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Loire Valley (Part One) – Winter 2019
Loire Valley (Part One) – Winter 2019

Loire Valley (Part One) – Winter 2019

By Jeff Miller|2019-02-12T13:48:42+00:00February 11th, 2019|France, Rhône Valley, Travel Report|

Our first day in the Loire brought us to a cloudy Touraine where we spent most of our day with the leadership team at Loire Propriétés, and checked in with Christophe Godet at Domaine de Marcé.

Loire Propriétés

Our tasting took place at Vignerons Oisly & Thesee, a cooperative holding 500 acres of mostly Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc in the small towns of Oisly and Thesee which usually are considered the best in the Touraine region. You know by now how we feel about cooperatives – That when managed strategically they can turn out plenty of individual, engaging wines. Loire Propriétés is one such cooperative, and actually what you’d call a “supercooperative” (ie a large parent cooperative made up multiple smaller cooperatives). 250 winegrower members, organized into 10 smaller cooperatives, make up the group, many of who are bottling estate grown wines, some from iconic Loire chateaux! Sound interesting? Estate grown wines at a cooperative? Yes! As we’ve said before there are some progressive co-ops out there these days urging you to rethink everything you think you know about the category.

Caves de la Loire “Les Anges” 18 Sauvignon Blanc, juicy, very good

Les Anges 18 Chardonnay, boring, but full and fruity, would make people happy though

Caves de la Loire “Les Anges” 18 Chenin Blanc, crisp, more acidity

Caves de la Loire “Les Anges” 17 Pinot Noir, good, a little short on character, but what do you expect for pricing this sharp

Caves de la Loire “Les Anges” 18 Cabernet Franc, dry, aromatic, a little funky

Caves de la Loire “Elysis” 18 Rosé d’Anjou, fresh, nice sweetness

Vignerons du Pallet “Les Petites Sardines” 17 Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie, easy, soft style

Vignerons du Pallet “Jubilation” 15 Muscadet Cru Le Pallet, complex, class

O&T 17 Touraine Sauvignon Blanc, showing well, good acidity

Domaine du Grand Cerf 17 Touraine Sauvignon Blanc, typical, full, juicy

Vins de Rabelais “Les Romances” 17 Vouvray, seems sweetish, but technically isn’t, apparently

Vins de Rabelais 15 Chinon “Fauteuil Rouge,” mature and rich, There is better value than this at LP

Les Roches Blanches 17 Vouvray full, typical, fresh

Chateau de Valmer 17 Vouvray, character, aromatic

Chateau de Brossay 18 Cabernet d’Anjou, flavor, full, some sweetness

Domane Croix St. Louis 15 Chinon, somewhat mature and boring

Chateau de Mauny 18 Rosé de Loire, some complexity and depth

Chateau de Mauny Crémant de Loire Brutt, fresh, soft, very good

Chateau de Brissac 14 Crémant de Loire Brut, fine, balanced, soft

Domaine Touchais NV Saumur Brut, serious, dry and fuill

Chateau de Valmer NV Vouvray Brut, rich, full, long, bravo

We tasted dozens of 2018 O&T wines from tank; most of which showed very well. Below is some tank tasting “reality television” for you:

Very good tasting overall. great stuff at very competitive prices. We pulled the trigger on Chateau de Mauny, Chateau de Valmer, and Vignerons du Pallet (including the very fine bottle aged “Jubilation” Cuvee). Does the whole Vignerons du Pallet thing perk your ears? This is a fairly small, atypical coop of 10 members, all from Le Pallet in the heart of Muscadet. They have 250 acres and an average production of some 800.000 bottles. All 10 members have their own properties, they bottle and sell a part of their production themselves and another part goes to the coop for use in a larger appellation “blend.” The President is one of the owners and so is the winemaker. The facilities are at one member’s winery. “Le Pallet” the vineyard is one of the Crus of Muscadet, there are seven crus in all, and is considered by many as the best. The soil is interesting, the northwest part of the town consists of light colored rocks (Roches Blanches) mixed with sand and the southwest area is dark colored (Roches Noires) and sand. Their “Jubilation” bottling referenced above represents a new movement in the appellation towards intense, bottle aged Muscadet with better selection, later harvesting, and longer aging on the lees. These wines are very different, more serious, fuller and real aging potential. For some stupid reason wines in this category cannot be called “sur lie” although they stay much longer on them. Odd.

Domaine Marcé

This Domaine is a few kilometers down the road from Les Vignerons Oisly & Thesee and the idea here is to bring you a premium Touraine Sauvignon option – Something a step up in price and complexity from O+T for the select few accounts smart enough to know how much value Christophe Godet can pack into a bottle. So many accounts are glass pouring “Vin de Loire” Sauvignon Blanc as a Sancerre alternative but this approach (something from an individualistic appellation) is a better way to go. In all this is an 80 acre estate, mostly planted to Touraine Sauvignon Blanc. A part of 12 acres has been classified as Oisly which is a new “Cru” similar to Reuilly, Quincy, or Sancerre. Farming at Domaine Marcé is organic, and most vines are pretty damn old. More tank tasting “reality television” for you below!

As you see above we tasted many different tanks of 2018 Touraine and Oisly Sauvignon with Christophe and overall we were able to leave with a better feel for this unsung appellation.

Domaine Marcé 18 Touraine Sauvignon Blanc, good body, ripeness, balanced acid, a lot of Sauvignon for the price.

Domaine Marcé 18 Oisly Sauvignon Blanc, somewhat bigger and better but the price difference does not seem wholly justified this vintage.

Great domaine, great people. Let’s try to get more Touraine Sauvignon out there in the world shall we?

Rhône Valley (Part Three) – Winter 2019
Rhône Valley (Part Three) – Winter 2019

Rhône Valley (Part Three) – Winter 2019

By Jeff Miller|2019-02-08T16:43:21+00:00February 8th, 2019|France, Rhône Valley, Travel Report|

Day three in the Rhône meant a few lesser-known producers to most of you…

Domaine Fayolle Fils & Fille

The brother/sister team of Laurent Fayolle and Céline Nodin operate this small family estate in Gervans, where they produce Crozes-Hermitage, Hermitage, and St. Peray. Crozes-Hermitage is a somewhat weird appellation – Originally it was close to the Hermitage hill, stretching to the North, covering a mere 750 acres in Crozes, Largange, Gervans and two other tiny villages where the soils are very similar to Hermitage. Over time the acreage was expanded by a whopping 3800 acres, but in another area, South of Tain- l’Hermitage, on totally different soils. The idea was that more production would make it easier to sell. This worked for the “new” production, but not really for the “old” as production is lower due to the (granite) soils and rather steep hills. This also explains a rather big difference in prices between the two. Fayolle is one of the very few “original gangsta” producers left, as they are focused on making wine from individual vineyards in the original appellation boundaries, most notably on sites known locally as Pontaix and the Clos des Cornirets.

Almost all of Fayolle’s wine is sold within France. We will take what we can get.

Mr. Laurent Fayolle himself

Domaine Fayolle Fils & Fille 2017 St. Peray, 100% Marsanne, some new wood. Fairly unknown, but lovely wine, dry, floral, lots of flavor.
Domaine Fayolle Fils & Fille 2018 Crozes Hermitage Blanc “Pontaix,” (from barrel), bright, citrus, showing well.

Domaine Fayolle Fils & Fille 2018 Hermitage Blanc (from barrel), rich bordering on bombastic but with focus somehow, interesting stuff, can’t wait to see this in bottle.

Domaine Fayolle Fils & Fille 2018 St. Peray Blanc (from barrel), Young, balanced, can’t wait to see this develop as well.

