Earlier than expected

2011 Pépière Muscadet

With excellent Kumamoto (on the east coast, who’da thunk) and decent Malpeque and Blue Point oysters, its usual dominant self. Fucking Marc is a demi-god.

2010 Guy Breton Morgon Vielles Vignes

Another very pretty and delicious bottle of this wine. Perhaps a bit tighter than others. Whispy berryish fruit mixed with herbs and some purple flowers. A meadow. Should be even better in a couple of years. A wine that is often overlooked by Beaujolais lovers.

2002 Louis Jadot Clos Vougeot

I picked up some of these on a lark as it was a screaming deal and part of my auction bottom feeding for wines in or near a drinking window. While this is undeniably young, it showed superbly last night. Everything one could ask of a Clos Vougeot, dark, brooding, deeply pitched stony blue and black fruits. There was a whiff of bitter chocolate, but more like earth than torrefication, mixed with all sorts of sous bois notes underpinned by leather. I don’t think I’m doing justice to how deep the nose was. On the palate there was much more evidence of the wines youth. Very firm tannins that aren’t choppy but refined but have evolved past the spot where they cut the finish short. With rich winetry food, this was fantastic. I think that in another 5-7 years the tannins will soften enough to be in a great spot for me with fruit still there and the beginning of the earthy elements shading savory. For others, they may want to wait 15 years or so for the wine to fully resolve.

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In the current issue, David Lille of Chambers St. Wines, authors a warm and lovely tribute to Muscadet and the handful of dedicating artisans that bring such excellent wine into being.

David is a hero to the VLM-TR, even if he is a commie, and we'd love to see him write more often.

My dinner with Andre

My dear friend Andre Tamers had his west coast representative in town and had me along for dinner. Holly was charming, affable, and full to the brim with knowledge and anecdotes. It just so happens that we know about 600 people in common and it is amazing we have never met (although I think we must have at some point). Bravo to Andre for bringing her on board. I was doing more socializing than real analyzing so keep that in mind; however, a couple of wines clearly shone or disappointed.

Dinner was at Vin Rouge in Durham and Matt provided excellent food as always and Michael was spot on with wine service, again, per usual.

2007 Domaine du Bagnol Cassis
Clearly past it’s drinking window. These need to be drunk fresh. The rosé is also much, much better. This is one of those pleasures that should probably stay in France.

2005 Domaine Ganevat Savagnin Côtes du Jura Sous la Roche La Combe de Rotalier
I liked the 2002 of this a great deal and was eager to try this version. Didn’t seem to have the same tension as the 2002, but had good weight and length and that intensity I like from good sous voile wines. For my personal tastes, Ganevat is clearly at the top of Savagnin producers. I still have no idea how this will age. I know it will hold, but how will it really change? Will it be glacial? I suspect. I’ve never cellared these wines, I tend to buy them and drink them. I’d love to hear from anyone who cellars these.

2008 Ganevat Côtes du Jura Pinot Noir Cuvée Julien
I don’t get the hype. I guess it’s a nice wine, but would be crushed by Barthod or Mugneret Bourgogne.

2005 Pépière (Marc Ollivier) Clos des Briords 1.5L
This was a great showing by this wine. Maybe it will come together. I was worried that the vintage was too fat and would never shed that baby fat to become what we recognize as Briords. Contrary to that fear, if this magnum was a leading indicator, it seems to be doing just that. Becoming more focused and mineral, it also seems to have absorbed some of the fat and turned it into some yellow fruits. This will always be on the bigger side and won’t be confused with 2002 or 1996, but it could end up being more interesting in the medium term than I suspected. I have a 750 at the house waiting to drink and will see if this is a one off phenomenon or a portent.

2005 Château du Cayrou Cahors
Even though this is young, I liked it a lot. I have a soft spot for both this and the Gamot and I don’t know why. There is a kind of regal quality to their rusticity, sort of like a country gentleman, and a real sense of density and place. I am not sure what the signature terroir of Cahors is, but tis is the type of wine I think of. Dark and almost black purple, sauvage aromas of black and blue fruits enveloped in leather, tree bark and 14 hour hung game (top that Schildy). There is also a nice minerality underneath everything else. I should own some of this. Was not wildly tannic, perhaps due to the merlot in the blend, but drank well the following day.

1996 Vietti Barolo Brunate
Astoundingly disappointing bottle. Decanted for several hours, this never really opened up. Seemed a bit dilute, which do0esn’t make any sense given how it showed as a young wine and where it should be. Maybe it’s in a dumb phase, I don’t really know.

