Comte Abbatucci, another Corsican gem.

Jean-Charles Abbatucci is the winemaker for the Comte Abbatucci domain. Located in the southern part of Corsica in the Taravo valley, the domain is spreading over 18 ha with a lot of granitic soils.



At an altitude of 100m, the varietals are typical for the region: Vermentino, Sciacarello and Nielluccio plus a few other obscure varietals (Barbarossa..).
Since 2000, the domain is in a biodynamic farming mode. No machine harvest here and only native yeasts are used. Just like Barral, animals are living in the vineyards. Here, ewes are at home during the winter.
Wines are made in 3 all colors: red, white and rosé. Kermit Lynch decided recently to import the wine (only the white so far I believe) and I'm thankful for that !

The white cuvée Faustine (AOC Ajaccio) comes from an old parcel, 40 years old, of vermentino. Yield is only 25 hl/ha and the grapes is picked only in the morning and pressed immediately after to keep its freshness. No barrel is used here, only stainless steel tanks.
The 2009 Faustine is an outstanding wine. It shows superb aromatics and is fresh and vibrant. Citrus and honeydew with some white flowers and a touch of flint. Rich but with very good acidity. Focused. A hint of anise on the palate. I'm just surprised by the energy of this wine.
This is simply the best vermentino I ever had, so far.

Languedoc is full of surprises

Theme for our blind tasting tonight was Languedoc. A vast area with plenty of different AOP, soils and varietals. It was pretty difficult to identify with certainty a Corbieres from a Minervois or a Languedoc from a St Chinian. Anyway, a very good lineup paired with oven cooked hanger steak and eggplant flan.
A lot is happening is Languedoc, maybe because the price of the land is not crazy yet allowing young or new winemakers to settle there. Also, a lot of natural winemakers found a home in those regions.
10 main areas for this vast production land:

-Languedoc (from 2008)
-Coteaux du Languedoc (includes Pic St Loup)
-Picpoul du Pinet (white only)
-St Chinian
-Faugeres
-Minervois
-Fitou
-Corbieres
-Muscat de St Jean de Minervois and Muscat de Lunel
-And of course many Vin de Pays/Vin de table

2008 Domaine Léon Barral Vin de Pays de l'Hérault - Vin de Pays de l'Hérault
Golden color, cloudy. Incredibly complex nose. You would think the wine is sweet based on the nose but not at all.
There's so much going on. Floral, apricot, perfume, basil, honey, rose, hint of salt.. I could write a book of aromas. Palate is round with a low acidity but completely balanced and not heavy. Very long finish.
Overall a very surprising and delicious wine meant for food. WOW. Total natural, no SO2 added during vinification or bottling.

2008 Le Petit Domaine de Gimios Vin de Table Rouge de Causse - Vin de Table
Natural wine, vinified without sulfur. Impressive complexity on the nose with aromas which are quite unusual. Grand-ma powder like at first, then it was an explosion of dried herbs, oregano and Worcestershire sauce. Salty tang with also some paprika. High acidity, fresh. Some barnyard notes as well.
I loved this wine but this is a wine that I think you either like or don't, no middle ground. Impressive freshness for the region. Anoter natural wine from the Minervois region.

2009 Château Saint-Baulery Saint-Chinian - Saint-Chinian
Dark cherry core, almost opaque. Lactic nose which did not change with time. A lot of fruit, borderline jammy.
Very simple, soft. Overall boring, too forward and a little too ripe. The grenache showed a lot.
40% Carignan, 30% Syrah and 30% Grenache.

2007 Château Grande Cassagne Costières-de-Nîmes "G.S." - Costières-de-Nîmes
A lot of blackberry and herbs on the nose. Then more plum and hint of ripe strawberry. Overall, it shows a dark profile, low acidity and smooth tannins. It was a little more balanced than the Baulery but still too ripe, flabby and boring.
A shocker when the wine was revealed. We loved the 06 which was all about red fruits, balance and an underlying acidity. The warmth of '07 completely, in my opinion, ruined this wine.




1992 Mas de Daumas Gassac Vin de Pays de l'Hérault -Vin de Pays de l'Hérault
Mature Bordeaux like nose. Smoky, cedar and cassis. Developing in the glass and showing more tobacco and a hint of redcurrant. Med body at best, the finish kicks back and is long.
A light and somewhat austere version of Gassac, very good with food and still very much alive.




2007 Domaine Faillenc Sainte-Marie Corbières - Corbières
Interesting nose of dirty socks with plenty of cassis as well.
The palate is also showing plenty of cassis with a slightly grainy texture. Tight at first, it needed time to open. Nice and surprising acidity when the vintage was revealed.
Tremendous value at that price.





