NV Jérôme Prévost Champagne La Closerie Extra Brut Les Beguines- France, Champagne
LC13. This wine is always a treat (thanks again, Charles!). It was a little grumpy today, with the nose quite reticent, though there were definitely all those nice Selosse-y elements on the palate: baked bread, stewed apples, nuts. The palate seemed a touch grassy today, and I picked up a nice bit of chalkiness on the finish. Not the most expressive showing, but I’ll never turn down Prevost. (93 pts.)
1997 Vincent Couche Champagne Sensation- France, Champagne
50% pinot noir, 50% chardonnay. 8 g/L dosage, disgorged October 15, 2014. Yeah, this isn’t my style of Champagne. It’s super round and a total umami-bomb, and there’s none of that taut acidic tension that I love (granted, it’s not that the acids are low here, it’s that the tension isn’t there). There’s so much autolysis here. Pol Roger’s got nothing on this. Really, really opulent, large-scaled, and to me, more than a little cloying. It’s not the zero-dosage stuff that’s hipster anymore (that’s so over). This style of champagne, like they made a long, long time ago, is the real hipster deal. (83 pts.)
2014 Zilliken (Forstmeister Geltz) Saarburger Rausch Riesling Kabinett- Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer #05-15, 7.5% abv. Holy cow. This is amazing young Kabinett. I bought this at Salil’s insistence, but it’s clear that I’m much more enthusiastic about this bottling than he is. Pineapple, white peaches, and super potent acidity, while at the same time holding a nice roundness that prevents this from becoming an acid bomb. It certainly doesn’t suffer from any Prädikat creep – this is sinewy and lean riesling. One of the best 2014s I’ve tasted so far, and a very convincing young Kabinett indeed. (95 pts.)
2009 Nicolas Joly Savennières Roche aux Moines Clos de la Bergerie- France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières Roche aux Moines
Served blind. Thick and oxidative, with a real dose of funky animale, and a really dark golden colour had me thinking some sort of weird wine to start. The palate shows lots and lots of neutral oak, and while there’s acidity, it’s all hidden behind a goopy, oily texture that I don’t particularly enjoy. I guessed chenin based on all this weirdness, but thought it was probably ten years older than it actually was. Well, turns out it was Joly, whose wines basically taste ten years older than the vintage on the label anyway. I’ve never been able to understand this stuff. (80 pts.)
1996 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Roncières- France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
Double decanted an hour before dinner. This shows quite austere and stemmy at first, but air allows a very nice floral perfume to blossom. Despite being Nuits, there’s a really nice airy elegance to this wine, and the rusticity of this seem to have played well with the leaner vintage. I’m not a huge fan of 1996, but I found this wine to be quite well-balanced. Without a doubt, time will be a friend to this wine. (90 pts.)
2000 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Roncières- France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
Double decanted an hour before dinner. From the Chevillons tonight, I’d say that this was my favourite. It’s drinking marvelously well right now, although perhaps it’s just a little bit too giving. Cheerful red fruit, with not so much leanness as the 1996 or the 2001. There’s a touch more ripeness here that makes this much more accessible, and indeed, this was pretty much roaring from the get-go. The stems are very subtle here, and they add a nice touch to the fruit. (90 pts.)
2001 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Roncières- France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
Double decanted an hour before dinner. This is perhaps showing even more stemmy and austere than the 1996. Certainly, air allowed this to blossom more, but it never really left that ornery phase. There were some really nice red fruits on the palate, but this was mostly a very dense wine that was hard to read. That said, all the right elements were still there: fruit, acid, earth, tannins. It just needs to all loosen up a bit. (88 pts.)
2006 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Roncières- France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
Double decanted an hour before dinner. This was surprisingly also quite open and ready for business, despite the relative youth of the wine. This showed the most ripe fruit, with that earthy beet tone that I’ve found in many 2006s: geosmin? If you overlook that (it might be a flaw to some, but I can tolerate it), you find a very nice and approachable bottle. I found this a little more polished than the older vintages (has the winemaking changed?), although there’s still plenty of rusticity to go around. (90 pts.)
2001 C. H. Berres Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Auslese- Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer #12-02, 9.5% abv. This had a really pronounced herbaceousness to the nose and palate. Although I’m not sure if I’d attribute it to being from the spice garden, there are some clear herbal elements here. The palate though is a little bit disappointing. It feels a little out of focus – I’d have expected the acidity to be much more prominent and bright here. And oddly enough, there’s a little bit of heat that pokes through the back end as well. (85 pts.)
