France Trip Day Seven – The Jura, from Arlay to Arbois
Healthy soil (left), unhealthy soil (right)
Jean Bourdy, Arlay Jean-Francois Bourdy is the fifteenth generation to make wine here in Arlay at his family’s estate, founded in 1475. Bourdy is as much museum as working winery, with bottles from vintages ranging back to 1781, all of which, Jean-Francois insists, are drinking beautifully. To prove the point we tasted a 1955 (my birth year) Clos de Jura Rouge made from one-third each Pinot Noir, Poulsard and Trousseau, the three originally red grapes of Arbois. It spent four-plus years in barrel – the normal aging time for Bourdy’s regular wines – and was recorked a couple of years ago at which time it was topped off with more 1995 Rouge. It was indeed still kicking, with silky, juicy fruit. Neat. We also tasted a 1953 Clos de Jura Blanc (100% Chardonnay), which was more advanced, but also still fascinating, not unlike older white Burgundy.
Jean-Francois is adamant about tradition, about maintaining the history of his family’s domaine. He sees his time at the helm as the custodian of a tradition meant to be handed down to his children, their children, and so on. Of course, tradition did not prevent Bourdy from converting to biodynamic viticulture in 2005.
We tasted: Clos du Jura Rouge ‘05 Clos du Jura Rouge ‘55 Clos du Jura Blanc ‘05 Clos du Jura Blanc ‘53 Vin Jaune de Chateau Chalon ‘02 Vin de Paille ‘02 Galant des Abbesses Macvin (an Arbois version of Pineau des Charentes, blending 1 part marc to 2 parts grape juice cooked with twenty different spices) Cremant de Jura – we tasted this last because I requested it, and I’m glad I did; it was delicious.
Arrving in Arbois, we checked in to Hotel Jean-Paul Jeunet, then went in search of lunch. After walking several blocks we noticed La Balance, Mets et Vins – this was the surprise of the trip. Local wines, many organic and/or biodynamic, local food, prepared with great flair, intensely, exotically spiced. We spent three hours here, eating jellied beef (tastes much better than it may sound), guinea fowl, coq au vin jaune, two different types of Comté – drinking (all recommended by our terrific server): Cremant de Jura, Clos des Grives (Bio) Savignin ’05, Ligier Pere et fils Trousseau ’05 “Grevilliere,” Daniel Dugois Vin Jaune ‘76
It was a fabulous lunch, but it made us an hour late for our appointment with Stephane Tissot, who had a big afternoon set up for us…
Stephane Tissot – Arbois With 40 hectares (about 100 acres) of biodynamically farmed vineyards, this is one of the world’s largest biodynamic estates. Before tasting we drove to the base of Clos la Tour de Couron, piled out of the car, and proceeded to climb to the top of the hill and up into the top of the tower. The plot at the very top of the property has been planted at twice the normal density, with 12,000 vines per hectare. One of the highest sites in Arbois, it offered an amazing view of the village and the countryside.
Next we visited another vineyard on flatter land, with completely different soil structure. In the middle of Tissot’s land, another grower, who uses pesticides and herbicides, has about six rows of vines. Tissot’s vineyards are lush and green, buzzing with life, with deep, high quality soil. The neighbor’s rows had nothing living between them, and distinctly sandy-textured gray soil (see picture above).
The Tissot family is large, with many different branches, and firmly entrenched in the Arbois tradition. Stephane, however, is constantly striving to improve his wine, sometimes coming up with new expressions. He is proud of the wine estate his parents created, but he is not necessarily encumbered by their legacy.
Then we tasted: Chardonnay ’07, Classic (60% from clay soils, 40% from limestone) Chardonnay ’07 Les Gravieres (55 year-old vines, 100% limestone) Chardonnay ’07 La Mailloche (100% clay) …then the same exact cuve, but from a bottle opened a week earlier, showing no oxidation… Chardonnay ’07 Les Bruyeres (100% black clay) Chardonnay ’06 En Barberon Chardonnay ’06 Clos la Tour de Couron Arbois Blanc ’82 (Chardonnay, with 10% Savignin) Trousseau ’07 Singulier (Trousseau is a cousin of Touriga Nacional) Pinot Noir ’07 En Barberaon Traminer (Savignin) ’07 (Savignin fermented in stainless steel, no oxidation) Savignin ’05 (2 years on flor, ala Manzanilla) – At this point Stephane emphasized the fact that the Jura was once part of Spain, and that they introduced the concept of oxidation and flor to the region. Vin Jaune ’02 (6 years on flor) Cremant de Jura Brut NV Cremant de Jura NV “Indegine” – Cremant with native-yeast liqueur de dosage Spirale ’05 Paserille (Chardonnay/Savignin/Poulsard) Audace ’06 – 100% Poulsard Passito PMG ’05 – a concentration of Spirale with 500g/L residual sugar Macvin
Exhausted, we limped back to the hotel in time to change before dinner at the hotel restaurant, the Michelin 2-star Jean-Paul Jeunet. Dinner was spectacular, but we were so tired and a little full from that amazing lunch. There’s an obvious lesson here: one big meal a day is enough! We drank: Cremant de Jura Rosé – Domaine Rolet Chardonnay ’02 – Emmanuel Houillon, Arbois Pupillin Trousseau ’88 Cuvée Saint Paul – Camille Loye, Arbois Chateau Chalon ’00 – Jean Macie We ate spendidly, too, but I’m too tired to recount. Later.
After spending a good part of the morning in a great bookstore in Beaune, we headed down to Beaujolais, taking the back roads at first – through Mercurey and Givry – before finding our way back to the autoroute and racing down to Villie Morgon for our 3pm appointment with Marcel Lapierre. If you can believe it, we skipped lunch! Beaujolais is a different place from the Cote d’Or, with many more hills and valleys. It was another beautiful day.