2001 Prieuré Saint-Jean de Bébian Coteaux du Languedoc - Coteaux du Languedoc
Pretty consistent with the previous bottle. Big nose. Oak and dark fruit. Again too much oak for my taste on the palate. Full body. With air, some meaty and olives notes appear but the creamy texture along with the oak bother me. Definitely modern.




2007 Domaine Léon Barral Faugères - Faugères
Garrigue with olive notes on the nose with a lot of licorice, fennel and fruit, dark cherry and plummy. Tobacco and leather comes along with air.
I had the chance to follow the evolution of the wine over 3 days and the last day was without a doubt the best for this Faugeres. The touch of heat had disappeared and the wine showed much more balance, complexity and depth. Still, it always showcased Barral's usual purity. Good acidity.
A very good wine which needs a few years.
50 % carignan, 40 % grenache, 10 % cinsault grown on schistes. Only cement and stainless tanks.




2004 Mas Jullien Coteaux du Languedoc - Coteaux du Languedoc
This wine fooled me as I thought it was a cab blend when in fact it is carignan, syrah and mourvèdre. Smoky nose with cedar and light oak. Blackberry and cassis notes with a very light floral lift.
Tight and shy, hard to evaluate. On the 2nd day, the wine showed too much oak to finally calm down on the 4th day and become more interesting and civilised. Still, it was always balanced with a good acidity.
I have no doubt the oak will integrate and this is a wine which will be very good in 7-8 years. Olivier Jullien is a talented winemaker on the terrasses du Larzac and his wines, both whites and reds, demand patience.


Languedoc has gone a long way since the 50s-60s when many producers from other areas where using grapes form this region to add color and alcohol to their wines. Countless winemakers are now working consciously and express the different terroirs.

Serious Mondeuse

Enologist, Jean-Yves Péron started his little domain in 2004 in Chevaline in Savoie, just a few mile south of the Lac d'Annecy. After 7 years now, the domain consists of 2ha in total including 1.5 ha of mondeuse and the rest being the typical white varietals of Savoie (jacquère, altesse and roussanne).

Jean-Yves who worked and learned with Thierry Allemand has a very natural approach towards winemaking. Minimal sulfur is used (inferior to 2mg). The 2005 Côte Pelée is a special selection of very old mondeuse vines, some of them over 100 years old. Interesting to note the appelation, Vin de Pays d'Allobrogie. This was a 1st for me and had never heard of this AOP before. While this was a little early to open this wine (yes, not all the wines from Savoie are meant to be drunk within a year after skiing), I could not resist. This was superb. Lovely nose, barnyardy with violets. Plenty of pure dark red fruits with a hint of green olives. Balanced, with a medium body with a slightly grainy texture, lacking a little on the mid palate at first, it then develops nicely in the glass. Red cherry with some blackberry as well. High acidity, some tannins on the finish. Really a lovely wine.
It was crazy how this was reminding me of a syrah. I closed my eyes and found myself in Cornas, with maybe more acidity than in the Northen Rhone. Well, not really a surprise since apparently the Mondeuse is the grand mother of syrah !
Anyway, syrah or not, go out and try Jean-Yves wines.

A transparent Chablis

Alice and Olivier de Moor are both enologists from the enological school in Dijon. While still working for another estate, they began replanting plots in Chablis (Bel Air, Clardy and Rosette). It was not until 1994 that they produced their first wines (a ridiculous small amount). They tried
and experimented a lot at the beginning . They have now been working their vines organically since 2005.
Only indigenous yeasts are used and there is no SO2 used at harvest or during the vinification. The elevage is done in barrels of different ages for the Chablis.



Alice and Olivier went a little further in this 2008 Chablis, L'humeur du Temps. Indeed, there is absolutely no sulfur, not even during bottling. This Chablis is their entry level.
The wine, surprisingly had a lot of weight at first with a touch of butter both on the palate and nose. But then, after a few minutes, it is an explosion of minerality which cuts through the ripe fruit. This is a delicious Chablis, pure, full of lemony notes backed up by a tremendous minerality. Really good right now. A thirst wine.




You can only respect the work winemakers like Alice and Olivier de Moor when you drink a bottle like this.

2005 Dard & Ribo Crozes-Hermitage

René-Jean Dard and François Ribo started their winery back in 1984. They met at the Lycée Viticole de Beaune in Burgundy. From the start they worked in a natural way, using no or very little sulfur and no entrants. René-Jean Dard father, a winemaker as well, was already working this way so it seems natural for his son to follow the same philosophy even if they were told the opposite at school.
Located in Mercurol, they make Crozes-Hermitage, St Joseph and Hermitage in both colors.
Their Crozes-Hermitage red is made from plots located mainly in Larnage, on red clay with gravel and alluvial stones.

