I can’t remember a more exciting time to be working (and drinking) in the Australian wine industry. The bounty from two fantastic European vintages has been arriving in quick succession lately and we have not been disappointed. We are also working with a group of Aussie winemakers who are challenging stereotypes and producing terroir-focused ‘New-Australian’ wines. So, in the run up to the New Year, I’ll be posting my Twelve Wines of Christmas – showcasing a selection of wines we have enjoyed recently, wines that capture the essence of the land from where they came and the spirit of the people who made them.

Santé, Meredith.

Wine 1) 2011 Bannockburn Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc

When talking about spirit, Bannockburn Vineyards and its maverick winemaker, Michael Glover, is a perfect place to start. If you like to taste a vigneron’s blood, sweat and tears in your wine – figuratively speaking of course - then this is where you will find it. The newly released Bannockburn 2011 Sauvignon Blanc is a perfect case in point; especially for people who may not look too kindly upon Australian Sauvignon. It’s quite unlike any wine from this variety that we have ever tasted - from these shores at least! In fact after a tasting with Michael Glover this week I found myself describing the style as falling somewhere between a ripe, steely Austrian Riesling and a top level white Graves (Sauvignon/Semillon from Bordeaux). Here we find Sauvignon’s typically high yields drastically curbed by Bannockburn’s poor, unirrigated soil, the brittle spine fortified by low yield texture and those typically pungent herbaceous notes transmuted by a thoughtful, avant-garde winemaking method (yes, there is method in this madness).

It opens with exotically ripe, yellow fruit, yet is beautifully detailed by incisive natural freshness. It’s complex and powerful in the best way and not at all flabby or over endowed. It also manifests that thrilling, if somewhat nebulous, mineral note that we often find in the very top Loire Valley examples. In short, this wine sets a new benchmark for Bannockburn and this much maligned variety in Australia. While it has the depth and roundness to complement all manner of yuletide occasions, it would be perfect with BBQ’d Lemon Prawns or an entree playing on a Goat’s Cheese/Asparagus theme. 

Wine 2) 2010 Navazos Niepoort Vino Blanco
I’m starting to feel a little selfish, now. In my defence I wasn’t expecting something as strikingly individual as this. Maybe I was expecting a “Manzanilla-like” simple, unfortified oxidative Palomino table wine. Perhaps something reminiscent of the Jura’s voile-licked Savagnin or a maybe even a Gaillac Vin de voile? Perhaps I hadn’t done enough homework? More likely I have underestimated wine's delicious tendency to surprise and delight, its fidgety nature that doesn’t like to being pigeon-holed or taken for granted.

Navazos Niepoort is a joint venture between Equipo Navazos and the talented Portuguese winemaker Dirk Niepoort. 2008 was the first commercial release, albeit in tiny quantities. The brief was to recreate an unfortified wine style made from Palomino Fino, based on the great wines that were made from stunning Jerez albariza sites without any fortification some 200 years ago.

It’s perhaps convenient to quote directly from the Navazos website when outlining the 19th century manifesto/quality parameters for this Vino Blanco, as it came to be referred as. “It should be made from a) the palomino fino grape, b) sourced from the best vineyards, c) fermented in butt, d) making use only of wild yeast, e) aged under the veil of flor that would grow immediately after fermentation had stopped, f) without fortification.” As noted above, this wine comes from an historic single chalk ‘albariza’ vineyard, aged for almost ten months under a layer of flor that develops naturally and takes control immediately after fermentation. Only the finest ‘butts’ are selected (in 2010 only 13 made the cut from a total of 240) - it is then bottled without filtration and without a single drop of added alcohol. Whether you accept this as something radically new or radically old - it is a fascinating and delicious wine. A delicate nose pulsates with rising dough, a tilt to its acetaldehyde veil, dried flower and crisp saline notes. The palate is similarly fragile though with a surprisingly fruity mouth feel suggesting fresh nectarine pith, fig and Cumquat. What it has in common with its modern Sherry exemplars, is that long, deep resonance of salty tang on the finish. It’s so refreshing and very hard to put down. Its very delicacy may point to a short but beautiful ‘Mayfly’ life span, however the brains behind the project, Jesus Barquin, assures us this will develop, for the better, in bottle over the short to mid term. Jesus also recommend drinking this with any type of seafood starter or even lighter rice and poultry dishes. Me? I can’t see past a slice of Jamon, some olives, a few toasted almonds and an anchovy or two. Sorry, I should have opened this in company.

