Thanks Alan. Looking forward to meeting Jerry and Cindy very much.
Cheers Robert. I will change his name. Great wines at Agrapart!
Brilliant lunch at Auberge de L’Ill.
It was day 3 of our trip and Colin was yet to have a Coche-Dury. I could see he wasn’t grounded. A 2012 Coche-Dury Meursault set about re-centering him. There’s a broadness to the wine when first poured with nougat and ripe peach notes a plenty. It really tightens as you work your way through the bottle. There’s the usual matchstick and great volume for its level. The sommelier team here led by Serge Doubs goes alright. We entrusted one of his protégées to sort us out with a legendary older Alsace wine. He served us the 1981 Trimbach Clos Ste Hune Riesling. It is wonderful aged Riesling, no petrol, no oxidation just pure fruit with proper development traits. You get some rockmelon and mango and a squeeze of lime. The palate is shapely with a bit of custard lactic action. It has fruit sweetness but finishes with pungent minerality and has remarkable persistence. Colin had a 2000 Domaine G.Roumier Morey St.Denis ‘Clos de la Bussiere’ the last time he ate here. As a way for him to reminisce vinously we ordered one. It was humming. You get a little smoke to the aroma and a core of black cherry fruit. There’s something that smells of some sort of undefinable plant matter. It has flesh, earthy nuance and texture. There’s still some chew to the finish. A half bottle of 1983 Léon Beyer Gewurztraminer Quintessence Sélection de Grains Nobles was ordered to go with dessert. From half bottle this thing was in supreme form. It still had green tinges. It was obviously ridiculously sweet at some stage of its life and it has now dried out to be incredibly sweet. There are notes of apricot, lavender, rosewater and honey. It has volume and intensity but is not heavy or cloying.
Found a cheeky little place on the way to Burgundy that had Coche Corton for a reasonable tariff.
2007 Coche-Dury Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru: Pours glistening with a green tinge. It is perfect white wine. It is fruit and geological things in equal parts and so pure and direct. It has fat but is not heavy. It is powerful and dense but ethereal at the same time. With air you get a little aniseed and citrus blossom. It has perfect proportion and insane length.
Was driving up the Cote this morning to hit Armand Rousseau for our first visit when we spotted black smoke billowing from a storage shed right next to Domaine Leroy. I believe it stored agricultural products. It was engulfed in flames as we drove past and quite a frightening sight.
So, how was the Roumier Cras 2008 on the picture?
Very good Antoine. Minerally base, pure fruit with savoury notes. Just starting to take on a little development.
Jeremy,
I always look forward to your report every year. Is this the place where the madame didn’t want you to drink more cherries last year?
actually, the fire was from burning the huge pile of corks left after the Holmes team moved on. Great notes.
Kevin, It was actually another place in Alsace where madame is much more pleasant.
I suspect there may some truth in that rumour Alan.
As we descended into the cellars at Rousseau Frederic Robert apologised that due to bottling of the ‘14’s we would only be tasting four wines. Our collective bottom lips immediately started dragging along the Gevrey ground. He quickly elevated our mood by saying ‘don’t worry, the four we will try are the Ruchottes, CSJ, Bèze and Chambertin. These are the last four wines to be bottled from 2014.
The 2014 Armand Rousseau Ruchottes-Chambertin Clos des Ruchottes Grand Cru has plenty of spice to its aromatics and pure, crisp cherry fruit. It is velvety in the mouth with dense, sappy fruit and plenty of crunch to the finish. The 2014 Armand Rousseau Gevrey-Chambertin ‘Clos St.Jacques’ 1er Cru has a strong scent of meat and musk. The oak is showing a little for now with some sarsaparilla and tar notes. It has good depth of flavour and is also very crisp. As a bonus Frederick grabbed a bottle of 2014 Armand Rousseau Clos de la Roche Grand Cru as it rattled down the bottling line. It is only mid-weight but beautifully balanced and possessing delicious red and black fruits. There’s a thread of licorice to the flavour profile and tight minerality to the wine. I generally prefer the Chambertin to the Bèze Chez Rousseau (just) but in ’14 I reckon the Bèze nails it. The 2014 Armand Rousseau Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru is spicy, fleshy and opulent. It is loaded with blue and black fruits and there’s great detail. It finishes with plenty of cherry and earth. The 2014 Armand Rousseau Chambertin Grand Cru is tighter with more mineral. It has the same pungent meatiness as the CSJ but more depth. It is deep and layered and in need of a serious slumber.
Tasting at Rousseau is always such a treat and we thank Frederick for his generous hospitality during a busy time at the Domaine.
Blending 4 barrels of CdlR for bottling.
Love that spice in the Beze.
Thanks for the early preview.
Great posts Jeremy, thanks for taking the time. You just need some Salon to round out your notes.
Jeremy, do you know anything about the current new oak regimens at Rousseau…?
I had heard that they were using less in CSJ (which, for me, can easily be overoaked there) and some for the Ruchottes, Mazy and Clos de la Roche. But, it’s difficult to come up with a clear understanding.
Keep up the nice reports.
p.s. Was Doubs actually at the L’Auberge when you were there? Though I had no idea then who he was, he served us at dinner on our honeymoon in 1983 there…So, that means he’s been there a really long time now. When I was last there, in 1999 at Xmas, he was off, but clearly “there” in spirit. Do you think the place is still a great experience?
Thanks Steve. Not Salon but had a cheeky bottle of '06 Comtes de Champagne after a hard days tasting on Thursday. Spectacular fizz!
