Burgundy Part 4 - Domaines Francois Lamarche and Michel Gros

Friday saw another early start, leaving Saint-Gengoux at 8.30, for a 10 o'clock appointment at Domaine Francois Lamarche in Vosne-Romanée. They had no wines to sell, here (and every wine we tasted was a tank sample) so presumably everything is snapped-up very quickly on release. As a result, I have no idea of prices - though I suspect they are pretty pricey. That said, there was a very clear distinction between the "lower end" wines and the top wines, with quality rising steadily through the tasting - definitely the mark of excellent terroir and a very good winemaker.

The Lamarche residence

Bourgogne 2009

Simple cherry aromas and flavours, with high acidity. Fresh, firm, cherry kernel flavours. Decent, but not loveable. Long, though.

Vosne-Romanée Villages 2009

A lick of oak and a touch of spice. Pepper and licorice, cherries and a touch of oak tannin. Soft fruit flavours, but with a firm underlying structure.

Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Cras 2009

More woody, with polished/older oak aromas. Leafy, almost stalky, with high acidity, hefty tannins and somewhat sour fruit. Not an easy wine to taste.

Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Chaumes 2009

Elegant nose of Asian spices, subtle oak and a hint of chocolate. Softer, more balanced and very enjoyable. A winner.

Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots 2009

Quite muted on the nose - not a lot going on. The palate is a different matter - lovely and soft and full of spicy fruit flavours. Supple tannins, gentle acidity, quite rich, but elegant too. Not a lot of oak influence, but none the worse for it. Long and lovely.

Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Malconsorts 2009

Again, the nose is muted (too cold?) but showing notes of spices, chocolate and older oak. The palate is generous and expansive, with dark cherry flavours, good acidity and some hefty tannins. There's plenty of sweet fruit lurking underneath, but this really needs a good few years to evolve.

Échezaux Grand Cru 2009

Generously oaked (85% new oak) but well done - plenty of fruit and spice showing through on the nose. The palate has soft, sweet, almost pastilley fruit flavours, well balanced, although the tannins linger on the finish. Needs 10 years, after which I think it will be supremely elegant.

Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru 2009

Bitter cherry kernel nose. This is a big wine in every way - rich and fruity, but again very tannic. Needs 10 years or more.

Grands Échezaux Grand Cru 2009

A wonderfully elegant nose - very "winey", integrated and not oaky at all. Perfumed, with notes of flowers and cloves. The palate is expansive, dense, tannic, perhaps even a bit stalky, but very ripe and opulent. Should turn out to be rather special.

La Grand Rue Grand Cru 2009

Cloves and mixed spices on the nose. Enormously complex, with older wood notes and a touch of cocoa. The tannins are present, but very fine, silky even. This sees 90% new oak, but you wouldn't know it, because it's all about the fruit. Very long and very elegant - in fact, a very fine wine indeed.

High-tech temperature control and stainless steel in the cellar at Domaine Lamarche

The 1.65 hectare monopole vineyard La Grand Rue

Then it was off to the café in Morey-Saint-Denisfor a luch of bières pression and a delicious omelette aux champignons. The service was painfully slow, but it was a scorcher of a day, so were were happy to sit outside and watch the world go by.

This is what happens when you sit too close to the road - but Peter Bamford sees the funny side

(lunch in Morey-Saint-Denis)

Just another Vosne-Romanée winemaker's residence!

After lunch, we headed for our next appointment at Domaine Michel Gros in Vosne. It was nice to be able to actually buy a few bottles of wine for once, instead of just tasting them. Then again, if this had been the case at every domaine we visited, my wallet would have taken a real battering! Conversely, there were no barrel or tank samples here - everything we tasted was from bottle.

The immaculate cellars at Domaine Michel Gros

Bourgogne Haut Cotes de Nuits 2008 - 9.80 Euros

A lovely bright colour, with aromas of pepper, tar and bramble fruits. Fairly light-bodied, but with excellent structure. Nice to drink now, but will evolve for a few years yet. Great value at 9.80 Euros. I bought 4 bottles.

Vosne-Romanée 2007 - 23.20 Euros

Tar and bramble on the nose again. Richer, but less elegant than the HCdN. A bit rustic.

Nuits-Saint-Georges 2007 - 22 Euros

Lighter-bodied, and all the better for it. Aromas and flavours of cherry and raspberry, with high acidity and soft but present tannins. A lovely, pure-fruited wine, with excellent potential. At 22 Euros, this wasn't cheap for a mere village wine, but I was impressed enough to buy a couple.

Nuits-Saint-George Les Chaliots 2007 - 22 Euros

Tar, bramble and cherry kernel. Bitter cherry kernel on the palate, with some earthiness and minerality, but very short on real fruit. I can't see where this one is going.

Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Clos de Réas 2004 - 41.50 Euros

My goodness this is strong and rich and very masculine. Animal/bretty notes on the nose. The palate is massive, with dark fruits and fierce tannins - real bottom of the teapot stuff! Feral, mouth-filling, meaty, but with a good core of sweet red and black fruits, and a touch of cranberry sourness. Not for drinking now, but I feel this could be very interesting in another 10 years.

Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru 2001 - 41.70 Euros

This seemed a bit oxidised, but that was probably because the bottle had been open for a day or more. Then again, I wonder why they are still selling this wine (plus all the other vintages between 2003 and 2008, except the 2005 - with the '03 being most expensive at 44.30 Euros!).  It displays sweet fruit, tar, liqueur and mulberry. Generous and rich, with some sous-bois and other secondary aromas and flavours. Give it another 5 years.

In the office at Michel Gros - IWC Pinot Noir and Red Winemaker of the Year trophies

Although we didn't get to taste it, Andy Leslie spotted a Bourgogne Haut Cotes de Nuits Blanc 2008 on the list and took a punt on a few bottles. When he opened one for us to enjoy back at the ranch, I was kicking myself for not having done the same, because it was absolutely delicious - and proof that basic whites from top Burgundy growers can provide great enjoyment for not a lot of money. At 10.30 Euros, it was an absolute bargain.

Next up, Domaine Dubreil-Fontaine in Pernand-Vergelesses.

        

Burgundy Part 1 - Domaine Mugneret-Gibourg

It felt like a nightmare – but in reality, a rendition of “God Save The Queen”, played hesitatingly (and very loudly) on some sort of pump organ in the style Captain Pugwash at 7.30 in the morning (to an Englishman it was 6.30) was just David Bennett’s way of making sure that we (and the neighbours) were awake. Thursday could only get better.

We had arrived at David’s house in the medieval southern Burgundy village of Saint Gengoux Le Nacional at around 7.45 pm on Wednesday evening – pretty much bang on schedule, and with a busy day to look forward to on Thursday. An early start saw us on the road by 8.30 am, heading north for a 10 am appointment with Domaine des Lambrays in Morey Saint-Denis.  I forgot my notepad for this one, so didn't take any notes as such. I'll try and put together a report based on others' notes soon. Meanwhile………………

After a long walk around the vineyards behind Morey, we found a cool spot in the shade of the forest, half way up the hill, for a picnic lunch. Then it was off to Vosne-Romanée, for our 2.30 pm appointment at Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg. I have to say that the wines of this estate were – for me – the highlight of the 2 days so far. We tasted 7 wines, all from the brilliant 2009 vintage. Following various degrees of oak ageing, all of the cuvées are currently lying in stainless steel tanks, ready for bottling in around 2 weeks’ time. These are my notes;

Vosne-Romanée 2009

Red fruit aromas and a hint of black fruit and some older wood notes. Pure, bright flavours of fresh and crystallised fruits, with fine tannins. A nice start.

Chambolle-Musigny 2009 1er Cru Les Feusselottes

This is more serious – more oak, more fruit, more soft spice (I noted fenugreek in particular). The palate shows a touch of austerity, with a combination of healthy acidity, soft tannins and moderate fruit. Another very nice wine.

Nuits-Saint-Georges 2009 1er Cru Les Chaignots
Fenugreek again. A lovely mix of crystallised fruits, wild strawberries, cherries and classy oak. Cracking structure – fruit, acidity and tannins in perfect harmony. Very long, and with a nice lingering vanilla note on the finish. Undoubtedly firm, but very fine, like an iron fist in a velvet glove, and very lovely to drink, even at this early stage. That said, this has real potential. A lovely wine – and if Mr Bennett gets on with sending a confirmatory email, we may be lucky enough to buy 3 bottles each of this wine. It will cost us around 30 quid a go, but will be worth every penny.

Échezaux 2009

This one takes a while to come out of its shell. Serious, complex wine, with hints of apples and red capsicum lurking behind the super-ripe strawberry fruit, with soft spices, polished wood and marked stone/mineral. I even got some apple pie notes on the palate, amongst the ripe strawberry. This is very elegant and very long. A fabulous wine.

Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru 2009

This is a “jeune vignes”, from a vineyard which actually qualifies as Griottes Grand Cru – which, once the vines are more established, it will actually be. But for now, it is labelled as 1er Cru. High toned ,then becoming perfumed and herby, with notes of oregano, cloves, bay and spearmint – a very sexy nose. The palate is quite simple in comparison, whilst being intensely fruity and rich. The finish is a touch tannic and even austere. Needs time.

Ruchottes-Chambertin 2009 Grand Cru

This is wonderful. It smells like an old church pew, with a combination of incense, exotic spices and polished wood, smeared with ripe wild strawberries. The palate is incredibly complex and structured, and amazingly fleet of foot. This is already soft and sexy and very feminine. Spicy, woody, fruity, elegant – just wonderful. My note can’t really do it justice. At somewhat in excess of £100 a bottle, I doubt that I will get to drink too much of this, but it was a real privilege to taste. A profound wine.

Clos Vougeot 2009 Grand Cru

Savoury, meaty, rich. Then the spices and incense notes begin to emerge. And cherries, redcurrants, violets and a hint of bitter chocolate. This is masculine and dense – there’s almost something of the Languedoc about it. Ripe redcurrants, with good acidity, but not tart in fact, very ripe, almost opulent. This is currently a sleeper, but will surely be fabulous, given time.

Madame Mugneret listens intently, as David Bennett explains exactly how to make great Burgundy

That's it for now. More tomorrow.