Malconsorts

Jeremy_Holmes · January 15, 2019, 1:27am

Anthony forget to send us down some of his Greenlip Abalone to Tassie so we had to settle for an outstanding meal at Hobart’s Me Wah restaurant. Greg was our generous host and the exploration of Malconsorts our mission.

1996 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut: This has great acid line and so much complexity. There’s bread, chalk, biscuits, citrus and red fruits. It is full, beautifully balanced and proportioned and so fine and long.

1998 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut: The consensus at the table was that this just nudged out the excellent ’96 Cristal, it is splendid Champagne. There’s some lemon, peach, toast and spice. It has tremendous acid drive and is rich and powerful with a high degree of finesse and elegance. It builds and builds, finishing with a crescendo of chalk and citrus.

2014 Domaine Fabien Coche Bâtard-Montrachet, Grand Cru: Has a banana esther character on the nose. It is a little tropical and has some candied fruit notes. It is full and rich with a fresh finish.

2014 Blain-Gagnard Bâtard-Montrachet, Grand Cru: There’s a hint of spicy oak to the aroma along with a wisp of smoke and pure white peach fruit. It is rich and textured with a suggestion of fig fruit to the flavour profile. The finish is long and minerally.

2014 Domaine Jean Chartron Bâtard-Montrachet, Grand Cru: Rich, dense and sappy with a core of explosive peach fruit. Great line and drive. Outstanding depth and a wine that is a kinetic ball of vinous potential. Should be brilliant in a few years.

2014 Domaine Jomain Bâtard-Montrachet, Grand Cru: Richly fruited and possesses plenty of aniseed and fennel aromas and flavours. It is layered in the mouth and the finish is long and cool. Quite delicious.

1995 Sylvain Cathiard Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts: There a slight mushroomy/mouldy quality to the nose (perhaps from the cork). It has bright pomegranate fruit, plenty of mineral and some Asian spice. It is a little lean through the mid-palate.
1999 Domaine Thomas-Moillard Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts: Looked 30 years older. Had loads of V.A and aldehyde. There was some vinous sweetness and some tart mineral. Very disappointing.

2002 Domaine Francois Lamarche Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts: Red berry and spice a plenty. Good detail, relatively compact. Quite lovely.

2006 Sylvain Cathiard Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts: Complex aromatics of Chinese 5 spice powder, red berries and freshly grated ginger. It is a generous wine with a sweet core of berries and cherries. It has great flesh and is supremely youthful. Balance is exquisite.

2009 Maison Albert Bichot Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts Domaine du Clos Frantin: Deep colour and plenty of ripe sweet fruit on the nose and in the mouth. There’s a core of mineral buried beneath the flesh. Excellent density, concentration and length.

2009 Domaine de Montille Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts: A fabulous nose of Hosin, sandalwood, rose petals and cherries. Silky in the mouth with excellent detail and a finish that really fans out. Supreme elegance here.

2009 Domaine Dujac Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts: There’s a whiff of vitamin B to the aroma along with decaying rose, violets and cherries. It is fine, sweet, detailed and quite lovely. A harmonious wine of good character.

2009 Sylvain Cathiard Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts: This has a core of sweet, jube-like fruit. There’s plenty of spice and good flesh and depth. It finishes with crunchy cherry notes and is silky and long.

2011 Maison Albert Bichot Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts Domaine du Clos Frantin: A cool wine with plenty of mineral and dried flower action. There’s sweet cherry fruit and it has good balance and finesse and shows excellent persistence.

2011 Domaine Dujac Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts: The nose is quite spicy and there are sweet cherry and plum fruits a plenty. It breathes to show the scent of rose petals. It is very fine and lacy and delicate flavours fan out on the finish.

2010 Domaine de Montille Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts Christiane: Complex aromas of freshly grated ginger, red currant, rose petal, flint and smoke. The palate has brilliant definition and oozes minerality. It is a wine that builds and has the peacock’s tale of delicious flavours. Really good.