Wine 3) Domaine Arnoux Lachaux 2009 Pinot Fin Bourgogne Rouge, Vosne Romanee

Most of you are already aware that not all Bourgogne Rouge are created equal. At their best they are delightful, complex and fairly priced windows into the house style of a particular  Domaine. At their worst they can be thin, vegetal and cynically over priced to the point of offence. Then there is everything in between – wines from terroirs as varied as Maranges in the far south to Marsannay in the north, wines from declassified village parcels, wines from high sites, wines from low sites, wines from this side of the RN74 and wines from that side, wines from young vines etc, etc .... There are so many permutations that I could go on all day, the point being, of course that it is crucial to know your grower. A great grower knows the true value of his entry level wine lies in its inherent quality not simply its fiscal return. In turn, you’ll get what you pay for which is far from a given when it comes to Burgundy.

The wine below is my top Bourgogne Rouge for 2011 - Hands down! Although it comes from one of Burgundies top addresses it’s very reasonably priced vis-a-vis its competition. Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux (formerly known as Domaine Robert Arnoux), is the talk of the town (Beaune, that is!) and the 2009’s are freakishly good. Owning a superb portfolio of vineyards located mainly in Vosne Romanee and the immediately surrounding communes, Pascal Lachaux utilises organic and biodynamic techniques, although he prefers not to pigeon hole the Domaine with such labels, claiming only that he uses whatever techniques to help him produce the best grapes and therefore the best wines possible. There is 100% destemming, natural fermentation (no inoculation of yeasts), and no fining or filtration.

Made from the Pinot Fin clone and 60 year old vines this is a pure, layered Burgundy with perfect ripeness manifested in hedonistic aromatics and opulent, purring fruit. Pinot Fin is an old sub-varietal or cultivar of Pinot Noir that is currently making a dramatic resurgence in Burgundy. Pinot Fin is prone to smaller berries with thicker skins (and therefore a higher skin to juice ratio) which can lead to a deeper plusher fruit style with more powdery tannins than one might expect at this level. I last tasted this wine at a ‘09 Burgundy dinner we held in Newcastle a few weeks ago and it rallied the room and went down a treat! It’s highly drinkable now, enjoys the benefit of decanting and is the perfect accompaniment with rich gamey foods – though it will be showing even better with two or so years in the cellar.
“Outstanding, Top Value. A fruity and very fresh nose of red berry fruit and earth nuances that carry over to the detailed, pure and vibrant middle weight flavors that possess notably better depth than is usually found at this level plus a lingering and firm finish. Lovely.” 86-88 Points. Allen Meadows, Burghound.com, Issue 41.

Wine 4) 2009 Goisot Bourgogne Cotes d'Auxerre Gueules de Loup Blanc

Kimmeridgian, Tuffeau, Caillots, Saint-Doulchard. By working with the likes of Domaine Huet, François Chidaine, Alphonse Mellot, Gerard Boulay, Bernard Defaix and now Moreau Naudet you can already tell we are pretty big on limestone. To paraphrase the New York Times’ Eric Asimov, if a courtroom case was deemed necessary to prove that terroir REALLY matters, then wines from these top growers farming the various types of limestone soils above would be part of Exhibit A. They are wines that combine crystal-cut clarity with a piercing minerality and bring us closer to the stony resoluteness that could be termed ‘elemental’ when it comes to French wine.

And then we have J-Hugues & Ghislaine Goisot; an extraordinary producer, consistently producing remarkable (there is no other word for it) wines from the ‘modest’ terroirs of St Bris, Cotes D’Auxerre and Irancy. The wines of Domaine Goisot are for those open-minded drinkers who don’t stress over vineyard names, preferring instead the quality and integrity they find in the glass. In this case they will find a great deal of both. These are textural yet racy wines with a rich, stony complexity that speaks loudly of the chalky soils of the greater Chablis area. Think of everything you would want from a great Chablis producer (i.e, more suppleness, complexity and less austerity) and you will be on the right track.