Domaine Fayolle Fils & Fille 2017 Crozes Hermitage “Sens,” entry-level C-H, 30 year vines, including some purchased grapes, some new wood. Dark, fat, tannic, tight, very promising.
Domaine Fayolle Fils & Fille 2016 Crozes Hermitage “Pontaix,” single vyd, 40 year vines, 20% new wood. More elegant, fine, balanced.
Domaine Fayolle Fils & Fille 2017 Crozes Hermitage “Cornirets,” single vineyard, 60 year vines. Just bottled, but showing well, tons of fruit and full.
Domaine Fayolle Fils & Fille 2017 Hermitage, just bottled. Big boy, fat, concentrated, tannic, smokey.

2017 and 2018 are both very good vintages. We also like 2016 but note that wines from this vintage are different in style from the others, a little lighter and more elegant.

Crous St. Martin

The brother/sister duo of Eric and Veronique Bonnet led us through a packed lineup of new and upcoming releases at their home base of Domaine La Bastide Saint Dominique. The property sits smack dab in one of the best sections of Chateauneuf-du-Pape – Even as little kids they knew they were in a prime zone for Grenache, if they ran outside to play and veered right they were at Beaucastel and if they veered left a few hundred meters they ended up at Clos du Caillou! There are three things you’ll see coming out of this property, Domaine La Bastide Saint Dominique, the production of which consists of wines made from grapes on the estate, Reserve Saint Dominique which is a second label made from younger vines and some purchased fruit, and Crous St. Martin which consists of both estate and purchased fruit and is a collaboration between Eric Bonnet and our good friend Harry Bosmans. We are ordering our first shipments of Domaine and Reserve St. Dominique this month, and you can expect more information on that front (with more background, tasting notes, etc) closer to arrival (the final lineup of available states is still coming together). Let’s just say that there will be some excitement.

The lovely Eric and Veronique Bonnet!

While availability is pretty tiny, Crous St. Martin’s Cotes du Rhone is worth a mention here – The grapes come from the same spot that Beaucastel makes their Coudoulet from, a zone in the northern part of Chateauneuf du Pape just outside the official appellation boundary, as there weren’t vines in this area when the appellation was originally classified. The Rasteau was just outstanding – Rasteau is the only appellation in the Rhone where grey clay and brown clay both coexist at the root level, this results in a forward wine with violet pastille aromatics that you must experience firsthand…with that in mind I suppose we will import as much as we can get!

Crous St. Martin 17 Cotes du Rhone, full, rich solid.

Crous St. Martin 17 Rasteau, concentrated, big, outstanding.

Crous St. Martin 17 Gigondas, dark, big, fat, a little rustic

Crous St. Martin 17 CHN, typical, concentrated, well made

Crous St. Martin 16 Cairanne, typical, if a little lean. From the last plot of Cairanne on the Rasteau border, high proportion of Mourvedre

Crous St. Martin 16 Lirac, easy, tannic

Overall, very nice set of wines. Again, stay tuned for an announcement on the Domaine La Bastide St Dominique and Reserve St. Dominique wines.

Domaine Brunely

Madame Carichon led us through a quick lineup at this perennial, rustic favorite in Vacqueyras. Have a virtual tour of the property right here to get a better feel. Total holdings include 198 acres of vines spread between Vacqueyras, Cairanne, Ventoux, Gigondas, and Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Stylistically, winemaking veers towards the traditional spectrum here, where no wood is used other than in their Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Farming is natural.

Madame Carichon

Domaine Brunely 18 Vacquyeras Blanc (tank), Musky, tropical, big.

Domaine Brunely 18 Ventoux Rouge, spicy thanks to Syrah base, one hell of a wild Ventoux

Domaine Brunely 17 Ventoux Rouge,, similar to 18 but with tannin

Domaine Brunely 18 Cotes du Rhone Villages, mineral loaded, outstanding

Domaine Brunely 18 Cairanne, simple, a bit closed

Domaine Brunely 17 Vacqueyras Rouge, full rich attack, black fruit, power, length, nice square tannin

Domaine Brunely 18 Vacqueyras Rouge, closed, less intensity than the 2017

Domaine Brunely 17 Vacqueyras “Tour Aix Cailles,” Syrah and old vine Mourvedre make for “big everything,” dense without being syrupy, BRAVO

Domaine Brunely 17 Gigondas Rouge, fleshy, mineral

Domaine Brunely 17 Chateauneuf du Pape Rouge, closed

Domaine Brunely 18 Chateauneuf du Pape Rouge, deeper than the 17, slightly reductive now, huge tannin

Rhône Valley (Part Two) – Winter 2019
Rhône Valley (Part Two) – Winter 2019

Rhône Valley (Part Two) – Winter 2019

By Jeff Miller|2019-02-05T07:40:59+00:00February 5th, 2019|France, Rhône Valley, Travel Report|

We keep things going on day two in the Rhône…

Domaine Notre Dame des Pallières

Domaine Notre Dame des Pallières is a very old family estate, whose name comes from a place of pilgrimage visited by the Provençal people in the middle ages who believed that the fountain on the property would protect them from the plague. Claude Roux and his cousin Jean-Pierre have so many generations of Gigondas wine making experience in their family that they don’t know exactly how many of their relatives have been involved up to now – Antique writings suggest that this Domaine existed as far back as the 900’s. Fortunately this tradition is continuing with Claude’s children, Isabelle and Julien, who are gradually taking over the day to day responsibilities of farming, production, and administration. Vineyard holdings total 74 acres in Gigondas, Sablet, and Cotes du Rhone and the winery is based in the center of their principal vineyard holding, a field of very old vines (mainly Grenache, many up to 110 years in age). This is a particularly interesting sub-site in Gigondas as it is set in a protected valley underneath the shadows of the iconic Dentilles de Montmirail. This means stronger and longer cooling winds versus other top estates in the region, which means more freshness in the finished wine. Even when you are driving up, you know you are rolling into something special:

Domaine Notre Dame des Pallières 17 Sablet Blanc “Montmartel,” open knit, tremendous purity, wish Sablet Blanc was easier to sell!

Domaine Notre Dame des Pallières 18 Cotes du Rhone, full, rich and unbelievably ready to go, good pedigree, this is mostly declassified Gigondas (!)

Domaine Notre Dame des Pallières 17 Sablet Rouge “Montmartel,” garrigue driven, higher % of Syrah gives this pepper notes and thick tannin, what a value

Domaine Notre Dame des Pallières 17 Lirac “Les Pellegrin” (tank), lots of CO2, need to taste finished wine

Domaine Notre Dame des Pallières 16 Rasteau “Les Ribes,” topsoil here is salmon orange from iron content, concentrated, very rustic example

Domaine Notre Dame des Pallières 17 Gigondas “Les Mourres,” dark, big, fat, integrated, lots to like here!

Domaine Notre Dame des Pallières 16 Gigondas “Bois de Mourres,” deep, tremendous concentration, still some obvious barrel flavors up front, we wonder what this would be like without the wood influence as the vine material is so good it is almost unheard of.

The highlights here, as usual, were the Cotes du Rhone, Sablet Rouge “L’Olivet,” the Cotes du Rhone, and the Gigondas “Les Mourres,” – All are naked examples of their kind and just screaming for the rustic bistro-like fare most of you enjoy making and devouring at home.

…or you could make your life easy and just drink it with giant fatty chunks of smoked pork jowl and back fat!

