Tasty Trio
28 February 2011 Filed in: Cellar Notes Burgundy
Sometimes you hit a winning streak, when a succession of bottles, drunk over the course of a week or two, all deliver complete satisfaction. Such was my luck in recent days and here are three that were particularly memorable.
* Domaine Laroche, Chablis Premier Cru Les Vaillons Vieilles Vignes 2007 (12.5%)
Chablis can be fickle. For starters there is far too much produced that is barely worthy of the name. Even the good stuff is nervy and to succeed it must perform a conjuring trick, combining pure fruit with a savoury note, which, on its own, can be distinctly off-putting to all but hard-core enthusiasts. (Sour milk is the easiest way to describe it.) It is like mixing oil and water and this one does it beautifully. Delicate and precisely flavoured, clean and pure, but not simple, with a lovely lingering finish. A delight and well worth the money.
In Ireland it retails for €33.99 in good independent wine shops.
* Domaine de Bellene, Santenay Les Charmes Dessus 2008 (13%)
Burgundy’s Côte d’Or is home to some of the most famous wine villages on earth and such is the length of their shadow that others can easily be overlooked – the likes of Fixin, Monthelie, Saint-Aubin and Santenay. This wine was last summer’s serendipitous find in the Magnum wine shop on rue Monge in Beaune. They always have a few wines on offer by the glass, though it took no more than a mouthful to convince me that space for a few bottles would have to be found in the car boot for transport home. Since then each one has been relished as a delicious example of Burgundian Chardonnay. Vividly flavoured, taut and fresh, lovely.
€18 at: www.magnum-vins.com
* Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Volnay Santenots-du-Milieu Premier Cru 2004 (14%)
Few names sit higher in the Burgundy pecking order than that of Lafon (though the whites have been plagued by premature oxidation in recent years). This, however, was a vigorous and robust red, still youthful but hugely enjoyable. Don’t be put off by the tongue twister of a name – or by the fact that if the wine were white it would be labelled Meursault. Volnay is usually regarded as one of the finer, more feminine burgundies but there was plenty of meaty depth and substance here and it fairly hollered for a good boeuf bourguignon to soften out its still slightly rough edges.
* Domaine Laroche, Chablis Premier Cru Les Vaillons Vieilles Vignes 2007 (12.5%)
Chablis can be fickle. For starters there is far too much produced that is barely worthy of the name. Even the good stuff is nervy and to succeed it must perform a conjuring trick, combining pure fruit with a savoury note, which, on its own, can be distinctly off-putting to all but hard-core enthusiasts. (Sour milk is the easiest way to describe it.) It is like mixing oil and water and this one does it beautifully. Delicate and precisely flavoured, clean and pure, but not simple, with a lovely lingering finish. A delight and well worth the money.
In Ireland it retails for €33.99 in good independent wine shops.
* Domaine de Bellene, Santenay Les Charmes Dessus 2008 (13%)
Burgundy’s Côte d’Or is home to some of the most famous wine villages on earth and such is the length of their shadow that others can easily be overlooked – the likes of Fixin, Monthelie, Saint-Aubin and Santenay. This wine was last summer’s serendipitous find in the Magnum wine shop on rue Monge in Beaune. They always have a few wines on offer by the glass, though it took no more than a mouthful to convince me that space for a few bottles would have to be found in the car boot for transport home. Since then each one has been relished as a delicious example of Burgundian Chardonnay. Vividly flavoured, taut and fresh, lovely.
€18 at: www.magnum-vins.com
* Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Volnay Santenots-du-Milieu Premier Cru 2004 (14%)
Few names sit higher in the Burgundy pecking order than that of Lafon (though the whites have been plagued by premature oxidation in recent years). This, however, was a vigorous and robust red, still youthful but hugely enjoyable. Don’t be put off by the tongue twister of a name – or by the fact that if the wine were white it would be labelled Meursault. Volnay is usually regarded as one of the finer, more feminine burgundies but there was plenty of meaty depth and substance here and it fairly hollered for a good boeuf bourguignon to soften out its still slightly rough edges.
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