This 2005 Dard&Ribo Crozes-Hermitage was damn good ! This was textbook Crozes and have this sense of place. Olives and red fruits with some bacon notes. Very floral. Mouthwatering, high acidity, surprising for 2005, making it perfect with food. Fresh, a little darker on the palate, it is really delicious.
I read that René-Jean and François think their Crozes is to drink young, a wine to enjoy in its first years. I have to admit, after trying the 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 that they are indeed really good in their youth but needs around 3 years to develop (the 08 drunk in October 2010 was really tight).

The fact that they have minimal doses of SO2 may also make them a little more fragile than other wines, especially when they have to be shipped overseas in, sometimes, less than ideal conditions.
That said, I would be intrigued and happy to try one of their wines with some age. To be continued then....!

Juralicious !

Everytime we go back home to Paris for a little while, we try to bring back a few cheeses that can't be found here. So after a mad shopping at Aleosse, one of the best fromager in France, we had a few friends home to share aged Comté, aged mimolette and aged gruyere. Of course, no jam, fruits, peanuts or other crap: just fresh bread and cheese, the way it should be.


Comté has its own AOP, Appelation d'Orgine Controllée, and the production area is spread over 3 departments: Jura, Doubs and l'Ain. 2 breeds of cows are permitted for the milk: Montbéliarde (95% of the cattle) or Simmental française (5%) and only fresh grass is allowed as food. The fruitière is the place where all the farmers bring and gather the milk. Close to 160 fruitières are spread out over the 3 departments. The comté is then made, all year long, based on a traditional process.





The mimolette is basically Edam cheese (Dutch) but is using a coloring powder to give it its famous orange color. The other name for mimolette is Boule de Lille as it is assumed that Lille was an important production area. Now Normandy is also producing a lot of mimolette. The holes of the cheese are made thanks to small mites who are introduced in the ageing cellars. Those mites are also responsible for the complexity of the mimolette and are brushed off the cheese when done. Unlike the comté, mimolette is best around 2 years old as it loses its flavors if aged longer.


Lastly, my favorite or close, the Vacherin of Haut-Doubs: le Mont d'or. Just like the comté, Mont D'or has its own AOP. It has been named after the highest mountain of the Doubs and was already on Louis XV table. During fall, the cows are returning to the cowshed after spending the summer outside in the mountain. As the milk production was lower, this was not enough to make comté so the farmers got the idea of producing a small cheese who was named at the time (and still now): fromage "de boîte" after the wooden box holding the Mont d'Or. The cheese is seasonal and is available only a few months (around Christmas) and made with raw milk from the same cows used for comté. You will need close to 7 liters of milk to make 1Kg of cheese.
The affinage usually lasts 21 days, minimum, on spruce planks and then placed in one spruce ring, slightly smaller than the cheese itself, giving its wrinkled rind.


In order to get ready for those cheeses, we started with a beautiful blanc de blancs Jacques Lassaigne, Les Vignes de Montgueux. Usually a pinot noir terroir, the chardonnay here benefits from the chalky soil. Very low sulfur, expressive nose, white chocolate and pear. Plenty of chalk as well. This Champagne is rich but with elegance thanks to the acidity and minerality. Pure with a long finish, discreet leesiness. Very good.


On to the cheeses. I tried to pair the different cheeses with a few wines. I though the aged mimolette would work with an old claret and the aged comte and gruyere would do well with some white Jura which would also cut though the creaminess of the Mont d'Or.


First to go was the 1986 Laurel Glen cabernet from Sonoma with the mimolette. Pairing was ok, not the best ever but not the worst either. I said that on the'91 but have to say it again: I wish more Cali cabs were done this way. Really gorgeous nose with earthy and smoky notes along cassis and violets. Riper and a little bigger than the '91 and not showing the bell pepper notes, this is a nice expression a cabernet from Sonoma. Palate confirms the nose with some cedar notes with again a lot of cassis and interesting sour cherry on the finish. Balanced. Tannins are a little rustic but based on this bottle, this wine has more years in him.




The 2 Jura wines, the 2003 La Mailloche from Stephane Tissot and a 2002 Puffeney Arbois Savagnin were simply outstanding.
The 2003 La Mailloche did not show any over ripeness or flabbiness. The clayish soils and eastern aspect helped to manage better the 2003 heat and the wine was beautifully balanced. Nutty with some green apple and a touch of honey and smoke. Floral. An apparent minerality links everything together. The palate is an example of balance, coating your palate with no lack of acidity and no sign of heaviness. Tasting this blind would take you on a top Meursault. Intoxicating, complex and stunning.
This Puffeney Savagnin was fantastic. Iodine and a lot of spicy curry notes on the nose. Light walnut as well. I was expecting a more oxidised style but this is mildly oxidised. Wine is flowing on your palate, superb acidity with more lemony notes on a medium body. Awesome comté rind notes as well.Long finish. Complex and fresh.