Marcel Lapierre – Morgon Maarcel Lapierre’s domain is certified organic (though they decline to label their wine as such, feeling their process is actually more stringent than certification requires), and they bottle 40% of their production without addition of sulphur. Average vine age is about 65 years, with some parcels over one hundred. They do not filter, but their wines are so pristine and clear you might think they did (until you taste them). We tasted with Marcel’s son Mathieu.
Morgon ’08 – sassy strawberry/floral, fresh and peppery Morgon ’08 Sans Soufre – not unlike the first ’08, but a bit more tender and juicy. Morgon MMVII Cuvee Marcel Lapierre – an old vines cuvee, with amazing concentration and depth. Vin de Pays des Gaules – actually 100% Morgon ’08 from “young” (less than 20 years here) vines, only 5-6 day maceration as opposed to the regular 2-3 weeks. Morgon ’07 Sans Soufre – pretty, ready to gulp Morgon ’06 – a little reduction (sulphur) in the nose. This is a good thing, It blows off with a little swirling, leaving a deep, rich core of fruit. Morgon ’05 – complex, spicy strawberries, savory, marvelous. Mathieu says this was a great vintage in Beaujolais. Morgon ’03 – when we told Mathieu we hadn’t eaten lunch, he sent us back to the center of Morgon to a boulangerie to pick up snacks, giving us three opened bottles and this unopened bottles, to drink with our little picnic. The wine was delicious, as was the food.
Chateau Thivin, Cote de Brouilly We were hosted by the sixth generation Claude Geoffray at this incredible 13th century estate on the border between Brouilly and Cotes de Brouilly. The two crus differ in situation and soil composition. Brouilly soils are mostly pink granite, and they’re situated below on the lower land surrounding Mont Brouilly. Cote de Brouilly vineyards are on the steep slopes of the Mont Brouilly, and the soil is dominated by blue schist.
We tasted: Beaujolais-Villages Blanc ’08 “Margeuritte” – 100% Chardonnay grown on a parcel in Cote de Brouilly with high clay content not great for Gamay, but ideal for Chardonnay. Brouilly ’08 – Fresh, strawberry/white pepper – brilliant character, and completely different from Thivin’s Cote de Brouilly, even the label. Cote de Brouilly ’08 – This is darker, almost blueberry – vivid, penetrating, not as overtly fruity as Brouilly, but terrific. Brouilly ’07 – more fleshed out than ‘08, but still firm and fresh. Cote de Brouilly ’07 – classid Thivin. Cote de Brouilly ’06 Cuvée Zaccharie – oak-aged cuve selected from best lots in cellar – a different, deeper expression, but it works if you give it time. Cote de Brouilly ’00 La Chapelle – a special parcel high on the slope – this is mature, but full of fruit – savory apricot/cherry/mushroom flavors. Neat.
We drove back to Beaune and dined at the Hotel. Another bottle of Philliponnat Rosé Champagne, then a fascinating white: Heritieres du Comte Lafon Macon-Bussiers ’03…the waiter was reluctant to serve it; he was probably afraid of the mold covering most of the label; but it was fresh, light in color, beautifully developed, maybe a little low in acidity, but delicious. We finished our last dinner in Beaune with Matrot Volnay-Santenots 1er Cru ’05 – terrific, if young yet…I’d be happy to have a case to follow its progress over the next decade or so.
Before I pack for our drive to Arbois tomorrow, a thought about the many ’07 Burgundies I tasted this visit. If you want to learn about what a place contributes to the taste and character of a wine, this is a perfect vintage. It’s not going to last as long as ’05, and the wines are not profoundly deep or concentrated. They are however pure expressions of grape and terroir and producer. Most important, they’re delicious to drink.
Instead of detailed notes like yesterday, I’m going to stick with more general impressions.
2007 in Burgundy Based on our experience this trip, the 2007 vintage has produced wines vividly of their place, smacking of the characteristics that make a particular site special. They’re not particularly big or tannic – most of the wines are going to provide great drinking over the next five or so years – but they’re beautifully balanced, a pleasure to taste.
Bruno Clair, Marsannay We tasted with winemaker Phillipe Brun – ‘07s out of bottle. The quality was uniformly excellent. After yesterday’s visit with Thibault Liger-Belair, whose philosophy is that the vigneron should do it all, from the vine to the bottle, the arrangement at Bruno Clair has been different for a long time – at least since my last visit in 1995. Bruno is in the vineyards pretty much non-stop, while Phillipe is in the cellar, pretty much non-stop. It seems to work out just fine.
After a Marsannay Rosé ’08, we tasted the following ‘07s: Marsannay Vaudenelles Marsannay Les Longeroies Chambolle-Musigny Morey Saint-Denis en la Rue de Vergy Vosne-Romanée Les Champs Perdrix Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru la Petite Chapelle Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Cazetiers – this is my favorite of the Gevrey 1er crus… Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos Saint-Jacques Chambertin Clos de Beze Grand Cru – 96 year old vines; so elegant Bonnes Mares – fragrant, lavishly fruity, decadent wine. Savigny-les-Beaune 1er Cru Les Dominodes – It may seem odd to taste this after a couple of Grand Crus, but Dominodes is always Bruno Clair’s biggest wine. It comes from 107 year old vines, and tastes of chocolate-covered cherries and raspberries; lush, powerful and concentrated. Unique.
Then a couple of older wines (yes, Phillipe poured them blind, and yes, I failed both times…): Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Cazetieres ’02 – I thought it was pretty and delicate, so I guessed Clos St. Jacques. Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos Saint-Jacques ’93 – Caroline’s birth year… this was gorgeous, full of mushrooms and cherries, long. I knew it was an older vintage, but I thought it was one of the Grand Crus.
