Archive for the ‘February’ Category

Holland Routework 1

Monday, April 12th, 2010

Hotel Des Indes, Den Haag

Feb 28 – To The Hague

I have retrieved notes from Feb tastings and will input them soon, for now I will reporting to the blog from the road. I think it is important to start documenting my experiences during different phases of trip development. I hope it is helpful.
Yesterday I left Beaune in a major storm to drive North to Holland. We are hosting some travellers who want to explore Holland by Bike in late June 2010.
Holland is a cyclist’s dream, the bike is Queen. This is the third time I’ve come North for this program; March 2009 for initial research, then in October 2009 for specific bike routes and hotel visits. I am here now to finish the cycling routes and to go through the trip in detail with my co-guide. My co-guide was a Den Haag resident for well over a decade, now residing near Geneva, but in France. We worked together at a the large cycling and walking specialist Butterfield and Robinson 20 yrs ago, our families have been close ever since. I consider her husband a very close friend, and our kids get along like cousins. Her input on this program will be a key to making it a true insider’s program. She arrives in two days, so, until then, I will be able to finish some of the cycling routes and do some exploring on my own.
Getting here:
The storm intensified as I drove North, peaking in Luxembourg. I had stopped to grab a sandwich and my vehicle nearly got hit by a flying 150litre garbage can, the gusts were impressive.  Belgium was grey, as almost always it seems, the storm eased as I arrived to the Hampshire Hotel, and then intensified around 5 pm, after my arrival. As I left the hotel an American tourist burst in and blurted to me “and I gave up a trip to Australia for this !!” while storming to the elevator. I understood exactly what he was talking about when I started to walk to the tram stop. Big cold wind and driving rain. Really nasty weather. I was almost chilled to the bone waiting to take a tram 3 stops to the centre of the city.
I walked the city centre for about an hour before getting too cold and heading back to hotel on foot. I remembered how I really do enjoy big cities. It took me back to the cold Toronto winters of my youth. Just before I got back to the hotel I spied the Savana Café, a quaint neighbourhood bistro.  After talking with reception briefly I cleaned up and headed back to the bistro for a nice daily menu. The Leak soup was really fresh, creamy and great. The main was Sole in a cream sauce with braised Cauliflower and home fries-with home-made mayonnaise. It was good, but slightly undercooked and thus difficult for me to bone. It also came with it’s guts for me to separate – I wasn’t hungry enough to sample them tonight. Once I got some of the flesh it didn’t bother me that it was undercooked, I could tell it was a fresh fish, with great flavour. The home fries were great !
I returned to the hotel, fell asleep during the 50 km ski race, only to wake at midnight to see the Hockey and Olympic highlights, followed by the 2010 Winter Olympic Games Closing ceremonies. Although I’ve become more of an Internationalist, and less Nationalistic, I doubt you can find a more proud Canadian in the Hague this morning.
March 1, 2010
This is a great hotel for what I am doing. Routework is a part of the trip’s bottom line, for us to be price competitive, I need to keep pre-trip costs as reasonable as possible. It was a great deal price-wise, and this morning’s breakfast was just fine. It is well located, classic, clean and well-appointed. I would not, however, use this as a trip property, as it lacks the character side of the equation. This morning I am tracing the bike route for 1st layover day in The Hague. I am happy to say the weather has calmed down. Only 30 km/hr winds… Looks like tailwind there and headwind back. Thanks for reading.

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Morey-St-Denis Tasting

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

Morey-St-Denis, Burgundy

On January 22nd I visited with Kellen Lignier at Domaine Lucie et Auguste Lignier in Morey-St-Denis.  It was a brisk mid-afternoon when I met Kellen at the cellars in the courtyard of the Castel de Très Girard Hotel.  She had just finished doing some pruning in the vineyard across the road that runs in front of the winery, and we chatted while waiting for a private client of hers to join us.

Kellen described how the winery used to be the Cave Cooperative for Morey-St-Denis, and that her husband’s family had been installed there since the 1980s.  Kellen’s husband was Romain Lignier, the son of Hubert Lignier, and one of the top young winemakers in Morey-St-Denis.  I remember meeting him once in the early 1990s with a Canadian wine importer friend of mine.  Romain was clearly a passionate and inquisitive winemaker, with that rare combination of immense talent and ambition.  All of the Côte d’Or mourned Romain’s passing with profound sadness.

Romain died tragically from a brain tumor in 2004.  Kellen has since taken on the task of running the winery, although this wasn’t completely embraced by Kellen’s father-in-law, from what I have heard.  I didn’t know how comfortable Kellen would feel talking about Romain’s death and the challenges thereafter, so I didn’t ever bring it up.  At one point she did say that she felt Romain’s cancer was a product of the different chemical treatments the Domaine used to employ.  Romain had started the eradication of chemicals, and Kellen has continued such that, at present, chemicals are no longer in the picture.  This requires a good deal of hand work in the vineyards and Kellen has a few full and part-time help to keep the vines in pristeen order.

