Thursday, June 29, 2017

Jean-Michel GUILLON (Gevrey-Chambertin) -- 2015 Tasted from Barrel Samples


I’ve known of this producer for some time, but this was my first opportunity to sample the wines. As you can see, I was favorably impressed. 

Jean-Michel Guillon started with 2.3 ha or vines in 1980 and now has built it up to 14.8 ha (with 21 appellations!). The estate is now passing to his son, Eric.(Continue reading here.)

Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Domaine Pierre DAMOY (Gevrey-Chambertin) -- 2015: Three Grands Crus Tasted from Barrel Sample



Damoy has done an excellent job with this vintage, especially with the Clos de Bèze and the Chambertin. (Continue reading here.)

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Domaine Bruno CLAIR (Marsannay-la-Côte) -- A Trio of 2015s Tasted from Barrel Sample

I tasted a small sampling of the 2015s at this storied estate. (Continue reading here.)

Domaine ROSSIGNOL-TRAPET (Gevrey-Chambertin) -- 2015 Grands Crus Tasted from Barrel Samples


This estate has a solid trio of grands crus in 2015.

The estate has been biodynamic since the late 1990s. (Continue reading here.)

Monday, June 26, 2017

Domaine Christophe PERROT-MINOT/ PERROT MINOT SARL* (Morey-St-Denis) -- 2015 Tasted from Barrel Samples


When I used to regularly visit this estate in the early 2000s, Christophe Perrot was into heavy extraction. In recent years, he’s eased up and his wines are much more approachable, better-balanced, and to my liking. (Continue reading here.)

Domaine DROUHIN-LAROZE (Gevrey-Chambertin) -- 2015 Tasted from Barrel Samples



I used to visit this estate annually to taste and had favorable impressions. But in the 2007 vintage, some wines were subject to/ruined by reverse osmosis, a practice that I find generally destroys the purity and texture of Burgundies, and I then stopped visiting. Occasional wines I’ve tasted from subsequent vintages have proved good, as did these. (Continue reading here.)

Saturday, June 24, 2017

Domaine de COURCEL (Pommard) -- 2014 Tasted from Bottle


My review of the de Courcel reds from cask samples is here. With yields of only 5-6 hl/ha in 2014, these wines are extremely rare, but should you come across them, they are  worthy of your high attention. (Continue reading here.)

Domaine de COURCEL (Pommard): 2015 Tasted from Barrel Samples



Harvest dates here were the same as for Confuron-Cotétidot, which I just reviewed; not surprising as Yves Confuron is responsible for the wines at both estates. 

Yield in 2015 is a minuscule 13 hl/ha, but up from 6 hl/ha in 2014 and 4 hl/ha in 2013. Yes, Pommard and other Côte de Beaune areas are hurting. (Continue reading here.)

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Domaine J. CONFURON-COTÉTIDOT (Vosne-Romanée) -- 2015 Tasted from Barrel



Always one of, if not the, latest harvesters in Burgundy, Yves Confuron began on 19 September in 2015. (In 2016, it was 4 October.) Also as always, these wines are made entirely with whole clusters. 

The approaches here may be idiosyncratic, but as with another idiosyncratic (and ultra-late harvesting) winemaker, Laurent Ponsot, the results are convincing: the wines are regularly among the best of their respective classes. (Continue reading here.)


Sunday, June 18, 2017

Domaine du Comte LIGER-BELAIR (Vosne-Romanée) -- 2015 Tasted from Barrel


Louis-Michel Liger-Belair said that he harvested between 5 and 10 September in 2015. There had been some oïdium on the hillside vineyards, and he treated it with salt water. He thinks the main effect of the rain at harvest was on the morale, not the wines.

Malolactic fermentations were late, with the last ones finishing in August. 

The estate practices biodynamic cultivation.

As usual, superb wines across the board here. (Continue reading here.)

Saturday, June 17, 2017

Domaine Anne GROS (Vosne-Romanée) -- 2015 Tasted from Tank and from Barrel


Harvesting here began on 7 September on the Côte de Nuits and on 19 September for the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits. The Clos Vougeot had high yields, but the others had smaller, but not catastrophic, yields. 

All grapes were destemmed, as is customary here. Malolactic fermentations began in January and February and went rather fast. As usual, the wines are bottled early here, and they were already in stainless steel awaiting bottling when I visited in mid-November 2016. Alcohols are about 13º for the regional appellations, 13.5º for the rest. (Continue reading here.)

Thursday, June 15, 2017

Northern Rhône Wines Recently Tasted Part VIII: Entrefaux/Tardy, Faurie, Faury, Gonon, Graillot, Levet, Marsanne, Paillard/Vignes des Pères, Perret Saint-Clair/Basset, Souiillard



Conventional wisdom is that 2014 is a problem vintage and 2015 is a great vintage in the region. As usual, conventional wisdom misses the true story.

There’s plenty of good 2014 around, although one wants to be careful, as always, in choosing producers. As for 2015, it has a rich style with moderate acidity, but with the wrong producers, those factors can get out of hand and the wines can become unbalanced.



All wines below are red, except as specifically noted otherwise. (Continue reading here.)

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Domaine Jacques PRIEUR (Meursault) -- 2015 Part III: White Wines Tasted from Barrel Samples



The whites were harvested during the period 3-7 September, prior to the reds. These wines clearly need more time to develop; they show the ripeness of the vintage. (Continue reading here.)

Sunday, June 4, 2017

Domaine Jacques PRIEUR (Meursault) -- 2015 Part II: Côte de Nuits Reds Tasted from Barrel Samples

As I indicated on 2015 at Prieur, many of the Côte de Beaune vineyards suffered from the hails of the three previous vintages. But beginning with the Corton-Bressandes and continuing to these wines, that was not the case, yet I found relative disappointment here. It’s almost as though there had been a reversion to the winemaking of some time ago here that prized extraction and power over finesse and precision. Or perhaps that was just the result of the very small yields of the vintage here and the fact that, with exceptions, it is the lesser appellations and not the top terroirs are the real story of 2015. (Continue reading here.)

Saturday, June 3, 2017

Domaine Jacques PRIEUR (Meursault) -- 2015 Part I: Côte de Beaune Reds Tasted from Barrel Samples

Harvesting for the reds took place between 7 and 11 September. Malolactic fermentations were rather long.

As was so often the case on the Côte de Beaune, the vineyards for most of these wines suffered from the hails of 2012-13-14 and were not at full strength.

In other news from the estate, the vines for the Vlonay-Champans have been ripped out, so there will be no wine from that vineyard for some years. (Continue reading here.)

Domaine FOLLIN-ARBELET (Aloxe-Corton) -- 2015s Tasted from Barrel and a Pair of 2014s Tasted from Bottle

Franck Follin-Arbelet said that he began harvesting on 2 September. As with the great majority of producers, he have very small yields. He included about 15-20% whole clusters overall and did very little punching down (pigeage). Malolactic fermentations were rather late here.

The wines at this estate are not flashy and not necessarily easy to understand young, but they are well worth your investigating and the wait for maturation. (Continue reading here.)