Dressner at Poole's

A Louis/Dressner wine dinner at Poole’s Diner in Raleigh. Ashley made a hell of a meal to go with the wines and the staff, and especially Matt Fern made it a very fun evening. The wines all showed remarkably well. Must have been a Thai Stripper day on the Biodynamic Calender.

(2008) François Pinon Vouvray Brut Non Dosé
Nice mousse and a fine structure. Lovely bread and pitted fruit notes. Unapologetically bubbly chenin. Maybe lacks the depth of Huet, but this was clean, vibrant and superb, overall. The Pinon wines are such remarkably rock solid values.

1999 Luneau-Papin Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Le L D'Or
I tasted from 3 different bottles of this, two of which were brilliant. There was a mature depth to the fruit, a kind of bottle sweetness, and a real viscous sense of the earth. Probably the best experience I’ve ahd with this wine. The third bottle wasn’t corked or otherwise flawed. It seemed younger and also completely flat and innocuous. Almost like another vintage was mislabeled.

2008 Franck Peillot Roussette du Bugey Altesse de Montagnieu
The Alpine meadow strikes again. Frank makes such a lovely version of altesse. It is floral and yellow and gentle, but just when you think you have it figured out, it is something else. This wine is terribly easy to drink and graces the table rather well. The course here was an expertly fried chicken thigh over an okra hash. Everything was right with the world.

2008 Arianna Occhipinti Sicilia IGT SP68
This was the best showing for this in a while. It had everything I loved about this wine, from the startlingly pure and focused aromatics to the crisp and refreshing palate. I love the wines sharpness and cut, although I can see where it might be too acidic for some folks. This was served with some crazy ass carnitas dish over fresh butterbean and corn succotash style dish.

2005 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny Le Clos
This is great wine. For several years, I made the mistake of buying all the Poyeux and Bourg I could afford, but ignoring the Clos. In fact, the Clos (unsurprisingly) is much closer to the Bourg in comportment. While young, this was velvety and quite long. It needs five or so years and will probably drink beautifully for 20 or even more, but can be enjoyed with the right food by the impatient. With Piedmontese beef over a foraged mushroom risotto, one couldn’t ask for more.

Birthday blues

I was supposed to be in France this week. Sunday I would have been at Marc Ollivier’s and today at Clos Rougeard for my birthday. Instead, I’m at work. As it happens, I had these wines on New Year’s Eve with lots of oysters and an amazing veal chop. So I’m there in spirit if anyone is checking on my blog during the trip.

2008 Pépière Muscadet
Is there a better wine to wash down oysters (and clams for that matter)? I can’t remember Marc ever making a wine that wasn’t at least very good. The man really is a hero of the world of wine.


1997 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny Les Poyeux
The regular Clos has been drinking well for a few years now, so I figured the Poyeux might be beginning to open up. To cut to the chase, no it isn’t. The nose begins to open up and it is very mineral and sort of Chambolle like, to put it in context, although with distinctly different scent profile. Lean red fruit with stones with a bit of wood influence still there. I tend to think that the Clos and the Bourg, because they are flat and on richer soil, tend to come around earlier, whereas Poyeux is on a calcaire slope, so it may stay leaner for a longer time. This certainly does not show at all like a hot vintage wine. I only have one more bottle and won’t be touching it for another 5 years, at least.

City mouse, country mouse

My old friend and mentée Sophie was in town from her job at Chambers St. in the big city to visit family and us country folks. We put together some wines and I asked Matt, the chef at Vin Rouge, to put together a meal for us. Had I had this meal in 2009, it may have been my meal of the decade. It was the match or better of any meal I’ve had anywhere. The thought that went into the dishes to match them with the wines showed a real depth of understanding and intelligence.

2007 Pépière Granite de Clisson
Marc Ollivier is a fucking genius. Out of magnum and it still disappeared way too quickly.

2002 Domaine Ganevat Savagnin Côtes du Jura Sous la Roche La Combe de Rotalier
An interesting comparison between these two wines. This had much more aggression and “sherry” type character and was more what I was looking for. I guess I value austerity in these wines.

2002 Domaine de Montbourgeau Savagnin L'Etoile
Much rounder and less expressive. This is a slightly confounding wine as the 2000 was a much more intense and deeper experience. Not bad, just not terribly interesting.