The Vineyards

The Domaine has just about 8.5 hectares( 21 acres ) of vines to look after, spread between the villages of Chambolle-Musigny and Fixin, along the Côte de Nuits.  Kellen makes the whole range of appellation wines, from Bourgogne Rouge and Bourgogne Passetoutgrains through Village, Premier Cru and Grand Cru.  Here is the list of different wines made by Kellen and her team:

Regional Appellation:

Bourgogne Aligoté

Bourgogne Passetoutgrains

Bourgogne Rouge

Village Appellation:

Chambolle-Musigny “Les Bussières”

Morey-St-Denis “Vieilles Vignes”

Morey-St-Denis “Les Sionnières”

Gevrey-Chambertin “Les Seuvrées”

Fixin “Champs de Vosger”

Premier Cru Appellation:

Chambolle-Musigny “Les Baudes”

Morey-St-Denis “La Riotte” (last vintage was 2006, this now gets blended with the “Cuvée Romain Lignier”)

Morey-St-Denis “Les Chaffots”

Morey-St-Denis “Cuvée Romain Lignier”

Gevrey-Chambertin “Aux Combottes”

Grand Cru Appellation:

Clos de la Roche

Charmes-Chambertin

As you can see, it’s a wide variety of great and very good vineyards.

The Tasting

After waiting a little while we ended up starting the tasting without our third participant.  We started the tasting with the 2008 Passetoutgrain and Bourgogne which were progressing in stainless tanks on the ground level.  Although a touch cold, they both showed very well, fresh, fruity and luscious, with good balance.

We then descended into the barrel cellar and tasted through several of the Village and Premier Cru appellations, finishing with the Clos de la Roche.

The wines tasted really well, despite the cold.  Her vineyards have vines with good age on them, this is apparent in the complexity and lush mouth-feel of many of her wines.  Their was excellent terroir definition and although the Domaine uses a fair amount of new oak – about 50% on average – it was well integrated.  Kellen makes her wines with as little intervention as necessary.  The focus is mainly on growing beautiful grapes and making sure only the healthiest get into the fermentation vats.  She makes wines that age well and slowly develop into fine Burgundy to be enjoyed with friends or family around a great meal.  Here is an interesting plus: She carefully allots her wine and keeps some back so she can release small offerings as the wines reach their peak drinking period.

I was impressed with her wines, but also with her determination to carry on with her late-husband’s aim of producing great Burgundy, and building an important legacy for Lucie and Auguste.

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Tasting in Gevrey-Chambertin – Part 2

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

Drouhin-Laroze Ad from 1943 Appellation Encyclopedia

Gevrey-Chambertin

Drouhin-Laroze is a Domaine in Gevrey-Chambertin with a very good reputation and an excellent list of different appellations that includes several Grand Crus.  Before going to the Domaine near the end of last month, I had visited on two other occasions, once in the early 1990s while cycling through the village, and a second time in August 2001, cycling again, when I stopped there with a few travelers I was hosting from a large investment firm.  On the two previous visits I only saw the caveau/tasting room on the ground level, as the visits were quite impromptu.  This time I was stunned by the size of the property.  The site is a full hectare in size (2.4 acres) with cellars and outbuildings amidst a beautiful grounds.

The Domaine is now run by Christine and Philippe Drouhin and Christine was our hostess for the visit.  We initially visited the bottle storing cellars which are quite beautiful, having been renovated in the early 2000s.  The Domaine was busy bottling some 2008s in a different building on site and filling the concrete bins in this cellar with unlabeled bottles.  Mme Drouhin then showed us the barrel cellars, a short walk away.  These cellars were equally beautiful and quite unique in that they are two levels deep.  Barrels aged here are from the Domaine as well as the negociant/broker business that Christine and Philippe’s daughter has recently started.

Our third stop on the visit was the caveau/tasting room where Mme. Drouhin has also started a small table d’hôtes :table d’hotes: n. (French) meaning “table of the host” meal option that offers full meal with limited choice of food for a fixed price.

Moray Tawse, Christine Drouhin, Paul Pender at Domaine Drouhin-Laroze

This allows clients to have a simple, Burgundian meal paired with the wines of the Domaine.  A great idea that also exists elsewhere in the Côte d’Or, perhaps most successfully at Maison Leflaive in Puligny-Montrachet.  Mme. Drouhin said she started this small restaurant because of her love of cooking and as such she does all the cooking herself.  It’s open seasonally and I look forward to eating here when it re-opens in the Spring.

