This dinner followed the very informative tasting of 2009 Roche de Bellene wines in the evening. The wines were a mix of old favourites from Nicolas Potel’s old range before he left his eponymous outfit to work with Domaine de Bellene (where he owns the vines) and Roche de Bellene, which is his negociant arm.
MEURSAULT 1er
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2008 Maison Roche De Bellene Meursault 1er Cru Genevrières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
I thought this was really good. Lovely nose showed typical Meursault cream notes, along with ripe lemon and white fruit scents and a lovely floral touch that is so Genevrieres. The palate had lovely balance, again a slight touch of white cream, and a whole lot of white fruits and lemons with just a whiff of smoke hanging around. Very open, very giving, yet with a nice sense of structure and extract wed to some lovely definition. A really nice wine. (92 pts.) -
2008 Maison Roche De Bellene Meursault 1er Cru Perrières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Excellent. As good as the Genvrieres was, this was even better. Much more subtle on the nose, this had lots of mineral, some flint, some more saline seashelly notes, with some gentle white fruit scents lapping up underneath. The palate had lovely depth, with rich Meursault fruit, mostly white fruit with some ripeness, alsmot shading into yellow-fruit territory. Again, subtle flavours, but all very layered, complex, and really well integrated and balanced all the way into long minerally finish where a dollop of cream was spread onto the palate. Gorgeous stuff. Still gave the impression of being tight, but there was so much packaged in there. Should be a brilliant wine in 2-3 years’ time. (93 pts.)
CORTON-CHARLIE
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2008 Maison Roche De Bellene Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
Not the best Corton one will ever try, but I thought this was a very nice wine in its own right. Very tight on the nose, it showed a little vanillin, some chalky scents and lots of slatey mineral along with just that little hint of honey. It was the palate that showed the strength of the wine though. Really nice balance, with lots of acid on the attack, and then well-defined mid-palate with ripe lemons and some light honey tones. Lacking some weight for a Grand Cru, but it has a nice refreshing feel and a good sense of focus and directions. The minerally on the nose reasserted itself on mid-length finish, which came across just a touch disjointed with the acid sticking out a little. I think this will improve with time. A nice wine. Many people preferred the 2005 Potel Corton-Charlie on the same flight, but I thought this shaded it somewhat. (92 pts.) -
2005 Nicolas Potel Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
A pretty good wine, but this one certainly has shades of high-end new world Chardonnay on it. Nose was very expressive - lots of mineral, chalk, yellow fruits and white peach. Shockingly forward, and rather fruity. As would be expected, the palate showed plenty of richness, with ripe, sweetish white fruit, some slightly tropical pineapples, a touch of honey and a little savoury earthiness moving into the finish. Plenty of power and a good deal more weigh than the 2008 Corton-Charlie drank alongside. However, while that wine showed a nice balance and definition, this came across a bit slovenly, almost fat towards the finish, while the acidity was dialed down a notch. If blinded, I might have thought that this was a very good Californian. Might get better when it integrates further. (91 pts.)
BEAUNE 1er
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2007 Domaine de Bellene Beaune 1er Cru Teurons Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Beaune 1er Cru
On to a pair of Domaine owned Beaune 1er Cru plots then, and both were good. This wine had a classic Beaune profile. Very earthy, with red fruit scents, strawberries, raspberries, and some funk and wet soil at the edges. Palate showed plenty of spice, more of the petit fruites rouge that I got on the nose, some flowers and more earthiness. The finish showed a little bittersweet stemminess, but I thought it added interest rather than being off-putting. What I really liked was the bright acidity and really clean to the wine. It may not be as compleete as the Pertuisots that followed it, but this was a very fresh, light, friendly wine. A nice drink. (90 pts.) -
2007 Domaine de Bellene Beaune 1er Cru Pertuisots - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Beaune 1er Cru
I was very impressed by this. A delicious wine, and quite ready for drinking too. Like its sister on the same flight, this showed a very nice Beaune nose of wet earth, a little funk and really nice strawberries and raspberries. A bit gentler on the funk and more expressive on the red fruit then with the previous wine. The palate was bright, fresh and completely open for business, with delicious fresh red fruited strawberry notes, all very clean adn transparent, and with noticeably more depth and roundness than the Teurons. A nice finish that showed more cherries and strawberry notes closed the wine out. Very yummy, very complete little package. I really liked this. (92 pts.)
