VDLT PRE-ARRIVAL TASTING - Chief’s apartment (5/20/2017)
Scores of members of the Voix de la Terre Wine Buying Consortium and guests dropped in for a tasting of Burgundies from Dubreuil-Fontaine and Rhônes from Christophe Pichon prior to placing orders for the wines of their choice. Nice crowd and great food. The wines from 2 fine domaines that are rarely available in the US performed extremely well. Not a single wine I wouldn’t enjoy owning. Most bottles were opened about 2 hours prior and were able to breathe for several hours more as the event continued.
Domaine Dubreuil-Fontaine
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2015 P. Dubreuil-Fontaine Père & Fils Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru Clos Berthet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru
Lovely, fresh fruit and balancing acidity. Nice young wine. I’ve tasted the monopole Clos Berthet alongside Christine’s Corton Charlemagne in a past vintage. The Corton is superior but the quality difference isn’t nearly as great as the price difference. Superb value. -
2014 P. Dubreuil-Fontaine Père & Fils Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru Les Vercots - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru
My first time tadting this cuvée. The toughest to taste of the Red Burgundies and the only one we decanted. Structure was good but it was closed and demure and dominated by the tannins making it seem more rustic than I think it is. -
2014 P. Dubreuil-Fontaine Père & Fils Beaune 1er Cru Montrevenots - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Beaune 1er Cru
As charming and inviting as prior vintages. Seems to have a bit of a second gear as confirmed by tasting of bottle remnants a couple of days later. Very good value. -
2014 P. Dubreuil-Fontaine Père & Fils Pommard 1er Cru Les Épenots - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pommard 1er Cru
A substantial and broad shouldered wine that certainly will benefit from time. The fruit is sweet and the tannins are fine. Impressive. -
2014 P. Dubreuil-Fontaine Père & Fils Corton-Bressandes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru
Seems like this is always remarkably sexy for a Corton. Not a lightweight for sure and much too young for sustained pleasure. I prefer the Clos du Roi but I wouldn’t refuse this. -
2014 P. Dubreuil-Fontaine Père & Fils Corton-Clos du Roi - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru
The Clos du Roi on this night had another layer of complexity than the Bressandes but also was tighter and firmer. Two days later, I tasted the remnants of the bottle and it was spectacular. Deep with vivid fruit and generous spicy and bright fruit flavors.
Domaine Christophe Pichon
Alexis Pichon, son of Christophe, who is involved in the family business was in attendance pouring his wines and talking with attendees.
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2015 Christophe Pichon St. Joseph Blanc - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph
A better showing than four nights ago. Be interested to see if after some time to settle down from trans-Atlantic travel, it improves further. I would like to see more acidity like it displayed when tasted at the Domaine last August. Overall, a substantial wine that is boldly fruited and has some depth. -
2015 Domaine Christophe Pichon St. Joseph - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph
Of all the Pichon reds, this had the most obtrusive tannins. This bottle was better than the one earlier in the week but still closer to that than the preferred sample from tank at the Domaine in August. Improvement 2 and 3 days later. Tannns remain robust and still a chunky, inky wine albeit with nice fruit. -
2015 Christophe Pichon Côte-Rôtie La Comtesse en Côte Blonde - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
An outstanding young Côte Rôtie. Bottled early for the VDLT tasting, it will stay in barrel 24-months - 6 more than most vintages. Dizzyingly complex nose of dark fruit and spices. The layers to this wine are remarkable and spread out in the mouth. The finish is probably a couple of minutes and it too evolves. Immensely pleasurable and provocative. -
2015 Christophe Pichon Condrieu - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu
Yet another excellent bottle. Tasted over several day, it remained vibrant, floral with beautifully tropical fruit. All the body and exotic flavor and aroma of great Condrieu. -
2014 Christophe Pichon Condrieu Caresse - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu
On first opening, I found this a bit outsized and clumsy relative to the prior two tastings. A couple of days later, it was in full stride suggesting maybe a phase of maturation. More stylized than their Condrieu and not the same purely terroir expression but this is a gorgeous wine worth the highest tariff. Even day 3 still going strong suggesting this might be one of the rare Viognier that can age into something interesting. -
2015 Christophe Pichon Côte-Rôtie Promesse - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Over several days, the tannins became more apparent. Nothing seems to be able to diminish the pleasures this wine offers but this is no simpleton. Lovely Syrah fruit. -
2015 Domaine Christophe Pichon Cornas Allegorie - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
On day one, this is similarly impressive to the bottle earlier in the week. A couple of days later - WOW! More body, weight, depth and flavor. A fabulous first vintage from Pichon. Hope they can get more Cornas vines of this caliber because 2300 bottles isn’t nearly enough. Excellent.
Posted from CellarTracker