By this time we were in a rush to see another winemaker, so we didn’t have time to do the barrel tasting that was planned.  Instead I purchased some 2006s and have tried only one so far, a Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Prieur (1er Cru appellation).  It was very fruity and a touch hard initially, but mellowed with time.  It was really silky, balanced and great by the time I finished the bottle, the evening after ( about 36 hrs ) it was opened.  I will wait awhile before opening any more bottles.  These wines need time to reach their full potential.  I have been fortunate to have friends who have shared older bottles, including from the great 1978 vintage.

1978 Chambertin Clos de Bèze, Domaine Drouhin-Laroze, tasted in March 2008

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Domaine Drouhin-Laroze

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

The bottle aging cellars at Drouhin-Laroze

Domaine Drouhin-Laroze, Gevrey-Chambertin

These are notes compiled for a tasting at the Domaine on the afternoon of January 21, 2010.  Actual notes from the tasting will be posted tomorrow.

History

This domaine is managed today by Philippe and Christine Drouhin. The estate was originally founded in 1850 in Gevrey-Chambertin, by Jean-Baptiste Laroze.  In 1919 his granddaughter, Suzanne, married Alexandre Drouhin – who owned vines in Chambolle-Musigny.  With the unison of these parcels, the estate changed its name to Drouhin-Laroze.  Under the leadership of Bernard Drouhin, the domaine built a solid reputation, but a changing of the guard occurred with his death in 2001.  Bernard’s son Philippe took control of the estate and made several changes to further improve the quality of the wines.  Yields were cut and more precise temperature control was implemented during the vinification.  The efforts quickly paid off.  Subsequent vintages have produced deeper, richer wines that now rival the best from the village.

Winemaking

Philippe believes in exceptional vineyard management, which enables him to have the freshest, purest wines possible.  His style falls somewhere between a modernist and a traditionalist.  Green harvesting is performed and the yields are well controlled.  A vibrating sorting table is used to ensure only the best fruit enters each vat.  After fermentation, the wines rest in oak for eighteen months.  Though his top wines are ripe, clean and aged in new oak (50% for 1er crus and 100% for grand crus), they are at the same time pure and earthy.  Their understated concentration balances out any new wood flavours or textures.  One year old barrels are used for the village level wines.  All the wines are bottled without fining or filtration.  The result is dark, powerful cuvees that are a little rustic and unforgiving in their youth.  Time in the bottle, however, reveals wines that are fragrant and flavourful.

Vineyards

Domaine Drouhin-Laroze owns 11.50 hectares of vineyards, including village, premier cru and grand cru sites.  In addition to an excellent village Gevrey, the estate makes Morey-Saint-Denis from old vines (1946) in the lieu-dit Tres Girard (0.18 ha.).  A special village wine is made in Chambolle-Musigny from two parcels. 80% of the cuvee comes from the premier cru Les Baudes (0.18 ha.) and 20% from the lieu-dit Les Veroilles (0.04 ha.), both of which adjoin Bonnes Mares.  In Gevrey, the domaine owns plots in four premier cru vineyards.  Vines were planted here in 1943 and 1953.  Lavaux-Saint-Jacques, located just south of Clos-Saint-Jacques, is regarded as one of the best premier cru sites of Gevrey.  Drouhin-Laroze’s parcel in Lavaux (0.30 ha.) dates from 1943.  The domaine has a well situated parcel in the “Des Papes” area of Clos Vougeot (1.03 ha.), located in the upper portion of the vineyard.  With 1.49 hectares, the domaine is the second largest owner in Bonnes Mares.  The parcel is located on terres blanches soil in the Chambolle portion of the vineyard.  The grand crus of Gevrey are well represented at this estate.  In addition to plots in Latricieres-Chambertin (0.67 ha.) and Chapelle-Chambertin (0.52 ha.), Drouhin-Laroze has vines that date back to 1949 in Chambertin-Clos des Beze (1.39 ha.).  In 1996 a precious plot of Le Musigny (0.12 ha.) was purchased.

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Domaine Fourrier

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

Jean-Marie Fourrier

This post goes with the post of February 2, 2010 below, that describes a recent tasting at the excellent Domaine Jean-Marie Fourrier in Gevrey-Chambertin.  What follows is info garnered from the web and edited for guests as notes for the tasting.  Edited again after the tasting – January 21, 2010.

