Tuesday 12 March 2013

Sensational new Jurançons from Domaine de Montesquiou

Apologies for the rather "sensationalist" headline, but there are occasions when only a tabloid-style title will suffice! And this is one of those occasions, because each time I take delivery of the latest vintages from Domaine de Montesquiou, I am filled with genuine excitement about the mouth-watering wines that lay in store for me. They actually arrived about a week and-a-half ago, but I have been so busy with various tastings and other commitments (wine, family, a poorly mother) in recent weeks that I have barely had time to sit and write them up until now. And my word are they good - indeed, collectively the finest set of wines I have taken from this grower since I started working with them. Which is remarkable, because they have always been nothing less than brilliant in the past. And as if I needed confirmation, both of the dry whites went down extremely well in the tastings I have presented over the last week (as did the 2009 Grappe d'Or, last evening in Grimsby). These are now available via the LSFineWines website, so if you have never tried them, give them a go - and prepare to be bowled over!

Clear, pale silvery-gold colour, with a lovely nose of freshly-cut lime, grass, nettles and pea pods. Very floral, too, redolent of spring flowers and elder blossom, dried herbs and a real sense of stony minerality. The flavours are intensely fresh and focused, zingy rather than pithy, with flavours of lime and lemon zest, hints of tart apple and a touch of peach. Medium-bodied, but with excellent concentration of fruit, wrapped around a core of intense minerality and quite breathtaking acidity. Subtle ginger and spice notes linger on a persistent, mouth-watering finish. If you appreciate delicate, nervy whites – light and fresh on the palate, yet with tremendous depth and complexity - then you will love this wine. Furthermore, whilst it is wonderful to drink on its own, it is also a superb match for all manner of foods. Wonderful to drink now, or over the next couple of years - and really benefits from plenty of air. Amazing quality/price ratio, and one of the finest bargains on our list.

Quite a deep, rich gold colour, courtesy of later harvesting than l'Estela (above) and 10 months in a mix of new and used barrels. This really is a spectacularly lovely and considerably complex wine, with such an evocative nose, combining baked apple and peach, lime oil, banoffee pie and brioche aromas, with intense minerality. Subtle hints of cinnamon, clove and fresh figs, together with beautifully-judged oak contribute even more layers of complexity. The palate shows a quite wonderful concentration of all that goes before it on the nose - at the same time fruity, honeyed and rich, yet simply loaded with intense minerality and nervy acidity, whilst a hint of wood and grape tannin adds depth and makes for a rounded, rich and supremely elegant wine. I would lay money on any lover of fine white Burgundy going a bundle on this and wondering why they pay such large sums of money, when they could have this for a fraction of the price. This really is a stunning wine. 14.0% abv. An absolute steal at £12.50.


Domaine de Montesquiou Grappe d'Or 2011 Jurançon
The grapes for this wine are harvested deep into November, by which time they have begun to dry on the vine, concentrating the flavours, whilst retaining all of the bracing acidity which is the hallmark of Petit Manseng. The colour is a very enticing shiny, rich yellow-gold. The nose has everything, from tangy lemon and lime oil, baked apples and apricots, through to figs, toffee, ginger and exotic spices and herbs. And it almost goes without saying that you can smell the minerality. The palate hits you with a mouthful of sweet, rich apricot and peach flavours, with a viscous but never gloopy texture, and all manner of fresh and preserved citrus and tree fruit flavours. And then, milliseconds later, you get that incredible wave of nervy acidity and steely minerality, followed by a warm, spice and ginger hit at the end. Not that anything sticks out, as it all comes together beautifully, in a wine that keeps you coming back for more. And with every sip, it reveals yet more layers of complexity and wonderfulness! This is the 7th vintage of this wine that I have had the pleasure of writing-up, and not one has ever failed to bowl me over. And this one is no different. I don't know that it is actually better than those that preceded it, but it is certainly as good. It really is a quite stunning wine, and one which I could never tire of drinking. 13.0% abv. One of the great bargains of the wine world at just £16.50 - for a whole 75cl bottle, not one of those silly halves!

Domaine de Montesquiou Vendanges Tardives 2010 Jurançon
Read my note on Grappe d'or (above) and then add on another month or so of hang time on the vines and a few more superlatives, and this is what you get. Several more notches up the ripeness scale, this really is a super-concentrated version. Pure 24 carat gold in colour, with a nose that possesses everything that Grappe d'Or has, along with candied fruits of all descriptions and colours, along with notes of toasted almonds, diesel and woodsmoke, basil and oregano. A hint of honey even suggests a touch of botrytis (on both the nose and palate) whilst the acidity is definitely more tangerine and seville orange than the lemon/lime of its sibling, still wonderfully bracing and tangy, but richer and fuller, and with all sorts of apple crumble, honeycomb, raisin and mixed spice things going on. In terms of richness, ripeness and balancing acidity (and simply as a guide, rather than a flavour comparison) I would liken it to a Mosel Trockenbeerenauslese - and at £28 for a full 75cl bottle, it really does provide amazing value for money. Plus of course it will keep for weeks, or even months in the fridge, once opened - if you can resist, that is! A quite extraordinarily lovely wine. 14.0% abv. £27.95.

More shortly...........
                     

6 comments:

Alan March said...

As I said on Facebook, these are fantastic wines. I'd happily drink the dry wines every day and prefer them to whites at many times the price. The dessert wines are just hedonistic delight too. I was so trying to resist any wine buying this next 2 months, damn you Mr. Stolarski :)

Alan March said...

As I said on Facebook, these are fantastic wines. I'd happily drink the dry wines every day and prefer them to whites at many times the price. The dessert wines are just hedonistic delight too. I was so trying to resist any wine buying this next 2 months, damn you Mr. Stolarski :)

Leon Stolarski said...

Well, if you insist! :-)

Julian said...

I agree, the wines of Domaine de Montesquiou are absolute knock-outs. I have a few, thanks Leon, and no doubt I will be getting more. I hope you bought a decent quantity Leon.

Leon Stolarski said...

Hi Julian - Depends what you mean by a decent quantity. I bought what I expected might see me through until next year, but now I'm not so sure! ;-)

Vinogirl said...

Totally girly thing to say, but I love the tendril/ladybird labels!