TN Arlaud with Cyprien Arlaud

Simon Grant

Simon Grant

Location
Berkshire
ARLAUD WITH ARLAUD - Portland restaurant, London (11/01/2016)

Pre-aperitif
  • NV Arlaud Crémant de Bourgogne - France, Burgundy, Crémant de Bourgogne
    Not sure whether this was nv or vintage as I didn't see the bottle. Clean and fresh whilst being nicely rounded and smooth. A good start. Fresh palate reviver rather than anything more complex, but a lot smoother and creamier than most. A good example. **1/2 (85 pts.)
Aperitif
  • 1995 Charles Heidsieck Champagne Blanc des Millénaires - France, Champagne
    Mellow, smooth and rich with a creamy biscuitiness. Nicely mature. Lots here. Ginger and spice and all things nice. Long. Maybe lacks a little freshness cf the best bottles but really lovely and showing more richness and composure than the bottle at the Wine Gang bash before Christmas. Original disgorgement. ****1/2 (94 pts.)
Starters galore
Soughdough with smoked butter and ox heart shavings
Culaccia di Parma and Bresaola
Pickled shitake with soy and ginger
Shallot, smoked cod's roe and chervil
Montgomery gougeres
Salsify, hazelnuts, Linconshire Poacher and truffle
Polenta, diced langoustine, chicken and ginger jus
Winter salad
  • 2007 Domaine Arlaud Morey St. Denis 1er Cru Les Millandes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Morey St. Denis 1er Cru
    Light ruby to mid garnet. Savoury, red fruit and caramel. Quite fragrant. Mellow and smooth on the palate. Retains a nice grip and focus. Blind, I'd guess Chambolle. Lovely. ***1/2 (90 pts.)
  • 2007 Domaine Arlaud Charmes-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru
    Similar light ruby to mid garnet. Again, nicely fragrant. Light red fruit. More focus and precision on the nose. There's a density too. Deeper and fuller and tighter knit on the attack. There's a bit more weight and stuffing here without losing the elegance. **** (92 pts.)
  • 2007 Domaine Arlaud Clos de la Roche - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru
    Magnum. Light ruby to mid garnet, but a shade or two lighter than the previous two. More savoury on the nose. A little more spice too. Very light, bright and clear. A little more mineral with a sharper line. Nose opens up to show a little richer and more caramely too. Broader spectrum of aromas here. A tangible beauty against the more statuesque Charmes. Proper burgundy and a touch of the peacock's tail; an ethereal lightness backed up by some sweetness and density to the fruit. Just lovely at the moment, I could savour and sip this all evening. Continues to strengthen over three hours or so. ****1/2 (94 pts.)
Roast pork belly, heritage carrots, purple sprouting and ratte spuds
  • 1999 Domaine Arlaud Bonnes Mares - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
    Magnum. A touch cloudy. Mid garnet. Starts off quite high toned with more than a whiff of TCP, though thankfully this blows off after a couple of minutes. A lively grippy feel on the palate. Lots here. Good acidity and line. Just starting to relax, but it really takes an hour to start showing it stuff. Opens up nicely. Fresh and textured. Really lovely. ****1/2 to ***** (94 pts.)
  • 2001 Domaine Arlaud Clos St. Denis - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos St. Denis Grand Cru
    Slightly cloudy and a touch pettillant. Richer, and more caramel-scented. Again, a nice denseness here. Still some grip. A little more open and giving on the nose cf the palate, but it's getting there. Very scented and fragrant. **** (93 pts.)
  • 2002 Domaine Arlaud Charmes-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru
    Deep ruby to fullish garnet. Dense. Savoury dark red to black fruit. Tighter and fuller through the men-palate. Lacks a touch of zip and freshness on the finish. Really quite full at the loss of finesse. Fantastically plush, dense and dark, but for me, overdone. Blind I'd be in a ripe new world vintage. *** (89 pts.)
Gruyere and blue
  • 2000 Jean Raphet et Fils Clos Vougeot - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
    Blind. Ruby to mid garnet. Strawberry configure and caramel on the nose before it tightens and shows a little more restraint. Light and pretty but a little superficial. Fills out a bit with air, but doesn't quite show the promise of a bottle in 2009. Certainly on the light side but it was heading in the right direction with air, and putting on the requisite weight. ****, just (91 pts.)
  • 2002 Domaine Arlaud Morey St. Denis 1er Cru Les Ruchots - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Morey St. Denis 1er Cru
    Very scented, floral. Dark red fruit. Dense and plush. Darker and more savoury than the Raphet Vougeot alongside but less extracted than the Charmes and better for it. Seems to benefit from the style in 02. Lots here. **** (92 pts.)
  • 1999 Domaine Arlaud Chambolle-Musigny - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny
    Lightly corked. NR (flawed)

A fantastic evening with fellow forumites over dinner and quite a few Arlaud wines with Cyprien Arlaud. Big thumbs up for the 07s, lighter yes, but none the worse for that, and an impressive 99 Bonnes Mares. Corkiness aside, it was only the more ambitious 02 that was over-throttled for my palate. In general though, lovely transparent wines, and an obviously thoughtful touch at the helm. Great to hear Cyprien chatting happily about the vineyards and vintage styles and sharing some of his obvious passion for making and enjoying great bottles. My first taste of Arlaud and I hope it's not the last. Thanks to Mark and Peter for pulling this together and extending the invitation.
Posted from CellarTracker
 
Last edited:
Fabulous notes as ever Simon !

