Christian Moreau
We have followed these delicious wines since the debut 2002 vintage. The 2008's are outstanding, probably the best since 2005.
They have had some great reviews and I enclose notes from two of my most trusted sources for Burgundy, notably Allan Meadows of Burghound (www.burghound.com) and Steve Tanzer, International Wine Cellar
Review of vintage from Burghound.
"This 12.5 ha domaine is directed by Christian Moreau and his son Fabien, who describe the 2008 vintage as beginning with a "winter that was mild and on the dry side. April and May though had plenty of rain and it continued through an overcast and wet July, which provoked a relatively strong attack of mildew and because it was wet, we had trouble getting into the vineyards to spray. Toward the end of July, we also had some grape worms in Vaillons though elsewhere, it was relatively clean. Thankfully, the north wind arrived right around the first of September and dried things out as well as evaporated the excess water from the grapes, concentrating both sugars and acidities. We began picking on October 1st and brought in the highest potential alcohols we have realized since 2003 at between 11.8 and 14%. For us, 2008 is a bit like 2002 with more malic acidity. Another comparison is that '08 has the richness of '06 but is notably more mineral in character."I have said it before but it bears repeating: the quality here is so good that Chablis now has, along with Domaine William Fèvre, another leading light to add to the region's traditional stars of Raveneau and Dauvissat. "
Also noticed from Steve Tanzer
Fabien Moreau considers 2008 to be a superb vintage for Chablis, as it combines the richness of 2006 and the minerality of 2007. "It's a little like 2002," he told me, "and more concentrated than 2007." The family harvested beginning on October 1, and Fabien vinified for the first time entirely with wild yeasts. There are no set rules for vinification or elevage here: the wines may be fermented in tank or wood (but never more than 2% new oak), and after they're blended following the malo, they are returned to a combination of tank and barrel according to Fabien's taste. Wines may be moved from tank to barrel, or vice-versa, at any time. While I certainly notice the oak element in some cuvees in the early going, my experience has been that this component harmonizes nicely with the wines after just a few years in the bottle, in many cases virtually disappearing. The keys to the steadily rising quality of these excellent wines is the family's superb holdings of old vines, and Fabien's ability to give each wine the treatment it requires. Incidentally, Christian Moreau told me he's enjoying the 2004s, 2003s and 2002s now. "I prefer to drink Chablis after six or seven years," he explained. "After ten years you risk losing the freshness and typicity of Chablis."
Wines due after Easter 2010. All prices ex duty and vat.
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Domaine Bruno Colin
Domaine Bruno Colin,
We have been offering and selling Bruno Colin's wines for a few years now. They rarely disappoint, from great vineyards in Chassagne, they are very much handcrafted, quality oak is used in the elevage for all wines. The whites have a richness, a palate weight that makes them quite distinctive, they are however really delineated and pure and offer real value. The reds should not be ignored either, often from old vines, low yielding, they have a chunky character and offer a real savoury depth.
Please most the reviews are courtesy of Jancis Robinson and her excellent website.
Note all wines are per 12x75cl under bond except the Puligny Truffieres which is offered by the 6x75cl
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Domaine Comtes Lafon 2007
We have been selling the superlative wines from Domenique Lafon for 17 years now. They have been consistently very good, and the reds are beginning to get a real following - they have always been somewhat overllooked.
As ever quantities are very limited, and it would be good to see balanced orders for the white wines.
The following quote from Dominique Lafon is taken from the excellent Burghound website.
