Domaine de la Bongran- Jean Thévenet: It does not get any better in Clessé

Domaine de la Bongran consists of 15 hectares spread throughout the foot of the Quintaine hills in the Mâconnais. The name of the area "Bongran" originally comes from "bongrain" (a wine with good origins comes from a good grain).
In Quintaine, the terroir is composed of Oxonian marl and middle and superior Bathonian limestone which at one time was the good fortune of stone cutters for centuries.
The grapes are harvested manually when they are very ripe and, if possible, at the point where they have been affected by noble rot.
The over ripe grapes arrive at the domaine where they are slowly pressed in a pneumatic press. After the must has settled, the juice is transferred to stainless steel tanks or oak barrels where fermentation is initiated slowly with indigenous yeast, finishing 6 to 24 months later.
The wines are bottled before being tasted after ageing for at least several months and sometimes up to 20 years.

Jean Thévenet and his son Gautier are simply making outstanding Viré-Clessé, respecting the tradition of sometimes having a touch of residual sugar. Amazing texture, perfect balance and a capability of ageing for 20 years, nobody, in my opinion, is doing better wine in the area.

This leads to the 1995 Domaine de la Bongran, Cuvée EJ Thevenet Tradition. At the time, the official AOC was just Clessé and became Viré-Clessé in 2002.
Cool golden color. The nose is so inviting and complex: spiced honey, ginger, mango and obvious mineral notes. There is a little bit of residual sugar but this is balanced thanks to the high acidity. More lemon on the palate with a very long nutty finish.
This Clessé after 15 years is so fresh, this is really impressive.

A wine you could drink all day long....

A few days of decadence

Finally escaping Chicago's heat for a few days, we headed to the Hamptons and NY to visit some friends.
Lot of fun and great company and on top of that great wines !

First gem was a magnificent 1999 Philipponnat Clos des Goisses Rosé. I believe 1999 was the 1st ever vintage for the rosé. Coming from a chalk soil, this is the lightest rosé I have ever seen colorwise. It barely have any pinkish hue. Brine, see breeze, almond with subtle red fruits. It is very elegant and intense on the palate at the same time. A great Champagne, still a little young in my opinion.
Then a battle of syrah and shiraz followed. The 1999 Côte Rôtie La Mouline and 1999 Côte Rôtie La Turque battled agains a 1994 Penfolds Grange. Ok, ok, for purist it is a battle of Shirah/Viognier against Shiraz/Cabernet.
Well, at least for me, it was not even close....While I thought the Grange showed a nice balance and interesting complexity but a little too ripe. On the other hand, La Mouline opened faster than the Turque (more viognier in the Mouline) but after 2 hours, La Turque won me over with nice bacon fat notes and a finish which lasted almost 3mn. Very impressive and it was nice to see the oak was already digested even if La Turque showed some hint of new oak for the first 30mn.



Next day, the honors were reserved for Bordeaux. A nice, austere and structured 1982 Lynch Bages opened the dinner. I really enjoy their style, never over the top. I was skeptic about the 2000 Cos d'Estournel which followed. But from the very 1st sip, I loved the Asian spices and smoky notes. Pure fruit with very good acidity, especially for 2000, it's slowly entering its drinking window.

We finished with a great 1990 Domaine des Baumard, Quarts de Chaume. It was an explosion of honey, orchard fruit backed up by terrific acidity. Very good wine.



Thanks God the cold I caught was only after all this drinking...!

Great friends, great wines in a beautiful place....Perfect weekend !

A young Vosne ready to rock you

About 2 weeks ago we decided to open a 2004 Meo Camuzet Vosne, Les Chaumes for a dinner with friends.

Les Chaumes, a 1er Cru, is located at the foot of La Tâche and Les Malconsorts, in a slightly deeper clay soil. Vines were planted in the late 50s and 70s. With its classic eastward orientation and good supply of water, it is a fairly solar vineyard which cannot be considered as a late ripener.

According to Jean-Nicolas Meo, this climat shows well even young thanks to its finesse. There's no need to worry about finesse, and in this case, the vinification requires a little more extraction in order to push the wine to its limits. The cap will be broken up more often and the vatting temperatures will be a little higher.

I was super excited to try this Vosne as I'm a big fan of Meo's wines even though sometimes I wish they would lower the amount of wood.

The wine offers a stunning nose which is screaming Vosne. Tobacco, spice, red fruits, floral with the slightest touch of oak.
This was really drinking well, even though the last drops the next day (still don't know how we managed to save half a glass!) had shut down.
Very good ripeness, elegant and med+ acidity, it's pure silk on your palate and the finish is very impressive.
A beautiful Vosne which I think will improve over the next few years.

Interestingly enough, Jean-Nicolas adds that Les Chaumes gives you a pretty good idea of the vintage. I would agree completely here. Even though this 2004 vintage has been (ridiculously) criticized and hammered like hell in the US because of what idiots call 'mean greenies", all the 04 I had showed a nice balance and fruit. Is it the best vintage ever? Certainly not but again only idiots want the same wine year after year...

Finally a good 2007 Chateauneuf !

While I have obviously not tasted every 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape, the several ones I tried left me wondering. Wondering what the winemakers were trying to achieve, beside getting 12583 points from Uncle Bobby. Indeed, over the top, over alcoholic, over everything to my taste, I think I can count on one hand the ones I liked (try Charvin, Vieux Donjon, Vieux Telegraphe).

Monpertuis is not a domain I was very familiar with so I was intrigued and impatient to try this baby. Even more that Philippe Cambie, the Michel Rolland of Chateauneuf, have been consulting for them since 2000. Did he push them to make more modern wines? riper and smoothier?