Interesting notes, Adrian. I have often thought that Chevillon would be the kind of producer that would be great for either a vertical or a horizontal tasting, but for whatever reason, his Roncieres is not a vineyard I have in my cellar.
So was I, so I looked it up. Up to 25% whole cluster. Mind you, I’m not asserting some magical ability to detect stems (I’m pretty sure I have no idea what they taste like – I’ve found it in Fourrier, who I believe actually does destem 100%). Generally, the stems present more prominently to me in leaner years, which makes me think I’m actually tasting something else.
Everyone at the table agreed that the four Chevillons showed very true to the stereotypical vintage characteristics. Maybe it’s because we could read what was on the label, or maybe it’s because Chevillon is indeed a great traditional producer who doesn’t try to dress up the wines (I’d prefer to bet on the latter).
I often find a note that I might describe as “stemmy” in Burgundies from less ripe vintages. I usually avoid that word, though, because I also don’t think I know what actual stem inclusion tastes like.
I’m a Chevillon lover, but the two 2001s I’ve had were not particularly convincing, and I didn’t find them especially shut down, just a bit funny and angular. IMO Chevillon does best in warmer vintages.
I can’t recall ever running across problematic stem in a Chevillon, and I’ve had a lot of 'em.
I liked the 01 Berres more than Adrian did. I got a wintergreen kind of note that i often find in riesling and which i thought attractive. And i like a bit of herbal or medicinal character in wines - not green or underripe, but savory. But theres not doubt the Zilliken was the one that was really smoking. Quite apropos for the ‘Rausch’ of course…
Nice to get a report on Roncieres. Seems like everyone in my tasting group focuses on LSG, Cailles, and Vaucrains. (We did a horizontal/vertical a while ago of those three in 96, 99, 2002. Not sure that I don’t prefer Vaucrains, and sometimes Cailles to LSG).
I almost always prefer an aged Vaucrains to the LSG. A certain sauvage aspect I often find in Mazis-Chambertin (esp. chez Rousseau)…I love the combo of a sauvage wine and a finesse wine maker.
At Chevillon, I’d take any cru, maybe except for Bousselots…any time. Speaking of which, in trying to research the “stem” issue, i noticed that it is now called “Domaine Chevillon”, rather than Dom. Robert Chevillon. Since Robert retired around 2001…it was overdue for Bertrand and Denis to make a change, (with the 2011 or 2012 vintages) I guess. And, there is no other Chevillon domaine still around, it seems???
When I started out…I gound two of my favorite producers: Patrice Rion and Robert Chevillon by buying the wrong estate’s wines. For Rion, Zachy’s sold me another Rion’s wines advertised as Daniel (Patrice’s); Garnet sold me ‘83 LSG as “Domaine Chevillon”; it was Robert’s uncle, Georges’.
It seems that Bertrand says (to Bill Nanson) that they leave no stems whatsoever; older articles said they left some in. It could be saying the same thing…as sometimes, in hot, ripe vintages, they add back the ripe stems…and to a pigeage. The stems also help control fermentation temps. Not sure what the case is.
And, like at Rousseau, of course, everyone focuses on the big 3 at Chevillon…when the others can be really special. (I love the Pruliers in most vintages there.) Also, had a wonderful 2000 Chevillon Pinot-Gouges Nuits-Villages last weekend with barbecued brisket. It was lovely…and pineapply. I don’t consider it just a novelty…I really like the wine.
Was a set of tasting notes on CT, which in hindsight probably wasn’t the most reliable source. The KL website says 0% whole cluster but I see a reference in Coates that says a small amount. I didn’t pick up any in the 06. It’s possible there has been a regime change too?
FWIW, a note from late 2014 on the 1990 version of this wine.
10/14: Pop and pour with leftover pork roast, kabucha squash, yellow think haricots and celeri root remoulade…mmmm…with some soumaintrain, too.
. This wine is very very nice and showed even better the next am in the bottle. Delicious plump red fruits…and some choclately elements, too …lush…and nice long fruity finish. Amazing for age 24. The finish doesn’t quit and is delicious to behold. Wow.
. Quel surprise.
I remember John Gilman making a comment that Chevillon’s Roncières takes an extremely long time to mature and reach/approach it’s peak. Wish I could find where that was.
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