A bunch of wines at Atelier
At Atelier last night with Nicolas, Cam, Mark, Neville, Fred and Gen we took a look at a few bottles.
We started very well with a Vilmart Cœur de Cuvée 1997. This was a fabulous wine of amazing subtlety and charm. The superb structure of the of the wine meant you immediately had to look at it seriously. The wine is in between primary and secondary development, a stage I love, and displays a kind of timelessness. I doubt any but Vilmart enthusiasts could pick this as a ’97.
Things went down hill a little: a Domaine Servin Les Blanchots 2000 was subtlety corked, almost drinkable but as ever: when you know it’s there, you find it hard to see anything else. Another Chablis followed, a hopelessly reductive Louis Michel et Fils Grenouilles 2000. I think someone described this as hair and grappa. I’d agree. Vigorous shaking of the glass didn’t improve this much for me. Maybe a lot more time in the cellar will, I don’t know.
We then reached for a backup, the Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne 1999. This was much better than two previous bottles I’ve had. The nose was ripe, showing some tropical fruit character, maybe even a hint of botrytis driven pineapple, but with air the immense class of Bonneau du Martray could be seen in the form of a fine, unripe white peach aroma which was superb with my King Island marron. This was served on a smoked tomato with seaweed and it was interesting to see how the smokiness blocked out the ripe fruit flavours of the Corton-Charlemagne and allowed me to better appreciate the hidden flavours of the crayfish and the wine.
We proceeded to a Marquis d’Angerville Clos des Ducs 1999. It seems to me that the 1999 Volnay premier crus are beginning to drink well now. This wine had a classic Volnay structure, raspy tannins and delicious acidity, with that characteristic Volnay red currant flavour, precise as the point of a pin. The nose showed more development in fact, with some earthiness and jammy-making aromas.
The showiness of the Sylvie Esmonin Clos St. Jacques 2001 made it hard to look back to the Volnay. The nose was rich and lifted, very much in the primary, sweet fruit spectrum. I saw the oak on this wine more than I did at Marque, maybe it was the food? A very enjoyable wine which pushes all the buttons. It will be interesting to chart its progress.
The Château de Beaucastel rouge 1990 was a departure from the Burgundies: more developed, spicy aromas, dried (horse) meat, olives, wild herds. Typical of Beaucastel and showing great deftness in such a ripe vintage. Unfortunately for this wine, the heating at Atelier was a little high and it wasn’t served with a massive, blue steak: the bretty dryness started to dominate the palate for me and I missed its message.
The Della Valle Maya (Napa) 2000 was a different beast all together: a powerful, youthful wine, very New World but that is not to say it was without refinement. Needs at least 10 years in the cellar and also a big steak when served.
The Dr. Loosen Ürziger Wurzgarten Auslese 1995 was a refreshing wine, a little too warm admittedly, which showed just how good aged German riesling can be: beautiful crisp acidity, elegant floral notes on the palate, it lingered long after you swallowed.
To complete the refreshment of the palate, we opened a Claude Cazals Clos Cazals 1997. Luckily for this wine, it was not served beside the Vilmart. This wine was bigger, more obvious in its style, honeyed, quite like Oger in its way but I was hoping for more.
Thus ended, we headed off into the Sydney rain.