Then a few ’07 whites: Morey Saint-Denis en la Rue de Vergy Blanc – floral/peach/cherry/strawberry – yes, I’m talking about a white wine. A totally different expression of Chardonnay. Neat! Marsannay Blanc – 20% Pinot Gris (aka Pinot Beurot); this had a neat sort of red fruit/mineral scent; delicate, fragrant and persistent. A delight. Corton-Charlemagne – surprisingly blossomy for the appellation, but not necessarily for Bruno Clair’s expression of it. Still, there’s plenty of lemon candy/oak/mineral character, densely packed, long and promising.
Lunch at Chez Guy, Gevry-Chambertin What a fantastic lunch! It was gorgeous outside, as it has been the whole trip in Burgundy, and we dined on the sidewalk here. We were served a wonderful amuse bouche – sort of a deconstructed gazpacho. Then we started the drinking with a bottle of Marsannay Rosé ’07 from Dupont-Tisserandot, which was perfect with my escargots on a bed of incredible tomato coulis. We could have stayed with the pink wine, it was so refreshing, but then I caught sight of a rarity on the wine list: Henri Gouges Nuits Saint-Georges Blanc Le Perrier ’04. We couldn’t even taste this wine, any vintage, at the domaine yesterday. Made from a rare mutation of Pinot Noir that produces a white grape, it’s as delicious as it is rare. It was matched by a filet of dorade on a bed of sautéed fennel. Awesome combination. We had a cheese course, I had a dram of cold Poire William, and we were on our way.
Thierry and Pascal Matrot, Meursault After a too-quick siesta, we drove down to Meursault, got lost in the maze of streets around the centre ville, were rescued by a woman walking along, who first tried to tell us how to get to Matrot, then hopped in the car and directed us there herself. It was a nice start to the evening. We tasted with Thierry in the cellar, ‘07s from the bottle: Bourgogne Chardonnay Meursault – both of these first two are on our shelves at CWC… Meursault-Blagny 1er Cru Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chalumeaux Meursault-Charmes 1er Cru Puligny-Montrachet “Quintessence” 1er Cru – this is a blend of Puligny-Chalumeaux and Puligny-Garenne in new oak (an aberration for Matrot). Like Thierry said: “Hey, this is wine, we have to have an exception a day. This is ours.” Volnay Santenots 1er Cru – the only ’07 red we tasted, and beautiful.
2007 is a “Matrot vintage,” perfectly suited to the style of the domaine – pure, fresh, exquisitely balanced.
We then drove over to the Matrot’s home in Blagny, near the top of Meursault, on the edge of Puligny-Montrachet. This place is an oasis, and we were fortunate to be invited. We were met at the house by Thierry’s wife Pascal and two of their three daughters, Adele and Elsa. It is likely that Adele and Elsa, both of whom have completed their university studies in wine, will take over Domaine Matrot at some point in the future - but at 23 and 21 years of age, they have some traveling to do first. We sat outside and sipped on Meursault-Charmes ’05 before going inside for a wonderfully cozy dinner, starting with jamon peresille and salad, drinking Meursault-Blagny ’96. Our main course was perfectly cooked plain buttered pasta and simply roasted extremely fresh – according to Pascal it had been walking around earlier today – chicken. We drank Blagny La Piece sous le Bois 2000 (this was very good) and 1999 (this was terrific). Finally three great cheeses (Comté, Saimantan, Citeaux) and Blagny la Piece sous le Bois 1988 – fantastic. The Matrots brought us into their house and shared their world with us; it was an extraordinary gift. Considering their day starts at about 5:30am, we left before 10pm, and drove back down into Meursault, surrounded by vineyards, as the light faded from the Cote. A wonderful day. Bon nuit.
France Trip Day Four - Nuits Saint-Georges, Chassagne-Montrachet
This was a big tasting day...notes follow...
Thibault Liger-Belair - Nuits Saint-Georges Thibault is a young man (34) and proprietor of a young estate (2002), who owns 19 hectares in some of the greatest vineyards in Burgundy. Biodynamic since 2005. The ’08 vintage was extremely short in quantity (Thibault produced an average of 22hl/hectare, or less than half the legal maximum), but seems very high in quality. We tasted the following ‘08s out of barrel: • Nuits-St-Georges Les Charmottes – after lots of swirling to eliminate reduction, deeply spicy, vivid fresh, mineral/fruit – dazzling start. • Gevrey-Chambertin Croix de Champ – flatter, extremely mineral and closed. • Aloxe-Corton Cape aux Vert – pure, penetrating fruit – almost sweet, Wow. • Vosne-Romanée Aux Reas – big, rocky mouth, with spicy fat fruit – yikes! Malolactic is not finished yet on this one. • Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru – located just below Bonnes Mares – floral, fresh, juicy, beautiful. • Corton Les Rognets – bing cherry – ripe and full and long. • Corton-Renardes – spicy/floral/kirsch, ripe palate • Clos Vougeot – Cherry/raspberry liqueur/mineral/floral/spic – vibrant, really beautiful. • Nuits-St-Georges 1er Cru Les Saint-Georges – Thibault owns 2 hectare (the biggest single parcel) here, and is actively campaigning to have Les Saint-Georges elevated to Grand Cru. Floral/black cherry/mineral; dazzling, penetrating dark fruit/mineral flavors; v. rich and balanced. • Richebourg Grand Cru – hasn’t even started malolactic; wild, almost cranberry-like fruit/mineral/floral – compact, but long and intense. Shorter than LSG.
