This tasting was organized for wine trade people at the Brussels (superb) Beaux Arts Museum by several fine growers who are seeking to extend their representation in Benelux. I was lucky to get an invitation from one of the importers. I nearly skipped it; the weather was rainy and blustery and I did not much fancy the hassle of traffic jams, parking and walking to the museum through wet streets. I am glad that, in the event, I did go. It was fine climax to a very good season of tastings.
Château Falfas – from Bayron, AOC Côtes de Bourg – Gironde.
The wines from this estate are predominately derived from Merlot although the Cabernets are more significant in the last. The owner, John Cochran, is American and very entertaining.
LES DEMOISELLES DE FALFAS 2005 is made from young vines and is fruity, fresh and supple; 14/20. CHATEAU FALFAS 2004 is fuller bodied, rounder and with more structure; 15/20. CHATEAU FALFAS LE CHEVALIER 2004 is made from vines planted in 1938 and 39 and shows more depth and density in a similar vein; 15.5/20.
Domaine Philippe Alliet – Cravant-les-Coteaux, AOC Chinon.
CHINON LA HUISSERIE 2005 is made from young vines and is fresh and fruity for early drinking with typical charcoal notes; 14.5/20. CHINON COTEAUX DE NOIRE 2005 is marked at this stage by its maturation in 80% new wood but the deep, rich fruit and structure are very impressive; 16+/20 when the wood integrates.
Clos Rougeard – from Chacé, AOC Saumur-Champigny.
The class shines through on these wines even though they are very young; the wood treatment seems more refined than on the Alliet Coteaux de Noiré. The straight talking M. Foucault wears a most impressive moustache.
SAUMUR BREZE 2004 (W) shows aromas of exotic white fruit with a marked patina of fine wood and a generous mouth-filling palate with impressive flesh and length; 16.5+/20 with a little more time. SAUMUR-CHAMPIGNY LES POYEUX 2004 shows fine aromas of complex fruit with wood in the background and rich fruity and long palate with charcoal notes and wood still present but already well integrated; 16.5/20+ and ready for the long haul. SAUMUR-CHAMPIGNY LE BOURG 2004 is similar but a notch superior in terms of depth and complexity; 17/20 +.
Domaine du Vissoux – Beaujolais
The wines of this estate are a revelation. They are natural, fresh and elegant and go down smoothly without any sense of forcing or over-sophistication. They also prove to me that my affectionate memories of Beaujolais from Paris brasseries in the 60s are more that nostalgia. Pierre-Marie Chermette and his wife are articulate advocates for their methods but, above all, the wines do the talking. All the wines were from 2006 except the Nouveau.
BEAUJOLAIS BLANC (Chardonnay) is wonderfully fresh and mineral with good remanence; 15.5/20. If all BEAUJOLAIS NOUVEAU were like LES GRIOTTES 2007, the world would not have become bored with it; fresh, generous and fruity and surprisingly complex and far superior to an undernourished Drouhin the other day; 15/20. BEAUJOLAIS VILLAGES Cuvée Traditionelle Vieilles Vignes showed good fruit and was deeper and more suave than the previous but less charmingly spontaneous; 15/20. BEAUJOLAIS COEUR DE VENDANGES is fruity and civilized; 15/20. BROUILLY represents a clear step up and shows more flesh, complexity and structure; 15.5/20. FLEURIE PONCIE is more refined and adds an attractive ivy note; 16/20. FLEURIE LES GARANTS is aromatically a little more closed but shows more generosity of body and depth with the same refinement and probably the bonus of some ageing potential if one can keep one’s lips off it; 16.5/20. Lastly MOULIN A VENT LES TROIS ROCHES is firmer and more virile and showing expressive fruit; 16/20.
Isole e Olena from Barberina Val d’Elsa (FI)
This is one of my favourite Tuscan estates ably represented by Paolo De MarchI.
CHIANTI CLASSICO 2005 is softer and perhaps lighter than in most years but the fruit is pure and the wine shows nice Chianti tang; 15.5/20. CEPARELLO Igt 2004 (Sangiovese) is richer and deeper than the previous with gracious dark fruit and more structure and tang; wood notes are still there (18 months in 1/3 new oak) but should integrate shortly; 16.5/20 with + potential. VIN SANTO 2000 is rich, burnished and complex with malt hints and not at all cloying; 16.5/20.
Domaine Alain Graillot from Pont de l’Isère, Crozes-Hermitage.
