St-Vivant – Classy and a little more “showy” than the others so far, red fruit again, rich and a touch decadent, the biggest (good) surprise for me.

La Tâche – As is often the case (almost always for me) the most obviously performing wine and, if I were pressed, the most impressive, richness and splendor combined, brilliant texture, hidden structure too.

Romanée-Conti – The nose showed more than some years, exquisite balance and harmony, palate tighter and giving less away…so impressive and true.

With the tasting over before 12.30 it was brilliant to have a brief window for Aubert to present the wines and vintage to the entire C&B Team, the samples were minute – it’s amazing how far a bottle can go – the entire press and home team requiring less that 2 bottles of each wine!! Aubert is always calm when speaking and manages to make something very complex sound simple. “A vintage that will be for the nose” being one of the more memorable quotes.

From 1 Thomas More Street those that were lunching – Adam, Alison, Rachel and & I were hosting Aubert, Serena Sutcliffe MW, Anthony Hanson MW & Remington Norman MW – moved on to Lunch at C&B Paternoster Square. The post tasting Lunch has been a tradition, a massive personal highlight, and a thank you to Aubert for as long as I can remember. It is a good chance to relax and get the views of some of the wine world’s biggest names. Exciting though this is for me there is nothing to rival the fact that we now taste the Le Montrachet 2007 at lunch. The 2007 was a spectacular wine, especially when you consider it was the last picked of the wines (17th September) and you can well see it. A gorgeous young gold colour and exotic nose, to make an almost farcical comparison it reminded me of the 2005 with a dash more zest and acidity – you could drink it now or at anytime over the next ?? years – as Adam’s tasting note says, Noble Wine. The other wines at lunch were the 2007 Echézeaux, Romanée-St-Vivant & La Tâche. In particular the La Tâche shone again for me. Conversation flowed – everything from the Hospice auction to Le Corton to the En Primeur 2009 campaign in Bordeaux – but one question I wanted to ask Aubert, because we get asked it a lot, was which vintage the 2007 wines reminded Aubert of. He said the weather was so unique that it was hard but eventually he said a civil marriage (no churches) of 1997 and 2004.

The only problem for me now is what on earth do you do on Tuesday when your Monday is that good?

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As well as the rafts of 2008 we also made an effort to show some older vintages of wines that we have just shipped amongst the whites (pictured) that we showed were some Matrot wines from 2004 & 2006 that arrived last month along with a few Olivier Leflaive’s and the Macon Verze 2007 from Domaines Leflaive. The reds were new arrivals from Varoilles & Arlot. Both tables seemed to go down really well. Arlot and Varoilles both made very good wines in the four star vintage of 2001 which I like very much when we tasted at the Domaines in November and Arlot also showed some wines from the tricky 2004 vintage in which they shone with there finesse orientated style.

It was great to have so many producers on hand to show their wines and our thanks go, in no particular order, to:

Vincent Dampt
Nicolas and Florence Rossignol-Trapet
Gilbert and Delphine Hammel of Domaine de Varoilles
Francois and Miriam Labet of Ch de la Tour and Domaine Pierre Labet
Olivier Leriche of Domaine De L’Arlot
Guillaume d’Angerville
Olivier and Marc-Emmanuel Cyrot
Marion Javillier
Henri Darnat
Thierry, Pascale and Elisa Matrot
Pierre de Benoist of A&P de Villaine

The tasting only promises to get bigger and better each year. Next stop the very exciting 2009 launch next January.

One other point of note was that for the second year we showed our allocation of the immaculate JJ Prum wines. These are hard to taste in their youth as they are reductive (sulphurous) on the nose, this can to a degree be conquered at this early stage by double decanting which we did in the morning of the tasting. The nose takes 3-4years to fully settle but the palate is stunning from the off. The Wehlener Sonnenuhr wines were particularly superb….to be released for sale soon!! For those who still hadn’t fallen to palate fatigue the Trapet wines form Alsace where there to be tasted too.

The Beefeater on duty promptly cleared the room as everyone has to be out of the tower by 9.30 for the Ceremony of the Keys (the Longest continuously running Ceremony of its type in the world I’m informed). A few of us stayed behind to help clear up, once the job was done we were delighted to find a substantial chunk of Taleggio which we washed down with some opened samples! Then it was upto our Jewry Street Winebar for a drink and some food with the producers….. a long but massively worthwhile day….

