2002 Michel Tête Juliénas Domaine du Clos du Fief
This was the 2002 Cuvee Prestige bottle. It had a very expressive nose from opening, mostly red fruits, cherry, and some violets. As it aired out some darker fruits emerged along with baking spices. Very delicious and drinking well now, maybe with more development in the future as the wine's flavor improved over 3 hours. Fantastic.
2004 Domaine de Bellivière Coteaux du Loir L'Effraie
Younger vines Chenin Blanc from Eric Nicolas. Some wooly chenin smells on opening, then honeyed apples. After about an hour lots of wet rocks too. Not as concentrated or as long as the Jasnieres Les Rosiers, but very fine for a Wednesday night.
2003 Haut-Mazeris
Toasty oak, chocolate cherry fruit, dark, extracted, and anonymous. Very little here that said Bordeaux to me. No thanks.
2002 Domaine de Montbourgeau Chardonnay L'Etoile
Who put the fresh Fino sherry in my chardonnay?
This is one interersting wine from the Jura with a lot of the sous voile character of the Vin Jaune wines. From the website if I'm reading this correctly, mostly Chardonnay with a few vines of Savagnin mixed in. Cocoa powder, nuts, and iodine smells alternate with lime and apple fruit flavors. The wine tastes very bright and fresh, is light of body and dry, but has a lot of richness and a persistant finish.
If you're bored with chardonnay, try one from the Jura. This one rocks. This was a great value, about $16 and I bought it from K and L wines.
N.V. Serveaux Fils Champagne Brut Rose
This is a blend of 60% Meunier and 40% Pinot Noir from grapes grown in Passy Sur Marne. Salmon orange color and fine small bubbles. Fresh strawberry seeds, nice acidity and good length. Good showing, and I would bet this will improve even more as it developed more complexity in the glass. This had enough flavor to accompany our Christmas eve turkey dinner.
2005 Pierre - Marie Chermette Beaujolais Vieilles Vignes Cuvee Traditionnelle
The nose is a little reserved, and I wonder if this is suffering from travel shock. Dark fruits, a steely note, fuller bodied and less tart at this stage than the 2004 was. This should be very good but needs a little cellar time right now.
1995 Château Lafon-Rochet
Youthful purple color. Some bottle funk initially that blew off after an hour or so, then cigar box, some cedar and forest floor notes. The fruit was definitely secondary to the earthy savory flavors, but what was there was ripe to almost roasted plum. The tannins were very soft in this bottle. Pretty good, but not more than that. This bottle may have had some storage issues as it was not bought on release, so YMMV.
2004 Domaine Billard Bourgogne "Milliane"
The nose on opening shows some red berry fruit but the palate is acidic and hard edged. On the second day this is way better, with softer acidity but still bright red fruits and a earthy nuance. Not complex or long, but a nice elegant slim bourgogne, very suitable for every day drinking.
Happy New Years,