Another fine wine tasting at Planet of the Grapes: The wines of Domaine Faiveley presented by Vincent Avenal.
As usual my notes were scrappy but such tastings to enable me to calibrate my palate and say "these are fine wines but I cannot tell enough difference to make it worth paying the extra".
Vincent is the export director of Faiveley and presented the wines against a backdrop of jovial barracking. Faiveley produce about 100 appellations of which around 80 are their own estate wines and the remainder they act as negociants.
These are my own notes and as my palate is poor this is mostly a load of b*ll*cks but if I do not write something down how will I learn to articulate what it is I detect in the mouth? I do not care if is bears no resemblance to perceived authority at least I am prepared to make a fool of myself in public. That is my story and I am sticking to it.
Wednesday 6 May 2009
Whites
1. Mercurey Clos Rochette Blanc 2005 @ £17.50
A: Smokey, mineral; P: slight unctuousness, hint of putty on re-tasting
2. Meursault 1er cru "Blagny" 2006 @ £50.00
A: floral, melon; P: big mouthful, sweeter, hint of pineapple drops. Passes the "Trudy test" - all the components are in balance. Their own label not acting as negotiant - they have changed the label design to make clear they own the land and control the viniculture.
3. Corton Charlemagne 2006 @ £140
Good vintage for whites. A: smokey, dusty, "good" oak; P: yellow. Only 10 cases allocated to UK (that is only 120 bottles).
Reds
4. Mercurey Rouge 2002 @ £14.50
Exceptional vintage for both red and white. A: strawberry, hint of plum; P:light, bright.
5. Blagny 1er cru "la Piece sous le Bois" 2003 @ £25
Very warm vintage. A: Chocolate / morello; P: tart grip but not acid, warm / sweet. Drink :-)
6. Benne 1er cru "Clos de L'Ecu" 2005 @ £40.00
Historic long lasting vintage for reds. Not for drink < 10 years. A: velvet / paint / cheese; P: grip, low fruit still some aging potential. Keep!
7. Latriciers Chambertin Grand Cru 1999 £100.00
Fabulous vintage. V: orange rim; A: musty strawberry, I don't get much tertiary notes; P: better, shows 'esprit du clocher', light fruits.
8. Corton "Clos des Cortons" Grand Cru 1990 @ £175.00
Correct for drinking now - at peak. Only 600 bottles produced.
A few days later a group of us friends met at their latest venture: a wine bar in Leadenhall Market which is not so much a wine bar as a wine shop with tables. There is no wine list, you choose your bottle of the shelves and there is a set £10 corkage regardless of the price of the wine. They also do a select range of cheese and meat platters. A very handy location for meeting up with friends who work in the square mile.
Oh my, look at those prices, I think the most I ever spent on a bottle would have been about £15. I am not a wine buff, so really only know what I like and that is a Cabinet/Merlot but do you think that these prices are warrented. I take it the prices are per case.
ReplyDeleteOh so sorry just read again and realised the price is PER BOTTLE.
ReplyDeleteYep, that is per bottle.
ReplyDeleteAnd it is not true what I wrote - I *do* care if my notes bear no resemblance to perceived authority. Subjective is all very well but I want be be better at this tasting lark.