From our latest shipment, I am spoilt for choice and could have picked any one of the current releases to highlight. The 2010 Aligote tastes like someone has burrowed a pipe into the limestone and turned on the faucet.  The St-Bris Sauvignon Blancs – incidentally the only AOC for Sauvignon in Burgundy – are vinous and pulsatingly whites of the highest order; the Pinot Noirs are lacy in texture, freshly fruited and deliciously refreshing. However I’ve opted for one of the Domaine’s single-site Chardonnay’s. We are only a very short drive from Chablis after all. 

Gueules de Loup is the name of St Bris’ most picturesque vineyard. The vineyard is named after the Snapdragons that flourish in its soils. The aspect here is south/south east; the soils are Portlandian and extremely limey, producing a wonderful wine that is at once extremely mineral yet wonderfully limpid in texture. While the Meadow’s note below pretty much tells you what it tastes like I think it’s just as important to tell you what it feels like to drink it. Imagine rolling small, smooth pebbles around your mouth, imagine the ridiculous freshness of a glass of cold mineralised water fresh from a mountain spring or imagine the bracing tang of the first bite into a cold, crunchy green apple. This wine is all those things and more and, of course, it tastes just terrific.
"Almost invisible wood is part of the pretty mix of peach, tangerine and white flower aromas that precede refined, pure and utterly delicious flavors that possess a citrusy quality on the exceptionally rich and concentrated yet very dry finish. This delivers genuinely spectacular quality for a Bourgogne." Allen Meadows, Burghound, 91/2013+

Wine 5) Muller Catoir "MC" Riesling 2010

Riesling must be the most thrilling, inherently complex and interesting of all white table wines. It’s the variety that most resists manipulation and most honestly translates the flavour that comes out of the ground from which it is grown. It’s a wine that relies on its quality of flavour alone and for this reason and at the risk of getting all dewy eyed, it is my absolute favourite white grape variety- I love it and I couldn’t live without it.
Bringing energy and excitement to our glasses, the 2010 dry wines from the marvellous Pfalz estate Muller Catoir are a blinding light; their expression is just a touch more pure, delineated and exhilarating than the 2009s. This can be attributed to very low yields in 2010, with the balancing, high acidity defining the fruit flavours with acute precision (the 2009s were much softer, richer and more opulent). The Pfalz, as a northern continuation of Alsace is one of Europe’s warmest and driest wine growing regions.

Müller-Catoir are renowned for their scintillating freshness and purity of fruit. 2010 can be considered amongst these great years, producing another brilliant collection of vibrant, resolute and sophisticated wines. Cellarmaster Franzen told us that 2010 was a once in a lifetime vintage in terms of its tiny yields. Tiny berries and miniscule bunches of the kind that has not been witnessed on the Estate for 50 years. The wines are accordingly very textural, full bodied, ravishing and edgy, with an intense backbone of acidity; a feature of 2010 across Germany. Their wines blend the power and opulence you associate with the greatest Alsatian wines with classic Germanic precision and steeliness.

Muller Catoir Estate Riesling is remarkable for an “entry level” wine; if this was any other producer’s best wine, you’d be stoked! Cropped at an incredibly low 35hl/ha, it’s bright and almost impossibly pure. This is a lush and juicy Riesling packed with crushed-apple and yellow fruits which zip across the palate, flowing to a long, dry and minerally finish. Demonstrating an intensity that you seldom find at this level, yet free of excess weight, this is a delicious and highly satisfying, bone dry Riesling. An immensely gratifying wine that will continue to develop for 5-10 years.

Wine 6) 2010 Plageoles Mauzac Nature Sparkling

And now for something completely different; a wine for those open minded drinkers who don’t stress over regional heroes or vineyard classification, preferring instead the quality, interest, learning experience and integrity they find in the glass.

We have recently started importing the wines of the extraordinary Gaillac estate - Les Vin de Robert et Bernard Plageoles. Over the years they have forged a cult-like following throughout France, as a rare grower that has managed to recapture some of the historic recognition that Gaillac wines held in the past. They’ve also brought back from oblivion many of the regions distinctive grape varieties. Robert researched and replanted over a dozen varietals (five in the Mauzac family alone) indigenous to Gaillac that had all but vanished – for example grafting and growing Prunelart (red wine), five variations of the Mauzac grape (Roux, Vert, Noir, Gris and Rose), and Verdanel and Ondenc (for whites), and in doing so is responsible for bringing these rare flavours into the 21st century. Bernard took over Domaine Plageoles from his father (Robert) around 10 years ago. He shares his father’s love for Gaillac, its native grape varieties, organic viticulture, and low-tech, natural-yeast wine-making