Domaine de la Charbonnière

Veronique Maret led us through an energizing “breakfast” of new and upcoming releases. Veronique is young, serious in the best way, and stacked with ambition. In her young but very capable hands this remains a traditional estate, and she has converted all of the Domaine’s farming to organic practices. The “entry level” CDP is outstanding, individual CdP cuvées are produced from the best blocks of the family’s best plots, and a sappy vielles Vignes blend is not to be missed in any vintage – in 15/16/17, as it contains a lot of Grenache from the La Crau vineyard in it, and as you likely know (unless you live under a bus) La Crau is one of the best individual plots in the entire appellation. We’ve had a stellar string of vintages here, let’s review them real quick as we have 2015 here and upcoming vintages allocated to us for shipment…The 2015 vintage is very good, typical warm year, the wines are a little closed now, should be better after a trip across the water. For us 2016 is better, more color, more elegant and a spicy character. The 2017’s are outstanding, dark, fat, polished and tons of fruit. This is mostly because of the small crop and the good growing season in CDP.

Domaine de la Charbonnière 17 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc, ripe, rich, soft, benchmark

Domaine de la Charbonnière 16 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc, fresher, pretty mature

Domaine de la Charbonnière 17 Vacqueyras, dark, typical, concentrated (there is only the straight V. in 17)

Domaine de la Charbonnière 17 Chateauneuf du Pape Rouge, concentrated, fruit, dark, full

Domaine de la Charbonnière 17 Chateauneuf du Pape “Mourre des Perdrix,” advanced, ripe, seems light

Domaine de la Charbonnière 17 Chateauneuf du Pape “Vieilles Vignes,” much better tight, concentrated

Domaine de la Charbonnière 17 Chateauneuf du Pape “Cuvee Hautes Brusquires,” focused, masculine, fruit

Domaine de la Charbonnière 16 Vacqueyras, dark, powerfull, tannic

Domaine de la Charbonnière 16 Vacqueyras “Cuvee Spéciale”, bigger, darker, dry now

Domaine de la Charbonnière 16 Chateauneuf du Pape Rouge, wonderfully balanced, full, typical

Domaine de la Charbonnière 16 Chateauneuf du Pape “Mourre des Perdrix, fine, fruit, soft

Domaine de la Charbonnière 16 Chateauneuf du Pape “Cuvee Hautes Brusquires,” More finesse than we’d expect from what is usually a “big” bottling, fresh

Domaine de la Charbonnière 16 Chateauneuf du Pape “Vieilles Vignes,”, focused, complete, concentrated

In an earlier tasting (Winter 2018) Frank thought 17 could be as good as 16 here, but our experience now indicates this may no longer be the case. Most of the 17’s are really good (you’ll all gush for them upon arrival in 18 months), but the 16’s are flawless, concentrated and balanced…They will

age well, but we would be tempted to drink them young. We will buy as deep as Verionique’s allocations allow, and smart merchants and somms will do the same!

Domaine Le Clos des Lumières

Domaine le Clos des Lumières is a 50 hectare family farm founded in 1946 by the grandfather of the domaine’s current vigneron, Gérald Serrano. The ambitious and talented Gérald Serrano is solely responsible for the recent “coming out” of this estate – Prior to taking things over in 2003 Gérald’s father was selling all grapes on the estate to the local cooperative. We had fun shooting VR pics with them, here is a look on Google Maps – They were intent on holding the pose which was basically perfect. The kid on the right? He is the newest generation, just started on the tractor, and you’ll get to know him well.

Having grown up on the property, Gérald is intimately familiar with the terroir here. The oldest vines now edge 60 years in age and this land really seems to “pack the character in.”. We’ve sold massive amounts of Rhone wine over the last forty years, and these are the most well-received Cotes du Rhone values we’ve carried in our history.

These guys seem to have a deep understanding of what’s going on in the vineyard and in the market, they are probably the hardest working partners we have, and as Frank will tell you it is pretty amazing to see how forward thinking they are. The potential here is huge, we have only scratched the surface. When they heard what we were up to last Spring in terms of the national expansion and the whole idea of “expecting some grapeness,” the Serrano family went out and bought another 70 acres of vineyard land, bringing their total holdings to 300 acres owned, plus substantial long term contracts. Between our two companies we have two parties ready to bring it!

Barrows ‘n hoses!

Domaine Clos des Lumières 18 CDR Blanc, light, fresh, very good

Domaine Clos des Lumières 18 Chardonnay, full, round

Domaine Clos des Lumières 18 Viognier, a little low on aromatics, which to Frank is a good thing

Domaine Clos des Lumières 18 Caladoc Gris, fresh and fine, right color for Gris, 3.000L. available, which we reserved

Domaine Clos des Lumières 18 Caladoc Rosé, more flavor. Actually the same wine as the Gris, just a different part of the pressing

Domaine Clos des Lumières 18 Syrah Rosé, more structure, more acidity

Domaine Clos des Lumières 18 Grenache Rosé, typical, easy

Domaine Clos des Lumières 18 Petit Verdot, outstanding and interesting as there is little Petit Verdot and even less as Rosé. 9000L. available

Domaine Clos des Lumières 18 CDR Rosé, full and complex

Domaine Clos des Lumières 17 Petit Verdot, dark, tight, depth

Domaine Clos des Lumières 17 Marsalan,/Syrah, dark, ripe, tannin

Domaine Clos des Lumières 18 Merlot, dark, full, fruit, tannin. Outstanding

Domaine Clos des Lumières 18 Marsalan, dark, soft lovely. 10000L. available

Domaine Clos des Lumières 18 Syrah, dark, ripe, rich

Domaine Clos des Lumières 17 CDR, solid

Domaine Clos des Lumières 18 CDR BIB, fruity, easy

Domaine Clos des Lumières 16 CDR Autrefois, rustic, ok

Domaine Clos des Lumières 17 CDR Autrefois,, beter, more fruit and tannin

Domaine Clos des Lumières 18 CDR Autrefois, some reduction, should be fine

Domaine Clos des Lumières 16 CDRV, serious, a little mature

Domaine Clos des Lumières 17 CDRV, better now, concentrated

Domaine Clos des Lumières 18 CDRV, the best.

Domaine Clos des Lumières 18 CDR sans sulfites, good

Among the new wines we committed to the Gris (everything available, working on the label this week), a starting load of half CDR bottles (filling your requests my friends), and we are working on new bag in box package because anyone who knows me well knows of my hatred for Papyrus font (and the new package is looking sick so get ready for some full delivery trucks and empty shelves).

The no sulfur bottling of CDR showed well – We will test some in the elements here in the US, and if it fails to referment or go wild on us you’ll be seeing that as well.

Rhône Valley (Part One) – Winter 2019
Rhône Valley (Part One) – Winter 2019

Rhône Valley (Part One) – Winter 2019

By Jeff Miller|2019-02-01T17:48:18+00:00February 1st, 2019|France, Rhône Valley, Travel Report|

Mike Temple had a soft spot for Rhône wines and therefore the region has always been a strength in our portfolio. We spent several days both on our own and with the perennially charismatic Harry Bosmans.

Arnoux Pere et Fils

Vacqueyras’ oldest winery, Arnoux is centered smack dab in the middle of Vacqueyras center and takes up a few blocks with its various buildings. From modern operations to traditional ones to inexplicably idiosyncratic setups, we pride ourselves in our diversity of tastes! For better or worse! Jean-Francois Arnoux is the latest generation of his family to run the ship at this historic house, and take us through a Rhône lineup he did. Tasting notes are below but the short answer is that we’ve made the decision to double down on what Arnoux does best – the old school, and you’ll see more quantity and more focus on their Vieux Clocher line from us in 2019 and beyond. Below is a video walk through of what has to be one of the more timeless cellar setups in the Rhône Valley.

