May Day weekend drinking

Re Ed’s post:

I have a six bottle case of the 99 which has been resting peacefully in storage for almost two decades, my inclination is to leave it to sleep for awhile longer.

Tonight

Sociando Mallet 1970: first bottle was fizzy and the cork dropped; back up in its original wrapper was very good, but a wine needing drinking - farewell my friend

Domaine Gourt De Mautens 2007 rouge

Exuberant and fruity, it just lacks acidic balance, which makes it somewhat hard work after a couple of glasses
 
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GB Burlotto Barolo Acclivi 2011 this evening, a wine fatally undermined by the evident harshly obtrusive alcohol. A producer I really like and a wine I bought on faith as I’d been buying for years, but this one isn’t great, sadly.

i find that a fair bit with 2011 Barolo in general. Hopefully will resolve with more time in bottle, though I am not especially confident.
 
Dom. Joliet Fixin 1er cru Clos de la Perrière 2011

Bit austere on opening but really quite lovely an hour later with a sausage and porcini pasta alla norcina. Spiced cherry and some earthiness but not too 'shroomy' as the better half would say. Quite sad it was my only bottle.
Thanks for the note - I bought a dozen a while back and keep meaning to pull them out! A single bought at the same time was yummy..
 
Thanks for the note - I bought a dozen a while back and keep meaning to pull them out! A single bought at the same time was yummy..
It's one of those interesting wines where I can't decide whether or not to defer pleasure. I'm not at all sure that it will give more in the future. It is extremely likely, but if you have the thirst then do start now, a proper dozen lasts far longer than one might expect.
 
More online fun

"CHABLIS IS A GEM, KNOWN TO MANY BUT IGNORED BY MANY MORE" - JASPER MORRIS MW - Zoom! (5/2/2020)
  • 2015 Château de Beru Chablis 1er Cru Vaucoupin - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
    Very steep vineyard with crystalline white soil; on the right bank of the Serein but with left bank characteristics. Very long maturation in a variety of media (casks, eggs, terracotta etc) and made 'naturally'. Weighty and savoury on the nose, with white flowers. Broad attack, fresh limey finish, with a green apple aftermath - lovely balance. Hints of smoke. Precise but in no way thin. Really very nice as an aperitif, and my WOTN. (92 pts.)
  • 2015 Dauvissat-Camus Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
    Lots of green apple on the nose, a bit tight/discrete. More salinity than the first wine tonight. Some old yellow apple flavour, with soft acidity - not quite flabby, but in that direction. Almost reminiscent of Savagnin. Best attribute is its length - really persistent and a nice chewiness. (89 pts.)
  • 2017 Moreau-Naudet & Fils Chablis 1er Cru Montmains - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
    Matured in a mix of tank and barrel. Some faint apple on the nose, which makes little impression, but loads of energy and flavour on the palate - delicious. Smoky pineapple, good acidity and a nice lactic note on the mid-palate. Gorgeous finish. My #2 on the night. (91 pts.)
  • 2016 Domaine Louis Michel Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
    Entirely matured in steel. Super clean nose, hint of tropical fruit, cut grass - Mosel Riesling-esque. Big wine in the mouth - almost tannic there's so much substance to it. Quite bitter on the finish and maybe a touch short. More of a roast chicken than an oyster kind of Chablis. (90 pts.)
  • 2015 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
    Vineyard on the left bank, but typically has even more weight than Montee de Tonnerre as the valley traps the heat. Elegant, lemony and herbal on the nose. A touch soft but Raveneau managed the vintage well and this comes across as attractively creamy. A bit closed at this stage, more to come (and indeed the wine improved quite a bit with air). (91 pts.)
  • 2015 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis 1er Cru Vaulorent - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
    A touch of oak evident on the nose and palate here, but it's in balance. A nice citrus energy to the wine, vanilla on the finish. Good length, lots of fun already but more to come. (91 pts.)
Followed by NV Emilio Hidalgo Amontillado Especial Viejo "El Tresillo 1874" - Spain, Andalucía, Jerez-Xérès-Sherry (5/2/2020)
We managed to get takeaway from one of our favourite local tapas restaurants, so logical to open our only (!) bottle of Sherry. Turbo levels of rancio here - wood polish on the nose, cigar box, loads of nutty, fishy flavour on the palate, good acidity and the incredibly long finish. Great wine but docked a point or two because I find a dissonnance between the intensity of the flavour and the high alcohol on the one hand, and the perceived lightness of body and bone dryness on the other, which makes it a tricky food match - it's not fresh and saline enough for fish, nor rich enough for meat. (93 pts.)

Followed by another bottle of Charles Heidsieck NV (2012 base) - as good as the last ones.

A couple of things to highlight with the Chablis - real divergence on the WOTN voting on the Zoom chat, and I note that Mike H (also in attendance) and I only agreed on about half of the wines; and it's funny that my two favourites were from the two producers I'd never heard of!
 
