søndag 15. mai 2016

Pichon Lalande 1989 & 1990


Vinmøte Knut 28.4.16



Clos du Marquis 1986, Saint Julien
Moderat på nesa. Litt blyantspiss og grønn undertone. En innsmigrende og god 1986. Årgangen redder den. 91-93 poeng





Chateau Beychevelle 2003, Saint Julien
Mørk vin uten markerte tanniner. Italia ? Virker som det endel Merlot. Rik og varmt og en god representant for årgangen. Stringent og vellykket. 90 poeng 




                                                

Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 1989
Mild og snill i munnen, tydelig Bordeaux med fin mørk frukt. Gode tanniner, floral og elegant. Igjen en fantastisk Lalande 89`! 96 poeng



                                                

Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 1990
Lys rubin, lett i munnen, frisk og 2000-aktig frukt. Noe kjeller med brettomyces, tørrer i munnen. Kan fortsatt lagres og har ikke den multidetaljerte rikdommen som 1989. 93 poeng.


torsdag 12. mai 2016

Chambolle Musigny 1988


Vinmøte Knut 28.4.16




Nuits Saint Georges Les Cailles 2006, Domaine Robert Chevillon
Rødbet, naturvinaktig, litt kjønnsløs og usedvanlig lite "giving" på nesa. Diskret og enkel med pur og ren rødbærsfrukt. Snev av undermodne bær og viser årgangens litt trange stil. 87-89 poeng







Cote Rotie Les Grandes Places 2010, Domaine Clusel-Roch
Mørk og spontanfermentert stil. Rå "moderne" vinmaking i en sursøt stil med innslag av pepper. Imponerende syrah og en Cote Rotie som får drahjelp av en god årgang. 90-91 poeng


Domaine Clusel-Roch (pronounced Cluzel-Roke) started asDomaine Clusel, founded by the René Clusel, who began bottling his wine in 1969. At the time, René Clusel had but 1 hectare of vineyard along with many hectares of apricot trees.
One of his holdings was a tiny parcel on Les Grandes Places, a lieux-dits in the center of the slope above the hamlet of Verenay in northern Ampuis. The vines had been planted by his father Baptiste Clusel before World War II. During the seventies, the wines of Côte Rôtie did not have the reputation that they have now, but René's wines were always appreciated by connoisseurs.
René's son Gilbert decided to continue in his father's winemaking footsteps and completed his enological studies in 1977. The domaine, however, was too small to provide income for two families. Gilbert consequently chose to rent some vineyards and begin producing his own wine, while at the same time helping his father both in the vineyards and in the chai.
Still the vineyard surface was miniscule. At only about .25 hectares, the first vintage in 1980 produced only 1,000 bottles! Little by little, Gilbert rented more land and began to give value to the fifty-year-old vines that had been abandoned while at the same time planting new vines. Finally, in 1986, his holdings reached 2 1/2 hectares, although not all of those vines were yet in production.
Close up vines on the Cotie Rotie slope with the Rhone River in the background.
Clusel-Roch vines on the Cotie Rotie slope of the Rhône River

The Marriage of Clusel & Roch

When René Clusel retired in 1987, his vines were taken over by Gilbert. For the first time, the parcel inLes Grandes Places was bottled separately. Two years later Domaine Clusel became Domaine Clusel-Roch, incorporating the name of both partners, Gilbert Clusel and his wife Brigitte Roch. This also gave the domaine an identity of its own.
Today the property remains tiny: Just 3.5 hectares in Côte Rôtie and 1/2 hectare in Condrieu. The chai, built in 1992 in Verenay, is attached to their house and just next to the house of René Clusel. Being on the side of the sloped hill of Côte Rôtie allows Gilbert and Brigitte to take advantage of gravity and naturally treat their fruit gently by avoiding the usage of pumps at vinification time.
Domaine Clusel-Roch Vineyard map

Map showing the location of Clusel-Roch's Côte Rôtie parcels

Going Organic

After ten years of experimenting with their various parcels, the domaine officially converted to organic farming in 2002. The vines themselves are planted on terrasses along Côte Rôtie. Two pieces of wood are tied above the vine helping them to resist the often violent winds.
The vines are cultivated while respecting the land. The work is for the most part manual — no chemical fertilizers are used. Instead the soil is tilled by hand with picks, hoes and hand-plows. Medicinal herbs are used to prevent maladies.