Arnoux 16 Ventoux, dry, rustic

Arnoux 17 Ventoux, similar to the 16 just younger

Arnoux 17 Cotes du Rhone “Vieux Clocher,” some fruit, dry, rustic, traditional

Arnoux 16 Cotes du Rhone Seigneur de Lauris, richer fruit, garrigue, nice

Arnoux 17 Cotes du Rhone Seigneur de Lauris, fresher than the 16, slightly more going on

Arnoux 16 Cairanne “Vieux Clocher,” quite good, outperformed most of the Cairanne we’ve tasted on this trip, with the telltale floral Cairanne nose

Arnoux 17 Cairanne “Vieux Clocher,” more fruit, but dry right now, should come around well

Arnoux 16 Vacqueyras “Vieux Clocher,” good flavor, some fruit, traditional, we appreciate the style

Arnoux 17 Vacqueyras “Vieux Clocher,” somewhat lighter than the 16 but that is just fine with us, as it is, again, traditional

Arnoux 15 Vacqueyras 15 “Penitents,” fuller, but dry and d0ubling down on rustic

Frank interrogating Jean-Francois on adoption of modern hose storage practices

Domaine Pelaquie

I have to say this was one hell of an eye opening winery visit and it reminds me why we take these sleepless, jambon fueled journeys in the first place. We’ve long admired Pelaquie’s best in class examples of Laudun Rouge and Blanc, but never experienced their bombastic Cotes du Rhone values firsthand, at least not with an understanding of the simple but magic approach that results in a pure, focused, rich yet slippery core of Grenache goodness in every sip (sorry to tease, but more on Pelaquie’s proprietary technique later via video post to coincide with the arrival of the massive initial load of Cotes du Rhone Rouge and Rosè we booked on the spot…check back here in 45 days). Packaging was always a bit of an issue here but that was taken care of when we walked into the office and saw not one but three final draft options for a revised label that matches the spirit of this house. We decided on the below wardrobe, and the reference to Le Rive Droite (aka the underdog left bank of the Rhone) fits the whole spirit at Pelaquie like a glove. Frank will be the first to say that this is the finest Tavel in Tavel. All of you must agree if your appetite for it last year is any indication. 2017 was the warmest year in Lirac/Tavel/Laudun since 2003, but for some reason the whites have the highest acidity they’ve ever measured in the appellation…probably due to the 2-3 months with absolutely no rain which basically meant concentrated everything. Luc Pelaquie believes that in order to make balanced Rhone whites you need to use slow ripening varietals (ie Bourboulenc and Clairette). More than a few people will tell you that this little area here is the very best in the Rhone for expressive whites. We certainly feel that way right now.

Mocking up the final label tweak on a deliciously unfiltered Tavel tank sample!

Domaine Pelaquie 17 Cotes du Rhone Villages Laudun Blanc, led by Bourboulenc and Clairette but uses all six grapes allowed in the appellation. Very balanced, classic stuff even if rich this go-round
Domaine Pelaquie 17 Lirac Blanc, broad, waxy, full wood but plenty of accompanying acid, modern
Domaine Pelaquie 18 Tavel, firm but open, dark, settling out, another winner this year
Domaine Pelaquie 18 Cotes du Rhone Rouge (tank), rich and loaded with flavor, home run
Domaine Pelaque 17 Cotes du Rhone Rouge, garrigue loaded nose, lovely texture, almost silky, total steal
Domaine Pelaquie 17 Cotes du Rhone Villages Laudun Rouge, superpie Laudun, Mourvedre adds the structure and spice needed to keep this interesting
Domaine Pelaquie 17 Lirac Rouge, MEATY! Only Grenache and Mourvedre used here, lack of Syrah gives this a specific personality. Lirac and Rasteau have the best Mourvedre in the Rhone, and if you add even 10% Syrah it totally changes the wine so as Luc would say, why add it. Lirac is planet Earth’s absolute temperature limit for Mourvedre.

Another reason these are so good? Look at the thick old vines that surround the Domaine!

Provence – Winter 2019
Provence – Winter 2019

Provence – Winter 2019

By Jeff Miller|2019-01-30T16:58:30+00:00January 30th, 2019|France, Travel Report|

Provence isn’t always sunny and warm – Temperatures were in the 40’s with a wicked mistral that made us feel like we were sitting in the stands of Soldier Field during a January playoff game. We had a bit more time today than normal and were able to spend quality time with two very important producers here at Grape, Domaine Sorin and Chateau Bas.

Domaine Sorin

We met with Olivier Santini, who owns and operates the iconic Domaine Paternel in Cassis. Olivier purchased Domaine Sorin several years ago after the untimely passing of Luc Sorin – This acquisition fulfilled his dream of vineyard property in Bandol and allowed him to feed the increasing demand for his Cotes de Provence Rose.

Domaine Sorin 2018 Cotes de Provence Rosé “Terra Amata,” pale pink, CDP rose with real finesse, very ready
Domaine Sorin 2015 Bandol Rouge, deep color, cherry, licorice, built to last but in the window now
Domaine Sorin 2016 Bandol Rouge, typical profile, but not nearly the complexity as the 15 and still a bit disjointed
Domaine Paternel 2017 Cassis “Blanc de Blancs,” aromatic, with dense palate that shows layers of stone fruit, plenty to get excited about here

The Cassis Blanc was an eye opener for me as I’d never been to Cassis or consumed the wines from this tiny AOP. Very little Cassis is exported as the demand is sky high in this gorgeous, touristed, seaside appellation. The pricing? As you’d expect pricing on AOP Cassis is extremely high. Frank will say way too high, I vote to offer some on a presell when the 2018 vintage is available as Olivier Santini will have a pallet or two available for allocation. I dare anyone to find a superior pairing with Bouillabaisse.

Cotes de Provence Rosé also continues to climb in price due to insatiable global demand. We’ve worked hard to keep pricing reasonable for you on Sorin, not without some yelling and screaming at the winery, such was the episode between Frank and Olivier this evening as the sun set over this dreamlike property overlooking the Mediterranean. Our guess is that Cotes de Provence pricing has reached a peak and will stabilize (or even decrease a touch) by next year.

Finalizing 2019 packaging with Olivier Santini

It is also worth noting that some time was spent tweaking the packaging on Sorin’s Cotes de Provence Rosé – The changes we made during our visit will debut not in this current vintage but rather with the release of the 2019 next winter.

Chateau Bas

The property is owned by Mrs. von Blanquet, an older lady living in Baden-Baden, widow of the founder of Gaggenau kitchens. The estate is 170 acres in total, all organic, mostly planted with rosé destined red varietals (mostly Grenache and Cinsault), along with red destined red varietals (mostly Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah), and whites including Clairette, Bourboulenc, Sauvignon Blanc, and Vermentino.

It is as historic a property as they come, all farming is organic, although the cellar is modern and efficient, where they produce 3 levels, Chateau Bas as we know it, the premium Pierres du Sud in 3 colours and the iconic Le Temple in red and white. The reds in the latter ranges are really good and so is the white Le Temple. All reds get decent “elevage” time, a minimum of two years in bottle prior to release. They all get more or less wood.

Organic rows at Chateau Bas

The Coteaux d’Aix en Provence is a relatively small appellation, there are some 70 producers including 3 cooperatives. The region is traditionally a red wine producer, the rosé trend is led by economics rather than custom, but it turned out that the area produces some pretty good rosés which seem to have a little more body than the more elegant examples we see from the Eastern part of Provence. The whites at Chateau Bas are rather full bodied and fat and age well, they are considerably better than average in Provence.

Chateau Bas 2018 Blanc, fresh, straightforward, some spice
Pierre de Sud 2018 Blanc, similar, but better
Chateau Bas 2018 Rosé, fresh, solid, fine
Pierre de Sud 2018 Rosé, step up, more depth
Chateau Bas 2018 Rouge, solid and quite serious, good
Pierre de Sud 2015, even better

We should consider the Pierre de Sud at some point, with the more classic label and bottle. When you all are ready that is. Let us know.