Then we tasted the following bottles “blind”: • Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Saint-Georges ’06 – I guessed Corton Rognets because I smelled bing cherries. Wrong. It was gorgeous though. • Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Saint-Georges ’04 – this time I guessed Vosne-Romanée Aux Reas ’05 or ’06. Wrong again. This was big and spicy and concentrated. • Vosne-Romanée Aux Reas ’05 – and this time I guessed Richebourg ’07, or LSG? Wrong twice more, but geez was this terrific young wine, dark, sizzling, intense and powerfully tannic.
Domaine Henri Gouges – Nuits-Saint-Georges We met and tasted with Gregory Gouges, son of Pierre, nephew of Christian. Gregory took over winemaking duties with the ’08 vintage. He is the great-grandson of Henri – generation number four. Henri established the domaine in 1919; was one of the principal architects of the AOCs introduction to Burgundy in 1936; and agreed with the local vignerons at the time that Les Saint-Georges should not be declared a Grand Cru because they feared that higher taxes levied against Grand Crus would drive out traditional owners in the vineyard. We tasted the following 2007s out of bottle (the ‘08s are in the middle of their malolactic fermentations, and Gregory did not want us to taste them): • Nuits Saint-Georges – a bit murky (not filtered); fresh, penetrating cherry/mineral smells – beautiful, soft, creamy textured, very drinkable. • Nuits Saint-Georges 1er Cru Clos de Porrets – Les Saint-Georges (Monopole) – floral/mineral – firmer, more structure here. • Nuits Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Pruliers – spice/meat/mineral – totally different, even though this vineyard is only 200 meters from Clos de Porrets – more closed. • Nuits Saint-Georges 1er Cru Vaucrains – floral/raspberry/mineral bag ‘o rocks, but so promising – average yield here is 20hl/ha, but only 18hl/ha in 2008. • Nuits Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Saint-Georges – Dark; different level of extraction; black cherry/framboise liqueur/mineral/floral; leaner than Vaucrains but more extracted.
Thomas Morey, Chassagne-Montrachet Thomas had only one hour to spend with us, but he made the most of it. His father, Bernard, split all of his own vineyards between Thomas and his brother, leaving only a small negociant business to himself. We tasted the following ‘08s from barrel – malolactic finished about two months ago: • Bourgogne Blanc – fresh lime/mineral – lively acidity, compact structure. Neat • Beaune-Greves Blanc – lemon curd/floral – wow! – delicious, like a lemon drop; wonderfully distinctive. • Saint Aubin 1er Cru Le Puits – almost opposite to Beaune-Greves, all mineral/lemony, concentrated, with great structure. • Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Embrazees – class lemon/mineral; pure and compact, but very long.
Then we tasted the following ’07s from bottle: • Bourgogne Blanc – mineral/smoke/lime; seamless, dry; wow. • Saint Aubin – mineral, then blossoms/lemon/hazelnut; sort of more mineral, leaner version of Meursault. • Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Baudines – mineral/lemon custard/floral. • Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Embrazees – a touch more candy here, as expected. • Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot – floral/mineral – closed but complete feel in mouth; persistent, long, brilliant young wine. • Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Vide Bourse – tiny amount of this wine; some wood/lemon candy/mineral; long. • Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru – lemon custard/blossom/mineral smells, seamless, rich, long. This is fun; lacy and elegant smells, intense, balanced, long flavors. Great.
..and then three reds: • Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge Vieille Vignes – expansive, spicy red fruit. • Maranges 1er Cru Fussieres – classis Maranges: game, and lavishly fruity, ripe, neat. • Santenay 1er Cru Gran Clos Rousseau – exotically fruity/Asian spice/almost jammy/framboise – wildly yummy.
After lots of tasting, and a truly terrible lunch in Nuits-Saint-Georges accompanied by a virtually undrinkable wine labeled “Nuits Saint-Georges Les Charmottes ’04,” it was time to eat and drink, so we returned to Ma Cuisine. Here are some highlights: Food – Crème de Petits Pois (that awesome fresh pea soup a couple of us had yesterday); filets of fresh sardine mariniere; lapin aux herbes served cold; terine de foie gras; entrecote de boeuf; more perfectly ripe epoisses. Wine – Bernard Morey Chassagne-Montrachet Blanc 1er Cru Les Caillerets 2000 Comte Lafon (again!!!) Volnay 1er Cru Santenots-du-Milieu 2005 Christophe Perrot-Minot Nuits Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Richemones Vieilles Vignes 2000
Pamela (second from left) with Margaret, John and Rich
A & P de Villaine – Bouzeron Aubert and Pamela de Villaine moved to Bouzeron in 1971 (the year of their marriage), making their first Aligoté in 1973. They campaigned to create an AOC Bouzeron for Aligoté, eventually succeeding in 1997. Aubert and their nephew Pierre were off on other appointments, leaving us in the care of Pamela, a native of California, who was a wonderful host.
We tasted: Bouzeron ‘07 Bourgogne Blanc ‘07 Rully St.-Jacquess ‘06 Bouzeron ‘95 Bourgogne Rouge La Fortune ‘07 Bourgogne Rouge la Digoine ‘07 Mercurey Rouge ‘07
The ‘07s are uniformly fresh, pure expressions of their grape and place, with firm structures. They’re relatively closed now, but I’d guess they will open up pretty quickly. Evidently a weird vintage, with all the heat in April, then abnormally cool during summer. It all seems to have come together by harvest though.
We had a fantastic lunch in Beaune, at Ma Cuisine. For the third consecutive meal, we drank Comte Lafon! Highlights: Two fishes – mackerel and salmon – in a bouillabaisse-style broth; a fresh pea soup with a hint of cream; fresh marinated sardines; with Comte Lafon Monthelie Blanc ‘05
A short side of pork ribs so tender and flavorful it was like having an exotic delicacy for the first time; veal kidneys; perfectly ripe, raw milk epoisses; with JF Coche-Dury Monthelie Rouge ‘06
We needed another bottle – the proprietor picked a Sylvain Pataille Marsannay Rouge ’07 “La Montagne” – like the Villaine wines earlier, and the Simon Bize ’07 Bourgogne Rouge we had later for a “light” dinner at La Gourmande, a fresh, pretty young wine.