"Dominique Lafon describes 2007 as the "opposite of 2006. The pinot got extremely ripe and I saw no point in waiting any longer as we would only have lost acidity. We began picking on September 1st and while there was some sorting required, I would estimate that we left 5 to 10% on the ground, primarily in the form of under ripe berries though overall, I would call 2007 a short crop for the reds. I did a relatively soft vinification with a total cuvaison that lasted around 21 days, depending on the wine in question. I was a bit worried before the malos finished as the acidities tasted green to me but afterwards, the reds kept picking up fat and body and 2007 is one of the more dramatic transformations that I have witnessed in terms of pre and post-malo changes. What I find interesting about the '07 reds is that for a vintage that is supposedly cool, I find that our wines have more black then red fruits, which is not at all what you would expect for a cool vintage. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the reds remind me more as being the product of a hot and low yield vintage whereas the whites are like a cold and abundant vintage. It's funny to have essentially two opposite sensations in the same vintage."
Wines are ex vat and ex duty and due later in 2010.
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Domaine Georges Roumier
Georges Roumier 2008 En Primeur Offer
We love the Roumier wines, just a shame we get so little. As usual we require the purchase of a village wine with a premier cru, and 12 bottles village ideally to a 6 pack of Grand Cru...preference will be given to our regular Roumier purchasers.
The smallest vintage on record at this Domaine, thanks to poor flowering and fruit set, as well as September’s concentrating north wind. There is 15% less wine than the small 2007 crop. What little there is, though, impresses Christophe Roumier: “I like the frank, pure nature of the wines and they have lovely textures.” The wines are less dense and tannic than his 2007's and so will probably drink a little earlier but are extremely pretty and well balanced enough to age gracefully.
Sadly we don't get samples from Roumier, but the wines are getting good reviews from the likes of Jancis Robinson. Wines due Autumn 2010, prices are under bond excluding vat and onward delivery.
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Domaine Meo-Camuzet
From Allen Meadow's Burghound: Jean-Nicholas Méo calls 2008 a vintage that is “marked by its freshness and purity of fruit. Despite a good start to the growing season, things deteriorated and it was frankly mediocre until the 13th of September when the weather finally turned favorable. Even though conditions were dry and sunny, temperatures were decidedly cool and descended to as low as 5° C at night. We decided to begin picking on the 27th and even though three consecutive weeks of north wind had done a lot of good, there was still a lot of sorting required. Sugars were good, coming in around 12.5% on average and I lightly chaptalized them to around
13% during the cuvaison where I did a softer vinification than usual, primarily through fewer punch downs. The malos were quite extended and the before and after change in the wines was considerable. The post-malos pHs averaged about 3.5, which is firm but not especially low. [To provide perspective, Méo reported that the average pH in 2007 was 3.6] Overall, 2008 gave us classic wines that will most please those who love very pure burgundies. While it remains to be seen over time, I believe that 2008 has the edge over 2007.”
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Domaine Sylvain Cathiard et Fils
We are delighted to be offering the delightful wines from Sylvain Cathiard in Vosne-Romanée this year. His wines are amongst the resounding success stories of the vintage. We have very limited quantities of the 1er cru wines. Balanced orders, eg village with premier cru are far more likely to be fulfilled!!
The following info from Cathiard, courtesy of Burghound issue 37.
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Sylvain Cathiard described 2008 as a vintage that was “saved by the north wind. The summer was terrible and it took a lot of work in the vineyards to protect the fruit. The rhythm of the treatments was absolutely critical because one or two lost days was often enough to make the difference between controlling the rot and losing control of it. The other effect of the poor summer was to push maturities way back and you really had to steel your nerves and wait to begin picking. The north wind made it easier as it had dried up the rot but it was also evaporating quantity daily. We decided to finally begin picking on the 27th of September and while there was some triage necessary, it actually was less than was necessary in 2007 and our 2008 yields were better too. There was a lot of malic acid and the wines were very difficult to taste, much less judge for a long time.
In sum, 2008 was a year of the vigneron because anybody who wasn’t out in his vineyards constantly wouldn’t have had a crop worth harvesting.”
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Henri & Paul Jacqueson
Henri & Paul Jacqueson 2008
One of our favourite Chalonnais producers. Paul and his daughter make incredibly consistent wines. It's quite simple they have good vineyards, old vines and keep it simple in the cellar. The whites are particularly sucessful. The tasting notes of the reds are from wines just racked after malolactic fermentation, a particularly difficult time to taste.