Southern Burgundy and Beaujolais – Winter 2019
Southern Burgundy and Beaujolais – Winter 2019

Southern Burgundy and Beaujolais – Winter 2019

By Jeff Miller|2019-01-28T04:15:38+00:00January 27th, 2019|Burgundy, France, Travel Report|

Day three was an eye-opener. Gerald Talmard introduces us to his friends and neighbors in Chardonnay, we gorge on wine soaked meat with the Jambon family @ Domaine Thulon, and finish up at Louis Picamelot’s brand new winery to taste what have to be the finest set of non-Champagne bubbles in France.

Gerald Talmard

Our visit to Talmard is always quick, as this is an efficient father/son operation with only two wines produced. There is not much to talk about really as Gerald makes the best QPR Macon Chardonnay on the market and we beg for as much as he will give us. Talmard typifies 2018 as “2015, but more acidity”. He is right.

Gerald Talmard shows us 2018’s from tank

Talmard 18 Macon Chardonnay, fresh, good acidity, citrus, easy to drink.
Talmard 18 Macon-Uchizy, similar in style, more closed at this point.

He is playing with a new fermentation process that allows for lower use of SO2, and maybe that was where that extra paintbrush of Chardonnay goodness came from…We’ve rarely tasted wine this good at Talmard. Overachievement. 50,000 bottles available, 10,000 more than with the 2017! Let’s have some fun!

Cadoles de Chardonnay

All of you have such an appetite for Gerald Talmard’s bombastic values in Macon Chardonnay and Macon Uchizy that he simply cannot supply all of your demand! For this reason Gerald introduced us to his friends and neighbors at Cadoles de Chardonnay. This father/son operation is located several minutes from Gerald’s Domaine, and smack dab in the aptly named village of Chardonnay. Until several years ago the Domaine was selling all of their production to the local cooperative in Lugny, but they now make and sell wines themselves as their quality is just too good to be lost in a village blend. Here we have a family with deep/long ties to the land, and believe it or not they farm 10% of the total acreage in Chardonnay, all planted to Chardonnay of course! Everything is fermented in stainless steel, and most everything is aged in stainless steel save a dozen experimental barrels.

Patrick and Nicolas Laugere, doing their thing and doing it well

Cadoles de Chardonnay 18 Macon Chardonnay, lemon color, soft, fine, more complex and concentrated than Talmard. Priced a bit higher than Talmard but seems justified.

Big opportunity here. You can expect our first load in Spring 2019. Available in all states.

Domaine Thulon

Domaine Thulon is located on the old estate of Château de Thulon (this castle towers over the Domaine), and was purchased by Annie and René Jambon in 1987 after they were “métayers” for 20 years on the same site (if the “métayer” thing, ie French sharecropping, is interesting to you have a look at this article by Andrew Jefford) Their children Carine and Laurent are now running the estate, and a passion for experimentation sets them apart from peers in the region. These are some of the best values in French wine we’ve come across in the last decade.

The Jambon Family

Domaine de Thulon 18 Beaujolais Villages Blanc, full fat, low acidity

Domaine de Thulon 18 Beaujolais Villages Rosé, firmer. fresh, good

Domaine de Thulon 18 Beaujolais Villages, fresh, fruit

Domaine de Thulon 17 Chiroubles, some reduction, dark, quite full

Domaine de Thulon 17 Regnié. firm, fresh, fruit, good acidity

Domaine de Thulon 17 Morgon concentration, more depth

Domaine de Thulon 17 Regnié VV, some wood aging, tight

Domaine de Thulon 16 Regnié VV, open, nice

Domaine de Thulon 18 Regnié, dark, full, round

Domaine de Thulon 18 Chiroubles, tight, a little dry

Domaine de Thulon 18 Morgon, full, aromatic, concentration

Domaine de Thulon 18 Regnié VV, intense

Domaine de Thulon 17 Beaujolais Villages Blanc “Montagnier,” wood aged, a little funky, why throw wood at such a good thing?

Domaine de Thulon 17 Viognier, nice acidity, probably not useful for us though

Domaine de Thulon 17 “Cerise,” funky, we had divided opinions on it with Frank a big no and Jeff a “hell yes”

The 18’s are going through what seems a somewhat difficult phase. 17’s were bottled not so long ago and need some time. The cellar and the wines were very cold.

The Beaujolais Villages and Chiroubles are made by carbonic maceration. The others are vinified classically (Burgundy-style). Everything takes place in a charmingly typical cellar for the area (have a look at our 360 photos here and more your cursor around for the full experience). After tasting we crossed the courtyard to dunk assorted meats into steaming pots of Beaujolais wine with the family – I’m trying to find a recipe link for you here but cannot find a thing. Try this though…Simply pour a few bottles of Beaujolais wine into that dusty fondue pot someone gave you as a wedding present, add a chopped onion, a few cloves, some pepper, a few bay leaves, a bit of chicken stock, and a good dose of salt….sit around the table and dip meat into it….proceed to drink copious amounts of Cru Beaujolais. Finish the meal with a wide assortment of cheese. Now you are partying like the Jambon Family. What a way to warm up a blustery afternoon.

Louis Picamelot

Phillippe Chautard is the newest generation in the Picamelot family tree to operate this venerable sparkling wine house in Rully. We are safe to say these are the finest sparkling wines made in France outside of Champagne, and some of the top bottlings will beat plenty of Champagne when tasted blind. Mr. Chautard just finished the construction of a breathtaking new winery which is cut into the side of a hill. Have a look at our newly posted 360 photos on Google Street View.

Phillippe Chautard showing off his new toys

Louis Picamelot Crémant de Bourgogne Blanc de Blancs Heritage 1926, PBL/CH/UGNI, non AOP, Traditional Method, pretty tasty if lacking some focus
Louis Picamelot Crémant de Bourgogne 15 Pinot Noir Rosé, well made,. fresh, right color
Louis Picamelot Crémant de Bourgogne 16 Terroirs, PN/CH/ALI, fresh, quite complex
Louis Picamelot Crémant de Bourgogne 15 Terroirs, more mature, good
Louis Picamelot Crémant de Bourgogne 15 “Chazot,” PN from St. Aubin, full-bodied, big wine
Louis Picamelot Crémant de Bourgogne 14 “Jeanne Thomas,” CH 85- ALI 15, big, complex
Louis Picamelot Crémant de Bourgogne 14 “Reipes” 2014, 100 Chardonnay from St. Aubin, bigger, fine, complex
Louis Picamelot Crémant de Bourgogne 13 “Jean Baptiste” 80% Chardonnay, 20% Aligote, older, mixed opinions here, you probably won’t see this from us other than via presell.

Excellent wines. Informative back labels. So much potential. Plenty of others feel the same way that we do about Picamelot, so keep in mind that overall quantities are limited here (certainly not the norm for a sparkling house, especially one producing Cremant de Bourgogne).

Up next is a few days in the Rhone with our good friend Harry Bosmans.

Burgundy – Winter 2019
Burgundy – Winter 2019

Burgundy – Winter 2019

By Jeff Miller|2019-01-27T17:20:23+00:00January 24th, 2019|France, Podcast, Travel Report|

The journey continues to Burgundy, with visits to Domaine R. Dubois & Fils, Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur, and Justin Girardin. Snow threatened, Frank took care of his Andouillette fix, and all things said a solid day at the office.

Vintage Summary

Conditions in Burgundy for the 2018 vintage were similar to Alsace, and the whole Northern part of France for that matter. The result is a large crop (sometimes too large) of concentrated wines with saturated colors. People who started their harvesting on time and did not overcrop will have superb reds and very good whites. Given the weather, it is more of a Red vintage than a white as acidities may be low.

Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur

Dufouleur started early and harvested rapidly as the heat continued through the harvest. His wines are dark, fresh and have normal

acidity levels. He also has good cooling equipment, unusual in Burgundy, but critical in 2018. Like his father before him Yvan Dufouleur is obsessed with freshness in his finished wines and therefore will pick a few days earlier than most of his peers – We consider this an advantage almost universally (this style is what led us to his wines in the first place), and in 2018 this was a massive advantage. All 2018 reds are barrel-aged, more or less new depending on the appellation

All 2018 reds are barrel-aged, more or less new depending on the appellation
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2018 H.C. Nuits, dark, loaded with fruit.
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2018 Santenay Genets, big, very dark, balanced, classy
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2018 Pommard, more feminine in style, very fine
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2018 NSG Juliens, good color, elegant style
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2018 Fixin Chapitre, Syrah-dark ! concentrated, tannic, outstanding (and cheap)
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2018 NSG Poulettes, soft, round, very fine
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2018 NSG Perrieres, dark, concentrated, complex, emblematic, should get some

We did not taste 2018 whites, all were in malolactic

Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2017 Aligote, still fresh and lively, but too “old” for us now

Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2017 HCN Blanc, fresh, structured, young

Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2017 HCN Rouge, good color, fresh, nice fruit

Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2017 Pommard, rather big, finesse

Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2017 Fixin Chapitre, dark, concentrated, full

Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2017 NSG Juliens, tight, typical, pure, finesse

Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2017 NSG Perrieres, dark, more concentration

We also tasted two lots of older wines:

Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2011 NSG Poulettes, some reduction, still youngish, complex
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2007 NSG Poulettes mature, or close to it, beautiful aromatics, ordered everything available.

The wines are less concentrated here, which is their style, but in 2018 this is actually an advantage.

Domaine Raphael Dubois & Fils

Here we have a traditional estate in Premeaux, near Nuits-Saint-Georges, not unlike Dufouleur, but a little more old-school with something of an “undiscovered” feel to it. Frank has worked with this property for years on the Poot Agenturen side of things in Europe.

Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 Aligoté, fresh, full

Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 Coteaux Bourguignonnes, longer, good flavor

Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 HCN, full, more concentration

Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 HCB, more acidity, finer, sort of light Meursault-style

Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 CdNV, bigger, fatter. more oak

Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 Bourgogne Rouge, good color, fruit, soft

Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 HCN, color ok, fruit, more elegant

Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 Savigny Les Beaune, color ok, typical, some tannin

Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 Beaune, similar, pretty wine

Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 Volnay, again similar in style, but finer

Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 Chambolle Musigny, darker, fat, full, masculin

Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 Vosne Romanee, fine fruit, typical

Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 NSG, good color, full, tannic. concentration

Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 SLB Narbantons, good color, aromatic, nice

Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 NSG Argillièrers, fine, concentrated, long

Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 NSG Porets, new oak, tannic

Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2018 Clos Vougeot, dark, tannic, structured

Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2017 Bourgogne, good color, a little tight

Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2017 NSG, dark, full, fruit, tannin

Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2017 SLB Narbantons, lighter color, fine, elegant

Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2017 NSG Argillières, good color, some reduction, some wood, round

Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2017 NSG Porets, more concentartion, fine, aromatic

Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2017 Clos Vougeot, dark, tannic, dry

We talk a lot about colors here, because at Dubois they are sometimes on the light side. Wonder why? Well, in these modern times enzyme additions to Pinot Noir at crush have become the norm even in traditional ole Burgundy and while we don’t have a huge problem with this it is refreshing to work with someone like Dubois who is traditional to the max and proud of the naturally light color you end up with in the finished wines of this region.. We should do more with them – Prices are good, few old school estates like this exist anymore, and they offer a wide range of wines.

Justin Girardin

We tasted 2018’s with Justin out of barrel at his main space in Santenay. One thing you instantly notice about Justin is that he is an intensely focused person. This was actually the winery of Justin’s famous uncle Vincent Girardin, until Vincent moved his operations a few kilometers North. It is worth noting (some of you already know this we are sure) that Vincent Girardin recently sold his Domaine to Boisset, and the way we see it this puts young Justin Girardin in the position to carry the storied torch of this overachieving Santenay based family. Carrying that torch well he is. Just for the sheer pleasure of it we want to drive back and taste this whole lineup once more!

Justin Girardin 2018 Bourgogne Blanc, stunningly good again, fresh, classy

Justin Girardin 2018 Santenay, beautiful lemon color, long, fine, outstanding for appellation.

Justin Girardin 2018 Chassagne Montrachet Morgeot, citrusy, rich, very good.

Justin Girardin 2018 Bourgogne Rouge, 35 year vines, dark, tight, good fruit, cool, outstanding

Justin Girardin 2018 Santenay VV, dark, more complex and concentration, fruit

Justin Girardin 2018 Santenay Clos Rousseau, more of everything, finer

Justin Girardin 2018 Pommard, tons of fruit, fine, elegant

Overall a stunning set of wines, as good as it gets. While there aren’t huge quantities made of any of these wines there is enough production of the Bourgogne Blanc and Rouge for us to give them focus and build volume. 2017’s are still available in decent quantities. Lesser 2018’s will be bottled in the summer. At this point we were able to get the virtual reality camera working so check out the embedded image of Justin in his cellar below and move the view around. Preferably just put on a VR headset. Depending on when you are reading this you “should” be able to walk around the winery that way but we are messing with some image stitching issues at the moment…stay tuned!

That’s it for now, onwards towards the Macon!

Alsace – Winter 2019
Alsace – Winter 2019

Alsace – Winter 2019

By Jeff Miller|2019-01-21T18:52:58+00:00January 20th, 2019|France, Podcast, Travel Report|

Frank Poot, John Griffin, and I are on a dizzying 12 day, 38 winery rout through France to taste 2018’s in barrel and catch up with producers. We are compiling our opinions, notes, and media as a group and posting them here for your enjoyment!

Vintage Summary

2018…Extraordinary vintage in Alsace. Large too very large volumes and very ripe at the same time. This despite a wet spring and a very dry, very hot summer. Harvest had to start early to retain acidity and freshness. The wines are unusually concentrated with high, sometimes even record alcohol levels. However, the concentration is such that this does not seem to be a big problem.Obviously, residual sugar levels in Pinot Gris and Gewürz are high, but the wines still seem to be balanced.

Domaine Fernand Engel

Proprietor Xavier Engel runs what is probably the largest Biodynamic estate in France, and he is somewhat of an outsider on the natural/bio scene as he farms this way out of pure pragmatism (and obsession about mineral content in the finished wines) rather than being someone who farms this way for philosophical reasons. We will take it – Recent studies here showed 70% higher mineral content in wine from biodynamically farmed soil versus conventional soil (same area, same vine age)! Xavier’s cellar is one huge science experiment and his newest passion is reductive winemaking – He is minimizing oxygen to the extreme in all vessels for what can only be described as unbelievable freshness and balance. We will dive into that on the podcast this Spring as it is a bit too technical to splice into this post.

Xavier Engel in front of his self-invented oxygen scrubbing system

Domaine Fernand Engel 2018 Pinot Blanc, fresh, ripe, outstanding.

Domaine Fernand Engel 2018 Sylvaner, classic Sylvaner, enough to bring Frank close to tears

Domaine Fernand Engel 2018 Riesling “Cuvee Engel,” Ripe, good acidity and character, full, fresh. Rarely seen quality

Domaine Fernand Engel 2018 Riesling Rotenberg, big, intense, complex.

Domaine Fernand Engel 2018 Riesling Praelatenberg, finer, more elegant, concentration.

Domaine Fernand Engel 2018 Pinot Gris “Cuvee Engel,” dry, full, complex, intense

Domaine Fernand Engel 2018 Gewürztraminer “Cuvee Engel,” superb, full of character, impossible not to like. RS

Domaine Fernand Engel 2018 Vendage Tardives (PG and Gewürz), beautiful, super-concentration, still good acidity.