After lunch we took a stroll out of the hotel, walking north along Rue l’Aigle, along a quiet residential street, and after less than a mile, directly into the vineyards of Beaune-Greves. Unbelievable. Breathtakingly clear, sunny, mildly breezy, this was as idyllic a walk in the vineyards as you could ever imagine. I’d never spent much time in Beaune, always too busy tasting in cellars. It’s a lovely little city. The idea that you could live in a house a few steps away from some of the greatest vineyards in the world, well, I guess somebody’s got to do it.
Tomorrow we do three winery visits – those left standing will return to Ma Cuisine for another meal…A bientot.
France Trip Day Two - Dublin to Paris to Lyon to Beaune
Whew! This was a busy day of travel, flying from Dublin to Paris, taking the TGV to Lyon, then regular train to Beaune. Went off without a hitch, though. In fact, we were early into Paris via Aer Lingus, spot on time with French rails - just like the USA. Not. I know what you're going to say - what about the strikes? True, but when the trains run here (most of the time, actually), they run on time!
We're staying at Hostellerie Le Cedre in Beaune - beautiful hotel, with a lovely restaurant we just left. The wine: Philliponnat Champagne Brut Rose NV - with a yummy amuse bouche that included a salty carrot tempura and sweet watermelon/...some other fruit which I can't recall/creme fraiche thing. Domaine de Bongrans Macon-Villages '01 - totally botrytis smells (APRICOT), but dry and silky; absolutely incredible with a pressed Brittany lobster/asparagus/...other stuff...sorry, I need to get some sleep! Bruno Clair Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Cazetieres '00 - with sliced Charolais beef, cauliflower puree, baby spinach leaves. This one was deep and gamey, almost decadent. A sensational match with the Charolais beef. d'Angerville Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Ducs Monopole '01 - with all local cheese plate, which included a spectacular piece of Citeaux. Wow, this was so fresh - brilliant, dazzling still-young wine.
It seems we've established a pattern - we close down whatever restaurant we choose for dinner.
Tomorrow we have one appointment - de Villaine in Bouzeron.
OK, I give. Stay tuned for more details tomorrow - sweet dreams.
If you're flying Aer Lingus to Paris, and you've never been to Dublin, how can you not take a one day layover? Can't. So, Rich, Mary and yours truly checked into the gorgeous Merrion Hotel in the heart of Central Dublin, and walked our jet-lagged butts all around the town. We saw Trinity College, including the Book of Kells and the Long Room Library; the General Post Office, site of the uprising of 1916, birthplace of the Irish Republic; the Dublin City Gallery, home to Francis Bacon's studio, relocated in its entirety from Paris, where he worked virtually uninterrupted, for thirty years; the Sinn Fein bookstore; Gallaghers Boxty House, where we partook of the traditional boxty (sort of a crepe filled with many choices of meats and seafoods) and jars of stout; another bookstore where I found several of Colm Toibin's other novels (besides the current bestselling Brooklyn); and a walk by Stephen's Green on the way back to the hotel. We napped, then met up again at 9pm to dine at Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud, where I had an incredible meal... Moncuit Blanc de Blancs with a few hors d'ouvres; Leroy Bourgogne Blanc '02 with lobster ravioli; Comte Lafon Volnay 1er cru Champans '02 with loin of lamb; a wonderful selection of cheese and a glass of Simon Bize Bourgogne Rouge '07; assorted desserts, then back to the hotel bar for a shot of Redbreast 12 year old Irish Whisky and a half-pint of Guinness. The dinner was spectacular - no wonder the restaurant has two Michelin stars! Dublin is about the size of Baltimore, with a more concentrated central district that makes seeing lots of sights and experiencing lots of local flavor so easy. Considering it's only 6+ hours from Dulles, and only an hour and a half from Paris, it makes for a great stopover. I'll be back! Tomorrow we catch the flight to Paris, the TGV to Lyon and the train to Beaune. Bon Nuits.
Spain, Day One - Madrid Arrived around 10am, took crazy fast taxi from airport to central Madrid, checked in, walked around the neighborhood - the hotel is across the street from the Prado - drank two espresso doble, then took metro to lunch at Tamar. Great lunch - razor clams, cantabrian anchovies, monkfish, terrific queso; Godeval Blanco Old Vines; Mauro 2006; Mauro 2002. Walked back towards hotel, but stopped at Taberna Laredo for a bottle of Champagne - Paul Bara Rose NV. Back to hotel for quick siesta, but walked back through Retiro (Madrid´s Central Park) since the day was so beautiful. Then off to dinner at forgetable restaurant except for great big charcol-grilled steak and freshly cut fried potatoes and Rioja Alta Ardanza ´00 and another RA, forget name but 100% tempranillo ´98. Taxi back to Taberna Laredo for incredible heads-on Mediterranean shrimp, potato croquettes while downing Nellin ´06 Priorato Blanco and Comtes Lafon Meursault ´04 - definitely saved the best for last and that was saying something with the wine we consumed today. The weather was great during the day, rained at night. Long, rewarding day of comraderie, great food and great wine. Time to sleep and recover for tomorrow. Adios!
