Dominique Lafon, of Meursault fame, is behind this diffusion label and the wines parade around on the palate as if they were the real thing in haute couture frocks, sashaying like super-models over your taste buds. This is a real treat and it is a superb opportunity to drink a Lafon wine without having to rob a bank!
With serious age on board already (Margaret is late-released during its optimum drinking period), this wine is so highly regarded by the great Peter Lehmann himself that he has named it after his wife, who is as dynamic a wine personality as any you could hope to meet. With masses of rich, honey and nuts on the nose and intense lime leaf and fig on the palate this is a wine that tastes like Grand Cru Chablis, but it comes from thousands of miles away from France and is made of Semillon. How is this possible? I have no idea and I will never know the answer – I just want to keep drinking this wine and wallowing in its many layers of fascinating, decadent fruit.
Another of Dominique’s wines but this time it is a much richer and more bosomy cuvee, so in a way it’s like moving from a Village Meursault to a Premier Cru in terms of weight and impact. Even though it is only two years old these wines look desperately attractive already. Dive in.
The hallmarks of serious, dry, Loire Chenin are redefined with this stunning creation. An exceptional aroma of wild flowers, juicy, stone fruit, honey and fresh herbs coupled with a richness and texture that belies its origins all culminate in a wondrously long aftertaste. Les Dix Arpents is made from 50 year old vines and owner Jacky Blot was a wine merchant in a past life – so he not only knows how to make wine, he clearly also knows what we want to drink, too!
This cosmic Gevrey-Chambertin producer really ought not to dabble in white wines, but we cannot say no because it is so damned delicious. With precocious oak and more than a little flair, this is a wine with pretensions to greatness! But being a lowly BB on the label, it will only ever be saddled with other lowly generic creations. This, of course, is wrong. The Mortet name carries more weight than most and with Denis’s sad death in 2006, his son Arnaud is carrying on the family tradition of making wines which challenge the drinker and reward the patient. Perhaps this should be renamed Blanc de Mortet and its image might be equal to its taste?
Eric is a quirky chap. He adopted biodynamic practices in his vineyards fifteen years ago – one of the first in Burgundy to really go for it. He is based in Monthelie (in the hills behind Meursault) and he specialises in reds (read on!). But he sources white grapes from nearby Rully, in the Côte Chalonnaise, and he makes a dramatic, tight, totally awesome wine from these terrific raw materials. Edgy, racy and bone dry this is the sort of wine that cannot be made anywhere else on the planet and the 2007 was my ‘white gold’ year, so you really ought to see what all of the fuss is about. NB- – Suremain, means ‘safe hands’ – this says it all.
Winery of the year in 1999 and the makers of Italy’s most flamboyant and collectable Chardonnay, Planeta is a global phenomenon. But this does not mean that you will automatically love this wine. You have to pass a taste test before we’ll allow you to buy it! If you solemnly swear that you love full-on, unabashed, fully oaked, brazen, top-heavy, curvaceous Chardonnay, you are in! If not, then this wine will be too much for you to handle.
Australia’s most famous Chardonnay producer, Leeuwin, makes this cuvée from the more forward parcels of its iconic ‘Art Series’ wine (please give the team a ring if you would like some Art Series because we are lucky enough to have a good allocation). It is drinking already, but will develop over five years. Prelude is a sensational wine and one that rivals Premier Cru white Burgundy with its extraordinary ‘carpentry’ and intricate build quality. Do not miss out on this experience – it is nothing short of an honour to stock this wine in our cellar.
Rollin makes superb Corton-Charlemagne and the trick with this stylish 1er Cru P-V is to try as hard as possible to make a mini-Corton! He succeeded in 2007 – the year of White Gold! The acidity is the key here and it is so racy and precise that it drives this wine forward at pace (I simply adore wine with the whipcrack of acidity that this Pernand has on its finish). This is a devastatingly attractive wine – youthful and vicious to the unprepared, Fretille will last for ten years with its peak coming soon!
We have a very nice parcel of three Chassagnes from Jean-Noel Gagnard, spanning the rich, lusty, bold 2006 vintage and the pinpoint accurate, tight, nervy 2007. All of these wines show their specific vineyards characteristics. J-N’s daughter, Caroline Lestime, does the lion’s share of the work at this property now and she focuses her efforts in allowing each plot of land to talk clearly through the wines. Caillerets is the big boy with massive intensity and bravado – akin to a Grand Cru in size and shape. Chenevottes is a more delicate and feminine and Morgeots (in the old days a red vineyard!) has more density and grunt. Get a selection! This is a Masterclass of its own in four wines.
The little-known village of Blagny is tucked behind Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet, over a little rise in the Cote under the tree line and wines can be labelled Meursault or Puligny according to their situation! A superb suntrap the whites here can be pretty sizeable numbers. After selling the crop in bulk to Louis Latour for years Helene Martelet started her own label in 2000 and we are delighted that she made this leap – the wines are statuesque and shapely. Give the Q Wine team a ring – we were all thrilled to taste this wine just before going to press and their enthusiasm will still be at a peak, I am sure.
We have a very nice parcel of three Chassagnes from Jean-Noel Gagnard, spanning the rich, lusty, bold 2006 vintage and the pinpoint accurate, tight, nervy 2008. All of these wines show their specific vineyards characteristics. J-N’s daughter, Caroline Lestime, does the lion’s share of the work at this property now and she focuses her efforts in allowing each plot of land to talk clearly through the wines. Caillerets is the big boy with massive intensity and bravado – akin to a Grand Cru in size and shape. Chenevottes is a more delicate and feminine and Morgeots (in the old days a red vineyard!) has more density and grunt. Get a selection! This is a Masterclass of its own in four wines.
We have a very nice parcel of three Chassagnes from Jean-Noel Gagnard, spanning the rich, lusty, bold 2006 vintage and the pinpoint accurate, tight, nervy 2007. All of these wines show their specific vineyards characteristics. J-N’s daughter, Caroline Lestime, does the lion’s share of the work at this property now and she focuses her efforts in allowing each plot of land to talk clearly through the wines. Caillerets is the big boy with massive intensity and bravado – akin to a Grand Cru in size and shape. Chenevottes is a more delicate and feminine and Morgeots (in the old days a red vineyard!) has more density and grunt. Get a selection! This is a Masterclass of its own in four wines.
Here is the big boy from Remi Rollin and it is a very grand offering indeed. I have followed Rollin for an eternity and his wines don’t bend with fashions or trends – they accurately reflect the conditions of the vintage and the world famous vineyards from which the grapes are plucked. Why would you want any more fuss? Sink your teeth into this slice of vinous royalty.
