M. Chapoutier 2008

M. Chapoutier
Tain L’Hermitage, Rhône, France
chapoutier@chapoutier.com

Passing through the Rhône Valley on the way down to the Luberon, it would have been criminal to pass by Maison Chapoutier’s tasting room. Once again our visit overlapped with that of Robert Parker, which was a great opportunity to taste some wines not ordinarily available. Unfortunately we were time constrained by the long drive south still ahead of us, so my notes are brief.

Chapoutier labels the most prestigious wines from the hill of Hermitage “Ermitage”. These wines are not cheap, but the high end vineyard bottlings are some of the most profound wines I have ever tasted. Sadly prices have risen sharply since I first started following Chapoutier in the 1990’s, and I am not convinced that some of the lesser generic appellation bottlings are in any way worth the price. The Rasteau 2005 proved a nice exception; this was tasted separately but I include the note for completeness, along with an older vintage of Ermitage De l’Orée drunk recently.

Michel Chapoutier’s forthright views on biodynamic cultivation are well known. I once had the pleasure of dinner with him in Oxford some years ago, at which he espoused these views for most of the evening. While I remain to be convinced by the evidence base for biodynamic viticulture, our dining companions (including an evolutionary biologist and PhD student in biological science) took scepticism to a whole new level. Thankfully on this occasion the biodynamic preaching went unchallenged, at least allowing us to enjoy dinner!

Tasted at Maison Chapoutier:

Invitare 2007 (Condrieu) €28.70
Open, highly aromatic. Fresh; higher acidity than usual, almost crisp on the palate. High alcohol comes across on the palate. Finish goes on for minutes. Invitare is essentially a brand rather than a vineyard.

Chante-Alouette 2005 (Hermitage blanc) €35.50
Medium yellow, very open nose. Huge bouquet of flowers. Powerful, enormous palate. Crisp, fresh and very long. At least a decade ahead of it.

Ermitage De l’Orée 2004 (Hermitage blanc) €144
Very open nose, so rich it boarders on tropical. Piercing sharp multi-layered powerful flavours with fresh acidity and a very long finish. Very fine.

Les Bécasses 2006 (Côte Rôtie) €40.50
Open nose, red fruit, floral perfume. Good acidity. Beautifully ripe tannin with an good edge on the finish. Enjoyable now; will obviously keep well.

Monier de la Sizeranne 2006 (Hermitage rouge) €48
Deeply coloured, almost opaque core. Meaty nose. Clearly richer, more tannic structure. Bolder, stronger. Longer finish bites back a little at the end. This has a good 20 years ahead of it.

Ermitage Le Pavillon 2004 (Hermitage rouge) €142
Much darker body. Black spice on the nose, with a lovely smoky character. Huge rasp of tannin ++++ on the palate. Monolithic wine. 20 years +.

Tasted in December:

Ermitage De l’Orée 1997 (Hermitage blanc)
Honey and mineral character. Layer upon layer of complexity. Beautiful, contemplative wine to sip and consider.

Rasteau 2005 (rouge) €8.90
16+/20 (could likely improve with cellaring further)
Decanted an hour before tasting. Dark ruby. Open nose of primary dark red fruits, very appealing. Palate has very ripe tannin and masses of fruit behind this. Reflects the vintage very well. Some remained in the decanter the following day. This had opened up considerably on the nose and the palate had broadened out. Impressive, especially for the price (bought in France). I will wait 5 years before opening the next bottle. Without doubt the best Chapoutier I have tasted from their generic appellation wines; usually these aren’t worth the money!

Christmas Wine Tasting Notes

An eclectic collection of notes from wines opened over Christmas:

Tim Adams Semillon 1998 (Clare Valley, Australia) £8
17/20
Decanted to open it up before tasting. Light gold in colour, darkened with age. Fabulous open nose, classic mature Semillion character. Quite complex. Palate is very full, with layers of fruit. Very fine indeed and would have kept longer.

Révovin Habánské Sklepy – Veltlínské zelené (Gruner Veltliner, Czech Republic)
14+/20
An oddity brought back from my surgical elective in the Czech Republic a few years ago. Would have been better drunk then. Seems a little rustic in terms of winemaking and certainly lost some freshness. Lacks the classic Gruner Veltliner character. However, quite a full bodied palate with nice concentration and weighty. Drunk young and cold on a Czech summers day I imagine this would be a much more enjoyable wine than on a freezing cold evening in the UK!

Männle - Durbacher Kochberg Weissburgunder 2004 (Baden, Germany)
15/20
From one of the better producers in this beautiful wine village. Light yellow colour, nose a little closed. Palate is fresh and straightforward. An enjoyable Weissburgunder. Perfect aperitif or would go well with salads and light fish. No point in keeping this further.

Coriole Redstone 1996 (Mclaren Vale, Australia)
Shiraz, cabernet sauvignon and Grenache blend.
16-17/20
Stood for 24 hours and decanted an hour before opening, with plenty of sediment. Losing some colour on the rim, but still deep core. Beautiful big, rich open nose. Deep and gamey, with dark spice notes. Palate softening out. Very fine.
Next day in the decanter this had completely faded away. Fantastic that this had kept 13 years, especially given this isn’t even their premium wine; they don’t make them like this any more (not at the price paid for this anyway!)Time to drink up now.