Day Two – Madrid; to Jerez de la Frontera After ten bottles the first day, a light second. We woke late, had blunch around noon, then spent the afternoon walking around the city; ducking into a neat little modern museum when it started to rain, finding an exhibition of Vlaminck (fauvist). Sun came out, we kept walking, eventually coming upon the palace before turning back to the hotel to gather our bags and walk to the train station for the trip to Jerez. Jane Ward, export manager of Lustau, met us for dinner in the hotel. We drank mostly sherry (Puerto Fino, Domecq Vinas 25 PX, which Lustau purchased last year along with La Ina, etc.), as well as ’07 Arun Rueda. The meal was ok, but nothing like the food we ate the day before.
Day Three – Jerez, Sanlucar, Jerez, back to Madrid What a gorgeous day! Got an early start, first driving to Sanlucar to meet Lustau’s Manzanilla producer. We were joined by Ignacio Lopez de Carrizosa, export director of Luis Caballero S.A. (parent company of Lustau, which it purchased in 1990), who spoke English much better than I, not to mention his native Spanish. Pepe (cellarmaster of Bodegas Manuelo Jurado) drew samples of Manzanilla Fina – the youngest, barely fortified, not yet sorted for future development – wonderful slap in the face of sea breeze/salt/yeast/citrus peel; Manzanilla Pasada – more developed, some nuttiness, very leesy; and Manzanilla Amontillado (20 years average age; like great Verdelho Madeira) – sensational, only 21 barrels at any given time, just over 100 cases released annually. We stopped briefly at the beach, where the Guadalquivir river meets the Atlantic ocean, under brilliant blue sky. Amazing.
Then back to Jerez for a tour and tasting at Lustau’s Jerez bodega. About twenty different sherries, from Lustau solera, almacenista bottlings and VOS (Lustau’s twenty year olds) as well as Moscatel, 1990 Oloroso Abocado, brandy and vineagar. The “basic” sherries would be most bodegas’ top of the line, while the almacenistas show great individuality and character. The VOS sherries are both the oldest (with the exception of the Murillo PX, average age 100yrs) and most concentrated, at each level – Amontillado, Palo Cortado and PX.
Lunch in downtown Jerez at the restaurant (name?) in the great building just off the main square. Fantastic! Six courses, all accompanied by sherry. The course to die for was served in a small martini glass – caramelized onions in the bottom, then fresh tuna, then pureed/liquefied potato topped with a sprinkle of paprika and a drizzle of herbed olive oil. Plunging the spoon down to the bottom pulled the paprika and oil through the potato into the tuna and onions in perfect balance – fabulous; paired with Amontillado Escuadrilla, a magical match. Foie gras; pork cheeks; sherry vinegar-laced ice cream – the food wouldn’t stop. Back to the hotel to pick up our bags, and back on the train to Madrid… all of us regret leaving the south so soon. I contemplated staying on, finding a little hotel room in Sanlucar, meeting up with the group at the end of the tour in Barcelona.
Day Four – Rueda and Tudela de Duero After driving out of Madrid north to Castilla y Leon we visited Belondrade y Lurton in La Seca (Rueda). Modern building, one of the few buildings at all on the mesa, exposed 24/7/365 days a year to the persistent, often ferocious wind that blows across this 700m high plateau. Didier Belondrade came from Bordeaux to make Verdejo in the Bordeaux tradition – that is, fermented and aged in barrel. Early vintages (the first was 1997 or 98) were intensely oaky – as the years go by they have tempered the oak, switching to larger (300L instead of 225L), albeit still mostly new, barrels; using indigenous yeast on about 20% of cuve… the ’07 and ’06 we tasted were distinctly more elegant and balanced than previous vintages, but still, I’m not sure they’re worth the $40-45/bottle they would sell for here. They’ve started making a Tempranillo rosato – no oak, fresh, lively and especially elegant for dry pink Tempranillo. These people know what they want to do, and they’re making progress. We’ll see.
Bodegas Mauro – Tudela de Duero We spent a large part of the day with Alberto Garcia, son of Mariano Garcia, owners of Mauro. Started with a visit to Vina La Oliva; 25-30 year old vines planted by Mariano in the traditional goblet method instead of by trellis. Then to the new winery up on a hill on the other side of Tudela to do some barrel tasting – ’08 Syrah (which comprises 10-15% of Tinto Mauro blend, and opaque, brilliantly intense fruit like northern Rhone Syrah); ’08 Tempranillo from La Oliva primarily (fragrant/floral/blueberry/almost delicate); ’08 Temranillo marked for Vendemia Selecion (darker, mineral/floral/deep meaty sweet black fruit – wow!).
Then we jumped back in cars and headed down into the old part of town to the original bodega to taste more from barrel – ’07, 50% of final blend including the Syrah (fig/black currants/toasty oak – it will be bottled in May-June - creamy already but with plenty of tannin); ’07 Vendemia Selecion (opaque; lots of wood/black fruit/mineral/bittersweet chocolate, sweet tannic fade); ’08 Terreus (a single block of 100 year old vines we visited after lunch next to a garbanzo bean farm in the middle of other grains – opaque; spicy/meaty/mineral/smoke/floral/sweet black fruit…incredible). Then ’05 Terreus in bottle – to be released this year (opaque; mocha/fig/black raisin/mineral/oak, already thick velvet texture over loads of tannin – extraordinary young wine).
Then a short walk around the corner to the restaurant (name?) – unassuming entrance in the old town, opening to a starkly modern though immensely comfortable interior – for lunch of locally grown esparagus blanco, jamon Iberico drizzled with olive oil, smoke river trout that looked a little like salmon but much more delicate, and 15 day old lamb prepared in the Duero tradition – braized in salted water; micro greens. We drank ’06 Mauro; ’04 Venedmia Selecion and ’04 Terreus. The latter two are simply a couple of the best young red wines I’ve ever tasted. You will see them in the store shortly after I return!