I find a dissonance between the intensity of the flavour and the high alcohol on the one hand, and the perceived lightness of body and bone dryness on the other, which makes it a tricky food match
A brilliant articulation of something I have vaguely felt on innumerable occasions about some really grand sherries. One needs really strongly flavoured food to deal with the conundrum, but on the other hand it is wonderful that these wines that can do that. My only regret about owning a lot of burgundy is that it doesn't do well with such food, which in many ways represents the gastronomia franca of our times.
 
Dom. Joliet Fixin 1er cru Clos de la Perrière 2011

Bit austere on opening but really quite lovely an hour later with a sausage and porcini pasta alla norcina. Spiced cherry and some earthiness but not too 'shroomy' as the better half would say. Quite sad it was my only bottle.
I should have a bottle of this somewhere - I know there’s some 2012 too - sounds like I need to give it a try.
 
Two different ends of the Grenache world today via zoom with my brother and wife in Spain

GRENACHE / GARNACHA - (02/05/2020)

  • 2005 Bodegas Alto Moncayo Garnacha Campo de Borja - Spain, Aragón, Campo de Borja
    Big in many ways, the wine is heavy, the bottle is heavy, even the capsule is heavy, raisins and stewed fruits on the nose, the palate has more red fruits with chocolate and warm spices but the alcohol hits you hard, probably on the downward slope but it’s probably never been much fun
  • 2016 David & Nadia Grenache - South Africa, Coastal Region, Swartland
    A lovely wine, quite light in body, bright juicy red fruits on the nose and palate, a touch of spice, so light on its feet at 13%, just joyful
Posted from CellarTracker

Thanks for the note on the SA wine - I started the Australia post on the back of a delicious lower alcohol Grenache - when it's like that it can be joyful as you say. Why is there so much heavy soup out there though.
 
Followed by NV Emilio Hidalgo Amontillado Especial Viejo "El Tresillo 1874" - Spain, Andalucía, Jerez-Xérès-Sherry (5/2/2020)
We managed to get takeaway from one of our favourite local tapas restaurants, so logical to open our only (!) bottle of Sherry. Turbo levels of rancio here - wood polish on the nose, cigar box, loads of nutty, fishy flavour on the palate, good acidity and the incredibly long finish. Great wine but docked a point or two because I find a dissonnance between the intensity of the flavour and the high alcohol on the one hand, and the perceived lightness of body and bone dryness on the other, which makes it a tricky food match - it's not fresh and saline enough for fish, nor rich enough for meat. (93 pts.)
I've not had this particular sherry Nick, but hard and medium cheeses are often a very good match to more severe amontillados. If it's a whole bottle and you have some left, maybe give that a try.
 
Yesterday we had a pair of wines from Felsina - firstly 2017 Felsina I Sistri Chardonnay is very young still - bags of appley fruit and sweet new oak but a good lick of acidity too. 2-3 years in the cellar for the wine to plump out and the oak to integrate and this will be bang on I reckon. This was followed by 2017 Felsina Chianti Classico Berardenga, which is really lovely, textbook Chianti Classico, still very much on the fruit with lots of raspberries and sour cherries and grippy tannins on the finish. Very fresh and in no way modern. Was a great match to this slow cooked (6 hours) shoulder of lamb:

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2016 Grand Corbin Manuel St Emilion Grand Cru

I picked this up for about £20 from Costco and popped it open to see what it was all about. Hard to fault typical St Emilion and not shy on the alcohol given the vintage registering at 14% ABV. Probably half a decade or so from prime drinking window hit still delivering "on the fruit" pleasure. Neal had given it a 91 points in bottle and I would go 88+. Nice but won't be loading up to cellar as there are many examples available at the same price point some of which are absolutely lovely.
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‘07 Mugneret Gibourg Les Chaignots - Clean floral nose. Oh...this is open for business again, much better than previous bottle about one year ago. Soft and fine tannins. Good length and complexity for the vintage. Spices with a touch of oaks lingering at finish, just beautiful. Elegant interpretation of NSG. Fantastic for a lazy Sunday afternoon sip.

