Funky Wine Imports kindly asked me to attend their tasting this morning (groan - I prefer to sleep in the morning...). Their wines are usually so to my taste that I did wake up early and go and taste some wines before opening up the bookshop at 11 am. That these wines tasted so outstandingly good before so early in the morning must say something about them!
Chouteau-Potaire Touraine L'ABulle NV - label
This was quite fascinating bubbly! A rosé sparkler from the Loire from Côt and Gamay with no added sulfur. And the scent was ethereally pure, very Gamay and strawberry and mineral. Crisp but with sexier fruit and more Pinosity than what these grapes should make! Ripe and joyous but crisp and electric. Lovely.
J-P Brun FRV100 NV
Officially NV, but this is the newest release, all of the 2010 vintage IIRC. Lovely, mineral purity; the Aristotelian essence of Gamay; sweet (in actual RS), crisp, savoury all at once. Irresistible. Lovely.
Peter Jacob Kühn Stock & Stein Riesling 2010 - label
A really nice, cheapish Riesling; organic, but uncertified. Pure and ripe; crunchy and crisp; true to the grape. This would be well under 15€ here and at that price I would be hugely excited!
Becker-Landgraf Riesling 2010 - label
A ripe but crunchy enough Riesling; I preferred the steelier style of the Kühn above, but I certainly won't say no to this one!
Naudin-Ferrand Aligoté "Le Clou 34" 2009 - label
Unlike the "Aligoté ... 007" whose vines were planted in 1902, this is from relatively young vines. They were planted in 1934. A strange and delightfully stinky and yeasty nose. Rich and ripe for Aligoté but with electric structure. Aligoté in its neutral manifestation might be difficult for many due to its acidity and elegant but neutral aromas; but I suspect that this sort of old vine, funky, leesy Aligoté will be even more difficult. I, however, loved it.
Becker-Landgraf J2 Weissburgunder "Muschelkalk" 2009
Smells of new oak. Ripe and rich. Hmmmm. I have enjoyed many from this producer, but I did not enjoy this as I couldn't see anything past the oak.
Domaine de Montesquiou Jurançon Amistat
- label
IIRC 100% Petit Manseng. A lovely mineral and slightly honeyed aroma, but very tangy and savoury, instead just sweet. Crisp, honeyed and very light on its feet for a sweetie. Tangy. Lovely.
Muhr - van der Niepoort Carnuntum 2008 - label
IIRC completely Blaufränkisch. If I remember wrong, at least it smells of the lesser oaked examples of the grape I have had (and loved) before: a ripe red fruited aroma, cherry pits mixed with Pinot Noir's sexiness. Good body, good acidity, good tannins, good everything.
Henri Naudin-Ferrand Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune "Orchis Mascula" 2009
Lovely. I had tried a bottle of this before which seemed very like what the specs would say it would: with 80% new wood it only smelled of Barrique. Yet having tasted several years of this before, I knew it shouldn't have. This has in every year been one of the few wines where I haven't been annoyed by the great amount of new oak.
This bottle proved that my first bottle was, indeed, off in some very un-obvious way. This smelled of pure Pinosity of a very elegant style, sorrel, beetroot, minerals and all such nice things with no over-ripeness expected in such a hot year. Crisp, light but supremely intense and sexy palate.
When the Orchis Mascula performs well, it is one of the most awe-inspiring Burgundies I know of. Which might seem a strange for me, since it sees so much new oak, but most of the time, the massive amount of new oak is amazingly well hidden - this is one of the very few wines where I say that. So, on second try, I think the 2009 is awesome.
Becker-Landgraf Spätburgunder "Muschelkalk" 2009
An oaky aroma; lovely tang and savouryness on the palate despite the oak. This has a reputation for being as good a Pinot Noir as the Friedrich Beckers. But if as oak-allergic as me, stick to the basic Spätburgunder from this property (that is awesome!).
Frank Cornelissen Munjebel Rosso 6
i.e. the blend of 2008 and 2009. Very sweet and sexy and "natural" aromas. Red berried but very sweet fun. Tangy. Great stuff.