What we have here is ‘old school’ fizz made using the méthode ancestrale (known locally as méthode Gaillacoise or méthode rurale). In simple terms the wine is put into bottle before it has finished fermentation and it is the continued fermentation in bottle that gives the wine its bubbles. There are no other additions and no need for any dosage. The resulting wine is a delicate yet textural, citrus oil noted, slightly cloudy, off dry sparkling with only a gentle bubble. It is an orchard in a glass and displays a beautiful natural acidity to balance the kiss of sweetness.

It’s important to note that this is a very traditionally made, historically styled wine. It is not a product of modern trends. This wine was produced in Gaillac in the 16th and 17th centuries – before Champagne had bubbles! The Plageoles make it using exactly the same methods that were used by the local monks almost 500 years ago. So not only are have the Plageoles resuscitated many local, indigenous varieties on the edge of extinction, they have also brought back to life one of the region’s most fascinating wines styles. It is something totally and deliciously unique of which Alice Feiring offers this evocative description: “The wine was like a wacky sandwich, earth on the attack, a flower shop in the middle and stone, cold, stone on the finish.”

 Jaqueline Freidrich is clearly also a fan: “Drink their Mauzac Nature, a light, sparkling white, the minute in comes on to the market and you will swear it’s the freshest thing you have ever tasted.” The Plageoles now use only the exceptionally rare Mauzac Rose variety - from a parcel of 40 year old vines cropped at 25hl/ha - for their Mauzac Nature.

I love this kooky wine. As the review below confirms this is not a ‘serious’ wine in the vein of a top grower Champagne but then it doesn’t mean to be. Rather, it’s simply a seriously refreshing, scrumptious and oh so interesting drink. Shouldn’t that be enough?

“Made from the local Mauzac grape; this is a very enjoyable sparkling wine. Very different to Champagne, it exhibits lots of fresh pear and fresh crushed apple characters. The palate is bone dry and displays a beautiful natural acidity with a purity and cleanness of fruits. Something different and unique for an aperitif.” Decanter.com

 

I love the Michael Steinberger quote in Slate Magazine that states “Sauvignon Blanc is, at best, a lubricant to conversation; a good Vouvray is a conversation-stopper.” Quite so, although as we work with three of the upper Loire’s greatest terrorists in Didier Dagueneau, Alphonse Mellot and Gerard Boulay, I should add that present company is accepted!

 

IFW customers will need little reminding that Domaine Huet has been the pre-eminent estate in Vouvray for decades and by proxy, this means that here we quite possibly have the source of the world’s greatest, most enigmatic Chenin Blanc. In the two current vintages, 2009 & 2010, we also have what Huet owner and winemaker, the legendary Noël Pinguet -   Chenin’s ‘high priest’; suggests are two of the greatest ever vintages for Vouvrays sweeter and dry styles respectively. The wine above truly set my pulse racing so we thought it best to share the love.

 

The 2010 Clos de Bourg Vouvray Sec comes from one of those historic, magical walled plots of vines that pepper the French wine landscape. These are sites that not only look like they produce incredible, singular wines, but sites when continually tended with the respect they deserve (and they are at Huet) - do just that year in year out. This particular vineyard shares the mantle of Vouvrays most emblematic lieu-dit with the great Clos Baudoin (which itself is now being restored to its former glories under the control of our own François Chidaine). 

 

Generally regarded as the greatest of the three Huet vineyards (Le Mont & Le Haut Lieu being the other two), it makes some of the most powerful, long lived wines in Northern France. With only a shallow layer of top soil over solid tufa limestone the vines almost immediately have to tap into the rich mineral resource underfoot, resulting in a richer, riper, denser, long-lived Chenin. The wall is also said to help facilitate a more humid micro-climate favourable to botrytis. For these reasons more sweet than dry wine is produced here however when vintage conditions favour the production of a Sec (as they did in 2010), it is usually the most alluring and substantial dry white in the Huet stable. When compared to  the youthful sternness of the Le Mont Sec, we find in the 2010 Clos de Bourg, Chenin’s bracing acid spine suffused by rippling, crystalline pulpy fruit bringing an almost seamless texture to the wine. The balance - for a young Vouvray from a great and age worthy year – is quite remarkable. It’s a wine with drive, verve and fluidity (absolutely nothing sticks out), that is as intensely spicy as it is long and refreshing in the mouth. I have no qualms in saying this is one of my most exciting wine experiences of 2011.

