Now I just ordered some Beaujolais and Barbaresco!
JEAN FOILLARD - MORGON, COTE DU PY
YVON METRAS - FLEURIE
SOTTIMANO BARBARESCO - CURRA
What year Foillard did you pick up? I love that wine; Iāve heard that the '15s are quite big comparatively and as such may not be particularly ātypicalā but that '14s are quite representative. '11s and '09s are drinking amazingly right now if you can find some for an idea of how they mature.
I found a '14 and '15, I bought 3 of the '14ās so I am excited to try one when they come in!
Gee, you donāt waste any time! Did you recently run into an inheritance? Good way to start out though. Lots of good suggestions from people on board.
It seems that I cannot stop buying wine! Hopefully these will be to my liking!
Mongeard-Mugneret Vosne-RomanƩe 1er Cru Les Ormeaux 2014
Fontanafredda Barolo Serralunga dāAlba 2011
Capraio Brunello di Montalcino 2011
Hi Nick
I think you should be able to see clearly the reasons why some of us were saying ādonāt fill the cellar up too quicklyā. All too easy to buy stuff isnāt it!
regards
Ian
p.s. The Fontanafredda is typically lighter / earlier drinking, so thatās one Barolo where I wouldnāt stress the ageing too much, as it is often pretty approachable and Iāve yet to encounter one that was tight.
I agree with Alan and would not buy any 2004 red Burgs at this point without tasting them first.
Mongeard-Mugneret makes a style of Burgundy that can be tough when young but the wines age very well and are generally well priced.
Fools, fools, foolsā¦stick to what your drinkingā¦that French and Italian shit sucks and is over pricedā¦
Iād say since you have a few Iād drink a '14 in the somewhat short term to see if you like the style. The '14s Iāve heard are more like the '11s which have greatly rewarded some cellar time (to my palate), so if you like it, seek out an '11 or '09 for some ātime machineā action on what youāre in for and cellar (or donāt, if you prefer the younger wine) as you see fit.
I would say pick one region and explore that region for awhile to get a sense of it. I started with Bordeaux it is pretty easy compared to Burgundy. Taste right bank St.Emilion merlot dominant and then Medoc Cab dominant. Donāt feel you need to know everything in a short time. You have the rest of your life to explore and enjoy!
Scratch that just start buying as much crap as you can.
Fixed it.
Had a couple of thoughts in a totally different direction. Possible transition wines. Wines with a good bit of richness, but that are not over the top.
The first type of wine in this vein that I thought of is Bandol. Bandol is in Provence in Southern France and is mostly from Mourvedre. There are three producers of Bandol that I like. Of these three, my least favorite probably is Pibarnon, but I think it is probably the easiest one to start with because it is rich and not as complex. The two great producers of Bandol that I know about are Tempier and Chateau Pradeaux. Most people would likely put Tempier as their favorite, but I really like Pradeaux.
A second type of wine I put in this category is one I donāt really know that much about - Taurasi. I have only had this a couple of times, but I very much enjoyed the wines I have had. Taurasi is from Campania in Italy and the wine is made from a grape called Aglianico. The only two producers I have had are Mastroberardino and Cantine Lonardo. Cannot make generalizations, but I like the wines.
A third wine that I know even less about than Taurasi are wines from Mount Etna in Sicily. Here, I donāt even know the names. I have just taken the recommendations of Dean Gold at http://dinoinshaw.com/ a couple of times and liked what I tasted. Rich, but a bit earthy, which gives the wine some complexity. I wish I was sure about the name of a producer, but I think one is Calabretta.
That was kind of my thought as well on the '14, Im hoping I like it since I bought a couple!
It is very easy to buy stuff! I wanted to buy some from a few different regions and try them over the next few months!
I think I will open the Fontanafredda this weekend! It will be my first barolo, so it should be fun!
I got it at Costco, for what I thought was a decent price! But it sounds like I should hang on to them for a bit though.
Itās a nice wine.
I sort of think a little more systematic approach would be to find one medium priced producer in each region youāre interested in that is pretty characteristic and purchase 1-2 bottles of those wines.
Iāll start a short list with some of the French wines; Iām sure others will chime in:
Northern Rhone:
Cornas: Alain Voge VV
St. Joseph: Faury VV, chave, gonon VV, Voge Vinsonnes
Hermitage: Colombier, Chapoutier Sizeranne, cheaper Chave or Jaboulet in lesser (read accessible more early) vintages
Cote Rotie: Guigal Ampuis, Rostaing Ampodium
Beaujolais: Lapierre Morgon, the two you have are great too.
CDP: Beaucastel, Vieux Telegraphe, or Clos de Papes
Cote dā Beaune red: Ramonet 1er Cru rouge
Volnay: Dāangerville Clos de Angles
NSG: Chauvenet 1er crus, Gouges 1er crus
MSD: Dujac and Fourrier MSD villages
VR: mongeard-mugernet VR and 1er
Hereās just a few.
Did you buy one bottle or more? If you bought several, try one and put the rest away. In fact, buying a few bottles of each wine you are trying makes sense. You are now exploring wines that really change with age. There are certainly wines like that in California (Chateau Montelena, Ridge, Mayacamas, Stony Hill, Mt Eden, Heitz, Dunn, for example), but a lot of wines are as good as they are going to get when you buy them, even many expensive ones. When you are buying good Bordeaux or Burgundy or Barolo, etc., a lot of what you are paying for is the changes that will happen to the wines slowly over time. Wines that taste bitter and harsh at 3 years old can become magical at 15 years old. A big part of the learning process is the see these changes for yourself. One way to do that is to buy wines from various vintages and try say a 2014, a 2010, a 2006 and a 2001 or 2002. Another way is to buy several bottles of a 2014 and open one every 3 or 4 years. As I said, there is nothing wrong with Mongeard-Mugneret as a producer. The wines tend to be more powerful for a Burgundy and less elegant, but they are for a very long time and generally turn out well. And, they generally are good values. Many of the best values in Burgundy are in wines that start out tough and less seductive, but that turn from ugly ducklings to swans over time in bottle.
I think some of Michaelās choices, while producers who are excellent, are again guys whose wines need time. For example, dāAngerville is a truly great producer, one who along with Lafarge, is the best producer in Volnay. But, if you are going to drink the wines young, I generally would rather have wines from Bouchard or Pousse dāOr.
And, Gouges is another producer whose wines generally need time. Nevertheless, these are really quality producers (not as familiar with Chauvenet).
Look for values in Burgundy - wines like Pousse dāOr Santenays or Beaunes from Jadot or Bouchard.