2001 Château Coutet Cuvée Madame: Enticing aromas of mandarin, honey, coconut and apricot. It is so deep, luscious and sweet yet never feels heavy. This luscious nectar fills every crevice of the mouth, hitting it with exotic flavours. Length is outstanding.

Matthew_King · January 15, 2019, 1:58am

Spot on, mate!

Having tasted the range, what do you think makes Malconsorts a special site? What are its markers to your taste?

And do you think it really vies for Grand Cru status?

For mine, I like the silkiness and mouthfeel of Cathiard’s version.

Larry_Link · January 15, 2019, 2:46am

Nicely done. In addition to a bunch of “bad partners” it appears that you were joined by some “fat bastards”. What a treat to explore Malconsorts across multiple producers and vintages. If you squint really hard can you taste La Tache?

Karl_K · January 15, 2019, 4:46am

A legit tasting and legit notes!

Jeremy_Holmes · January 15, 2019, 5:58am

Guys, they were in general very good wines, with plenty of spice and a fruit profile more along red lines. To me there was an engaging rose petal note to many of the wines and I loved the silky/lacy feel to most of them. I didn’t think any were of Grand Cru level though.

paul_hanna · January 16, 2019, 2:35am

Yes,

Agree with Jeremy, good wines for sure, especially the Cathiards, but worth the price??? (we were told that the '17 Cathiard Malconsorts will be well over $1,000)…

That’s the big question.

Maybe some minor similarities with La Tache (the silkyness of some of the wines, the spice), but they are not La Tache, no where near in depth or complexity.

The best wines of the weekend were at the other meals we had - but that’s another story!

Karl_K · January 16, 2019, 3:10am

Ok, do tell

Nowell_Karten · January 16, 2019, 9:41am

That Cathiard price is unbelievable, even if we hadn’t been buying the 2001 for $70. There certainly have been no bargain prices offered for Cathiard, Dujac, Hudelot-Noellat, and de Montille Malconsorts in recent years, though they’ve seemed between $400 and $600 here. Only Bichot’s Domaine du Clos Frantin is still about $160 (disclosure: its sold by the retailer for whom I work), though I haven’t tried it.

Mike_Grammer · January 16, 2019, 7:22pm

What’s the word we’re looking for? Ah yes,

Ballin’ !!

Great work again, Jeremy. In my 8+ years on WB, I’ve had all of two bottles of Malconsorts–a 2010 Hudellot-Noellat at the winery and a 93 Cathiard on the same Burgundy trip (in 2011). Enjoyed reading, as always.

I recently had a halfsie of the regular Coutet. I have not had the privilege of tasting any truly older vintages of theirs, but I might put it out there that 2001 was the best work they ever did at this Chateau. Every bottle of the last 6 I’ve tried has been above stunning.

Sante,

Mike

paul_hanna · January 18, 2019, 7:10am

I don’t take notes any more, just drink the wines nowadays but:

Best white was a '13 Louis Carillon BBM, very fine and really superb.

Best red a '14 DRC Corton (off a list) - a great 14, lovely silky red fruited and surprisingly open and drinking well now.

Best other was the '15 Yquem - not going to be quite as good as the '01, but will still be right up there in time…

Peter_Chiu · January 18, 2019, 3:49pm

Anthony forget to send us down some of his Greenlip Abalone to Tassie so we had to settle for an outstanding meal at Hobart’s Me Wah restaurant. Greg was our generous host and the exploration of Malconsorts our mission.

1996 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut: This has great acid line and so much complexity. There’s bread, chalk, biscuits, citrus and red fruits. It is full, beautifully balanced and proportioned and so fine and long.

1998 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut: The consensus at the table was that this just nudged out the excellent ’96 Cristal, it is splendid Champagne. There’s some lemon, peach, toast and spice. It has tremendous acid drive and is rich and powerful with a high degree of finesse and elegance. It builds and builds, finishing with a crescendo of chalk and citrus.