This is one of my favourite Northern Rhône estates. The wines have a Burgundian elegance and are remarkably consistent and long-lived as I have experienced in a vertical a year or so ago.
SAINT-JOSEPH 2006 has a typical N. Rhône Syrah nose of slight metallic dark cherry and its palate shows rich fruit and structure; 15.5/20 with + potential. CROZES-HERMITAGE 2006 is similar but a touch deeper and darker; delicious now but Madame Graillot confirms that it will probably plunge into a closed phase before emerging more subtle and complex in a few years time; 16/20 now with + potential.
Domaine de Trévallon - from Saint-Etienne-du-Grès near Les Baux de Provence.
This is yet another of my favourite estates, this time from Provence. This estate was victim of one of the more blatant examples of wooden stupidity on the part of the INAO civil servants; they refused entry of this wine into a brand new AOC, Les Baux de Provence, on the grounds of the lack of provençal typicity of its 50% Cabernet Sauvignon content (the other 50% of Syrah was OK). Because his wine already had a fine reputation, owner Eloi Dürrbach was able to cock a snook at this ruling and happily sells his wine labelled as Vin de Pays des Bouches-du-Rhône for around EUR 50/bottle.
TREVALLON red 2005 (barrel sample) shows a rich and complex nose and an exuberantly rich and fruity palate with deep body and structure; 16/20 and + potential; why cannot time be slowed down so as to capture this type of pre-bottling pristine fruit for a long period? TREVALLON red 2004 has lost this, of course, and is quite closed aromatically but its finesse can be sensed and there is a lot of matter and structure on the palate; 15/20 now with ++ potential. TREVALLON red 2001 is surprisingly open showed bright fruit aromas with noticeable raspberry and a palate which is already showing more velvety body and resolved structure as well as depth than the previous; 16.5/20; Madame Dürrbach warns that this wine could well close down again for a period; certainly the 1995 which I opened a couple of weeks ago is still tough.
Domaine Marc Kreydenweiss – Andlau – Alsace.
On my first pass, I only tasted the reds from the relatively new Kreydenweiss estate in Costières de Nîmes; they were pleasant but unremarkable. Alas, when I returned all the Alsatian whites had been cleared off the table except for RIESLING GRAND CRU WIEBELSBERG 2006; this at present explodes with generous white fruit, spice and minerals; like with the Trévallon barrel sample, I would love to “freeze” the wine in this pristine state although Marc Kreydenweiss quite rightly reminded me that his grands crus are wonderful agers which develop superb secondary and tertiary flavours; I well remember a 1971 Kastelberg just like that; 16/20 for this one in its present state.
And now, by contrast, for a couple of estates from regions which are completely unfamiliar for me.
Domaine Arretxea from Irouléguy.
The wines were presented by Michel and Thérèse Riouspeyrous. Michel, who speaks with a succulent Basque accent, is fascinating to talk to both about wine and about minority cultures (he speaks Basque with his children). These wines have a lot of personality, are brightly focused and are a lot less aggressive young than the nearby Tannat based Madiran.
IROULEGUY Rouge 2006, made from 50% Tannat and 50% Cabernet franc, shows quite a sharp nose with ivy notes and fine fruit again with ivy on the palate; 15.5/20. IRROULEGUY Rouge Tradition 2005 was more closed and tannic but fine with good matter and structure; 15/20 now with + potential. IROULEGUY HAITZA (= oak) 2005 (from 60% Tannat and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, matured for 14 months in “foudres” of which 20% new and bottled without fining and filtering) is deeper, rounder and already more silky without no obvious signs of new wood; 16/20 +.
Domaine de Torraccia – Porto Vecchio – Corsica.
The wines were presented by the genially witty silver haired owner, Christian Imbert. The estate uses organic methods of farming. Again the wines here have a very original personality.
CORSE PORTO VECCHIO rouge TORRACCIA 2005 (50% Niellucciu, 10% Sciaccarellu, 30% Grenache, 10% Syrah) shows round aromas with ivy notes and a generous southern palate with a special tang; 15.5/20. CORSE PORTO VECCHIO rouge ORIU 2003 (80% Niellucciu and 20% Sciaccarellu) is deeper, darker, rounder and richer with notes of dusty muslin and tar; very satisfying and full of individuality right now but Imbert claims that it has 25 years ageing potential; 16/20 +. These two wines wet my appetite for a wine exploration visit to Corsica.
This was by no means all on show; there were two more favourites, Clos Marie from Pic Saint-Loup and Chidaine from Montlouis and Vouvray, as well as others, but we had reached closing time.