Côte Brun Soils

Brown rocks in the Cote Rotie soilThe Côte Rôtie vines are located in the northern part of the appellation facing southeast over the Rhône River. This area is known as the Côte Brun, as opposed to the south called theCôte Blonde. The soil includes decomposed schist, also known as l'Arzel, containing black and white mica. The black mica has faded to dark brown, which in turn has given it the Côte Brune name.
This schist descends about half a metre. The roots of the vines, however, actually descend several metres deeper. At this depth, the vines pick up certain nutrients that add to the Côte Rôtie taste.

Clusel-Roch Vines

Rows of wood used to steady the Cote Rotie vines from the wind.
Clusel-Roch vineyards
About a third of the Clusel-Roch vineyards have vines more than thirty years old. The rest are of vines less than twenty years old.
To best express the qualities of the vineyard, the domaine only replants grapes from their own selection ofSerines (the traditional Syrah plant of Ampuis). For the plantings after 1990, the grapes come from their own nursery on their property and are grafted from their vines in Les Grandes Places. According to Gilbert, these vines are less productive and give more complex aromas than the modern selections. Roughly 4% percent Viognier vines are interspersed among the Syrah.

Harvest & Production

During September, the maturity is analyzed both scientifically and by tasting the actual grapes. The harvest is manual, in small cases with a capacity of 25 kg. An initial selection is performed in the vineyard. When the grapes arrive in the chai, the leaves are removed and partially destemmed. The yield is relatively low — about 35 hl / ha or about half a bottle per vine.
Wine coming out of the pressThe press is an old vertical press, which is very gentle and helps give the wine additional finesse. The vinification is classic, with punch downs, pump overs and temperature control. This fermentation normally lasts two to three weeks, depending upon the vintage.
The wine is then placed in barrels, with the press juice kept separate until the malolactic fermentation. The barrels have their origin in Burgundy, at Maison Sirugue in Nuit-St.George with origins in Allier, Nièvre and Bourgogne. About 20% new oak is used each year, the rest in second-, third- and fourth-use oak. The barrels are lightly toasted after three years of air drying. The point is not for the oak to dominate the wine but to marry harmoniously with the final product.
Two thirds of the Condrieu is fermented in barrel, while the rest is raised in stainless steel. Like with the Côte Rôtie, no yeasts are added to the must. Instead, only indiginous yeasts are used which further allow the vineyard to express itself.
The élevage lasts two years for the Côte Rôtie, and one year for the Condrieu. The Côte Rôtie is racked four or five times during this time. These racking help to clarify the wine so that it can be bottled without fining or filtration.
Annual production at Domaine Clusel-Roch is about 15,000 bottles a year.


-- Charles Neal, March 2009






Brunello di Montalcino 2009, Poggio di Sotto

Fragrant med sommerblomster og flere var på Barbaresco. Kraftig og kjølig frukt, eik, koks, tørrer ut i munnen. Litt grønn, undermoden og vanskelig. Vi var også i Cote Nuits. Som vanlig er det vanskelig å ta denne som en Brunello. 91-92 poeng







Vosne Romanèe Clos des Reas 2004, Domaine Michel Gros
Forkullet mørk sigar, aske og tynner litt ut i munnen. Endel brett, grønn og frukten er spist mer eller mindre opp. Drikk opp. Jeg har aldri blitt imponert av denne vinen. 87 poeng.






Chambolle Musigny Premier Cru 1988, Joseph Drouhin
Fullmoden og sursøt. Vi var på 2004 ! Ungdommelig og spenstig, ren frukt, grenser mot metallisk. Moderat frukt igjen nå, men lever fortsatt. 90 poeng

søndag 1. mai 2016

En skuffende Coche Dury


Vinmøte Knut 28.4.16




Savennières Clos du Pappilon 2006, Domaine des Baumard
Svovel, eik, blek , grønn & transparent. Gassbind på nesa og flere var i Rhone/Marsanne. Eller når vi er litt utenfor vårt kjerneområde: Italia ! God mineralitet, ullsokker og oljet tekstur.
En merkelig og god vin. 89 poeng





Chassagne-Montrachet La Boudriotte  2004, Blain-Gagnard
Spiss syre, granitt, terroir og lett gylden. Utviklet og litt tynn 04-aktig i munnen. Jura, Savagnin ?
Vi var ikke på hvit burgund. Stikker litt, fullmoden, litt mye alkohol. Varm frukt og vanskelig finish. 88-90 poeng.