The hotel: Fuenta de la Acena. On the bank of the Duero, in a restored water mill. Astounding renovation – starkly modern but totally sensible, with an addition extending along the river’s edge composed of concrete, wood, limestone and a façade of glass, floor to ceiling, first and second floors. Ate dinner in the hotel – garbanzo negras with squid, octopus and cockles; oxtail from Vega Sicilia’s farm with potato. Drank Bollinger Special Cuvee; ’04 Alion; ’01 Vina Pedrosa Reserva. Whew, crashed finally, around 2:45am. Great day!
Day Five - Vega Sicilia Vega Sicilia has been owned since 1982 by Pablo Alvarez, but the estate was founded in 1864. It was not only the first commercial winery in Ribera del Duero, it pre-dates the establishment of the DO by more than 100 years. Originally it was a complete farming community, with its own train station, and all of the employees lived on the property. It’s wine was world famous before 1900, and the Bordeaux varieties that make up about 20% of the blend of both Valbuena and Unico were among the original plantings on the estate. Today Vega Sicilia makes three wines: Valbuena – 80% Tempranillo/20% Malbec/Merlot; aged three years in a combination of new American oak barrels and oak tanks, two years in bottle. Current release is 2004. Unico – 80% Tempranillo/20% Cabernet Sauvignon; aged seven years in a combination of new American oak, oak tank and stainless steel tank, three years in bottle. Current release is 1999. Not made every vintage – there is a 2000, but no 2001. Unico Reserve Speciale – a blend of three vintages, about 10,000 bottles released annually.
Vega Sicilia opened its own Ribera del Duero property – Alion – in 1990, where only one wine is produced, averaging about 100,000 bottles annually. It is 100% Tinto Fino (the local clone of Tempranillo).
In 1994 they released the first wine from their estate in Hungary – Oremus. They make a dry furmint, Mandolas, as well as Furmint Late Harvest and Tokaji Aszu.
2004 marked the premiere of their estate in Toro – Pintia – where, as at Alion, only one wine (100% Tinto de Toro – the local clone of Tempranillo).
After touring Alion and Vega Sicilia, we had lunch at Fuente de la Acena (including langoustines and wild mushrooms in cream sauce; jamon Iberico, a cured beef which I believe came from Vega Sicilia’s own beef (it is still a working farm which also grows alfalfa and a few vegetables); as well as Vega Sicilia raised beef cheeks. We drank: ’06 Oremus Mandolas – 6 months in new oak; honey/citrus peel/floral – creamy texture, dry, but soft. 14.2% alc. ’06 Pintia – fresh and fragrant (see notes on ’06 Mauro…maybe it’s a characteristic of the vintage) – v. pretty. ’05 Pintia – Wow – intense, meaty/black fruit – lively, rich, concentrated, elegant, especially for this DO. ’05 Alion – Wow – fragrant and pure and so young, but so damned drinkable – you want to gulp down big glasses of it. Terrific. ’03 Oremus Mandolas – Citrus flower over honey – lively and fresh, and a wonderful surprise. 13.5% alc. ’04 Vega Sicilia Valbuena – The wine of the trip to this point – notes can’t do it justice…deep, pure, persistent, intense, endless fruit. One of the greatest things I’ve ever tasted. ’99 Vega Sicilia Unico – Balsam/spicy fruit/velvet texture over massive tannin – so impressive but so freaking young… considering Vega Sicilia recommends drinking the Unicos from the 1960s for current consumption, that should give you an idea of what I mean. As impressive as it is, give me the Valbuena.
Then we piled into the van and drove to Haro (2.5 hours), tonight’s destination. Tomorrow we visit two Rioja estates – Rioja Alta and Vina Herminia, then a long (5-6 hour) drive to Falset. So, we’re calling it an early night – might hit the pillow before 12:30am!
Day Six - Rioja La Rioja Alta - Founded in 1890, and essentially the first winery in Rioja Alta, or at least the first to appreciate how special its location happens to be. The buds on the vines around the bodegas in Haro and Las Bastida are nearly ready to open. La Rioja alta is a traditional producer, in the best sense. They have 9 million bottles aging in their bodegas, along with some 75,000 barrels. They grow 75% of the grapes they require, covering 1,100 acres of vines. They also own Lagar de Cervera in Rias Baixas; Baron de Ona in Rioja Alavesa and Aster in Ribera del Duero.
We tasted (sorry, too tired for more detailed tasting notes): Lagar de Cervera Albarino '08 - Rias Baixas Aster '03 Crianza - Ribera del Duero Aster '01 Reserva - Ribera del Duero Baron de Ona '04 Reserva - Rioja Alavesa; this was neat...the vineyards sit at 600m, nearly the highest in Rioja. Lively sort of vivid red fruit, concentrated, still elegant. ....took a short break, then tasted,
all from La Rioja Alta: Vina Alberdi '02 Reserva (by the way, all La Rioja Alta wines are at least Reserva); 100% Tempranillo; spicy red fruit and creamy oak. Vina Arana '01 Reserva - Tempranillo with some Mazuelo (aka Carignan), 2 years in barrel, one year in bottle. delicious; balanced , ripe and spicy and seamless. Vina Ardanza '00 Reserva - 20% Garnacha; more spice and red fruit in a more compact framework, but long and elegant. 904 Gran Reserva '97 - 10% Graciano; 4 years in barrel, 6 years in bottle - current release! Orange peel, almost candied and spicy, intense but elegant. Neat. 890 Gran Reserva '95 - 5% Mazuel/5% Graciano; 6 years in barrel, 8 years in bottle - current release! This was the bomb - elegant but rich, sweet, concentrated fruit. Remarkable freshness for 14 year old wine.