GEVREY 1er
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2002 Nicolas Potel Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux St. Jacques - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
Pretty good. The dinner started getting a little rushed by this time, and this flight of two Gevrey 1er Crus threatened to be sipped and tipped as the two Grand Crus were lurking. Pity, because I thought this wine needed a little bit of time to appreciate, especially coming as it did before the more immediately pleasing Combe aux Moines. The nose was quite typical Lavaux, with its savoury earth and meat scents, alongside spice notes, dusky red fruits and dark cherry notes. The palate had more of that meatines forming a base for some rather snappy cherry and plum flavours. Nice 2002 fruit here, with its pleasantly dark edge and abundance of strength. Firmish tannins and fresh balance added to the mix, making this a pretty nice wine. (91 pts.) -
2002 Nicolas Potel Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Combes aux Moines - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
I actually liked this quite a bit. The nose had a whiff of Epoisses at first, but that blew down a little to show earth, dark cherries and some meat. Very nice, very Gevrey. The palate was fresh, open and yummy. A bit simple in its delicious but straightforward raspberry and bluberry notes sprinkled with a bit of spice on the finish. However, this was impeccably balanced, nicely rounded and a real pleasure to drink. (91 pts.)
CHAMBERTIN / BEZE
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2004 Nicolas Potel Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin Grand Cru
From magnum. No mistaking this for anything but a 2004 with its share of green-meanies, but it was a very good wine nonetheless. Nose started out with herby ginseng and angelica root at the fore, but concentrate and one gets really nice red fruit and a little earth beneath that. Quite pretty really, with the herbal notes actually lending to a sense of complexity rather than subtracting from the bouquet’s attractivness. The palate showed lovely balance. Nice depth of red fruited cherries was wed to some fresh acidity, making for a very delicious wine. It is so easy to get caught up with the greenness that one forgets the nice fruit and balance 2004 can give. Still very young obviously, but there were nice earth and spice notes layered alongside the fruit as the wine traced its way into a elegantly long finish where just a touch more herb, root and rubber emerged alongside a little strem of minerality. Very nice, and I think it will get better with time assuming the green-meanies do not envelop the better qualities of the wine. (93 pts.) -
2004 Nicolas Potel Chambertin-Clos de Bèze - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru
An excellent wine. I loved this when I tried it three years back, but it does not seem to improved from there unfortunately. Still though, there is much to savour. It still has a great nose. Deep dark cherry scents, earth, spice, flowers. This time though, these more aromatic characteristics were accompanied by a dose of 2004 green-meanies, with herbal accents of gingseng and angelica root peppering the bouquet. Like the Chambertin that preceded it, I felt that this was in a very tolerable amount still, adding complexity rather than detracting from the nose. The palate had lots of stuffing and still showed a lot of coiled up youth. Still, I enjoyed it a lot. Here, fresh acid and tine, velvety tannins formed the frame for rich flavours of dark cherries, earth, spice and flowers. Plenty of power in the way these flavours unfolded across the mouth, but the wine had such superb balance that it displayed an elegance that belied its weight. Very Clos de Beze in that sense. Towards the finish, I felt that this wine had the green-meanies under even better control than the Chambertin, with some nice mushroom flavours and a wafting spiciness nestling amidst a little rubber lilt. Very fresh, very delicious, with not a hint of herbal essence lurking around yet. An excellent wine - this was the stand-out for me amongst all the wines at dinner. (94 pts.)
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