Hi Stuart. Not sure of the oak regime on the CSJ, I think it may 50%. The sample we had could have been drawn from a new barrel too.
Doubs was there. He is semi-retired but likes to still work every weekend. He started there in 1972. It is still a brilliant restaurant.
Best Regards
Jeremy
Jean-Michel and Christine Jacob are terrific people and so warm and generous. We had a splendid meal in their home last night after working through the superb 2015 and 2014 Lucien Jacob wines.
Jean-Michel opened quite a few bottles of various things to have a look over the evening. A 2006 Domaine Lucien Jacob Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Aux Vergelesses Blanc was beautifully fresh, pouring out with a green tinge. It had notes of pure white peach, custard apple, citrus blossom and mineral. It was richly fruited with a clean and fresh finish. A 2011 Domaine Larue Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly was vibrant, piercing and direct. It had some white flower action and was cool and rocky with a bit of mineral reduction to the aroma. A 2012 Domaine Lucien Jacob Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Aux Vergelesses Rouge had bright sweet cherry fruit and good underlying minerality. It voluminous and finished with good detail. We looked at 2009 and 2002 Domaine Lucien Jacob Beaune 1er Cru Cent-Vignes. Both were ripe and fleshy. The 09 has a little more creamy fruit and was quite deep and black and red. The 2002 is in a near perfect place. It has beautiful sweet cherry fruit and a palate of vinous silk. There’s a hint of earthy development and a crisp stony finish. The 2009 Jean-Jacques Confuron Romanée St. Vivant was splendid. A sphere of fruit and mineral loveliness. Perfectly ripe cherry, pomegranate and plum fruits. Superb detail. Expansive and complex finishing with sweet tannins and leaving a wonderful mouth aroma once swallowed.
Jean-Michel in front of one of his excellent sculptures.
Thomas Morey was operating the bottling line at Domaine Thomas Morey and got the shock of his life when he saw us standing in the door. We were due to see him next week. We had been wandering around Chassagne looking for Pierre-Yves Morey. He kindly hopped in his car and directed us to Pierre-Yves new gigs just out of the village.
Pierre-Yves is one of the most thoughtful, intuitive winemakers I have met. He believes you must have your feet grounded in the vineyard. There is no substitute for hard work and you cannot cut any corners. It is the sum of all of the parts that leads to greatness in the bottle. He was frank and open about discussing premox problems. I must say that I cannot ever recall having a premox’d bottle from PY-CM. He has four presses in the winery and believes in pressing the fruit completely out. Other Domaine’s may only press for 90% of the time if there is demand to get another batch of fruit in the press. His wines spend a long time on gross lees. He pays for the best quality bottles and corks that money can buy and wax seals every bottle.
After a tour of the cellar we hit the tasting bench to have a squiz at a few recently bottled 2014’s. The 2014 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin Le Banc smells of fresh lemons and limestone. It is pure, direct and has flesh along with detail. The 2014 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Chatenière is rich, spicy, dense and sappy. There are notes of orchard fruits and aniseed. It is spicy and has a strong mineral spine. The 2014 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly has great line and great shape. There’s a core of pure white peach. You get some fennel bulb and chalky mineral as well. It is unctuous yet light and airy in the mouth. The 2014 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Chassagne-Montrachet Les Ancegnières is brimming with rich orchard fruits. It is dense and sappy and possesses great balance. The 2014 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chenevottes comes off a 50 year old vineyard. It has power with finesse. There’s a sweet heart of white peach fruit, some preserved lemon and a big sprinkling of salt to the finish.
Caroline Morey, Pierre-Yves’ wife, is now running her own Domaine and we took the opportunity to try her Chassagne Caillerets next to her husband’s. The 2014 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Caillerets oozes minerality. It is textured and unctuous in the mouth and has plenty of glycerol yet is piercing with a chalky finish. The 2014 Caroline Morey Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Caillerets is gentle and delicate with engaging scents of preserved citrus, mineral and blossom. It is airy in the mouth yet there’s good presence. The fruit has a sappy quality and length is good.
We moved out of Chassagne and over to Puligny to try the 2014 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru La Garenne. Pierre-Yves first made this wine in 2013 and the fruit is off his aunt’s 70 year old vineyard. It is a rich wine, with ripe peach fruit and plenty of blossom notes. It is cut with grapefruit acidity. A 2014 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières was rich, layered, deep and complex. It has so much going on and so much depth yet the wine literally glides across the palate in a weightless manner. The mineral is there and builds through the palate as the glycerol drops away. Text book Perrières and quite brilliant.
A couple of cracking Grand Crus is a nice way to round off a tasting. The 2014 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru is tight rich and powerful. It is sappy and has so much flesh yet it is tight, compact and piercing. The finish is seriously chalky and the wine will need a serious amount of time to reach its apogee. The 2014 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru is splendid. It is rocky and cool with loads of finesse. There’s shape, intensity, perfect proportion and balance. It is a wine essentially carved from stone but you get a little white peach and aniseed to remind you that the juice was squeezed from berry.
I would be happy to have multiple bottles of any of these ‘14’s in my cellar.
So, is Coche next?
Sadly not Dave.
Fired up the new wood oven Chez Hall last night.
Anyone looking for somewhere to stay in Burgundy check out Chez Hall http://www.burgundyman.com It has three different residences and all of the creature comforts one could desire.
Purchased a Bresse hen from the Chagny market for a Sunday roast.
