Weekend Wines
Tasted over the last two weekends, at home and at wine stores in Paris.
Cedric Bouchard “Roses de Jeanne” Blanc de Noirs A very small production Champagne gaining a reputation. The nose shows a kind of restrained ripeness and richness, very Pinot Noir, like a forest fruits sorbet. The palate is well balanced and long but the wine lacks harmony. I think a few years into the cellar would see it improve.
Egly Ouriet Vieillissement Prolongé Grand Cru (Ambonnay, Bouzy, Verzennay) A recent disgorgement (May 2007) after spending 56 months in bottle at Egly. The nose was rich, complex, lots of vanilla, red berry jam, minerality (I thought ‘crab’ for some reason). The palate is nervous and tight. This needs at least two more years.
Roche aux Moines Savennières 1992 A dry Chenin Blanc from this great village on the Loire. This bottle spoke of the year, tasting a little developed and thin on the palate. Still, it had a remarkable refreshing quality to it, with a flavour that struck me as lime flavoured aeroplane jelly!
Forey Morey-Saint-Denis 2000 I’ve not been a fan of these wines when young but it might be that I wasn’t ‘getting’ them. I tried the 2006s which were all quite light and lacking complexity. This was the opposite though. Extremely complex, with earthy, smoky, leather and wild berry aromas mixed up with pepper. The wine maker chez Forey does not extract and I think the wines look boring when young for it, but when aged they’re intriguing and different.
Forey Les Gaudichots 1er Cru 1993 Lifted spiciness but a hint of oxidation points to a problem with the cork or cellar. Drinkable but surely not showing all it could.
At a tasting at Bossetti I tried the William Fevre 2006s which already look quite giving and developed, with distinct notes of honey. Pleasant to drink but not a great Chablis. Most of the wines are early drinking, but the Preuses and, to a lesser extent, Fourchaume will give pleasure for quite a few years.
A Bouchard Père et Fils Meursault Genevrières 2004 showed a lot of oak but plenty of promise. The Bouchard Père et Fils Montrachet 2004 was extremely closed. Other tasters found the wine extremely disappointing, simple, boring, nothing but a label. I would not be so quick to judge: though not complex, the minerally, citrusy finish stayed with me for minutes. In twenty years time, I think it will be a legend. However, my recommendation would be to not even consider opening this wine at such a young age.
