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 !

Wines under blizzard

Spending a week in NYC during the holidays was fun. But what was even more fun was the stupid amount of snow that fell over that big blizzard, paralysing the city. I've been many times to NYC during the winter but never witnessed that mess in a city you would expect to react much quicker...anyway all that snow, wind and buses in the middle of the road deserved some hearty wines. Luckily we did not forget the wine in our cab



Frank Cornelissen Munjebel Bianco 6 (2009)


Natural winemaker from Sicily on the slopes on Mount Etna, many Cornelissen profiles have been written and I will not repeat what has already been said. Check http://www.wineanorak.com/magma.htm for a good one. You will not find any vintages on those Munjebels (he also makes a red version) but only numbers because of Italian laws. This number 6 is the 2009 vintage. Made from a blend of Carricante, Grecanico Dorato and Coda di Volpe, world famous grapes, at least in Frank's village, this wine is vinifed as a red wine: with a long skin maceration which gives the wine its cloudy orangy, golden color (no filtration at all here). No CO2 is used during fermentation hence the advise to keep it under 16C...


This wine is disturbing as you have to forget the way to drink and taste "normal" wines which is often the case with natural wine: you learn to think differently and open your mind to new aromas and texture.

Nose is somewhat reminiscent of an Ale mixed with cider. Once passing this stage, delicate floral components and orchard fruit appear. Fresh, especially for Sicily, the palate is similar and the tannins from the long skin maceration are kicking back on the finish. Really an experience that I totally enjoyed and I felt lonely on this one ! But I can understand people being put off.

Because a little of bit of sunshine was needed and because anything from Provence is great (there, I said it!), we uncorked a 2006 Le Galantin Bandol. Located in the Plan du Castellet, 4 miles away from the sea, this cuvee is close to 90% Mourvedre with the rest being grenache.
Organic practices, this wine was showing very young but still very Provencal. Plenty of garrigue with a lot of fruit. A little angular, time will help.

Domaine Barmès Buecher

Last November François Barmès was in Chicago and took some time to explain us his philosphy and taste with us a few of his wines. I've always been a big fan and meeting François was a treat.

The domain was created in 1985 by Geneviève (born Buecher) and François. The vineyards had been in their families since the 17th century. Ten years later, they converted the domain to biodynamics. At harvest, each varietal is harvested separately and picked by hand. Of course, only wild yeasts are used and absolutely no additives is permitted in the wines. François is a hard core and passionated for biodynamics and fully dedicated towards it. Wines are racked when the moon is descending and then bottled after a very light filtration.
The domain has been certified as biodynamic since 1998 and member of Biodyvin since 2002. They also are member of the "Renaissance des Appelations" (created by Nicolas Joly) since 2007.

While listening to François you could sense his passion. I did not have time to go through all the wines as I discussed with him for quite some time (he does not speak English and I was the only French). His father was not happy at all when François decided to convert to biodynamics and the magic thing was when he admitted that whenever he does not feel good, he just goes for a walk in his vineyards and resource himself.

All the wines shows a tremendous acidity and droiture.

2008 Pinot Noir Vieilles Vignes Hengst

54 years old vines on marly limestone soil. 24 months in new barrels. The white marl helps to retain some acidity and the southern exposure of the Hengst vineyard gives the ripeness to the pinot. The vines here come from the Angerville Clos des Ducs parcel in Burgundy (Geneviève nanny was related to the Angerville or something like this...can't remember exactly!) . A lot of spices and strawberry. Slightly candied.

2007 Riesling Clos Sand

Young vines (9 years) on granitic soil. Delicious. Rock water with some lime and citrus. Totally dry and an apparent minerality and high acidity. Love it.

2008 Riesling Grand Cru Hengst

30 years old vines and marly limestone soil. Higher yield than the Clos Sand. Shows more ripeness than Clos Sand (southern exposure) with some honey notes. Again those mineral notes and high acidity. The finish is exotic but always fresh and energetic. Dry.

2008 Pinot Gris Rosenberg

21 years old vines. François says that because the PG is usually a round with butter notes, relatively neutral varietal, he uses barrels here for the oxydation of the pinot gris and develop the aromatics. Botrytis is also always present.

Some honey, lime and wood on the nose. Exotic fruits. Rich and sweet with more mango on the palate. Nice floral notes to add complexity. Needs time but already not heavy and digest.

2008 Gewurtztraminer Grand Cru Steingrubler

30 years old vines, marly limestone with granite as well.
Rose Turkish delight and violets. Sweet and a little forward right now. Some orange notes. The wine avoids showing too much of the grape usual exuberance which is a good thing. This is not another varietal caricature.

Merci François !

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.

Pommard and Volnay Blind Tasting: another lesson of humility

Here we are again, tasting blind Pommards and Volnays. I always thought it was easy to distinguish those 2: Volnay being softer, more floral with a feminine side and Pommard being the Man in the house. The terroir is of course having a huge impact on the style for those 2 neighbouring climats (going south you will go through Pommard then hitting Volnay before reaching Meursault).
Well so much for generalisation!