1996 Ghislaine Barthod Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Fuées
Corked as hell. There is no god.


1995 Dugat-Py Gevrey Coeur de Roy
Clunky with that beet thing I’ve been getting from Dugat-Py recently. There was an intriguing mineral quality to the wine, but it was unbalanced and disjoint with drying tannins and no real purity or persistence. A great disappointment. I really think these are only impressive as young wines.

1999 Fourrier Gevrey 1er Cru Combes aux Moines
Showed the most concentration of any wine perhaps save the Ganevat, but without deep color or “extraction”. I think the best way to describe this is as sinewy. Tight cords of wine strapped together. The wine wasn’t particularly backward and did the best job of changing around as it opened. Had a profile I’ve come to expect from Combes aux Moines, with plumier fruit and a kind of earth/mushroomy aspect. I’m going to wait a few more years before opening another one.

2006 Ezio Voyat Chambave Rosso Le Muraglie
I had high hopes for this wine, but was disappointed. It isn’t that it was a terrible wine, it was just really bubblegum and obvious. Not what I expected at all. That didn’t change over the three hours we had it open.

1996 Pierre-Jacques Druet Bourgueil Fiefs de Louys
At one point, the nose was really intriguing, but I think this wine is past it’s best for my tastes, although others who like really old wines might like it in 10 more years. I liked it a lot more several years ago.

1994 Ridge Monte Bello
Surprisingly, this might have been the most complete wine at the table. Still, it didn’t show as well as a bottle of 1993 enjoyed in the last few months, it was richer but lacked the style and finesse of that wine. However, this is still a good bottle of cabernet that doesn’t stomp all over the food it’s served with. Luscious fruit with some hints fo American oak herbiness and a hint of vanilla that are integrated rather than sitting on top. I don’t’ think there is any point to further long term cellaring of this. It should drink well for a good 7-10 years. I’ll drink my last bottle in the next couple of years.

2004 Conde de Hervias Rioja
It was late and this was a bit woody, but not too much so. Still had some structure. Did really well with the venison. I might actually grab some of this to lay down, just fro shits and grins. I have no idea what’s going on, but I don’t have any tempornillo in my cellar so what the hell.

Modernism doesn't always work

In architecture, design, and a bunch of other areas, I'm a staunch modernist. With Barolo, it's been more of a mixed bag for me.

2004 Domaine de la Pépière (Marc Ollivier) Muscadet
This bottle still has some nice driving minerals left. This is my last bottle due to the plastic corks and it didn’t let me down. A very nice accompaniment to a plateau fruits de mer. Really good cut and verve while noticeable mellower than as a young wine.

1995 Azelia Barolo Bricco Fiasco
I was hoping that this would prove to be ready to go. The combination of modernist and ho-hum vintage has worked very well for me with the 1993s. Maybe I shouldn’t have decanted. In any event, it started out with an attractive nose of deep cherries, flowers, smoke, cedar and a bit of spice. The palate seemed to have some voluptuousness to it. Well, we didn’t drink it for another hour and a half and during that time the structure really came out. Even the venison sausage could barely dent the structure. The nose remained pretty, but the tannin started to dry out the palate and the acids became disjoint. I told the guys to put the rest back in a bottle and try it the next day. It was my last bottle and I definitely missed the spot on it. I’ll let that be a lesson with respect to the rest of my 1995s. Hold for 5 more years or so.

Briords and Chaumes

With a bunch of oysters and then dinner with my friends Andre and Damon, once again at Vin Rouge.

2004 Pépière (Marc Ollivier) Clos des Briords
This was a magnum. Softer than this wine has shown from 750 in the recent past, which is a bit curious, but consistent with the other magnum I’ve drank. Had this with Bluepoint and Lockwood Folly oysters. The latter are from North Carolina and the comparison was interesting, if damning to the Blupoints. The Lockwoods were much firmer and briny than the Bluepoints. While this wasn’t the best showing for 2004 Briords, it was still very nice with the oysters and went down very easily. I’d say drink over the next year or two but the 750s have shown younger. Maybe it was the first try at bottling mags and they are more developed. I don't have an explanation.

1996 Domaine Robert Arnoux Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Chaumes
This showed much more Vosne qualities than the Reignots from the other night. More blue and black fruits with hints of spice and earth. There were still some mineral underpinnings and a decent hit of acid which helped with the freshness. I enjoyed how it showed but it could probably benefit from at least a few more years in bottle for the aromatics to completely unfold. I liked this better than that recent bottle of Reignots and it was a very good, though not great wine.

Old Platts

Whoa. These notes are at least a year old. Just found while cleaning.