History:

The Domaine Jean-Marie Fourrier was once known as Pernot-Fourrier, then more recently as Domaine Jean-Claude Fourrier.  It has a long history in Gevrey Chambertin, extending over several generations.  One of the first domaines to actually export its wine, it is also one of the most well-endowed estates in the village, with great vineyard holdings.  The domaine has been given new life by the arrival of Jean-Marie Fourrier.  This is another young vigneron who has reinforced the fortunes of the family domaine.  Jean-Marie gained experience not only at the family domaine, but also with Henri Jayer, and Domaine Drouhin in Oregon.  He took over control of the winery from his Dad in 1994 – 95.  Jean-Marie told us his grandfather died when his Dad was just 14yrs old.  His Dad had been working the land and office since, so he was keen to take a smaller role as soon as J-M was old enough to take the reins.

Vines:

Domaine Fourrier owns 9 hectares of vineyards in the communes of Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-St.-Denis and Chambolle-Musigny.  The holdings are scattered up and down the slopes and range from village to Grand Cru level.  Included among the holdings are important parts of “Clos St. Jacques” and “Combes Aux Moines” as well as a small but valuable slice of Griottes-Chambertin.

Winemaking:

Intervening as little as possible in order to allow the vines, the terroir and the vintage to express themselves is the basis of Jean Marie’s winemaking philosophy.  To capture the individual, unique expression of terroir in his wines, he vinifies each vineyard separately, from village to Grand cru.  To control yield, he severely prunes his vines in the Winter and Spring, and does not believe in the practice of green harvesting.  No more than 20% new oak is used.  The aim is to preserve the purity of the fruit and the personality of each wine.  Older barrels exchange gases much more slowly, thereby naturally protecting the wine against oxidation.  Malolactic fermentation is allowed to proceed free of intervention.  Jean-Marie believes that the longer the malolactic takes to finish, the greater the aging potential of the wine.  He likes to leave the wines on the fine lees until bottling which usually occurs 20 to 24 months after harvest.

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Tasting in Gevrey-Chambertin – Part 1

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

Jean-Marie Fourrier flanked by elite Ontario winemakers

Gevrey-Chambertin is one of the iconic villages on the Côte de Nuits.  It may be the most widely known, and is often the first village wine lovers discover when they start to drink red Burgundy.  This is certainly my case, and I clearly remember Gevrey-Chambertin village and 1er cru wines getting serious attention during my first summer in Beaune in 1987.  We were drinking a great deal of 1979 Gevreys that summer, and they were delicious! I was also fortunate enough to eat at least a half dozen times that season at Les Millésimes, a top restaurant that remained a fovourite right up until it closed in the summer of 2004.  Didier Sangoy introduced me to my first Clos St-Jacques in September 1987.  I’ve been poor ever since.

Thursday before last, January 21st, I was able to book two excellent tastings for an Ontario winery that was passing through these parts, looking for equipment and visiting a few Domaines.

Lunch:

Our first tasting was at 2:30 pm with Jean-Marie Fourrier, but, before that, the lunch spot bears mentioning.  We had lunch at Chez Guy in the village.  It is a very nice bistrot style restaurant right in the centre of town.  Here you will find a good selection of different regional dishes, and a very good winelist.  We actually phoned our order in early so we could be in and out fairly quickly.  They handled this special request perfectly.  The dishes were very good – escargots, wild salmon, dorade and poularde de Bresse.  The wine was outstanding.  It was a lean and minerally, long and seductive Corton-Charlemagne from 2006 (Christophe Roumier).  Super bottle at the perfect temperature.  Best ‘06 white Burgundy I’ve had to date, I think.

Then it was off to Fourrier.  I had tasted here in July of 2004, when hosted by Jean Marie’s wife Vicki.  I was invited by two close friends, one of which is no longer alive, so, for me, returning to Fourrier had a pilgrimage-like poignancy.  Our visit was eye-opening then, I expected it to be equally great this time.  Jean-Marie met us in the courtyard and we walked through to the back where we could survey vineyards behind the winemaking facility.  J-M pointed out a number of their vineyards  and gave us some insight into work on the vines.  You get the sense early on that J-M has a very analytical mind and has been thinking deeply about how great wine is made, for many, many years.  Every stage of grape growing and winemaking has been thoroughly examined and continues to be each year, because no two growing seasons are exactly alike.

We tasted four 2008s from vat: a Gevrey-Chambertin villages and three 1er crus – Les Goulots, Champeaux and Clos St-Jacques.  Each was excellent in its own way.  The Clos St-Jacques stole the show but all showed definition, finesse and great length and lusciousness.  We then went to the bottle cellar and tasted two 2007s – a lovely Vougeot Les Petits Vougeots 1er cru and a Gevrey-Chambertin Combe aux Moines 1er cru.  Both showed beautifully, even in the cold cellar.  Fruit, energy, finesse and length, all wrapped together.

What ends up in the glass is a pure expression of terroir, with as little interference as possible by the winemaker.

Jean-Marie Fourrier’s wines that I have tasted have always shown great balance, lush mouth-feel, and beautiful fruit and energy.  I think he is doing terrific work.

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