monghead wrote:simm wrote:monghead wrote:Hiya guys,
Well Simm, I did try to suggest to the sommelier that the wine was drastically lacking in fruit, and thus possibly corked, though not exuding the hessian sack/wet mould characters. However, the sommelier suggested back to me that it is characteristic of french wines generally to be less fruit driven than the australian wines that I am used to.
It ws a three chef's hatted restaurant, and I am new to french wines, so I did not challenge that any further. I guess I trusted him......Unfortunately, I did lead with the preamble that I was unfamiliar to french wines, so I hope he did not use that to misguide me.
Anyways, I think you are right for now. Best to try the french stuff straight from the bottle shop, bypassing the 300% hike as it passes the doors of an up market restaurant.
Cheers,
Monghead.
Hi Monghead,
Of course, my problem with that is that he had offered the wine as a replacement of the Cullen, and if this was what you were expecting out of his advise you have every right to ask for something that will fill your requirements. Anyway, this is not a standard characteristic of all French wines, some Pinot or Gamay based wines, Burgundies ok, in a bad fruit year, and they can be more tannic. Certainly not a rule though. Check out some of those huge Bordeaux's.
Here is a list of wines that had that profile while I was over there (
yes Ric I finally found some notes, albeit poor examples taken on the run):
A few from Burgundy (just some rough notes that I tried to fit in when no-one was looking, taken December at Cellars around the Auxerre and Mailly areasÂ’s.
It is worth noting that these places were sometimes below what you would consider consumption temp. and I was still suffering from the after effects of a head-cold. Aside from this I think the majority of wines were just under there QPR even though most were around the 5-7.50 euro mark and up. I believe Australia does better for value compared to these particular examples.
Domaine Goisot (Anne and Arnaud). Mainly in the game of producing award winning Chablis, but I canÂ’t help you there, sorry, didnÂ’t write notes
Cote dÂ’Auxerre Pinot Noir 2000
Colour: Bright glace cherry with light clay tinges.
Nose: Dusty earth spattered field strawberries and fresh fungus. Hints of pine (itÂ’s true).
Palate: Dry, stale tobacco flavours subside to stalky tannin greenness, fading quickly to a delicate strawberry, truffle earthiness with a back palate of red cherries.
This wine doesnÂ’t, at first, seem to have great length but then you realise it is still sitting there quietly with a certain shy earthiness and country air. This subtlety doesnÂ’t seem to be in the Aus vocab of recent PinotÂ’s IÂ’ve tasted. As the bottle breaths the dominant flavour and bouquet changes, at once strawberries, then cherries, then forest floor.
Tried a bottle of the 1999 at a dinner and it was a much more rounded, softer wine. I think these small wineries really suffer vintage variation (stands to reason really)
Domain Clivet Ladoix Les Vris 2000 (Beaune)
Colour: Criply clean red cherry throughout.
Nose: Fungus, soft cheeses and strawberry.
Palate: Quite powerful cheery with earthiness but very drying right from the from palate with intense dusty grapeseed tannins. Short on length but with that lingering strawberry aftertaste on the back of the nasal cavity. 15 euro.
Coteaux de Tannay Pinot Noir 2002 (from memory)
Good everyday plonk, a guzzler that doesnÂ’t cope with anything richer than three meat and veg. You can see farmer into it a 9am. Very light weight, simple, with no great depth. Party plonk with strawberry and cherry acid. Stick with their whites (in other words: stop at the next cellar door)
Chardonnay 20000 Vendage Manuelle (silver medal: Chardonnay du Monde 2000, Paris)
Colour: Pale straw yellow, slightest green hue. Very bright and reflective.
Nose: Sugar melons, butter.
Palate: Melons, acidity of sharp and sour unripe apples. Slightly bitter and short aftertaste on the back palate. About 6 euro
Club Sommelier Cab Sav Vin de Pay dÂ’Oc (no vintage on the bottle so you know where we are coming from here. From someones daily drinking cellar).
Colour: Bright,young and dark clear reds.
Nose: dark cherries, very fresh and simple, barely a breath of oak.
Palate: Slight oakiness completely overpowered by cough medicine. Strangely, this was a pleasant change but way too dominant to make for an interesting part of complexity. Obviously for drinking now with an alcohol level of 12% this doesnÂ’t even rate compared to some of the cheapies in Australia.
Chardonnay of the same
Colour: Pale to darkening straw. A bit like a dry Sherry in colour or what a Marsanne ages into (but this is no old wine)
Nose: Green grasses apples and melons
Palate: Clean sugar melon, red apple core sweetness (sounds strange doesnÂ’t it?) Nutty, oily nuances die off quickly to a short tempered astringent back palate.
Sylvie et Stephan CARRE Chablis 20002 Cuvee Speciale
Nose: Bright spring flowers and fresh brook moss, roskmelon skins.
Palate: Strong drying oak submerged by gooseberry, smidge of kiwi fruit. Slightly sweet grapefruit aftertaste takes over from the dryness with long haybail aromaÂ’s in the back of the throat.
Sorry about the notes lacking a colour.
The Best white I tasted over there (so much so I drank it) was a lovely
Cremant 2001 from the Caves of
Vincelles. I can only remember youthful green apples and yeasty traits. The mousse being quite fine for a bottle that was around 5-6 Euro..These caves were initially mines underneath the vineyards, which became very handy for cellaring in the long term. The temperature was maintains by their depth and you had to take your coat of. Packed with the local cremant. If you are ever in the neighbourhood it is worth finding out when the have their fair which is held entirely underground where you park your car, and wander around tasting the cheeses, pates, breads, all washed down with the bubbly (that fill every nook and cranny). Huge place with huge offerings!
Now to get down to reading the rest!