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It’s been a hell of a week.

Last Friday saw the release of Domaine Leflaive 2008 and the vast majority sold that day which made for quite a buzz around the office as the phones rang and the emails flew (is that the right terminology?). Fraser then did the Sloane club Rhone dinner in the evening which went well by all accounts. I won’t bore you with the weekend details other than the fact that Twist Magic winning at Sandown finally got by betting back on track.

Before I knew it Monday was on us and there was still some Domaine Leflaive business to do which was good but telling customers that many of the wines had all gone is never easy or enjoyable. There was a hint that the new website (which you will have seen if you’re reading this!) would go live over night………..but no there was a slight integration (hate that word!) niggle and another 24 hours would be needed.

Tuesday was an extraordinary day – Adam and I both manned the C&B Table at the first Royal Warrant Holders Christmas Fair which was held in the Ballroom of Buckingham Palace for 1000 members of the Royal Household and their guests. A great day meeting some fascinating people including the Queen, not something you can say everyday. Once out of the Palace, no blackberry/mobile action in there, I saw that the site was minutes from go live. The amount of work has been mind blowing from tasting notes to pricing to functionality…….

Wednesday, quick interview first thing…always like to see and stay in touch with people who write in and may be of interest in the future…after that it was looking at the selection of wines for the post Christmas Bin-end, working on a few teething issues on the web (it needs a period of “running in” so the speed should improve!) and setting the offer Calendar for next year. Exciting reports of a spectacular tasting at Clos de Tart have a started to emerge, it looked at vintages spanning an amazing 116years, I have attached these below….they reinforce what I feel, which is that the estate is a stunning terroir and now under the control of Sylvain Pitiot is going from strength to strength…very exciting times for the estate (see Burgundy Day 5 for the Clos de Tart 08′s tasting notes).

http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/a20091208.html

http://blog.cavesa.ch/index.php/2009/11/21/191523-bourgogne-passe-present-fabuleux-clos-de-tart

http://www.academiedesvinsanciens.org/index.php?archives/2131-English.html&serendipity%5Blang_selected%5D=en

With the first full day of the web done it was time for a drink!

Thursday dawned and it was time to re-focus on wines for Christmas and all the offers we have out at the moment….almost too many toys to play with. Joined the Board for a drink at lunch time, Flor de Pingus ’99 showing brilliantly and ready from now onwards, Corton-Charlemagne 2003 from Bonneau du Martray which is opulent but not too 03ish and to start (not sure why I’ve done the wines backwards) Delamotte Blanc de Blancs NV which, loyalties aside, I love.

And so to Friday….one of those frustrating start everything, finish nothing days, but given that this time in two weeks I’ll have a glass of something fizzy in my hand it can’t be too bad.

Over time I will introduce various aspects of C&B life and the characters here but we have to lead off with Darth!! Guess who got this as their Secret Santa last year?

Right time to cycle home!

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Earlier in the week we had managed to take a picture (left) from the very top corner of the Clos de Ducs Monopole for which d’Angerville is best know and it really showed the different aspects and the unique nature of the vineyard, not to mention the steepness! As soon as we arrived Guillaume suggested a tour of the vineyard, Alison and I jumped at the chance and go into Guillaume’s run around. First we went through the Village and out the other side straight into Taillepieds (the north eastern corner of whch is in the photo on the right) which sits just above the larger Champans. As much as anywhere in Burgundy you really get the feeling in Volnay that the various vineyards have such different slopes and aspects and soils. It was a fascinating tour including some new holdings (Clos des Anges 1er Cru). After the tour we were back at the Domaine to taste the 2008’s. Starting with the Bourgogne Rouge, which doesn’t come into the UK, and working our way all the way up to the Clos de Ducs before trying the one white, Meursault 1re Cru Santenots. The overall impression was of a sleek, feminine and above all pure vintage. The wines gradually climbed in stature with it hard to differentiate in scoring terms but easy in taste terms. The Taillepieds and Caillerets possibly pipped it for me with the stunning Clos des Ducs the most clearly in need of time. The Meursault was stunning too…one to buy for me! It was very kind of Guillaume to give us so much time and this was another visit that left me impressed by Volnay.