Well, you have to applaud such a good effort from Paul Jeune and his son Simon. The 2007 Monpertuis Chateauneuf Classique was beautiful, singing in Provencal all the way.

Grapes are coming from various terroirs: from sandy soils to rocky to calcareous and clay soils.
Using around 70% Grenache and from Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault and other varieties.
For this cuvée all the grapes are destemmed before fermentation in cement tanks.
The wine is then aged for a period in large foudres (50 to 70 hl) and barriques (225l) which are usually from 2 to 5 years old.

Obviously young, it is already balanced. Very fresh nose, especially for a 2007, with raspberry, strawberry and garrigue. A little darker fruits on the palate, it stays balanced. Never jammy, med acidity, this is very promising.Structured, firm tannins on the very long finish. Fruit forward right now, this should age very well. Bravo !

Don't read that post...or be ready to cry..!

Last weekend a friend brought a 1983 Domaine de Courcel Pommard Rugiens.
It was my 1st 1983 Burgundy and it was really interesting. From what I read, 1983 was really hot and difficult year, totally dismissed by american critics (what's new?).
This Rugiens was showing exactly like the vintage itself. Rich, sweet red fruits. Still alive even if the acidity is towards the low end. Rustic, a touch of iron and earthy but thanks to the sweet fruits and smooth tannins, this is a wine you could actually drink on itself, even after 27 years (I usually find old wines to be much better with food)! Of course, food completes the wine.


But actually what striked me the most was a little label in the back of the bottle. This tiny little red label with the price of this Rugiens...




Yes, $19.95....not even $20!

By the way, current 2007 release goes for $86....Go figure....

Jean Mâcle Côtes du Jura 2006

After having the 2005 not so long ago, we decided to open the 2006 this time, again with aged gouda.
This 2006 showed a perfect balance, pure silk on the palate. Seemed a little less oxidative and maybe less acidity than the 2005 but still with a nice nuttiness with spices and a super long finish.
Man, this is GOOD !!

Champagne Blind tasting

With temperatures approaching 100F, we all gathered home to taste blind some Champagne. Great tasting, fun night. And thanks God we did not choose Napa Cabs on a day like this.
Note: Flower day during the tasting.

A few generic info on Champagne: located very close to Paris (150Km)and spread over 5 departments: Marne (67%), Aube (22%), Aisne, Haute-Marne and la Seine-et-Marne.

We officially differentiate 4 main zones: Montagne de Reims, Vallée de la Marne, Côte des blancs, Côte des Bar.
17 villages are designated Grand Cru and 44 Premier Cru.

Before starting, we tried 2 wines, tasted double blind:

2007 Kanonkop Estate Pinotage (Stellenbosh, South Africa): Oaky and a touch of heat on the nose (as well as on the finish). Med tannins, soft. Ripe cherry, blackberry and plum. Spices.
Ok but too much oak and alcohol.
Initially thought an Aussie shiraz and then went for Argentinian malbec...
2006 Pierre-Marie Chermette Moulin-à-Vent Les Trois Roches: Purplish. Ripe fraise des bois, blueberry and cherry. A little candy like and extracted.
Correctly guessed Chermette, Moulin 2006 as this is a wine I had last Feb.
Not my cup of tea as I found it a little too extracted and fruit fwd.

Back to Champagne now:
We went through 2 flights, all tasted blind.

1st Flight


Varnier-Fanniere Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Cuvée St. Denis (Avize)

Wow...Very complex with interesting savory notes mixed with minerals.
Powerful, lots of depth, brioche and fresh dough with a long finish.
I though this was 100% PN and this is 100% Chard!...Vines are 65 years old and come from a single vineyard in Avize called “le Clos du Grand Père”. A spectacular champagne for the price.
Disgorged 9/5/2007

L. Aubry Fils Champagne Brut 1er Cru (Petite Montagne de Reims)

Oxidative style, hint of butter and truffles on the nose. Very yeasty and lemon notes, the finish is a little heavy. Not bad but I'd like to see more acidity.
Disgorged Dec 2009.
Meunier 60%, Pinot noir 20%, Chardonnay 20%.

Billiot Fils Champagne Brut Réserve (Ambonnay)

Initially tight, it really blossomed with air.
Although this cuvee do not see any oak, you have the impression of a little bit of oak on the nose. Then some lemon and green apple, yeast. Round and vinous but very good acidity, light coffee and brioche notes.
Disgorged June 24th 2009.
Needs a 2-3 years to come around.

2nd Flight


2000 Drappier Champagne Grande Sendrée (Cote des Bar)

Tight but with a lot of substance underneath. Light oak, powerful and full body, this clearly needs time.
I had many different vintages of the Grande Sendree, but never that young, and this will only gain complexity and depth with more years.

2000 Marguet Père et Fils Champagne Grand Cru Brut (Ambonnay)

Man, talk about an interesting nose: tabasco, cheese cracker, butter. Big.
Oxidative style, opulent palate. Majority of PN.
Not really my style as this is too big and no zip.

N.V. Pierre Peters Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut Cuvée de Réserve (Le Mesnil Sur Oger)

Well unfortunately this bottle was probably off. A few people among us already had several times this champagne and none of us recognised it. No Mesnil character, very fruit forward, smoky, it lacks the depth and elegance that Pierre Peters always have.

Overall a very good champagne tasting with different styles among them. I'm really bummed about the Peters which is one of my favorite.
A very good surprise with the Varnier-Fanniere, a really complex NV champagne at a very good price.
Quite a few champagne with an oxidative style. I remember listening to Selosse saying that this is old school champagne, like they were doing 100 years ago. This is to have good acidity and fruit to absorb the oak.
Also, interesting to note that, as my wife said, that among those champagnes, none were showing floral and mineral notes (although we had wines from Avize and Le Mesnil).