D2LI5mZ.jpg
 
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More online fun

"CHABLIS IS A GEM, KNOWN TO MANY BUT IGNORED BY MANY MORE" - JASPER MORRIS MW - Zoom! (5/2/2020)
  • 2015 Château de Beru Chablis 1er Cru Vaucoupin - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
    Very steep vineyard with crystalline white soil; on the right bank of the Serein but with left bank characteristics. Very long maturation in a variety of media (casks, eggs, terracotta etc) and made 'naturally'. Weighty and savoury on the nose, with white flowers. Broad attack, fresh limey finish, with a green apple aftermath - lovely balance. Hints of smoke. Precise but in no way thin. Really very nice as an aperitif, and my WOTN. (92 pts.)
  • 2015 Dauvissat-Camus Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
    Lots of green apple on the nose, a bit tight/discrete. More salinity than the first wine tonight. Some old yellow apple flavour, with soft acidity - not quite flabby, but in that direction. Almost reminiscent of Savagnin. Best attribute is its length - really persistent and a nice chewiness. (89 pts.)
  • 2017 Moreau-Naudet & Fils Chablis 1er Cru Montmains - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
    Matured in a mix of tank and barrel. Some faint apple on the nose, which makes little impression, but loads of energy and flavour on the palate - delicious. Smoky pineapple, good acidity and a nice lactic note on the mid-palate. Gorgeous finish. My #2 on the night. (91 pts.)
  • 2016 Domaine Louis Michel Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
    Entirely matured in steel. Super clean nose, hint of tropical fruit, cut grass - Mosel Riesling-esque. Big wine in the mouth - almost tannic there's so much substance to it. Quite bitter on the finish and maybe a touch short. More of a roast chicken than an oyster kind of Chablis. (90 pts.)
  • 2015 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
    Vineyard on the left bank, but typically has even more weight than Montee de Tonnerre as the valley traps the heat. Elegant, lemony and herbal on the nose. A touch soft but Raveneau managed the vintage well and this comes across as attractively creamy. A bit closed at this stage, more to come (and indeed the wine improved quite a bit with air). (91 pts.)
  • 2015 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis 1er Cru Vaulorent - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
    A touch of oak evident on the nose and palate here, but it's in balance. A nice citrus energy to the wine, vanilla on the finish. Good length, lots of fun already but more to come. (91 pts.)
Followed by NV Emilio Hidalgo Amontillado Especial Viejo "El Tresillo 1874" - Spain, Andalucía, Jerez-Xérès-Sherry (5/2/2020)
We managed to get takeaway from one of our favourite local tapas restaurants, so logical to open our only (!) bottle of Sherry. Turbo levels of rancio here - wood polish on the nose, cigar box, loads of nutty, fishy flavour on the palate, good acidity and the incredibly long finish. Great wine but docked a point or two because I find a dissonnance between the intensity of the flavour and the high alcohol on the one hand, and the perceived lightness of body and bone dryness on the other, which makes it a tricky food match - it's not fresh and saline enough for fish, nor rich enough for meat. (93 pts.)

Followed by another bottle of Charles Heidsieck NV (2012 base) - as good as the last ones.

A couple of things to highlight with the Chablis - real divergence on the WOTN voting on the Zoom chat, and I note that Mike H (also in attendance) and I only agreed on about half of the wines; and it's funny that my two favourites were from the two producers I'd never heard of!
Nick,
Thanks for the write up.
Great to be reminded about Chablis, and Jasper's quote as a title is so on the mark.
I wonder if the divergence of opinion may be in part a reflection of the vintages of the wines showcased.
So far I have yet to have a 2015 Chablis that tastes anything like what I expect from Chablis.
Some have been decent and even nice, (which is not a descriptor that fits comfortably with my expectation of the village), but none have tasted like Chablis.
But at the same time I don’t think that Ravenau tastes like Chablis either, so perhaps my perception is quite narrowly centred around the 1er’s from Tribut,Dauvissat,Duplessies Ampeau and The Chablisienne.
I also used to buy lots of Daniel Defaix, but again his style was not really very Chablis.
 
A couple from the last few days. The Ch Cantemele 2010 was the first from the case. In the fullness of time, this will be a superb wine. Medium plus bodied, the tannins have started to soften but still firmly remain wrapped around an iron fist. From start to finish there are no holes or gaps in this wine, amazing weight without any tertiary development really coming to the fore. Interestingly enough earlier in the week I had one of the Penfolds Bin 389 from the 2010 vintage which is also an excellent vintage. Both similar wines which honestly I’m not sure I could have picked apart if tasted side by side, well made and designed for the long haul.

As for the Mazi Chambertin, sadly it never really opened up and came to the party. Earthy, some violets, not a particular expressive bouquet. Probably more my fault than the wines as I brought it up from the wine fridge mid afternoon.

