-
Domaine Leroy / d’Auvenay & Bizot Dinner
The Leroy / d’Auvenay wine night finally happened! It was Charles Lachaux’s (from Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux) 30th birthday and he was in London for his 2017 release. The timing couldn’t be better for this dinner – A once in a lifetime experience to taste an incredibly rare collection of Domaine Leroy / d’Auvenay & Bizot wines in double blind. No participants knew when their wines were being poured and all the wines were revealed at the end of the night, so we were not distracted on guessing who brought what and working out which bottles were ours. Everyone brought two bottles (as minimum) and wines were served in flights of 4…
-
Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé 2003
Revisiting the 2003 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé with Jean-Luc Pépin. A roller coaster vintage with some outperformer and many hit and miss bottles due to the extreme heat. 2003 is one of the most unusual vintages in Burgundy that growers and drinkers will remember vividly for a long time. The 2003 Bourgogne Blanc is drinking at its peak and tasted like a Northern Rhone Blanc. Interestingly there were no acidification in their Musigny, Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru (mini-Musigny) and Les Amoureuses. My favourite of their 2003 was Les Amoureuses, not much heat or clumsiness, showing gently spiced floral notes. Jean-Luc blinded us on a bottle of 1989 Musigny, which…
-
Domaine Lamy-Caillat, the rising star in Chassagne Montrachet
Visiting Sebastien Caillat from Domaine Lamy-Caillat was one of my highlights of my trip to Burgundy last month. This micro-Domaine based in Chassagne Montrachet started producing wines in 2011 and are already getting some serious praise from many Burgundy lovers. Not only is Sebastien one of the most prominent winemakers in Burgundy, he is also a civil engineer by training. Sebastien created a machine that adds a thin layer of wax (0.2-0.5mm thick) on top of the cork to reduce the rate of oxygenation. Sebastien humbly told us how excited he was when he received a call from Aubert de Villaine (co-owner and co-director of Domaine de la Romanee Conti)…
-
Domaine Anne Gros 2017
Domaine Anne Gros produces one of the most elegant and light-footed wines in Vosne Romanee, her wines are arguably the most feminine in style compared to the 3 other Gros estates (Anne’s cousins), as well as other female winemakers in Vosne Romanee, i.e. Leroy, Mugneret Gibourg and Cecile Tremblay. Anne Gros has been in charge of the estate since 1988 at the age of 22 after she took over her father’s entire estate. Domaine Anne Gros has c. 7 hectares of vines, mostly treated organically (though not certified). Winemaking Style Grapes are 100% destemmed and fermented without cold maceration. White wines are then aged for 12 months in oak barrels…
-
Domaine Denis Bachelet, the King of Charmes Chambertin
Domaine Denis Bachelet is one of the more mysterious estates in Gevrey Chambertin to many of us, one of the reasons is because of their small production, they only produce 5 red cuvees with mostly Bougogne and Cote de Nuits and only one Grand Cru. However, please don’t be deceived by this low-key estate as their wines are some of the best in Gevrey Chambertin, their quality very often punches above its appellation, and arguably Denis Bachelet produces the best Charmes Chambertin. Note: Denis Bachelet has a nickname “King of Charmes Chambertin” amongst the consumers. This Domaine doesn’t normally do tastings but Denis Bachelet’s son, Nicolas Bachelet kindly received us.…
-
Maison Benjamin Leroux 2017
Tasting at Benjamin Leroux was very enjoyable. Despite the slight confusion with the appointment time, Benjamin kindly showed us around and gave us an interesting tasting of his 2017 portfolio of whites and his selection of Grand Cru reds plus a few eccentric vineyards as a bonus. My favourite was his Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrieres and his Chambertin, as well as a couple of surprises from his Clos Vougeot and Nuits Saint Georges Les Boudots. Benjamin Leroux started his negociant business in 2007 after he left Domaine Comte Armand, his sizeable estate is located just outside of the Beaune ‘ring’ D470 (or as I like to call it, the…
-
Domaine Caroline Morey
Caroline Morey is one of the producers in Chassagne Montrachet to look out for today. Caroline is the wife of Pierre Yves Colin Morey, one of the most renowned winemakers in Chassagne Montrachet. The husband and wife duo shares a sleek-looking estate in Chassagne Montrachet that was built recently. For readers who have tasted PYCM wines would probably know that his style of wine is unique and is very consistent across his range, from Bourgogne to the rare Grand Cru Montrachets. Caroline Morey wines are produced the exact same way as Pierre Yves’, subsequently the standards are very high and quality is just as wonderful as PYCM wines. Caroline Morey…
-
Domaine Dujac – The sweet spot in Morey St Denis
Domaine Dujac’s story began in late-1967 when Jacques Seysses decided to start a Domaine in Burgundy, the name “Dujac” is short for Domaine Jacques. It was not the best start for the Domaine as 1968 was a terrible vintage, they had to sell all their wines in bulk. Subsequently, they bottled their first vintage in 1969, a stunning vintage I have heard… Land in Burgundy was relatively inexpensive back in those days, and with his father’s financial support, he acquired many Grand Cru vineyards in Burgundy and sold his wines to some of the finest restaurants in France with his father’s relationship. Though the wines were so delicious I am…
-
Dujac 2016
Healthy yield and crop in Morey Saint Denis 2016 was an excellent vintage especially for Pinot Noir, but many producers suffered from a small crop this year due to frost and mildew to some extend. The overall Burgundy production in 2016 was 1.223 million hectoliters, 18% less from 2015 vintage. Many less fortunate producers’ crop were down by 1/3 in 2016. Domaine Dujac as well as many other grape growers in Morey Saint Denis were blessed with almost no intervention by the frost in 2016, hence their crop was mostly very healthy and higher than average. Even Dujac’s Clos de la Roche achieved 40 hl/ha in this vintage. Screenshot taken…
-
Botrytis in Montrachet
Montrachet is the King of White Burgundy, this hallowed vineyard yields some of the finest white wines in the world. From my far and few between experiences with Montrachet, I have noticed some Montrachet Grand Cru wines display a small amount of botrytis flavours, but it varies significantly across vintages and producers. What is Botrytis? Botrytis cinerea (also known as noble rot) is a fungi that causes grapes to become partially ‘raisined‘. This fungi strives at warm and humid climate. The effect of raisined grape concentrates the sugar and acidity of the grape and are very desirable when making sweet wines in regions like Sauternes, Tokaji, etc. Botrytis also introduce…
