.2015 Marsigny Saint-Bris - France, Burgundy, Côtes d'Auxerre, Saint-Bris (9/17/2016)
Pure and mineral like spring water flowing fast over rocks. Just a dash of pale colouring together with citrus and gooseberry flavouring, mouth-watering acidity and a saline touch on the finish. Fine with wild mussels. Good wine and brilliant QPR at c.€5.
2012 Vincent Carême Vouvray Sec - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray (10/1/2016)
A very good youngish Vouvray with some more Loire Chenin complexity likely to develop down the line. Medium bodied, sharply focussed and tense, it showed fresh fruit, mainly citrus and apples, abundant minerals, underlying gras with a faintest hint of sweetness fully compensated by mouth-watering acidity and a slightly saline backbone.
1996 Elio Grasso Barolo Ginestra Casa Maté - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (10/2/2016)
This Barolo is still quite fresh and youthful seeming. It shows deep red colour with only slightest bricking, expressive but discreet bouquet with still prominent fruit, especially sour cherry, floral fragrance, meat, tobacco, tar and anise. The medium+ bodied palate confirms the fruit with some depth and caressing texture, replays the aromas from the nose, adds minerals, fresh acidity and a touch of liquorice on the finish where the tannins have softened but there remains enough firmness for balance. I guess that this will hold for some years but I'm not sure about further improvement. Very good and an excellent pairing for partridge.
2014 Michel Guignier Beaujolais - France, Burgundy, Beaujolais (10/3/2016)
A very nice simple medium/light bodied Beaujolais full of savoury fruit, minerals and tangy acidity at the same time as a touch of tenderness. Treacherously moreish.
2008 François Chidaine Montlouis-sur-Loire Les Bournais - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Montlouis-sur-Loire (10/5/2016)
A beautiful Montlouis. Colour medium gold. Nose expressive with complex notes of citrus fruit, peach and quince with minerals, wax, grilled meat and hints of acacia. Palate was medium bodied, brightly focussed with plenty of tension and not bone dry (up to 5g/l RS, I guess), with complex but integrated in flavours, classically shaped and long, playing variations on the aromas from the nose andshowed lively fruit and minerals, underlying lightly burnished round gras, fresh mouth-watering acidity and slightly saline backbone. In early maturity with plenty of life left, harmonious and elegant. Excellent.
2012 Château Laroze - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru (10/7/2016)
I had originally marked my two bottles for medium term ageing but having read the comment in RVF's 2017 guide - "the 2012 shows very dark fruit, offers a very mature, smooth and filling profile and is rapidly swinging onto meaty and candied notes" (my loose translation)- I decided that it was time to take a look. Deep colour with no signs of age and discreet but expressive nose of rosy dark fruit with a leather touch. Medium/full bodied with more dark fruit with a sweetish tinge, leather and faint but well integrated vanilla, smooth acidity and fair length with ripe tannins. Sound advice from RVF to drink sooner rather than later. Very good right now.
2005 Foreau Domaine du Clos Naudin Vouvray Pétillant Brut Réserve - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray Pétillant (10/8/2016)
Probably the most delicious bubbly I have had from the Loire valley. Not quite bone dry but full of life, tension, crisp moreish acidity and refined minerals at the same time as a certain tenderness and underlying roundness. Very good.
2013 Jean-François Ganevat Côtes du Jura Les Grands Teppes Vieilles Vignes - France, Jura, Côtes du Jura (10/8/2016)
Served at dinner with our neighbours (the following Meursault also) so I was too distracted by conversation to note the fine points, this medium bodied and dry wine impressed as always with Ganevat by its purity, precision, classical shape on the palate, refined fruit and minerality, lively acidity and good length. IMO will acquire more complexity with medium term ageing. Very good.
1999 Coche-Dury Meursault - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault (10/9/2016)
Mercifully pox free as nearly all my Meursault from Coche-Dury has been. Indeed still quite youthful seeming with deeper colour and more complexity than the previous Ganevat, of course, and making its mark more by focussed saline minerality with fresh acidity than by nutty and other secondary flavours but there was still ample white fruit and butterscotch tinged roundness for balance. Very good.
2012 Les Arpents du Soleil Orange - France, Normandy (10/9/2016)
Like the 2011 a nice crisp and tense white made nearby in Normandy from the Auxerrois grape. It showed medium body, apple and citrus fruit, lots of minerals, fresh acidity and some underlying gras. But am I imagining a slightly rough and rustic touch on the finish? Last night's two very good Chards from Ganevat and Coche-Dury are a very recent memory and a hard act to follow.
1996 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (10/11/2016)
I scarcely recognised this wine as the same as the one I opened in early January. It was so much more gracious. This may partly be due to more airing as I poured out the first glasses early so as to eliminate the dust from a crumbly cork. In particular the cherry notes seemed richer, the texture more velvety, the metallic streak no longer so rusty and the flavours more expansive and longer. In other respects the same descriptors apply in detail but the overall effect was much more appealing though probably less typical of old style Cornas. Excellent.
2014 Chanson Père et Fils Mâcon-Villages - France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Mâcon-Villages (10/14/2016)
Fresh, pure, fruity and fragrant with mainly citrus and pale flower notes, medium- body, soft undertow, lively acidity and some backbone. A bit simplistic and not, I think, a candidate for ageing but very suitable as an "everyday" dry white unless one requires more tension.
2010 Château Pontet-Clauzure - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru (10/15/2016)
Quite deep colour, discreet bouquet of meat infused savoury dark fruit and medium + body on the palate with more meat infused dark fruit, up-front shape, decent acidity, firm tannins and moderate length. It is possible that there is development potential here but I wouldn't expect great things. Just good.
2012 Bernard Bouvier Marsannay Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Marsannay (10/16/2016)
Having read that this producer goes in for luxurious élevage, I was agreeably surprised by this Marsannay's freshness and crispness. It was medium bodied with some depth of slightly creamy fruit, mainly citrus, fine minerals, lively acidity and some backbone. My guess is that further complexity may develop in a year or two. Good+.
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