Those whites Jura were clearly a very good pairing with the pungent flavors of the cheese. Thanks to their complexity and lenght, they were abble to stand out to the cheese and play with it all the way.

Mama Mia, it's Brunello !

Brunello di Montalcino is a pretty "recent" creation, having been invented by Biondi-Santi in 1888. Indeed he was the 1st one to bottle it and give it a distinctive name. The production area is a rather small one, delimited by the valleys of the Orcia, Asso and Ombrone rivers. Its shape is almost circular with a diameter of 16 Km. One of the most important features is the climate around Montalcino (110km south of Florence): warmer and drier than the Chianti zones, leading to a hefty alcohol level.
The production zone can be split in two. The Northern part, on galestro (friable rock, marl like) soil, has higher altitude vineyards when the southern part is warmer and heavier soil (clay). As a result, wines from the southern part are fuller and more forward than the northern wines which are usually more delicate (everything is relative though) and aromatics.

Brunello really exploded in the of the 20th Century. Until 1960, there were only 11 bottlers. In 2010, they are over 200 ....Yes, Brunello is trendy and selling, especially here in the US.
2 different Brunello can me made:
-Brunello di Montalcino DOCG
-Brunello di Montalcino Riserva DOCG

Because of the economic pressure, the time the wine must spend in wood (which is the same for the regular and Riserva) has been reduced to 2 years (42 months in 1980) . Ironically, many producers felt obliged to use small barrique to mark even more, and faster, their wines with disgusting oaky flavors. Well, at least, it seems to work for Suckling.

Of course, the only grape the allowed is the Sangiovese Grosso but apparently some producers forgot about it in the famous brunellogate when many of them were caught blending some cabernet sauvignon in...Why? I guess they did not think their wines were dark and big enough...Ha, isn't beautiful to sell more crap....

Anyway, before this tasting, I was a little scared to get only beefed up versions, oaked to death and with Port like aromas... Well, at the end, it did not turn out so bad.

All wines tasted blind then enjoyed over some nice duck confit and oeuf cocotte a la truffe.

2001 Fattoria di Fèlsina Berardenga Chianti Classico Riserva Rancia
Classic Italian funk on the nose with some cocoa and oak. Some dark cherry and prune. This is quite tight but powerful and on the palate there's not one fruit standing out in particular. Rather lowish in acidity, this is shutting down quickly. Too forget in the cellar for years.
The pirate in our tasting and totally Brunello like. The estate is located in the most south-eastern part of the Chianti Classico zone, very close to Siena and therefore very close to the Brunello zone. It also shares the same galestro soil. All this could explain its Brunello like profile.
2004 Collemattoni Brunello di Montalcino
First thing jumping at your nose is oak. A lot of it. Then, classic dark cherry with licorice and a hint of earthiness.
Full body, low acidity. Very nutty. Some heat. Tannins are smoother than in the Felsina Rancia but I guess that's because of the oak treatment.
I don't know where this is going. Will the fruit still be alive when the oak is integrated? Right now, this is an oaky mess and heavy.
1995 Poggio Antico Brunello di Montalcino
Right off the bat a different style than the Collemattoni and Rancia.More red fruits and more acidity. This is more about finesse than power.
Still, this bottle was showing some TCA signs. Too bad...

1982 Il Poggione (Proprietá Franceschi) Brunello di Montalcino
Very savory nose. At some times, I felt I was digging my nose in a bloody mary with all this celery salt, worchestire sauce. Different on the palate with sweet fruits. Bacon on the finish.
Still very much alive!
1999 Giovanna Ciacci Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta di Collosorbo
Licorice with some cherry, floral and earthy notes. Still a touch of oak (not obtrusive but still there). Ripe fruits, darker than red, with blackberry, burlat and some strawberry. Tannins have started to smooth out but this wine will benefit from a few more years. Absolutely no rush to drink. Overall a well balanced wine and very Brunello like. A good compromise of modern/traditional producer.
2005 Podere Loreto (Mastrojanni) Brunello di Montalcino
Very good. Nice elegant nose with plenty of red fruits, cherry with a touch of savory note (salami). Good acidity, intense on the palate but maybe the more feminine Brunello of our tasting. Firm tannins. Needs a few more years. Very good.

Good to see that in such a small appellation, size wise, there is a lot of different styles. Of course, our tasting was a very small batch of what's available but except for the Collemattoni, the oak was somewhat restrained and wines showed different faces.

To me, Italian wines have that "Italian Funk", that smell that leads you to Italy right from the first sniff. Luckily, most of those Brunello has this funk, wrapped in a light oaky licorice sweetness. But that's what Brunello is about: burly, more often masculine than not, full body with plenty of dusty cherry notes that screams for venison.

The next years will be interesting to see if the market, especially the American, is still hot for those over oaked and over ripe versions or if a shift in style, just like it happened for Chardonnay, will take place. And hopefully it will !