2002 Domaine Jean Garaudet Pommard
Lovely nose with fresh red fruits and floral notes. Earthy.
Mushroms notes on the palate with a smoky finish. Long finish. Really impressive.
I though this was a Volnay!
2003 Prince Florent de Merode Pommard Clos de la Platière
Very fruity nose, candied. Grenadine notes. Hint of mint. With air, it becomes riper with even more fruit. Palate is darker, red plums. Not very enjoyable on the palate with some wood. It showed more Pommard like with air.
I was surprised to see this was an 03 and it did not show the roasted side of the vintage but this was definitely candied.
1990 Domaine Joseph Voillot Volnay 1er Cru Champans
Showing evolution on the rim. Tired nose and palate. Moldy. The wine has seen better days.
Surprised to see the vintage as the few 90s I had were still going strong and quite ripe.




2001 Domaine Marquis d'Angerville Volnay 1er Cru Taillepieds
Well so much for the hail in '01. This is simply superb and textbook Volnay. Floral, red fruits, balanced and elegant and showed great depth and weight.
2004 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chênes
Really weird with strong eggplant and ashes notes. It takes a lot of air and time for the fruit (nice cherry and raspberry) to appear. Still very backwards
There's also a steminess that I appreciate. Vin droit, Lafarge style.
Austere but there's definitely something bringing you back. The last drops were really good.
2001 Domaine de Courcel Pommard 1er Cru Grand Clos des Épenots
Smoky and herbs but quite shy.
Balanced with hint of earthiness but very simple on the palate and seems closed. The finish is nevertheless impressive.
Just like the Lafarge, it takes a lot of time for the wine to develop complexity. All about nice and clean dark cherry and strawberry with a touch of leather.
Firm and elegant. This needs 4-6 more years.
2006 Louis Latour Volnay 1er Cru En Chevret
Fruit, fruit and more red fruit. It tasted extracted to me.
No sense of place, no terroir. Where's Burgundy?



Some very interesting wines here with the Angerville Taillepieds showing really well in my opinion and maybe this vineyard escaped the hail in '01. The Clos des Epenots needs more time and is another example that 2001 is really a nice vintage in Burgundy that every lovers of classic Burgundy should have on their radar. I was lucky to be able to spend more time with the Lafarge and was able to taste its transformation over a few days.

It was quite difficult on some occasions to differentiate Pommard from Volnay. Pommard maybe masculine but it is in fact more about an iron fist in a velvet glove.

A few Extra-Bruts

For some reasons, the last 3 champagnes I had were all Extra-Brut. Very interesting as all 3 managed to have very different styles and texture.


Ulysse Collin Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs
Very light bubbles, this is more a wine than a Champagne. Very mineral, a touch of wood, not a lot of fruit (hint of green apple/lemon). I really like the austerity and focus of this Champagne. Long finish. Very subtle.
Olivier Collin, is located in Congy in the Sézannais, south of the Côte des Blancs. While waiting to get some of his family's land back, he did an internship at Selosse in 2001 and this had a huge influence on the way he works now. Carefully taking care of his vines, using no chemicals, it seems Olivier is ready to try new directions such as organic or biodynamic certification (maybe?). As his master, Olivier makes his fermentation and malo in barrels.


Marie-Noelle Ledru Grand Cru Extra Brut
I really enjoyed this one. 85% pinot and 15% Chardonnay. This is very elegant and very steely. You can definitely tell there is no dosage. A little bit austere with lively mousse, there's a hint of red fruits with lemony notes. With air, more yeasty/brioche notes.

Marie-Noelle, in Ambonnay, does everything in her cellar but also in the office: multi-tasking for sure ! Trying to work as natural as possible, no chemicals in the vineyards and no sulfur added after disgorgement. All her Champagnes are really showing the beautiful terrroir they come from. Unlike the other 2 producers here, she does not use any wood.

Vouette et Sorbée Extra Brut Fidèle
Based on 2007 vintage and disgorged in December 2009. 100% pinot noir.
Not easy to approach, it is nevertheless a fascinating Champagne. Wonderful nose with some wood notes and spices. There's also a nice chalkiness. Not a lot of bubbles, mineral on the palate with again some light oak notes. Not a ton of fruit even though this is 100% pinot. This is quite elegant and not very exuberant but rich as the same time. It's an experience hard to describe.
I'd like to try one with a little more age but this is really good.

Certified organic since 1998, Bertrand and Hélène Gautherot are trying to work with a minimalist intervention and let the terroir speaks. All champagnes are vinified and raised in barrels and once in the glass, need time.
No acidification, no collage or cold stabilisation. Some SO2 is used only during the harvest and nothing afterwards. Of course indigenous yeast is used.