And lovely evening - thank you so much to Mark and Peter for organising, and of course to our guest of honour Cyprien for his company and insights on all the wines (and the quality of his pickers). A shame that the cork gods were angry - although given a reasonably early start this morning that was probably a blessing in disguise for me.

On returning to the 2007 Clos de la Roche later in the evening it had opened up nicely and possibly just edged out the 2001 Clos St Denis and the 1999 Bonnes Mares as wine of the night (for me). But they were three lovely wines in quite different styles - the Bonnes Mares a bit wild with that touch of volatility, the Clos St Denis very elegant and pure, and the Clos de la Roche that lovely weightless intensity. I'm sure in another 30 mins the order would have been reversed.

Will certainly be following Cyprien's wines more closely !
 
Hi Corry
Yes, only small quantities of CSD at Arlaud. I asked Cyprien at one point what vineyard he would most like to gain and he answered in this order - Amoureuses, Musigny, more Clos St Denis !

Thanks for your notes Simon, a very fair assessment as always (which I guess means my views are aligned with yours). I think I loved the 01 CSD a little more, so will be looking to try some more of his 01s as and when I find them. :)
 
Very interesting-I had various Arlaud wines from the nineties which were extremely reasonably priced but while not bad were rather uninspiring with it seemed to me an exaggerated tendency to sweetness. Those I have tasted from 05 onwards, not so very many, have been markedly more impressive.
 
Thanks for the excellent notes Simon - like Peter, I find them very much in line with my own take on the wines.

I think my WOTN was the 99 Bonnes Mares, followed by the 07 CdlR (both even better at the end of the evening, especially the latter), with the 01 CSD and the 02 Morey Ruchots a little way behind.

Simon's 95 Heidsieck was very enjoyable and (while not a perfect comparison) supported my view that the recent ("new label") bottles need more time to show at their best, nice though they are now.

Cyprien is a lovely chap and had a lot of interesting things to say, which really added to what was on the strength of the wines alone already an excellent evening.
 
Thanks for the notes everyone was very sorry to miss this. I like the Arlaud wines very much, although I've only had more recent vintages. They are also somewhat reasonably priced by insane Burgundy standards.
 
A lovely evening, thank you all, especially Mark, Peter and Cyprien. Super set of bottles!

My notes on the reds:

Arlaud dinner

07s

Morey Millandes - pale and quite mature looking, warm on the nose and a touch wild. Quite boozy and fun. Not quite as much finesse or interest as the next two wines, but exciting. This has energy and character.

Charmes - lovely, sweet high-toned nose. Very little tannin, modest acidity, plenty of presence despite being obviously fine-boned. A touch of grip at the end. Delicious, and drink it now for wonderful pleasure. Fades a bit after an hour or so though, and in comparison to the CDLR.

(NB Cyprien has 1 hectare of Charmes, all in Mazoyeres, five different vine ages, with the younger vines vinified separately and either blended into the GC or declassified to Gevrey villages according to quality.)

Clos de la Roche - lighter in colour but darker in character than the Charmes, much more serious. Starts a little reduced but clears up and grows and builds in the glass. Great stuff: power without weight. Worth keeping another five years... drink the Charmes today and keep this.

Middle age

Bonnes Mares 99 - deep, a bit murky, and a touch meaty and truffly on the nose. I've had this a few times. Ripe and rich, but certainly not OTT. Tiny hint of farmyard. Softly furry tannins. Very satisfying, and plenty of time to go. Old fashioned broad-shouldered grand vin.

Clos St Denis 01 - lovely. Quite dark. Very harmonious. Classic 01: energy, balance, not too ripe or alcoholic. Very very smart, and not in a glossy way. And the round CSD signature. Great combination.

Charmes 02 - exotic madness! Dramatic, very ripe. But too much for me. Strangely quite acidic?

Old wines

1969 Charmes - dead. Volatile, muddy, viliferous.

1976 Charmes - both bottles corked!

Oddities

2000 Raphet Clos De Vougeot - oooh I like this. Just a little leathery, but dark fruited, old fashioned, a bit varnishy.

2002 Morey Ruchots - very good. Dark and seductive and thick textured. Not quite the length of the grand crus perhaps, but delicious.

1999 Chambolle - gah corked.
 
Just wanted to add, I thought Portland made a very decent offline venue. The private room was a good space, and the food, especially the various amuses and first courses were excellent and, key for off lines, plentiful. Staff friendly and service good / attentive. The sommelier was happy to let us get on with organising our own wines etc, but on hand for ice buckets etc etc. Similar style of food to QCH, but significantly less uncomfortable.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top