08E6AFB6-F3D3-443A-8496-72F5773A5F33.jpeg
 
More online fun

"CHABLIS IS A GEM, KNOWN TO MANY BUT IGNORED BY MANY MORE" - JASPER MORRIS MW - Zoom! (5/2/2020)
  • 2015 Château de Beru Chablis 1er Cru Vaucoupin - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
    Very steep vineyard with crystalline white soil; on the right bank of the Serein but with left bank characteristics. Very long maturation in a variety of media (casks, eggs, terracotta etc) and made 'naturally'. Weighty and savoury on the nose, with white flowers. Broad attack, fresh limey finish, with a green apple aftermath - lovely balance. Hints of smoke. Precise but in no way thin. Really very nice as an aperitif, and my WOTN. (92 pts.)
  • 2015 Dauvissat-Camus Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
    Lots of green apple on the nose, a bit tight/discrete. More salinity than the first wine tonight. Some old yellow apple flavour, with soft acidity - not quite flabby, but in that direction. Almost reminiscent of Savagnin. Best attribute is its length - really persistent and a nice chewiness. (89 pts.)
  • 2017 Moreau-Naudet & Fils Chablis 1er Cru Montmains - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
    Matured in a mix of tank and barrel. Some faint apple on the nose, which makes little impression, but loads of energy and flavour on the palate - delicious. Smoky pineapple, good acidity and a nice lactic note on the mid-palate. Gorgeous finish. My #2 on the night. (91 pts.)
  • 2016 Domaine Louis Michel Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
    Entirely matured in steel. Super clean nose, hint of tropical fruit, cut grass - Mosel Riesling-esque. Big wine in the mouth - almost tannic there's so much substance to it. Quite bitter on the finish and maybe a touch short. More of a roast chicken than an oyster kind of Chablis. (90 pts.)
  • 2015 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
    Vineyard on the left bank, but typically has even more weight than Montee de Tonnerre as the valley traps the heat. Elegant, lemony and herbal on the nose. A touch soft but Raveneau managed the vintage well and this comes across as attractively creamy. A bit closed at this stage, more to come (and indeed the wine improved quite a bit with air). (91 pts.)
  • 2015 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis 1er Cru Vaulorent - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
    A touch of oak evident on the nose and palate here, but it's in balance. A nice citrus energy to the wine, vanilla on the finish. Good length, lots of fun already but more to come. (91 pts.)
Followed by NV Emilio Hidalgo Amontillado Especial Viejo "El Tresillo 1874" - Spain, Andalucía, Jerez-Xérès-Sherry (5/2/2020)
We managed to get takeaway from one of our favourite local tapas restaurants, so logical to open our only (!) bottle of Sherry. Turbo levels of rancio here - wood polish on the nose, cigar box, loads of nutty, fishy flavour on the palate, good acidity and the incredibly long finish. Great wine but docked a point or two because I find a dissonnance between the intensity of the flavour and the high alcohol on the one hand, and the perceived lightness of body and bone dryness on the other, which makes it a tricky food match - it's not fresh and saline enough for fish, nor rich enough for meat. (93 pts.)

Followed by another bottle of Charles Heidsieck NV (2012 base) - as good as the last ones.

A couple of things to highlight with the Chablis - real divergence on the WOTN voting on the Zoom chat, and I note that Mike H (also in attendance) and I only agreed on about half of the wines; and it's funny that my two favourites were from the two producers I'd never heard of!
Oh I don’t know Nick - it’s a surprise we agreed on anything :) do remember I’m an absolute ignoramus with regards Chablis and burgundy white and last night may have doubled my lifetime drinking of Chablis. No let me correct that, more than doubled, so my thoughts are not from experience, expertise or any reference to points and knowledge, they are purely down to the wine and if I’d like to drink them.

Funny enough we did generally agree on the main wines. The Naudet and Fevre for me were clearly the wines for enjoying and drinking with some real quality and depth. The first one (your WOTN) was ok but really quite harsh / astringent in some ways and I liked it in some ways but wasn’t my style at all. I like richer or more interesting wines.
Number 4 I noted you don’t mention farmyard. The guy tasting did also mention farmyard after I wrote it down then said quite a nice wet grass mulch smell. I didn’t find that and found it off putting and actually not very nice at all but that is most likely my preference. I know some burgundy white drinkers don’t mind a bit of that but for me it’s a fault or negative. I don’t think wine was faulty since the tester picked up same notes but maybe you didn’t ? Think I scored the Camus about the same so just 1 and 4 we don’t agree on.
My first foray into Chablis and enjoyed a few of them.
 
Piper Heidsieck NV last night - one of a batch I bought in (I think!) late 2017. Creamy, lemon fruit, some biscuit, quite rich, very fresh. Really delicious. If current disgorgements are this good I'd be tempted to age a batch more.(@Raymond Tilney/ @Steven Pritchard?).

We then followed with a '16 Tempier which was an excellent accompaniment to various Ottolenghi style Mezze. I have concluded that I prefer Tempier young though.

Today will be an '06 Comtes and something serious and red with beef.
 
I see that Nick liked the Beru best of the 6 Chablis tasted in the 67PM event, although I infer that Mike liked it less. I think the Beru wines are excellent but unfortunately they’re not easy to find and they’re quite expensive. Some of the best Chablis I’ve had in recent years have come from Beru and Thos Pico - and that’s against completion including Raveneau, Dauvissat and Fevre. I’m less keen on the feted de Moor, though.
 
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