Domaine Fernand Engel 2018 Pinot Noir “Cuvee Engel,” very dark, full, tannic with good varietal character.

Domaine Fernand Engel 2018 Pinot Noir “Meyerhof,” biner, more focused, despite young vines.

Domaine Fernand Engel 2018 Pinot Noir “Reniassance” (with some dried grapes added), over-the-top, but if you like Amarone….

Domaine Fernand Engel 2016 Cremant d’Alsace Chardonnay, pale, fine, crisp. Very good indeed.

Domaine Fernand Engel 2016 Cremant d’Alsace Pinot Noir, (new and from the Silberberg plot), big, bold young. *we purchased every last bottle he’d give us of this new bottling

The most interesting discovery on this trip was learning about Xavier’s unique process of making sparkling wines. We’ve long celebrated his bubbles for their rich mouthfeel and fine carbonation but weren’t aware that he was doing something completely unusual to accomplish this result. Intrigued? Listen to this short clip from Xavier on our podcast where he explains his philosophy of growing on “cool” soils in order to harvest at a high enough brix level to have the ability to achieve secondary fermentation with natural grape sugars.

Cattin

As you know there is quite the broad range at Cattin and we focused mostly on cuvees we carry since we are just in the process of launching things with them. Jacques Cattin feels lucky about the bountiful 2018 harvest. If you haven’t yet visited their spaceship like tasting room and wine bar you must go as there is nothing else like it in Alsace. Tactile wines.

Jacques Cattin shows us his delicious new Cremant “Ice”

Cattin 2018 Pinot Blanc, aromatic, fresh.
Cattin 2018 Pinot Blanc Reserve, a little more of everything
Cattin 2018 Riesling, aromatic, tiny bit of rs
Cattin 2018 Rielsing Reserve, a step up, more acidity and a little smokey.
Cattin 2018 Pinot Gris, more concentration, typical
Cattin 2018 Pinot Gris Reserve, slightly better, same style
Cattin 2018 Pinot Noir, dark, good character, fresh, some tannin.
Cattin 2018 Pinot Noir Reserve, very close
Cattin 2016 Cremant d’Alsace BIO, fresh, crisp, dry, very good
Cattin NV Cremant d’Alsace “Ice,” demi-sec but quite fresh and balanced, Very nice, good packaging

Apparently Cattin’s Demi-Sec “Ice” is a massive hit locally in Alsace. We couldn’t stop talking about it during our drive to Burgundy – We will give it a go on our next shipment, just in time for swimming pool season! The future ahead is very bright indeed for Cattin.

Frank is gushing about 2017 Burgundies from barrel
Frank is gushing about 2017 Burgundies from barrel

Frank is gushing about 2017 Burgundies from barrel

By Jeff Miller|2019-01-15T22:53:48+00:00September 26th, 2018|Burgundy, France, Travel Report|

Some of you have been lucky enough to meet our friend and colleague Frank Poot over the years. Now 68 years young, Frank started his long and storied wine career in a somewhat atypical way, working as a young commercial truck driver transporting tulips from his native Holland to all corners of France. Frank never considered a day complete without settling into whatever was the typical cuisine of the region he found himself in, and he invariably accompanied this food with a few glasses of regional wine. Frank soon started taking his tulip truck on detours to stock up on wines he particularly enjoyed, and Frank’s contagious personality meant that he soon had forged friendships with winegrowers across France.

This activity quickly turned into selling wine to friends, which turned into Frank co-founding the Bordeaux negociant Vintex in the mid-1980’s (an iconic firm still thriving to this day and our top supplier in the region). Frank’s efforts at Vintex led him and our late Founder Mike Temple to meet. In time Frank sold his shares in Vintex, created Poot Agenturen (now one of Europe’s leading wine distributors), and he and Mike went on to share their travels, producer portfolios, and vacations over what was a pretty incredible thirty year friendship. After Mike Temple’s untimely passing in 2015, Frank stepped in to formally become Grape Expectations’ eyes and ears in Europe. Frank’s radar for talent, culture, and value is second to none. Every morning I feel blessed that we have this opportunity to work with him.

Without further ado, below are Frank’s trip notes from what was a fast and furious junket!

Northern Chablis, 9/21/18

Interesting experience tonight. I’m on my way to Fèvre et Fèvre and since they could only see me tomorrow morning I decided to leave early and spend the night in the area. It so happened that Chablis was booked solid and I ended up in a small, rural village, called Ligny-le Châtel at the very North end of viticultural Chablis. The establishment, Le Relais Saint Vincent (relais usually indicates a place where coaches changed horses and passengers ate and drank. As it is along the old road from Troyes to Auxerre it seems to fit), is pretty old, but clean and comfortable. It is run by a guy who got tired of his well paid job at the RATP ( Parisian public transportation system) and decided in 2008 to do something else. He ended up with an old hotel-restaurant in the boonies (how deep can a man fall…). The restaurant is actually pretty good with some of my old favorites like Jambon Persillé and Andouillette de Chablis. The wines were remarkable (I’m getting there). They had a straight Chablis 2016 by the glass from Yvon Vocoret, a local grower and probably related to the Vocorets in Chablis (big time producers). Easy style, but very dry and typical.

For red I had Irancy 2015 from Richoux which they served by the glass at € 5,50 or a half bottle at € 22 ( which I had). Astonishing wine, dark, young, tight, full-bodied and more spice than I have ever seen in a PN. Above all, very earthy. For cheese I had Chaource and Soumaintrain ( ëpoisses like}, both local and showing very well (Isn’t September such great time of the year for cheese?!?). The combination of the cheeses with the Irancy was astonishing, both the cheese and the wine have very earthy characters and seem to be made to go together. So, are we then talking about terroir or earthiness, or both???

Domaine Nathalie and Gilles Fèvre (aka Fèvre Fèvre), 9/22/18

Nathalie and Gilles Fevre have some 120 acres total, mostly in Chablis and Fourchaume. State-of-the-art winery. Owned and run by Gilles and Nathalie along with daughter Julie. Nathalie is the winemaker (she was La Chablisienne’s winemaker for twelve years). Availability is very good, they still sell grapes/must to a handful of top echelon names, whom we will keep un-named!

Harvest 2018 just finished – It started early on Sept. 3 and ended Sept. 27. Winter and spring were quite wet, perfect water table. Growing conditions were just perfect, but also bizarre this year. Summer very warm and very dry, it is raining a bit today as I write this, but they did not get much at all through the summer. There was some drought stress, but less than what could be expected, so the ripening went well. Diseases that plagued Southern France were all but absent in the North. Production is very big and of very good quality, not unlike in Champagne. I tasted some fermenting wines, they are very concentrated and rich, if the acidities hold up this could be a vintage like 1990 or 1982, the best in recent history.

The 2017’s showed very well. Overall the wines are balanced, round and complete with the typical Chablis salinity, minerality and tension. They will age well, but can easily be drunk young. Chablis, fresh, round, more saline than mineral.

Fevre Fevre 2017 Chablis “Fourchaume,” tighter, finer, more mineral.
Fevre Fevre 2017 Chablis “Monts de Milieu” (1er Cru next to the Montée de Tonnerre), fuller, more concentration and acidity.
Fevre Fevre 2017 Chablis “Vaulorent” (1er Cru next to Les Preuses), 15% wood, some new. Abundant fruit, young still, elegant.
Fevre Fevre 2017 Chablis “Les Preuses,” this is in another league, 30% wood, some new. Young, tight, concentrated, crisp.

Very good delivery here at every level. This vintage is clearly better and more typical than 2016, especially in Chablis and Fourchaume. However, I tasted prior vintages of Fourchaume and Preuses (2016), and both were outstanding. The following 2017’s are reserved for us – Chablis 3,000; Fourchaume 300, more possible; Monts de Milieu 120; Vaulorent 300; Preuses 2016 120.

