Two wines from well-known appellations, both from the 2008 vintage.
The first is from Chablis, perhaps the world's most famous white wine appellation, which I first visited in the 1990s, although my last visit was much more recent, back in 2008, the same vintage as this wine.
"No", said my wife, "you went there in early 2009".
The second hails from Minervois, from the vineyards of Chateau Blomac, midway between Narbonne and Carcassonne. The last time I visited the region was also 2008, the same vintage as this wine.
"No", said my wife, "that was in 2009".
I'm obviously losing it. I'll be telling you Chablis is made from Chardonnay next.
Domaine Jolly et Fils Chablis 2008: Bottled under DIAM closure, in itself a reassuring sign. As for the wine this has a pale, typically cool-climate hue. The nose is classically Chablis too, with a gentle minerality tinged with a sherbetty lemon zest, the minerally character working very nicely in tandem with a faint seam of reduction which I find really appealing. Delightfully fleshy on entry, although well judged, building on the midpalate where it shows quite some weight with a very expressive, mineral-tinged character. Lots of good sappy, gritty substance, and a clean, crunchy finish too. As an example of the appellation, this is certainly a good effort. 15.5/20
Chateau Blomac Minervois 2008: This cuvée is a blend of old-vine Syrah (50%), Carignan (30%) and Grenache (20%) with a combined average age of over 40 years. It comes from the vines of Chateau Blomac which are now the focus of a joint venture between Paul Sapin (a Beaujolais-based négociant) and winemaker Olivier Mandeville. The colour is fresh and dark, and the nose speaks of primary Syrah fruit, that dark sweetness which is so difficult to elucidate; my best yet inadequate effort is ripe fruit dusted with brown sugar. There is also a deeper and more grippy nature behind it, reminiscent of dark plum skin. Cool but dense and compact on the start of the palate, a mix of grippy tannins and a lightly creamy core, with gentle but sufficient acidity. This is nicely composed and has a lot of appealing life on the palate, rolling down into a nicely composed finish. All in all this is a nicely put together wine, with good substance, freshness and integration. May well be better with a couple of years of bottle age too as that Syrah-sweetness should settle down. 15.5+/20
I did not push the topic beyond the single confirmation that I got from him.