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Domaine Bruno Colin 2018
2018 was a fruitful vintage for Domaine Bruno Colin. Their whites are open-knit and charming, and their reds were better than I had expected. Harvest started on the 1st of September, they managed to make some rich and flashy wines in this vintage. Bruno Colin has a strong market in France, 50% of the production are sold within France and 50% exported, US is their biggest market. Winemaking Whites spends 12 months in oak and around 3 months in stainless steel tank. Some battonage on the whites. Reds were 100% destemmed with 1 week of cold maceration. Tasting Notes Bourgogne Blanc 2018 A blend of their Domaine grapes and purchased…
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Domaine Leflaive 2018
Overall 2018 whites were much better than anticipated from a warm and dry vintage. Domaine Leflaive made a superb portfolio of white wines in 2018. From Macon to Chevalier Montrachet, their wines showed good energy and generous body with crisp acidity. The generic village Puligny Montrachet is linear and delightful, and as usual the highlight was the 1er Cru Pucelles and mighty Chevalier Montrachet, crystalline purity and expansive minerals 2018 was the most generous yield for Domaine Leflaive since 1982, on average 50hl/ha. Harvest between 26th of August to 1st of September. Since 2014 Domaine Leflaive has been using DIAM corks and has reduced the dosage of sulphur at bottling…
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Domaine Pierre Damoy 2018
Pierre Damoy targets deep maturity in his wines, and he made some rich and heavy reds in 2018. Pierre started harvesting on the 11th of September and took 11 days for the harvest. 70% destemmed. Overall yield: 30-40hl/ha. Unusually this year I find most of his village and Premier Cru wines overripe and too alcoholic, fortunately some of his Grand Crus were rich but not too overripe. Buyers will need to be careful on picking his wines in 2018 to avoid overripe wines. Tasting Notes Bourgogne Blanc 2018 Grapes purchased from Fixin. Rich and expressive array of ripe tree fruits and pears. Sweet fruits with upfront oak spices. Big-boned Bourgogne…
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Domaine Faiveley 2018
In the picture is the newly renovated fermentation room at Faiveley, with the design reminiscent of historical train station in tribute to Faiveley’s transport business. In my opinion the room looks very much like a cathedral (my type of cathedral!) Faiveley has improved their quality significantly in the past decade since they changed their vinification methods from 2006 to 2009. Gone were the days of tannic and extracted wines, in 2018 their reds are transparent and fragrant with good ripeness. An impressive performance in the context of the size of this estate. (owns more than 120ha across Burgundy). Faiveley started harvesting on the 27th of August. Winemaking Style Most cuvees…
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Domaine Mugneret Gibourg 2018
Domaine Mugneret Gibourg produced a portfolio of rich and powerful wines in 2018, from the ripe and strapping Bourgogne Rouge to the seductive Ruchottes Chambertin, these masculine and robust wines will require extensive cellaring. Domaine Mugneret Gibourg started harvesting on the 4th of September, but some of their cuvees reached up to 14 – 14.5% alcohol under the warm and dry weather conditions in 2018. Winemaking Style 100% grapes were destemmed. New oak from 10% in the Bourgogne Rouge to 70% in the Grand Cru. Barrels from 4 coopers, Grand Cru wines have higher proportion of Francois Freres. Tasting Notes Bourgogne Rouge 2018 9 barrels produced in 2018, much more…
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Domaine Bachelet 2018
2018 was a hot and dry vintage, many vines suffered hydraulic stress and natural alcohol level reached up to 15% (rumoured some even higher!). In this tricky vintage, Denis and Nicolas Bachelet managed to retain freshness, acidity and alcohol balance superbly. They started harvesting one week earlier than anticipated, on the 5th of September. Their cuvee with the highest alcohol content was their Bourgogne Rouge, reaching a mere 13.4%, the rest including their flagship Charmes Chambertin was lower. One of the freshest and well-balanced 2018 red Burgundy I have tasted. Winemaking Style The winemaking style and techniques remained the same as 2017. 100% destemmed in all cuvees, aged in 20-50%…
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The Comprehensive Guide to Pierre Yves Colin Morey
Pierre Yves Colin Morey is one of the most highly regarded producer in Chassagne Montrachet, known for their reductive and leesy Chardonnay that can age for staggering amount of years. They also have a very low risk of premature oxidation (premox). Winemaking Pierre Yves aged all his wines in 350L barrel since 2007. According to Pierre Yves, ageing wines in 350L barrels gives the wines more energy and freshness and less creamy notes and oak spices. Recommendations PYCM wines are distinctive and stands out from most white Burgundies from their potent leesy, reductive notes. Their signature style is stamped across all their white wines, from the generic Bourgogne Blanc to…
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Domaine Dujac 2017
Domaine Dujac made a beautiful selection of wines in 2017. Their 2017 wines were bottled a week ago before this tasting. The reds are charming with good depth, they should be approachable in the mid-term and will age for decades like most of their other vintages. Style Change in Chardonnay Domaine Dujac are experimental with their winemaking especially for their Chardonnay in the last decade. I have noticed Domaine Dujac changed styles multiple times for their Chardonnay: Mid-late 2000s: Wines are rich and leesy, overtly heavy Early 2010s: Wines are intense with lots of buttery new oak spices (Personal favourite style) 2017: Some of the wines were aged in concrete…
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Domaine Georges Noellat 2017
Maxime Cheurlin marked a new milestone for Domaine Georges Noellat in 2017, volume has never been higher at the Domaine as Maxime bought new vineyards and signed new contracts in the past few years. In 2017 Maxime added a new cuvee to the portfolio – Beaune 1er Cru Clos de la Mignotte, a darker shade of fruits compared to his Vosne Romanee. Winemaking Style 2017 is Maxime’s seventh vintage as the winemaker of Domaine Georges Noellat after moving down from Champagne in 2010. All the grapes are destemmed (except for Echezeaux, which sees 15-20% whole cluster) but the wines are brilliantly elegant, bright and perfumed (think Domaine Duroche). In general,…
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Chassagne Montrachet En Remilly & Gevrey Chambertin Clos Saint Jacques
Two months ago I hosted a horizontal blind tasting of Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru En Remilly and Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St Jacques, two of my favourite Premier Crus respectively in Chassagne Montrachet and Gevrey Chambertin. The En Remilly in Chassagne Montrachet is a tiny 1er Cru vineyard (1.6ha) located next to Chevalier Montrachet and below Saint Aubin En Remilly. Most producers are lesser known apart from PYCM, most participants are new to almost all the producers in this prime vineyard. The highlight for me was the Bruno Colin, it showed superior concentration and winemaking skills in this tiny vineyard. PYCM needs no introduction, textbook reductive leesy nose and…