 

“This is much more substantial than Le Haut Lieu, which seemed rather more pretty on the nose. Instead there is polished limestone substance here. There follows a lovely palate, forceful, and the acidity seems brighter even though the figures suggest it is very slightly lower. Lovely brightness to the fruit overall. This is a lovely wine, just brimming with potential." 17.5-18.5/20, points, The Wine Doctor.com (January 2011)

 

 

The simple truth is that I have a particular taste for good quality Loire Valley Cabernet Franc and thankfully I am lucky enough to work with a fantastic producer whose speciality is growing and making some of Chinon’s finest wines.

Bernard Baudry Chinons’ are the perfect antidote to the oceans of homogenised red wine that exist in the world today. They are totally unique wines, which emit the essence of the place they are grown, and are some of the most interesting reds we import. From two fantastic growing seasons, the 2009 and 2010 wines of Bernard Baudry turn things up a notch: these are succulent, complex, fleshy wines that nonetheless retain the refreshing, spicy, nettle-like nuances and powdery tannins that speak so loudly of this distinctive appellation.

 

Across the range the wines have aromatics reminiscent of berries, violets and pencil with a juicy, silky personality in the mouth that keeps you coming back, they have a richness yet intense savouriness at the same time. If the jury has been out on Loire Cab Franc for some time, with Baudry’s current releases’s, the verdict has to be guilty. Guilty of being a damn delicious drink. Each cuvee is named after the individual terroir that gives them their unique character and while the exemplary (not to mention world-class), single site Domaine bottling - La Croix Boisee and  Clos Guillot offer more amplitude and density, I’m a sucker for the  vin de primeur Les Granges.

 

Lighter bodied in style - think a quality Cru Beaujols with more obvious powdery tannin – the Les Granges is made for earlier drinking from grapes that are grown on gravel and sand, and this is always the first Baudry wine released each year. The 2010 incarnation is a slightly more luscious variation than the 2009, but is has the same playful mesh of bright purples, juicy berries and spanking freshness. It is a product of an excellent year for Chinon with some commentators comparing the fruit and sweet natural ripeness to the stonking 2005’s, albeit with punchier acidity. The fruit comes from young vines (10-15+ years old) planted on alluvial soil and gravel on the terraces near the Vienne river. The grapes are picked by hand as late as possible. Fermentation is at cool temperatures in a mix of concrete and large wooden vats with the aim being to produce a racy, fruity wine with less extraction than the other cuvées.

Les Granges is meant to be enjoyed in its first flush of youth, and what we have here is a bright and buoyant Chinon which shows plenty of fruit padding, hints of dark tobacco and a melange of  blackberry and herbs, all offset by a brisk, chalkly edge. There is so much to love about this wine and fans of the bright fruit and crunchy qualities of quality Beaujolais or young Barbera and Dolcetto would be wise to add this to their New Year drinking list.
 
“For their quality [Chinon] are absurdly undervalued.”
HUGH JOHNSON & JANCIS ROBINSON, THE WORLD ATLAS OF WINE

9) 2010 Mac Forbes Hoddles Creek Chardonnay

"We always return to a place – because the place isn’t the same as other places and sometimes a place is different from any other place.” Terry Theise, Reading between the Wines.

Terroir, sense of place, ‘somewhereness’. Call it what you will but Mac Forbes, with his 2010 releases is taking this approach to a new level. Mapping the many diverse sub- terroirs of the Yarra Valley and using Pinot and Chardonnay as the vessel takes some nerve. Are the peoples ready for such parcellated bottlings or are we still just getting our heads around the regional styles? Will there be enough stylistic differences between the various wines to give the project requisite staying power? Didn’t it take the Burgundians hundreds of years to sort it out? Although it may be very early days, you’ve got to start somewhere and this young-gun’s 2010 releases fire a very strong opening shot in the battle for the hearts, minds and palates of the New World sub-regional kind.