And then for the weeks last visit…..Clos de Tart. Sylvain Pitiot met us at the immaculately kept domaine and we went straight into the vineyard, the first thing you notice, or at least you should, is how the vines run north-south rather than east-west. This helps to prevent soil erosion on the slop, it is also much harder to work the vineyard but then it is not the easy life that Clos de Tart wants it is all out for quality. Surprisingly the size of crop will be almost exactly the same in 2008 as it was in 2007, most other domaine’s were down in 2008. Sylvain explained that this was down to a massive amount of work in the vineyard that meant there was very little selection to do when the harvest was brought in. Each plot of the vineyard, there are 6 distinct parcels, is vinified separately. Really there is only one wine produced here (there is sometimes a La Forge de Tart from young vines but whether this is made is not decided until much later), we tasted three different cuvees, one the young vines, one from whole bunches and one 50% de-stemmed. A really interesting exercise, the young vines combined red with black fruits and good concentration, the “whole bunch” pressed wine tasted more structured (as logic would dictate) with a touch of white pepper and spice, great length. The 50% de-stemmed was a little more subtle with a classical nose, delicious mix of red and black fruits, big but balanced…impressive. It is the continual experimentation and questioning of the status quo that makes Clos de Tart so exciting.

And that, as they say, is that, the car (no C&B limo) was left at Dijon station…..slept on the train to Paris, lugged my half broken bag back home and now Burgundy makes a whole load more sense……I’ll be going back.

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Back to the main road and down to Meursault for a quick lunch in the square before getting to see Henri Darnat (Pictured). Marc-Emmanuel Cyriot, who’s own Domaine (Cyriot-Buthiau) in Pommard we were to see later, looks after the commercial side for Henri. The wines Henri makes, always with classical music in the background, are almost Chablis-esque in minerality and there is little or not new oak (5% at most). The colour is very light and the wines are beautifully elegant, definitely good decanting whites. It was the 2008’s first up there are two Pulignys; Villages (17) and 1er Cru Champ Gain (17-18) and two Meursaults; Clos du Domaine (17), a Liet Dit that includes Henri’s back garden and 1er Cru Richemont (17+). Having tasted the lithe and tight 2008’s we then tasted the same wines from 2007 which is such a classical vintage that it really plays to Henri’s style….a Domaine to get to know if you like producers like Matrot and Javillier.

From Henri’s we went over and up the road to Pommard following Marc-Emmanuel (left, talking with Henri and Alison)in our trusty car (see Day 5 for photo – we may have Warrants but we’re not proud!). The Cyrot-Buthiau Domaine was newly formed in 1989 but from holdings that essentially go back to the 1920’s. From 1999 a decision was take by Marc-Emmanuel and his wine maker brother to invest and change the winemaking, 100% de-stemming in most vintages (possibly not in 2009), with 5 days cold maceration and pigeage not remontage. The Domaine is not certified BO (organic) but has not used any fertilizers in over 8years. As we tend to buy the Cyriot-Buthiau wines when finished and in bottle we tasted the 2007’s which will in time follow the 2006’s we currently sell. The wines were very true to their appellations – Santenay, Volnay and Pommard. There is an elegant structure about them and I can see them getting better and better.

Only Day 5 to go but what a day…..d’Angerville and Clos de Tart…

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Bit misty this morning but it burnt off eventually.

As for day 2 we started in Gevrey – Domaine Trapet was first up with Jean-Louis and Andree as welcoming as ever. The tasting was big (24 wines) and diverse. There is so much to like about the Trapet wines, Jean-Louis’ inquisitive nature means there is always something new being tried (1998 saw an early move to biodynamics) and this year it is a “Flowform Mixing System”, which sounds more Ibiza than Burgundy, but actually it is a mixing system for biodynamic “preparations” used for amongst other things, actively aerating organic compost tea, creating liquid fertilizers, improving water quality in ponds and mixing of juices. The basic idea is of two rotating paddles that go in opposite directions therefore creating an infinite flow in the vat. Anyway enough technical stuff the actual wines (2008’s) were mighty impressive, the relatively humble Marsannay being a real star. Moving up through the Gevrey’s (Ostrea a bargain I think) to the Chambertin you have really great balance and very much proper Burgundy. We then tasted through the 2007’s. I think that comparing 2007’s and 2008’s over the next decade or so will be a really enjoyable; there is a similarity between the vintages in terms of weight but a very different style. The 2007’s, having been in bottle for a little while were a bit more reserved and suggested a little time was needed but there was a sublime balance. Then we were onto the 2008 whites, the Marsannay with 10% Pinot Gris, they were opulent and almost drinkable now. Following that we tasted the Trapet’s Alsace wines – I think I will write them up another time. A good tasting!