Domaine Dauvissat-Camus, 9/24/18

Vincent Dauvissat is a very kind, serious and soft spoken person, and runs the estate with his son Ghislain. We tasted 2017 vintages from barrel. Most wines are tank-fermented and than put in barrel, mostly older. Annually only a few new barrels are used for barrel fermentation. All wines receive their aging in small wood barrels. Everything is traditional here and I don’t have a clue what makes these wines so great. Yields are somewhat lower than average, but generally not really low. These wines are stunning, very pure and typical and true to their respective origins. They are sculpted thoroughbreds.

Domaine Dauvissat Camus 2017 Petit Chablis, concentrated for the ac, tight, but pleasant.
Domaine Dauvissat Camus 2017 Chablis, more complex and saline, tension.
Domaine Dauvissat Camus 2017 Chablis “Sechets,” dry and austere, nervous.
Domaine Dauvissat Camus 2017 Chablis “Vaillons,” more fruit and fat.
Domaine Dauvissat Camus 2017 Chablis “Forets,” shy, fresh, typical.
Domaine Dauvissat Camus 2017 Chablis “Preuses,” other dimension, powerful, complex, finesse and tension.
Domaine Dauvissat Camus 2017 Chablis “Clos,” fatter, but also drier, salinity, mineral.

They all have the typical minerality, salinity and tension of Chablis, but very balanced by the fruit. 2017 is a vintage that will be lovely young. I think it will age well. I have rarely tasted a finer set of wines. Veronique, the office manager, will do the allocations in December, or so. No idea how much we will get, but they are very loyal. They have not taken on new customers for many years in order to maintain allocations for existing clients.

Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur, 9/23/18

2018 Harvested 9/3 -9/17 under ideal conditions. They did not receive the two-day heat spike that Chablis got. They also had more rain during the growing season. Wines were too young to taste, but the winery smelled nice. Some hail damage, up to 20% in some areas, but this was pretty much compensated elsewhere.

Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2017 Aligoté, fresh, crisp, balanced, good acidity.
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2017 Hautes Cotes de Nuits “16th Gen,” fuller, more spice, long.
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2017 Hautes Cotes de Nuits “Huguettes,” sone new wood, classy.
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2017 SLB, finer, fuller, more new wood.

By October the above will all be bottled.

Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2017 Hautes Cotes de Nuits Rouge “16th Gen,” a little closed, good fruit.
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2017 Hautes Cotes de Nuits Rouge “Hugettes,” more austere and tight.
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2017 Santenay Genets, elegant, new wood , flavor.
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2017 Volnay, lighter in color, finesse elegant, charm.
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2017 Pommard, similar, more powerful.
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2017 Nuits Saint Georges “Juliens,” light color, good fruit, structure.
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2017 Fixin “Chapitre,” extremely dark for PN, all about power, fat and tannin, a monster.
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2017 Nuits Saint Georges “Crots,” dark, fine.
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2017 Nuits Saint Georges “Poulettes,” fine again, longer.
Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur 2017 Nuits Saint Georges “Perriere,” dark, powerful.

Virtually all these reds were somewhat reductive, which is normal at this stage. They will get a last racking before bottling later this year. It makes tasting a little difficult, but I actually like it as it is a natural protection in the wine. 2017’s are rather soft and balanced and will be drinking beautifully young. Very consumer friendly wines, white as well as red. It’s all there in this vintage, but it’s not 2010 or 2015, more a slightly lighter edition of 2009. Dufouleur offers great value again!

Domaine R. Dubois & Fils, 9/25/18

Very interesting visit, a lot happening here. Harvest situation similar to Dufouleur, obviously, as both have vineyards in the same areas. Very happy with his 2018’s although he worried a little bit about low acidities. This could be the hallmark of the vintage, but it’s too early to tell. Malic acid levels are low, so it will remain to be seen what’s left after the ML fermentation. They started in 2017 with 30% whole-cluster fermentation for some wines, in 2018 they have done this with most of the premium wines and with 30-50% whole bunch. From what I saw in some of the 2017’s this is a beneficial method for the domaine.

Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2017 Aligoté, rich an creamy, full and soft.
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2017 Coteaux Bourguigonnes (chardonnay), more complexity and flavor.
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2017 Hautes Cotes de Beaune Blanc very nice, some wood, a “little Meursault”. great value.
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2017 Hautes Cotes de Nuits Blanc, more fruit and finesse, quite different from the
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2017 Cotes de Nuits Villages Blanc, rich and fat, more wood, good balance.
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2017 Nuits Saint Georges Blanc (new), even richer, ton of white fruit, very nice (it is actually from 1er Cru soil, but he finds the vines too young to call it that).

The above are a great set of rich, soft, charming wines that will drink very well young and a little older.

Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2017 Bourgogne Rouge VV, quite stunning, good color, great Pinot fruit.
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2017 Hautes Cotes de Nuits Rouge, less color, more austere, needs some time.Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2017 Savigny lès Beaune Rouge, lighter color, good flavor and long.
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2017 Beaune Rouge, good color, wood a bit dominant, needs time.
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2017 Volnay, good color and fruit, finesse.
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2017 Cotes de Nuits Villages Rouge, ample, fat, more masculin.
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2017 Chambolle, very reductif, but seems very good.
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2017 Vosne, top, good color, very long (vineyard just below Echezeaux)
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2017 Nuits Saint Georges Rouge, full, powerful.
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2017 Savigny les Beaune Rouge “Narbantons,” concentration, sweet.
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2017 Nuits Saint Georges Rouge “Argillières,” concentrated, sweet, soft.
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2017 Nuits Saint Georges Rouge “Pôrets,” more power, bigger wine
Domaine R. Dubois & Fils 2017 Clos Vougeot, big, brooding, dark, great wine

Good stuff overall.

Louis Picamelot 9/25/15

Eye opening visit with Proprietor Philippe Chautaurd. Founded in 1926 by the grandfather of Chautard. They have 40 acres all over Burgundy, but most wine/must is bought from contract growers. Capacity 400K bottles, in a brand new winery/cellar in Rully. These Cremants are made like Burgundy wine, with Burgundy varietals, from small plots, fully authentic, consequently all vintage-dated. To me this is absolutely unique, I don’t think there’s any other producer like it. “Crémant de Terroir”, if you will, a great sales pitch for Sommeliers to make on the floor to tables! All wines are made by Champagne Method, very much like Champagne, bottled in March, long bottle ageing, at least 18 months. Dosage is low, mostly 6.75 or lower. All rather dry, fresh and crisp.

Picamelot 2014 Cremant de Bourgogne “Terroir” (which we carry), 40 Chard / 30 Pinot / 30 Aligote, dry, fresh, young. Very good indeed.
Picamelot 2015 Cremant de Bourgogne Rosé, 100% PN, aromatic, dry, noble.
Picamelot 2014 Cremant de Bourgogne “Bio,” 100% PN, aromatic again, dry, ripe.
Picamelot 2014 Cremant de Bourgogne “Blanc de Blancs,” Chardonnay/Aligote, a lot of flavor, long.
Picamelot 2014 Cremant de Bourgogne “Blanc de Blancs Reipes,” 100% Chardonnay from Saint Aubin, austere, fine, top.
Picamelot 2013 Cremant de Bourgogne (unnamed barrel aged cuvee), Chard/Aligote, a little ripe for me.

Back labels (EU) are very elaborate, they state vintage, bottling date, blend, disgorgment date, dosage. We should expand our Picamelot offerings, if you agree let us know or just post a comment!

That is it for now – The next time around I’ll figure out the whole Android photo upload thing and integrate some photo material.

Best,