With an ever increasing number of Australian winemakers adopting the ‘terroirist’ approach - bottling wines from single patches of vines rather than blending wines from vineyards or regions - Mac Forbes has emerged as one of the chief protagonists in the move towards sub-regionality in his own back yard – the Yarra Valley. Releasing six (!) single-site Yarra Valley chardonnay’s in 2010 namely - Dixons Creek, Yarra Glen, Coldstream, Gruyere, Woori Yallock and Yarra Junction - Mac is attempting to guide this individual sense of place into our glass. In effect bottling the philosophy that grapes are marked by where they are grown and that this will ultimately be reflected in the qualities of the finished wine. I think he’s done a brilliant job.

The Mac Forbes 2010 Hoddles Creek Chardonnay is nervy and vibrant. It’s tempting to call it Euro-styled, however there is none of the brittleness that can be associated with producers trying to mimic this style from Aussie soil. Instead the acids are steely and firm, yet cushioned by vivacious stone fruit and leesy complexity. It is a refined, elegant, lean and citrusy expression of ‘New World’ Chardonnay. If optimal site selection and a sympathetic winemaking style are the keys to bringing out the best in Yarra Valley fruit, then this Hoddle’s Creek Chardonnay is an excellent case in point. This is Mac’s first foray into the fertile soils of the southern edges of the Yarra Valley - the result is what we had hoped to see, a wine of greater volume than the nearby nervy Woori Yallock – definite sub-regionality in action! The deep red soils of Hoddles Creek make for an immediately denser, riper wine in the yellow peache and ripe stone fruit spectrum. In spite of its apparent richness of fruit it has an explosive stony/rocky crunchy finish. A mouth-watering, refined chardonnay evoking fine, rocky ‘Chablis-esque’ character and excellent length of palate. If anyone out there has missed the winegrowing revolution that has propelled Australian right back to the top of the pile, this is a perfect wine to bring you up to speed. I love it.

10) 2010 Daniel Bouland Morgon Corcelette 

Daniel Bouland makes some of the most old school and expressive wines in the whole of Beaujolais. Hand harvested from very old, organically-tended Gamay vines in the Morgon lieu-dits of Douby, Côte de Py and Delys, the Bouland wines are defiantly chunky, dark, country-style reds with plenty of grip and they overflow with personality. However unlike so many of the region’s wines, Bouland’s offerings are built for the long hall, but please don’t let this scare you off - Bouland recommends giving them five years ageing in bottle to showcase the wine’s terrior, true sense of clarity and mineral nuances. The 2010 wines are chock full of tender fruit that make them deliciously prêt-a-boire (ready to drink) and already one can’t help but notice the pungent mineral and iron-esqe nuances that point directly to Morgon central.  
Bouland portrays the artisanal Beaujolais vigneron in perhaps its purest form. He works alone in his vineyards where most of the vines are gnarled, old goblet beauties. His younger parcels have been planted with selections massales from his older vineyards and nothing is added or taken away from the raw, rugged purity of the juice. Hand-harvesting, very low yields, old wood, wild yeast fermentations, 100% whole bunch (open) ferments and the absence of filtering, places him very much in the back-to-basics-dirt-under-the-fingernails--old-fashioned camp. Bouland definitely has the personality and intensity of a loner, one who is quite content to do his own thing and not follow the path most travelled. In fact you get the overwhelming impression he would rather be in the vineyard than talking about his wines. That’s fine by us. Stripped of all modernity – his is perhaps the most ‘basic’ cellar we have visited in Beaujolais – and unaffected by current vogue, what we are left with is a serious glass of honest, pure, handmade wine from a unique and respectful grower.

The volumes at Bouland are tiny – only 3,000 cases in total are produced each year – so we were only able to obtain an allocation of a single wine in 2010. ‘Corcelette’ is one Morgons sweet-spots. Situated on the mid-slope adjacent to the Cote de Py vineyard, the pure granite and schist of that famed site gives way to a looser sandstone and granite base, which vignerons suggest lends a more airy fragrance and supple texture to the Courcelette that the meatier, tannic depths of the Cote de Py. That said Bouland typically produces a deep, firm and juicy styled wine sourced from his 50 year-old vines rooted in a single parcel near his tiny winery. Yields are kept to a minimal level and after vinfication in plastic tanks; the wine is aged in large foudres that are old enough not to take the edge off the rasping, spicy Gamay fruit. Schildknecht’s note below covers the brief of flavours, though we should add there is a noticeable ferrous note woven throughout the fruit, no doubt imparted by the roche pourries - the crumbled, flaky rock rich in iron oxide and manganese which is unique to mid-slope Morgon. As Lord Byron once uttered: “Fill high the cup”!