The emphasis then shifted towards whites as we sped down the road to Meursault to find Patrick Javillier, this is not easy as there is a shop in Meursault with his name on it, a sign to his house but no signs to where we were tasting. Alison decided to use “the force” and managed to locate it straight away…this became a theme whenever we over thought about where things were we got lost but as soon as we just drove it all seemed to work!! We were supposed to be tasting with Patrick’s Canadian agent but sadly he was ill. The tasting with Patrick and his daughter Marianne was very informative. The Javillier style is all about pure citrus fruit and minerality with incredibly subtle use of, mostly older, oak. We discussed decanting and Patrick is very much a fan of giving his whites, when young, 30 minutes in a decanter – I certainly advise this too…the fruit really comes out. The watchwords on 2008 here were “vivacity, acidity and typicity”. We started with his two Bourgogne Blancs, in my opinion two of the finest there are, Cuvee Forgets and Oligocene, lovely elegance and minerality. We then tasted his Savigny and the Meursaults – Clos du Cromin (elegant, no new oak), Tillets (lovely), Clousots (a blend of Les Crotots & Les Clous), Tete de Murger (a blend of Les Caisse Tetes for minerality and Murger de Monthelie for power). Lovely balanced understated wines for the true burgundy lover.

And then……back to Gevrey again!!

Interestingly we were now tasting at Rossignol Trapet. Interesting because there was initially one Trapet in Gevrey but in 1990 the family domain was split into the two Domaines of today Trapet as tasted above and Rossignol Trapet. The styles are slightly different but the quality at both very high. Brothers Nicolas and David met us and we tasted with both. Due to a cycling injury to his hand Nicolas couldn’t wield the pipette. The style especially at the more entry level is for quite big broad wines with the fruit more on the black side than red. The Bourgogne rouge and Beaune Teurons were both masculine and structured. We then tasted the 4 Gevrey’s – Villages, Etelois, Clos Prieur 1er Cru and Petit Chapelle 1er Cru – the quality and complexity climbed through the four. Latricieres Chambertin and Chapelle Chambertin were next with the Latricieres showing a lot of structure and coming across as a “vin de garde”. Chapelle showed a little more fruit and flesh but was also brooding. The Chambertin followed and was decadent with an element of fruitcake, very impressive. We had a taste of the Etelois 2007 which was more feminine; this was followed with a real treat in the form of Latricieres 2004 (18-19+ gorgeous), Chambertin 2004 (stunning and for anyone who is unsure of 04 they should try this). The very last wine was Petit Chapelle 2003 true to the style of 2003 and therefore rich but with a way to go. When you look at the relatively humble prices of the Grand Cru’s here I think it is a Domaine to follow!

De Vogüé was next on the agenda so what had already been a good day was just getting better. We taste through the reds with Francois Millet (winemaker) the whole production of this very famous estate comfortably fitting into a room half the size of a tennis court with only two barrels high – the minute amount produced by the Domaines takes viewing to believe. Francois described 2008 as a “watercolour” vintage in artistic terms, by this meaning it is an elegant and graceful vintage with everything balance and nothing overpowering. The finesse of the wine was quite staggering with each one building in stature of the previous but always with a grace and reserved charm. In Francois’ own words 2008 was no easy vintage and until September there had been “only five days of BBQ”. My tasting notes just finish with the phrase “so true and elegant”, not released until march next year, these will be mighty fine wines.

Next up was Domaine Lafarge in Volnay and I was intrigued as to what this would like. My previous experience of the wines was incredibly limited. After two hours of tasting (19 wines) and conversation, with the father and son team of Michel and Frederic, I can honestly say I have never enjoyed a tasting more and came away glowing and feeling I had discovered a new favourite!! The cellars are very old fashioned in the sort of way that makes you wonder how they know what is what and where it is! There were bottles of 1958 (Frederic’s birth year) on a step that had so much fur you could barely make out the bottles at all. We tasted the 2008’s from Aligote (awesome for an Aligote if atypical) to Volnay Clos du Chateau des Ducs which was a 20/20 in my book. The style has everything, structure but charm, fruit but also minerality. Simply staggering!! I’ll be buying what I can afford!

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