2014 Domaine Fabien Coche Bâtard-Montrachet, Grand Cru: Has a banana esther character on the nose. It is a little tropical and has some candied fruit notes. It is full and rich with a fresh finish.

2014 Blain-Gagnard Bâtard-Montrachet, Grand Cru: There’s a hint of spicy oak to the aroma along with a wisp of smoke and pure white peach fruit. It is rich and textured with a suggestion of fig fruit to the flavour profile. The finish is long and minerally.

2014 Domaine Jean Chartron Bâtard-Montrachet, Grand Cru: Rich, dense and sappy with a core of explosive peach fruit. Great line and drive. Outstanding depth and a wine that is a kinetic ball of vinous potential. Should be brilliant in a few years.

2014 Domaine Jomain Bâtard-Montrachet, Grand Cru: Richly fruited and possesses plenty of aniseed and fennel aromas and flavours. It is layered in the mouth and the finish is long and cool. Quite delicious.

1995 Sylvain Cathiard Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts: There a slight mushroomy/mouldy quality to the nose (perhaps from the cork). It has bright pomegranate fruit, plenty of mineral and some Asian spice. It is a little lean through the mid-palate.
1999 Domaine Thomas-Moillard Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts: Looked 30 years older. Had loads of V.A and aldehyde. There was some vinous sweetness and some tart mineral. Very disappointing.

Merci…

2002 Domaine Francois Lamarche Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts: Red berry and spice a plenty. Good detail, relatively compact. Quite lovely.

2006 Sylvain Cathiard Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts: Complex aromatics of Chinese 5 spice powder, red berries and freshly grated ginger. It is a generous wine with a sweet core of berries and cherries. It has great flesh and is supremely youthful. Balance is exquisite.

2009 Maison Albert Bichot Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts Domaine du Clos Frantin: Deep colour and plenty of ripe sweet fruit on the nose and in the mouth. There’s a core of mineral buried beneath the flesh. Excellent density, concentration and length.

2009 Domaine de Montille Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts: A fabulous nose of Hosin, sandalwood, rose petals and cherries. Silky in the mouth with excellent detail and a finish that really fans out. Supreme elegance here.

2009 Domaine Dujac Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts: There’s a whiff of vitamin B to the aroma along with decaying rose, violets and cherries. It is fine, sweet, detailed and quite lovely. A harmonious wine of good character.

2009 Sylvain Cathiard Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts: This has a core of sweet, jube-like fruit. There’s plenty of spice and good flesh and depth. It finishes with crunchy cherry notes and is silky and long.

2011 Maison Albert Bichot Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts Domaine du Clos Frantin: A cool wine with plenty of mineral and dried flower action. There’s sweet cherry fruit and it has good balance and finesse and shows excellent persistence.

2011 Domaine Dujac Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts: The nose is quite spicy and there are sweet cherry and plum fruits a plenty. It breathes to show the scent of rose petals. It is very fine and lacy and delicate flavours fan out on the finish.

2010 Domaine de Montille Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts Christiane: Complex aromas of freshly grated ginger, red currant, rose petal, flint and smoke. The palate has brilliant definition and oozes minerality. It is a wine that builds and has the peacock’s tale of delicious flavours. Really good.

2001 Château Coutet Cuvée Madame: Enticing aromas of mandarin, honey, coconut and apricot. It is so deep, luscious and sweet yet never feels heavy. This luscious nectar fills every crevice of the mouth, hitting it with exotic flavours. Length is outstanding.

Merci,for the TNs on Albert Bichot

Gerhard_P · January 18, 2019, 4:23pm

These prices are made by the (US?) market - the wine is MUCH lower off domaine, although not really “cheap” …
sure I wouldn´t buy it for 1000, not even for half of that.

paul_hanna · January 19, 2019, 2:20am

Cathiard apparently increased their '17 pricing by about 30%, but yes, another typical high end producer where the wine is way cheaper ex Domaine than when it ends up landed (and wine taxes in Aus. are very high, and we are weak against the Euro, so…).