“Bouland’s 2010 Morgon Corcelette Vieilles Vignes offers scents of violet, wisteria, fresh cherry, red currant, and smoked meat. Sweetly-ripe yet vivacious fruit informs a silken-textured palate, while smokiness and salinity lend invigoration to a purely-persistent, downright vibrant finish. Look for 4-6 years of satisfaction” 92 points, David Schildknecht , Wine Advocate #196

To conclude our series on our favourite vinous delights for the festive season (and beyond) I have chosen two wine styles that are dear to my heart and never far from my lips. The first is the delectable Von Buhl Riesling below - it’s definitely a mouthful to pronounce but that’s where the challenges stop – this is a wine that makes you stand to attention, anticipating the pristine fruit flavours, stunning minerality and the salivating texture and length that we know are the hallmarks of this exceptional vintage from one of the Pfalz’s most esteemed producers. In the words of (recovering) music icon Molly Meldrum..."do yourself a favour”! 

2010 Von Buhl Ungeheuer Forst Riesling Dry QBA Trocken Grosses Gewachs

The 2010 dry wines from this marvellous Estate are a blinding light; their expression - because of the higher acidity in 2010 - is more pungent, delineated and exhilarating than the 2009s (2009s were much softer, richer and more opulent). The Ungeheuer vineyard (Bismarck's famous bon mot about the "Ungeheuer" (monster) that tasted 'monstrously' good is a stock theme in the history of German wine) lies on sandstone, clay and is partially offset with amounts of limestone, is the source of the most mineral of Von Buhl's Grosse Gewachs bottlings. It's worth noting the estate have a large proportion of the oldest wines in this vineyard. This 2010, fermented in large wooden casks and bottled without filtration, must be one of the most powerful, resonant Rieslings from the excellent 2010 Pfalz vintage. Rock and fruit represent the elemental core of flavours here, fleshed out by ripe stone fruit and yellow plum. Pinpoint acidity counterpoints the toned depth of fruit and drives the long, long finish. This is clearly something very special and it's a wine that brings to mind Randall Grahm's quote in Andrew Jefford's, The New France, when he described tasting a Condrieu as  "shaking the hand of a particularly wilful or rugged individual... one could be shaking the hand of a mountain."

Wine # 12
No festive season celebration would be complete without a good bottle of bubbles to enliven proceedings and they don’t come much better than this!
The Agrapart family’s vineyards are situated in the grand cru village of Avize and produce terroir rich, Blanc de Blancs with intense personalities from their biodynamically managed vineyards. Pascal Agrapart is a close friend of Anselme Selosse and adopts very similar principles of viticulture and winemaking: working the soil, biodynamic viticulture, low yields, natural ferments and long lees ageing. All the things we love about Grower/Producers! Production is tiny, with no more than 6000 cases produced in any given year. The vine age in the Agrapart vineyards is among the oldest in the Côte de Blancs. The wines are exceptional value when you consider the quality (firstly!) and the fact that it is 100% grand cru, biodynamic farmed and made from very low yields. Brings to mind the adage about life being too short to drink bad wine…..?!

2005 Champagne Agrapart Mineral Blanc De Blancs Extra Brut Grand Cru
Minéral always comes from 40-year old chardonnay vines in the same two parcels: Le Champ Bouton in Avize and Bionnes in Cramant. These vineyards are not located too
far away from each other, and they share virtually identical soil composition: a hard, white chalk underneath a mere 30 centimeters of topsoil.

"This is blended from two vineyards of similar terroir: Le Champ Bouton in Avize, which is fermented in tank, and Bionnes in Cramant, vinified in 600-liter oak casks. While it shows the depth and amplitude of the vintage, its flavours of apple, white peach and orange citrus are unusually high-toned, feeling delicately poised despite their concentration. It's all pinned down by laser-like acidity, producing a clean, kinetic tension on the palate, and it's thoroughly saturated by aromas of chalk, particularly on the long, finely-detailed finish. It's an excellent 2005, and should be long-lived.”  Peter Liem www.champagneguide.net