My friends the Platts throw great dinner parties. They are very good cooks and company, so I never turn down an invite if I can help it.


N.V. Larmandier-Bernier Champagne 1er Cru Terre de Vertus
From magnum. Certainly my favorite wine from Larmandier and among my favorite Champagnes. Everything you expect from this wine. Driving and uncompromising with intensity and focus. Clean, pristine and gem-like. Yes.

2005 Paolo Bea Bianco Santa Chiara
I’m not the hugest fan of this wine. I liked it better when it was made straight and not as an orange wine. Maybe the grapes or the site don’t lend themselves to it. I’m not sure, but it doesn’t pick up the drive that good orange wines have.

2005 Pépière (Marc Ollivier) Muscadet Cuvée Granite
From magnum. Just awesome. Marc Olivier is a genius.

2006 Fèlsina Chianti Classico
The new vintage and seemingly good, but a little too young and grapey and unevolved to really get a read on. Two or three bottles thrown back uncritically.

1996 Paitin di Pasquero-Elia Barbaresco Sori Paitin
I was thinking that this may be entering a good drinking phase and it is almost there. I liked the structure, but it wasn’t showing the aromatic evolution that I would like. I’d hold for a few more years to let that come out and by then it should be very good wine. Will probably continue to develop well for a good while.

Mediocre except for Marc

Ran into my friends, the Platts, at Vin Rouge for dinner.


2007 Pépière Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine
Great accompaniment to oysters and another delightful wine from Marc Ollivier. The man is a genius and if you aren’t drinking his wines, you are a fool. If you live near New York and don't go to the dinner Sunday March 22 put on by Chambers St. you are a traitor.

1998 Domaine de l'Oratoire St Martin Côtes du Rhône Villages Cairanne Cuvée Prestige
Unfortunately, this was sliding down the other side of life. After a very promising 2000 that seemed too young, I thought that this would be just right. I am at a loss as to what to make of these wines. I’m going to start diving in to my 1999-2001 Haut Coustias and see what they are doing and hopefully get a better sense of things.

2001 Pascal Granger Juliénas Cuvée Spéciale
Showed very well. Had gone totally pinote. I’m not always the hugest fan of Granger, there are so many better producers out there, but when they are good, they can be very, very good. Easily the best of the reds, with a warm earthy embrace, some dried fruit, and great balance. Very nice accompaniment to the food. No reason to hold if you have them, enjoy.

2004 La Bastide Blanche Bandol
This was just OK. I realize it is young, but it showed sort of murky, which has long been my experience with Bastide-Blanche. The best Bandol, like Pradeaux and Pibarnon show good definition when young, even if they can be painful.

Blackwood Day 2

Well, this was the BIG EVENT of the weekend. Lots of food, lots of wine and lots of great conversation and general conviviality.

My brother put out a great spread at Rue Cler. Always a pleasure to have him cook for us.

2004 Pépière Clos des Briords 1.5L
2005 Pépière Clos des Briords 1.5L
I don’t know. What do you say about Briords and huge plates of oysters? Life is worth living again? I’m honing in on the fact that this is THE great Muscadet. I thought the 2004 showed a bit better to my tastes, more precise, but they are both excellent. The 2005 will probably age better.

1996 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile
Started a bit musty, but shook that off. It was all oyster shell and dirt, without much of that petrol emotion. Some yellowish fruit started peaking out after a bit. It wasn’t as aggressive as this wine can be, but I was mostly just drinking it, not studying it.

1996 Vincent Dauvissat Chablis 1er La Fôret
A couple of us found this wine outstanding. It had that lemon drop crusted stone quality that I love so much from this particular wine. Still very well structured, but anyone who remembers how intense these wines were in their youth will be happy with how they are coming around. I was worried by the crazy intensity of the wine and also the potential of premature oxidation, but neither seemed to be a problem.

1995 Rémi Rollin Corton-Charlemagne
At first, I was really disappointed. It seemed sort of watery and washed out. Most folks at the table dismissed it, but Sophie brought me back to it with a particular dish, and the wine had really come around. What was previously washed out had firmed up. There were notes of pretty fruit and some flowers and spices. It also seemed to stretch out a bit and pick up some structure. I think part of this was my expectation for Corton-Charlemagne to be so big and minerally and intense. Sometimes you have to just let a wine be itself. I don’t think there is anything to be gained by aging this, but please give it some time and quite attention when you open it.