Trebbiano d`Abruzzo Riserva 2011, Marina Cvetic
Kompleks og moden munn. Appelsin, marsipan, rik med whiff av fersken. En morsom vin, men den utvikler seg negativt i glasset. Knut var entusiastisk på denne som sist ble drukket i Italia.
87-89 poeng






Bourgogne Blanc Chardonnay 2010, Domaine Coche-Dury 
Blank i uttrykket, fersk, høy i fjøset, snev av medisinskap/Paracetpille. Mangler både modenhet, dybde og farge. Bør lagres ? Grønne blader og eplekart. Fremstår idag litt undermoden. Vag og mangler Coche-definisjonen. 86-88 poeng






Cervaro della Sala, Castello della Sala 2013, Antinori
Tutti frutti, spearmint og eik. En rik vin som mange trodde var en Coche. Og det må være et kompliment !  God nese med citrustoner. Sitter overraskende bra i munnen. Chardonnay & Grechetto. 88-92 poeng

Fra hjemmeside Antinori;


The 2013 vintage, in general, was rather cool and marked by frequent precipitation, weather conditions which favored a positive growing season with a gradual and regular ripening of the grapes. The harvest period was ten to fifteen days later than the previous vintage, and picking began during the first ten days of September. After very mild weather in autumn of 2012, the winter of 2013 was characterized by slightly above average temperatures and rainfall. Spring and early summer rain left valuable reserves of ground water in the soil and slowed ripening. Seasonal warmth arrived in mid-July, and August was marked by temperature swings between daytime warmth and evening and nighttime coolness, creating conditions for a slow but constant ripening of the crop. Picking of the Chardonnay began in early September and was then followed by the picking of the Grechetto, a grape variety which, physiologically, reaches proper ripeness two weeks later. The grapes, when harvested, were healthy, ripe, and endowed with an excellent acidity.

VINIFICATION

The harvesting of the grapes for Cervaro require particular care and attention to avoid damaging oxidative processes or extraction of undesirable tannins. Picking takes place during the early hours of the morning in order to bring to the cellars grapes which are entirely intact and undamaged in their fruit, unaffected by high daytime temperatures, The care and attention continue in the cellars thanks to their particular layout and structure, conceived and programmed to function entirely by gravity flow and, accordingly, to avoid mechanical influence and effect on the grapes and must. The must, after a four hour maceration on the grape skins at 50° Fahrenheit (10°centigrade), falls directly into decanting tanks to lose its impurities before going into barrel. The fermentation and the subsequent malolactic fermentation take place in oak, and it is precisely the completion of the malolactic fermentation which determines the amount of aging time in barrel of the wine. Five months are normally sufficient, and the wine then goes into stainless steel tanks, where it is blended with the Grechetto which has been fermented on its own. Cervaro della Sala, after bottling, is given an additional twelve months of bottle aging in the historic cellars of the Castello della Sala.  before commercial release

HISTORICAL DATA

The name of the wine, Cervaro, derives from that of the noble family which owned the castle during the 14th century: Monaldeschi della Cervara. The Antinori family purchased the property – the castle and the surrounding land - in the year 1940. The first vintage of Cervaro della Sala, the 1985, was released in 1987. The wine has been awarded various prizes and won much recognition for the consistent excellence of its quality.

TASTING NOTES

Thanks to the cool growing season, the 2013 Cervaro della Sala is characterized by a notable vigor and crispness while nonetheless maintaining a Mediterranean character. Its nose shows notes of chamomile, honey, and flint. The palate is mineral in character with buttery vanilla notes which blend elegantly with flavors of tropical and citrus fruit.