Went to the Howard Ripley tasting last night. I focused mainly on the reds and only dabbled in a few whites at the end. This tasting appeared to back up the hierachy ie the lower level wines I tasted were not showing well whereas some of the 1ers and most of the GCs showed much better. I was very rushed so these a very brief impressions:
-
Chambolle village wines from Hudelot-Noellat and Barthod were at worst astringent (H-N) and at best “classic” in the thin, somewhat under ripe sense.
-
The Vosne-Romanee village wines from Mugneret-Gibourg, Giroud and H-N were immediately more supple, ripe and elegant and the clavelier combe brulee a noticeable step up over the village wines but it was still something of a “so what” wine for me. The H-N Suchots showed nice balance and a more attractive palate but was still very much on the “classic” side.
-
The Fouriers across the board were excellent. The basic village gevrey was the best village wine for me (along with the arnoux NSG - see below) and the CSJ was fabulous - red fruits, violets, white chocolate and incredibly supple tannins with a finish like velvet.
-
The Pousse d’Or Volnays Clos de la Bousse d’Or and Clos des 60 Ouvrees were both classic, typical volnays with the 60 Ouvrees showing quite a bit more depth and worth the small extra cost.
-
NSG, Pommard and Gevrey seemed like the places to be. The Arnoux village NSG had a slightly medicinal streak to it but was still miles ahead of most other village wines. As usual, the M-G Chaignots was excellent, but with a redder fruit profile than typically is the case. The new regime Faiveley Damodes was very nice also. However, the star of the NSGs was the Mugnier Marechale - very open, floral and spicey.
-
The Pommard Epeneaux and Rugiens from Armand and Courcel, respectively, were surprisingly attractive at this stage, showing good depth and a meaty palate quality but with very supple tannins.
-
The Clos Vougeots from H-N and Grivot also showed surprisingly well. The H-N was earthy and spicey with very sweet (almost spatlese-like!) fruit. The Grivot was classicly structured, meaty and well framed - a real keeper.
-
The Echezeaux from M-G was smooth, supple, meaty and with good depth and a very long finish of red berries. The Faiveley version was very clean, pure and attractive but not showing GC depth for me.
-
Of the Chambertins, the Giroud Charmes was very elegant with a long, sustained finish. The Arnoux Latricieres was just a classic latricieres. Really excellent and with good ageing potential. However, the faiveley clos de beze was a further step up - seriously deep, meaty wine with classic structure but layers of great depth to explore. A wine to contemplate by the fireside for several hours.
I would expect that given the economic climate, the overall mixed reviews for the vintage and the hype already building around 09, I will be able to pick up most of the wines for less a few years down the road. The only wines I would consider buying now given the QPR would be:
- village level: the Fourrier Gevrey Chambertin and Arnoux NSG
- 1er cru: Fourrier CSJ, the Pousse d’Or Volnay Clos 60 Ouvrees and the Mugnier Clos de la Marechale.
- GC: Grivot CdVougeot, M-G Echezeaux and Faiveley Clos de Beze
Even most of these I would expect to be able to buy cheaper in the future.