Bodegas Los Llanos - Pata Negra Gran Reserva 1999 (Valdepenas, Spain)
14-15/20
Pale red with brick red rim. Open nose, but rather subdued. Vanilla notes. Soft palate, fine tannins melting away. I have had much better more memorable bottles of this from other vintages (particularly a lovely 1994 some years ago). Drink up now.

Château Cissac 2002 Cru Bourgeois (Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux)
15+/20
Decanted an hour before tasting, Classic cedarwood nose but a rather mid-weight palate. Not a particularly good year, I know, but is certainly not the bold, concentrated, tannic Cissac of old. I have followed this producer since vintages from the late-1980’s and this does not resemble what is used to be, rather lightweight in fact. Did not improve in the decanter.

Cosme Palacio y Hermanos 1995 (Rioja, Spain)
14/20
A faded beauty. What was a wonderful wine is now over the hill. I would hope that it might be bottle variation or perhaps even a quiet phase in development, but I doubt it. At 14 years old it had lasted well so far, and am surprised it has faded away so soon.

Château Monmirail Cuvee des Deux Freres 2000 (Vacqueyras, France)
13-14/20
Well past it. For cooking only. Many wine guides list this producer as one of the better ones in Vacqueyras but my experience is very variable.

Château de Pizay – Cuvée du Py 1999 (Morgan, Beaujolais)
15-16/20
Very pale, almost colourless rim with pale ruby core. Faded nose (which subsequently opened up) of red cherry fruit. No true secondary aromas seem to have developed. Soft, luscious palate, devoid of tannin and very juicy. Fresh. Shortish finish. Fantastic at 10 years old - just goes to show how well good Cru Beaujolais can age – although this hasn’t developed the classic aged Burgundian Pinot Noir that many describe. This went on to keep admirably for a good 2-3 days after opening, suggesting it is not in any immediate danger of falling off its perch. One final bottle remains that will be kept a few more years for interest. However, note some previous bottle variation with this – the last bottle was opening a 2-3 years ago and was no-where near as enjoyable as this. The most amazing thing about this is that when this was bought from the Château in 2000 it cost just £3.52!!!


Durbacher Kochberg Spatburgunder Auslese trocken 1997 (Baden, Germany) £14 for 50cl.
16+/20
Coffee, smoky character. Is this a caricature of itself? Maybe, maybe not. The key point is that I really enjoyed drinking it. Huge tears in glass. Huge core of ripe fruits. Spice - oak++. One dimensional? Soft tannins. Good extract, persistent. Would last longer. Bought from the Durbach co-operative in 2004. Fully priced, as most German reds tend to be.


Denis Balaran Vendanges Dorées 2006 (Gaillac, France)
15+/20
Pale gold colour. Open, aromatic, with marmalade tang, citrus and apricot botrytis. Perhaps a little cloying. Persistent. Makes a pleasant aperiftif or digestif. Not quite sweet enough to go with dessert and given the unusual (though enjoyable) tang from the local grape varieties I’m not sure what food this could be best partnered with.

Fonseca Guimaraens 1988 & Graham's 1977

Winter is the time to open a good port wine...

This port has been a favourite of mine for some time. Produced from in-between vintages, where the overall quality is not sufficient for a vintage port declaration, Guimaraens is none-the-less a vintage port in all but name [i.e. not from a universally declared vintage]. In fact, to confuse matter, they do print 'vintage port' on the label. One wonders how many people purchase this without realising the "Guimaraens" branding is what singles this out as a less than the full-monty [i.e. not the famous 'Fonseca' bottling only produced in the finest declared years]. Despite this, Guimaraens is only made when the fruit is of sufficient quality, this coming from the core quinta and vineyard holdings. In effect, this is very, very close to their true vintage port.

Fonseca Guimaraens Port 1988
16.5. Keep 10-years+
Deep, opaque colour showing a little brick-red colour change on the rim. Nose is very pronounced and open, redolent of deep briary black fruits. Quite primary in nature, showing surprisingly little development as of yet. Huge, beautiful round palate, masses of fruit and ripe tannins, not aggressive. Medium finish. Given that this is an in-between year, and not such a great one at that, the elegance of this wine is testament to the pure quality of fruit and careful winemaking employed by Fonseca. No wonder the full declared vintages are so highly valued these days. The quality of this single quinta is is not reflected in the discount this can purchased for in comparison to the full vintage; it represents excellent value for money. I would keep this another decade before opening the next.

Graham's 1977 Vintage Port
17. Drinking now.
A true vintage port from a famous declared vintage. This was greatly enjoyed at the Triennial dinner at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh - a magnificent evening that I was proud to have been a part of. The Scottish roots (albeit Glaswegian) of this port firm were not lost on me! As could be imagined for such a night, my note was brief: The core has lost its deep colour now, brick red throughout. Open, aromatic nose of spiced wood. Beautiful, soft plate with little tannin remaining but the fruit still singing through. What a wine to finish the night with! At its peak now. No doubt at this age there will be bottle variation. Although I'm sure it will keep for plenty of time yet, I think this should be enjoyed now before it starts to slowly descend.