2005 Edmond Vatan Sancerre Chavignol Clos la Néore
Seemed to be closed in on itself. Kinda strange since I had a bottle not too long ago that was more open, but also much more mineral. You can always see the makings of a legend in this wine, though, and I’m always happy to be around it.

2004 Edmond Vatan Sancerre Chavignol Clos la Néore
Although it isn’t in the same class as the 2005, I felt this showed better. The lightness and linearity of it made it much more enjoyable on the night.

2006 Bernard Baudry Chinon Blanc La Croix Boissée
Went so well with the rabbit. While it isn’t defined the way the 2004 was, it has enough structure to hold itself together and to ensure that the fruit and limestone are delivered. A really pleasurable wine to drink. I don’t think it will make old bones, but over the next 5 years, and maybe more, it is a great drink.

2001 Pierre Amiot et Fils Clos de la Roche
Didn’t make much of an impression. Pretty woody and blocky to me. Susannah took it home, I’d be curious to see how it was the next day.

2004 Robert Arnoux Vosne 1er Les Suchots
One of the folks at the table really liked this, for me, it was another 2004. It isn’t the greenness that I dislike so much, although that can be annoying, it is the sort of glommy quality to the fruit. It was a vintage that had pretty high natural sugar but is watery at the same time resulting in very odd textures.

1996 Ghislaine Barthod Chambolle 1er Beaux Bruns
This was actually drinking pretty well. I was worried about this showing the sternness mixed with hollowness that can be the bugbear of this vintage. While not fair to compare it to a wine from a superior vineyard and vintage, it is impossible not to. Beaux Bruns is always a richer, earthier expression of Chambolle, with darker fruits. My hope is that the best 1996s will turn into 1988s. This bottle gives me a bit of hope.

2001 Ghislaine Barthod Chambolle 1er Fuées
Beautiful. Barthod made great wines in 2001, unfortunately for me, my source got theirs with heat damage, so I took them all back, so I only have a couple of bottles. What I love about Fuees, and Barthod’s in particular, is that there is a strong mineral spine with a coating of crunchy red fruit. Red currants and cranberry mostly. It is a driving wine, not a necessarily gentle one, but when the parts come together it is a wonderful expression of the best of Chambolle.

1995 Thierry Allemand Cornas Chaillot
Very reduced/bretty. This is the first time I’ve experienced this with an Allemand wine, although others have reported more frequent instances.

1995 Auguste Clape Cornas
A very elegant and social wine especially in comparison to the Verset. There was nothing wrong with it, but it seemed boring next to the Verset. I always seem to drink these two wines together, which is maybe not fair. Next time I’ll drink this by itself.

1995 Noël Verset Cornas
Absolutely wild and gorgeous. This certainly has some volatile acidity, but it serves to lift the wine, not to push it outside of the lines. What was amazing was how snappy and floral this was, in conjunction with some deep, animal, blackstrap Cornas-ness. If you have this, you can start drinking now. BTW, this reminds me of my Cornas aging theory. Medium term, not long term. I think 20 years is at the outer edge.

Shellshock and the medicine

First day of my new job, and I feel like I was thrown in to the deep end of the pool. Definitely needed some good wine to ease the brain. Why exactly did I leave the ease and comfort of my job in California for the stress of a high-octane research environment? Too late to go back now, the only way is forward.

2000 Arnoux Echezeux
This is my second bottle of this in the past 6 months or so and it was fantastic. This is silky generous in keeping with the vintage. An herby nuance to the deep red fruits. Typically spicy notes around the edges and a nice earthy streak (not gamy though, more of a light earth). Don’t hesitate to pull the trigger on one if you see it around. Compared to the Vosne Suchots and Romanée-St.-Vivant, this is ready to go and should drink great for another 10+ years, but I don’t see it getting much better than it is now. Maybe improving for another 3-4 years and plateauing for a good while.

2006 Tête Juliénas
One of the joys of returning to Durham is that I get to drink Tête Juliénas from a carafe at Rue Cler, my brother’s restaurant. Michel Tête has been cool enough to put a cuvée of his Juliénas in a 10 litre bag-in-the-box for my brother to serve. It’s great, keeps the wine fresh and lively. The 2006 is lighter than the 2005, not surprisingly, and really takes to the whole carafe treatment. 500mLs of deliciousness.

2005 Pépière Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Granite de Clisson
Do I like this more than the Briords? It’s one of those questions that you have to ask, but are hard to answer. This is broader, richer, and more Burgundian than the Briords, but it is still granite based Muscadet. If you haven’t tried this, you should try it, buy more, and cellar them.