Vina Herminia, Rioja Baja Run by Antonio Palacios, this is in some ways the mirror image of Rioja Alta. No estate vineyards, they purchase all of their grapes from Rioja's biggest cooperative (which is also Rioja's largest single landowner), but Palacios, being a veteran of the region and highly respected, gets his pick of the best lots available. He blends freely across the different zones of Rioja, looking to make wine with intense, fresh fruit, doing less barrel aging. This guy has a clear vision, as do all of the estates we've visited on this trip. All of the wines tasted showed pure, fresh flavors, fine balance and style - they're extremely well made.
We tasted: Irun Verdejo '08 - Rueda. In screwcap. From the first whiff, it is obvious this wine has some Sauvignon Blanc. Good wine, great with lunch, but I'd rather they let the Verdejo stand on its own. '08 Tempranillo Joven - Rioja. Vivid and sassy - yummy. '06 Excelsus - Rioja. 40% Garnacha, some oak aging. The least identifiable as Rioja, but plenty tasty. '05 Crianza - Rioja. 15% Garnacha. V. pretty - modern but clearly Rioja in structure and overall character, just a particularly fresh expression. '01 Reserva - Rioja. Balsam/toasty/spicy/ more red fruit - polished and ready to drink but plenty fresh and lively. Delicious wine. '99 Gran Reserva - Rioja. Lovely ruby color; fragrant, floral (dried roses)/leather/red fruit/cinamon smells and seamless, elegant, charming flavors.
Then we had lunch, with the above wines to drink: stuffed piquillo peppers Navarra DO white asparagus potato, chorizo and tomato/red pepper stew baby lamb chops grilled over vine cuttings baby lettuce wedges with arbequino olive oil red wine-poached pear and black currant ice cream
Fat and sassy, we hopped in the car and drove some 300km to Falset, checked into the hotel and walked over to the restaurant La Vi-zzeria, a wine restaurant that makes distinctive pizzas reminiscent of our good friends in Bmore (Iggies!). We ate more...
croquettes with tuna and black olives salad of greens, marinated wild mushrooms, "bacon" and their own house-made arequina olive oil (one of the best olive oils in my experience). pizza with tuna, black olives and parmesan
We drank: Nelin '06 Blanco - Priorat Martinet Bru '05 - Priorat Clos Martinet '04 - Priorat ...all three were extraordinary, but I'm out of energy and adjectives...time for bed.
Day Seven – Falset/Montsant/Priorat We tasted some great wine today (and you know me – the better the wine, the fewer the words), but what made this day the best of the trip was the time we were fortunate enough to spend with Sara Perez and her father-in-law, Rene Barbier. Rene is one of (along with Sara’s Father) the driving force behind the creation of the modern D.O.s of Priorat and Montsant and Falset. In the late morning Sara drove us up to the heights of her Clos Escuricons vineyard and spent about two hours explaining her philosophy and methodology. After lunch in Gratalops we spent the next four+ hours with Rene Barbier – first he drove us to the top of his home vineyard – Clos Mogador – then, after a tasting, he drove us to one of the highest points in all of Priorat, planted to 100+ year-old Grenache, which makes a wine he calls Espectacle. We learned the difference between schist in Martinet – loaded with iron – and schist in Mogador, pure and dark; and the granitic soils that produce Espectacle. The point is, these are some of the world’s great red wines (they made terrific whites as well), and we spent the whole day with two of the greatest winemakers in the world. And they thanked us for being there! Incredible. What a fantastic week! Much more on Priorat when I return. For now, a little sleep, then off to Barcelona for a day to relax before the flight home on Sunday. Buenos Noches.
Day Eight – Barcelona The Boqueria. Barcelona’s fresh market is one of the bigeest in the world. Since we arrived at the hotel before rooms were ready, we walked down the Boqueria and had blunch, or brunch, or whatever you want to call it. Todd has been here several times, so he knew where to take us: El Quim. This is a tapas bar with about fifteen seats surrounding the kitchen/bar in which four men maneuvered in a space of about 30 square feet. Watching them was part of the fun, but the food was kept us sitting there until we could barely move, so stuffed were we with navajas (razor clams); huevos con cipirones (fried eggs with baby squids, and another huevos dish with those baby eels, the name escapes me); fried green peppers; asparagus with sea salt; chorizos; blood sausage; many cervezas… all so fresh and perfectly prepared and served with smiles…a great meal. Then we accompanied Todd on his annual trip to the salt-cured fish stand where he buys pails of anchoa de seca (whole Mediterranean anchovies cured in salt).
We walked back to the hotel, dropped off the anchovies and headed back out for a quick visit to the Gaudi-designed apartment building a few blocks away, then stopped in a bar for a quick refreshment – cava with tapas – but left after just a couple of plates because we felt less than welcome. Perhaps it was the fact that the waiter didn’t know how to properly open a bottle of cava and the flying cork just missed Todd’s face – or perhaps it was because, even though we risked danger by ordering another bottle, the guy just didn’t seem interested in getting it for us. On the way back to the hotel, in search of another bar, we came across a cheese/delicatessen/wine shop, and we put together our own tapas to have back at the hotel. It was great, and it didn’t stop us from heading out to our last dinner in Spain, at a place called Can Pineda, for honest Catalan fare which turned out to be another terrific experience. The bottle of note was ’04 Terreus – amazing. The food, whew. Besides more great anchovies and white asparagus, and monkfish with wild mushrooms, etc, two standout dishes – a tomato/strawberry/onion/
ventresca tuna/anchovy salad; and a carpaccio of baccala that nearly brought me to tears. And so it ended, another great meal, more great drinking, great company – what a trip!
The Travelers: Phil Bernstein Rod Carleson Colin Gent MW – European contact, driver, vinous genius Mitchell Pressman Todd Ruby – team captain, organizer, joke-teller Matt Wood
