TN: Champagne and white Burgs

NV Ulysse Collin Champagne Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Les Pierrières
Disgorged October 2012. This was insanely youthful. Pure raw dough notes on the nose with green almonds and hints of green apple after some time in the glass. Precise and focused on the palate but young and not giving much. Lively acids. I’d give this 3-5 years at least. Very good.

2005 Vincent Dauvissat Chablis 1er Cru La Forest
Classic Chablis. Airy nose of shellfish, lime and minerals with a touch of salted butter. I was expecting some exotic or riper fruits given other notes I’ve seen on this wine but this was all citrus, saline and minerals. Energetic acidity gives added verve to the already lively entry and mid palate but the acidity is slightly softer on the finish. Great Chablis typicity here, although it seems to defy the vintage characteristic for the most part. Drink or hold. Excellent.

2008 Domaine Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Vergers
Loads of lime on the nose with oak spice and white flowers. In the mouth this was beautiful and offered tension from entry to finish with white fruit and lime flavours. There’s great acidity, which along with the tension, balances perfectly with the polished and graceful mouthfeel. As this sat in the glass the lightest note of vanilla added more complexity to the nose. This showed more like a 2010 than a 2008. If you are worried about premox there’s no shame in drinking this now, but I would imagine this will develop into something even better 3-5 years from now. Excellent.

2008 Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Champ-Canet
This showed more ’08 typicity with riper fruits, but not exotic, along with soft lemon and a hint of spice. Fuller in the mouth but has plenty of acidity and energy to keep the riper profile in check. There was half a bottle left that I recorked and put into the fridge. Five days later I finished it and it hadn’t changed very much. A touch more exotic on the nose but other than that there wasn’t much else to report. It coats the entire palate yet there’s a beautiful level of refinement and liveliness that the best 08s seem to have. Like the Ramonet, there is nothing wrong with enjoying this now but a few more years should be rewarded. Excellent.

I loved the Collin Perrieres.
To me it tasted just like a fine Puligny Montrachet with bubbles

very accurate.

the way 05 vintage showed in the chablis wasnt the fruit flavour profile but a slightly (slight is key word) softer acid on finish.

very surprised (pleasently) by the sauzet.

ramonet is king. amazing chassagne. not all too familiar with cahracteristic of vergers but this wine showed more taut, lithe, ethereal notes than your typical chassagne.

I’ve had both the Ullysse Colin and the Sauzet within the past month. To me the Ulysses is pretty tight and structured and not that expressive at this time. It does have excellent acidity and mineral notes. It should show much better with a few years in the cellar. The Sauzet took some time to open up, but eventually was a very nice wine. If I open another soon, I’ll decant. This has the stuffing to age if it can avoid the pox.

Rasoul, good point about the (slightly) softer acidity on the finish of the Dauvissat. I remember now chatting about that last night but I forgot about it when I was writing up my notes this morning (now edited).

Roger, your experiences with the Ullysse Colin and Sauzet closely reflect mine.

Nice line-up Devin, thanks for the notes.

Don’t be afraid to try the 08 Ramonet ‘Ruchottes’ now, it is drinking very well.

Best Regards
Jeremy

I think Ramonet hit it out of the park with their '08s - the GCs especially. Thanks for the notes Devin!