Notes come from Burghound.
Paul Jacqueson, who runs one of the finest domaines in all of the Côte Chalonnaise, was away. His daughter Marie, who now works with her father, told me that 2008 “produced very rich and excellent reds despite the challenging summer. The whites may also be quite good as they’re concentrated but I’d like to see them later in their élevage before offering an opinion.”
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Heritiers du Comtes Lafon
Domaine Héritiers des Comtes Lafon 2008 En Primeur Offer
One of our favourite Macon producers, and further proof that the Maconnais is becoming really consistent vintage wise. I tried these wines before bottling last year and was really impressed by the purity, weight and balance with lovely freshness.
The following vintage overview and tasting notes come from Allen Meadows Burghound Issue 36
Dominique Lafon stressed that to “have ripe fruit in 2008, it was absolutely necessary to wait to begin picking. We picked from the 30th of September to the 12th of October. The sugars were excellent at between 12.5 and 13% but yields were down around 30%. Interestingly, we had the same quantity of grapes but there was no juice in them! At least the fruit was extremely clean so there really wasn’t much time lost with sorting. In the Mâconnais, if you can get 13% potential alcohols,that’s ripe. The pH in 2008 is actually slightly lower than it was in 2007 and not surprisingly, the total acidity was slightly higher as well. There was a lot of malic acid and it took a long time to degrade. Overall, 2008 produced very nice wines because even though they have firm acidity, they’re fleshy because of the concentration.”
Wines are offered under bond excluding vat and onward delivery. Wines due after Easter 2010
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Jacques Frederic Mugnier
Frédéric is the fifth generation of the Mugnier family to run the domaine since the family first became established at Château de Chambolle in 1863. In 2004 he was able to make the first vintage of Nuits Saint Georges Clos de la Maréchale from the 10 hectare parcel which had been rented out to Faiveley for the previous 50 years. His cellars have now been modernised and enlarged to cope with the significant extra volume.
More wines to follow.
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J-M Fourrier
Domaine Jean-Marie Fourrier 2008
Jean-Marie has managed to triumph again, despite being very sceptical about the wines, he has been pleasantly surprised. His wines display the usual elegance with some denser meaty tones. As usual our allocation of the top wines is very small, and once again we will reward those that support the range.
The following introduction comes from the outstanding Burghound, issue 37
The always candid Jean-Marie Fourrier told me that 2008 was a “cool vintage that lacked a bit of sunshine. Mildew was a big concern and those who were leaf pulling very early never got the necessary phenolic maturity. In fact, I would say that 2008 gave the lowest phenolic maturity levels in the last 15 years. We waited to pick until the 27th of September and even then, a lot of our bunches had only half ripe grapes within them so a very careful triage was critical. The trick of course was to eliminate the berries that looked ripe but weren’t. To do this, we employed neon lights because they illuminated the grapes in such a way that you could see what was ripe and what wasn’t. In hindsight, I’m not sure that the date of the vintage mattered as much as it usually does because that late in the season with such cool weather, it’s not clear that there was anything happening except dehydration. In fact, 2008 reminded me of some of the vintages that we experienced in the 1970s. We did a longer cool maceration than usual though this was simply because the grapes were so cool when we picked them. It was necessary to chaptalize and the average for us was around half a degree though a few wines required as much as 1%. 2008 was literally the polar opposite of 2003. In the latter vintage, cold was your friend but in 2008, you wanted warmth. Technically, 2008 has the same acidity as 1996. As to the wines, I’m honestly not sure how they will age. My thinking at present is that they could drink well for 3 or 4 years on their fruit and then shut down for years.” I will repeat that Fourrier deliberately bottles with high CO2 levels as a partial defense against oxidation and thus if you elect to try an example or two young, be sure to decant for 20 to 30 minutes first.
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