Because it's cold outside, let's drink some Champagne!

Ok, it is a freaking minus 89 degrees outside (who says people from the South always exaggerate?), so you'd think we would be in the mood to drink some good Madiran and Brunello? Err, well no. We were, as always in seems somehow, in the mood for some good Champagne.
A few friends, a perfectly done brandade de morue to go along (my wife nailed the dish) and 4 champagne. Yup, life is good.

The wines were tasting blind 1st and then, as usual, enjoyed with dinner.



1998 Henriot Champagne Brut Millésimé
Elegant and subtle nose with some green olives, lemon and yeast. Lively with a nice balance of autolysis character and fruit. This particular bottle was not showing many tertiary aromas. Really nice to drink and true to the style of Henriot. I feel Henriot is somehow underrated.


N.V. Jose Dhondt Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut
Some candy like flavors on the nose with an oxidative character. It gives you the impression the wine was raised in barrels whereas only stainless steel is used here.
Barely bubbly, rich honey, round and rather flat.
I think the bottle might be off...

2002 Henri Goutorbe Champagne Special Club
Rich and powerful nose. I thought this was a blancs de noir.
Honeyed, some red berry fruits and white chocolate on the palate, it needs time for the acidity to finally show up. A nice light saltiness refresh the finish.
Definitely from a warm vintage but given some time in the bottle, this should show really well.
I'd love to try again in 10 years.
The 2002 is 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay. The wine was fermented in stainless steel and malolactic fermentation was blocked. Fruit is coming exclusively from Ay.



1996 R. & L. Legras Champagne Cuvée St. Vincent Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru
Lovely nose, mineral. Floral and plenty of citrus and pear. Leesy as well with white chocolate
High acidity and full of energy, this tastes really young. After having the 1990 twice, I can tell this is a cuvee that can age 20 years easy and benefits from it. This cuvee is made only in special years.




I'm still thirsty.....

Debauche a Morgon

About a month ago, Marcel Lapierre died. I never got the chance to meet him but all I read about him was the same: genuine and talented.
In his memory, we organised a little tasting of Morgon, one of the 10 Beaujolais Crus. Roasted chicken and home made oven French fries was on the table. This was a time to enjoy those Morgon, friends with simple rustic food.



2005 Marcel Lapierre Morgon
Lactic nose and palate.Quite peppery with nice strawberry. Floral (violets) and spicy (cinnamon).
Darker fruit than the 2007. Nice to drink.



2007 Marcel Lapierre Morgon Cuvée Mathieu
Could not find any info on that cuvee, named after his son.
More energy and acidity than the 2005. Plenty of floral notes on the nose as well as some herbs.
Drinking very well now.

2006 Louis Claude Desvignes Morgon Javernières
Nice balance and structure. Definitely darker than the Lapierre and Foillard.
Some coffee notes. Good grip on the finish.
Closed for the moment and needs time.



2007 Jean Foillard Morgon Cuvée Corcelette
From sandy soils. Red fruits, floral notes with strawberry. With air, it's "pinoting". A little darker on the finish. Good structure, soft, elegant and full of energy.
There's also a light steminess. Nice to compare this cuvee with the regular Cote du Py to see the influence of sandy soil vs schist.

2007 Jean Foillard Morgon Côte du Py
This is superb. A touch of licorice, nice mix of dark/red fruits with strawberry and blackberry. Great floral lift with violet. Pure with a Chambolle like texture. It's borderline Burgundy but still Beaujolais.

2006 Jean Foillard Morgon Côte du Py Cuvée 3.14
Very old vines (90 years) from Cote du Py. Raised exactly the same way as the other cuvees: 6 to 8 months in barrels (at least 2 years old) depending on the vintage.
Somehow hard to tell this is gamay but at the same time, this is a wine that is way too young. There's also an impression of new oak which is quite surprising since there's none ! Round, plums and cherry, impressive weight.
This needs serious time !

2009 Jean-Marc Burgaud Morgon Côte du Py Vieilles Vignes
Purple, somewhat jammy on the nose. Grapey, blood orange and a lot of dark fruit. Only fruit and a lot of it right now but at the same time I find it a little angular.
Not sure where this is going.


Plenty of good wines, genuine, authentic and without heavy extraction or trying to hide behind oak. Low SO2 on Lapierre and Foillard.

I loved the 2007s and it seems that they're drinking very well right now. Based on those ones and some of the previous bottles, they look to be for the short term drinking. But boy, are they delicious !

The only 2009 of this line up and well, typical from '09: a lot of fruit !! It will be interesting to see how they age. A 2009 JP Brun, L'Ancien at Boulud 2 months ago was also full of fruit but seemed enough underlying acidity to keep him balanced for a few years.

Also interesting, the obvious style differences of the winemakers with Lapierre keeping a fresh, red fruit profile, gouleyant Morgon, Foillard being maybe a little more elegant and depth and Desvignes showing much darker fruit than the 2.

But the most important thing is that in spite of the style impact of those winemakers, all the wines were showing a sense of place and their terroir.



A great night, thank you.